"Hey! Ashfur! Wait up!" Squirrelpaw yelled through the woods racing towards where she had seen him. She broke through the trees and saw him sitting by the stream. Squirrelpaw slowed down and sat down next to him. "Hey Ashfur. What's going on?"
Ashfur turned and looked at her. "Hey. Nothing much, I just like sitting by this stream. I don't really know why. What about you, something you want to talk to me about?"
"Well…" Squirrelpaw wanted to blurt out everything that had been going on in her life to him. About Brambleclaw, about the mission, about this "sun-drown place". But… she had promised Brambleclaw not to tell. "Uh… yes- I mean, no. Well, yes, but-"
Ashfur lifted his tail up to silence her. "It's okay. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
"It's not that- I- I don't- want to. I do. It's just… I- I promised I wouldn't- tell anyone," Squirrelpaw stuttered.
Ashfur glanced at her and laughed slightly. "It's okay, Squirrelpaw. I won't pressure you."
Squirrelpaw looked at Ashfur and felt a rush of feelings, thinking about many things in those few seconds, but before she was given any time to process any of it, her head started spinning wildly and her vision blurred. She felt a nauseous whirl in her stomach and felt like she was gonna throw up.
She closed her eyes tightly and pressed her head against the ground, hoping to block out the pain. And maybe she succeeded because a few seconds later her body felt all light and dreamy, and started to relax.
But that changed three seconds later, for she felt her body tense when an echoey voice that sounded familiar—though she couldn't place it—filled her thoughts. (Or was it ears? She couldn't remember.)
It said:
"Three may rise
Two may fall
One may pay the cost of it all"
Instantly, the peaceful haziness in Squirrelpaw's mind faded away, exposing the daunting mess called reality.
Squirrelpaw groaned. She felt like every part of her hurt.
After slowly lifting her eyelids, Squirrelpaw's eyes traveled down to look at her paws. Then at the stream. Vaguely, she wondered where she was and how she got there.
Finally, her numbness started to ease, and with a jolt, she felt someone else's pelt against hers. Then she realized that it was Ashfur who was sitting right beside her. When she looked at him, she saw a flash of worry flicker through his eyes and she looked down at her paws again, wondering if she should tell him what she just heard.
But Squirrelpaw didn't see why she should keep this all to herself. She always blurted out what was on her mind and keeping secrets was new to her.
"Ashfur… s- something just happened," she started slowly, "I- I think I got a- …a prophecy. It sounded really important."
"What?" Ashfur jumped up and stared at her questioningly, his fur bristling. Calming down, he sat back down and added, "Squirrelpaw.. We have to tell someone."
Her nerves started swirling and becoming little birds in her stomach. "I- I don't feel so good," she managed to croak out before promptly fainting.