Chapter 2

Carmen was dreaming. She became acutely aware of it when still water and starlight entered her vision. Even though it had been so long, she couldn't help but recognize the place where all of this had started.

She and the StarClan cat were sat atop a smooth stone in the dead center of a lake. The water didn't ripple as it should've, leaving it more akin to a crystal-clear mirror to the starry heavens. Carmen faintly recalled the moon being full before, but its brilliant figure was waning now, well on its way to being half. Cold eyes watched them from the shadowy shoreline. Carmen wasn't able to make out any distinct feline shapes. The silver and white tabby sat across from her just as before, but there was no mistaking that her golden eyes had lost some of their glow.

"Welcome back, Carmen. StarClan looks kindly upon your efforts."

"The long journey nears its end. Destiny has brought you this far."

The voice, all and one, coursed through her skull like nothing else could. It made her feel dizzy. It made her feel sick. An energy ran through the air that tasted too familiar for coincidence. It tasted just like the phantom breath she smelled whenever her skills appeared to sharpen too quickly. Their weight pressed down on her, insurmountable. She felt more akin to a trapped mouse than some kind of chosen one.

"You have done well to tread so far from home, walking our path in spite of your fears. And look at you now. It has sculpted you into a capable young she-cat. We come to you now bearing wonderful news: your work is soon to be rewarded."

"Who are you?" she questioned before she'd the chance to think it through.

"We are StarClan, Carmen. The gods of all Clan cats. Just as I told you before-"

"Your name," she hissed. "What is your name?"

The ghost regarded her warily. "It matters not the name I was called in life."

"It does to me," she said, coiling her tail around herself tightly. "I'm not a Clan cat. I don't understand all of this. I have some questions I need you to answer to help me understand."

The stranger's ear turned with a roaring wave of whispers that Carmen couldn't comprehend. It was more of a gust of wind than a collection of holy words. Her fur stood on end, her amber gaze wide as she watched her take in whatever the others were saying.

Finally, the ghost warrior drew herself up tall and proud. "Very well. I am Silverpelt, of a Clan so ancient its name has been lost to history. What would you like to know?"

Silverpelt. That name felt important somehow, but in a way that Carmen would no doubt fail to understand in the moment. Were it written out in the humans' script, were it scratched out in the earth, no Clan cat would think anything of it. It was a simple warrior's name. Yet it was so much more.

"Okay…" She hadn't exactly been expecting them to honor her request. "Sil-ah, um… So, I guess first is: was it all on purpose? Me meeting the Clan? You're helping them find their new home, too?"

"Of course. It was written in the stars for your paths to cross."

When she didn't elaborate, Carmen sank lower to the stone. "Okay… Why didn't you stop that dog from killing Snowstripe and Thunderkit?"

Silverpelt took a moment before replying. "Our power wanes in the absence of proper Clans. Aside yours, there is only one other."

A long, long silence fell over them. Carmen didn't like that wording. She didn't like it one tiny little bit. Aside from hers? The Clan wasn't hers. She wasn't a warrior. She wasn't made for that life! She was to be a Show Cat at the end of this. She was to live in luxury and comfort and be blanketed in humans' adoring stares. Win ribbons and stuff.

"Um, can I ask you what Stainpelt's planning?"

"You can. Alas, we are not privy to the workings of his mind."

"What about Tigerstr-"

"Not of us."

"Not of us!"

"Not of us!"

Silverpelt offered her a small smile. "I'm sorry, Carmen. To be honest with you, we're not sure that's a cat."

Her ears lying flat against her head, all she could muster up was a stuttering: "I-wha-she… Huh?"

"The world is vast and full of mystery. But our time runs short. If you've more you wish to know, now is the time. I don't know when we'll be able to speak again."

She took a deep breath. "It's you who's been doing this to me, isn't it? Making me learn things really fast and making my muscles grow so much?"

"It is."

"Would you stop?" The sudden wave of bravery she'd felt now melted like ice in the summer sun, and she looked everywhere but at Silverpelt. "I don't… I don't like it. How it feels."

Her veins exploded into an awful prickling sensation. She wished she hadn't spoken.

"You are touched by holy paws!"

"You are granted our sacred blessings!"

"You are chosen for divine intervention!"

"AND YET YOU SHOW NO GRATITUDE!"

Their voice was thunder and roaring waves. Their voice was wildfires and lightning strikes. StarClan's voice, united in wrath, tore its way through Carmen's very being. Strange twinges ran through every fiber of her soul and gave her an instinctual visage of being torn apart at the seams.

To call this terror would be an understatement. There were no words.

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that! I'm sorry!"

Gradually, the pieces of her mind came back to her. When she was aware again, Carmen found herself cowering on the stone, fur fluffed up more than it had ever been. She was trembling so hard that there was no way she could speak another word tonight. The whole of reality was tilted in some eldritch way.

"Forgive them," said Silverpelt gently into her ear. "For our temper runs short in the face of annihilation. Without healthy Clans to keep us strong, the stars will flicker out one by one."

She crouched beside Carmen and ran her tail along her back, slowly soothing her. "That's why we interwove your fate with the Clan's. That's why we have granted you this strength. The Clan must reach its new territory and stake its claim in order to save us. In return, it shall be welcomed in full, to our ranks."

"Walk the Path of Starlight, Carmen. See this journey's end. You will find a happiness unlike any other if you do. In the meantime, you must sow seeds of belief in the minds of the Clan. Help them to know we have its best interests at heart."

"You were chosen for this task because of how special you are. You are important beyond measure. Carry out StarClan's will, and we will see to it that you live as royalty. It's you, little one. We chose you. We did so for a reason."

A paw beneath Carmen's chin slowly tilted her head up until their eyes met. "We chose well, didn't we?"

Her throat bone-dry, she nodded.

Silverpelt gave her an affectionate lick on the head. "Good. Now go, Amberstar. Carve out your path to destiny."

Amberstar?