Chapter 21: Threat Revealed
"Mapleshade!" I exclaimed, never having expected her to somehow interfere with one of my nightmares. "How are you here?"
Mapleshade let out a chuckle at my question. "Seriously kit? You've been taken to both Starclan and the Darkforest in your sleep. Is it really all that surprising that I can do the reverse?"
I sputtered in response. "But… Isn't it difficult for a cat to visit Starclan or the Darkforest? Father told me that Starclan could barely manage to visit him when it is close to a full moon." I rebutted.
Mapleshade responded with an annoyed scoff. "First off, the hard part is moving a living being to Starclan. The living are very attached to their bodies. Meanwhile, the dead are not. Second, you allowed me to tie myself to you. Somewhat like a tick, my soul clings to yours and your father's. With this bond, I am able to do things to the two of you that I could not to an unbonded. The one I most enjoy is seeing the living world. I am freely able to appear to either of you, whether I allow you to see me or not." She explained, eliciting a disgusted look from me.
"Don't look at me like that! You're still getting the better end of the deal. I cannot interact with the living world. I can't hurt you. You and your father are the only two capable of seeing me. Thus, I have no choice but to be friendly and loyal to you. Anyways, I came by to offer a look into my memories." She offered.
I shook my head dismissively. "No thanks. As nice as it is to see that I'm not the only one who has memories that haunt them, I already know your story. You already have my sympathies, so you have nothing to gain."
Mapleshade let out an amused laugh. "Oh really? So guess you don't want to see what your father has been up to since you left? He even figured out what the coming threat is. Aren't you the least bit curious?" She teased, knowing fully well that I would take her offer now.
I huffed, annoyed at being strung along but knowing that I couldn't afford to refuse. "Fine. What's been going on?" I mewed.
A smile crossed her face as she responded. "How about I show you? This won't hurt at all. Just don't resist it." She mewed slowly.
My vision began to shift and distort. It was a blurry mess of colors for a moment before things cleared up. I was back in the forest… and for some reason upside-down. I was looking at Father who seemed to be in an active conversation with Tallstar.
"Why is everything upside down?" I thought towards Mapleshade.
"Call it an eccentricity I picked up from my mentor. He had a tendency to flip me during training and lecture me while I was still on my back. It just became a habit at that point. Now I just find it easier to focus like this." Mapleshade explained.
"I'm telling you Tallstar. Those markers the Twolegs put out are their way of claiming territory. I don't like this any more than you, but wishful thinking won't save us. I'm already coordinating with the other clans on methods of survival, but things aren't looking good. Right now, Riverclan is the best off since the river cuts off their territory. Quite frankly, Windclan is the one that's going to go first. Twolegs have to uproot the trees on Thunderclan territory and deal with the marshlands in Shadowclan. To them, the plains are the easiest places to build their nests." Father argued with Tallstar.
"And I am telling you that we don't want to give them even a whisker's length. We're warriors. We defend our territory." Tallstar argued back.
"Not from this! Sure, a cat may be able to take out a single Twoleg, but it won't help. They'll come in monsters meant to tear up the land with hides harder than stone. They'll smash through any barrier we could erect as if it were a cobweb. I've already seen some of their tree choppers on the edge of Thunderclan territory, and there are more coming. Hattie's cats from the Twoleg place spotted at least twelve of them. The forest won't last even a year more." Father argued back.
I felt a shiver run down my spine at the thought. Not even a year… The idea that the forest could simply be gone that fast was mind boggling.
"Then what do you suggest we do, simply roll over and wait to die?!" Tallstar demanded.
Fathe growled back. "No! You must be prepared to evacuate. I'll admit that I still have my fair share of grudges with you, but right now I'm trying to act in Windclan's best interest. I'm trying to act in a way that preserves the clans. Already, I'm buying alliances with Riverclan and Shadowclan to allow both Windclan and Thunderclan to be pushed back instead of crushed. None of this is free. I'm compromising what little loyalty and morals I have left in order to preserve the clans. I'm doing my damnedest to ensure we all make it out of this, but all I can do is buy time. I don't like you, but I don't want to see you dead. I'm stressed beyond belief as I juggle appeasing every clan and keeping them from each other's throats, and it is hard. So please Tallstar, don't fight me on this. Riverclan has already given me their word that in the worst-case scenario, you can take refuge on their territory." His voice sounded haggard after his rant. Only now did I take in the time to notice Father's full state. He looked thin, likely skipping meals to keep up with all he was doing. His shoulders were tense, as if he'd spent the whole day walking. There were matts on his sides where he hadn't been able to thoroughly clean.
Tallstar seemed to have finally taken in this as well. His eyes softened as Father panted. "You're exhausted. Why don't you take a night's rest in our camp. We'll get you something to eat." Tallstar offered.
"Can't. I've got to talk to Riverclan tomorrow about where Windclan could take refuge on their territory. Then I've got to head to Shadowclan to do the same." Father answered bluntly in a tired voice.
"All the more reason you should stay. You won't be able to act on behalf of Windclan properly if you're exhausted. I'm sure Riverclan will understand. Plus, it'll likely make them prideful enough to offer you the same. If you can't think of this as me offering a kindness, instead think of it as a bribe. You'll be biased in favor of us if you subconsciously believe we are a more worthy clan." Tallstar argued back, drawing a small chuckle from Father.
"Guess an old cat can learn new tricks. You never were the type for subtlety. Nice to see that you're finally figuring it out. Fine. I'll take your bribe of finally getting a nap. Starclan knows how much Ravenfeather and Stonestep have been getting on me about overworking." Father joked, finally turning to follow Tallstar back to camp.
I felt a sense of nausea as I could feel my body moving while my vision did not.
"Someone's trying to wake you kit. You better get up." Mapleshade mewed, ending the dream.
I opened my eyes to see Tawnypelt standing over me, eyes filled with concern. "Are you alright? You were fidgeting a lot in your sleep. Normally, I'd just pass that off as some cat dreaming, but you told me you only get nightmares."
"Yeah. I had a nightmare. I don't really want to talk about it, but I appreciate that you woke me after I asked you to. It looks like the sun is setting too. Looks like there's no time to go back to sleep." I answered, giving her an appreciative brush before standing and stretching out. I didn't think poorly of her for waking me while Mapleshade was trying to show me what was going on back at the forest. She couldn't have known that she'd missed my nightmare entirely. It was time for another day of walking. Maybe I'd get to see more from Mapleshade tomorrow night.