Half moon's prophecy chapter 26 up
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Half moon's prophecy chapter 26 up
by snowswirl66 August 13th 2011, 15:03
Okay, this is one of my first fan-fics, actually my second fan-fic ever, so it isn't very good. This story takes place as if there was a fourth cat in the prophecy (Half moon), and the prophecy was incomplete. I hope you enjoy it! Please no criticsm!
мany, мany ѕeaonѕ ago, ѕĸywaтcнer gave ғιreѕтar a propнecy.
"тнere wιll вe тнree, ĸιn oғ yoυr ĸιn, wнo нold тнe power oғ тнe ѕтarѕ ιn тнeιr pawѕ."
вυт тнe propнecy waѕ ιncoмpleтe. тнere waѕ anoтнer caт, υnrelaтed тo ғιreѕтar, ιn тнe propнecy.
тнιѕ ιѕ тнe real propнecy.
"тнere wιll вe тнree, ĸιn oғ yoυr ĸιn, wнo нold тнe power oғ тнe ѕтarѕ ιn тнeιr pawѕ. вυт ѕнe wнo нoldѕ тнe power oғ тнe мoon can conqυer all ..."
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Snowswirl66, 22 August 2011 06:25
мany, мany ѕeaonѕ ago, ѕĸywaтcнer gave ғιreѕтar a propнecy.
"тнere wιll вe тнree, ĸιn oғ yoυr ĸιn, wнo нold тнe power oғ тнe ѕтarѕ ιn тнeιr pawѕ."
вυт тнe propнecy waѕ ιncoмpleтe. тнere waѕ anoтнer caт, υnrelaтed тo ғιreѕтar, ιn тнe propнecy.
тнιѕ ιѕ тнe real propнecy.
"тнere wιll вe тнree, ĸιn oғ yoυr ĸιn, wнo нold тнe power oғ тнe ѕтarѕ ιn тнeιr pawѕ. вυт ѕнe wнo нoldѕ тнe power oғ тнe мoon can conqυer all ..."
Prologue
- Spoiler:
- In a small dark cave, a white she-cat crouched by a small pool alone. Her eyes were cast down, staring at the cold stone floor. A drop of water dripped into the pool before her, momentarily dissolving the perfect reflection of the full moon.
The she-cat glanced up for a moment at the movement, and then quickly her gaze dropped once more. Her beautiful green eyes were filled with pain, agony, sadness, and so many other vivid, indescribable, emotions that most cats would never experience in a lifetime. Her tail lay flat behind her, occasionally trembling. Along with her eyes, it indicated a conflict raging inside of her.
The white she-cat, called Half moon, sighed as she looked up once more. This time, her gaze rested was at the place where her beloved Jay's wing had disappeared. It was not too long ago since he had left, but he had said he would be gone forever. She desperately wanted to see him, and she kept having trouble keeping her legs from sliding out from under her and chasing after him. But he had also told her to stay, and eventually lead all the other cats in his place, which was impossible, and a lot to think about. There was nothing special about her and she wasn’t even a sharpclaw yet.
“I’ll probably never become a sharpclaw,” Half moon muttered to herself. To become a sharpclaw, she would have to find a way through the dark and dangerous tunnels underground by the Lake, her former home. But now she was in the mountains, and she couldn’t go back to the lake and journey into the tunnels. Her home was far behind her, and it would be foolish to go back just to become a sharpclaw.
She recalled the long and difficult journey. Jay’s wing had disappeared in the beginning, but he had come back later when they had reached the mountains, claiming that he had gone back to the Lake for a while. She remembered how overjoyed she had been to see him.
Half moon’s thoughts immediately flew back to Jay’s wing and her heart fought her mind as she once again forced her legs to stay still. Even though it broke her heart, she stayed where she was. Even though she knew that Jay’s wing was probably farther and farther every moment, she managed to calm down and stop her tail from violently shaking back and forth. She told herself that she had already said goodbye, and that he was probably already gone.
But finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, she couldn't control herself any longer. Her heart won over her mind and her careful, fragile, restraint was shattered. All that was left of her was that single thought and a deep longing. She dashed out of the cave. She just had to see Jay’s wing one last time. Maybe she could convince him to stay. Hope filled her heart at the thought. There was almost no possibility of it happening, but it had always been part of her nature to hope. Half moon couldn’t think of a single time where she had given up on something and lost hope. She ran down the path leading down to the larger cave, her paws flying. It was the path that Jay’s wing had taken when he had left the cave, and hopefully he was still somewhere near.
When she reached the cave, she saw an intersection. Three different paths branched off from the area behind the cave, and a main path was positioned in front of it. ‘Jay’s wing could have taken any of these paths.’ Half moon realized. She tried to find his scent, but it was on all the paths. None of the sharpclaws had ever thought tracking an important skill, so Half moon couldn’t distinguish older scents from a new one, especially since Jay’s wing had been exploring different trails just a while earlier.
"Jay's wing!" she called out in desperation. "Jay's wing!”
"Half moon! What are you yammering about? I just fell asleep before you woke me up." Fish leap grumbled sleepily as he emerged from the cave. He yawned and looked at her curiously. Half moon was about to apologize and choose a random path, before she realized that Fish leap might have heard something. He had said that he had just fallen asleep, which meant that he must’ve been awake at the time when Jay’s wing had passed by.
"I’m sorry," mewed Half moon urgently. "It's just that I can't find Jay's wing! Have you seen or heard him anywhere?" She looked pleadingly at Fish leap, who turned and snorted. "Anyone would think that you can't stand a moment without him. Well, I think I heard a footsteps heading there, just a moment earlier." He flicked his tail to one of the paths behind the cave while speaking, and then padded back to the cave.
Half moon rushed off as soon as he had indicated the path to take. Jay’s wing must have stopped somewhere for a while, if Fish Leap hadn’t been exaggerating that he had just passed by moment ago. That meant he would still be near, and wouldn’t have left yet. Half moon saw a lone figure in the distance and she ran faster. She knew it was Jay’s wing. He turned as she neared him, and she could see his every feature clearly in contrast to the rosy sunset behind him. The most important one, the one she paid attention to most, was his striking blue eyes, always filled with so many emotions. She had seen them flash with anger, widen in surprise, glower in annoyance, and sparkle with love. Now they burned with a lifetime of pain, sadness, agony, remorse, longing, and love. She could almost feel the emotions bounding off of him.
But just as she finally reached him, he started to fade away with the mist. Half moon could see the hazy shapes of the rock formation behind him. Shocked, she momentarily forgot about the situation as she watched her love slowly disappear. Even in her wildest dreams, she had never thought of anything like this possible.
"I'm sorry Half moon. I hope you understand, but we can't be together." Jay’s wing meowed gently as he started to grow more and more transparent. He stepped forward and his scent wreathed around her, but she remained rigid with disbelief. As Jay’s wing faded to a mere outline, the setting sun’s piercing rays shone through his body, which snapped Half moon out of her shock.
“No!” she croaked, regaining her voice. The word felt unfamiliar on her tongue, as if she hadn’t spoken for a long time. Desperate, she managed to recover control of herself. She leaned forward, trying to grab onto his fading form, but her paws passed right through him. Before she knew it, Jay’s wing was gone. He had completely disappeared.
All that was left of him was a whisper. "I wish things could be different. I love you, Half moon."
All of her shock and disbelief disappeared, giving way to pain and grief as she realized that Jay’s wing was truly gone.
"No!" Half moon howled. "Jay's wing!
The sun disappeared below the horizon. All was completely silent, leaving the heartbroken she-cat to howl out her grief to the barren mountains.
Chapter 1
- Spoiler:
- “Farewell, Half moon.” Jayfeather murmured his voice barely audible. He raised his head to the sky, and for a moment, he thought he could pick up a trace of her scent. But then it was gone, leaving him lonelier than ever. He dropped his head and turned his back to the mountains. Full of grief, he slowly padded away, his mind only on Half moon. He knew that they never would, that they never could be together.
"Jayfeather! Are you coming?" Squirrelflight's worried voice rose from over a small hill. In his grief, he hadn’t noticed that he had been left behind, and that everyone was waiting for him. Jayfeather felt annoyed with himself. They probably thought that his blindness had slowed him down. He hurried up the hill, hissing as he stumbled and tripped over obstacles in his way. He could feel Squirrelflight’s concerned gaze on his pelt, which really bothered him. She wasn’t his real mother, so she didn’t still have to act like she was.
“I’m fine!” He snapped at her when he finally reached the top of the slope. Annoyance at his own clumsiness combined with his irritation at Squirrelflight made him ill-tempered. “You don’t have to make a fuss over me! I can take care of myself!”
Squirrelflight flinched from his angry outburst, looking hurt. She turned and motioned for the others to follow, but she was still upset, recalling memories that all hit Jayfeather at once. For one indescribable moment, he was bombarded with Squirrelflight’s memories. He actually felt sorry for her. After all, she really did love him and his littermates, and she had just wanted what was best for them. Then the brief moment was over, and he remembered about how she had lied to him and his littermates. Also, if she had never kept their real parentage a secret, then his sister Hollyleaf would still be alive. "She deserves to suffer" he muttered to himself, pushing away any sympathy he had.
It was a dark, gloomy day and everybody trudged on in silence. Even Dovewing and Foxleap were unusually subdued by the depressing atmosphere. Foxleap had Swoop’s death fresh in his mind, and Dovewing continually cocked her head and pawed at her ears, as if there were moss in them. Jayfeather suspected that her senses had been dulled by the endlessly loud noises at the mountains. They would hopefully come back soon. If a fox or some other dangerous animal passed by, they wouldn’t be able to defend themselves, in the miserable state they were currently in.
They had passed the gentle hills and slopes close to the mountain and were now in a barren field. Leaf-bare had only just passed, and the ground was cold and hard, with only a few small clumps of grass growing through cracks in the earth. The wind howled wrathfully, and the sun was covered by many gray, bustling, storm clouds, signifying that it would rain very soon.
Suddenly Jayfeather had a strange feeling that someone was watching him. He looked back automatically. Then, his vision blossomed and the world and all of its colours came rushing to him. He raised his eyes and saw the mountains. They were so far that they were barely visible, just a great silhouette on the horizon. But has he looked closer, he identified a lone figure watching him from a cliff. Immediately, unexplainably, he knew that it was Half moon. She stayed where she was, her gaze warming his pelt. Even from the distance, Jayfeather could feel the regret, sorrow, and the endless other emotions bounding off her. Then she turned and faded away in the mist, and his sight plunged into darkness.
Jayfeather stayed still for a moment. He missed Half moon desperately. Not for the first time, he wished he could stay with her. He wished that he had never been a part of the prophecy. He knew that Lionblaze and Dovewing constantly had similar thoughts, but this was the first time that he had seriously considered life without his powers, life without the prophecy. He could’ve become a warrior. He could’ve hunted and fought for his clan and for the Ancients, making himself more of a help than a burden. He could’ve stayed with Half moon.
But would he even have met Half moon?
Chapter 2
- Spoiler:
- It was so silent, almost too silent. Normally, on a warm evening like this, kits would be squealing, sharpclaws sharing tongues, and to-bes – that’s what they had started to call the sharpclaws in training – would be playing around. But tonight was different. Tonight was the night they mourned for Jay’s wing.
After he had disappeared, Half moon had told Stone song that he had slipped off a cliff and died. She had always been a bad liar, but to him, her mumbling and hesitation had probably seemed like distress and shock. After all, she had just supposedly seen her mate fall off a cliff. He had been very gentle with her and hadn’t asked for any details, even making her a sharpclaw afterwards, telling her that she had long since deserved the title.
Half moon herself wasn’t entirely sure about what had happened to Jay’s wing. For all she knew, she could have been telling the truth. Maybe she had imagined the whole thing about Jay’s wing fading away and he really had just fallen off a cliff. Or it could’ve all been a horrible nightmare and he could have died unseen some other way. Or she could just be insane, and seeing hallucinations. That was the most likely, and also the most disturbing theory.
But deep in her heart, Half moon knew, that dark misty night hadn’t just been her overactive imagination. She could hear every one of Jay’s wing’s words echoing over and over again in her head and her heart. She heard those same words in the nightmares that occurred each night, the nightmares that always ended with him leaving. And when she woke up, the pain was always fresher than ever.
Why did he have to go? She thought with sorrow. What was it that was more important to him than me? These questions would always come to her when her agony was at its highest. She never doubted Jay’s wing’s love for her. But she would wonder. Jay’s wing had mentioned how he hadn’t wanted to leave, that he wished things could’ve been different. Was it possible that some other unseen power had forced him to fade away? Had he anticipated his departure and managed to throw in final words? She was coming up with crazy ideas, but anything was better than the thought of Jay’s wing choosing something, or someone, over her.
"Half moon, are you alright?" Dove's wing's concerned voice drifted over. Half moon glanced down and realized that her fur was bristling, and her claws were digging hard into the patch of dirt where she stood, all the way down to the rock underneath. She quickly forced her fur to lie flat and sheathed her claws.
"I'm fine." she replied coldly, turning away. She didn’t want to attract any more questions.
Dove’s wing didn’t seem to get the message. “Are you sure you’re okay? You’ve hardly been getting any rest lately. And, you’ve grown so distant.”
“Leave me alone.” Half moon turned and snarled. Dove's wing's eyes filled with shock and pain, and she immediately felt guilty. She knew that the younger she-cat had also suffered from Jay’s Wing’s supposed death; she was his sister. But she hadn’t seen Jay’s wing disappear right before her eyes. And she didn’t have to deal with it alone, Half moon thought as she saw Dove’s wing being greeted warmly by Fish leap, who had just returned from hunting, jealously wishing that could be her and Jay's wing.
Fish Leap stalked up to Half moon, and she turned quickly, hoping that he hadn’t seen her staring. “Half moon, can I talk to you for a sec?” he hissed. She nodded uncertainly and followed him to the back of the cave.
“What’s this about?” she started to ask before he interrupted her.
“Don’t be so hard on Dove’s wing!” Fish leap growled, his eyes blazing. “I saw how you treated her and she doesn’t deserve that! She’s also having trouble with Jay’s wing’s death! You’re acting like you’re the only one in the world who’s suffering!”
Anger stronger than anything she had ever known slammed into Half moon. She was furious. Normally, she wasn’t a very temperamental cat, but nerves had finally gotten to her. All that bitterness that she had kept bottled up for three whole days came spilling out. “Do you think I don’t know that?” she hissed. “Yes, I know that she’s upset. Yes, I know that she’s your soon-to-be mate and you’re worried about her. Yes, I know that I’ve been acting like the only one in the world who’s suffering. And for all I know, I am!”
She continued to rant. “Nobody even seems to care that he’s gone. Everybody’s going on with their lives as if nothing had happened. Everyone except for me! Weren’t you Jay’s wing’s best friend, Fish Leap? Well, you weren’t much of one, but can’t you even pretend to be a little upset just to honour his memory?”
Fish Leap stared at her in shock, mouth still open. He had dragged her away to scold her, but instead, he was the one being reprimanded. “Bu-But,” he stammered. “How about Dovewing? She’s upset, you even said that yourself!” He accused, after gaining control of his mouth.
Half moon gave him a scornful look. “I said that she was upset. But she doesn’t seem to be suffering, really. After all, didn’t you seem to start taking notice in her right after he left? She’s perfectly happy right now as she is, isn’t she?”
And with that, she turned and strode off, clambering over rocks and ascending higher up the mountain. She didn’t even realize where she was heading, until she had reached the end of the trail that she and Jay’s wing had walked on only a few sunrises ago. But she was only half surprised to find herself walking into the hauntingly familiar cave, the same cave from all her nightmares. Some part of her had always known that she would find herself there again. It held so many crucial memories of Jay’s wing before he had disappeared.
He had been acting so strange ever since he had returned from the tunnels. It was only a few days later when he disappeared, claiming that he had left them and went back home. But Half moon knew better. When he had disappeared, she had run all the way to the lake and back, trying to find him, and he hadn’t been there. If what he had said was the truth, then he definitely would have been there. That left the question of where he had been during the journey, which was he positively was now. And she wasn’t any closer to discovering his current whereabouts then she had been a while ago.
Half moon sighed wearily and walked to the edge of the small pool in the center of the cave. Droplets of water continuously dripped down ever few moments from an opening above. She crouched down, by the pool. And she watched. And she waited.
Chapter 3
- Spoiler:
- "Look, Jayfeather, Squirrelflight, Dovewing, and Foxleap are back!" Cherrykit's high-pitched sqeak rose up from a crowd of cats that had gathered together to welcome them.
Jayfeather padded right out of the chattering crowd and into his den. The journey back home had started out nice and quiet, but along the way home, they had been attacked by wild dogs, and walked right into a thunderstorm, delaying them for a day. He was exhausted, but still thinking about Half moon.
What would she be doing after he had left her? He had appointed her as the first
stoneteller. That was a huge and difficult responsibility. Jayfeather hoped that she could manage it.
"Of course she can manage it!" he muttered to himself.
"Manage what?" Lionblaze's voice startled Jayfeather. He hadn't noticed his brother coming.
" Uh, nothing," he replied, keeping his emotions out of his voice.
"Sure then, how was the mountains? What did you do?
Jayfeather thought for a moment. He had done a lot of stuff, but most of the time he had been Jay's wing. He quickly thought of interesting facts to please Lionblaze.
"Not much, Stormfur and Brook have two kits, Lark and Pine, and Crag is the new stoneteller. Oh, and Swoop died." Jayfeather spoke this casually, as if was just an ordinary piece of news.
Lionblaze stiffened. "How is that 'not much'?" Tell me exactly what happened! How's Stormfur and Brook doing? Why did Crag become Stoneteller? How did Swoop die? Are the Tribe cats doing well with the borders?"
Jayfeather sighed. He answered all Lionblaze's questions and padded to his den.
Lionblaze had seemed satisfied that he knew the best and the worst parts of his trip, but he knew that he could never tell anyone what it really was. The best part of the journey was when he was with Half moon, and the worst part was when he had too leave her.
He lay in his nest thinking about her sorrowfully for a while. He had kept herin mind ever since he had left her.
"Jayfeather! Firestar wants all the cats on the journey to meet him in his den!" Squirrelflight's voice echoed throughout the medicine cat's den.
Jayfeather padded out of his den and followed Squirrelflight. He was in no mood to explain anything that had happened.
Chapter 4
- Spoiler:
- Jay's wing's scent wreathed around Half moon. He stood before her, every bit the same as he had been before he had disappeared. Some part of her knew that she was dreaming, but she didn't want the dream to end. "Oh, Jay's wing, I thought you were never coming back!" she murmured, burying her nose into his fur.
"Half moon!" Half moon's snapped awake as Stone song's voice cut into her. She sighed. Her dream had been so realistic, it was like Jay's wing had actually been there, right beside her.
"Half moon! We're leaving for the lake again!"
Oh no! she thought with worry. When Jay's wing had appointed her Teller of the Pointed Stones, and told her to lead these cats, no "tribe," she was also supposed persuade them to stay here. How could she accomplish that?
Half moon's heart wrenched like it always did as she thought about what had passed between them before he had left. She wearily padded out of her den.
"We're leaving immediately." Stone song announced.
Half moon panicked. They were supposed to stay here, they had to!
"Why can't we stay here?" she asked, feigning ignorance.
Stone song glared at her. "Life at the lake was better, there was enough prey, enough shelter, and there wasn't much danger, unless you count the blundering Twolegs. Are you actually suggesting that we should stay in this place?"
Cats had gathered around to see their argument.
Half moon gulped. "Yes I am," she mewed " There is enough prey, we just have to learn to hunt it and change our hunting techniques. We can use Jay's wing's idea and divide ourselves into cats who fight the eagles and other cats that hunt, and if we get used to moving around the landscape, then it would be as easy as walking."
To Half moon's relief, some cats were nodding at her words and agreeing with her.
"How about my kits?" Owl feather demanded.
"There is plenty of room in the cave for them to play, and no eagle can get them there. Also, if we go back, we should wait until they're old enough to travel." she mewed.
Owl feather still looked suspicious." Maybe," she murmured, wrapping her tail around her kits. "Or they might just die before they became old enough." she muttered to herself in a whisper.
"Are you sure we will be able to catch any prey?" asked Stone song, "Even if we change our hunting techniques, will we be able to get them right in time to catch prey before we starve?"
Half moon groped for an answer. Fortunately, Fish leap and a group of cats returned, carrying an eagle and a mouse.
"We baited the eagle with the mouse." they explained exitedly as cats gathered around to eat and talk.
"See, we can catch prey" pointed out Half moon triumphantly.
Stone song flicked his tail. "We'll continue this after we're done eating," he growled and padded away to speak with Furled Bracken and some older cats.
Half moon's heart sank. She had convinced them to stay for now, but could she convine them to settle down and stay here forever?
Chapter 5
- Spoiler:
- "The end of the stars draws near. Three must become four to challenge the darkness that lasts forever."
Cloud's voice echoed through Jayfeather's mind. He sat up with a jolt. He had been thinking about Half moon so much that he had forgotten the shocking realization of what Cloud had told him.
He considered waking up Lionblaze and Dovewing and tell them about the new prophecy. He dismissed the thought almost immediately. It was too early in the morning, annd he wanted to keep it to himself until he discovered who the fourth cat was.
But who could the fourth cat be? Jayfeather surveyed his Clanmates. Cherrykit and Molekit tumbled across the clearing, play fighting. Ivypool was sharing tongues with Bumblestripe. Cinderheart padded out of the warrior's den, blinking sunlight out of her eyes. Briarlight yawned and stretched in her nest.
All of his clanmates were special. They all had their own traits that made them stand out.
Briarlight was determined. She would always try her best, even though her legs had been crushed.
Cinderheart was reincarnated from Cinderpelt. She was talented in many ways, and she was fiercely loyal.
Ivypool had risked danger every time she trained in the Dark Forest to spy for them.
But Jayfeather had a feeling that none of his Clanmates was the fourth cat. He just knew. Every single one of his clanmates was unique, but none of them were unique enough to be the fourth cat. He shook his head in confusion.
Cloud had said that the fourth cat was with him and he wouldn't have to look far, so it couldn't be a cat from another clan.
Jayfeather decided to take a walk by the lake. Rock always had answers. Jayfeather hoped that he would be there.
Jayfeather padded dwon the lakeshore. He went to the place his stick used to be and waited.
"Rock, please come, I need some answers," he murmured, closing his eyes.
"The answer isn't easy." warned a voice.
Jayfeather's eyes snapped open and he saw Rock sitting before him.
"What is it?" he asked eagerly. "Do you know who the fourth cat is?"
"The fourth cat is with you, except she doesn't live in your time. Her spirit is watching over you but you will have to go back in time again to get her. Her powers aren't much, but she is more powerful than any of the Three. Her power is hope. She knows to never give up, even when all seems lost. She will rise above the Three and lead the Clans into the battle. Rock's words pierced through Jayfeather.
"Who is this cat?" he asked breathlessly.
Rock looked at him solemnly. "You already know her. She was the first Stoneteller."
Jayfeather felt a wave of surprise wash over him when he realized who Rock had been talking about. Half moon was the fourth cat!
"You will need to go back in time and tell Half moon to come with you. No cat except her has to see you. It's best to keep your presence a secret or it will raise suspicions and questions."
Rock continued speaking. "You must realize that Half moon won't be able to stay with you always. She will come for the battle, but then she must go back."
Jayfeather felt a surge of exitement, swallowed by grief when he heard Rock's last words.
Half moon would be able to stay with him, but only for a while. Then she would have to go back to her time.
"Go now," mewed Rock, and Jayfeather felt the sand move under his feet, suddenly it changed to solid, cold rock. His mind filled with colour and he could see again. Snow was falling heavily. He was back with the ancient cats! Where was Half moon? He looked around, then sniffed the air. This was where he was before he had disappeared last time. The rock ledge was the same shape.
Suddenly, Jayfeather heard a noise behind him. There was no time to run or hide. A cat appeared from the cave.
It was Half moon.
Chapter 6
- Spoiler:
- "Jay's wing?" Half moon mewed, surprised. She had just stalked out of the cave after a argument with Furled Bracken. He had finally agreed to stay for a while, but only until Shy Fawn's kits were old strong enough to travel. The last thing she had expected was to see Jay's wing.
"Jay's wing, what are you doing here? I thought you left forever! Are you going to stay this time?" Hlaf moon felt utter joy! Jay's wing was here! She leaned close to him, twined tails and purred.
Jay's wing shook his head, looking from side to side as he did.
"Half moon, do you trust me?" he asked
Half moon stared at him. Of course she trusted him!
"You know my answer," she mewed teasingly. "I would trust you with my life!"
Jay's wing purred for a moment, then suddenly stopped as they heard cats coming. "Half moon, I'm going to take you somewhere for a while. We have to get there quickly, before someone spots me."
The voices were closer and clearer now.
Jay's wing looked at Half moon, then dived behing a rock as Fish leap and Dove's wing came in sight.
Fish leap had his tail twined with Dove's wing's, and their heads were close. They were purring.
Suddenly Dove's wing's head shot up and she blushed as she saw Half moon. Fish leap looked up to see what had happened and took a step away from Dove's wing.
"Gotta go!" he mewed, embarrassed, and turned tail and padded swiftly back to the cave.
"Fish leap!" Dove's wing looked after him, then turned a shade redder as she saw Half moon watching with an amused look on her face. She opened her mouth, starting to speak.
"It's okay," mewed Half moon before Dove's wing could say anything, "You and Fish leap are perfect together! Don't be embarrassed of who you like,"
Dove's wing closed her mouth. "Ummm, thank you." she mewed, and turned and padded toward the direction Fish leap had went.
Half moon looked after her as she padded away.
"So Dove's wing's taken a fancy to Fish leap now," purred Jay's wing.
Half moon turned around. She had almost forgotten about Jay's wing!
"What were you saying about taking me somewhere?" she asked,
Jay's wing's eyes darkened. "It could be dangerous, and you might need to appoint another cat to take over while you're gone,"
Half moon nodded. "Stone song can do that"
"Okay, there's no time to spare, can you do that immediately?"
Half moon felt very nervous. What was she going to say to them? "I guess so," she murmured,
Jay's wing nuzzled her briefly and gave her a lick on the cheek as she left.
Half moon padded intoi the cave. She suddenly wondered what she would say. Jay's wing hadn't told her anything about this.
She paused, took a breath, and steeped into the cave.
Stong song and Furled bracken looked up from where they were sharing tongues.
Half moon took a deep breath and felt a shudder run through her body. Then she imagined Jay's wing's face. That gave her confidence. She opened her mouth.
"I have something to tell you."
Chapter 7
- Spoiler:
- Jayfeather watched Half moon padding into the cave, his heart sinking. How would she manage to tell them without revealing his existence?
"She is the fourth cat, she can manage by herself." he muttered to himself, but he still couldn't help edging closer to the cave to hear what was going on.
"Stone song, I will be leaving for a while." Even though Half moon spoke calmly, Jayfeather could tell that she was very nervous.
"What do you mean? Half moon, you persuaded us to stay, you can't just go off!" Stone song's voice drifted over to Jayfeather. He doesn't know what he'll do without her, Jayfeather realized, These cats have already started to think of Half moon as a leader.
"No, Stone song! I have to do this! It's part of my destiny!" Half moon's voice rose with emotion.
Stone song was pausing. He wanted Half moon to stay. "Half moon, do you realize that you are now our leader?" he asked.
Shock flashed through Half moon. She hasn't been expecting this, thought Jayfeather.
"You are the one who persuaded us to stay. We agreed on staying until Shy Fawn's kits are old enough to travel, but we have gotten used to hunting and living here. You don't know the effect you can have."
Half moon murmured something barely audible. Jayfeather had to strain to hear it.
"Stone song, listen to what I am saying. I won't be leaving forever, just for a short while. While I am gone, I appoint you leader in my place. Make sure everything will go alright until I return." There was a silence. Then, without waiting to see if the other cats agreed, she turned tail and ran to Jayfeather, almost knocking him over as she burst from the cave.
"I did it, I convinced them." she murmured.
Jayfeather licked her ear, "Yes you did. I knew you could do it. Now come with me." He started padding to the cave, praying that Rock would be there.
"Where are you taking me?" asked Half moon.
Jayfeather turned around to look at her.
"I'm taking you to my home."
Chapter 8
- Spoiler:
- Half moon followed Jay's wing to the cave of pointed stones. This is where I last saw him last time! she realized. She wondered what he was going to do.
Suddenly, a strange looking cat appeared before them. He had big, bulging, yellow eyes and his presence felt disturbing, wise, and ancient.
"Half moon, this is Rock." Jay's wing murmured into her ear.
Rock turned toward Half moon and she gulped. She didn't really like this cat.
"Greetings, Half moon, stoneteller." he rasped.
"Why are you here?" she asked.
Rock nodded toward Jay's wing. "Jayfeather can explain that later. You should go now" He mewed and disapperared.
Half moon wondered where he went. Then she suddenly realized that they weren't in the cave anymore. They were in a damp tunnel. The tunnels! Half moon remembered them from when she had to make her way through them to become a sharpclaw. Then she remembered Rock's words and expectantly loked at Jay's wing. He looked uncomforatable and shifted his paws. Watching that, Half moon felt very conscious that she barely knew anything about this.
She turned to Jay's wing. "Okay, you said that you were taking me to your home. What do you mean? Where am I? Why is everything so secretive? Why does Rock call you Jayfeather?"
Jay's wing looked even more uncomfortable. He didn't say anything for a while.
"Don't you trust me?" Half moon asked, hurt. What wasn't Jay's wing telling her? Why wouldn't he tell her?
Jay's wing finally looked up, right into her eyes and met her burning gaze. "Of course I trust you," he murmured,"It's just that I don't know which way I should put it and it's a lot to take in for any cat." he continued," You should know, Half moon, that I am not Jay's wing. I am called Jayfeather in my time. I am Jay's wing's reincarnation. I was born by the lake, where you used to live. At first I didn't know anything about you. Then one day, I found a special stick and I met Rock. He told me about all sorts of stuff, the stick had many scratches on it. Every scratch with a another scratch crossing through it meant that a cat survived the tunnels and became a sharpclaw. Every scratch that didn't, it meant that the cat died."
Half moon lowered her gaze, remembering Fallen Leaves.
"One day, I found myself in the tunnels. I crawled out and found myself in a familiar and strange place. It was my home, yet different. I saw you and Dove's wing and Fish leap and I didn't recognize them."
Half moon closed her eyes. She remembered that day. Jay's wing hadn't come out yet and she was afraid that he had died. Then he had appeared and every cat was so happy that they didn't really notice that he was acting a little weird. If they did, they blamed it from being in the tunnels so long.
Jay's wing, or Jayfeather kept talking. "After I voted for you to leave for the mountains, Rock appeared and told me I had to go back. I had to listen to him, without saying goodbye, even though I was thinking of you the whole time." Half moon shuddered, remembering the moment before she had left for the mountains when she had found out Jay's wing, oops Jayfeather, was gone.
Jayfeather continued. "Then Rock told me I had to go back. I came to appoint you Stoneteller and to try to convince you to stay at the mountains. Now, I'm back again and I need your help, Half moon, there's a battle and you have an important role in this."
Half moon looked at Jayfeather. It wasn't easy digesting all this imformation at once. It was already a shock to know that Jay's wing, out of all cats, was special and, well, wasn't really Jay's wing.
"What battle?" Half moon asked, after she realized what he had said.
Suddenly a rock fell from the ceiling. More followed it down. Rocks kept falling, several falling on them, causing scrapes and bruises. Jayfeather grabbed her and hauled her out of harm's way. As she clambered onto the grass and collasped, a voice snarled close to her ear.
"What are you doing here?"
Chapter 9
- Spoiler:
- Jayfeather looked up. Half moon was on the ground Thornclaw holding her down. "Trespasser!" he hissed. Spiderleg and Lionblaze stood beside him.
Jayfeather quickly padded over. "It's okay, Thornclaw, Half moon isn't an imposter. She's with me." he mewed.
Thornclaw gave a suspicious snarl but let Half moon go. She ran over to Jayfeather, glaring at Thornclaw. He could tell that she was frightened from all these cats that were strangers to her. "It's okay," he murmured, stoking her fur with his tail, ignoring the glances he got from his clanmates.
"Jayfeather, what is this about?" hissed a voice. Jayfeather turned around and saw Lionblaze. He had been thinking of Half moon and hadn't noticed his brother sneaking up on him. He motioned to Half moon with his tail, signaling to her to leave them alone for a while. She got the hint and padded off to investigate a tree, closely watched by Spiderleg and Thornclaw.
"Who is she? Where did she come from? What aren't you telling me?" asked Lionblaze. Jayfeather could sense his brother's feelings whirling up a storm.
"There's something I didn't tell you about my trip to the mountains." Jayfeather mewed,
Lionblaze stiffened.
"When I was there, a cat from the Tribe of Endless Hunting told me that the Three must become four, to challenge the darkness that lasts forever." he mewed.
Lionblaze's body was rigid. "So who is this fourth cat?" he asked, but Jayfeather could tell he already guessed.
"It's Half moon," he motioned to her with his tail. "She's special," he hestitated,, "you might not believe me, but she' from the past."
"Remember when I told you about cats who used to live here a long time ago, before Starclan?" he asked.
Lionblaze nodded slowly, "They were called sharpclaws, right? And they left for the mountains."
Jayfeather looked up at Lionblaze, right into his eyes the way he knew always made him uneasy. "Yes, and Half moon is one of those cats."
Jayfeather could sense shock pulsing through Lionblaze.
"What - How - Why is she here?" he asked. Jayfeather could tell that he was still surprised. I can't blame him, he thought, it's a lot to take in.
Suddenly Half moon gave a yowl from ahead.
"Tell you later," Jayfeather muttered and ran to Half moon. She was standing on the lakeshore, staring at her surroundings in surprise. "What happened?" he asked.
"I recognize this place! Chasing clouds took me here on my fist time out!" she mewed.
"We used to lie on those rocks in the sun," she flicked her tail toward some mossy rocks. "And, the best mallow grows under those bushes!"
Jayfeather watched in amusement as Half moon ran around sniffing everything around her.
But his purr died down in his throaght as he saw Thornclaw and Spiderleg trade a suspicious glance. Spiderleg padded up to Half moon.
"You say you've been here before?" he mewed with an edge to his voice.
Half moon didn't notice. "I've been here before," she mewed. "I recognize the lake. You can't miss it, but those trees weren't there!" she motioned to a group of maple trees.
She padded off to investigate them, leaving Spiderleg staring at her suspiciously.
Chapter 10
- Spoiler:
- Half moon felt frightened. The only reason she managed to stay calm before was the comforting presence of Jayfeather by her side.
If Jayfeather wasn't here, then I would've freak out with all these unfamiliar eyes on me! she thought with a shudder.
They had entered "the camp," and Half moon was resting in Jayfeather's den, or "the medicine cat's den" as the other cats called it.
Jayfeather had gone to talk with Firestar, whoever he was.
Half moon let out a moan. What was happening? Earlier, she would have done anything to be with Jayfeather, but now she wasn't so sure. It's worth it." she muttered to herself.
"Are you okay?" Half moon's heart skipped a beat. She had forgotten about that other cat! Briarlight, she was pretty sure that was her name. Half moon felt sorry for her. Her backbone was broken, that was what Jayfeather had told her.
"I'm fine." she mewed.
"Oh, I thought you were hurt with that moaning." Briarlight replied. "What's your name?"
"I'm Half moon." she mewed.
"I'm Briarlight."
"I know, Jayfeather told me about you." Half moon replied. She opened her mouth to taste the air. Now that she wasn't so shocked, she realized she could scent different herbs here.
"Oh, can you toss me that moss ball over there?" Briarlight mewed. She was stretching out of her nest.
"Is that allowed?" Half moon mewed, worried. If something happened to Briarlight, everyone would surely blame her.
Briarlight snorted. "Of course it is! But if you're not getting it, I'll get it for myself." She pulled herself out of her nest and started to drag her body toward the piece of moss.
"No it's okay, I'll get it!" mewed Half moon quickly. She didn't like the thought of Briarlight dragging herself all the way to this side of the den and back.
She reached for the moss ball and tossed it to Briarlight.
Instead of catching it, Braiarlight stretched her forepaws out and batted it back. Surprised, Half moon batted it back to her.
Soon the two she-cats were having lots of fun. Half moon was just throwing it to Briarlight when Jayfeather came in.
"Firestar wants to see you." he mewed to Half moon.
Half moon suddenly felt her body tense. She was very nervous again. Who was this Firestar that she had to talk with?
Jayfeather noticed her nervousment. "It's alright. Firestar won't hurt you." he mewed, in a softer tone.
Half moon let herself be led out of the medicine cat den. As she walked through the clearing, she felt many eyes on her and cats whispering bhind her back. It felt like ages before they reached a stone path that led upwards to a ledge with a small cave. As they climbed up, Half moon could still feel glances aonher and voices whispering. She climbed up as quickly as she could. When she finally reached the cave and stepped in, she saw three cats waiting for her. There was a golden brown tom about Jayfeather's age, a younger pale gray she-cat, and a ginger tom with a flame colored pelt. He looked like the oldest of the cats. Half moon guessed that he was Firestar.
Firestar flicked his tail for Jayfeather to sit between the other two cats.
Then he turned to Half moon.
She felt a fresh wave of fear. What was this cat going to do with her?
Chapter 11
- Spoiler:
- Jayfeather watched as Firestar questioned Half moon.
"So where are you from.?" Firestar asked.
"The mountains" mewed Half moon. The young white she-cat was fidgeting nervously but her answers sounded way more confident than what she was feeling. Jayfeather could sense her fear, even though he could tell she was trying very hard to hide it.
He felt a twinge of pity. He knew it wouldn't be easy meeting a starnger in a so-familiar yet different place.
"Jayfeather, why have you brought Half moon here?" Firestar asked. He had finished questioning Half moon and Jayfeather could tell he was satisfied enough with her.
"Well..." he mewed. "When I went to the mountains, I was given a new prophecy. A cat from the Tribe of Endless Hunting said that Three must become four to challenge the darkness that lasts forever, then Rock, the cat who summoned me to the mountains, told me that the prophecy you recieved from Skywatcher wasn't complete. This is the whole prophecy. There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws. But she who holds the power of the moon can conquer all. Half moon is that cat." he meowed.
Firestar and Dovewing were silent for a long time, taking this in. Even Lionblaze, who had already heard this once, seemed confused.
Poor Half moon couldn't believe this. She already had so much to take in, and now she was told that she was special.
"I can't be in a prophecy! There's nothing special about me!" she exclaimed.
Jayfeather immediately comforted her, stroking her back with his tail.
"Half moon, I know this is a lot to take in." he mewed gently. "But you have to believe it. You are special. You wouldn't be here if you weren't."
Half moon nodded, but Jayfeather could still feel her disbelief.
"Well, we can't tell the Clan that." meowed Firestar. He had recovered from his momentary lack of speech. "We'll say that she's a loner who wants to join Thunderclan. She'll train as an apprentice and learn the way of the warrior code. She can become a member of the clan." he concluded.
Jayfeather suddenly got an uneasy feeling in his stomache. He remembered something Rock had told him. "Firestar, Half moon isn't staying forever." he mewed. "She has to go back to the mountains after her role is finished."
"Well, we'll solve that problem when we come to it." he concluded, "Right now, the Clan is impatient and they need to know what is happening."
"Wait, what do you mean exactly?" asked Half moon. "What is Thunderclan?"
"Thunderclan is one of the clans that live by the lake. The cats that live in this part of the territory are from Thunderclan. You will train as an apprentice of Thunderclan and we will assign you a mentor." Jayfeather mewed soothingly.
"Ummm, okay" Jayfeather knew that Half moon wasn't entirely convinced, but she was willing to trust him.
"How long are you going to take in there?" Spiderleg shouted from outside.
"Well, that about settles it." finished Firestar. "This meeting is over. Everyone is very impatient. If there's anything to say, we'll say it at the next meeting."
And with that, he bounded out of his den and called the clan together.
Chapter 12
- Spoiler:
- "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highledge!" Firestar's yowl echoed throughout the hollow.
Cats clambered out from dens, some blinking sleep from their eyes. Some cats were already sitting in the clearing, waiting attentively for Firestar to continue.
"So you all know we have a new cat here." Firestar began. "Her name is Half moon and she is a loner who wants to join our clan. She will be accepted as an apprentice first, of course, and if I see fit, she will become a warrior."
A tabby tom spoke up. "Firestar, we have took in many cats now. Are you sure that is wise? The other clans have already criticised us about it many times!"
Murmurs of agreement came from the assembled cats.
"I can tell you that I share your concerns, Dustpelt." Firestar meowed. "But the other clans have never been able to tell us what to do before and it makes no difference now. All the cats we have took in have made us stronger. Millie is a fine warrior, her kits are too. Daisy nurses all the kits as if they're her own. Hazeltail, Berrynose, Mousewhisker, Rosepetal, and Toadstep are all good hunters and fighters. Can you doubt any of these cats' loyalty? We have only grew stronger from helping others, and there is no reason why we won't now."
Murmurs of agreement followed Firestar's speech. Half moon was impressed by Firestar's ability to reassure the clan and stop any conflict. She hoped that one day she would be able to do that.
Firestar now loooked straight at her. Half moon fidgeted self-consciously as other cats followed his gaze. She looked at Jayfeather and was istantly calmed. It was surprising how she could be reassured quickly just by looking at him.
"Half moon, from this moment on, until you become a warrior - "
"Hang on!" Half moon interrupted. They were going to change her name? She gulped as everone stared at her. She looked at Jayfeather and he gave her a nod of encouragement.
"I would like to keep my name." she mewed, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt.
Firestar frowned. For a moment, Half moon was afraid that he would say no.
"Are you sure?" he asked instead.
"I'm sure." she answered firmly.
"Well then, your mentor will be..." Firestar's eyes scanned the clearing. His gaze rested on a slender light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes.
"Leafpool," he finished.
As Half moon stepped up to touch noses with her mentor, she caught sight of Jayfeather. He was fuming, his tail lashing and his blind blue eyes filled with rage.
Half moon wondered why. But before she got a chance to ask him, she was surrounded by cats.
"Half moon! Half moon!" they cheered.
And the thought of Jayfeather slipped to the back of her mind when she realized that her new clanmates had accepted her as one of them.
Chapter 13
- Spoiler:
- Leafpool! How could Firestar make Leafpool Half moon's mentor? She had lied, and she had broken the warrior code and the medicine cat code! Firestar seemed to have forgotten what she had done. Or maybe he had just forgiven her a long time ago becuase she was his daughter, Jayfeather thought sourly.
They needed a trustworthy cat to be Half moon's mentor. A cat that wouldn't mention anything to anyone if their apprentice was acting a bit strange. But of course, Leafpool would tell Squirrelflight everything. And then she might tell a friend. Maybe Sorreltail? They were close. And if Sorreltail knew, she would definitely mention it to Brackenfur. And he would tell someone who would tell someone until everyone would be aware there was something strange about Half moon, and she wasn't what
she seemed to be.
Jayfeather turned, tail lashing, and stalked to his den. His thoughts kept getting angrier and angrier by the moment.
He remembered how Squirrelflight had lied to them. She had told Jayfeather and his littermates that she was their mother and Brambleclaw their father. If she had told the truth in the beginning, life might have least been bearable, but she probably would have have never revealed it unless she was forced to. It was her fault Hollyleaf was dead! Her fault and Leafpool's!
Leafpool had broken two codes when she fell in love with Crowfeather. Jayfeather remembered bitterly how Hollyleaf's life was dedicated to the warrior code. She couldn't have been able to stand it when she found out that her own birth was against it.
Jayfeather lay down in his nest, sulking. He kept thinking about the sirtuation. He realized he should be angry with Firestar. He was the one who had made Leafpool Half moon's mentor. Should he ask Firestar to change Half moon's mentor? He considered this. No, Firestar had already made his choice and he probably wasn't going to change it.
"Jayfeather," Briarlight's voice cut through Jayfeather's thoughts, startilng him.
He turned around and glared in her direction.
"What do you want?" he growled.
Briarlight wasn't about to be put down by Jayfeather's bad temper. "You aren't happy that Leafpool is Half moon's mentor, are you?" she asked.
Jayfeather sighed. He wasn't, though he didn't want to talk about it at the moment. But his mouth still opened. "Leafpool doesn't deserve to be a mentor!" The words spilled out before he could stop them.
Briarlight blinked in sympathy. "Firestar wouldn't have chose Leafpool if he hadn't thought hard anout it," she mewed.
Jayfeather searched her mind. Did she agree about Leafpool being Half moon's mentor? No, she was just speaking the facts.
"Well, he should have thought harder. Leafpool will never make a good mentor for Half moon." Jayfeather grumbled.
"I'm going out." Jayfeather mewed, before Briarlight could pester him anymore. He got up and padded outside, hoping the fresh air would clear his mind.
But he couldn't help thinking if it matterd anyway. Leafpool was Half moon's mentor and Jayfeather was pretty sure that no mater how clear his mind was, he wouldn't be able to change anything.
Chapter 14
- Spoiler:
- "Half moon!" A voice calling her roused Half moon from her sleep.
She blinked open sleepy eyes. The scene before her was so bizarre that she wondered if she was still dreaming. She blinked again and found herself in the same place.
Where was she? Where was Chasing clouds? Furled Bracken? Rising moon? Stone song? What was she doing in a bramble bush?
Then it all came back to her. She was in Thunderclan now, with Jayfeather! She had met this old cat named Rock yesterday, and he had mysteriously sent them to the future. At least, that's what she had figured out so far.
"Half moon!" The voice called again.
This time, Half moon recognized the voice of her mentor, Leafpool. The cat who Jayfeather didn't like, she remembered. She wondered why.
Then she shook her head. She could think about that later. Right now, her mentor was calling her and Half moon didn't want to make her angry.
She rose, and stretched her muscles. Then, she padded out of her den.
It was very bright, the sun was high in the sky and Half moon had to blink a while to get her eyes to adjust to the light.
"Finally, it took you forever. It's already Sunhigh." a brown tabby meowed irritatedly.
Half moon gave her chest a few embarrassed licks. She hadn't known it was so late!
Her mentor Leafpool glared at the tom. "Really Dustpelt! Don't be so grumpy! This is Half moon's first day in Thunderclan. She surely can't be used to waking up early, especially from a night like yesterday."
Dustpelt just snorted and started washing his ears
"Don't mind Dustpelt. He's always grumpy" a she-cat beside Half moon meowed.
"Umm, thanks" she answered. She looked at the she-cat who had spoken to her. She looked about her age, with blue eyes and gray fur.
"I'm Cinderheart." the cat mewed, inroducinhg herself.
"Come on! Are we going hunting or not?" Dusteplt called over his shoulder. He was already starting to leave camp.
Half moon felt a pang of alarm as she raced after Dustpelt. Where were they going? Had Leafpool or Dustpelt said something that she hadn't heard?
"We're going hunting. It's a good way for you to get to know the territory, and we can see your hunting skills." Leafpool explained.
"And, we can feed the clan while we're at it." Cinderheart meowed from her other side.
Half moon felt awkward talking to these two she-cats. She wished Jayfeather was with her. She knew she would feel calmer by his side.
Dustpelt skidded to a halt in front of them, beside a giant tree with towering branches.
"This is the Sky Oak." he told Half moon." We'll hunt here."
Half moon had a sudden flashback from when she was younger.
Chasing clouds had taken her out hunting. They had stopped here, this very place.
Except it had been different. There was no Sky Oak, and there were other trees, trees as big as the Sky Oak. She wondered where they could have gone.
There had also been a fallen log here. She remembered she had caught her first mouse beside it, before Chasing cloud had smelt the badgers and told her never to come here again.
"Half moon? Did you hear what I said?" Dustpelt growled.
Half moon looked down at her paws. " Sorry, I didn't hear." she mewoed.
"More like you weren't listening." Dustpelt snorted. "Anyway, Leafpool would like you to try for a mouse by the Sky Oak."
Half moon nodded. She tasted the air, and sure enough, she could scent mouse. She narrowed her eyes. There was a leaf moving among the roots of the Sky Oak.
As she watched it, a pink nose peeked out and a plump mouse scuttled out and started to nibble a nut.
Half moon lowered her tail and started moving closer. She could feel Leafpool, Dustpelt, and Cinderheart's gazes on her back. She hoped she wouldn't miss the mouse.
She stalked forawrd silently, keeping her paws as light as possible. When she got near enough, she wiggled her hauches and pounced.
The mouse had sensed movement and had started to run for shelter. But it was too late for it to escape, Half moon had already pounced on it.
She gave it a swift bite to its neck and carried the dead mouse triumphantly back to her mentor.
Leafpool gave her an approving nod. "Nice catch!" she praised.
"Thanks!" Half moon purred.
"She could have been a little faster though," Dustpelt commented.
"Not like you can do better." Cinderheart flashed at him.
Dustpelt didn't reply, he was stalking a squirrel. He just flicked his ears.
"Since you have proved that you can already hunt," Leafpool told Half moon, "We aren't going to teach you stalking techniques. We'll just see how many you can catch and we'll teach you anything you don't know."
Half moon nodded.
"You can start by catching that blackbird there." she instructed, flicking her tail toward a large blackbird scavenging for food underneath a maple tree.
Half moon easily caught the blackbird. Later on, she also caught a thrush and a small vole.
By the time the hunting patrol returned to camp, their jaws were filled with prey, and they had to go back and fetch some they didn't bring on their first trip.
Leafpool was impressed. "Looks like there's nothing much we can teach you about hunting, you already know almost everything about catching prey. Now, you canj take your blackbird and your mouse to the elders, and you're done for the day." she told Half moon.
Half moon eagerly brought the elders their prey. Then she padded toward the apprentice's den. The thought of sleep was really tempting, and she had hunted until evening, so she was now ready to collaspe on her paws.
Then she froze in her tracks, thinking about going to meet Jayfeather.
Her paws reluctantly dragged themsleves over to Jayfeather's den.
"Jayfeather!" she called from the entrance. No reply.
"Jayfeather!" she called again. This time there was silence again. She peeked her head in, it was empty.
"Are you looking for Jayfeather? He left to the moonpool a while ago. It's Half moon." Leafpool commented as she walked by.
"Half moon?" Half moon felt confused, was there another Half moon here?"
Seeing Half moon's confused expression, Leafpool explained. "During the time when only half the moon shows in the sky, that's what we call Half moon, all the medicine cats go too the moonpool to speak with our warrior ancestors."
"Umm, okay." Half moon mewed, though she still didn't completely understand it.
"Why do you want to see Jayfeather? Do you have a bellyache?" Leafpool asked curiously.
Half moon quickly shook her head. She groped for an excuse. "I just wondered if he was there." she finished lamely.
Leafpool looked suspicious but she fortunately didn't question Half moon.
Half moon felt relieved when she walked away. Now that she knew that Jayfeather ewasn't here to talk to her, she felt exhausted again. She stumbled to her nest in the apprentice's den and fell asleep the moent her head touched the moss.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Snowswirl66, 22 August 2011 06:25
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Re: Half moon's prophecy chapter 26 up
by snowswirl66 August 13th 2011, 15:03
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
more below
- Spoiler:
- Jayfeather padded down the path that led to the moonpool. Once aain, he could hear voices welcoming his presence. His paws slipped into the paw rpints of the many cats before him. Could they be his own paw prints? Half moons? His thoughts wandered again, this time to Littlcloud, Willowshine and Kestrelflight. Could they feel what he was feeling?
Well, if they could, they weren't showing or saying it.
The other medicine cats were silent as they walked, their faces betraing no emotion, so unlike their minds.
Littlecloud kept to himself at the back. He seemed expressionless, like everyone else, but deep inside he was still grieving for his drowned apprentice,
Willowshine padded alone a few tail-lengths in front of Littecloud, her mouth firmly closed and her eyes cast down in front of her, refusing to look at the other medicine cats. She was afarid of what Starclan would tell her, and how she would explain it to Mothwing, who had never believed in Starclan and wouldn't now.
Kestrelflight walked alone quietly at the front. He was very upset that he couldn't save an elder who had told him stroies as a kit. She had died painlessly, but Kestrelflight still felt like he should have done something.
HJayfeather felt sympathetic. Not even the best medicine cats could do something if a cat's paws were ste on the way to Starclan. But he could tell grief wasn't the only reason Kestrelflight wasn't speaking up. Jayfeather sighed softly. He couldn't really blame his companions. They were still afraid of the darkness that Starclan had prophesied. He still couldn't believe that they were supposed to only trust their own clan. Surely four clans would be stronger than one? And would the remaining clan live alone in the forest?
His thouughts were broken when he scented the Moonpool. This time he eagerly clambered down and touched his nose to the water. He wanted to hear what Starclan had to say about Half moon. He hoped she was getting along fine with Leafpool. His thoughts angered a bit at the thought of his mother. But his dark thoughts disappeared as he found himself in a familiar hollow with familiar faces in front of him.
The starry cats definitely seemed more optimistic than last time.
Spottedleaf stepped forward. "You did it, Jayfeather. You brought the fourth cat. All the clans will survive."
Jayfeather felt his heart skip a beat. Had he heard correct? Was this true? Was it true that becuase Half moon was here, all the clans would survive? Why hadn't Starclan told him this.
"But I thought only onje clan would survive!" he protested, wanting an answer.
Instead of speaking, Yellowfang stepped forward and flicked her tail toward him to follow. He padded after her and found himself in a grassy field. The other medicine cats were also there.
"Jayfeather" Littlecloud stammered. "Do you have any idea what has happened?"
Willowsine and Kestrelflight looked at him for an answer too.
Jayfeather looked at Spottedleaf. Her mouth was closed.
"You tell them. You know the answer." Yellowfang whispered from behind him.
Jayfeather was confused. His heart raced. His mind groped for an answer. Starclan had said that only one clan would survive, hadn't they? He had thought they should work together, instead of splitting apart. And now Starclan had told him he was correct. What was the answer? He knew it, it was on the tip of his tongue, what had made Starclan change their mind?
Then everything clicked into place. He understood. The answer had been there all along, he had just ignored it.
The other medicine cats wer still staring at him expectantly.
"When Starclan told us to keep to our own clan, when they told us that only one clan would survive, they were wrong." Jayfeather started hoarsely. "They weren't really wrong, but they were going about it the wrong way. Not only one clan will survive, but only all the clans working together as one will stand against the darkness."
This was the truth. Four clans were stronger than one, but only if they worked together. To face the Dark Forest and win, they had to stand together, not alone.
Chapter 16
- Spoiler:
- Half moon padded out of the apprentices' den. A quarter moon had passed since she had joined Thunderclan, and both Leafpool and Firestar were impressed by her progress so far. Even though she was older than all of the other apprentices, and some of the younger warriors, she was faster than the whole lot of them , and her fighting skills were improving nicely. She had already beaten her mentor once in training. The only downside to her new life was that she was barely seeing Jayfeather. And because he was a medicine cat, and wasn't allowed to take a mate, he wasn't spposed to love her and she wasn't supposed to love him.
Half moon sighed. Her relationship with Jayfeather was going nowhere. She wished that they could be together, but now it seemed that everyone was determined to keep them apart.
Suddenly Half moon had an idea; no one had called her for a patrol or training yet, she could speak to Jayfeather now!
She hurried to his den. He wasn't there.
Half moon gave a long sigh as she started to pad away slowly, her tail drooping. Of course she knew Jayfeather wouldn't be there. He was always picking herbs, doing medicine cat stuff, or tending to a patient; too busy to talk to her. The only times they met were brief and one of them was nearly always called away for something.
"Jayfeather's out picking herbs." A voice called out.
Half moon jerked her head around to see Briarlight drag herself to the netrance of the medicine cat's den. Her body gave a small shudder involuntarily. She would never get used to the way that Biarlight's legs were splayed onto the ground.
"I'd expect that he'll be back soon. Try again later." Briarlight advised.
"Thanks!" Half moon walked back to the clearing with a spring in her step.
"Half moon! We're doing battle training today!" Leafpool stepped delicately out from the warrior's den.
Half moon's tail curled with delight. She wondered what else she might learn today and obediently padded after Leafpool.
As she followed Leafpool to the clearing where the apprentices trained, she wondered what Jayfeather disliked about her mentor. From what Half moon could see, Leafpool was kind, gentle, and persistent. She had a soft mew that soothened Half moon when she was in a bad mood. Anyone would think she was a really popular cat. But she was actually the complete opposite. That was what Half moon couldn't understand. Only Leafpool's sister, Squirrelflight would be her friend. Almost everyone else acted awkward or strange around her and would quickly leave when they had a chance. Jayfeather really hated her. He was rude to her and ignored her when she tried to talk with him. Half moon knew Jayfeather and she knew that even if he did have a barbed tongue sometimes, he wouldn't be completely mean unless there was a reason.
Half moon have a long sigh. Her new life seemed so confusing now.
"Are you okay?" Ahead of her, Leafpool stopped. "Why are you stopping?"
"I'm fine," Half moon meowed, she had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she just realized that she had stopped.
"If you say so" Leafpool twitched her tail and continued.
They were very close to the clearing now. Passing a grove of oak trees, they entered it.
"Okay, today I'm going to teach you something you haven't learned yet." Leafpool instructed. "I'm going to leap at you and you're going to try to slink under me and rake my belly as you do so. After. we're going to change roles and you're going to try and grab me as I try to slide under you. Remember, claws sheathed!"
Half moon nodded, memorizing what her mentor had said.
Leafpool's voice cut into her thoughts. "We're starting, now!" She leaped at Half moon.
Half moon was ready for her. She ducked her first swipe and darted underneath the outstretched paws, batting at Leafpool's belly and pushing her off balance before she reached the other side.
Then she turned swiftly and pinned Leafpool down.
"Well done!" Leafpool panted, "you mastered it perfectly!"
Half moon purred, proud at herself. But then she couldn't help wondering again why Jayfeather hated Leafpool. She summed up her courage, and before she could decide against it, she blurted out. "Leafpool, why does Jayfeather hate you?"
Leafpool looked at her sharply, amusement gone from her face. "Why do you say that?"
Half moon duckedher head, embarrassed. "It's the way he looks at you, and how he's so rude to you. I couldn't help wondering why." she admitted.
Leafpool's look softened. She got up from the ground and sat down, tail curled neatly over her paws. "It's a long story," she warned Half moon.
Half moon nodded. "We have time, don't we?" she asked.
Leafpool gave a tired purr. "I guees we do," she murmured and started her story.
"First of all, you should know that I am Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Hollyleaf's mother."
Half moon gasped. How could Jayfeather hate his mother. She would never hate Rising moon! And who was Hollyleaf? She opened her mouth to say something, but Leafpool silenced her with a flick of her tail.
"Let me continue." she tolf Half moon gently.
"Jayfeather never knew I was his mother. I used to be the medicine cat, you know. Medicine cats aren't supposed to have kits, much less mates." Leafpool sighed softly,"But I couldn't help falling in love. He was a Windclan warrior. He also broke the warrior code to see me. His name was Crowfeather. I'll tell you who he is at the next Gathering. I lover him still, but he has his own mate and another son now."
Half moon mewed symphetically. She knew what it was like to love another cat so passionately. Her relationship with Jsyfeather must be the same as Leafpool's with Crowfeather. Both were probably confusing, but full of love.
She tried to imagine a yung, uncertain, Leafpool.It was difficult and she soon gave up and continued to listen to Leafpool speak.
"So my sister squirrelflight took a huge risk. She preteded my kits were hers, so that I wouldn't be in trouble. Now Brambleclaw, her former mate hates her for lying to him, and no one treats her the way they used to."
Half moon felt a wave of nausea wash across her. How could Brambleclaw hate Squirrelflight? She used to be his mate!
Suddenly a question popped into her head. If her relationship with Jayfeather didn't work out, would they end up like that?
She couldn't bear to think about it.
Leafpool had paused. "Are you sure you want to hear the whole thing?" she asked.
"Yes!" Half moon immediately cried. She wanted to know the truth.
Leafpool sighed and continued her story. "Jayfeather and his littermate sgrew up thinking Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw were their parents. They didn't know we lied to them.
But then, on fateful night, there was a fire, they were stuck in camp. Squirrelflight came to rescue them. She was very brave, going back into camp and helping them get out.
But then Ashfur stopped her.
Ashfur used to love Squirrelflight, but she chose Brambleclaw over him. He was still sore and wanted revenge, even after all those seasons, and decided he could take his revenge by letting Squirrelflight watch her kits die in front of her.
He trapped Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Hollyleaf in the flames. Squirrelflight had to admit that she wasn't their mother and pretend that she didn't care about them to save them."
Half moon felt a chill run down her back, even though it was warm and the sun was still shining. If Squirrelflight hadn't done anything, Jayfeather would've died! Half moon tried to imagaine her life without him. It was impossible.
Leafpool was still speaking. "Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Hollyleaf were set on finding their true parents. In the end they discovered that their parents were me and Crowfeather.
Hollyleaf announced the truth at the Gathering. I don't know what she was thinking. I had to give up my role as a medicine cat. Then she died. Her life had been based on the warrior code, and when she found out her birth was agianst her, that destroyed her.
Now Jayfeather and Lionblaze are angry about losing their sister, and because we never told them the truth.
I regret that now, but we only didn't tell them to keep them safe and happy."
Leafpool stopped talking. She lay her head down onto her paws and was silent for a long time.
Half moon didn't say anything, she didn't want to disturb her. Instead she thought about what she had been told. She felt sosorry for Leafpool and Squirrelflight! How could Jayfeather and Lionblaze hate them! They were only trying to protect them!
Half moon told herself the moment she found Jayfeather, she would talk to him about this.
He couldn't go on ignoring his mother and the cat who raised him forever.
Chapter 17
- Spoiler:
- Jayfeather padded down the Windclan border, looking for herbs. He had once found a nice clump of mallow here. Maybe there was more of it.
There it was! He had scented some mallow, and some celandine. Perfect!
As he padded over to get it, he scented Windclan. It seemed to be fresh.
Jayfeather's lip curled in disgust. Windclan had been chasing prey over the border for a long time now, and when Thunderclan accused them, they would lie and say they didn't do it.
This time, Windclan would have to admit that they had crossed the border. Their scent was overwhelming here.
Jayfeather shook his head, pushing the thought to the back of his mind. He could report that to Firestar later. Now he had to concentrate on finding fresh herbs for his clan.
He bent his head down to pick up the mallow and celandine, noticing that they were already picked. He drew his head back. That was unusual. Herbs weren't picked by themselves.
Well, he could try and figure it out later, Jayfeather concluded. He reached down for the herbs again, this time picking it up without hesitation, ready to take it back to camp.
Too late, he noticed the fact that the herbs smelled like a certain Windclan cat...
A bloodcurling yowl echoed through the trees as a dark shape leapt out from behind a bramble bush and pounced on Jayfeather.
Jayfeather felt his legs busckle. He spat out the herbs and tried to twist his body around to bit his attacker.
"I knew it!" he hissed as he saw who it was.
"Oh, no you didn't. You had no idea" Breezepelt snarled triumphantly. He leaned down onto the struggling Jayfeather. "I will kill you and every other cat that stands in my way to power."
"You're insane!" Jayfeather gasped. Breezepelt's claws were digging deeper into his pelt, and he was losing energy and blood quickly.
"Maybe I am," he growled. "But it will be the insane cat who wins. The insane vat who manages to get revenge against everyone who wronged him, including you."
Jayfeather could feel Breezepelt's claws digging deeper and deeper into his flesh. "What did we do wrong?" he managed to snarl. "We didn't even know who our true parents are."
"You were born. That is your fault. My life would have been way better if you weren't born." Breezepelt spat. "And don't try to talk your way out of this. This time I will kill you. No one can stop me now."
He raised a claw to slash down onto Jayfeather's throat.
"I can stop you, and I will!" Half moon came speeding towards them. Jayfeather had never seen her like this before. Her pelt and tail was bushed to twice her size, and her green eyes sparked with all the anger and determination in the world. Her legs semed to be moving faster than the wind.
"Who's this? Another loner the great Firestar has decided to take in, well try and stop me if you can!" Breezeplet gloated. As he was distracted, jayfeather manged to drag himself to shelter. He wanted to call to Half moon, to warn her. Breezepelt was not a easy oppenent, and he had extra fighting skills from training in that Dark Forest. But his mouth didn't work and all he could do was watch and pray that Half moon would be alright.
Breezepelt had misjudged Half moon's speed, and when she came running torwads him, he dodged too late and found himself flat on the ground, staring into the most infuriated eyes he had ever seen. Half moon's glare burned into him like fire.
"you will not hurt Jayfeather, do you hear me? You fox-hearted coward! You slink in the shadows, only attacking cats who can't defend themselves! Wow, you're such a honourable warrior, fighting a blind medicine cat.
Well, now you can fight someone who can actually fight back!"
Breezepelt flinched from the torrent of angry words escaping from Half moon's mouth.
"Do you know how much pain I'm in every day? Just because of him and his littermates!" he spat out.
"Really, you think you're in pain now, well I'll show you what real pain is!" Half moon cried. She brought up her paws and raked them down across his belly. Breezepelt yowled in pain. He tried to defend himself, but all his battle training and strategy didn't work when he fought against this cat. He fought with revenge, but Half moon fought with anger, with hate, with confidence that she would win, even with hope. The spirits of Starclan fought by her side, and step by step, they drove Breezeplt away.
Soon he was running as fast as he could, down the moor, leaving a trail of blood behind him. He didn't stop to look back, and Jayfeather knew that Half moon had won. She had beat Breezepelt and got off with barely a scratch. It wasn't luck, it had been hope
Chapter 18
- Spoiler:
- "He won't be coming back soon." Jayfeather commented, limping to Half moon. "How did you know I was in trouble?"
Half moon paused for a moment. "I don't know." she finally admitted. "It was a feeling." she murmured. "You had been out for a long time so I went to look for you. And I'm glad I did that. I can't bear to lose you."
Jayfeather leaned close to her and licked her ear. “Don’t worry,” he joked, “I’m still here.”
Half moon met his gaze evenly, letting herself be lost into those striking, blind, blue eyes, full of more emotion than any other eyes she had ever seen.
She curled up against his side. “I want some answers.” She firmly mewed. “There was a reason why that cat attacked you. Who was he and why did he do that? And why did he say that you were causing him pain?”
Jayfeather sighed. His blue eyes flashed as he wondered how he was going to explain all of it to Half moon.
“Umm, that was Breezepelt, and he kinda wants to kill me and all of Thunderclan” he muttered.
Half moon’s eyes grew wide. “Why?” She couldn’t even guess the reason.
Jayfeather sighed. “It was something started a long time ago, by our parents, before we were born.”
Half moon remembered what Leafpool had told her in the morning. About her taking a cat from another clan as a mate. And how Squirrelflight had lied to protect her. Was that what had started this? But what could Breezepelt dislike about Thunderclan afairs? She couldn't quite make anything out.
"Jayfeather, Leafpool told me." There was no need to say anything else. He always could tell what she was thinking."Is that what caused Breezepelt's anger?"
"It was part of it." Jayfeather admitted. "You see, after Crowfeather and Leafpool returned, Crowfeather got another mate, Nightcloud. Nightcloud then produced him a son, Breezepelt."
Half moon stifled a gasp. Jayfeather and Breezepelt were related? That meant that Breezepelt had tried to kill his own kin!"
Jayfeather looked down at her. "You don't have to hear anymore."
"No, tell me" Half moon interrupted hastily. She wanted to know excactly what had led Breezepelt to this.
Jayfeather continued. "Now I guess I have to tell you about Tigerstar."
The name sent shivers down Half moon's back. "Who was he?" she asked.
Jayfeather's tail twitched irritably. "Do you want to listen or are you just going to keep interrupting me?" he asked, annoyed.
"I'm listening" pressed Half moon.
"Tigerstar was an evil cat who killed many other cats. He plotted to take over the forest. As you can see, he didn't suceed. Firestar stopped him.
But when he died, he didn't go to Starclan. Starclan is the place cats go when they die. They spent the rest of their days watching down on their descendants.
But Starclan didn't allow Tigerstar to stay with them, so they sent him to the Dark Forest."
The name sent shivers down Half moon's back. She edged closer to Jayfeather.
"The Dark Forest is full of evil cats. Before, they were harmless. But Tigerstar has rounded them all up and he wants to attack all the clans, through training living cats in their dreams, tricking them over to his side.
He has told Breezepelt that he has been treated unfairly, that Thunderclan deserves to die for the pain that we have caused him. Now Breezepelt has transformed into one of them and he will stop at nothing to harm us."
Half moon remembered Breezepelt's rage. She had no problem believing tht, though she wondered on Tigerstar could have tricked cats over. Breezepelt didn't look like a cat who could be easily fooled.
"He has his ways." Jayfeather spoke, startling Half moon and answering her unspoken question. "Now we better get back to camp, Firestar will send someone out if we're missing for too long."
Suddenly Half moon remembered her talk with Leafpool. "Wait, one more thing," she protested.
Jayfeather turned towards her. "What?"
"You can't treat Leafpool and Squirrelflight the way you do. They don't deserve that. They did their best."
Jayfeather narrowed his eyes. "They lied to me. Do you know what it's like, to be raised on lies? Do you know what's it's like to lose a littermate? If they had told the truth in the beggining, they wouldn't have harmed anyone. But it's too late now. I'm never forgiving them, ever." He turned and stalked away.
Half moon padded after him, then stopped. Jayfeather's words ran through her head. And for the first time, she saw things his way.
His world must have come crashing down when he discovered that his "parents" had lied. He must have felt even worse when his sister died. The rage was now secured in his heart, never to calm down.
But Half moon had to try, and she would do that until he finally forgave and released the sorow he was still holding.
She wondered briefly if Breezepelt's world was like that. Maybe he was very similar to Jayfeather too, except he didn't have anyone to talk to, so Tigerstar had stepped in and twisted his mind.
Half moon slowly walked back to camp. All of the cats Tigerstar had trained, maybe they weren't really evil, just misunderstood. Now she understood Tigerstar. He was a monster who played with cat's weakneses, toying with them until their heart had tunred just as cold as his.
She remebered Jayfeather's cold eyes when he had talked about Leafpool. Had she been wrong to judge Breezepelt when she barely knew him.
Would Jayfeather be like him if he was the one who had been tricked?
Chapter 19
- Spoiler:
- Jayfeather stalked angrily through the forest,his talk with Half moon burning through his mind. His pelt still stung with open wounds, but he didn't feel like returning to camp.
He bitterly recalled how the end of their conversation had turned into an argument. How could she believe that Leafpool and Squirrelflight could ever be forgiven? They had lied. They were wrong. He would never forgive them.
It was obvious that Leafpool had told Half moon everything. He didn't hate her for that, but had she twisted things a little?
No, Leafpool would never do that. Half moon was the most sensible cat Jayfeather knew. She wouldn't fall for a lie easily. But if she agreed with her mentor, did that mean he was wrong?
"Jayfeather!" a worried voice broke his train of thought.
He turned abruptly and tripped over a steeply arching tree root.
"Ow" he muttered, cursing himself silently for being so clumsy. He stood up and scented Dovewing skid to a stop before him. Lionblaze ran in after her.
"What do you want?" he grumbled. He knew excactly what. They were checking that he was okay after his fight from Breezepelt. Jayfeather knew that Dovewing had heard about it. He also knew that she was trying to hide her amusement about him tripping.
"You try being blind." Jayfeather snarled. Dovewing looked away but still brimmed with amusement.
"What?" asked Lionblaze, confused. He had come after Dovewing and hadn't seen Jayfeather fall.
"Nothing," muttered Jayfeather, as Dovewing snorted.
Now Lionblaze observed Jayfeather apprehensively. He was looking to see how much Breezepelt had injured him.
Jayfeather flinched away. "If you really wanted to, you could just ask," he complained.
He felt Lionblaze glare at him. "Can you stop doing that?"
"Then keep your thoughts to yourself. You're practically yowling them at me." Jayfeather snapped.
"The summary is that Breezepelt attacked me by the border, he tried to kill me, Half moon stopped him, we had an argument, you find me here now."
"Wait, what?" Dopvewing stopped him. "You said that Half moon stopped Breezepelt?"
"Yes I did. What's your point?" Jayfeather retorted.
"Nothing,"Dovewing mewed quickly.
"Good, That's all you need to know." Jayfeather turned and walked towards the lake.
"Where are you going?" Lionblaze asked."
"I need some time by myself." Jayfeather replied.
He padded down the lakeshore. A sudden memory emerged. He remembered padding down this same place, many, many moons ago. It was a few moons before he had met Half moon. He had been out collecting herbs with his mentor - he wasn't going to even think her name right now - and he had discovered his stick. It had felt important right away. Later, it had brought him several first glimpses of the past.
Again, he regretted breaking it, he wanted to talk to Rock. Nothing was making sense right now.
"Jayfeather"
Jayfeather turned. He could see. Rock was standing before him, sightless eyes bulging. Jayfeather had never been glader to see him. But he suddenly felt a wave of fury over the unfairness of life and words started to spill out.
"Rock, do you what we can do? We don't seem to have a good chance of winning against the Dark Forest right now. Did you see Breezepelt shred me? He did that with no problem! The only cat who has a chance against them is Lionblaze, and that's only because he has powers."
Rock was as emotionless as always. "You have a power, use it." he meowed, and disappeared.
Jayfeather's world turned black once more. He thought about Rock's words. You have a power, use it What had he meant?
It was a long time before Jayfeather finally began to understand Rock's words.
Chapter 20
- Spoiler:
- "Half moon! You're going to the Gathering tonight!" Leafpool's voice ran through the air, before she disaperared into the warriors' den.
half moon looked up. After Jayfeather had walked out on her, she had done some serious thinking. She hadn't rerurned to camp until the sun had started to set, bringing a few pieces of prey with her as an excuse.
"What?" she now asked. Nothing was making sense. Leafpool's words werre especially confusing.
"You're so lucky," Cinderheart mewoed wistfully from beside her. "I can't go tonight," She had torn a claw on a hunting patrol.
Half moon nodded, dazed. "What excactly is a gathering?" she finally summed up the courage to ask.
Cinderheart blinked with surprise. "Oh, jayfeather didn't explain that to you yet?"
Half moon shook her head. She had no idea.
"A gathering is when all four clans meet up at night under the full moon. There is a truce, so no one can attack anyone. The leaders report everything that's happened. most of the time, it's jut small news, though there are some threats. It's reallly fun though, you meet all sorts of cats and make friends." Cinderheat sighed, "I was told I could go, before I had to tear my claw."
Hlf moon nodded. She had a basic idea of what a Gathering was, though she stilll wasn't sure how it could be described as fun.
"You should get some rest," Cinderheart advised, "You're leaving soon.
"Thanks!" Half moon called over her shoulder as she started toward the apprentices' den.
As she padded, she bumped into Jayfeather entering into the camp. He had obviously been out for a long time,
"Sorry" she muttered, not meeting his eyes. When he didn't respnd, she started to walk away briskly.
"Wat, Half moon!" Jayfeather called after her.
She stopped and turned, "What do you want?" But even though her movements were stiff and her voice cold, she was glad that he had called her.
"Uh, I can I talk to you, alone?" he asked.
"Sure." Half moon followed him into the forest. "So what are you here to say?"
Jayfeather fidgeted ."I'm sorry about ditching you earlier, and losing my temper. Will you forgive me?"
He looked so uncomfortable talking, like it was his first time saying those words; he never had reason or bothered to say them before. Half moon couldn't surpress a twitch of her whiskers.
He looked up hopefully;he could always tell what she was thinking. "So will you?" he asked.
"Mouse brain," teased Half moon affectionately. "There's nothing to forgive. Just because you lost your temper doesn't mean you have to apologize. I was digging into your personal affairs anyways." Her vooice grew sterner and more serious as she remembered the subject of their argument. "But you will try to forgive Leafpool and Squirrelflight, will you? Please just try to."
Jayfeather looked relieved at getting off lightly. "I'll think about it." he promised.
"Thanks!" she purred, "I have to go now. I'm going to the Gathering. Are you coming?"
Jayfeather grimaced. "Nope, Cinderheart got to me."
"Cinderheart?" Half moon was curious. "What does she have to do with this?"
"Tell you someday later when we have time." Jayfeather assured her. "You better get some rest now."
Half moon murmured a quick goodbye and crept to her nest. Things were making a lot more sense now.
***
"Half moon! It's time to go to the Gathering!"
Half moon blinked open her eyes. Just then, she remembered where she would be going. She jumped out of her nest and scrambled out of the den to see Leafpool waiting for her.
"Hi!" she meowed. "We'll be leaving in a few moments."
"Okay" Half moon answered. She wondered briefly what Gatherings were like. Cindereart's explanation hadn't answered all of her questions.
"We're leaving now!" Firestar's voice broke Half moon's thoughts and she hurried leave the camp with the clan.
She looked around for Leafpool but her mentor was walking in the shadows with her sister.
Half moon sighed. It seemed like the whole clan was ignoring them. She wondered why they couldn't just forgive them. Also, Leafpool and Squirrelflight seemed to be avoiding the clan, maybe they should try harder if they wanted to be forgiven. After all they werem't making it any easier for their clanmates, only more awkward.
Suddenly, she realized she wasn't on Thunderclan territory anymore. The trees had thinned out and she was walking across the moor, wind buffeting her fur. They must have already arrived in Windclan territory.
She started to see familiar signs. The land was different now, but she could still recognize soeme of the features of her former home.
The hills still had the same shape and even though rocks had been moved around and heather and tall grass had grown, it was obviously still the same place. A pang of homesickness hit her and again she wondered if she should have followed Jayfeather into this strange world. But even if she could have gone back through time, she wouldn't have changed anything. It wasn't just her love for Jayfeather, she wanted to help these cats. She wanted Squirrelflight and Leafpool to be forgiven. She wanted Tigerstar and the Dark Forest to be beaten.
The ground under her changed and now she was padding across a marsh. Leafpool slid up to her.
"We're almost to the island; you can see it in the distance."
A distinct lump could be seen on the lake's surface. It grew larger as they came closer and eventually Half moon could see the island clearly.
She saw a log connecting the island to the marshland. Cats were padding down the log - Shadowclan, she could tell by their scent.
Before she knew it, it was her turn to cross the log. Half moon took a shaky step forward. Her paw slipped. The log was more slippery than it looked, and the other cats had made it look easy when they had crossed.
"Hurry up already!" Berrynose's annoyed voice came from behind her. He was edging forward, glaring at Half moon.
She took a deep breath and swiftly but carefully padded across the log. As she leaped off the other end, she realized that it wasn't hard at all. How could she have been scared?
She looked up and saw a large tree with low branches. There were three different cats sitting on the branches, each smelling of different clans. Firestar took a flying leap and joined them in the tree.
She had already guessed that the other three cats were the leaders of the other clans, though she didn't know their names.
"Leafpool," she slipped up to her mentor and prodded her. "Who are the other leaders?"
leafpool looked up, startled for a moment. "Oh, the large white tom with black paws is Blackstar. The gray she-cat is Mistystar, and the brown tabby tom is Onestar."
Blackstar had began to speak already, even though they had just arrived.
"Now that Thunderclan is finally here, we can start the Gathering. I'll go first, if you don't mind." he growled.
Withourt waiting for an answer, he started. "Sheadowclan is doing well. Our clan is thriving, and we thank Starclan for it. Tawnypelt has had a litter of newborn kits. We might even have to expand or territory to find enough food for us all later, though we're still perfectly fed and healthy now."
Half moon noticed how he glared at Firestar as he was talking, and there was an edge to his voice. Some of the other cats around her had noticed too, and there were some discontented murmurs, though they soon died away.
Mistystar now stepped forward. "Riverclan doesn't have much to say, though we are doing quite well. One kit has become an apprentice, named Featherpaw."
A young slight silver tabby she-cat beamed up, and Half moon joined in as cats cheered her name. Mistystar stepped back and signaled that she was done.
Then Firestar raised his tail for silence. "We are glad your clan is doing well because Thunderclan is too. All of us are healthy and we are all well fed. We have also taken in a she-cat named Half moon, she is training to be a warrior of Thundercla-"
He never got to finish his sentence. A snarl went through the other clans and some cats were especially scornful.
"Is Thunderclan taking in kittypets again?" a Shadowclan she-cat snickered, looking Half moon over.
The gray tom beside her snorted. "Yep, They're just weaklings. Firestar's made them too soft, they'll help any cat now."
Breezepelt and a similar black she-cat sneered openly at Half moon.
But Thunderclan was reacting too. Dustpelt growled at Breezepelt; all around her, her clanmates' fur bristled. Some cats had unsheathed their claws. Squirrelflight screehed insults at a Riverclan cat.
"I told you Firestar shouldn't have let her join the clan." Birchfall muttered to Berrynose.
She began to feel uneasy and angry. So far, she didn't get how Gatherings were fun. Also, they didn't seem very peaceful either, this could soon turn into a fight. The cats were getting louder and louder and many more had unsheathed their claws. The leaders weren't doing anything to stop it. The shadowclan leader looked amused and only slightly interested. Mistystar and Onestar exchanged knowing glances.
"Stop!" Firestar's yowl rose out of the squabble. "We have taken her in, and we are not regreting it," he meowed, looking at Spiderleg and Berrynose as well as the other clans. "This is all Thunderclan has to say."
Onestar growled. "Isn't the warrior code against taking in strays?"
Firestar glared at him. "We have been through this discussion before. The warrior code permits it as long as it benefits our clan."
"Fine then, the warrior code many permit that, but it does not allow Thunderclan cats to cross the border into Windclan territory!"
The just-quieted cats of Thunderclan rose up angrily again, as did Windclan.
"At least we follow the warrior code!" a Windclan cat yowled. "Unlike Thunderclan who love it so much but don't even follow it!"
"Liar!" spat Spiderleg.
Then he leaped at the Windclan cat. They clawed at each other, rolling around on the ground. When they got up for a moment, Spiderleg was bleeding from a scratch on his flank while the Windclan cat had a torn ear and several clumps of fur missing. Another Windclan jumped in to help his clanmate and beside her, Half moon saw Toadfeet tense up. He would join the fight any moment now.
Firestar yowled for attention, but everyone ignored him. Toadstep had attacked the other Windclan cat and more cats were getting ready to attack each other.
Suddenly she saw a dark shape leap at her. Breezepelt! He grabbed her and pulled her down to the ground. "Time for my revenge! You just got lucky last time. You'll never beat me now."
Half moon frantically scractched him but he would just dodge her or ignore her. He gave her a deep belly wound and pinned her down. Then he opened his teeth to clamp them down on her throat.
Somewhere, she found the strength to throw him off. He hissed at her angrily. But she darted away and was soon lost in the crowd. Almost all the cats were fighting. Even Riverclan and Shadowclan had gotten involved, as the island wasn't big enough for two clans to battle without bumping into the other two. The rest of the cats were trying to stop the fight. She could spot Lionblaze's golden pelt covered in blood, though he didn't seemed hurt at all. He was pulling cats off of each other. But he wasn't succeeding much, everytime he tore into a fight, the cats would just battle someone else. Some cats were already terribly injured. She could see Mousewhisker with a large wound on his left leg. He was limping into the bushes before someone attacked him again. This had to stop.
Half moon took a deep breath, opened her mouth, and screeched. "Stop!
Then she collasped.
Chapter 21
- Spoiler:
- Jayfeather paced back and forth around his den. What had Rock meant? He was starting to get a faint idea, but he still wasn’t sure. He sighed and sat down, thinking hard.
Then he stood up and started pacing again.
“You’re restless tonight.” Briarlight observed. She was lying in her nest, waiting for her littermates to come back and bring news of the Gathering. Even though Jayfeather had tried to persuade her to sleep, she had claimed she wouldn’t be able to. He could understand why.
"I need time to think"he growled.
"You're always thinking." Briarlight purred.
Jayfeather sighed. He knew that Briarlight was just trying to cheer him up, but it was't working. His anxiety just continued to grow and he needed time to think by himself.
"You should really get some sleep." he told Briarlight. "I'm taking a walk.
Then without wating for an answer, he padded out of his den. Brightheart was guarding the camp. She let him go without a word - she could see that he wasn't in the mood for talking - but he could feel her curiosity. She was wondering if she ought to do something. After all, most medicine cats didn't go out for midnight walks. But she knew perfectly well he wasn't like most medicne cats.
In the end she just muttered "Be safe"as he passed.
Jayfeather grunted in acknowledgement and stepped out of the camp. It was a warm green-leaf night, with a slight cool breeze. He could hear trees rustling and sounds of prey. Scents of the forest fillled his nose. He took a deep breath and relaxed. His head was so much more clear now.
He decided to go to the lake, more out of habit than anything. As he sat near the water, everything suddenly went dark and he couldn't scent orhear the usual sounds anymore. Then he realized that he could see and he was on the island during the Gathering. Cats were fighting everywhere. He didn't know the reason why, but he could see that many cats were getting injured seriously. He could see Thornclaw covered with blood. Spiderleg was bleeding by several wounds too. Toadstep was wrstling with a Windclan cat. Jayfeather's paws raced to break up the fight. Then he saw Breezepelt looming up before him. He rasied his paws to attack but was pinned down. Then Breezepelt ignored his flailing paws and ducked down to bite his throat.
Jayfeather's vision broke up and everything went dark once more. He lay down panting, thinking about what he had seen. There was a terrible fight raging at the Gathering and cats were going to get really hurt.
He had to go back to camp and prepare his herbs.
Then he realized something way more important. In his vision, his paws had been white.
Half moon was in trouble.
It could have been anyone, Cloudtail, Whitewing... It could even have been a cat from a different clan. But Jayfeather knew with a sinking heart that he had seen through Half moon's eyes. And that meant Half moon was the one who had been attacked by Breezepelt
jayfeather raced back through camp. Brambles scratched his sides and thorns dug into his pads but he kept running.
He arrived at camp breathless. Brightheart snarled at him with her fur bristling for a moment before she recognized him. She visibly relaxed.
"Jayfeather!" she scolded. "Don't go trampling through the forest like that again! I though you were an enemy warrior! If I didn't recognize you right away, you might have been crowfood!"
Jayfeather barely heard her. He raced towards his den and started to organize his herbs.
Marigold...
Horsetail...
Oak leaves...
His paws frantically sorted out the herbs that he would need.
"Jayfeather! What are you doing?" Briarlight asked. Apparently she had not listened to his advice and was still awake. But he was glad of it now. He would need her help.
"There's a fight at the Gathering. Some cats are seriously hurt." he meowed briskly.
Briarlight stared at him with wide eyes and an open mouth for several moments. Then she blinked and broke out of her daze. She rushed to Jayfeather's side and started to help him. Thakfully, she didn't ask any questions, though she was brimming with curiosity and shock.
"Firestar! what happened?" Jayfeather's keen ears picked up Brightheart's faded voice exclaim at the .
"They're here." he muttered, and trotted outside. Briarlight followed after him, her jaws full of herbs.
It was even worse than he had thought. Thornclaw, his fur streaming with blood, was being supported by Cloudtail and Berrynose. They didn't go without scratches either. Spiderleg had almost as much scratches as Thornclaw and he was limping. He half leaned on Brackenfur, who had a torn ear and several clumps of fur missing.
The rest of Thunderclan had gathered. They watched silently, full of disbelief and horror as they watched their injured clanmates struggle into the camp.
Eventually the silence was borken as each cat went to help their clanmates.
Jayfeather raced forward too. He had to find Half moon.
He spotted an uninjured white she-cat. His hopes rose for a moment before he recognized Whitewing.
Where was Half moon? Everyone was here, except...
Another band of cats had appeared. Leafpool, Squirrelflight and Lionblaze stumble into camp. They seemed fine, but Jayfeather could see who they were carrying now.
"No" he whispered with horror as they drew nearer. His panic started to rise. "Not her. It can't be! Half moon!"
His own words were lost in all of the yowling. He could only stare at the beautiful white she-cat that now lay on the ground.
Chapter 22
- Spoiler:
- It was the strangest dream Half moon had ever had. And it started with two voices whispering in the darkness.
"I told you we should've told the medicine cats the truth!"a voice growled
"And how do you expect me to know everything? We had just figured out that part too!" This was a different voice with a defensive tone
"No, Bluestar!! I meant the part about the Dark Forest!"
There was a pause.
"Really? What do you think, Yellowfang? The clans learn about the Dark Forest, they team up and fight them. We win and everyone lives happiy ever after. No! It's not like that. The Dark Forest has spies in all of the clans, and with all the clans panicking over the news, this would be the perfect time to attack! I can't believe you! How can you not see that?" Bluestar turned with a annoyed hiss and stalked away.
"I told you she would not see the logic" A new cat had come in, or maybe she'd been there the whole time.
"Well, I tried, Spottedleaf" Yellowfang sighed wearily.
"Wait! Our conversation isn't private anymore! Someone was listening to us"
Half moon wondered who the "someone" was and why they would dare eavesdrop, before she realized who they were talking about.
The ferns covering her whole body from light lifted and she could see again.
"Look who's been here the whole time, listening to every word!" Yellowfang growled. Now that Half moon could see, she saw an old gray she-cat with matted fur and yellow eyes. A tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes beside her had to be Spottedleaf. They both had stars in their fur.
Half moon tried to shrink away. These cats didn't seem to be evil, but they both had sharp, unsheathed claws.
Yellowfang leaned close to her. Half moon could smell her sour breath and she almost gagged from the stench.
"Are you from the Dark Forest? Are you spying on us?" Yellowfang growled at her.
Half moon shook her head quickly. Of course she wouldn't spy for the Dark Forest!
Spottedleaf had been observing her. Suddenly her eyes flashed. "Yellowfang!" she hissed. "Are you crazy? Don't you recognize her? She's the fourth cat!"
Yellowfang immediately froze. She turned and faced Half moon.
You're the fourth cat?" she asked.
Half moon nodded hesitantly, remembering what Jayfeather had told her. It seemed like moons ago.
Spottedleaf leaned close to her. "Don't be afraid." she mewed. Are you lost? This isn't your time to join us. I can show you the way back home."
Half mon perked up. "Really?"
Spottedleaf nodded. "Jayfeather's waiting for you. If you stay too long, he'll have to come for you. But you can just follow me." She turned and walked down a starry trail, and Half moon followed her.
"What is this place?" she asked.
Spottedleaf turned and purred. "This, is Starclan."
Half moon gasped. She didn't know much about Starclan, but she remembered that Jayfeather had told her that it was the place cats went to when they died, to watch over their descendants. She wouldn't have thought Starclan cats would have been so conflicted sometimes. Then she realized that being dead didn't mean that you had no more worries. Half moon padded on thoughtfully.
"Can you tell me more about the prophecy?" she asked Spottedleaf.
The starry she-cat grew much more serious. The prophecies are not to be taken lighty." she warned. "'There will be three, kin of your kin who hold the power of the stars in the paws.' This was the first prophecy. It was given to Firestar, to warn him that there would soon be very powerful and possibly dangerous cats coming. 'After the sharp eyed jay and the roaring lion, peace will come on dove's gentle wing.' The "sharp eyed jay is Jayfeather, the roaring lion is Lionblaze, and the dove is Dovewing. This prophecy told us that there would be a battle with dark forces, but it would most likely end in peace."
Half moon tensed up and listened more carefully. She had been told about the prophecies, but she never had really been given a full explanation like Spottedleaf's.
"'Three must become four, to challenge the darkness that lasts forever' This prophecy told us that three powerful cats weren't enough to defeat the Dark Forest, and we needed somebody else. You."
Half moon shuddered at the weight of Spottedleaf's words. She wasn't sure if she could be the cat in the prophecy.
Spottedleaf continued on. "That was when we discovered that the first prophecy was incomplete. This is the real prophecy. 'There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws. But she who holds the power of the moon can conquer all.' That cat is you, Half moon. You may think you're not very special, but you are. You are the first Stoneteller and you will be the one who never gives up hope." Spottedleaf's look grew even more grimm, and before Half moon could say anything, she began to speak again.
"Beware Half moon, dark forces are rising and arre more powerful than ever. Prepare for the worst. We will meet again."
Half moon was bursting with questions. "Wait!" she cried out, but her voice didn't seem to be working properly. She looked down and was surprised to see the ground through her paws. She was fading away!
"Spottedleaf! I need more answers!" she managed to call out before she disappeared.
Chapter 23
- Spoiler:
- Jayfeather stared with horror as Half moon’s body was laid gently on the ground. Her beautiful white coat covered with blood and he could see a large wound and several smaller scratches extending down her flank. Actually, he couldn’t see anything, he was watching from the minds of those around him, but they all had the same distress and shock as him that it almost felt like he was the one seeing it.
Fresh sorrow and rage washed over Jayfeather. He could have stopped her. He remembered all too clearly the moment before she had left for the Gathering. Now he was so glad that he had apologized to her earlier, even if it had been very uncomfortable. But if he had received the vision earlier, he could have stopped her from going to the Gathering. Then she would have never died.
Suddenly Leafpool barreled into him. “Jayfeather! She’s still alive!”
Immediately Jayfeather’s tensed up, “What?” There seemed to be no way. He touched his nose to her fur. It was cold. But as he pressed he could feel slight warmth coming from her. As he looked closer, he could see that she was quietly but raggedly breathing.
Filled with hope, Jayfeather rushed over to his den. He found the assortment of herbs he needed, Marigold, Oak leaves, Horsetail, Cobwebs… Then he quickly rushed back to Half moon and started working as fast as possible. As he applied herbs to all her wounds, he could feel Leafpool and Briarlight by his side, handing out thyme and applying herbs to their clanmates’ wounds. He was greatful for his help, and he remembered that he would have some explaining to do later for Briarlight. She was set on finding out how he had known about the fight at the Gathering, but he figured that he could just tell her that he had a vision, which was actually true. She should believe it, since she had no reason not to.
Jayfeather finished pressing cobwebs to Half moon’s fur. He wished he could sit and stay with her, but he was the medicine cat and there still were his clanmates to care for. He gave instructions to Leafpool and Brightheart to gently move her to his den, and to stop if she started to bleed again.
He noticed that Mousewhisker was badly injured, and the gap on his leg would get infected soon without any treatment. Jayfeather picked up a pile of cobwebs and horsetail and went to him. The young tom was chattering excitedly to his friends about the battle. Jayfeather listened along as he applied herbs.
“Yeah, so Blackstar started first and he said that his clan was thriving and that Tawnypelt had a new litter of kits and he hinted about expanding his borders though he wouldn’t dare, not after we defeated them and Lionblaze killed their deputy! So then Mistystar talked and then Firestar told everybody about Half moon, and then everybody was mad at us and they were saying that we took in too many cats and then – oh and you should have saw me fighting everbody, I was like “
Jayfeather tensed up when he heard Half moon’s name. Had she been the reason for the dispute? He remembered when he had told the other medicine cats the truth; that the only way they could surivive was to all join together. Had they believed him? Had they told their clanmates? If they had, did their clanmates listen? He would ask them at the next half moon. Hopefully, they would figure out how to create peace in the clans.
He listened for more information, but Mousewhisker was just chattering about what he had done in the battle, nothing about Half moon or the battle. Jayfeather tried to find his way through his mind and find something important.
Everybody ignored Firestar’s attempts to create peace and continued fighting. A bleeding Half moon struggled out from the throng of cats. She rasied her head in the air and yowled, “Stop!” Everybody stopped fighting long enough to look at her. Then she collapsed.
Jayfeather froze. Everything around him also seemed to stop, it was just him and the shock that filled his body.
“Jayfeather?” Mousewhiskere’s concerned gaze looked him over and he realized that he had been standing rigid for a while. He shook his head to try and clear his head and then pressed down the last cobweb on Mousewhisker’s poultice.
“Excuse yourself for all warrior duties for a sunrise or two. After that, come and see me.”
“Sure then” Mousewhisker yawned and padded to the warrior’s den.
As soon as he left, Jayfeather padded back to his den. Briarlight was already asleep in a corner. Half moon seemed to be sleeping peacefully. All her poultices were on properly and she seemed fine.
As he watched, she stirred and blinked at him with sleepy eyes. “Jayfeather?” she croaked. :What happened, the battle, Breezepelt…” her voice trailed off.
Jayfeather stepped up to her and pressed his nose to her cheek. “Never do anything like that again.” He ordered.
Half moon softly purred and closed her eyes again. “I’ll try not to,” she murmured and drifted off to sleep.
Jayfeather lay beside her sleeping form. He had almost lost her. A long sigh escaped from him.
When dawn came, it found him still awake and still crouched beside her.
Chapter 24
- Spoiler:
- Ivypool paced through The Dark Forest. Mist shrouded the never-ending trees, and shadows loomed out at her, but she had long since grown used to it. After all, she spent every night here, training with Tigerstar and his followers, and secretly spying for her clan.
Well actually, it had been a long time since she actually had something to tell her sister, she couldn't even remember if she had ever found a piece of vital information before.
Now half-sneaking, half-pacing around while trying to look casual, she picked up sounds of a converstaion. She edged closer to the voices, hoping for the smallest chance of overhearing Tigerstar discussing his plans.
As she neared the speakers, her heart lifted as she realized that one of them actually was Tigerstar. She could recognize the sound of his voice anywhere, and through the trees, she could see him, his back to her. She was glad that he hadn't been facing her or she surely would've been discovered. Her hopes fell when she saw that the cats he was talking to were Redwillow, Tigerstar, and a pure black Shadowclan she-cat she didn't yet recognize.
She must be new Ivypool thought. She felt sorry for her, knowing that she couldn't possibly know what Tigerstar truly wanted, that he was lying to her. And that meant that he couldn't possibly be discussing important information about the coming battle with them.
Ivypool was about to tiptoe away when she heard something that made her freeze. If she had heard right, and it hadn't just been her overcautious mind, then Tigerstar was talking about attacking Thunderclan.
She quietly padded back and watched them talking from behind a bush.
"Those Thunderclan fools are weak. Do you actually believe that they deserved that piece of land? Firestar gave it to you only to steal it back! If you don't act, then he'll think you're scared and weak and steal more of your land! Can you let him do that?"
"No way!" spat Redwillow, "Firestar is a fox-heart and a liar!" Ivypool's heart sank as she realized that there was a murderous glint in his eyes and he seemed to perfectly agree with everything Tigerstar said.
She watched Tigerheart and the other she-cat. Tigerstar looked thoughtful, he had an expression on that she couldn't read. However, the other she-cat looked uncertain. As Ivypool studied her, she realized that she couldn't be much older than an apprentice, probably a new warrior.
"Pinenose, what do you think?" Tigerstar asked her directly.
Pinenose hesitated. In a trembling voice, she said "Well, like you said, we can't let Thunderclan attack us again and steal more of our territory, we have to act first. We should attack soon, and claim back the territory that they took."
Ivypool tensed up. Shadowclan was going to attack Thunderclan soon! She had to warn er clanmates about it.
Tigerstar purred, ssatisfied. "You'll make a good warrior; you'e very loyal to your clanmates."
Liar Ivypool wanted to scream, but she knew that if she did, she would instantly be discovered and all of her moons of spying and gaining Tigerstar's trust would be for nothing. Instead she resolved to instantly tell Dovewing, Lionblaze, Jayfeather, and probably Half moon as soon as she woke up.
She backed away from Tigerstar and the Shadowclan cats and curled up into a ball, willing herself to wake up.
After a while, she decided that it was useless. There were too many sounds around her, she couldn't calm down, and she guessed she hadn't been here long enough.
She crawled out from beneath the bush, just in time, as Hawkfrost strode over to her.
"Ivypool! Where have you been?" he snapped. "I've been looking for you everywhere! Come on, we're teaching new killing moves tonight." Luckily, he didn't investigate into where she had been and what she had been doing, and he just strode off.
Ivypool sighed mentally and followed him. It seemed like her news would have to wait until morning. Well, Shadowclan couldn't attack this night because they had absolutely no plans or strategies at the moment, so Thunderclan would be sade for now.
"Hurry up!" Hawkfrost ordered from ahead and Ivypool followed him into a clearing. There were many cats already leaping at each other's throats. Hawkfrost beckoned her toward Minnowtail and showed her the move. As soon as been taught it, she was expected to attack Minnowtail using it. She leaped at the Riverclan she-cat, who swiftly doged away before darting back and scratching her leg.
Ivypool sighed mentally once again. She knew that when she woke up, she would be covered with scratches again. It was going to be a long, long night.
more below
Last edited by snowswirl66 on August 10th 2012, 10:42; edited 8 times in total
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Re: Half moon's prophecy chapter 26 up
by Honeystar August 13th 2011, 15:09
Hey Snowswirl, once again thanks for accepting my invitation. Perhaps you should post more [does all the way to chapter 11 sound too much?]. But instead of as a new comment/ reply, just post it on the topic reminder [use the Edit button]. That way people can see the whole fan-fic at once without having to keep fliping pages to read it. Again Welcome, and I hope you like it here.
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Re: Half moon's prophecy chapter 26 up
by snowswirl66 August 13th 2011, 15:10
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
- Spoiler:
- Dovewing padded into the clearing, half asleep. It had been about a quarter moon since the Gathering, and the other clans were still hostile. Thunderclan had started to send out more patrols after they had discovered a mysterious scent that smelled somewhat of Windclan on their territory, near the Windclan border. Windclan had denied it when Brambleclaw, leading a small patrol of cats, accused them, and there had been no proof so far that it really was them. It could have been a loner or a rogue passing through clan territory. They could have passed through Windclan, causing the slight Windclan scent.
So now, Dovewing was on the pre-dawn patrol. She yawned, opening her mouth wide. She hadn’t got any good sleep last night; her sister Ivypool had been tossing and turning and shrieking. Dovewing had to continue to suppress the urge of waking her sister up, for she knew that Ivyool was training in the Dark Forest, and could possibly find useful information any moment.
“We’re leaving in a moment,” Brackenfur meowed, bounding across the clearing with Spiderleg following him. “Can you get Blossomfall?”
Dovewing stifled a yawn. “Sure” She tiptoed into the warrior’s den, careful not to tread on any tails or paws. She reached Blossomfall’s nest and reached out to wake her up, before flinching back immediately. The young she-cat was twitching and turning in her sleep, fur on end, claws unsheathed. Dovewing wondered what was wrong with her and considered waking up Jayfeather, though she’d rather not. He could be very cranky in the early hours of the morning. Then she saw that Blossomfall looked like Ivypool when she was training in the Dark Forest in her dreams.
Blossomfall must be training in the Dark Forest! Dovewing realized. She looked around to see if she could see any other of her clanmates in a similar state.
“Dovewing? What are you doing in there? Did you fall back asleep?” Dovewing looked up to see Spiderleg hissing at her at just outside of the warrior’s den.
“I’m just waking Blossomfur up!” she called back. Several cats stirred in their sleep and she realized that she must have spoken too loud.
“Shhh” Spiderleg hissed, glaring at her. “And hurry up!”
Blossomfur had been woken up by Dovewing’s voice, probably because she had been right under her. “What? Is it morning already? She said in a slurred voice.
“Not yet, we’re on the pre-dawn border patrol. We’re patrolling the Windclan border.” Dovewing told her.
Blossomfur struggled out of her nest and stood up, shaking moss off her pelt. She looked like a mess, with fur all over the place and heavy-eyed lids. She followed Dovewing sluggishly into the clearing. Dovewing noted that she had a slight limp.
“Is your leg okay?” she asked. “You seem to be limping.”
Blossomfur was more alert and awake now. “Oh, I think I might’ve bruised it yesterday after tripping over a bramble.” She mewed, not meeting Dovewing’s eyes.
“Maybe you should see Jayfeather later.” Dovewing casually remarked.
“No, I’m fine. Oh, look! There’s Spiderleg and Brackenfur. We shouldn’t keep them waiting.” Blossomfur broke into a sprint and headed towards them.
“Took you long enough,” Spiderleg growled. “Now let’s go.” He padded out of the camp, flicking his tail for the others to follow. They trailed after him. Nobody was in the mood for talking. Blossomfall was lost in thought, Spiderleg stalked at the front of the patrol ahead, obviously in a foul mood, and Brackenfur followed them without a sound at the back of the patrol.
Dovewing let her senses drift around aimlessly. She directed her hearing toward Windclan, whose border they were patrolling. A patrol had just returned from the border, but other than that, most of the clan was still asleep. She cast her senses towards Riverclan. The clan was starting to wake up, and Dovewing noticed that it was already dawn. After nothing of interest in Riverclan, she wandered toward Shadowclan, to find their clan… almost completely empty.
Dovewing immediately tensed up, bumping into Blossomfall who glared at her. She muttered a quick apology, while concentrating on finding the Shadowclan warriors. She wondered why they were out of camp for a brief moment before realizing the ideal answer to her question. She directed her senses to the Shadowclan border and found most of the clan there, including all the warriors.
The only possible explanation was that Shadowclan was going to attack Thunderclan, soon.
Chapter 26
- Spoiler:
Sunlight filtered through the gap in the roof of the medicine den, lighting up the cave, and turning the pool surface into a sparkling, glimmering white.
Half moon sighed. Another boring day stuck in camp. Greenleaf was starting soon, but she was still prohibited from training due to her injuries from the Gathering. Now she wished that she hadn’t joined into the fight.
“Still moping around?” Jayfeather entered the medicine cat, dropping a bundle of dried herbs. Amusement glittered in his sightless blue eyes, which stared straight at Half moon. Sometimes she wondered how he could do that. Maybe it was another part of his power, sensing where exactly cats were, and looking at them creepily to scare them.
“I’m bored.” She whined. “I’m perfectly alright now, I’m all healed up. Can’t I go back to training already?” Half moon clambered out of her nest and sprawled out onto the ground. She expected the same answer that she received every day.
“You don’t seem fine.” Jayfeather observed. “Seeing as you’re down on the ground. But…” he trailed off thinking.
Half moon immediately sat up straight and curled her tail neatly over her paws. Jayfeather was actually considering letting her go! “Please,” she begged. “I’ve been stuck here for so long.”
Jayfeather sighed. “Fine, then. But no chasing squirrels or fighting enemy clans, got it?”
Half moon nodded impatiently, and then sped out of the den. The sun had just risen over the horizon, gently warming her fur. Greenleaf would be starting soon. She bounded over to the fresh-kill pile to grab a piece of prey.
“Someone seems to be in a good mood.” Half moon spun around and found herself face to face with Leafpool.
“Jayfeather said that I can go back to training!” she told her mentor excitedly.
“Well, that’s good; you two can join my hunting patrol.” Half moon turned to see Brambleclaw making his way towards them, Foxleap by his side. “We’ll head by the lakeshore, there should be plenty of prey there –“
Suddenly Blossomfall burst into the camp, breathless, with her eyes wide with fear. From the look of her, she had been running for a long time. Brambleclaw’s words died away as he saw her. Firestar bounded down from his den. “Blossomfall, what’s the matter?” he asked her gently.
“Shadowclan is attacking! They want to take back the clearing, and we only have Dovewing, Spiderleg, and Brackenfur holding them all up!” Blossomfall panted out her message. As soon as she was done talking, she collapsed from exhaustion.
For a moment, the whole clan froze with shock. So many things had happened that they had forgotten about Blackstar’s threats about taking back the land. Then, as quickly as they had frozen, everyone burst into action.
Jayfeather headed towards Blossomfall with a bundle of herbs. Firestar and Brambleclaw began to order out patrols. Battle-ready warriors waited for instructions while sharpening their claws or catching a quick snack.
“Brambleclaw, take Half moon, Rosepetal, Molepaw, Mousewhisker, Icecloud, Dustpelt, Brightheart, Cloudtail, Sandstorm,” Firestar ordered, “Go and attack from the left side! I’ll go with Lionblaze, Graystripe, Millie, Leafpool, Squirrelflight, Birchfall, and Toadstep and attack from the right side. The rest of you, stay behind and guard the camp. We’ll try to trap them in between us.”
With that, he turned and disappeared into the forest, his patrol following his footsteps. Brambleclaw and his patrol headed after him a few moments later, except they turned left toward the lakeshore and went that way. Half moon felt a thrill of exhilaration and anticipation. This would be her first real battle. When she had lived here with Stone song and the tribe, they hardly ever fought – just the occasional fox, or badger. None of them actually had many skills and strategy, or any need to.
Turning her head, she saw Jayfeather running by her side.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. As soon as the question was out of her mouth, she realized that it would likely go unanswered; Jayfeather had a huge bundle of herbs in his mouth and couldn’t speak.
Fortunately, Rosepetal answered her question for him. “He’s going to be in the bushes, treating any seriously injured warriors. This is going to be a huge battle, and we don’t know how hurt Brackenfur and his patrol could be.”
Half moon felt a wave of relief. Even though she knew Jayfeather wouldn’t be fighting by her side, she knew she would be more comfortable having him somewhere nearby. He would probably confine her back to the medicine den once the battle was over though, he had distinctly said “no fighting enemy clans”.
Then, her thoughts were interrupted as they reached the battlefield. Most of the Shadowclan warriors were standing by the side, looking smug. Dovewing seemed to be unconscious on the ground, and Spiderleg was standing beside her, his pelt covered with blood. Brackenfur alone was holding out against several Shadowclan warriors.
Half moon felt a surge of fury. Did Blackstar have any honour at all? Just because several of his warriors had defeated two Thunderclan warriors, and were slowly winning against another one, didn’t mean that they had won. It just meant that they were fox-hearted cowards.
She barely heard Brambleclaw’s battle cry; it was masked by the sound of blood pounding in her ears, as the Thunderclan warriors streamed through the clearing to attack. They hit the Shadowclan warriors who sat at the back, watching lazily. Out of the corner of her eye, Half moon saw Jayfeather dragging Dovewing away, Spiderleg following after them.
For the first few seconds, everything was easy. They had surprise on their side and Shadowclan was nowhere near prepared. Half moon scratched and hissed and chased away one Shadowclan warrior, but by then Shadowclan was more organized and started to get into a battle formation.
A small white apprentice leaped at Half moon. She batted him away easily, but barely dodged a heavy blow from a large spotted warrior. He reared up and sliced at her ears. She snarled and managed to duck, swiping at his paws, and finally knocking him off balance.
But just as she was about to bring down her paws on his stomach for a painful blow, the smaller cat came rushing back and propelled into her, bumping her away. This gave the other cat enough time to get up.
Half moon hissed in frustration. This time, she was not so gentle with the apprentice. She lashed out a claw and tossed him several fox-lengths away. Then she turned up, but saw her former opponent fighting against Leafpool. Firestar’s patrol had probably arrived. Nearby, she could see Toadstep wrestling with a Shadowclan warrior almost twice his size. But her mentor also seemed to be having trouble.
She made a split-second decision, and decided to help Leafpool. Toadstep could take care of himself. She barrelled into the enemy warrior, clawing at his flank. That gave time for her mentor to escape and recover. From then on, they fought as a team, Half moon rearing up and raking at his ears, Leafpool ducking low and swiping. The Shadowclan warrior fled in just a matter of seconds.
“Coward!” Half moon yowled at his back.
However, she didn’t have much time to relieve her victory; a dappled she-cat had jumped her from behind, and was scratching at her back. Half moon struggled getting her off, finally flipping her around and exposing her belly for a second. Luckily, nobody attacked her, and the she-cat slipped off. Half moon turned on her without mercy raked at her pelt until she screamed for mercy.
When she looked up, she could see Rosepetal struggling with Redwillow. She ducked and bit into his tail, holding him while Rosepetal landed painful blows at his forepaws. He finally escaped, his mangled tail streaming out from behind him.
She reared up to take a look around. Spiderleg was back and fighting with an unfamiliar Shadowclan she-cat. He seemed to be winning, so Half moon decided that he didn’t need her help.
She could see Jayfeather dragging Mousewhisker off. The young tom had a deep scratch over one eye and it was bleeding severely. But it was a head wound, and they usually looked worse than they actually were, at least Half moon hoped so.
She angled her head and saw Lionblaze. The golden-brown warrior looked twice as large as he usually was, with his fur bushed out and his fur covered with blood. It was the first time that Half moon had seen him in battle, and for the first time, she understood how strong his power was. He batted away warriors as if they were flies, defeating each of them in only a matter of seconds. He looked invincible.
Then Rowanclaw sped past Half moon with a roar of rage, pushing her off her feet. She quickly leaped up, readying herself for another fight, when she realized that he wasn’t there. She hadn’t been his target; she had just been in his way. But who was his target? Who had he wanted to attack so much?
Her eyes followed his path. She saw him leap into the air, straight at … Jayfeather.
The medicine cat had already led Mousewhisker out of harm’s way. He had just headed out of the bushes, staying at the edge of the battle, His back was to Rowanclaw and he couldn’t see the impending danger. And even if he wasn’t turned, he was blind, and wouldn’t be able to see, Half moon realized.
She let out a cry. “Jayfeather!” But he was too far away and couldn’t hear her.
She tried again. But as soon as she opened her mouth again, somebody crashed into her, knocking the wind out of her. She turned to see a black Shadowclan she-cat. Half moon wriggled out of her grip, and ran forwards, trying to catch a glimpse of Jayfeather.
She didn’t have to search long. He had turned, looking straight at her, eyes full of fear. His eyes were wide and bright, looking less blind than ever. Then she realized that he wasn’t looking at her, he was looking at Rowanclaw, whose claws were inches from his throat, heading closer every moment.
Time seemed to slow down. Half moon let out another desperate cry, but it was useless. She was too far away. From her far right, Lionblaze stopped fighting and looked up, apprehension dawning in his eyes. But he was also too far, even farther than she was.
The entire battleground seemed to freeze, except for Rowanclaw, who fell forward closer and closer, still as if in slow motion. His claws glinted in the sunlight. Cats had turned around to look, their heads tilting upwards, and Half moon guessed that she had been louder than she thought she was.
But none of them were close enough or fast enough to save Jayfeather, who stood by the edge of the clearing. And everything was still moving slowly, like her mind was playing tricks on her.
So Half moon could only watch, helpless, as Rowanclaw’s outstretched claws headed closer and closer to Jayfeather. Then, he finally landed, bowling Jayfeather over. He snarled, opening his mouth and exposing sharp teeth, and then he lunged down to bite hard into Jayfeather’s throat.
But as his jaws swooped downwards, a swift shadow soared out from the forest, and collided head-first with Rowanclaw, who was knocked onto the ground. The dark figure leaned down, almost casually, and bit down into Rowanclaw’s throat. It seemed almost oblivious to the watching cats around it. Then it turned around and faced Half moon, and she saw that Jayfeather’s saviour was actually a slim black she-cat with olive green eyes. The strange she-cat smirked at the surrounding cats, exposing sharp fangs covered with blood.
“Miss me, anyone?” she asked.
Chapter 27
- Spoiler:
“I’m perfectly fine! You don’t need to drag me off; it’s just a small cut!”
Jayfeather bit back a sharp retort. Mousewhisker had been ill-tempered ever since Jayfeather had walked over to him and told him to come get his cut fixed. He’d been grouchy, and slow, and ran off to battle another enemy warrior the moment he thought Jayfeather wasn’t paying attention. Actually, Jayfeather had been paying attention and he‘d had to drag Mousewhisker away.
If Jayfeather had it his way, he would just leave Mousewhisker be. But he had to follow his duty as medicine cat and fix up the wound before it developed a major infection.
“I can still fight, I have another good eye. I don’t want to be hiding in the bushes if Shadowclan starts to win!”
Jayfeather’s patience snapped. This was the second time Mousewhisker had repeated a complaint. He turned around and glared at the young tom. “Shut up!” he snarled. “You aren’t going to make that much of a difference. You’re not that important, believe it or not. Now, are you going to get your eye fixed or sit out for the rest of the battle?”
Mousewhisker didn’t say anything. Jayfeather turned, snorting contemptuously and headed off to the temporarily medicine cat bush. For the whole walk, Mousewhisker remained quiet; Jayfeather guessed that he had scared him into silence. He hadn’t meant to be mean, but his temper was just so short.
When they reached the bush, Jayfeather treated Mousewhisker’s scratch. He made a poultice of marigold and horsetail and gently spread it out onto the wound.
“You’re alright now; you can run back off to the battle.” Jayfeather meowed before turning to examine Dovewing. Her state had improved since he had first treated her, but she would probably be confined in camp for a while.
“Wait, what?” Mousewhisker’s meow distracted him. He flinched slightly but resumed his inspection.
“Just make sure that poultice stays on.” He instructed absentmindedly. Dovewing’s breathing was more even, the coltsfoot had helped. He decided to just give her a bit more.
“So I can go back to fighting now?” Mousewhisker asked eagerly.
Jayfeather turned, annoyed, “How many times do I have to repeat myself?” he snapped. “Yes, you may return to the battle. Now get out and stop bothering me.”
This time, Mousewhisker wasn’t deterred by his bad mood. “Thanks,” he meowed before running off, screeching as he attacked a random Shadowclan warrior.
Jayfeather sighed. Finally some peace and quiet. He turned and eased some coltsfoot down Dovewing’s throat. She groaned and her head rose groggily.
“Where am I?” she mumbled feebly. “Ow, I hurt all over.”
“Yes, I know you do. Now go back to sleep.” Jayfeather told her.
Dovewing moaned again, but fell asleep the moment her head hit her nest.
Jayfeather surveyed the den. Other than Dovewing, he was the only cat who remained in here. Because of his inability to see wounded Thunderclan warriors, Briarlight led them to him most of the time. Jayfeather wondered where she was. She hadn’t returned for a while. He headed out the den, hoping to catch a trace of her scent. At the edge of the clearing, he opened his mouth and inhaled deeply.
That was when it happened. Something that Jayfeather would always remember.
In the distance, he heard Half moon scream his name over the sound of the cats fighting.
He turned, startled and confused. Everybody was all very far away from him. But he could smell a heavy Shadowclan warrior heading straight for him, his mind filled with bloodlust and murder – his murder.
Without meaning to, Jayfeather fell into the warrior’s mind. He realized at once that it was Rowanclaw, but the Shadowclan deputy’s thoughts were very different from how they usually were. He seemed driven on, crazy. A red haze covered his eyes. He seemed to have lost all sight of the warrior code.
Then Jayfeather saw himself. Through Rowanclaw’s eyes, he saw himself cowering against a tree, eyes wide with fear, fur bushing out to make him look twice his size.
It was sort of disorienting, like when he had seen himself through Spiderleg’s eyes. But this time, he couldn’t just pull himself out, because a single thought was running through Rowanclaw’s head, and it was keeping him from concentrating.
Rowanclaw was visualizing Jayfeather’s murder, and it looked so real that Jayfeather was surprised that he hadn’t died yet. The killing moves flashed again and again. Land. Slash. Kill. It repeated. Land. Slash. Kill.
And Jayfeather just stayed there in his soon-to-be-murderer’s head, shocked and confused and having no idea what to do.
Then when Rowanclaw finally launched himself into the air, at Jayfeather, he finally came up with an idea.
He moved one paw. Through Rowanclaw’s eyes, he saw himself move. Even though his mind wasn’t in his body, he could still control his body’s actions.
Did that mean that while in Rowanclaw’s head, he could perceive what the warrior was going to do, before he did it? Then he could be prepared when the warrior actually stuck him. Then maybe, just maybe, he could defend himself until help arrived. Just a couple of minutes. He could possibly hold out that long.
As Rowanclaw landed, he ducked away. Not fast enough.
Jayfeather was thrown from the Shadowclan deputy’s mind, as his body slammed into the ground. Darkness obscured his vision once more. He could only scent Rowanclaw rear up for the killing bite.
Jayfeather mentally sighed. He was a fool to think that he could hold out for even a couple of seconds, much less minutes. Even if he had the advantage of knowing what would happened before it did, he hadn’t practised battle training since he had been an apprentice. And Rowanclaw was the Shadowclan deputy, more than the average warrior.
Just before Rowanclaw headed downwards to sink his teeth into his neck, a memory hit Jayfeather. He saw himself playing in the Thunderclan clearing with Hollyleaf and Lionblaze as kits.
Jayfeather and Lionblaze, who had then been Jaykit and Lionkit, had been playing hide and seek, except that they couldn’t find Hollykit.
“We’ve looked everywhere,” Lionkit grumbled.
Jaykit scowled, flopping to the ground. “Hollykit, we give up!”
“I’m right over here. “ His sister padded out from behind the warrior’s den.
“Miss me anyone?”
The memory dissolved as fast as it had appeared, except Hollyleaf’s scent still remained. Jayfeather briefly wondered why, and how long he still had to live. Shouldn’t he be dead already?
Hollyleaf’s scent returned, stronger than before. He stood up unsteadily. He was still alive, and not hurt apart from a headache and a long but shallow cut across his front.
“Well, you could say thank you.”
Jayfeather choked out a gasp. It was her voice. The voice that he hadn’t heard for seasons. The voice that he only ever heard in his nightmares. The voice that he’d heard, only several seconds ago, in a memory of long ago.
“Hollyleaf?” he croaked weakly.
Chapter 28
- Spoiler:
Lionblaze stared, a look of disbelief and shock fixed on his face. Just a moment ago, he had come so close to losing his brother, and now his sister had miraculously returned from the dead.
He wanted to believe that she was alive. He wanted to be able to run forward and call her name and rejoice. His heart cried out with joy, and he wished that his mind would too. But some part of him couldn’t believe it. It just couldn’t be possible. His sister was dead; he had seen the tunnels collapse on her. His thoughts battled one another. His sister was alive! He should be happy, overjoyed, ecstatic! But, he wasn’t going to let his hopes rise just for them to be crushed down again. If he rejoiced, and this was just a dream, or a hallucination, then the pain would be worse than ever when he woke.
He blinked several times, trying to clear his head, but his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. The painfully familiar black she-cat still stood in front of him.
Then he flashed back to when the tunnels had collapsed on his sister and he thought he had lost her forever. The rocks had fallen, but could she have escaped before they crushed her? A few moons ago, Firestar had ordered them to clear away the rocks at the entrance of the tunnel, and they had never found her body. Jayfeather had also never mentioned seeing Hollyleaf in Starclan. Maybe she had actually achieved her goal, and escaped through the tunnels; living outside of the territory. If that was true, then could be real. His sister could be still alive.
Looking around, he saw every other cat fall silent as they watched her. If they could see her too, then Lionblaze supposed that he probably wasn’t going crazy. The quietness increased, descending over the clearing and covering it with gloom and. After what seemed like a lifetime, somebody stepped forward breaking the spell of stillness. It was Cinderheart.
Her soft footfalls echoed in the silence, leaving whispers in her wake. She walked straight up to Hollyleaf, cats parting to let her through. Everybody was so shocked that they were letting her take lead for now. As she passed by Lionblaze, he saw the look in her eyes; desperate, but determined and hopeful.
“Hollyleaf, is it really you?” Cinderheart asked cautiously, but also with a trace of uncertainty. Her voice cracked, and she faltered slightly. Then Lionblaze realized that she wanted to believe that she was alive as much as he did.
“Did you forget me already? Have I really been gone that long?” Hollyleaf spoke lightly, but Lionblaze heard her voice tremble and he detected a trace of pain underneath it.
But it was her voice. He had thought he would never hear it again, but there it was, exactly the same as it was before. Her voice triggered something in him, and suddenly he was just so happy. He couldn’t think; his world was full of pure bliss. All he knew was that he was running forwards towards his sister, and she was alive. Everything would be the same again, it would be like before. Around him, his clanmates were also reacting, but he was barely aware of them in his state of happiness.
Collective murmurs and muttering started to break out through the crowd as cats slowly began to recover from their earlier astonishment. The talking began to grow louder, and a lot of cats started to raise their voices. Suddenly, the growing noise was interrupted by none other than Tawnypelt.
At first Lionblaze’s clouded mind thought she was also here to express her happiness about Hollyleaf.
Then he realized she was standing next to Rowanclaw’s body. He lay on the ground, unmoving. Blood stained the ground around him, but it had stopped flowing from his cut throat.
“Murderer! You killed him!” Tawnypelt let out another sob filled with grief. Dawnpelt and Tigerheart stepped forward to comfort their mother, all the while glaring at Hollyleaf.
Lionblaze felt a chill run down his spine. This time, he understood the words perfectly, and his mind had cleared up. Hollyleaf may be alive and well, but that didn’t change the fact that she had murdered a cat, the Shadowclan deputy. Of course, he had also killed a Shadowclan deputy, but that had been an accident, and Hollyleaf’s situation definitely wasn’t. They had all seen her teeth sink into his throat.
Then a shocking realization hit him. Hollyleaf hadn’t only killed Rowanclaw, she had also murdered Ashfur. Who knew how many other cats died at her paws? Was it possible that his beloved sister had turned into a murderer?
A shriek thankfully broke off his train of thought. Lionblaze didn’t know what he would do if he had been right. Then he found the source of the cry. Tawnypelt had lunged at Hollyleaf, and the two she-cats were locked in a struggle below him. Tawnypelt fought with desperation and hate, but she was growing old and was no match for Hollyleaf, who as young and strong and had obviously been practising her battle skills, honing them into perfection.
Finally, Tawnypelt ended up on the bottom, Hollyleaf holding her down. For a moment, Lionblaze was afraid that his sister would kill her too. But the moment passed and Hollyleaf slowly let the Shadowclan warrior up instead.
Tawnypelt didn’t struggle anymore. Her shoulders and tail sagged, and her eyes had acquired a dead look. The transformation had occurred in only a few moments. The Shadowclan she-cat suddenly looked frail and old.
She voiced the accusation again, but with no emotion in her voice this time. “You killed him.”
Hollyleaf didn’t deny the accusation. Everybody had seen it and knew it was true. “He deserved to die.” She hissed contemptuously instead. “He tried to murder a medicine cat!”
A yowl rose from the Thunderclan cats in agreement of her words. However, Blackstar didn’t agree. “You don’t have any proof of that.” he growled, defending his warrior.
Lionblaze stepped forward. He wanted to roar at Blackstar for declaring that. Every cat who was in this clearing- including himself- had seen Rowanclaw lunge at Jayfeather with his claws unsheathed. But instead, he took a deep breath, calming his emotions.
“Hollyleaf was just trying to defend him from being hurt. Even if he wasn’t trying to kill Jayfeather, it’s still against the warrior code to attack a medicine cat. Does Shadowclan even honour the warrior code at all? ” He demanded, glaring at Blackstar.
A growl sounded in the back of Blackstar’s throat, but he didn’t dare deny the claim. So, he abruptly changed the topic. “We will talk of this later. But, most importantly, who won the battle? Who gets this territory?”
Rage grew in Lionblaze. Red pulsed behind his eyes, blurring his vision. Was Blackstar that greedy and selfish? His deputy had just died, and he was more concerned about a small piece of territory!
Looking up at his leader, he realized that Firestar had the same thoughts. The Thunderclan leader’s eyes widened with shock and disgust. He stepped forward with a snarl. “Do you have no respect for your dead clanmates? Does it even matter to you that two of your warriors have died in this border skirmish?”
Firestar grew louder with every word until he was yowling at Blackstar, his voice shaking with fury.
“Can you not see the wounded cats around you? You’ve gone way too far just to have a small clearing! If you really need this piece of territory so much, if you’re that desperate to have it, then Thunderclan has no wish of keeping it from you!”
Blackstar curled his lip with displeasure, but didn’t respond to Firestar’s cutting words. The Thunderclan leader took this as a symbol of consent. He turned and stalked away, flicking his tail for his warriors to follow him.
“Firestar,” Firestar stopped, but didn’t turn back around. Blackstar’s voice was so quiet, almost less than a whisper. Everyone had to strain just to hear him.
“We aren’t desperate, and you should know that. We were just showing everyone that Thunderclan can’t boss us around. You aren’t the leaders of the forest, no matter what you might think. We make our own choices. And in the end, we won this battle.”
“This time you did.” Without another word, the Thunderclan leader led his clan out of the clearing, leaving Shadowclan to ponder his words.
Last edited by snowswirl66 on November 14th 2012, 20:46; edited 6 times in total
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Re: Half moon's prophecy chapter 26 up
by Guest August 13th 2011, 22:00
Wow that's awesome! 
You're a great writer and I hope you love it here 
You're a great writer and I hope you love it here 
Guest- Guest
Re: Half moon's prophecy chapter 26 up
by Honeystar August 13th 2011, 23:51
You just wait when she posts more Crystaldance, it's going to be really amazing!
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Re: Half moon's prophecy chapter 26 up
by Nyx August 14th 2011, 12:02
Snowswirl? nice name, and nice story. ^.^
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Re: Half moon's prophecy chapter 26 up
by snowswirl66 August 14th 2011, 17:43
I wrote more! Chapter 11 up!
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Re: Half moon's prophecy chapter 26 up
by snowswirl66 August 14th 2011, 18:44
thnx!Honeystar wrote:Yay!
:
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Re: Half moon's prophecy chapter 26 up
by Honeystar August 14th 2011, 23:05
Uh-oh, You forgot chapter 9.
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Re: Half moon's prophecy chapter 26 up
by Guest August 15th 2011, 13:20
Then she's only on chapter 10.
Nice story, though.
Nice story, though.
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Re: Half moon's prophecy chapter 26 up
by snowswirl66 August 15th 2011, 17:34
oops, I'll add it nowHoneystar wrote:Uh-oh, You forgot chapter 9.
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Re: Half moon's prophecy chapter 26 up
by Honeystar August 15th 2011, 17:40
Yay, wait til Lotusflower reads it!
Oh I haven't told you yet. Do you know Hawktalon from the official Forum? She created this Beautiful Comic called Broken Wings, and she's also here as a member of WindClan too!
Oh I haven't told you yet. Do you know Hawktalon from the official Forum? She created this Beautiful Comic called Broken Wings, and she's also here as a member of WindClan too!
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Re: Half moon's prophecy chapter 26 up
by Nyx August 16th 2011, 16:38
I don't see Hawktalon much anymore. I want to see more of her comic! ^.^
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Re: Half moon's prophecy chapter 26 up
by Honeystar August 16th 2011, 16:45
Yeah I noticed that too! Hope she sends us more. Maybe she's busy getting ready for school?
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Re: Half moon's prophecy chapter 26 up
by snowswirl66 August 17th 2011, 15:13
I read some of her comic until I had to go. It was great!
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Re: Half moon's prophecy chapter 26 up
by Honeystar August 19th 2011, 21:36
Yay love the new chapter Snowswirl! Things are getting interesting now.
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Re: Half moon's prophecy chapter 26 up
by snowswirl66 August 20th 2011, 12:56
Chapter 12 up!
(I didn't get to post this last time
)
(I didn't get to post this last time
)
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Re: Half moon's prophecy chapter 26 up
by Honeystar August 20th 2011, 13:47
Yay! Let me be your first friend.
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Similar topics» Six moons at last!
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