Fading Stars

Art by Snapdragon.

## Shimmers of Hope - Book One - Fading Stars

Google Docs Version: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SNv9gXTCXBLWRntVPsFaB0d9ss4TP20dbGw47eP2Wi4/edit

Wattpad Version: https://www.wattpad.com/story/310599470-fading-stars

## Allegiances

### MeadowClan

Leader: Poppystar - dark ginger tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Deputy: Stemstripe - light brown tabby tom with green eyes

Medicine cat(s): Peachfrost - light ginger she-cat with bright green eyes and a fluffy tail

Fawnleap - small light ginger she-cat with green eyes and a white muzzle

Warriors: Larkcall - brown and white she-cat with amber eyes

Breezedawn - silver tabby she-cat with golden-green eyes

Echostream - small silver and white she-cat with blue eyes

Thistlefur - black and white tom with green eyes and spiky fur

Apprentice, Rabbitpaw

Whitestreak - white tom with grey spots, yellow eyes and a scar on his leg

Brackenspark - golden-brown tom with leaf-green eyes

Foxnettle - ginger and white tom with dark green eyes

Dovewish - white she-cat with blue eyes

Apprentice, Cricketpaw

Sparkclaw - ginger tabby tom with yellow eyes and a scar on his side

Apprentice, Sorrelpaw

Thrushbriar - tan spotted she-cat with green eyes

Featherwillow - silver and white she-cat with blue eyes and tufted ears

Honeybriar - golden tabby she-cat with a white muzzle, belly and paws and amber eyes

Sunnylynx - golden spotted she-cat with amber eyes, a short tail, and tufted ears

Snowfox - small white she-cat with pale amber eyes and black-tipped ears and tail

Littlefern - small cream she-cat with green eyes and a short tail

Lilacdawn - lilac and cream she-cat with light purple eyes and tufted ears

Apprentices: Sorrelpaw - brown and white she-cat with forest-green eyes

Rabbitpaw - fluffy grey and white she-cat with blue eyes and a short tail

Cricketpaw - brown and white tom with amber eyes

Queens: Willowflower - light brown and white tabby she-cat with blue eyes, former kittypet (mother to Tigerkit, a ginger tabby she-kit, Blossomkit, a light ginger she-kit, and Horsekit, a light brown tom)

Songflower - small tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes (mother to Birchkit, a white tabby she-kit, and Cloudykit, a tortoiseshell and white she-kit)

Quietice - silver and white she-cat with ice-blue eyes (expecting Thistlefur's kits)

Elders: Lilysun - deaf white she-cat with blue eyes

Swallowfern - black and white she-cat with green eyes

Raingrass - dark grey tabby tom with dark blue eyes

### AshClan

Leader: Slatestar - dark grey and white tom with blue eyes

Deputy: Brownshade - dark brown she-cat with grey eyes

Medicine cat: Nightspring - black she-cat with one green eye and one blind eye

Apprentice, Boulderpaw - grey tom with amber eyes

Warriors: Smokebreeze - large grey tom with amber eyes

Sootwhisper - grey tom with blue eyes

Rustthroat - russet she-cat with amber eyes

Mothear - fluffy golden and white she-cat with grey eyes and tufted ears

Apprentice, Snailpaw

Voleleg - small tan tom with green eyes

Lizardheart - light brown tabby she-cat with green eyes

Spiderswipe - black tabby tom with blue eyes and scars on his belly

Beetleclaw - small brown tom with amber eyes

Apprentice, Duskpaw

Jaggedclaw - grey tabby tom with blue eyes

Stormsong - grey she-cat with amber eyes

Thornspeck - golden speckled tom with green eyes

Olivegaze - tortoiseshell she-cat with olive-green eyes

Shadowmask - dark grey tom with amber eyes, a black mask and a scar on his shoulder

Mudwater - small brown tom with darker splotches and amber eyes

Raccoonheart - grey she-cat with a dark grey mask, paws, and tail stripes and amber eyes

Apprentices: Snailpaw - light brown swirled tom with green eyes

Duskpaw - grey tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Queens: Weaselfern - light brown and white she-cat with green eyes (mother of Ratkit, a brown she-kit, and Copperkit, a copper-brown tom)

Shadepuddle - dark grey she-cat with blue eyes (mother of Badgerkit, a black and grey tom, Dustkit, a sandy-grey tom, Stonekit, a grey tom and Moonkit, a black she-kit)

Elders: Molepelt - blind black tom with a short tail

Fadinglight - silver she-cat with blue eyes and a broken hind leg

### BayClan

Leader: Turtlestar - tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes and a scar on her throat

Deputy: Salmonstripe - light ginger and white tabby tom with amber eyes and a scar on his face

Medicine cat: Sunstone - golden tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Warriors: Carpfrost - sandy-grey tom with blue eyes

Gullblaze - black and white she-cat with blue eyes

Stonetuft - grey tom with green eyes and tufted ears

Eaglecry - brown speckled tom with amber eyes

Apprentice, Swanpaw

Timberjaw - brown tabby tom with green eyes

Wetsplash - blue-grey she-cat with blue-green eyes

Dawnwind - small golden she-cat with blue eyes and sleek fur

Apprentice, Eelpaw

Waterivy - silver tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Greengrass - light ginger she-cat with green eyes

Apprentice, Poolpaw

Sandpiperrun - lilac she-cat with green eyes and dark lilac spots

Cloudflower - fluffy white she-cat with bright green eyes

Apprentice, Ripplepaw

Ottermist - brown she-cat with a lighter underbelly, a short tail and amber eyes

Pebblepool - small grey she-cat with green eyes and black spots

Apprentices: Eelpaw - black tom with amber eyes

Ripplepaw - grey tabby tom with blue eyes

Swanpaw - white she-cat with blue eyes

Poolpaw - blue-grey she-cat with blue eyes

Queens: Driftmoon - silver and white she-cat with blue eyes (mother of Sandkit, a sand-coloured tom, Shellkit, a silver tabby she-kit, Lakekit, a blue-grey she-kit, and Ternkit, a black tom)

Elders: Splashflower - blue-grey she-cat with blind eyes and a scarred pelt

### RockClan

Leader: Darkstar - large black tom with blue eyes and a scarred pelt

Deputy: Stagflight - brown and white tom with amber eyes

Medicine cat: Sparrowspeck - light brown speckled tom with amber eyes

Apprentice, Skypaw - silver she-cat with blue eyes

Meditator: Wisterialeaf - silver she-cat with sleek fur, dark grey markings and lavender eyes

Apprentice, Rosepaw - light ginger and white tabby she-cat with green eyes

Warriors: Lichenwillow - brown she-cat with green eyes and scars on her belly

Gorsemoon - golden tabby she-cat with ice-blue eyes

Icepath - silver and white tabby tom with ice-blue eyes and a scar on his face

Apprentice, Beechpaw

Oakwhisper - brown tom with leaf-green eyes

Finchthorn - tortoiseshell tom with amber eyes

Hailsplash - pale grey spotted she-cat with ice-blue eyes

Quickleap - white tom with grey patches and green eyes

Apprentice, Kestrelpaw

Crowsky - black she-cat with sky-blue eyes

Rowanwatcher - reddish-brown tabby tom with green eyes

Vinewhisker - tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

Apprentice, Coldpaw

Hawkflame - brown tabby tom with eyes the colour of fire

Wildpelt - ginger and white tabby tom with green eyes

Owlspring - light brown speckled she-cat with piercing amber eyes

Leopardshadow - black spotted she-cat with amber eyes and long legs

Thunderwatcher - black tom with blue eyes

Lightbrook - white she-cat with golden spots and blue eyes

Apprentices: Coldpaw - white tabby she-cat with ice-blue eyes

Kestrelpaw - light brown tom with black and white markings and amber eyes

Beechpaw - black tom with green eyes

Queens: Starlingfall - black she-cat with white spots and blue eyes (mother of Thrushkit, a ginger tom, and Firekit, a black she-kit with ginger patches)

Juniperfire - tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes (mother of Larkkit, a black she-kit, Blizzardkit, a tortoiseshell-and-white she-kit, and Cedarkit, a black tom)

Elders: Hazelclaw - tan and white she-cat with a torn ear and green eyes

Deershine - fawn-coloured she-cat with amber eyes and a white belly

Pinespots - brown spotted tom with green eyes

Aspenflame - reddish-brown tom with blind eyes and a scarred pelt

### Cats outside clans

Maggot - grey she-cat with one blue eye, a twisted hind leg, a paralysed tail, a scarred pelt, torn ears and matted fur, loner

Bloom - plump tortoiseshell and white she-cat with amber eyes and a fluffy tail, kittypet

Moss - plump grey tom with white patches and green eyes, kittypet

Flare - black tom with amber eyes and ginger patches, rogue

Cinder - lithe dark blue-grey, almost black she-cat with mesmerising blue eyes and a scar over one eye, former RockClan medicine cat, rogue

## Prologue

Dark clouds gathered across the whole sky. Golden bolts of lightning lit up the sky. Flames raged through the forest, destroying everything in its path.

Through this chaos, a tortoiseshell she-cat ran through, dodging the sparks and leaping over burnt fallen trees and fire. She skidded through the ground as she landed in front of a huge, raging fire patch at the bottom of a cliff. She jumped, unsheathing her claws, and as she almost hit the wall of the cliff, she stretched her front paws towards it, grasping it with her claws. She climbed up, but skidded down everytime she climbed. She held on as tight as she could, but there was a bigger chance she could let go an fall right into the raging flames.

Suddenly, she felt a tug at her scruff as she almost reached the top, and was dragged up onto the smooth top of the cliff. She sat up. A large, sturdy grey tom was sitting in front of her, the reflections of the blazes shimmering in his blue eyes. The she-cat looked into his eyes.

"Thank you, Sharp Rock," she mewed quietly.

"No problem, Blooming Meadow," the grey tom replied. He stood at the edge of the cliff and sighed. "This couldn't get any worse, could it?"

"Yeah," sighed Blooming Meadow, and looked at her paws. She could see the grey rocks through them. "I even feel like I'm fading away."

"We feel that too," a voice from somewhere said. Two cats were walking up the cliff. One was a smoky-grey tabby tom with a scarred pelt, the other was a light brown she-cat. Both them and Sharp Rock looked transparent, like Blooming Meadow.

"Ash Fall?" Blooming Meadow looked at the grey tabby tom. "Splashing Bay?" She translated the look from Ash Fall to the brown she-cat. "What took you so long?"

"It's a long story," sighed Splashing Bay, and sat down, her tail curled around her paws. Ash Fall sat down next to her.

"I see." said Sharp Rock shortly, and a mute pause hung. "But, everyone listen to me. We are fading, time is running out, and there is nothing we can do about it." He took another pause. "But there is a small chance."

"Tell me," said Blooming Meadow.

"There are three cats which may help discover the mystery of our fading," said Sharp Rock, and licked his paw. "I know what they can do, and how these certain cats can discover the mystery."

"But how?"

"Don't waste our time on stupid questions," growled Sharp Rock, and looked at the fire, which slowly started climbing up the hill after them. "We have to send the prophecy right now to these three cats. I know where they are right now."

He stood at the edge of the cliff, and started chanting out the prophecy. Unfortunately, from this place Blooming Meadow could not hear out what he said. After he finished telling the prophecy, he walked toward her.

"Now we have to just wait," he whispered.

Blooming Meadow saw how the fire circled the four cats completely. I can't imagine how our clans would feel when we disappear, she thought.

A tall flame towered over her, and before she could say something, it covered her, and she disappeared.

## Chapter One

Fawnpaw's belly tightened. Finally! she thought. I completed my training, and I'm going to become a full medicine cat tonight!

She always wondered what it was like to be a medicine cat. Her mentor, Peachfrost stood next to her while they exited their den.

"You did well, Fawnpaw," mewed Peachfrost. "I feel like you're going to become a great medicine cat!"

Fawnpaw sighed. She trained for moons with Peachfrost, but it seemed like there was little connection between her and MoonClan. That was what she was worried about.

"Oh, and I'm doing you a favour," said Peachfrost. "Could you go to the elders' den? Raingrass says he's got some ticks. I'll give you some mouse bile."

Fawnpaw watched how Peachfrost went in the direction of her den. Great. I just completed my assessment and now I'm becoming an ordinary medicine cat apprentice again.

"Here," mumbled Peachfrost, walking out of her den with mouse bile wrapped in leaves in her jaws. "Take this."

Fawnpaw wrinkled her nose as she took the foul-smelling substance, and went to the elders' den. Raingrass was lying down in his nest near the entrance, while Lilysun and Swallowfern slept in their nests, back to back.

"Hi, Raingrass," Fawnpaw mewed, "where have you got that tick?"

"Just on my shoulder," the old grey tom mewed.

"Here you go," grunted Fawnpaw as she rubbed the mouse bile against his shoulder.

"That's better," sighed Raingrass, and Fawnpaw walked out of the elders' den.

Suddenly, she heard Poppystar's voice mew from the Highstump:

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather underneath the Highstump for a clan meeting!"

Fawnpaw sat on the entrance of the medicine den next to her mentor. She saw her sisters, Littlepaw and Lilacpaw, walk out of the apprentice den, as well as her mother, Echostream, exiting out of the warriors' den with Littlepaw's mentor, Whitestreak, and Lilacpaw's mentor, Larkcall. The other cats also walked out of their dens.

Littlepaw and Lilacpaw sat right underneath the Highstump. They completed their assessment just a moon ago.

"I, Poppystar, leader of MeadowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down at these apprentices," Poppystar began. "They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn."

Poppystar laid her amber gaze on Littlepaw.

"Littlepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Littlepaw shuddered, but she said the right words. "I do."

"Then by the powers of MoonClan, I give you your warrior name. Littlepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Littlefern. MoonClan honours your kindness and enthusiasm, and we welcome you as a full warrior of MeadowClan."

Fawnpaw's heart raced as she watched her sister receive her warrior name.

Poppystar rested her muzzle on Littlefern's head, and the young she-cat licked her shoulder.

"Littlefern! Littlefern!" the whole clan chanted.

Fawnpaw watched as Poppystar did the same to Lilacpaw.

"...Lilacpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Lilacdawn. MoonClan honours your intelligence and patience, and we welcome you as a full warrior of MeadowClan."

"Littlefern! Lilacdawn!" the clan called.

Fawnpaw watched as her sisters, just made warriors, looked at their clanmates with pride in their eyes.

"Littlefern! Lilacdawn!" she chanted.

She watched as Littlefern and Lilacdawn walked into the warriors' den. She was proud of her sisters, but she still couldn't wait to receive her full medicine cat name. Especially now that she had little connection with MoonClan.

I have to get ready. My ceremony will be soon now, she thought, as she watched the sun lower down on the horizon.

She walked up to the fresh-kill pile, and picked out a plump vole. She quickly gulped it down.

I'm feeling nervous. Perhaps spending time with Willowflower, Songflower and their kits will help me calm down?

She licked her paws and walked to the entrance of the nursery. Just as she was about to step in, Tigerkit, Blossomkit and Horsekit ran out of the nursery and almost tripped her.

"Sorry, Fawnpaw!" squeaked Blossomkit, and ran to her mother's side. Birchkit and Cloudykit, the younger kits, were sleeping by their mother's, Songflower's, side. Quietice was lying down in her nest near the wall of the nursery. She did not have kits of her own yet - she was expecting Thistlefur's kits.

"I saw your sisters become warriors," mewed Horsekit as he pressed himself to Fawnpaw's side. "When are you going to become a full medicine cat?"

"Tonight," mewed Fawnpaw quietly.

"I can't wait for your full medicine cat name!" squeaked Tigerkit, bounding up. "I wonder what it's gonna be?"

"I don't know," said Fawnpaw. "I hope Peachfrost gives me something good."

"We hope too!" mewed Blossomkit.

"Thanks! But it's getting late now, you should go to sleep," sighed Fawnleap and walked out of the nursery. It was already getting dark.

I have to get going.

## Chapter Two

Raccoonheart crouched down, her ears flat to her head, her tail high up, her amber eyes looking into the slightest movement. She crouched up beneath the moss-covered rocks, and froze. A dusty-brown lizard scuttled from the wall of the cave down to the floor. Raccoonheart sprung from the floor, and landed directly on her target. The young warrior ended her prey by a single bite to the spine. She stood up. A dark grey tom stood in front of her, carrying a plump brown rat in his jaws. Raccoonheart recognised him - it was Shadowmask, the tom who saved her as an apprentice, while she was trapped by the Twolegs as a loner, and now, they developed feelings for each other.

"Great catch, Raccoonheart," purred Shadowmask.

"Thanks, you too, Shadowmask," mewed Raccoonheart back.

"Let's come back to the rest of the hunting patrol together?" asked Shadowmask. "I will share my catch with you afterwards."

"Sure," replied Raccoonheart. "And thank you."

They came back to the rest of the patrol - Olivegaze, Jaggedclaw and Lizardheart. Olivegaze caught a vole, Jaggedclaw caught a lizard and Lizardheart caught a mouse.

"Let's return back to the camp," mewed Olivegaze to the other cats, and went forward, her tortoiseshell fur dissappearing in the dark. Raccoonheart and Shadowmask followed.

Soon, they came to camp and added their catches to the fresh-kill pile. Now, Raccoonheart and Shadowmask were lying next to each other at the entrance of the warriors' den, eating Shadowmask's catch together, as the young tom promised.

"Shadowmask," Raccoonheart whispered. "Do you remember how you saved me?"

"Yes, of course," purred Shadowmask. "It was unforgettable. Especially that Slatestar was so impressed by me that he made me a warrior soon after."

In his amber eyes, something zipped. Something Raccoonheart did not have time to notice.

"And can you imagine our future?" Her eyes shined. "You will be such a wonderful mate, and we will have the best kits in the entire clan."

"I know," he mewed. "You will be a wonderful mother."

Raccoonheart yawned.

"It's getting late," she whispered, and made her way into the warriors' den. "Goodnight!"

"Goodnight, Raccoonheart," Shadowmask mewed, and followed her.

Raccoonheart lay down in her nest, and leant her back against the stone wall of the den. She couldn't sleep.

If I can't sleep, I'll just lie down and stay awake until I become tired, she thought.

She saw Shadowmask rolling in his sleep, and swiping his paws.

Probably dreaming about being the good fighter he is. I remember how bravely he fought in the battle against BayClan.

But suddenly, Raccoonheart noticed that Shadowmask's swiping were fierced. He growled and hissed in his sleep, baring his teeth and unsheathing his claws. One of his paws made a huge swipe, as if he was attacking an enemy warrior. His flanks heaved.

Why is he so ferocious? Is he trying to hide something I didn't know?

She heard Shadowmask whisper something in his sleep. Unfortunately, she couldn't hear what he said.

In that case, I shouldn't learn his secret!

Like a grey bolt of lightning, she flew out from the den, landing right in the middle of the camp. The night was silent. The young she-cat silently made her way out from the cave her clan was in, and looked at the sky. The moon hang up high, lightening up the mossy stones and rocks near the AshClan territory. There were only four stars in the sky, and they were quite dim.

What happened? Where are the other stars?

She sighed. One of the stars became bright for a second, and became dim again.

I'm sorry, Ash Fall. I can't do anything about it.

She leapt on the largest rock in the territory, and stared at its shadow underneath the moonlight. But only now she saw that it was shaped different now. The shadows of the moss looked like a close-up of a cat, eyes narrowed with rage, powerful paws with sharp claws stretched out forwards. The rest of the moss looked like stars, clawed up by the cat-like shadow.

What is that? Is it a sign from MoonClan?

She shook her head.

No! I'm supposed to be sleeping, not staring at something confusing and unreal!

She walked back to camp, and then into the warriors' den. She lay down in her nest, and covered her eyes with her stripy tail, and didn't notice how she fell asleep.

She wanted to sleep so badly that she didn't notice how Shadowmask's nest, and the young warrior himself, were stained with blood.

## Chapter Three

Ottermist sat on the warm, soft sand, her gaze settled on her mother, Splashleap, and her siblings, Wavetail and Breezestripe's graves. She never forgot the battle against AshClan they died in.

I'm sorry. I should have died instead of you.

Her only remaining relative, her brother, Salmonstripe, walked up to her. He was BayClan's deputy, and was one of the most skilled warriors.

"Ottermist," he mewed into her ear. "It wasn't your fault that they died. AshClan was just accusing us of hunting on their territory."

Ottermist sighed and brushed her stubby tail along the sand. Her relatives were the ones she always cared about. She was always loyal to this clan. But in this battle, three of them lost their lives to Shadowmask's claws. Ottermist always wondered why he fought better than all of AshClan's warriors, and where did he learn these fierce moves.

And why does Raccoonheart even love this soulless fox-heart?

"It's okay," Salmonstripe brushed his tail on her shoulders. "It was MoonClan who decided their fate."

Why would MoonClan do that?

She stood up, and walked back to camp. It was full of life. Eaglecry with his apprentice Swanpaw, Dawnwind with her apprentice Eelpaw, Stonetuft and Carpfrost returned from the hunting patrol. They brought in two trout, one seabird and one sturgeon. Ripplepaw and Poolpaw were cleaning Splashflower's nest in the elders' den. Turtlestar dozed underneath the Sandrock. Driftmoon followed her kits outside of the nursery. Sunstone was cleaning Gullblaze and Timberjaw's wounds.

They are happy that the battle is over now. Unlike me, who lost three of my relatives in a pointless battle.

Ottermist walked up to Sunstone. The golden medicine cat turned her amber gaze on the young warrior once she finished treating her patients.

"Hi, Ottermist," she mewed. "Why are you here?"

"My relatives should not have died in this battle," Ottermist sighed. "Salmonstripe says that it was MoonClan who decided their fates."

"I suppose," said Sunstone. "And speaking of MoonClan, I have a problem. When I go to the medicine cat meeting, I realise that MoonClan has been ignoring us. And when they finally appear, they say that time is running out and I don't know what that means." She finished that last sentence with a sigh.

What? MoonClan is fading? There is no hope now?

Ottermist blinked. "Thanks, Sunstone," she mewed before going to the direction of the bay.

She sat on the sand, watching how slowly and peacefully the little ripples were touching the shore. The sun lowered on the horizon, starting to dissappear under the line of the sea.

We only have to wait.

She watched as the sun's top was just above the sea, and then, it dissappeared an it started to darken. Ottermist stifled a yawn.

Time to settle for the night.

She turned her tail at the sea, and walked to the warriors' den between the two large rocks. She found her nest, curled up in a tight ball and fell asleep.

She suddenly opened her eyes and saw herself in MoonClan. She saw her ancestors, half-faded away, leap up to her. Amongst them, she saw Splashleap, Wavetail and Breezestripe.

She rushed up to them.

"I missed you so much! You shouldn't have died in this battle!" she exclaimed.

"We missed you too," mewed Splashleap.

"Why did you appear in this dream?"

"We have something to tell you," whispered Wavetail. His starry tabby pelt slithered around Ottermist and sat down next to her.

"We are fading away because of ShadeClan becoming over-powered. There is nothing we can do about it," he whispered. "But there is a chance."

"What is it?"

"Trust me, it has something to do with you," said Wavetail, and everything started to fade away.

Ottermist opened her eyes and found herself lying in her nest again, surrounded by darkness and her sleeping denmates.

What did he mean?

## Chapter Four

Everything was dark, with a few moonbeams lightening up the cave through its holes. Fawnpaw followed Peachfrost to the Star Lake. She felt excited for her ceremony.

I'm going to become a full medicine cat!

Peachfrost stopped at the Star Lake. Fawnpaw saw that its water was not as bright as the last time she visited. MoonClan cats appeared, and they were much dimmer and there were very few.

"I, Peachfrost, medicine cat of MeadowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of a medicine cat, and with your help she will serve her Clan for many moons," said Peachfrost. She turned to Fawnpaw. "Fawnpaw, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between Clan and Clan and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?"

Fawnpaw's heart beat fastly. "I do," she mewed quietly.

"Then by the powers of I give you your true name as a medicine cat. Fawnpaw, from this moment you will be known as Fawnleap. MoonClan honours your kindness and intelligence, and we welcome you as a full medicine cat of MeadowClan."

Peachfrost rested her muzzle on Fawnleap's head, and her apprentice licked her shoulder.

"Fawnleap! Fawnleap!" the MoonClan cats called.

Fawnleap felt proud. She was now a full medicine cat, and she liked her new name.

As she returned back to camp with her mentor, it was already dark, with only the moon shining high up in the pitch-black sky. Fawnleap walked inside the medicine den, and lay down in her nest.

She still couldn't forget her ceremony, and she couldn't sleep. But she was so tired that she instantly closed her eyes and rested her head down.

She suddenly opened them again. She was still in the medicine den. Peachfrost was still sleeping in her nest.

Am I dreaming?

She stood up, and saw a starry tortoiseshell she-cat leap down. She was partly faded away. Fawnleap recognised Blooming Meadow, MeadowClan's first leader.

Blooming Meadow landed right in front of Fawnleap.

"Follow me," she just said.

"Where?" asked Fawnleap.

"Don't ask. Just follow me."

Blooming Meadow turned her tail on Fawnleap, and the young medicine cat had nothing to do but follow her. They walked through the entire MeadowClan camp.

"Where are we going?" asked Fawnleap.

"Don't waste our time on stupid questions," snapped Blooming Meadow.

Suddenly, they both froze. Blooming Meadow jumped, and Fawnleap found themselves rising up high. Everything went dark, and the camp disappeared. Fawnleap then found herself and Blooming Meadow sitting on the edge of a cliff.

Blooming Meadow pointed her paw into the distance. "Look," she mewed.

Fawnleap looked. An image of the Star Tree appeared. MoonClan cats were floating around it. Suddenly, storm clouds gathered above everything. ShadeClan cats leapt out of the darkness onto the MoonClan cats. A bolt of lightning struck the Star Tree, shattering it into shards as MoonClan cats were dragged away into the darkness. Fawnleap shuddered.

A shard flew right at her. Fawnleap pinned it onto the cliff with a paw, and looked at it closer. A starry figure of a fawn leaping was on it. The figure leapt from the shard, and disappeared. Then, the darkness stopped.

Blooming Meadow looked into Fawnleap's eyes.

"Our ancestors are fading, but they will be brought back by the swift leap of the fawn in the meadow, the cunning heart of the raccoon hiding in ashes, and the mist after the otter splashes in the bay," she murmured.

Fawnleap felt the cliff crumble. She then found herself falling down into the darkness.

She then opened her eyes, panting heavily. She was in her den, again. Peachfrost muttered something in her sleep. Fawnleap looked around, trying to understand her dream.

What did she mean?

## Chapter Five

Raccoonheart woke up to the sunbeams that shone into the entrance of the cave AshClan's camp was in. She looked around. She heard the clan gathering underneath the Caverock, ready for their tasks for the day. Only Shadowmask was in the warriors' den with her, and she saw he had blood on his pelt. Raccoonheart didn't want to ask him why he was bleeding.

"Get up!" Brownshade's mew was heard from outside. "You're joining the hunting patrol today."

Raccoonheart yawned, and stood onto her paws. "Sorry."

Shadowmask followed her outside as she sat down underneath the Caverock. Slatestar was preparing the patrols.

"Sootwhisper, Rustthroat, Mothear, check outside of the cave for any small prey," said Slatestar, "Mothear, take Snailpaw with you. Spiderswipe, Olivegaze, check the mossy stones. Mudwater, Shadowmask, Raccoonheart, go deep down into the tunnels."

"Let's go," mewed Mudwater, and ran to the direction of one of the tunnels. Raccoonheart and Shadowmask followed. Mudwater stopped at the smallest entrance of a tunnel.

"This is the best place to find prey when leaf-bare is coming near," explained Mudwater. "Lizards, snakes and toads hide in the smallest places from the cold."

Raccoonheart watched his brown tail disappear behind him as he snuck into the tunnel. She followed after him. Once her tail was inside the tunnel, she turned to Shadowmask.

"Just go," she mewed.

Shadowmask shook the blood off his dark grey pelt and squeezed after her.

"Crouch down so it will be easier to move," whispered Mudwater. Raccoonheart did what he said, and crawled after him.

There's something confusing happening to me, she thought. I love Shadowmask, he is a loyal and honourable warrior, but there is... something about him. Maybe he is not who I think he is? Nevermind that, though. I had a strange dream. It told me something about MoonClan fading. And what does the prophecy they gave me mean? Maybe I am involved here?

She stopped when the tunnel became wide enough to hold all three cats inside. The sun was shining through a hole in the wall of the tunnel, lighting up inside so Raccoonheart could see everything.

"Here we are," mewed Mudwater. "Now, look into small holes or underneath the rocks. Prey could be there."

Raccoonheart nodded, and walked up to a small hole in the wall of the tunnel. She saw Shadowmask and Mudwater walk to some stones covering up a part of a wall, and heard that whisper about something. She crouched down near the hole, not moving and holding her breath. She looked closely at the hole, and heard a scratching noise.

Prey!

She held her breath as a small brown mouse with a seed in its mouth scuttled from the hole, and sat down, turning its back on her. It was so busy distracted by its seed that it didn't notice the danger about to strike.

Raccoonheart waggled her hindquarters, and leaped, landing directly on her target and trapping it between her paws. She was about to end it with a single bite to the neck, but a startling wail caused her to jump off her prey, and look in the direction of where it came from. The mouse stood up, shaking, and scurried away.

Raccoonheart saw Mudwater lying flat on the ground, panting, his eyes opening and closing randomly, blood oozing from his shoulder. An adder slithered off him, and Raccoonheart understood the scene - Mudwater was about to end his target when it bit him.

Shadowmask stood next to him, horror in his eyes. He then looked from Mudwater to the adder, then swiftly leapt at it, throwing it high up in the air with one of his paws. He then stood up on his hind legs and caught the adder by its neck, ending it with a single bite.

"Mudwater!" yowled Raccoonheart, leaping to him. His flanks heaved.

"Help me!" he wailed, breathing heavily. Blood trickled from his mouth. Raccoonheart licked rapidly between his ears.

"Mudwater is dying! Quick, let's bring him back into camp!" mewed Raccoonheart.

Shadowmask nodded, and crouched down. Raccoonheart heaved Mudwater onto his shoulders, and then swiflty ducked underneath Mudwater's hind legs. She crouched down, and the two cats then crawled into the darkness of the tunnel leading back to camp.

Please, MoonClan, let him be okay. We can't let AshClan lose one warrior.

They brought Mudwater back to the middle of the camp. Raccoonheart grabbed Mudwater by the scruff, and dragged him to the medicine den. She looked to Shadowmask with the adder in his jaws.

"Add it to the fresh-kill pile," she said. Shadowmask nodded and walked up to the fresh-kill pile.

Raccoonheart let out a sigh. Boulderpaw, the medicine cat apprentice, ran out.

"What happened?" he mewed.

"I was hunting with Mudwater and Shadowmask, when Mudwater was bitten by an adder," she explained.

"That's bad! I'll go get Nightspring!" exclaimed Boulderpaw, and ran into the medicine den.

Raccoonheart looked at Mudwater. He stopped moving.

No! He cannot be dead!

Boulderpaw quickly ran out, with his mentor at his tail. Nightspring sat next to Mudwater's body and took a look at him. Then, she looked into Raccoonheart's eyes and sighed.

"I'm sorry, but it's too late now," she mewed. "He is with MoonClan now."

No!

Raccoonheart sighed, and watched as Shadowmask walked up to her.

"How is Mudwater," he asked with worry in his voice.

"He is in MoonClan now," sighed Raccoonheart, and buried her face in her paws. She felt Shadowmask lick between her ears.

"It's okay," he mewed. "It wasn't our fault he died. He is happy in MoonClan now."

Raccoonheart replied with a grunt. In MoonClan? Happy? With our faded ancestors?

## Chapter Six

Ottermist opened her eyes. It would be just a few hours before dawn. Her denmates were sleeping in their nests. Suddenly, she remembered her dream.

What could it possibly mean? she thought.

Ottermist looked around. Everything seemed normal, like no war happened. She sighed. Why didn't MoonClan just send a sign about the war? And that three cats of BayClan will be killed? And why did only my dead relatives appear in my dream?

She wasn't prepared to answer these questions. And was not preparing.

Is MoonClan really fading?

She decided to get rid of the all unanswered questions, and went back to sleep.

"Wake up! Salmonstripe is organising patrols!" Ottermist heard Dawnwind's voice, and opened her eyes.

"Oh... Of course! How could I forget?" She then sat down, licked her paw, and stroked it across her ears. Ottermist then trotted underneath the Sandrock. She sat down, and listened to the deputy.

"... and Ottermist, Dawnwind, Eaglecry, Swanpaw, you go to near the very edge of our clan, where the rocky cliffs are," Salmonstripe said. "Remark our borders, and check if there are any RockClan or AshClan warriors trespassing."

After Salmonstripe's words, Eaglecry turned to the rest of his patrol. "Follow me," he said.

Eaglecry then started to walk to the edge of BayClan's territory. Swanpaw followed her mentor, with Ottermist and Dawnwind following them behind.

Strange thoughts didn't leave Ottermist's mind. Why would MoonClan care about fading away? After all, all MoonClan cats fade away when it is their time. But now, why is it so urgent? Is there a reason?

"Ottermist?" Dawnwind's mew broke her thoughts. "Are you alright?"

"Fine."

Eaglecry's patrol finally reached the end of BayClan's camp. Ottermist could see the cliffs a few fox-lengths away from her. She saw an entrance to a cave, where AshClan's camp was. She knew RockClan's camp was in the cliffs, but even further away.

"Swanpaw, let's mark our borders," Eaglecry mewed to his apprentice.

"Mark our borders? Great! This is my first time!" Swanpaw exclaimed, her fluffy white tail lashing through the air.

Ottermist turned to the direction of Eaglecry and Swanpaw, and watched them walk away from her and Dawnwind.

Dawnwind turned her blue gaze on the fluffy brown warrior.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked. "You seem to look a bit anxious."

Ottermist snorted. Dawnwind's a good friend, I can always trust her. Why shouldn't I tell her the truth?

"W-well..." she stammered, feeling uneasy. "So... I've been wondering why MoonClan didn't send us a sign about the battle and the deaths... and I've been having weird dreams..."

Dawnwind listened to Ottermist's words, then smiled. "Don't worry, Ottermist. I'm sure it'll all be fine." She brushed her tail gently along Ottermist's flank. "Just think about how much they cared about you and you cared about them, and forget about their deaths."

"Thanks, Dawnwind," Ottermist mewed. "You're a good friend."

"Now, should we check for any trespassers?" Dawnwind then sniffed the air. "I think I caught a scent of AshClan."

"Sure," Ottermist replied.

They walked to the large rocks separating the borders of BayClan and AshClan, and looked in every direction. Ottermist spotted two figures walking on the sides of the bottom of the cliffs, and instantly recognised them.

One was a grey she-cat, with dark grey markings making her look like a raccoon. Raccoonheart!

The other was larger, a tom, with dark grey fur and a scar on his shoulder. Shadowmask!

"Dawnwind," Ottermist whispered into her friend's ear, "This Shadowmask makes me feel uncomfortable. He was the one who killed my mother and siblings in the war."

Dawnwind just nodded and looked at the two AshClan warriors.

"I'll go check if Eaglecry and Swanpaw remarked our boundaries," Ottermist said, and bounded away from the rocks. But she didn't notice how she accidentally stepped on AshClan's territory.

"Oh!" she mewed in surprise and bounced back to BayClan's territory. But Shadowmask already glared at her with his amber eyes.

"Trespassers!" he growled and hurled himself at her.

"Shadowmask, don't," Raccoonheart padded up, "you're just going to cause more trouble."

"I don't care!" Shadowmask pinned Ottermist down, and she collapsed underneath his weight. His unsheathed claws then swiped across Ottermist's muzzle. Ottermist felt blood trickle across her face while more strong blows came, and wailed in pain.

"Shadowmask, stop!" Raccoonheart's terrified mew came behind AshClan's border. "You're on BayClan's territory! What will Slatestar do when he finds out you broke the code?"

But Shadowmask wasn't listening to her, and continued to swipe his claws at Ottermist's face. Ottermist just had to unsheath her claws, and sink them into Shadowmask's neck, but his blows were too strong.

"Ottermist!" she heard Dawnwind's yowl as she sprung from the rocks and landed next to her, then turned to Shadowmask. "Let her go!" she hissed at him.

Shadowmask's eyes shone with icy fire, then he turned to Raccoonheart. "Kill the other BayClan cat, Raccoonheart, while I kill this one," he sneered. But Raccoonheart backed away.

"I can't! This means I have to cross the border!" she hissed.

"What's happening?" Eaglecry's mew was heard from the other direction, and the BayClan warrior was running back, with Swanpaw at his heels. Ottermist let out a sigh of relief.

Eaglecry turned at Shadowmask.

"Trespassers!" he hissed and pinned Shadowmask down from Ottermist. Ottermist was too weak to stand up, but she could see how Eaglecry swept his unsheated claws across Shadowmask's belly, then got off him.

"Leave!" he growled. "And do not come back!"

Shadowmask stood up, shaking, and leant on Raccoonheart's shoulder. They then limped back to AshClan's camp.

"You may have won this time," Shadowmask hissed, "but next time, I will bring my clanmates and we'll see what happens!"

Ottermist groaned as Dawnwind leant towards her.

"Let's go back, and tell Turtlestar what happened," her soothing voice whispered into her ear.

Ottermist just nodded and blinked. Dawnwind ducked underneath her chest, and the whole patrol went back to BayClan's camp.

Ottermist sighed. My clanmates will always help, but would they help figure out why MoonClan is disappearing?

## Chapter Seven

Fawnleap walked through the meadow to the direction of the stream. She still remembered her dream. A fawn's leap... could that possibly be me?

She blinked. No! Peachfrost sent me to pick some marigold leaves! I have to do my job as a medicine cat, not wonder about stupid questions!

Fawnleap stopped at the small streams slithering through the rocks. She looked closer, and recognised the bright golden flowers growing on the banks. Marigold!

The pale ginger medicine cat apprentice tore some flowers off the ground, taking their stems with them. Once she made sure she picked enough, she turned her back on the streams and bounded back to MeadowClan's camp.

Fawnleap stopped at Peachfrost's den. Her mentor put some leaves on the ground, and then turned around to see her apprentice coming back with the herbs she sent her for.

"Here, Peachfrost!" Fawnleap mewed as she gently put down the flowers.

"Thanks, Fawnleap," Peachfrost purred. "Great job on recognising them!"

As she saw her mentor pick up the herbs and walk to the entrance of her den, Fawnleap sighed. She still could not get that dream out of her head, and wondered what she had to do with it. Why did MoonClan sent this to me and not Peachfrost? I just received my full name, and she's an experienced medicine cat who trained for lots of moons.

She looked up at the sky. It already started to darken, and she could see the full moon rising up.

There is a gathering tonight. I have to get ready.

Peachfrost walked out of her den.

"Fawnleap, get ready for the Gathering," she whispered. "I'm ready."

Fawnleap shuddered. "Yeah- of course I will," she said.

"Good," Peachfrost replied.

Fawnleap could see Poppystar walking from her den to the Highstump.

She is going to announce that we are going to the Gathering. I'll have to forget my dream and listen to her, she thought.

Fawnleap sat down next to Peachfrost near the Great Boulders. She could see all the cats from the three other clans. Wow! I don't remember the last time I've been to a Gathering, and I didn't expect to see that many cats!

Her gaze fell on Shadowmask, sitting next to Raccoonheart. The dark grey warrior's look told her that he would always betray his clan for power. She felt a hollow feeling in her belly, and looked away.

"Are you alright, Fawnleap?" Peachfrost asked.

"Fine," Fawnleap whispered.

She saw the four leaders stand next to their boulders. I'll have to listen to them.

Darkstar was the first to leap on his boulder and sit down.

"Prey is running well in RockClan," he began, "and we have a new warrior. Lightpaw had succeeded her assessment, and now she goes by the name Lightbrook."

"Lightbrook! Lightbrook!" all the cats in the four clans chanted.

Darkstar jumped off his boulder, and Poppystar jumped on hers.

"Good news in MeadowClan," she mewed, "Birchkit and Cloudykit, born to Songflower, are the new additions to the clan," she waited until whispers of congratulations have stopped. "Also, Quietice is expecting Thistlefur's kits, so there will be new kits in MeadowClan." She turned to the silver-and-white queen, whose belly was swollen with kits. "Peachfrost's apprentice also received her full name. Fawnpaw now goes by the name Fawnleap, as well as her sisters, who became warriors. Their names are now Lilacdawn and Littlefern."

"Fawnleap! Lilacdawn! Littlefern!" Fawnleap heard the clans shout out her and her sisters' names.

Poppystar then leapt off her boulder.

It was Slatestar's turn to sit down on his boulder.

"While in AshClan, we have two new apprentices," he said, "Snailpaw and Duskpaw are training to become warriors."

"Snailpaw! Duskpaw!" the clans chanted.

"However, that does not mean good news," Slatestar continued, "One of our warriors, Shadowmask, broke the code by stepping on BayClan's border to attack a cat. We hope to resolve this," he then silenced and leapt off his boulder.

Fawnleap felt a knot in her belly. Shadowmask! I always knew this flea-pelt would always be hungry for power!

Finally, Turtlestar leapt onto her boulder.

"As Slatestar just said," she began, "one of our BayClan warriors, Ottermist, got attacked by an AshClan cat who stepped on our border. She also told our medicine cat, Sunstone," she turned to the golden she-cat, "that she had a weird dream. It told her a prophecy, and she thinks she is involved with it."

Fawnleap saw Raccoonheart walk up to her.

"I also had a weird dream about a prophecy," she hissed into her ear.

"Me too," Fawnleap whispered.

"That's all news for BayClan. End of the Gathering," Turtlestar finished, then leapt off her boulder. Her clan was the first to leave, then RockClan and AshClan.

MeadowClan was the last to leave. Fawnleap walked back to her clan next to her mentor.

Weird. Raccoonheart and Ottermist had the same dream as me. Could me and them be the prophecy cats?

## Chapter Eight

Raccoonheart sighed. She could not forget about the Shadowmask situation.

I thought he was a good cat. Was I really that foolish to love him?

She could not sleep after the Gathering. She could only remember Slatestar's words.

We hope to resolve this. Those words echoed through her mind.

Emptiness lay deep in her belly. She was worried about what will happen to Shadowmask. I know he's a murderer, but I love him. Maybe he will realise what he has done? What if he'll get exiled?

She suddenly remembered her dream.

The cunning heart of the raccoon hiding in the ashes... that's me! she realised. And Fawnleap said she had a weird dream too... could it be the same dream as mine?

She paused her thoughts.

And what about the moss shadow? Could it be part of the prophecy too? And was the cat shadow Shadowmask? No! It couldn't be! He is a loyal and brave warrior, he could not be a traitor!

She closed her amber eyes, sinking deep into her memories. Here was her as the young loner Raccoon, crouched down in a cage shaking on a monster as it roared through the Thunderpath. Some moments later, a young AshClan apprentice leaps directly at the cage, knocking it down with his paws onto the ground, sending it rolling until its door broke off.

Next, she remembered her apprentice ceremony, and now the apprentice who saved her, now a warrior, looking at her with love. She remembered her and Shadowmask sharing a mouse, leaping across the mossy stones, and fighting in a battle together.

But after all these happy memories, the last one appeared that showed her that who she fell in love with was a completely different cat. A dark grey tom pinned down a fluffy brown she-cat, sending blows across her muzzle.

Raccoonheart snorted as she chased this memory away. No! I don't have enough time to remember all this!

She looked around the warriors' den. All her denmates were sleeping. Shadowmask growled and hissed as he rolled onto his back and swept his paws at the air. But Raccoonheart didn't try to wake him up.

She poked her head out of the den, and looked around. She saw Lizardheart's silhouette guarding the exit of the camp. Nevermind! I know a secret way out!

Raccoonheart crouched down, and slithered across the floor of the cave. Her gaze fell on a tunnel between a wall of the den and a large rock. She crawled up to it, and disappeared in the darkness.

The tunnel was narrow and dark, but Raccoonheart ignored that. She continued to scuttle down the tunnel for a few minutes, until she felt it go down. She tried to stay in her position, but rolled down and sprawled on her belly. The suddenness sent her into shock, but she soon calmed down when she felt something solid underneath her.

She sniffed around, and immediately wrinkled her nose as she caught the stench of the Thunderpath. Raccoonheart jumped as she heard a monster rattle above her. As soon as everything became quiet, she continued her way forward, until she saw a fragment of the night sky in front of her.

She squeezed her way out from a hole at the other end of the Thunderpath. She stood on the smooth ground, and listened. Somewhere, Twolegs yowled loudly. A dog barked far away. But Raccoonheart still knew where she was going.

The young warrior suddenly caught a memory of the place where she was born. And I remember exactly where it is!

She trotted up to a Twoleg den, and turned around one of its corners. She ran down the line of the dens, until she reached its end, and turned around a corner, then ran along another line of Twoleg dens. She stopped in front of what looked like a weirdly-shaped rock with a small flat stone at the top. This is where the Twolegs throw the remains of their food. I remembered this as a kit.

She walked around it, and then her gaze fell on a scrawny, old grey she-cat with patches of fur torn off her pelt sleeping behind it. She soon fell into the memories getting her fluffy kit fur washed by the same she-cat, then breathing her scent as they both went to sleep. This she-cat... was her mother!

Raccoonheart walked up to her, and nudged her with her nose.

"Wake up! It's me, Raccoon!"

The old she-cat opened her still cloudy one blue eye sleepily, then lifting her head to look at her.

"Maggot! It's me, Raccoon, your daughter!"

"Raccoon, you say?" Maggot blinked and sniffed. "You don't smell like my daughter."

"That's because I live in a clan now," Raccoonheart mewed. "I got separated from you, and was rescued by a clan cat."

"Oh... I never though I'll see you again," Maggot purred, then licked her paw, and straightened her whiskers. "Why did you come to me then?"

"I just wanted to see you," Raccoonheart replied, "and I need your help with something."

"Help? What with?"

"The cat who saved me seems good, but I don't know if I should trust him," Raccoonheart took a pause, "tell me, how was it with you and my father?"

"Well, when I first met your father," Maggot began, "me and him always spent the best times together. In other words, our relationship was normal. So don't worry about your relationship with who you love, I'm sure it'll go okay! And when you feel uncomfortable with him, just tell him that you want to be alone."

Raccoonheart took a pause. No. I shouldn't tell her about the situation with BayClan.

"Thanks, Maggot," she mewed, "I'll remember that."

"No problem," Maggot yawned and closed her eyes.

Raccoonheart watched her curl up and felt some positivity. I should go to sleep too.

"Goodnight, my mother," she whispered, then turned her back on her and ran back to the direction of AshClan's territory.

## Chapter Nine

Ottermist thrust her paws through the dark water above its surface, sputtering as she swam through the strong current. She managed to find enough strength in her to swim to a rock and climb on top of it. On the horizon, a terrible storm raged. Bolts of lightning streaked the sky. Thunder crashed. Strong winds blew, making enormous waves.

She saw Splashleap, Wavetail and Breezestripe’s faces sticking out of the cold, dark sea, many times disappearing below. They tried to beat the water with their paws, but the current was too strong.

“Ottermist!” their terrified voices cried, the raging storm making them harder to hear. “Help us!”

Ottermist shuddered as a strong wave crashed onto her rock, and crouched down, digging her claws into its hard surface.

“Splashleap! Wavetail, Breezestripe, wait!” she cried louder than the storm. Another wave crashed onto her stone, and she tumbled into the sea, stretching her paws forward.

She could barely see anything in the dark water, but she pushed herself forward, trying to catch a glimpse of her mother and siblings. She then saw them sinking away, dragged down by the cold, deep sea.

“I’m here!” she shouted, shivering as the freezing water stung her skin through her fluffy brown fur.

“Ottermist!” her relatives cried as she stretched her paws towards them.

Ottermist’s eyes then widened in horror as she watched them slowly fade away as they sunk deeper. She could still hear their voices crying out her name around her.

“Ottermist!”

Ottermist pushed harder, but it was too late. Her relatives have already fully faded away, with only their faint outline staying for a couple of seconds, and then it was gone too.

“No!”

She suddenly felt as if she was sinking away too. She tried to thrust her paws to push herself upward, but all her strength was lost, and now, she closed her eyes, felt herself freeze, and sink deeper.

Ottermist suddenly opened her eyes again. Familiar voices echoed through her mind.

Ottermist! Ottermist! Ottermist!

She worriedly looked around, and felt relief as she found herself in the medicine den. She felt her muzzle sting, but it stopped stinging soon. The voices disappeared.

Sunstone sat next to her with a worried look on her face. “Is everything okay?” she asked. “You were shivering in your sleep.”

“Uh, it’s nothing,” Ottermist replied, “just a bad dream.”

Another stinging pain rushed through her muzzle, and Ottermist clenched her teeth.

“Do you need some more comfrey root?” Sunstone asked. “It will help with the stinging in your wounds.”

“Yeah, sure” Ottermist mumbled, sighing with relief as the pain faded away.

Sunstone knows what she’s doing. The pain will end soon.

“Here,” Sunstone’s voice was muffled by the comfrey root poultice in her jaws. She put it on her paw and rubbed it across Ottermist’s muzzle.

“Thanks, Sunstone,” Ottermist sighed. She looked to the direction of the entrance of the medicine den. Dawn will be coming soon.

“Do you need some poppy seeds to sleep better?” Sunstone asked her.

“No thanks,” Ottermist replied. She lay down on her belly and rested her head on her paws.

Sunstone is a great medicine cat, she will always ask if her patients will need more help. She is also a great friend, about as good as her sister, Dawnwind, who is my best friend.

Another wave of thoughts entered her mind.

But what about the dream about some prophecy? Could one cat in the prophecy be… me?

Ottermist yawned.

I should sleep now. I will think about this tomorrow.

She closed her eyes, but the thought of the prophecy could not leave her mind. She decided to open them again. Wait! Instead of sleeping, I could help Sunstone!

She stood up and walked up to the golden medicine cat.

“Sunstone, I know I’m not a medicine cat,” she whispered to her, “but can I help you arrange your herbs? Together, we can finish it quicker.”

Sunstone turned to her. “Sure. Arranging herbs was always hard for me, even as a medicine cat,” she replied.

Ottermist watched Sunstone’s fluffy tail disappear in the crack in a wall of the medicine den. “Pick the same types of herbs from the pile of mixed-up herbs on the floor and put them on the shelves of the other wall,” she heard her muffled voice from the depth of the crack.

Ottermist walked up to the pile of herbs, and started to work hard to put all the same herbs on different shelves of the medicine den. It was quite hard for her to identify the herbs, but she remembered Sunstone telling her what each herb looked like just in case, and she finally succeeded.

Sunstone finally walked out of the crack with soaked herbs in her jaws, her paw and belly fur soaking wet. “The herbs have been washed away into the pool next to the medicine den, and if we won’t dry them out, they will lose all their usage,” she explained as she walked out of the den and laid the herbs on a flat rock.

She then returned back to Ottermist. “Oh, and I also have a favour. Can you go to the edge of RockClan’s border and get some juniper berries? They are purple-blue in colour, and they grow on spiky-leaved bushes near the cliffs.”

Ottermist nodded, and ran out of the medicine den. Enough time to think about the prophecy, she thought.

She ran to the direction of RockClan’s border, remembering where it was as her mentor, Gullblaze told her.

I know where I’m going. So one of the cats in the prophecy is possibly me, and I think that I have to go somewhere with two other cats from two other clans to stop ShadeClan from defeating us. Yeah, I think that’s what it says.

She finally stopped near the cliffs, where somewhere was RockClan’s camp. She laid her sight on a patch of bushes growing opposite her. She walked up to them and noticed their spiky leaves, with their purple-blue berries. Yes! Those are the herbs Sunstone sent me to fetch for her.

Ottermist picked some of the berries, then ran back to BayClan’s camp. She could understand the prophecy now, and now she just had to go back.

Now she was in the medicine den, putting down the juniper berries to Sunstone’s paws.

“Thanks, Ottermist!” the golden medicine cat mewed, placing them carefully on a shelf. She then looked at Ottermist’s muzzle.

“I think your wounds have healed, Ottermist,” she said, “you can go to the warriors’ den now.”

“Thanks, Sunstone,” Ottermist replied, walking out of the medicine den. The sun was already starting to rise, and she already saw Salmonstripe walking out of the warriors’ den.

“You’re better now?” he asked. Ottermist nodded.

“In that case, you’re joining Dawnwind’s hunting patrol today.”

Ottermist already saw her friend walking after the deputy. Dawnwind saw Ottermist and ran up to her.

“Good morning, Ottermist! Are you better now?” she asked.

“Yes, Sunstone said my wounds have healed,” Ottermist replied.

“That’s great!” Dawnwind looked from Ottermist to Salmonstripe. “Can Eelpaw come with me? He said that he wants to learn a new hunting move.”

“Sure,” Salmonstripe replied.

“Did somebody say my name?” the black apprentice trotted out of the apprentices’ den up to his mentor. “Dawnwind, tell me what that move is!”

“You’ll learn it while on the patrol,” Dawnwind told him calmly.

Ottermist saw other cats walking out of their dens, ready to receive their tasks for the day. Turtlestar was already starting to climb the Sandrock.

Okay, I have to listen to her now. I should think about the prophecy more later.

## Chapter Ten

Fawnleap sat in the medicine den, sorting out herbs. Peachfrost went out to collect more herbs. The light ginger medicine cat apprentice could not forget about the prophecy.

I know that I’m part of the prophecy. Two other cats from two other clans are also part of the prophecy. And I know who they are.

As she placed the last leaf onto the pile of dock leaves, she heard a cheerful voice outside.

“Hey, Fawnleap!”

Fawnleap turned around and saw Rabbitpaw outside the medicine den. Sorrelpaw and Cricketpaw stood next to their sister.

“Hi!” Fawnleap mewed. “What do you want to tell me?”

“We just completed our assessment!” the grey and white apprentice said proudly. “We can’t wait for this moon to pass!”

“Yeah!” Sorrelpaw added. “I wonder what our warrior names are going to be.”

“Me too,” Cricketpaw said. Fawnleap his tired and nervous expression. “I hope we’re given something good.”

“That’s great!” the medicine cat apprentice replied.

“You did really well,” Whitestreak, the apprentices’ father, walked up to them. “I can’t wait for your ceremony. I’m sure you’re going to be given good names.”

“I would do anything for our kits,” Poppystar walked out of her den and stood next to her mate. “I’m so proud of you,” she purred, looking at the three apprentices.

“I can’t wait for their warrior ceremonies too! But I might be involved in… something important…” Fawnleap turned to Poppystar. “Can I tell you about it in private?”

The dark ginger leader turned to her. “Sure, if it’s really important,” she replied. “We’ll talk in my den.”

“So…” Fawnleap suddenly got lost in her words. She closed her eyes, trying to think of what to say.

“Take your time,” Poppystar said.

“I have received a prophecy,” Fawnleap said after finding what to say. “It said something about the swift leap of the fawn in the meadow, the cunning heart of the raccoon hiding in ashes, and the mist after the otter splashes in the bay. I think the first one might be me? And could the other cats be…”

Poppystar closed her eyes, trying to think about something, then opened them again. “The first cat is definitely you,” she finally said, “and I know who the other cats are. The second cat is most likely Raccoonheart from AshClan, and the other cat is most likely Ottermist from BayClan.”

Makes sense why she knows both these cats, since she’s the leader, Fawnleap thought. I understand now.

“Thanks, Poppystar,” she said.

“No problem. I hope all three of you will save MoonClan - and us, too,” Poppystar replied.

Fawnleap then walked out of the leader’s den, to the medicine den.

Now I know who the other two cats are. But how are we supposed to save MoonClan and the clans? I have very little connection with MoonClan, and the other two are just warriors.

The light ginger she-cat lay down on her belly and put her head on her white paws to rest, when she saw two familiar figures coming up to her - her sisters, Lilacdawn and Littlefern.

Fawnleap sprung up onto her paws.

“Hi,” she mewed.

“Hey, Fawnleap!” Littlefern mewed back. “Are you thinking about something?”

“Poppystar said that I’m involved in a prophecy and me and two other cats from other clans will save MoonClan from suddenly fading away, but I’m not sure what to do,” Fawnleap replied, “MoonClan would always reject me when I asked them for help, and being a medicine cat has been really hard for me. I’ve always had very little connection with MoonClan.”

Lilacdawn’s lavender eyes shone. “You’ll be fine, Fawnleap,” the lilac-and-cream she-cat mewed gently, “remember, we and the rest of MeadowClan are always here for you. I’m sure you will save the clans.”

“Yeah,” Littlefern added, “and we’re sure you’ll have a better connection with MoonClan after you save them!”

“Thanks,” Fawnleap purred, “I always knew you would always help me!”

As her sisters left, Fawnleap lay down again. Suddenly, she felt the presence of a cat near her.

Peachfrost returned already?

But her mentor’s scent wasn’t anywhere. The medicine cat apprentice looked around, but she saw no one.

She then heard a voice she never heard before:

Fawnleap.

She turned behind her, and saw the starry shape of a tom, partly faded away. His fur was a faint cream colour, and he had green eyes.

Who is he?

“Who are you?” she hissed.

“There’s no time for that,” the MoonClan tom growled.

“Why are you here, and what do you want to tell me?”

The tom sat down next to her. “Look outside,” he hissed.

Fawnleap looked outside the medicine den. Three cats, one of them she noticed looked like her, were travelling across an open moor. She saw them travelling again through the mountains, and across a river, and noticed them sometimes stopping at what looked like the pieces of the Star Tree. Then, she saw them at a cave, putting the pieces together. Now the Star Tree rose, and dark shadows of cats around it disappeared. Then, everything faded away, and Fawnleap now saw MeadowClan’s camp.

“This is what you need to do to complete the prophecy. You meet at the darkest time of this night, and at dawn you’re going,” the MoonClan tom whispered to her. As Fawnleap turned to look at him, he faded away.

When he was gone, Fawnleap sighed, understanding what she had to do. She looked outside, and saw the figure of Peachfrost returning back.

Peachfrost is returning back. I have to tell her that I’m going to discuss between me and both of the cats at night, and that at dawn we’re going.

## Chapter Eleven

Raccoonheart trotted around the Mossy Stones. She still thought about what Maggot told her. So… the situation with Shadowmask should be normal… but why did he break the warrior code by stepping on BayClan’s territory and trying to kill a cat that he accused of stepping on AshClan’s territory, and did nothing wrong?

The grey she-cat stopped walking, and continued to think. Am I really that stupid for not thinking Shadowmask is not who he seems to be?

She suddenly remembered what she had to do. There’s no time to think. I have to hunt for something.

The warrior looked around the Mossy Stones, sniffing the air. Somewhere, she caught the scent of a mouse, and crouched down, slowly and silently coming towards it, then froze.

In front of her, she saw a small mouse run out from under a fallen tree near the entrance to AshClan’s camp. Raccoonheart slowly crept towards it, then leapt.

She landed directly at her target, then ended its life with a bite to the neck. When she made sure she killed the prey, she looked up at the sky.

“Thank you, MoonClan, for the prey’s life,” she whispered. I don’t think MoonClan hears me now.

The grey warrior picked her prey up, and made her way back to Mothear’s patrol.

When she arrived here, the rest of the patrol already caught prey. Mothear with her apprentice Snailpaw caught a rat together, Spiderswipe caught a lizard and Lizardheart caught a toad.

“I caught a mouse,” Raccoonheart said to the rest of the patrol.

“Then let’s go back to the camp and add our catches to the fresh-kill pile,” Mothear said, and the patrol went back to the camp.

Raccoonheart added her mouse to the fresh-kill pile. She saw Shadowmask sitting at the entrance of the warriors’ den. But he seemed different. His gaze looked cold and manipulative.

Is he thinking of something? Raccoonheart thought.

Suddenly, she remembered Mudwater’s vigil. She remembered Shadowmask being there, but he seemed like he didn’t care about his brother’s death.

They were so close when I first joined AshClan… why did he have to change?

Then, she thought about Shadowmask trying to kill Ottermist by stepping onto BayClan’s border.

What will he do next?

Then she remembered that Slatestar said that AshClan will hope to resolve this. She saw Brownshade sitting next to the Caverock. The she-cat walked towards her.

“Hello, Brownshade,” she mewed to the deputy, “did you and Slatestar resolve the situation with BayClan?”

“Yes,” the dark brown she-cat replied, “we talked to him, but he said that he was a loyal warrior and that he should kill all our enemies.”

Raccoonheart took a pause. “Thank you, Brownshade,” she said, then walked to the warriors’ den.

Shadowmask was still there. Raccoonheart shot a look at him. He just turned away.

I won’t talk to him. It will only get worse.

She walked into the den and lay down in her nest, then closed her eyes to take a nap.

Raccoonheart woke up to something in her side. She sat up, and the pain went away. Just a thorn in my nest. I’ll get it out.

She found the thorn in her nest, then plucked it out with her teeth and spat it out of the warriors’ den. She then stretched and opened her mouth in a wide yawn.

I’m not going to sleep. I’m just going outside.

Raccoonheart walked out of the warriors’ den, and looked round the camp. But something didn’t seem right.

Where is Brownshade? And Shadowmask? I have to find them! What if something bad happens?

The grey warrior walked out of the cave, to the Mossy Stones’ direction. Suddenly, she heard a cat’s yowl pierce the air, then ran towards the sound.

She stopped at the largest rock that was the nearest to the entrance of the cave, then hid behind it, only her head poking out slightly. She saw Shadowmask and Brownshade standing face-to-face, ears flattened, claws unsheathed.

“Shadowmask? Didn’t you say that you were being loyal to AshClan?” Brownshade hissed, her expression both calm and scared.

“I did. But AshClan needs a real deputy,” Shadowmask growled, then hurled himself at the deputy, sinking his fangs in her shoulder and digging his claws into her skin.

Raccoonheart opened her mouth in horror, then forced herself to leap out from behind the stone.

“STOP!”

Shadowmask shot a cold glare at her, blood dripping from his muzzle. Raccoonheart knew she had to act fast. She turned her tail at them and dashed straight into AshClan’s camp.

She ran straight into the medicine den, bumping into Nightspring.

The black medicine cat narrowed her eyes. “Raccoonheart? What happened?” she asked.

“I… I saw Shadowmask attack Brownshade… he tried to kill her!” Raccoonheart yowled those words out.

“That’s bad. Let’s get Slatestar,” Nightspring then whispered something into Boudlerpaw’s ear, then all three ran out of the medicine den up to Slatestar, who was dozing under the Caverock.

“Slatestar!” Nightspring nudged the leader with her nose.

The grey-and-white tom opened his eyes. “What happened?” he asked.

“Raccoonheart said she saw Shadowmask try to kill Brownshade. We need you,” Nightspring mewed quickly.

Slatestar sprung up on his paws. “Lead the way, Raccoonheart,” he told the grey warrior.

Raccoonheart nodded, then the four cats ran out of the camp to the Mossy Stones.

Shadowmask and Brownshade were still there. Brownshade lay unmoving on her side, blood dripping from her shoulder. Her flanks heaved, she was still alive. Shadowmask was still digging his claws into her pelt.

Slatestar looked into the dark grey warrior’s eyes, then walked up towards him.

“Shadowmask,” he growled, his voice sharp and strict.

Shadowmask looked at his leader. “What now?” he hissed.

“You said that you were being loyal, but now, you just tried to kill one of your clanmates. Who was the deputy, by the way. And you broke one of the most important rules in the warrior code.”

Shadowmask heard the leader’s words, then let himself off Brownshade. “And what are you going to do?”

“You will be exiled today at sun-set,” Slatestar replied to him, his gaze strict and piercing.

Raccoonheart saw Shadowmask’s expression go from cold to scared. The dark grey warrior then flattened his ears, and slowly walked into AshClan’s camp.

Nightspring and Boulderpaw walked up to Brownshade, blood still dripping from her. Boulderpaw heaved the deputy onto his mentor’s shoulders, and then, they walked with Slatestar and Raccoonheart back to camp.

It was sun-set. Raccoonheart was at Shadowmask’s exile.

Slatestar stood on the Caverock, his blue gaze settled on the dark grey warrior, who was standing under him.

“Shadowmask, you’re being exiled from AshClan,” Slatestar told him. “Do you choose the latter?”

“Yes,” Shadowmask just said.

“Then, you’re exiled now,” Slatestar hissed.

Shadowmask didn’t say anything. He just turned his back on the group of AshClan cats, then headed out of the camp. Before he was about to walk out of the cave, he turned around and shot a cold look at Raccoonheart.

The dark grey warrior’s amber gaze pierced her soul. Raccoonheart just growled silently, then watched Shadowmask walk out of the cave.

“Exile dismissed,” Slatestar said after a short pause.

Raccoonheart watched him walk down from the Caverock, and watched the other AshClan cats go to their dens. She just stayed in her place.

Now he’s exiled. But that will be worse for AshClan, as he’s now not part of our clan and would do whatever he wants. Which means that he would most likely kill Slatestar and Brownshade, and become the new leader to destroy AshClan.

## Chapter Twelve

The shining silver back of a haddock gleamed underneath the surface of the sea. Ottermist sat down, perched on a rock, and chose the right moment to catch her prey. She saw the fish swim below the water again, and took a breath of the salty air of the sea, then climbed from the rock into the slightly cool and calm water.

The brown she-cat pushed herself forward, and there she saw her target. Ottermist thrust her paws towards it, and swam up to her prey. She dived directly underneath the haddock, and all she had to do was to swiftly swim up and sink her fangs into its flesh.

When she caught her prey, the warrior swam up to the surface of the sea, then to the sandy shore. She placed her prey down at her paws, then shook the water from her fluffy brown fur.

Suddenly, a horrifying image flashed into her mind. She remembered her nightmare, desperately trying to catch up to her deceased relatives, with the dark, cold water pulling them down…

“Ottermist?” Dawnwind’s words cut her off from her memory. “Are you okay? You look like you experienced something scary.”

Ottermist quickly got rid of her thoughts, then looked to the direction where her friend was walking from. “It’s - it’s nothing,” she replied.

Eelpaw followed his golden-furred mentor. “So, what was the hunting move you wanted to teach me?” he asked.

Dawnwind looked at her apprentice, then back to Ottermist. “Oh, I almost forgot,” she said, “let’s show him the new hunting move.”

Ottermist nodded, then watched as Dawnwind and Eelpaw trotted up to her.

“Eelpaw, this is an effective hunting move that you will need when hunting fish,” Dawnwind explained to her apprentice. “We’ll try it together.”

Ottermist watched as Dawnwind led Eelpaw to the rock from which she caught her prey.

“You climb onto this rock, and I will stand in the water,” she heard Dawnwind say, and watched as Eelpaw followed what she said, “then when you notice the fish appear below the sea’s surface, leap into the water from the rock and chase it towards me. I will then catch this fish, and we will return back with prey.”

Eelpaw nodded as his mentor walked into the sea, until the water was about to her chest. Ottermist watched as he looked closely at the water. After a few moments, he seemed to twitch, then he leapt into the sea, disappearing underneath the surface. She then noticed how Dawnwind dived underneath the water too. After several seconds, they both appeared above the surface, Dawnwind with a fat cod in her jaws. They both swam up to the shore, shaking the water off their pelts.

“Great catch!” Ottermist mewed to them.

“Thanks,” Dawnwind replied, her voice muffled by the prey in her jaws. Ottermist then picked up her haddock, and the three of them walked up to the rest of the patrol.

Salmonstripe, Wetsplash and Waterivy were already here, and they already caught their prey.

Salmonstripe noticed Ottermist’s haddock and Dawnwind and Eelpaw’s cod. “Great catches,” he congratulated them.

“Nice catch, Ottermist,” Wetsplash snorted, “great catch for a half-RockClan cat.

Ottermist sighed. She knew she was half-blooded, and all the cats of BayClan knew. Her mother, Splashleap, had a forbidden relationship with a RockClan tom, Berryclaw. Their first litter was Salmonstripe, but no one knew he was half-blooded, as Splashleap had a close friendship with a BayClan warrior, Rippleheart, and everyone assumed he was Salmonkit’s father. Rippleheart even acted as a father figure for him.

But when Salmonpaw was an apprentice, a battle over territory with MeadowClan happened. BayClan won this battle, but Rippleheart was killed. A few moons after Rippleheart’s death, Splashleap was expecting kits from Berryclaw again.

After Ottermist and her littermates were born, the whole clan had a whole debate on who was the kits’ father. They knew it couldn’t be Rippleheart, as he was killed a few moons before Splashleap was expecting kits. And they noticed that at gatherings where they took Splashleap and her kits, they were speaking with Berryclaw. BayClan then challenged RockClan to a battle over a forbidden relationship, and they took the deal. Berryclaw was then killed in the battle.

“I wonder what took you so long to catch that measly fish,” Waterivy added, “we know pure BayClan cats take much faster to catch prey.”

The two sisters then snickered to each other. Ottermist flattened her ears.

“And almost all of your family is dead,” Wetsplash mewed at Ottermist with a mean smirk on her face, “and you seemed sad when they died. Well then, why don’t we kill you now so you will all be happy together in MoonClan? And half-blooded cats don’t deserve life anyway.”

Waterivy and Wetsplash then laughed to each other. Ottermist felt her belly tense, and she remembered MoonClan slowly disappearing.

“Enough,” Salmonstripe’s voice brought her relief as he said that to the two sisters. Waterivy and Wetsplash looked at him.

“Whatever, half-blooded cat,” Wetsplash replied. She then shot a mean look at Ottermist, then they walked back to BayClan’s camp together. Salmonstripe just calmly looked into his sister’s eyes.

“Just ignore them,” he mewed, stroking his tail along her flank.

Ottermist dropped her stumpy tail. Great. My family dying and then my teasing of being half-clan.

“It’s okay,” Dawnwind’s gentle voice whispered into her ear, “remember, you are a true BayClan cat at heart. And that me, Sunstone and Salmonstripe are all here for you.”

Ottermist looked into her friend’s blue eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered, as they walked back to camp.

But Wetsplash and Waterivy’s teasing are the least of my worries. MoonClan is fading, and I can’t let my family fade away. I must prove myself that just because I’m not a pure BayClan cat doesn’t mean I’m not strong.

## Chapter Thirteen

The late sun-high beams shone on Fawnleap’s fluffy pale ginger pelt as she made her way to the fresh-kill pile. She spent the entire morning collecting herbs with Peachfrost as she told her about the prophecy, and didn’t even take a break to eat.

She picked out a plump mouse from the fresh-kill pile, and took it with her to the medicine den. She lay down, and placed it on her paws.

The camp was empty, except for a few warriors Poppystar didn’t send on the border patrol, Poppystar herself, the elders laying underneath the sunbeams, and Willowflower and Songflower taking their kits outside to play. Fawnleap noticed her sisters walking up to her.

“Hey, Fawnleap!” Littlefern mewed cheerfully. “Do you want to share that mouse with us?”

“Sure, of course!” Fawnleap replied.

Littlefern and Lilacdawn lay beside her in front of the medicine den, and they ate the mouse together. Fawnleap felt her littermates’ warm, silky fur brush her sides as they lay close down next to her. After there was only a pile of bones left after the mouse, they just decided to talk.

“How have you been feeling? Are you enjoying being a medicine cat?” Lilacdawn asked.

“I’ve been feeling great. And I’m enjoying being a medicine cat, thanks for asking!” Fawnleap replied.

“What about the prophecy? Have you figured it out?”

“Yes, I think. And I think I must go outside our clan to fulfil it,” Fawnleap mewed. I don’t want to leave MeadowClan, don’t want to leave everyone I love…

“You’ll be alright,” Littlefern mewed gently, “you will have warriors by your side.”

“Thanks,” Fawnleap purred.

“I think we should stop chatting now,” Lilacdawn mewed, “we’ll leave you alone for now.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Fawnleap agreed.

“See you next time!” Littlefern meowed to her as they stood up and made their way to the thorn entrance to MeadowClan’s camp, where Stemstripe’s patrol was returning. Littlefern saw Rabbitpaw among the warriors, and Fawnleap could hear them meowing cheerfully to each other. Lilacdawn saw Cricketpaw, and they were talking with each other too. They have found someone to always be for them and always chat with them.

Lilacdawn and Cricketpaw then walked up to her.

“How was the patrol?” Fawnleap asked Cricketpaw.

“It was fine, we didn’t see any other clan warriors trespassing,” Cricketpaw replied, “but we did see a cat somewhere between the AshClan and MeadowClan borders.”

“What did they look like?” Fawnleap gasped. I hope they are not attacking MeadowClan.

“Dark grey, with amber eyes and a black mask, and they had a scar on their shoulder,” Cricketpaw described, “they looked oddly similar to…”

Fawnleap already knew the answer.

“Shadowmask.”

Oh dear. I hope he’s not going to attack MeadowClan.

“I think he was exiled or something,” Cricketpaw continued, “I remember AshClan saying that he attacked one of BayClan’s warriors. What if he did something even worse?”

I knew it, Fawnleap thought. I knew he would do something worse.

“I think you should warn Poppystar,” Fawnleap suggested, “we can’t let our clan be under attack.”

“We’ll tell her,” Cricketpaw said, then turned to look at Lilacdawn, who looked back at him. Her eyes shone with something Fawnleap tried to recognise - was it love?

“Hey, Cricketpaw, what are you doing?” Rabbitpaw’s voice came near them. “Chasing after Lilacdawn again?”

“I’m not chasing after Lilacdawn!” Cricketpaw hissed. “And you should stop sticking your nose everywhere like a kit!”

Fawnleap stifled a mrrow of laughter. She knew that they would always tease each other as kits, and she and her littermates would do that too.

“We should go now,” Lilacdawn mewed. “We have nothing else to do.”

Fawnleap watched as her littermates with Rabbitpaw and Cricketpaw walked away to their dens. She heard another familiar voice.

“Fawnleap!”

Her mother, Echostream, came walking to her. “Just wanted to see how my precious daughter is doing.”

“I’m doing great, thanks,” Fawnleap mewed, “I’m enjoying being a medicine cat.”

“Good to know,” Echostream said, “I’m glad you’re enjoying your life.” Then, she left.

Fawnleap walked into the medicine den, the ivy tendrils of the entrance soothingly stroking her spine. Peachfrost was working in the corner, then turned to face her.

“Hello, Fawnleap,” she mewed, “I heard that to fulfil the prophecy, you must go on a journey with the three other cats. And I prepared something for you.”

Fawnleap watched her mentor put her paws off something she was working on, then push it towards her. The young medicine cat took a close look at it. It was a loop of ivy tendril, its ends tied tightly together. Strapped to it, was a leaf bag.

“Wow, it looks amazing! You did such a great job working on it! But how will I use it?” Fawnleap wondered.

“I will put herbs you will need for the journey in the leaf bag,” Peachfrost explained, “and you will have the ivy tendril with this strapped onto it. You will collect more herbs on your journey. That way, you will have something by your side when one of you needs help.”

Fawnleap listened carefully to what her mentor said. “That’s a great idea! It sounds really useful,” she said, “and thank you!”

“No problem,” Peachfrost smiled, “you can stay here for a bit before you go. And I will sort out more herbs.”

With these words, she then walked up to a shelf where all the herbs were stored. Fawnleap then felt the presence of another cat by her side.

This time, she didn’t spend time asking who it was. She already knew. The same MoonClan tom was sitting beside her.

“Tonight,” his low, quiet voice said, “the three will meet and at dawn they will go, but beware. The wandering shadows will rise up to a new power, with the cinders that will send them in the dark.”

“Wait, what does this mean?” Fawnleap mewed. “And who are you?”

But the tom didn’t answer; he was already gone before Fawnleap could even look into his eyes.

Fawnleap didn’t want to waste her time wondering who the tom was, and what he just said meant. It was already dark. She saw Willowflower sending her kits back to the nursery, and the other cats walking into their dens.

I should go now.

Peachfrost already stopped sorting out herbs, but there were still some herbs next to her. She picked them up in her jaws, then walked up to Fawnleap.

“Here are the herbs you will need for the journey,” she explained, her voice muffled by the herbs. Fawnleap recognised them. The medium green-coloured basal leaves - burnet. The small, white flowers with the large, yellow centres - chamomile. The big, dark green leaves - sorrel. The thick, dark green, oval leaves - the leaves of a daisy.

“Now, do you remember what they do?” Peachfrost asked her.

Fawnleap shuddered, then took a pause. After she found a moment to say what she knew, she took a breath and said, “These herbs are used as travelling herbs. They give a cat strength for travelling.”

Peachfrost nodded. “Correct.”

She then put the herbs into the leaf bag attached to the ivy tendril. Fawnleap then took the ivy tendril in her jaws, then hung it around her neck.

“Good luck, Fawnleap,” Peachfrost whispered.

Fawnleap walked up to her and they snuggled close together, then she trotted out of the medicine den. Lilacdawn, Littlefern and Echostream were outside.

“Good luck, Fawnleap,” Lilacdawn said quietly.

“Stay safe,” Echostream whispered.

“Have a nice journey,” Littlefern mewed.

Fawnleap snuggled close to each one of them.

“Thank you,” she said.

She then turned and walked up to the bracken exit out of MeadowClan’s camp. She turned behind to give her mother and littermates one last look. They looked to each other for a few moments, before Fawnleap waved her tail to them, then she walked down the bracken tunnel.

I’ve never been on a journey before. I’m so excited! But I have to save the clans too. That’s what the prophecy says.

She was now running down the blooming colourful field, its blue, red and yellow flowers shining in the faint moonlight. Her leaf bag swayed in the air on the ivy tendril around her neck. I almost forgot how beautiful MeadowClan’s territory is.

She breathed in the cool air of the night, the light wind slightly ruffling her pale ginger fur. She was now near to an unclaimed land. The faint moonlight created a path for her, which led her to the place where she and Raccoonheart and Ottermist would meet, then at dawn they would go on their journey.

These words still rung in her ears:

Tonight, the three will meet and at dawn they will go, but beware. The wandering shadows will rise up to a new power, with the cinders that will send them in the dark…

## Chapter Fourteen

Raccoonheart lay at the entrance of the warriors’ den, finishing the mole she had chosen from the fresh-kill pile. Its earthy taste lay at her tongue as she bit into its leathery skin. She remembered the event that happened from the day before.

Shadowmask almost murdered his Clanmate… Brownshade still can’t go on her duties… and MoonClan is still fading.

She sighed. And AshClan still treated her like a rogue, even though she joined AshClan many moons ago. Not even her mentor, Rustthroat, was by her side. A wave of memories covered her…

Raccoon was walking down a green valley around some moss-covered stones. Shadowpaw was walking alongside her, with Sootwhisper and Mudpaw behind them.

“This place looks beautiful!” she gasped, looking around. “How long is left until we’re here?”

Shadowpaw smiled. “We’re already here.”

They walked into the entrance to the largest cave, and Raccoon opened her mouth in wonder. She hasn't seen that many cats before! She couldn’t believe she was going to be part of an entire clan.

“Welcome to AshClan,” Shadowpaw said. “We’ll ask Slatestar to accept you.”

The dark grey apprentice and his mentor then made their way to a grey and white tom dozing underneath a tall rock - Slatestar. Raccoon watched them have a short conversation, then Slatestar started to climb the rock he was dozing underneath. When he was at the top, he let out a yowl:

“All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather underneath the Caverock for a clan meeting!”

Raccoon looked around. There were even more cats exiting from their dens now! She knew what she had to do. She ran to the crowd of cats and sat down underneath the rock, which she now knew was the Caverock, as the AshClan cats called it.

“While on the hunting patrol, Shadowpaw rescued this outsider, who will train as a warrior, and is willing to become an apprentice of AshClan…”

“A loner?” one of the cats in the crowd hissed. “Now you’re accepting outsiders into our clan now, Slatestar?”

“Loner blood will stay loner blood!” another cat caterwauled.

“Where did she even come from?” another yowled.

“She carries a strange scent! She doesn’t belong to any of the other clans!” one of the younger cats hissed.

Now, a cacophony of many cats yowling reached her. Shadowpaw looked at her with worry in his eyes.

“AshClan doesn’t need an extra mouth to feed!”

“Will this scrawny thing even be enough for AshClan?”

“Can she even hunt?”

“QUIET, ASHCLAN!” Slatestar hissed, trying to drown the noises from the crowd. The crowd then silenced. “AshClan needs more warriors right now, and this loner accepted to do training to become a warrior. Raccoon, come forward.”

Raccoon stood up, shaking a little. She slowly came forward, trying to ignore the glares the AshClan cats gave her.

“Raccoon, you have joined AshClan and agreed to do some warrior training, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Raccoonpaw. Rustthroat, come forward.”

A russet-coloured she-cat walked out of the crowd and stood next to Raccoonpaw.

“Rustthroat, you have shown yourself to be determined and having fighting skill in your apprenticeship. You will be Raccoonpaw’s mentor.”

Slatestar then looked down at Raccoonpaw.

“I hope Rustthroat will pass down her traits onto you.”

Rustthroat looked at Raccoonpaw, her amber gaze piercing her.

“What do I have to do now?” Raccoonpaw whispered.

“Touch noses with me,” Rustthroat growled, “I thought all loners knew what clan cats do.”

Raccoonpaw awkwardly touched noses with her new mentor.

“Raccoonpaw! Raccoonpaw!” she heard cats call out her new name.

Once they stopped chanting out, Slatestar looked down at all of them.

“Clan meeting dismissed,” he said.

Raccoonpaw bounded up to Rustthroat. “My first day in AshClan! What are we going to do first?” she asked.

“Do first?” Rustthroat snarled. “We’re going to do some training, obviously! I thought you knew what clan cats did, loner!”

Rustthroat then ran out of the cave. “Follow me,” she hissed.

Raccoonpaw followed after her. I hope my training will be good, she thought.

She knew that Nightspring and the apprentices would always be here for her, but only if she really needed help. And the BayClan warriors Ottermist and Dawnwind would always be kind to her, as well as the MeadowClan medicine cat apprentice Fawnleap. But she still needed real friends in AshClan. Mudwater was dead, and Shadowmask betrayed AshClan by almost murdering their deputy.

I should check on Brownshade now, she thought, standing up and making her way to the medicine den. Nightspring went out to collect herbs, and Boulderpaw was playing with his siblings, Snailpaw and Duskpaw, near the apprentices’ den. I wish I had siblings too.

Raccoonheart was standing at the entrance to the medicine den, only her head, shoulders and front legs inside it. Brownshade was lying in the corner of the den, her back turned on the grey warrior and her head resting on her paws. The back of her neck and her shoulders were wrapped in cobwebs.

Raccoonheart slowly made her way towards the deputy. “Brownshade,” she mewed.

When Brownshade heard her name, she quickly turned around to face her, her grey eyes blazing with both rage and fear. “GET AWAY FROM ME! YOU PROMISED YOU WOULD BE LOYAL TO ASHCLAN!” the dark brown she-cat hissed, slashing her unsheathed claws across Raccoonheart’s face. Raccoonheart immediately jumped backwards, feeling her own warm, sticky blood dripping from her muzzle. Her ears stung.

Brownshade jumped up and lifted a paw up, preparing to send another blow to the young warrior’s face, her teeth bared, claws unsheathed, hackles raised and rage burning in her eyes, but then suddenly put it down and looked at her with her gaze calming down. “Sorry,” she whispered, sheathing her claws, “I didn’t mean to do it… I didn’t fully recover from the injuries Shadowmask gave me, and I keep imagining him everywhere.”

“She still doesn’t feel like herself after the incident with Shadowmask,” Nightspring’s calm voice said as she was returning with herbs, “she still thinks he is here even though he’s exiled.”

Raccoonheart’s chest tightened. Now Brownshade is imagining things and still can’t go on her duties. Because of Shadowmask. Why did I fall for him? Now my new life is falling apart.

Nightspring sat down near one of the shelves, and began sorting out herbs. “Brownshade, do you need more cobweb?” she asked,

“No thanks,” Brownshade replied, lying back down in her nest.

“I’ll give you some poppy seeds for you to sleep better,” Nightspring mewed, taking a few poppy seeds and wrapping them in some leaves.

“Sure, that would be better,” Brownshade sighed, placing her head on her paws. Nightspring placed the poppy seeds next to her muzzle, and the dark brown deputy lapped them up.

Raccoonheart turned her tail on them and made her way outside of the den. “I’m going outside to not disturb you,” she said, looking behind her shoulder.

“That’s what I would do if I was you,” Nightspring mewed. “I’ll stay with her, in case something like what happened before happens.

It was already dark. Raccoonheart was walking out of AshClan’s camp to the Mossy Stones. She suddenly remembered something. I should go to where me and the other two cats are supposed to meet, but where?

She suddenly saw a faint silver light appear in front of her. She saw that it formed a path, and it led her out of AshClan’s territory. I figured it out. I should follow this path.

She looked behind, then broke into a run, following the path of the half-faded moon. She didn’t have time to think about anything else, she just had to follow the path.

It should lead me somewhere. I hope Shadowmask isn’t around here.

## Chapter Fifteen

Ottermist lay at the entrance of the warriors’ den, thinking about the prophecy. She knew that she was part of it, but she didn’t want to leave her clan for the journey without telling anyone, but at the same time she felt like not wanting to tell anyone she was leaving.

And the memories of Splashleap, Breezestripe and Wavetail’s deaths still haunted her. Every night, their terrified voices cried out her name, and she could see their figures getting dragged into the darkness.

I wish these battles and conflicts between the clans never happened.

She knew Salmonstripe, Dawnwind, Gullblaze and Sunstone would always be for her. But the ones she lost were the closest to her…

She remembered the times before the battle happened. How she felt Splashleap’s warmth embrace her when she and her littermates settled for the night as young kits. How she was comforted by her mother when a thorn got stuck in her pad. How proud Splashleap looked at her kits at their apprentice ceremony, and later, their warrior ceremony. How they spent their best times before the battle came.

She now didn’t feel like herself after the battle. She could clearly remember her mother and littermates lying still on their sides, covered in wounds, the grass stained by their own blood. And the sorrow that came to her on this day, that never left her…

Dawnwind padded to her from the fresh-kill pile, a plump fish swinging from her jaws. “Hi,” she mewed. “Wanna share?”

Ottermist looked up at her friend. “Sure,” she said.

The golden-furred she-cat put the fish down, and they together bit into its flesh, until there was only a pile of bones left.

“How are you feeling?” Dawnwind asked her soon after.

“I don’t feel like myself right now,” Ottermist replied quietly.

“How come?” the golden she-cat mewed.

“I don’t really want to talk about it,” Ottermist sighed.

Dawnwind thought for a moment. “That’s alright,” she said, “you can talk to me when you have time.”

Ottermist dipped her head to her friend. “Thank you.”

The brown warrior made her way to the medicine den. Sunstone was already there, but she didn’t look like her usual friendly, calm, kind self. Her usually neat, fluffy fur that could outshine even the sun was matted, and her usually kind, warm amber eyes were worried and empty.

“MoonClan is actually fading away,” she mewed shakily.

All of BayClan should be worried now. The medicine cat admits that MoonClan is disappearing!

“This could not get any worse!” Ottermist meowed.

“It already got worse,” Sunstone whispered. “Many cats of MoonClan… are now prisoners of ShadeClan.”

Please, don’t let Splashleap, Wavetail and Breezestripe be one of them!

“And Splashleap, Wavetail and Breezestripe are one of the ShadeClan prisoners,” Sunstone answered quietly after a short pause.

No!

But then, Sunstone calmed down and sat down next to Ottermist.

“But you can solve this,” she whispered in her ear, “as the prophecy states, you are most likely one of the three cats that will fulfil this.

Ottermist waited for a moment. “I knew that,” she said.

How did she realise this just now?

“All cats old enough to swim on their own gather underneath the Sandrock for a clan meeting!”

It was completely dark when Turtlestar’s voice was heard from the middle of BayClan’s camp. Ottermist sat down underneath the Sandrock, waiting for the leader to announce something. Other cats exited from their dens. Dawnwind sat next to Ottermist’s side, and Salmonstripe began to climb the Sandrock to sit down next to his leader. Wetsplash and Waterivy were the last to sit down and wait for Turtlestar’s announcement. As Waterivy sat down, she gave Ottermist a look that wasn’t very friendly, then turned back to her sister. Ottermist flinched at her cold blue gaze.

“Our medicine cat, Sunstone, delivered me a warning from MoonClan,” the tortoiseshell leader began. “Beware of the creatures lurking in the shades, taking away the moonlight on the darkest nights. The clans will get lost when the last beam of light gets hidden by shadows”

The crowd of cats underneath the Sandrock began to whisper to each other quietly.

“I think the warning means that the warriors of ShadeClan will imprison our ancestors in MoonClan, and when they take away all of them, the clans will fall,” Turtlestar continued.

Ottermist suddenly heard a voice in her head after the leader’s words.

Follow the light, it said.

Wait! She thought. What light?

“Sunstone also told me about the main prophecy,” Turtlestar continued her speech, “and she said that one of our warriors is part of it.”

Ottermist was already prepared for the words.

“The mist after the otter splashes in the bay…”

Everyone then turned to look at Ottermist. The brown warrior sat still as stone, not even dropping a word. Wetsplash and Waterivy were especially staring at her with icy fire blazing in their eyes. Waterivy then whispered something to Wetsplash, and they both took their eyes off Ottermist.

“Clan dismissed,” Turtlestar finally said.

Ottermist knew she had to go. Follow the light, the voice still rang in her head.

Every cat had already left the Sandrock. Only Wetsplash and Waterivy remained. Ottermist was about to turn her back on them and follow the so-called light, when Wetsplash’s sharp mew made her jump.

“Hey, oh-so-great prophecy cat,” she said with a sarcastic edge in her voice, “where are you going? To the grounds of MoonClan? Too bad your relatives aren’t here anymore!”

Waterivy sniggered. Ottermist didn’t know what to say. “I…”

“How stupid you are, to think you, a half-clan cat, a part of an important prophecy!” Wetsplash hissed, running up to her.

“I bet those stupid MoonClan cats only accept the half-blooded,” Waterivy sneered, holding her unsheathed claws closer to Ottermist’s face. As she swept, Ottermist barely managed to dodge out of her way.

“Aw, do you not want to fight?” Waterivy purred in a sickly sweet voice. “Well, we’ll leave you alone… for now.”

“You won’t come back to BayClan anyway when you go to the place you’re going to,” Wetsplash added. “Half-blooded cats like you won’t survive even a day outside a clan.”

The two sisters put their tails high and walked back to their den. Ottermist lay down, her belly tightening.

The voice rang in her head again.

Follow the light.

Ottermist looked behind, and saw a very faint trail of moonlight running from her. So this is the light I have to follow!

She stood up slowly, then trotted up the moonlight path. It led her away from BayClan’s territory. Near RockClan’s cliff territory, she broke into a run.

I have to hurry. The other cats might be waiting for me already.

She felt more confident with the cool night breeze blowing onto her fluffy brown fur. She knew she had to fulfil the prophecy…

For BayClan…

For the other clans…

For MoonClan…

For her now trapped relatives…

## Chapter Sixteen

The moonlight trail started to fade away as it lead Fawnleap to a lonely oak tree standing by the edge of the field. She had been running and following the trail for quite long now, and decided to take a rest and wait for the other cats. I’m so excited, but also scared, she thought. What if Raccoonheart and Ottermist won’t be really friendly with me? What if I forget where to go? NO! This won’t happen! Another thought zipped through her head. We’re fulfilling a prophecy, after all, and we will help each other! My medicine knowledge will help, and also their courage and endurance!

She caught the scent of another cat not too far away. Fawnleap then saw two amber eyes appear in the darkness and make their way towards her, and here she saw Raccoonheart, the AshClan warrior. Her grey fur was almost invisible in the darkness, but the faint moonlight that shone on her from above made her shape more clear. Raccoonheart walked up to the oak tree Fawnleap was resting underneath, her muscles rippling under her grey coat. The AshClan she-cat appeared tall and menacing to the young medicine cat, so Fawnleap didn’t say anything, just looked at her shyly. But she knew that Raccoonheart was no harm.

“Hello, Fawnleap,” Raccoonheart said slowly.

“Hi,” Fawnleap mewed quietly. No. She means no harm. Instead, she will have her strength against any enemies we encounter.

“How have you been feeling?” Raccoonheart asked. This time, Fawnleap got more confident.

“I’m feeling fine,” Fawnleap replied, remembering the good times when she met her at gatherings, “my clan is doing well, but MoonClan still won’t accept me as a medicine cat.”

Raccoonheart snorted. “MoonClan won’t accept you? Wait until you hear AshClan still won’t accept me as a true warrior,” she said with sharp sarcasm in her voice, then it dropped into a more softer tone. “Other than that, I’m doing fine. Actually, not really fine. Didn’t you hear what happened earlier in AshClan? And you’re supposed to be a medicine cat!” the AshClan warrior sounded sarcastic again.

Fawnleap didn’t answer, just watched the other she-cat look at her with a smug expression on her face, and she couldn’t help but smile slightly at her words.

“By the way, where’s Ottermist?” Raccoonheart suddenly changed the subject. “She’s also part of the prophecy. She should already be here now.”

“I’m coming!” another voice was heard from a distance. Fawnleap turned into the direction where it was coming from, and then Ottermist herself trotted up to them. Her fluffy brown fur looked even more fuzzy because of the slight wind that blew into it, and her bright amber eyes gleamed in the darkness. The BayClan warrior bounded up to them and sat down.

“Hey, Ottermist!” Fawnleap mewed. Now she was sure that her journey with them would be safe. “How’s it going?”

“Terrible!” Ottermist suddenly turned off her usual friendly, playful self, and Fawnleap always knew why. “Those who I was very close to are now captured by ShadeClan!” Fawnleap stifled a mrrow as the BayClan warrior dropped onto the ground and put one forepaw over her face.

“Why all of a sudden is she so dramatic?” Raccoonheart whispered into her ear.

“Don’t you know? Losing those who were the closest to her was enough, and now they’re captured by ShadeClan, mouse-brain!” Fawnleap whispered back. Ottermist got up.

“So, what are we going to do here?” she asked.

Fawnleap took a pause, thinking about what they would do. Finally, she spoke;

“First, we will talk and rest here. We will sleep in nests we will make tonight,” she started. “In the morning, we will have breakfast that one of us will catch, rest for a little, then have our travelling herbs,” she pointed her forepaw to the leaf bag strapped to the ivy around her neck, watching Raccoonheart and Ottermist nod in agreement. “Then, we will start our journey, and collect the shards of the Star Tree we will find on our way. We will collect all of them when the trail ends, though I’m not sure where we will go and how many shards there will be. And that’s all. Any questions?”

A mute pause hung. The two other she-cats didn’t answer.

“Alright, then.”

Fawnleap sat next to Raccoonheart’s side, with Ottermist on another side. The three she-cats had climbed the oak and sat on one of its branches, talking and just looking into the distance.

“The night reminds me of when me and Shadowmask went on walks and runs as apprentices when we were not at gatherings,” Raccoonheart whispered, “I miss these times.”

The night was almost completely dark, with only the faint white spot of the moon in the pitch-black sky. These were not the nights Fawnleap remembered on her earlier days. The sky was illuminated by thousands of bright stars, making nights brighter.

“And the night reminds me of how my mother curled up around me and my littermates when we settled for the night,” Ottermist sighed, “I really miss them.”

“How about you, Fawnleap?” Raccoonheart asked.

Fawnleap thought for a while. She couldn’t really think of anything. Finally, she decided to change the subject.

“How about we talk about something else? I have a story to share,” she mewed.

Ottermist’s eyes shone with curiosity. “Tell us, please!”

“Alright. So, one day, it was raining. I was with my little friend group - me, my littermates, Snowfox, Sunnylynx, Honeybriar, Featherwillow and Foxnettle - were sitting and chatting. Suddenly, here comes Cricketpaw and his siblings, those snobby little apprentices. Cricketpaw was the most annoying of them all. He spent hours swooning over my sister, Lilacdawn, but I know he will never get her. Anyway, Cricketpaw asks Lilacdawn - Lilacpaw at that time - to come with him because of something important. But Lilacpaw wasn’t stupid - she knew that he didn’t have something important and all he wanted was to admit his crush on her. She immediately pushed him into a nearby puddle, and his oh-so-gorgeous sleek brown and white pelt got all wet and dirty. We all look at him and laugh. Cricketpaw gets mad and charges at Lilacpaw, but my other sister, Littlepaw, charges into him, and the battle begins. I see Cricketpaw trying to untangle himself from my sisters’ grasps, Snowfox, Sunnylynx and Honeybriar all chasing after Rabbitpaw, and Foxnettle and Featherwillow pinning Sorrelpaw down, and I could not help but just laugh. Cricketpaw finally gets free and shoves those who were pinning his sisters aside, and all three pin me down. Luckily, Poppystar noticed us right at this moment. She then puts them, her own kits, on tick duty. I still can’t forget this day,” Fawnleap gave a little purr of laughter when she finished her story.

Ottermist have a snort of amusement. “That was great.”

“We should go to sleep right now,” Raccoonheart reminded them, “it’s already getting late.”

“Alright,” Fawnleap carefully started to climb down the tree, “let’s make our nests now. I can show you how to make the best nests ever! I made them for my clanmates, and they really liked them!”

“They sound great!” Ottermist mewed, climbing down after her.

Fawnleap sat down on the grass, spinning grass around her paws. Raccoonheart and Ottermist watched her, copying her every movement of making.

“First, you get some grass, and spin it around your paws until it forms a nest. Next, you line it with some feathers, flowers and moss, and if you’re lucky enough to find it, sheep wool,” she added, plucking some holes with leaves. “Twolegs quite often let sheep out near our territory. We collect any wool that’s left after, and can you just imagine how soft and comfortable you feel when you’re lying on it!” Fawnleap already almost finished her nest.

“Those nests sound great,” Raccoonheart said. Fawnleap noticed how quickly the AshClan she-cat already finished her nest! Now, Raccoonheart was lining it with some moss and feathers.

After all three of them finished their nests, Fawnleap carefully took the ivy tendril with the leaf bag and gently put it against the trunk of the oak tree they were underneath.

“Alright, that’s enough chatting,” Raccoonheart tiredly said as she lay down in her nest. “We should sleep right now.”

“But what if we get attacked at sleep?” Ottermist asked with sudden alarm. “This oak is visible to anything around.”

“Yeah, Ottermist. Because when we sleep, the stalks of grass around us will be attacking us,” Raccoonheart said sarcastically, curling up. Ottermist gave a slight smile at her words.

Fawnleap stretched in her nest, opening her jaws in a yawn. She was already ready to go to sleep.

Suddenly, she saw that something zipped not too far away from the oak. She tried to look closer, but it was too dark. But even in the dark, she could clearly tell that it was an animal. Most likely another cat.

There is someone else nearby?

She then shook this thought off her head. I should be sleeping! It’s most likely just a loner wandering around.

The pale ginger she-cat curled up into a ball, resting her head on her paws, and closed her eyes. Everything was silent, with only Raccoonheart and Ottermist’s breathing near her, the light breeze shaking the leaves of the oak.

All of this calmed Fawnleap down, and she didn’t even notice how it dragged her into a deep sleep.

## Chapter Seventeen

Everything was still dark when Raccoonheart lifted her head and opened her eyes. It must be just a few minutes before dawn.

Fawnleap and Ottermist slept in their nests by her sides, their flanks slowly rising as they breathed softly. The AshClan warrior actually liked Fawnleap’s way of making sleeping nests, and wished her own clan made these two. But all clans have their own unique ways of making sleeping nests, and that’s okay.

As she knew that dawn would start soon, she had to hunt a few pieces of prey for the other travelling cats. As she thought of this, she slowly got up on her paws and walked out of her nest.

The sky was already starting to lighten up as Raccoonheart made her way to the middle of the field. She pricked her ears, listening to the faintest sounds. A rustling sound then caught her attention. The grey warrior sniffed the air, and now understood that the scent belonged to a mouse. Perfect!

She turned to the direction of the sound and crouched down, lifting her tail so the prey couldn’t feel her coming. Raccoonheart slowly crept forwards, following the prey scent, her eyes watching closely. Finally, she saw what she was going to catch. A plump brown mouse crawled out of the dew-draped grass and sat down beside a small blackberry bush, putting its tiny paws on a berry and nibbling on it. Being distracted by it, it wasn’t aware of the danger about to strike. Raccoonheart crouched lower, eyes focused on her target, then leapt, unsheathing her claws. The mouse looked up from its berry and noticed her, but it was too late. The she-cat landed straight at it, sinking her teeth into its throat. Its paws wriggled for a few seconds, then the prey stopped moving. That was great, Raccoonheart thought, now I have to catch two more.

The sky was streaked with pale pink and golden when Raccoonheart came back to the oak with three mice dangling from her mouth by their tails. The morning mist swirled around her, making her grey pelt almost invisible. Fawnleap and Ottermist were already getting up. Ottermist was the first one to notice her.

“Wasn’t there anything else you could catch?” she asked. “We BayClan cats aren’t used to eating furred prey.”

“Would you expect there to be fish on land?” Raccoonheart replied with a note of sarcasm as she put down her catches. Ottermist just looked at her before replying, “fine. I’ll eat your dusty earth prey.”

Fawnleap bounded up to the older she-cats. “Good morning,” she mewed, picking a mouse out of Raccoonheart’s catches.

“Morning,” Raccoonheart replied.

“You caught three mice in one hunt? That’s great!” the pale ginger she-cat said with approval in her voice. It’s good that you’re not the only one who prefers earth prey.

“Thanks,” Raccoonheart replied, and all three cats then started to gulp the mice down. After they finished with the mice, they lay down underneath the oak to rest.

It was near sunhigh, and Raccoonheart with the other two she-cats decided that resting was enough. Now, Fawnleap took the travelling herbs out of her leaf bag and laid them down in front of them.

“So… Do we have to eat them?” Ottermist asked, looking at the herbs.

“Yes,” Fawnleap just replied.

Raccoonheart shoved some sorrel, daisy and burney leaves and chamomile flowers forward with a paw and sniffed them. They smelt quite fresh, which meant that they were picked only yesterday. She looked at the herbs even more, then instantly grabbed all of them with their mouth and began to chew them, until they all mixed together, then swallowed. Fawnleap and Ottermist’s herbs were gone too, and only a tiny clump of them was left.

“What are you going to do with this?” Ottermist asked, motioning to it.

“This will go bad anyway,” Fawnleap replied, “I’ll just leave them here,” she added, shoving the clump into the grass with her paws.

“So, I guess it’s time to go now?” Raccoonheart asked.

“Yes, because now that we have our travelling herbs, it’s time to go!” Fawnleap answered with enthusiasm in her voice.

“Alright, but… where should we go?” Ottermist wondered.

Fawnleap’s expression instantly changed from excitement to confusion. “I don’t know,” she mewed quietly.

Raccoonheart looked around. The prophecy never told us where to go and collect all the shards.

Suddenly, she felt herself freeze, a faint tinkling noise swirled around in her ears, growing louder and louder. Everything then disappeared, and went dark. Raccoonheart felt like she was floating.

What’s happening to me?

With no warning, something struck her mind like lightning, and a voice whispered these voices in her ear:

“If you follow the sun’s trail to the other end,

The first shard will be here, with the most of your day spent.”

After those words were said, her vision clouded. After it cleared, Raccoonheart found herself in the field again, lying down. Fawnleap sat down next to her.

“Is everything alright?” she asked.

“I think I received the first clue,” Raccoonheart replied, still uneasy from what just happened to her,

“If you follow the sun’s trail to the other end,

The first shard will be here, with the most of your day spent.”

“The sun’s trail…” Fawnleap whispered, then closed her eyes, as if thinking of something. Ottermist looked at Raccoonheart as if she was being weird. Finally, after a few moments, Fawnleap opened her eyes again.

“The clue says that we have to follow the sun’s trail to the other end of the field,” Fawnleap said.

“Alright, I suppose, but… which other end?” Ottermist asked. “This field is really wide, it has lots of ends!”

“Maybe we can see if there is any sunlight trail or something?” Fawnleap suggested, but Raccoonheart stopped her.

“I didn’t see any sunlight trail,” she said, shaking her head.

“Then how do we find a way?” Fawnleap mewed.

Raccoonheart didn’t answer. She knew that she had to figure out another way. There is no sunlight trail…

Then, an idea came into her mind. I know what we have to follow! The sun rises and sets during the whole day… I think we have to follow the sun’s cycle!

The grey she-cat ran up to Fawnleap and Ottermist.

“I finally figured it out,” she said, “we have to follow the sun’s cycle as it moves across the sky, and the end of the field will be where it sets.”

“But that’s going to take too long!” Ottermist exclaimed.

“I think Raccoonheart’s right,” Fawnleap said, “there is no other option. It will take long, but there is only one end of the field where the first shard will be, and that will be where the sun sets.”

“If that is, we have to go now,” Ottermist finally agreed.

The three cats were now walking along the middle of the field, and it was already sunhigh. They followed the sun in the sky as it rolled along as the time went by.

“I can’t wait until we reach the end of the field!” Ottermist exclaimed.

Raccoonheart wasn’t listening. She wanted to, as quickly as possible, collect all the shards so that MoonClan would be saved. The thoughts of Shadowmask couldn’t leave her mind, and she always felt like he was always here next to her, even if she couldn’t see him.

Fawnleap stopped next to some blue flowers that looked like those in her fur, but those were starting to wilt. She quickly took them out, then picked some of the flowers and carefully put them in her fluffy pale ginger fur.

She, maybe, cares about her looks. From her personality, I can tell that she wants to impress everyone. But when I was an apprentice, I didn’t care about my looks, or anyone noticing me at all. But Shadowmask still loved me, and I loved him. How naive I was then…

Another thought - memory even - zipped into her head. Shadowmask did actually murder cats, before he became a warrior.

Brightpaw and Leopardpaw pinned Raccoonpaw down, digging their claws into her grey pelt. She felt her body sting as the two apprentices scratched her face, shoulders and sides, and nipped her ears. “L-leave me alone,” she stammered.

Leopardpaw snorted. “Leave you alone, Raccoon? You are in love with a fox-hearted murderer, and you will never be part of AshClan, freak!” the golden spotted tom hissed, sending another blow to her face.

“Shadowpaw is not a murderer! He is a good cat and just wants the good in him to be seen!” Raccoonpaw gasped as Brightpaw stroked a claw right under her chin, and felt tears of pain well in her eyes.

She saw a familiar shape to the opposite of them at the end of the cliff they were on. Shadowpaw!

“Leave Raccoonpaw alone!” he growled, rage burning in his amber eyes. He leapt at Leopardpaw, pinning him away from Raccoonpaw. As he did that, one of his hind paws gave a strong push to Brightpaw, who rolled to the edge of the cliff and, screaming, fell down, but Shadowpaw didn’t seem to notice. Raccoonpaw weakly got on her paws, then walked to the cliffedge and looked down. Brightpaw’s bleeding golden-and-white body twitched slightly, then froze. He’s dead.

Shadowpaw and Leopardpaw, meanwhile, fought so fiercely and violently that they drew so much blood, and it was scattered everywhere that it looked like an entire battle was happening. But Raccoonpaw noticed Shadowpaw’s techniques of fighting - as Leopardpaw aimed at him, he jumped high, flipped to the other side and lighted squarely on his opponent’s shoulders, sinking his teeth into his neck. Leopardpaw struggled with all his strength, and eventually shook Shadowpaw off.

“Murderer!” he hissed, pinning Shadowpaw down, then sinking his claws into his belly and biting his throat. Shadowpaw gasped and desperately tried to claw at him, and Raccoonpaw swore that she could see a blaze of life flashing in his eyes.

Please, MoonClan, no…

Finally, Shadowpaw was able to pin Leopardpaw away from him to the ground. He then stood up, and when Leopardpaw leapt at him, he pushed his head into his chest, shoving him further away. Leopardpaw fell with a thud, and while he, panting, tried to heave himself onto his paws, Shadowpaw ran up to him, then sunk his claws into his pelt and his teeth as deep as possible into his throat. Leopardpaw tried to struggle, but he was too tired, and, as Shadowpaw kept sinking his teeth deeper and deeper into his throat, finally he let out one final gasp and fell down still and silent. Shadowpaw let go of him, licking the blood off his lips.

Raccoonpaw ran up to him, tears flowing down her cheeks, then buried her face in her fur. “Shadowpaw…” she whispered between sobs, “w-what have you done…?”

Shadowpaw stroked his tail along her flank. “It’s okay, Raccoonpaw,” he mewed softly, “they’re not here anymore.”

“But you - you murdered them! W-what will our clanmates say about this?”

“I will tell them that Brightpaw saw a BayClan patrol under the cliffs, and he went to chase them away, but fell off the cliff to his death. We went to fight them, but Leopardpaw was murdered in the process,” Shadowpaw explained. “I will not get in trouble.

Now that thought actually hurt. Raccoonheart already knew, and even saw that Shadowmask actually murdered cats, but she just blindly followed him. She could have at least told her clanmates about it, Shadowmask wasn’t what she had to focus on!

Sunset was already starting. The three cats finally reached the end of the field.

“Here we are,” Fawnleap said, “we have reached the first shard. But where is it?”

Raccoonheart’s gaze immediately fell on a patch of flowers, through which something was glowing in a pale silver-blue light. She padded up to it, and there was the first shard of the Star Tree. She picked it up in her teeth.

“We have found it!” Ottermist mewed. “On to the next one! But how will we hold them altogether?”

“I will find some vines and twigs, and will secure them to one of us,” Fawnleap replied, “we can do that. Right, Raccoonheart?”

“Of course we can,” Raccoonheart replied. “Now, we have to move on.”

The she-cats went. Raccoonheart knew that she was supposed to feel more happy that they were already finding the shards, but still, the thoughts of Shadowmask, the one who she trusted most, hurt her.

And I think he’s following us now.

## Chapter Eighteen

Ottermist walked up a narrow path in the field leading to a small forest clearing. Crimson poppies and blue cornflowers bobbed in the wind around her. She heard the chirping of grasshoppers in the tall grass.

Fawnleap and Raccoonheart walked by her sides. The shard of the Star Tree that they have found was secured to the grey she-cat with vines and twigs, as she seemed like the strongest and most endurant out of the three.

Dusk was nearing. The sky, which was fading from blue to gold, was streaked with bright pink and orange clouds. The forest they were walking through almost seemed to be full of shade.

“First shard found,” Raccoonheart said, “let’s wait for one of us to get another clue for the next one.”

Ottermist’s stomach growled, so loud she was sure MoonClan, if it even had any cats now, could hear it.

“But first, let’s find something to eat,” she said, “we walked for so long, and haven’t eaten in those hours.”

“Alright,” Raccoonheart mewed, “let’s search for prey.”

With those words, the grey she-cat grabbed some vines that were used for strapping the first shard to her body with her teeth, and took it off her. “I’ll take this off so hunting would be easier.”

Raccoonheart disappeared into a sloe bush. Fawnleap was left to guard the shard. Ottermist knew she had to find prey too, but what could she find that she would be able to catch? She was sure there was a river or stream somewhere to catch fish, but what if this type of prey wasn’t even here? Well, she could also catch some birds, but she was used to catching them only in open air, where BayClan’s territory was. And she totally didn’t know how to catch rabbits, squirrels or mice, BayClan cats never preyed on them.

With some thinking, Ottermist finally decided to catch a bird. She thought of an idea to go back to the field and hunt it in her clan’s way. As she made her way back, she heard a strange sound, very faint, but it got closer. It sounded similar to the bells that kittypets wore on their collars.

Ottermist instantly forgot about prey and ran towards where she thought the sound came from, but suddenly, she froze in her tracks. The entire world around her seemed to fade away.

“Wait! What’s happening?” she wanted to meow, but as she opened her mouth, no sound came out.

Everything faded to black. Ottermist couldn’t move, she couldn’t even feel her entire body and where she was standing. A mysterious voice whispered in her ear:

“As you continue your way to the heart of the forest,

Cross the stones over the rushing river, no time to rest.”

Immediately after she heard those words, the brown she-cat woke up in the real world. Was that a clue? I have to tell this to the others!

Ottermist turned back to the forest, forgetting about prey. She finally stopped at where Fawnleap was sitting.

“Fawnleap! I think I got the second clue,” she panted out. “It’s something about… going into the heart of the forest and crossing a rushing river, I think.”

Raccoonheart finally was back. “I couldn’t find any prey,” she said.

“Well, at least we found the second clue!” Ottermist mewed. “We’ll go deeper in the forest, and we’ll have to cross a river!”

Raccoonheart seemed to think for a while. “In that case, we’ll go now,” she said, strapping the first shard to herself again, “we’ll catch prey later.”

The forest was already getting darker as night was approaching. The trio was walking along a path with two thick walls of trees and brambles around them, going deeper into the forest. Ottermist’s claws unsheathed from time to time, at any sudden sound, from stepping on a twig to the distant call of an owl. The whole forest was almost completely quiet, which scared her the most.

“I think we’re already here,” Raccoonheart’s voice finally was heard, and soon, Ottermist could hear the sound of a river rushing over pebbles.

They walked onto a slightly more open place. It was still not completely dark yet, and the whole forest was coated in blue. The three she-cats were standing on an edge that sloped gently down into a rather small creek, in which a river was rapidly streaming through. Up the river, a few large stones were standing.

“So we’ll just cross it?” Fawnleap asked.

“The rocks seem quite slippery,” Raccoonheart replied, “especially that one of us is carrying an object. We’ll carefully cross it. I’m going first.”

The grey she-cat walked carefully down the slope, then climbed onto the first rock. Fawnleap followed, a bit more clumsily. Ottermist became more confident as she was the last to cross the river. BayClan cats were skilled on balancing on wet rocks.

No time to rest.

The warrior sprang from rock to rock, calculating the perfect time to land and balance on the next one and grasping it with her paws. Ahead, she saw Raccoonheart had almost crossed the river.

“Would you look at me, I actually know how to do this! You two haven’t even touched a wet rock in your lives!” Ottermist yelled, forgetting about using her BayClan skills to not slip off. As she jumped forward onto the next rock, slightly taller, she miscalculated the time to grasp onto it and tumbled into the river.

“Still have that RockClan blood in you, huh?” Raccoonheart called, already on the other side. “But we’ll still save you.”

Ottermist wasn’t really used to swimming in freshwater. As her body touched the water and she tried to swim against the current, her head disappeared underwater. Trying to swim up, a horrible image flashed suddenly into her mind. Herself, seeing her mother and littermates sinking and disappearing in the dark, cold water, and Ottermist herself drowning with them too. She froze, just like she did in her nightmare, and forgot to swim up.

“Ottermist!” a voice shouted somewhere on land.

For a second, Ottermist got even more horrified as she thought she was already dead and that they were the voices of her relatives, but soon she recognized Raccoonheart in it. She thrust her paws forward, battling against the powerful current, and could already see the grey she-cat running down to where she was drifting away.

Ottermist panted and sputtered as she tried to swim closer to land. She felt her chest rise with her heart battering against her ribcage, and the horrible feeling in her stomach hasn’t disappeared yet. She constantly felt herself at the edge of consciousness.

I’m going to die.

But she still managed to get her remaining strength back together, and finally swam up to the shore, where Raccoonheart immediately grabbed her by the scruff and dragged her onto land.

Ottermist finally felt relief as she felt grass underneath her body.

“Thanks,” she said quietly to Raccoonheart.

“No need to thank me,” Raccoonheart mewed, smiling slightly.

“Guess what I found!” Fawnleap’s cheerful voice shouted somewhere not far away. Ottermist stood up, and with Raccoonheart, she ran to the medicine cat apprentice, who had a shining silver shard at her paws.

“That’s great!” Raccoonheart mewed, then her tone turned more serious. “It’s getting late now, let’s catch something, eat and then rest for a while.”

Ottermist lay on the grass, her sides gently touching the ferns near her. Raccoonheart managed to catch a stoat, and together, they shared the prey between them. Now, the three of them were resting, before they could later go on to continue their journey.

But Ottermist didn’t feel like resting right now, even after all the strength she had lost from when she was battling the river current. Her round ears pricked up as a blood-chilling howl echoed through the forest. Wolves.

She knew about the bloodthirsty predators, who managed to rip cats apart with their powerful jaws. They were somewhere close by, she could hear their heavy pawsteps coming closer and closer.

“There’s no time to rest now,” Raccoonheart said, standing up quickly. She heard the wolves too. “We have to leave now, before we get killed.”

## Chapter Nineteen

Fawnleap felt her blood curl as the shrill howl reached her ears. She knew that the wolves were heading in their direction, due to their heavy pawsteps coming towards them.

“We have to leave now, before we get killed,” Raccoonheart said as soon as the young medicine cat heard it. Fawnleap knew that the wolves would catch up to them soon, so they had to move fast. She felt anxious. What if the wolves catched up to them right now and shredded all three of them to pieces in the blink of an eye?

Raccoonheart heaved the shards onto herself. “Run!” she shouted to the two other she-cats, then dashed forward, seeming to ignore the weight on her back. Ottermist and Fawnleap followed. All three of them ran wherever their eyes looked, as fast as their paws could carry them.

Fawnleap heard a few howls and a growl behind her. They must be very close. She turned around, and noticed at least three pairs of blazing yellow eyes in the darkness.

Suddenly, she heard a sharp yowl somewhere close to her, and turned her head to the direction it came from. Ottermist lay flat on the earthy ground, the tip of her ear cuffed off. A large wolf stood over her, its sharp yellow teeth bared. They managed to catch up right now?

But she knew this wasn’t the time to wonder. All three of them were in danger. She could see four more wolves catching up, their huge paws sending dirt upwards. Fast as lightning, Raccoonheart leapt up from her place and clung up onto the wolf’s throat while Ottermist got up to fight the wolves that were circling her.

Yapping, a young wolf lunged at Fawnleap. She just managed to dodge from under its muzzle, then dashed forwards to a young aspen tree, and swiftly climbed up it. Making sure she was out of the wolf’s reach, she then climbed onto the nearest branch, and stood on it, raising her hackles and unsheathing her claws just in case the predator tried to knock her down. The young wolf’s yellow gaze was still focused on her. It paced underneath the branch she was on, growling slowly.

Raccoonheart crouched down, hissing fiercely at the wolf she was fighting, and as it pounced at her, she swiftly scurried through its legs, and as she ended up behind it, she twisted her lithe body around and leapt, landing squarely at its shoulders and striking her unsheathed claws over its eyes. The wolf howled in pain, trying to shake the grey she-cat off itself.

Ottermist slunk between two other wolves to get their attention, and before they would attack her, she leapt straight at one’s throat, sinking her teeth into it. Raccoonheart, after blinding the one that she battled, dived underneath the second one’s belly and clawed at it.

The wolf that was still underneath the branch Fawnleap was standing on, suddenly leapt up. From the suddenness of it, Fawnleap jumped and forgot to balance on the branch on time, so she slipped off and just held on to it to avoid falling off, but the wolf leapt at her again and pinned her off the branch to the ground with a thump. Fawnleap couldn’t breathe with its heavy paws on her chest, but one of her paws was free. As the wolf lowered its muzzle to her face, she quickly sliced its nose with her claws. The wolf let go, yelping in pain.

Raccoonheart and Ottermist were fighting off the four other wolves. Although they fought as fiercely as they could, three cats couldn’t win against five dangerous, strong predators. Soon, the five wolves circled the she-cats, and they couldn’t even run away.

Suddenly, another howl, not belonging to any of them, rang through the forest not too far away. The wolves turned their heads to the direction of the sound all at once. This is the end, Fawnleap thought, the sixth wolf will come and we will all be killed.

But to her surprise, it was a cat who ran to them from where the noise came from - a tall, muscular black tom with ginger patches all over his body. He lunged at the lead wolf, hissing fiercely and biting and scratching its face, then jumped off. The tom stared at the wolves, hackles raised. Then, suddenly, he growled lowly, in a wolf-like way. I’ve never seen a cat speak wolf before!

Fawnleap was right, because the wolves seemed to understand the cat in front of them. They lowered their tails and stood still as stone, their gaze fixed on him. The tom growled again and let out a few barks, his head and tail high, ears forward. Raccoonheart and Ottermist exchanged confused expressions with her.

The lead wolf whimpered, flattening its ears and tucking its tail between its legs. The rest of the wolves copied, their fur flattened, so they looked smaller, then all five of them turned their backs on the cat and ran away into the forest.

Fawnleap, still amazed at what just happened in front of her, stood up and walked shakily to the cat who just saved them.

“T-thanks for saving us,” she said shyly, “who are you and how did you learn that?”

“No problem,” the black-and-ginger tom replied, “the name’s Flare. And I didn’t learn wolf-speak.”

“What?!” Raccoonheart exclaimed. “How did you manage to speak another animal’s language, if you didn’t learn it?”

“It was MoonClan’s gift,” Flare replied, “the ability to speak to other animals was gifted to me by MoonClan.”

“Wait - MoonClan?” Fawnleap was surprised by his words, as he didn’t seem like a Clan cat. “You believe in MoonClan too?”

“Not really,” Flare said, licking his paw and stroking it behind his ears, “once, I joined one of the clans - was it RockClan? Anyway, I learnt the life of a warrior here, but I figured out rogue life was best, so I left. Due to my powers, no fox or badger or dog dared to attack me, all - well, most of them were scared of me! While I lived in the Clan, everyone was amazed by my power, so they thought it would be a good idea to make me leader, but I left as soon as they thought that.”

Fawnleap couldn’t believe his words. A cat that knows every language of every animal in the forest? That’s impossible! MoonClan wouldn’t give an ordinary rogue this power!

“That’s… impressive,” Raccoonheart said.

“Thank you,” Flare mewed, “what are your names?”

“We’re Fawnleap, Raccoonheart and Ottermist,” Fawnleap introduced herself and the other cats.

“I see… are you the three prophecy cats?” Flare asked. “Because I had a dream about those three animals that are your prefixes. Are you on your way to fulfil the prophecy? Because I found something that might be linked to it, not too far away.”

What did he mean? “Y-yes, we are those prophecy cats,” Fawnleap mewed, wondering what he had to do with it.

“Great. Follow me,” and with those words, the black-and-ginger tom ran forward. Raccoonheart, Ottermist and Fawnleap followed him.

A strange thought couldn’t leave Fawnleap’s mind. Sure, Flare saved all three she-cats from the wolves, but something was off about him. How could an ordinary rogue be granted an ability to speak to animals by MoonClan? How did he hear about the prophecy? Was the ‘something’ he was going to show them the next shard of the Star Tree? If it was, how did he find it?

A spiderweb of questions tangled inside the young medicine cat’s mind. Flare continued to run forward, until he stopped beside a fallen tree.

“Here it is,” he said, climbing over it, then reappearing with a glowing shard in his jaws. I was right. But how did he find it?

Raccoonheart took the shard, and passed it to Ottermist. “Thank you for finding this,” she said, with an untrustful edge in her voice.

“You’re very welcome,” Flare replied, “I have to go now. We’ll meet again later, someday!”

With those words, he ran away into the darkness. The three she-cats then continued to walk forward. Fawnleap still couldn’t believe what just happened to all three of them that night. Is this a dream?

“To be honest, I don’t trust this Flare,” Raccoonheart said as she leapt over the fallen tree, “he somewhat reminds me of Shadowmask.”

“Me too,” Ottermist agreed, “how could a rogue claim to be gifted an ability to speak to other creatures by MoonClan?”

Fawnleap remembered what the mysterious MoonClan tom told her before she left MeadowClan’s camp. The wandering shadows will rise up to a new power, with the cinders that will send them in the dark.

“Wait!” she exclaimed. “He must be working with Shadowmask! Before I left for the journey, a MoonClan tom told me something about ‘The wandering shadows will rise up to a new power, with the cinders that will send them in the dark.’ A flare is a sudden burst of flame, and after it burns out, what’s left is cinder.”

“You’re right, Fawnleap,” Raccoonheart said, “whenever we come across Flare again, we mustn't trust him.”

“Plus, he knows how to speak to animals,” Ottermist added, “he might suddenly unleash lots of badgers or foxes or dogs on us.”

After this discussion, the three she-cats continued their way in silence. Finally, they left the forest, and stepped onto an open moor. The sky was completely black, except for the few dimming stars and the final fragment of the waning moon.

## Bonus Chapter: Shadowmask

Shadowmask ran across the open moor, the wind ruffling his dark fur. He stopped somewhere in the middle, and sniffed the air. They couldn’t be that far away.

From the day he got exiled, he has been through a long journey for almost half a moon. But the power of ShadeClan was on his side, and altogether, their goal was to imprison all of MoonClan, and then rise to a new power and overthrow the Clans. He also knew that Fawnleap, Raccoonheart and Ottermist were the cats destined to save the Clans, and to stop them, he had to follow them to where they were going, and eventually imprison the rest of MoonClan so they would arrive late.

“The Clans will pay for what they have done,” he sneered, “exiling the warrior destined to become the best leader a Clan ever had.”

Suddenly, he caught three familiar scents. Stealthy as a fox, the dark grey tom followed the scent trail, which stopped at the entrance of a forest. Shadowmask swiftly dived into a thick wall of bracken, and pricked his ears up. He heard a few quiet mumbles, only properly hearing these few words:

Working… journey… MoonClan… trust…

The sound of light pawsteps got closer. Shadowmask fixed his sight to the entrance of the forest, and several moments later, three shapes came out. Fawnleap, Ottermist and Raccoonheart.

Raccoonheart. Shadowmask growled under his breath. Soon, she’ll pay for leaving me.

He waited until the she-cats went far enough to not see, smell or hear him. Once his moment came, he slithered out of the bracken and dashed onto the direction he had to be. Someone was waiting for him.

Shadowmask stopped on a Twoleg bridge over a rushing river. He looked up. A lithe dark blue-grey she-cat was sitting on the wooden rails, her piercing blue eyes being the only things he could completely see in the darkness.

“You’re finally here,” she mewed in a slow, calm, mesmerising voice. “Have you caught any sight of them?”

“Yes, Cinder,” Shadowmask replied, “those three mouse-hearts just exited the forest not too far away.”

‘Cinder’ jumped off and landed next to him. “Perfect,” she purred, “now, show me where they went.”

Shadowmask dipped his head, then the duo ran onto the moor, Shadowmask leading. After he could distinguish three silver lights, he looked behind his shoulder into Cinder’s eyes.

“Here they are,” he hissed, then went forward again, this time trotting silently. Once he was sure the two of them were close enough, they dived into a sea of heather, where Cinder dived after him. Finally, he could see three cat silhouettes, two of them carrying shards of the Star Tree on their backs, their pelt colours now more visible due to the light coating around them. Ugh. Dumb prophecy cats.

“Now we’ll know exactly where they’re going,” Cinder sneered, “just a few days, and the Clans will be gone.”

Content with themselves, the two cats emerged from the heather, their tails high.