Story contest example

Pinelight’s Truth
## Prologue

Rainmask yawned quietly as they reached the cave in which the Moonpool was located. “Tired as always” Robinwhisker teased him. Rainmask grunted something at him but all his tiredness was gone as the shimmering water was visible. It was always a magical feeling, Rainmask reflected as he padded to the edge of the Moonpool, no matter how old you were it was always beautiful and dazzling.

Just as Rainmask was about to crouch down to touch the Moonpool with his nose and lap up its sacred water, Cloudnose spoke up awkwardly, “Prey is running well this leaf-bare, isn’t it” Rainwhisker could see from his thin frame that that was clearly a blatant lie.

Sunnyfoot was staring at Cloudnose’s thin, wind blown frame as well. “I don’t mean to be rude but can we please talk to StarClan before we freeze by standing here.” Sunnyfoot asked, her golden tail twitching. Robinwhisker, Violetsky and Rainmask murmured their agreement but Cloudnose was sitting still, his gaze flicking from one medicine cat to the other uncomfortably.

“What’s wrong- Never mind” Sunnynose lapped the water of the Moonpool with her tongue and touched it with her nose, falling still almost instantly.

The other medicine cats copied her, except Cloudnose who just crouched down. Rainmask didn’t have time to question him because the world went dark, like it normally would when he touched the Moonpool to communicate with StarClan.

Rainmask opened his eyes to see a bright day in ShadowClan territory, almost to bright. *Why?* He thought *Do ShadowClan ancestors want to speak to me? That’s weird, why not RiverClan’s?* Rainmask was confused at this but got up and stretched, trying to spot cats through the trees but his eyes wouldn’t adjust.

“StarClan? Where are you?” He called. When he got no answer he hissed angrily to himself but tried again, “It’s me, Rainmask, why did you bring me here?” Still no answer.

Rainmask shook his head and started to close his eyes but a new vision came, he was sitting by the Moonpool, for a second it was normal and peaceful, with the other medicine cats still asleep. Than ice came, it creeped over the Moonpool until it was frozen solid, the next second it was cracking, breaking, everything he had ever known and loved was crumbling and than his vision did to.

His eyes flew open and he was gasping but at the sight of the normal Moonpool Rainmask stopped, comforted by the fact that it was still there and as it always was. Now that he was calm, Rainmask could hear muttering, it was Cloudnose, who was very much awake.

“StarClan stole them, all of them!” Rainmask was confused for a heartbeat but as he watched the skinny tom he understood, it was a hard leaf-bare, no doubt the hardest on WindClan and he was most likely talking about the cats he had lost. “I will find a way to make them pay!” Rainmask was shocked at Cloudnose’s anger but Cloudnose couldn’t mutter anymore because the other medicine cats were waking up, with the same shocked expression that he had worn when he opened his eyes.

“If I may ask, can we go back to our Clans now” Violetsky asked uneasily, exchanging glances with her fellow medicine cats, not Cloudnose, Rainmask noticed. “We had quite a fright and it is getting quite late.” Sunnyfoot nodded firmly at this and they all got up and stretched.

Rainmask was reflecting on his visions as the medicine cats silently trudged back through the deep snow. He was disturbed from his thoughts when Sunnyfoot’s tail accidentally whacked his flank.

”Sorry” She murmured, wincing. As she apologized her voice cracked slightly and Rainmask remembered that while she may act like the oldest and wisest of them she was actually the youngest, her mentor had died a half moon ago and that had dropped a heavy weight on her shoulders.

*Sunnyfoot feels like she’s responsible for everything now.* Rainmask gave her a small smile and went back to his thoughts, only stopping to say his farewell when the other medicine cats departed to go back to their own territories.

*It doesn’t help that Sunnyfoot is the ShadowClan medicine cat and we all had the same vision of ShadowClan territory before the Moonpool cracked, didn’t we.* Rainmask sighed as he got to the RiverClan camp. *I’ll deal with my worries when I have a clear head in the morning.*