Simonpet wrote:Forestclan's camp was quiet. Honeystar had taken Snowfoot's litter and their mentors, with the exception of Duckpelt who was temporarily training Gannetpaw, to the Moonpool to consult with Starclan before their assessments. All the best hunters had been sent out to hunt, and a few cats had been sent out on a border patrol. Egretstep and Palefur were resting, as their thin fur was no protection against the cold winter snow. Crowcloud and Dustleaf were in their den, caring for Acornstream and Bramblebush. Nobody knew why their infections hadn't gone away, but nothing seemed to be working. The rest of the cats were talking amongst themselves.
In the nursery, Fritillarykit slept, curled up against her mother's side. Boulderpelt and Fleckstorm were resting beside Shellfur and the three talked about clan life.
"How long have you been here?" asked Shellfur softly.
"My whole life," said Boulderpelt as Fleckstorm said: "About ten moons." The two mollies looked at each other and smiled.
Shellfur looked at Boulderpelt. "Really?"
Boulderpelt nodded. "Yeah," she said. "Not a lot of us were born here, but that's probably going to change within a generation or so." Her gaze was far away for a moment. "A generation," she murmured. It was an impossibly long time. Sure, they all knew that it meant all the older cats dying but it seemed so far away.
In the meantime, Dandeliontail and Oakheart were talking in the warriors' den.
"I only knew him for less than a moon before he was taken from me," whispered Dandeliontail.
Oakheart's whiskers drooped. "He was a good clanmate and father," he said gently.
"Do...do you think that Starclan exists?" asked Dandeliontail.
"Why do you ask?" said Oakheart sharply.
"Because maybe he's...up there." Dandeliontail jerked his head upwards. "Watching."
Oakheart smiled. "Hillfang says yes. So did all the other apprentices. And Honeystar, Birchnose, and Crowcloud. Why should I doubt them?"
Dandeliontail closed his eyes and sighed. Oakheart wondered if that was the answer the other tom had wanted.
***
Leafbare had come and with it, the need for more hunting patrols. Birchnose had sent herself and the best hunters in the clan to seek prey. She didn't expect to find much, but hopefully Nour, who seemed to be able to catch more prey than all of them combined, would find something.
"Just do you best, okay?" said Barleystream hoarsely.
Birchnose looked at her worriedly. Her father, Acornstream, had taken a turn for the worse over the past few days and his infection had persisted. Despite their best efforts, Crowcloud and Dustleaf had been able to do nothing for him or Bramblebush. Everyone worried about the mental health of Dustleaf and her littermates, and Snowfoot had taken to comforting Duckpelt who might soon have to face the loss of her mate.
"Of course," said Nour evenly. He had adapted well to the clan and though he admitted that he hadn't mourned Dawnstorm and Grayfur's loss as much as the rest of his clanmates, felt sorry for those who loved them and promised to support them however he could. "And remember that even if we catch nothing, our clan has prey enough to last through the season."
Hillfang laughed harshly. "That we do."
Birchnose looked around sadly. Hillfang had been forced to grow up too fast, Adderstream and Barleystream were facing the worst, and Briarwhisker still mourned the loss of Dawnstorm a moon later. Only she and Nour hadn't been too affected by the battle, although even she felt that she could have done more. Scented more. Anything. Birchnose shook herself and sighed. It wouldn't do to dwell on the past.
***
Snowfoot's head was down and both Alderclaw and Gingerstorm stayed quiet. Alderclaw felt a surge of protectiveness both towards Birchnose, his mate, and Snowfoot, who now had no one. But she does, he thought fiercely. She has the clan. She had been so kind to him when he first arrived that the least he could do was support her.
"Sometimes," said Snowfoot. Gingerstorm looked over at her in surprise but the white bobtail ignored the look. "Sometimes, I think I can feel him nearby."
Gingerstorm and Alderclaw looked at each other with understanding. "I'm sure that he's bored to death up in Starclan," said Gingerstorm, trying to affect a cheerful tone. "No Briarwhisker to argue with, no kits to play with..."
Snowfoot gave a small laugh. "I'm sure," she said. "He couldn't stand Briarwhisker but they miss each other. They were together in the clan before I came."
Alderclaw smiled. At least Snowfoot could still laugh. "And remember; you have us. You still have your clan and your kits."
Snowfoot nodded slowly. "Thank you," she whispered. "For everything." Nothing more was needed to be said.
***
Snow had hindered the travelers and it was moonhigh by the time they reached the Moonpool. Honeystar looked around, making sure that the way was safe. It was, and so they all padded up to the Moonpool.
"Tonight," said Honeystar, addressing the apprentices gathered before her, "you will speak with Starclan regarding your assessments. This will likely be your only time to get advice from them and so use your time wisely. You will then undertake your assessments and if you fail, will train for another moon before trying again." She turned to the mentors. "Your mentors and I will guard you for tonight. Now go and sleep." Without another word, she flicked her tail and she, Applenose, Ashstripe, and Daisywhisker arranged themselves in a loose circle around the apprentices.
Brightpaw was the first to drink from the Moonpool, and his siblings followed soon after. They all fell asleep quickly, and the adults sat down, ready to guard them from whatever came.
***
Bramblingpaw saw mist when she woke up, which quickly faded to the familiar forest of Forestclan. Looking around, she saw her littermates getting to their paws. Her ears picked up a noise and she faced the front in time to see three shapes emerge from the trees. The first was an elderly tom who looked a little bit like Palefur. He held himself like Honeystar, and Bramblingpaw figured that he was the Minkstar that Hillfang had told her about. The other two... To Minkstar's left was Grayfur, her eyes no longer the milky white of blindness but instead a bright yellow, as they must have looked like when she could still see. To Minkstar's right was...
"Dawnstorm?" whispered Tippaw. She had always been the most sensitive of the four, and her tail and whiskers trembled with what could have been excitement or nervousness.
Dawnstorm, their father, bowed his head. On his face was a little smile but his posture was one of shame. Bramblingpaw wanted to call out, to say that she didn't blame him for dying from the badger, but the words stuck in her throat. She could hear a quiet whimper and figured that it came from Patchpaw, who looked as though he were about to step forward. Finally, the tension broke.
"I'm sorry."
Bramblingpaw and her littermates rushed forwards, covering their father in black, ginger, and white fur. For a moment, the five of them rolled on the ground like that, ignoring the amused look from Grayfur and the pitying look from Minkstar. Finally, they disengaged and Dawnstorm rolled to his paws and gave his fur a quick lick.
"While I'm sure that a family reunion was in order," Minkstar said dryly, "we have something else to talk about." Everyone--Starclan cat and living cat--looked to the leader. "We don't have much time, so I'll introduce myself quickly. As you probably know, I'm Minkstar, former leader of Cherryclan and in a way, the ancestor of Forestclan." He smiled wryly. "Honeystar's my descendant, you know."[/color]
This elicited a chuckle from Grayfur. "Imagine that," she said. She sounded far younger than she had been in life, and Bramblingpaw suspected that this was part of Starclan's magic. For that matter, her father also looked younger.
"What's the rush?" asked Brightpaw boldly.
Minkstar sighed. "Dawn is coming soon," he said. "And your assessments are coming up, you know."
Bramblingpaw began to tremble slightly, partially out of excitement and partially out of fear. They would decide whether or not she was ready to become a warrior, even if she felt that in her heart she was ready.
"So are we going to get advice?" asked Patchpaw in a small voice.
Dawnstorm smiled. "Do you best," he said. "I know just how hard you've all trained for this. But remember that being a warrior means being an adult. You'll be more responsible. You'll have more responsibilities. But it's also a wonderful thing. You'll be able to have apprentices. Take a mate. Start a family. And maybe," he said with a brief glance at all his kits, "you'll become the deputy someday. And maybe the leader."
Grayfur chuckled. "And if you live long enough," she said, "you'll be like me."
"But how is that a bad thing?" asked Bramblingpaw.
"It's not," replied the elder. "Just remember to live an exciting life so that you can exaggerate everything when you retell it to the kits."
Tippaw's whiskers twitched with laughter. "How many of your stories were true, then?"
"All of them," Grayfur replied. "Well, when I told the stories to Duckpelt's kits, at least."
Bramblingpaw tried to hide a smile. She blinked twice, wondering why her eyesight seemed to stop working. Then, she heard Minkstar as though from far away.
"Dawn is coming. Good luck."
"Tell your mother that I love her," Dawnstorm called.
And then the vision ended.
Forestclan consumes 7 servings (one mouse, two large fish)
Crowcloud and Dustleaf use x1 horsetail, x1 marigold, x2 oak leaf, x1 stinging nettle
Acornstream and Bramblebush's infections persist
Gannetpaw, Kestrelpaw, Smokepaw, and Swanpaw train
Scorchpaw trains
Bramblingpaw, Brightpaw, Patchpaw, and Tippaw have assessments
Adderstream, Barleystream, Birchnose, Briarwhisker, Hillfang, and Nour go on a hunting patrol
Alderclaw, Gingerstorm, and Snowfoot go on a border patrol
Crowcloud and Dustleaf go herb hunting