The Prophecy Foretold: Testing Alliances

Chapter Three

Puddlepaw raced through the forest, her paws barely touching the ground as she dove through a bundle of ferns. Dew wet her coat, and she slid to stop, panting into the cool morning air. Within a heartbeat she was back to running, stretching her legs as far as they would go. Running had never felt so good, but her mind felt foggy. Why was she running? Was she on patrol? Where was her mentor?

"Puddlepaw." A voice made her scramble to a halt, mud clogging her claws as she froze, ears pricked.

"Hello?" Puddlepaw turned her head, but she saw no cat near her. She took a step forward, jerking as she felt her paw fall into a puddle, splashing back at her. She peered down, staring at the reflection of the stars glittering in the puddle.

But she saw no reflection of herself.

Puddlepaw moved back, but her paws found more water, and as she turned the forest disintegrated around her, and she was left standing on top of an endless river, water all around her. The sky was black, but beneath her the reflection showed more stars than she'd ever seen in her life.

"Puddlepaw." The apprentice turned her head, and in the distance before her sat a grey cat, her expression unreadable.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Puddlepaw called, but the cat stared blankly ahead, unanswering. In the water beneath them, the stars seemed to disappear, twinkling out one by one.

"Puddlepaw."

"Yes! I'm here, I'm right here!" Puddlepaw called. She wanted to move closer, but she couldn't command her legs to move, paws frozen in place. "What do you want?"

"Puddlepaw."

"What?!" Puddlepaw cried, jerking at her legs. With a jolt of horror, she saw the stars begin disappearing around her, and she began to sink into the water.

"Puddlepaw!"

Puddlepaw jerked awake, gasping for breath. Moonlight dappled her nest, and she looked up to see Stonepaw staring at her, his amber eyes wide and concerned.

"You were twisting and turning in your sleep. Are you alright?" Puddlepaw blinked, then looked down at her nest, the moss and bracken torn apart. Puddlepaw stood on unsteady legs, drawing in a shaky breath. Her fur felt waterlogged, but she could tell she was as dry as the dirt beneath her.

"I'm.. I'm fine. Just a weird dream." Puddlepaw began licking her chest to hide her anxiety, and to ease her beating heart. Stonepaw watched her, clearly still concerned.

"Well, if you say so. Anyway, Redstar called a meeting." Puddlepaw lifted her head, narrowing her eyes. "It's about Windclan."

Puddlepaw nodded, and the two apprentices exited the apprentice den, and sure enough the clan was out underneath the pale moon, warriors yawning. Blazingpaw waved them over with a paw, and the two trotted over.

"What is this about?" Puddlepaw asked as she sat by Blazingpaw, and the larger apprentice shrugged.

"Mudhollow said it might be about the half moon." Puddlepaw glanced at the sky, and sure enough it was the half moon. The days had been flying past like a blur, and she'd barely been keeping track. The medicine cats were supposed to go to the Moonstone, and she peered forward and spotted Cloudedeyes and Mintpaw, sitting underneath the High Rock. Beside them sat two cats, one she didn't recognize, and one she did.

Petalshade? This Shadowclan cat just cannot stay away from Thunderclan. Puddlepaw thought to herself, glancing for Heavytail. However, through the sea of cats and her position alone, she couldn't spot him. Stonepaw had spotted her as well, and he gave a side eye glance at Puddlepaw.

Redstar sat at the top of the High Rock, with Barkfeather at his side, speaking in a hushed tone. The two cats nodded to each other, and then turned to the clan.

"As you all know, the half moon is tonight. Under normal circumstances, Cloudedeyes and Mintpaw would be on their way to the Moonstone with the other medicine cats. However, Shadowclan and Riverclan have sent messenger cats, to let us know their medicine cats will not be trying the journey. Cloudedeyes has decided she will not do the journey alone, and so Starclan will not be met with tonight."

The clan went into an uproar, calling out their concerns. Redstar quieted the clan with a look, continuing.

"Larcheye and Petalshade made the journey to warn us tonight, and we are grateful that they have. Tensions are high, the best decision we can make right now is to wait until the next Gathering. Whitestar is grieving, and hopefully with time he will calm and no fights will have to break out." Cats mumbled their begrudging agreement, and Redstar nodded.

"You may go back to sleep. Patrols will resume as normal tomorrow." With a flick of his tail, Redstar turned and trotted down the High Rock, and shared some words with Larcheye and Petalshade before he disappeared into his den.

"We have to just let Windclan boss us around?" Blazingpaw hissed, looking upset. "We should teach them a lesson." Puddlepaw nodded absentmindedly, staring at Petalshade as cats began to return to their dens. She saw the fluffy tail of Heavytail as he trotted over to the Shadowclan cat, and felt a twist in her gut.

"We should leave them be." Puddlepaw turned her attention back to Blazingpaw. "Starclan wouldn't want us to start fights that are unneeded. No more cats have to die." Blazingpaw looked at her, surprised, then huffed.

"You sound like your father." Blazngpaw mumbled, and then jumped when Barkfeather stepped towards them, whiskers twitching.

"And that's a bad thing because..?" Blazingpaw cleared his throat, shuffling his paws.

"Uh.. let's go, Stonepaw." He mumbled, darting away. Stonepaw glanced to Barkfeather, and then turned away as well. Puddlepaw watched them go, then turned to her father, who was purring loudly.

"Your friends are strange." Barkfeather said, and Puddlepaw nodded some, distracted. She was quiet for a moment, before she turned her attention back to Barkfeather.

"Do you know any grey cats?" Barkfeather blinked, surprised by the question.

"Well.. I've met grey cats before. Owlwing is kind of grey. Why do you ask?" Barkfeather bent down to be closer to her, head cocked curiously. Puddlepaw shrugged, suddenly not able to meet his gaze.

"I had a weird dream. A grey cat was there, but I couldn't move or see who they were." Barkfeather paused, a strange look coming to his eye before he shook his head and stepped away.

"It was just a dream, Puddlepaw. No need to worry over it." His words sounded hollow, and the twist in her stomach just ached even more. Barkfeather ruffled her head with a paw, and then nudged her in the direction of the apprentices den. "Now head to bed, alright?" Puddlepaw nodded, scanning the clearing once more. She couldn't see Petalshade, or Heavytail, but she was too tired to continue looking.

She trudged back to the apprentices den, and dropped down in her nest, and noted that it was put back together, and a lot more fluffier than she'd left it. She looked around, but Blazingpaw was on his back snoring, and Stonepaw was curled facing away from her, the slow rise and fall of his side making her believe he was asleep. Too tired to wake him, she snuggled into her warm nest, and fell back asleep.