A New Beginning: The Lost Hope

Chapter 10

After a long journey of silence and an uneasiness floating around the atmosphere of the medicine cat and the leader, the pair eventually reached the glistening moonpool for Ivyleaf to get her nine lives.

Ivyleaf felt her paws sink into the ancient paw prints towards the moonpool that the clans' ancestors had left so long ago. She felt both nervous and excited.

Soon, the medicine cat and leader pushed through the leaves and prickly bushes and Ivyleaf's calm, gentle gaze raked upon the scene she saw before her. In front of her was a small pool of glistening turquoise water surrounded by stone ledges, mud, and plants. Silverpelt reflected down upon the water, making it looking as if it was sparkling under the moonlight, lighting it up in the beautiful alcove.

Ivyleaf slowly stepped towards the moonpool until she heard the rustle of undergrowth behind them. She could hear laughter for once in forever, and eventually she saw Featherstripe along with Wrensong and her beautiful mate, Birdfeather, by her side. "I'm sorry," Featherstripe apologized to Ivyleaf, "she insisted she came."

"It is my every right to sit here whilst you journey into the depths of the mysteries of Starclan," Birdfeather grumped, sitting down immediately.

After Featherstripe came Puddlefoot who was closely followed by Riverflower. "Greetings, friends," Puddlefoot smiled to both Ivyleaf and Featherstripe, completely ignoring Birdfeather and the three medicine cats.

Then all three to-be leaders looked at the moonpool, taking a chance to gather all the information they can and process it.

Then suddenly two more figures burst into the clearing; Mapleleaf and Finchwing. Mapleleaf slightly joked, "not gonna start without me, are you?"

Ivyleaf forced a grin out despite the frown she had always kept on her face throughout all of Thunderclan's hardships.

Riverflower asked, "shall we begin?"

"Let's begin," Ivyleaf responded, leaning down to lap a bit of the moonpool's water before getting herself situated and comfortable, leaning her nose against the pool in hopes of entering the sacred lands of Starclan.

When suddenly instead of the slow trickle of water falling into the moonpool Ivyleaf heard crickets chirping, she knew she was at Fourtrees in Starclan.

Cats of all clans gathered around her, and she gasped as looked around and spotted certain cats that no longer lived among her and the rest of Thunderclan.

Almost immediately, the first cat, a pale yellow she-cat, stepped toward the leader. "Ivyleaf," she said, her head bowed, "you haven't known me until earlier this night. My name is Dandelion from Windclan."

"I remember," Ivyleaf smiled.

Dandelion smiled as well before leaning forward and touching her muzzle to Ivyleaf's own and exclaimed, "with this life, I give you thankfulness. Use it well to care for your future kits, something I never had a chance to cherish in full."

Just then, Ivyleaf realized she was gaining a life as suddenly her bones aches and she let out a short gasp of pain as visions passed through her head. She saw two kits in front of her, a reddish-brown kit and a pale yellow kit. Then after that she had a vision of the reddish-brown kit touching muzzles with a grey tom before it quickly flashed to a bunch of kits in front of her. After the visions were over, Ivyleaf shook her head and prepared for the next life.

Next she saw Leafflutter walk up to her, and the elder smiled at the leader. Leafflutter wasted no time for introductions as she immediately pressed her nose against  Ivyleaf's and declared, "with this life, I give you curiosity. Use it well to discover new territories for your clans and find out more elements of nature outside of the comfort zone the clan cats currently live in."