Warriors | A Prophecy Reborn: Book 2. (A Path Beyond Stars)

~A Path Beyond Stars: Chapter 1~

"Lack of food," Crookedfire confirmed after a long while.
"That's it?" Reedtail grumbled.
"She hasn't been eating much," Crookedfire pointed out while Russetpaw sorted Spiraltail's nest further back in the Medicine Den. "Not to mention, she has been wasting a moon full of energy. On what, only StarClan knows, but she needs to eat and rest and she should be fine."
Reedtail lashed her long black tail and tried hard to keep her rage from reaching out to the Medicine Cat and crushing his paw.
Reedtail breathed deeply and nodded, answering calmly, "Very well. Shall I wait for her to wake up then?"
"I'll keep an eye on her," Russetpaw promised.
Reedtail nodded gratefully and left, walking straight into Ashpelt.
"Sorry!" Reedtail gasped, backing away from Spiraltail's brother.
"It's fine," Ashpelt shrugged. "You went over to-" Ashpelt stopped, remembering Crookedfire was just in front of them, and beckoned Reedtail over to the empty spare den.
"You went over to see Snow, right?" Ashpelt asked.
"She wasn't there," Reedtail answered, though his reaction showed he had nothing to do with Snow.
"Actually, I was wondering about... Horizon."
Reedtail rolled her eyes. "What about her?"
"Was she there?"
"Well, yes, but I doubt-"
Though their conversation was cut off by a sharp yowl coming from the clearing.
Reedtail and Ashpelt stood still for a moment, then looked outside only to see many other faces, those of their Clanmates, doing the same.
"What in StarClan was that?" Redpelt said from the elder's den where he had been helping Rockhopper and Beeflower with the nests.
"You heard it too?" called Spidertail from his spot in the warrior den.
"Who made that sound?" came the shocked murmurs of Darkkit and Stripedkit.
Reedtail's fur stood up and Ashpelt froze.
"Was it Spiraltail?" Stripedkit mumbled from the Nursery. Everyone had gone silent, so her voice was clear and recognizable. The sun had set already, but still, there was no cat to be seen in the clearing save for Fernfeather and Buzzardstar, who had run out to investigate. Stonestar had followed close behind.
They heard the yowl again, far louder this time, but it still sounded as though it were coming from the clearing.
"Is it StarClan warning us?" Coldkit muttered from his mother's side.
Everything went still, no birds to be heard and no leaf to fall.
Finally, clouds began to cover the moon and thunder rumbled, the yowl coming, once again, from the clearing.
"Well, we don't know what it is," Buzzardstar confirmed at the same time as Fernfeather, then continued on his own, "but whatever it is, it's definitely not happy about something."
"Perhaps the fact that we have a cat from another Clan in our camp?" Redpelt called.
Buzzardstar scoffed, then let Fernfeather speak.
"As Coldkit stated, it may very well be StarClan warning us of something, but I highly doubt it is Buzzardstar."
"So we're meant to believe whatever he throws to defend himself?" Redpelt snorted.
"No, and I don't expect you to," Fernfeather replied. "But we must at least help Buzzardstar get his Clan back."
"Why? He'll just attack us again anyway!" shouted Spidertail.
"I will not," Buzzardstar said sincerely. "I promise I will not harm ThunderClan ever again once you've helped me.
"He expects us to believe him," came Windcaller's grumbling murmur.
Buzzardstar's ragged fur emphasized his bushy tail, which seemed to bristle in silent rage.
Fernfeather nodded for him to go to Stonestar's den while Fernfeather attempted to shepherd the kits and warriors back into their dens.
While Fernfeather did this, Ashpelt went on.
"Do you think we'll end up with our own apprentices at all?" he said quickly and quietly.
Reedtail was disappointed in the sudden change of subject. Not only because it was a surprise to her that Ashpelt loved someone who wasn't Iris-Eye, but mainly because she enjoyed his befuddled reactions.
"Maybe if we're patient?" Reedtail offered. "I don't know if they'll be willing to give us apprentices if we crawl over and beg them."
She was surprised when Ashpelt let off a genuine laugh at this comment.
Ashpelt looked out at the sky behind the hanging lichen and moss of the den longingly. "I hope I have kits someday. And then I can train them."
Reedtail tilted her head. "Can we train our own kits?" she asked curiously.
"Maybe, if StarClan lets you," Ashpelt shrugged, his eyes lingering on one specific star closest to the moon.
Reedtail flattened her ears and looked down at her paws. She wasn't ready for an apprentice and she knew it. She wasn't sure if she even wanted one after what happened to Creamfur before her death.
What if Reedtail's future apprentice had their throat clawed out, or worse?
Ashpelt glanced over at Reedtail pitifully.
Reedtail closed her eyes for a minute, silently mourning her fallen mentor once more, then sat up shaking herself.
As Ashpelt and Reedtail were about to leave the spare den, Fernfeather ducked through the lichen and moss to stare at them.
"Are you two okay?" the deputy asked in a concerned tone.
"Yes," the two young warriors said at the same time.
"Good," Fernfeather sighed. She looked behind her, then ducked inside the den and sat in front of them. "Stonestar is not well."
Again? Reedtail's brain screamed, but she kept her face still.
"I think the matter of Buzzardstar's appearance has put him under great stress, not including Willowleaf's kits to come as well as the loss of a fallen warrior and three kits that are here already."
"You need our help with something?" Ashpelt guessed.
Fernfeather peeked through the lichen and moss again, then turned back to Ashpelt and nodded.
What is she so paranoid about? Reedtail wondered suspiciously.
Fernfeather waited for a moment before continuing.
"I would like you to take at least one other warrior with you to the place you last saw Half-Sight and his group," she whispered.
Reedtail and Ashpelt exchanged glances of fear mixed with joy.
"At least one," Fernfeather reminded them. "But not now... It would be too suspicious for you two to disappear now."
"In three days?" Ashpelt suggested. "It seems like a decent amount of time to get ready."
Fernfeather nodded. "Especially since there will be an apprentice ceremony before you leave."
Reedtail held her shuddering sigh with a great effort, and she could tell by Ashpelt's dancing tail that he was struggling to contain his excitement.
Fernfeather stopped herself from smiling, only allowing a very brief crack to peek through her stern and serious face.
"You and whichever warrior you choose will need to rest before you depart," she said. "And please be careful. We cannot lose any more warriors."
Fernfeather left with a worried look sprawled across her face like a leaf on the ground.
"I guess we should sleep and think about who to bring with us," Ashpelt said once Fernfeather had retreated to Stonestar's den. The deputy seemed very busy.
"Right," Reedtail said absently, her gaze following an odd-looking cloud in the sky. "Well, I say we take Whitestripe."
"My sister?" Ashpelt scoffed. "You're not serious, right?"
"She's really rude, I know," Reedtail whispered as they slowly made their way to the warrior den. "But she's great in a fight, I've seen her spar with Flamepaw! She's knocked him on his tail more than once!"
"Yeah, but Flamepaw's a terrible fighter in general," Ashpelt replied quietly. "If we're taking anyone, it should be someone Half-Sight won't expect to see with us. Like maybe a certain kittypet..."
Reedtail rolled her eyes. "You cannot seriously be thinking about Horizon?"
Ashpelt didn't reply.
"Horizon in a battle? Do you realise how bad that could turn out?" Reedtail huffed. "What if Half-Sight kills her, mouse-brain? What'll you do about your non-Clanborn mate then?"
Ashpelt faltered, stopping before following Reedtail again.
"What about Iris-Eye?" he said instead. Reedtail wasn't expecting this as an answer, but she wasn't entirely surprised. He doted on Iris-Eye since he saw her in the Nursery, and had continued to do so until he met Horizon, apparently.
"Spiraltail?" Reedtail offered.
"She's resting," Ashpelt reminded the black she-cat. "And I don't think Russetpaw will let her leave until she knows for sure if anything is wrong with her."
"So who else is there?"
"Iris-Eye," Ashpelt said simply.
"But she has to help Windcaller, Swiftflight, Flamepaw and Redpelt on a hunting patrol tomorrow," Reedtail pointed out.
"So how about Tigerfur?"
"No, we are not bringing him with us."
"Why not?" Ashpelt grumbled. They had stopped outside the warrior den, out of earshot, and hopefully out of sight, of anyone else.
"He is the descendant of a traitor," Reedtail hissed.
"Everyone else thought you were a traitor not long ago," Ashpelt countered. "And Tigerfur has far more experience than either of us together."
"He'd want to protect his former apprentice, wouldn't he?" Reedtail growled. "If he's helping Russetpaw look after Spiraltail while keeping on top of the patrols for Fernfeather and Stonestar, he won't have enough time for our stupid little mission."
"So why can't we bring somebody else?" Ashpelt muttered.
"Whitestripe is a good fighter, and she doesn't have anything to do at the moment. I say we take her with us and do what we can with what information we gather," Reedtail said.
"But Fernfeather didn't even tell us why we're going to the abandoned Twoleg nest," Ashpelt pointed out. "It'd be handy to have another cat around, specifically one we can trust and one who knows their way around. Which is why I point my suggestion back to Horizon."
Reedtail was enraged. Could someone really be this lovestruck and foolish?
I don't even know my family, Reedtail thought bitterly. I never knew my mother or father, never knew if I had any brothers or sisters. You were the lucky ones, the children of Stonestar, leader of ThunderClan. Those who knew their kin. I am Reedtail, child of the unknown and the forgotten. I would not be surprised if they left me for dead rather than looking after me.
"We still have three days to decide," Ashpelt said slowly, walking to the den entrance. "Let's just rest and figure more out in the morning, okay?"
Reedtail's tail bristled in anger, but she nodded calmly, silently sighing.
She padded quietly over to her nest and closed her eyes, though she wasn't sure she wanted to dream this night.