Warriors #2: Midnight ✓

Chapter 24

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"Fierce, is he not? StarClan has chosen well. But there will be no clawing this day. Here is talk, not fight."
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"Awaken, young dragon."

Starspeckle opened his eyes and found himself in a breathtaking mountain landscape bathed in the sun's golden rays. Sitting beside him was the dragon king, Nightstar. "Good to see you again, young friend," Nightstar clicked, and Starspeckle smiled, touching his snout to the king's in a gesture of respect.

"I see you have arrived, and Midnight has shown you the Dragon's Heart. It's good to see you again," Nightstar said, dipping his head. Starspeckle furrowed his brow, a perplexed expression crossing his features. "B-but I don't understand," he squeaked. Nightstar let out a sigh and flicked his skeletal tail. "My dear, it's not meant for one to understand oneself fully; you just have to embrace it."

And with that, the black dragon disappeared.

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When Starspeckle woke up, he was surrounded by scents of fear and unease. "Calm yourselves," Midnight growled, and the voices echoing in his head vanished.

He sat up, shook his fur, and noticed the others gathered with his sisters. Their eyes were shimmering as if they had been crying. He tilted his head in confusion. "What's wrong?" he asked. Squirrelpaw approached him and nuzzled her snout into his chest fur. "We thought we lost you. You didn't come back when the rest of us did," she mewed, and Starspeckle could feel her trembling.

His ears flattened, and he rested his head against hers. "I'm here and spoke with Nightstar," he reassured them. As he spoke, Midnight smiled. "So, the old rascal is still up and about," she mused before stopping herself. "You must all be tired after the long journey. I will take you to a place where you can rest."

All the cats followed the badger, and soon, as they stepped back into the sunlight, Starspeckle began to feel normal again. The weight in his heart remained, but he felt lighter and happier as if he had taken the longest nap he had ever had.

Midnight led him and his friends to a grove with towering green trees. The aged badger sat down and started grooming her paws when they reached a clearing within the forest. The other cats settled around the clearing, surrendering to the weariness that had crept into their bones. Starspeckle lay down, his sisters on either side and soon, he was whisked away into the realms of dreams.

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The next time Starspeckle was awakened, it was by Midnight gently nudging him. "Come, young warrior," she whispered softly and motioned with her large paws for him to follow her.

He stood and followed Midnight as she led him to a small pond that shimmered under the sun's warm rays. "Look into the pond," she instructed, and Starspeckle leaned down, gazing into the water. There, he saw his reflection, but after a while, someone stood beside him. It was a cat he had known before, but it transformed into a magnificent white dragon in the water. His mother. Her blue eyes blinked back at him, her sleek snout adorned with glistening scales.

"Your mother embraced her dragon, and you can do the same," Midnight spoke from her place opposite the pond. Starspeckle sighed. "I know, but I'm not entirely ready," he meowed, his gaze fixed on the image of his mother, which soon shifted to his reflection in dragon form.

Midnight moved closer and rested her snout on his shoulder. "One is never truly ready for such a journey, just as your mother wasn't. But destiny comes and shows her the right path. What matters is that you are willing to live with the kind of power that can take many lives but also give immeasurable value," she said.

Starspeckle smiled and looked into her eyes. He knew it was time to embrace the other part of himself, the part that could grant him strength or tear him apart.

"Okay, thank you, Midnight," he said. Midnight smiled back.

"Of course, Starspeckle."

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The time has come.

"All the Clans in the forest must unite in the days to come, or else you will all be annihilated," Midnight declares, and Stormfur leaps to his paws. "There have always been cats in the forest!" he protests, to which Midnight replies, "There shall be no more."

Starspeckle sits up straight, his ears twitching here and there. "The Clans and the forest are going to be destroyed, aren't they?" he meows.

Midnight nods, and Starspeckle sighs. "We must bring this message back to our Clans," he says. The other cats look at each other with concern before unanimously agreeing. "Stay here tonight; you've traveled far, and rest will do you good," Midnight says. They all curl up in the cavern where they are, and Starspeckle hopes that the days to come will pass swiftly so they can return to the forest. He must warn ThunderClan, or all will be lost.