Warriors #1: Moondance of Fate ✓

Chapter 24

When I awoke, the pain coursed through me once more, and I glimpsed the crimson flow from where Ashfur's claws had scored my shoulders. But I endured, for it was but mere scratches. Yet, one certainty clawed at me - I'd never exchange words or glances with that tabby-gray tom again.

"Moonfall," gasped a voice, and I swiftly turned my head to find Lionblaze's anxious eyes fixed upon me, his jaws agape. "What happened?" he exclaimed, rushing to my side. For a fleeting moment, I couldn't fathom what had rattled him so. Then, a searing pain ripped through me, and I whimpered, glancing down to see blood welling from my chest and small scratches on my stomach. StarClan, guide me, I thought, before my eyes rolled dizzily. But I suppressed the glimmer of hope that surged within me. "Get... Jayfeather," I managed to grunt before succumbing to unconsciousness.

- ❇️ -

With a gasp, I awoke, relieved to find myself in the medicine den this time, not shrouded in darkness. I exhaled a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding and scanned my surroundings. Although I couldn't see any of the medicine cats, their scents wafted in from just outside, mingling with Lionblaze's voice in conversation.

"She just...collapsed!" hissed Lionblaze, his anger palpable. I empathized with him, knowing the golden tom cared for me more than either of us would admit. But my problems with the Dark Forest were my own to bear. Growling softly, I rose to my paws, feeling a surge of determination coursing through my body.

The shuffle of paws alerted me to Leafpool's presence, her tabby form entering the den. She approached, her head lifting in relief. "Oh, good, you're awake," she purred happily. I dipped my head slightly, closing my eyes a bit. "Apparently I am. How, may I ask?"

"Why, with herbs, of course," Leafpool chuckled softly as she approached, her tail running gently over my flanks. "You seem to be healing well, but I'm worried you have scars from wounds that only a cat could inflict. Will you tell me who the culprit is?" she inquired. I sighed and shook my head. "Sorry, but no."

Leafpool, her pelt a tapestry of shadow and moonlight, let out a gentle sigh that seemed to echo in the sacred hush of the night.

Her luminous gaze, an ocean of wisdom and care, settled upon her kin, a delicate and fragile flower named Daisy. With a graceful nod, she spoke, her voice a gentle breeze rustling through the leaves, "Of course, but you must come to the nursery, Daisy. Your wounds, if left unchecked, will fester and mar your beauty." Her words, like starlight, danced through the air.

Reluctantly, I followed her, drawn to her presence as a moth to a glowing moon. As I brushed past Jayfeather, my heart heavy with the weight of unspoken truths, I strode toward my place of rest, a nest woven from the fibers of seasons past.

Curling down, I enveloped myself in the warmth of my tabby tail, as if it were a shield against the pain within. I couldn't bear to meet Jayfeather's gaze now, nor Leafpool's, for in my heart, I believed I had become nothing but a burden to my Clan. In the depths of my solitude, I shut my eyes, trying to escape the relentless storm of self-doubt.

My mind is short-circuiting, I bitterly acknowledged, letting the tempest of self-pity wash over me like a torrent. The tears that threatened to escape remained locked away, hidden behind closed lids.

Yet, even in my darkest hour, as I lay adrift in the sea of my own despair, the world outside carried on. I perked my ears, the sound of emptiness ringing in the silence of the den. No one was there, and I huffed in frustration.

"Wherever those medicine cats may be, StarClan truly desires to test my resolve," I muttered softly to myself. In the clandestine corners of my heart, I knew that this was a trial, a trial that I must face alone, to emerge stronger, or to be swallowed by the shadows that threatened to consume my very soul.

As discomfort gnawed at my paws, the urge to take a solitary stroll became irresistible, no matter who might stand in my path. With newfound resolve, I rose from my nest and turned my head, my senses reaching out to embrace the den's familiar scents. Yet, to my dismay, there was no trace of Leafpool or Jayfeather, nor any scent of my fellow Clanmates. A foreboding sense of worry took root within me, like ivy creeping up the walls of my consciousness.

Unsure of the strange stillness that enveloped the den, I decided to venture outside. The starry hill lay before me, its speckled expanse shimmering in the gentle breeze, an otherworldly hunting ground reserved for StarClan alone. The thought that clawed at the edge of my mind was inescapable: Am I dead?

But before my heart could truly embrace this notion, a raspy voice cut through the stillness like the cry of a lonely owl on a moonlit night. Startled, I snapped my head up to behold a gray she-cat, her form a haunting silhouette against the luminous stars. Her gait was unsteady, a limping dance of pain, her ears pressed flat against her head, and her fur tattered and matted like storm-tossed clouds.

In the presence of this spectral feline, a shiver coursed through my spine, and my voice trembled as I whispered, "Am I dead?"

With a tone as cold as the night's bitter winds, she uttered, "You are not dead yet."

"Who...who are you?" I stammered, my eyes wide with a mixture of awe and fear. The gray she-cat coughed once, her voice a raspy echo of forgotten wisdom, and then she tipped her head in acknowledgment.

"I am known as Yellowfang," she replied with a kind of ancient authority. "I was ThunderClan's medicine cat long before you came along. You are far from your home, kittypet."

My hackles rose, and I unsheathed my claws. "No one calls me kittypet," I hissed, my fur bristling with defiance. But Yellowfang remained calm, her gaze unwavering.

"But that is what you are, isn't it?" she retorted, her words like sharp thorns in the shadows. "Or are you actually the fourth warrior, the one they need?"

The notion that I might have a purpose here, beyond my mundane origins, clawed at the fringes of my mind. It was like a worm, worming its way out of the soil of my subconscious, elusive yet persistent. I strained to grasp the meaning, to understand, but it remained just out of reach.

"I do not believe this," I muttered, my voice tinged with uncertainty, "but I do believe one thing. Bluestar knows what she is talking about." The name, Bluestar, felt like a distant memory, a fragment of a puzzle that I had never fully pieced together. She was a presence I had heard of, yet had never spoken of before.

"Ah, you've heard of her, haven't you?" Yellowfang mused, a ghostly smile playing across her weathered features, revealing yellowed teeth. "Even in the cozy corners of your twolegs' nest, names like hers find their way to you."

Her words carried a mysterious weight, as if Bluestar's name was a hidden key to a world I had only begun to glimpse. I nodded, unable to deny the threads of fate weaving this strange encounter together.

"Very well, come with me," Yellowfang beckoned with her tufted tail, a signal that was both ancient and inviting. She waved me forward, and without hesitation, I followed in her ghostly footsteps, embarking on a journey that would reveal the secrets of a destiny I had never imagined.