The Moon Is In Your Paws

Chapter 2: Memmories and Explanations

"Nightpaw? Nightpaw?" the sable-furred molly jumped about a foot in the air with a startled meow. She looked up to see the concerned face of her mentor before she trained with Cinderpelt. It was her very first mentor, Lightwing, her violet eyes staring into Nightpaw's blue ones. "Lightwing! Wait! Come back, Lightwing!" she mewed, her paw reaching out to touch her mentor's white fur only for the white fur to become violet-black in the blink of an eye.

"Serena?" she blinked and shook out her dark fur and looked up at her adviser and best friend with confused and dazed eyes. "Oh... I-I um, I'm sorry, Luna." She said quietly, her ears flattening against her head as she stared down at her paws.

"Are you sure you're alright, Rena?" Luna repeated her earlier question. Serena-No Nightpaw, sighed softly and looked up at her adviser. "I... I... I, yes, yes, I-I'm fine." She said with a shake of her furry head.

"You don't sound very happy," Luna observed with concern. A paw stretched out and touched the girl's cheek as if wishing she could do more.

"Is it really that obvious?" Nightpaw asked the other cat. Luna nodded her head while giving her charge a raised eyebrow in response to her question.

Nightpaw looked down with a defeated sigh. She looked up at the moonlit sky outside for a few moments before finally turning to face Luna. "Who is Lightwing?" was the first question to come out of Luna's mouth.

"When I first became an apprentice," Nightpaw began, "I was apprenticed to a young and energetic newly named warrior named Lightwing." She paused and took a shuttering breath. "But, after my sister, Moonpaw, was killed during an invasion from ShadowClan, I decided to train with Cinderpelt to become a medicine cat."

Luna's red eyes widened in horror as she stared at her charge with saddened eyes. "Who killed Moonpaw?" Luna was afraid of the answer. Nightpaw sighed and flattened her ears. "She was killed by a ShadowClan warrior named Clawface," Nightpaw told her sadly. "He was also the cat who killed a young medicine cat named Spottedleaf." The dabble-furred apprentice continued.

It was silent for what felt like moons when Luna once again attempted to break the tension. "Well... that was a lot more detailed than I was expecting..." the violet-black molly said, still trying to process everything. "So, uh, you said something about an important destiny, what is that all about?" she asked Nightpaw with a raised eyebrow.

"I received a prophecy from Spottedleaf," Nightpaw told her after a few moments of silence. Luna's eyes widened in both shock and surprise as she stared at her friend.

"And what was this prophecy that Spottedleaf gave you?" Luna asked her, her expression worried as she waited for her charge to speak. As Nightpaw tried to think of the right course of action, the words of the prophecy kept flashing in her mind. And with a shaky breath, the young molly told her mentor the words that the former medicine cat of ThunderClan had spoken to her.

"When darkness falls upon the land, when Clan cats fight for a rightful leader, four young cats will come together to stop the fighting. Claws and teeth soak in blood and tears, while many cats stand frozen with fear. To stop this incoming doom, the four Clans must fight together as one, and only then will the darkness flee."

"But what does that mean? I don't understand Nightpaw, can you give me a bit more explanation?" Luna asked, staring up at Nightpaw, who frowned and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Luna, but I can't give you anymore information. Even I don't always fully understand the messages that StarClan give me." Nightpaw meowed quietly as she stared at Luna with a gaze that held great wisdom, but also a hint of uncertainty.

Luna sighed and rested her front paws on her chin in contemplation. "Man, when did you become so wise and mysterious?" Luna's tone was joking as she stared up at Nightpaw with a playful gleam in her red eyes.

"I've always been smart, Luna." The sable-furred molly mewed, smiling and flicking her tail at Luna. "I just let people think I'm lazy and uninterested."

The violet-black cat blinked and stared at Nightpaw with wide and confused eyes. "But why don't you tell the girls?" Luna questioned, her tail brushing against Nightpaw's shoulder as she stared into her friend's eyes.

"Weren't we talking about the prophecy I got from Spottedleaf?" Nightpaw inquired with a tilt of her head. "How did we go from that to talking about me hiding my smartness?"

Luna sighed and shook her head. "We'll get back to that in a second," the feline replied in a motherly tone. "But right now I want to know why you let everyone think that you're a clumsy and lazy girl who spaces off a lot."

Nightpaw sighed and flattened her ears, then meowed scornfully, "Because it wouldn't make a difference. They'd still think I'm an immature airhead who never does her homework and is always showing up late for a battle."

Luna glared. "But if your so smart, then why don't you ever pay attention in class and why do you never do your homework when you know that it would be a lot easier to do it right then instead of waiting until the very last minute." The feline pressed, not quite understanding why her charge was hiding the fact that she was smart from the other girls.

"I know they don't really respect me, and it does bother me. A lot. But telling them would accomplish nothing."

"And why not?" the feline huffed.

Nightpaw sighed and stared at Luna with a sad and tired gaze. "The reason I don't tell them is because they wouldn't believe me even if I tried harder. Especially Ray, all she does is yell at me for everything that I do wrong. She never takes the time to help me or even try to tell me what I did wrong so I know not to do that same thing over again!" Nightpaw paused to take a breath before she continued speaking. "I know that the others try there best to help me in any way that they can... but what can they do? Sure, Ami can help me study for each and every up coming quiz for hours on end, but when it comes time for me to take the actual quiz, I just can't seem to remember the information."

Luna frowned. "I'm not understanding what you're trying to say." The feline tilted her head to the side. "So is it like your brain has a harder time retaining the information or something?"

"Yeah, I guess, something like that. Anyway... let's just get back on track." The sable-furred molly said with a soft sigh and a twitch of her tail.

Luna nodded and took a deep breath. "So, uh, could you please repeat the prophecy?" the violet-black feline remarked with a sheepish grin and a nervous laugh. Nightpaw huffed but she couldn't help the amused smirk that tugged at the corners of her mouth.

"When darkness falls upon the land, when Clan cats fight for a rightful leader, four young cats will come together to stop the fighting. Claws and teeth soak in blood and tears, while many cats stand frozen with fear. To stop this incoming doom, the four Clans must fight together as one, and only then will the darkness flee."

It was silent for a while and Luna repeated her previous question. "What could that mean, Nightpaw?" the violet-black molly asked her charge. Nightpaw frowned and narrowed her eyes, tilting her head and twitching her tail from side-to-side in uncertainty.

"All will be answered in due time, there's no need to worry about it right now." Came a voice from the shadows. "Just stay calm and relax, Luna." Spottedleaf meowed and the two cats spun around to see the former ThunderClan medicine cat before Yellowfang. The dark tortoiseshell molly was standing right behind them, her dark brown, starry, dappled pelt glowing in the light of the moon and her warm amber eyes bright as she stared straight at both Nightpaw and Luna.