Warriors AU: Sandstar's Quest

Chapter 24

The half-moon shone coldly as Sandstar padded down the stony trail to the Rockpile. No other cats were waiting for him, and he couldn't make out any shadowy shapes approaching down the cliff or along the river. Only Fireheart was with him, pausing beside him at the foot of the rocks to gaze at him with luminous green eyes.

Sandstar shifted from paw to paw, uneasy under the light of the half-moon. This was the time when medicine cats met to share dreams with Starclan. Somehow it felt wrong to be waiting for other cats to gather; the moon should have been full. Could that be a bad omen?

Shaking off the premonition of disaster, Sandstar let his gaze follow the twisting line of the river, glittering silver in the starlight. He wanted to leap to the top of the rocks and yowl the words that drew his own Clan to a meeting. But the familiar summons would mean nothing here, and he was not sure there would be any other cats to hear it.

Suppose no cat comes to the meeting? What will I do then?

"You'll be okay." Fireheart touched his shoulder with the tip of her tail. "It's hard when you're not these cats' leader, but you still have to shape them into a Clan."

"Some of them," Sandstar corrected her. Even at his most optimistic, he couldn't believe that all the cats he had spoken to would agree to join the new Clan. The last thing he wanted was to force any cat; it was important that they joined because they wanted to, and were willing to live by the warrior code.

Am I afraid they won't do what I want? No, it was more than that. The cats who joined Skyclan would have to be determined enough to survive after he and Fireheart had returned to the forest. And they would succeed only if they were committed to the warrior code to the last claw and whisker.

"Go on." Fireheart nudged him toward the Rockpile. "It's time."

Sandstar met her brilliant gaze for a couple of heartbeats, and drank in her sweet scent. New strength seemed to flow into him; he sprang upward and reached the top of the Rockpile in a few vigorous bounds. From this vantage point he could see farther downstream and up the gorge in the other direction, but there was still no sign of any cats, except for Fireheart sitting patiently at the foot of the rocks. The half-moon floated higher in the sky.

Where are you? Sandstar thought desperately.

Then he caught sight of a flicker of movement in the shadows near the cliff face. He heard the scrape of claws on rock, and Sky pulled herself onto the topmost boulder to stand beside him.

"Greetings," she meowed. "I see I'm in time for the meeting."

"You know about that?" Sandstar asked, surprised.

Sky dismissed the question with a flick of her ears. Her gray pelt was silver in the moonlight, and her pale eyes shone. Sandstar wondered if Sky had ways of knowing things that other cats couldn't understand.

"Do you want to speak to them first?" he suggested. "You're a descendant of Skyclan; they'll listen to you."

"Listen to me? The crazy rogue who sits looking at the moon?" A rusty purr of amusement came from the old cat. "No, you must speak to them. More than anything, they need a leader to follow, and you can walk that path more easily than I."

"But I am not their leader..." Sandstar started to protest.

Sky looked deep into his eyes. "You can go back to your own Clan soon," she promised. "But my Clan needs you now."

Sandstar bowed his head. "I will try," he whispered.

Straightening up, he saw with a start of surprise that cats had begun to appear in the gorge. He spotted Callum sitting at the foot of the rocks, half-hidden in shadows. Patches was guiding her kits down the stony trail and thrust them gently toward a niche in the Rockpile itself. All three kits were squeaking with excitement.