Harekit's Prophecy

Chapter 5

"ShadowClan are all just rabbit-hearted cats!" Echostar's fierce mew rang through the cold, thin air. "You had no reason to attack us at all! One of our warriors is still not fully recovered from your weak attack!" The white moonlight dappled on the leaves of the great oaks around the clearing where the rock in the middle rose. It was the first full moon since the battle with ShadowClan. Echostar turned to Shadestar. "And since when do you hunt on our moors anyways? Get back to your shady pine forest, where you belong!" Echostar hissed. Startled gasps sounded on the clearing. Shadestar's blue eyes widened, startled by the she-cat's words. "ShadowClan has been growing, with fast warriors and apprentices. And next to that, your cats can't even defend yourself. If they can't defend, cats will get hurt." Harepaw knew that it was true. Goldenwing had been already weak. She was still very ill and hurt, and Buzzardfur wasn't sure if she'd get better. "Still! That's no reason to attack us!" Echostar hissed, flexing her claws. Featherstar, RiverClan's leader looked up at the sky before letting out an angry yowl. "Enough!" she hissed. "Clouds are drifting in front of the moon." Another wave of gasps moved through the watching cats, and Shadestar turned his head away from Echostar. But Echostar wasn't done, and with unsheathed claws, she leaped for the dark, taller tom. Shadestar wasn't expecting the blow and stumbled on his massive paws, not able to keep his balance. A little messy, the leader leaped down from the rock. "What in the name of StarClan are you doing?" The tom hissed. Echostar sheathed her claws. "I'm making you pay for what you did to my Clan!" She leaped down after Shadestar and raked with her claws along his side. Shadestar hissed in pain and annoyance, flexing his claws, but kept them sheathed in the end. "Are you out of your mind, Echostar?" Orangestar leaped down in between of the leaders. "This has gone far enough. It's better if this gathering is over!" he hissed. Harepaw looked next to him, seeing Leafpaw's startled expression, probably matching his own. "She's gone crazy!" Harepaw whispered to Leafpaw. The ginger-colored she-cat nodded, her eyes filled with concern. Echostar had already leaped off the rock and was walking in the direction of the moor, a few warriors already following her. Harepaw touched noses with Leafpaw. "Hopefully see you next full moon!" she purred. "Yes," Harepaw replied. "Let's hope Echostar won't make a scene again." 

"She's getting worse. And even if she gets over her illness," Buzzardfur paused, "she'll never be the same again. She'll remain weak: unable to fight." Echostar was looking at Goldenwing's ragged body. The she-cat was unconscious again, and only by the slow rising of her flank, you could tell she was alive. Harepaw and Heatherbreeze were with Echostar and Buzzardfur in the medicine den. Heatherbreeze visited her sister almost every day, and Harepaw couldn't blame her. If he had a littermate, he would've done the same. Echostar hissed and looked back at Buzzardfur. "If she won't be useful, why are you treating her wounds?" Buzzardfur's eyes widened in surprise. "She can't be a warrior, but she can be a queen, or maybe my apprentice?" "Our Clan isn't as strong as it used to be. We need those herbs for warriors who can fight." With those words, Echostar left the den. "You both should leave too, Goldenwing needs her rest," Buzzardfur said to Heatherbreeze and Harepaw, his voice shaking due to the conversation he just had with Echostar. After a quick nod, the two cats left the den. Outside, Rainkit and Fernkit were playing with each other. Rainkit leaped clumsily on Fernkit's back, who wriggled herself free without too much effort. "Make sure you don't let go, Rainkit." Harepaw mewed as he passed the play fighting kits. Rainkit nodded and leaped once again at her sister, now clinging to her and not loosening her grip. "Aim for her belly," he instructed Fernkit. The she-kit tickled with her paws at her littermate's belly, and Rainkit slid down, giggling. Mistfeather looked at her kits with a satisfied look in her green eyes. Then she met Harepaw's gaze. "How is Goldenwing?" she asked. Harepaw padded closer. "Buzzardfur said that she's worse, and even if she survives, she will always stay weaker." The satisfaction disappeared from Mistfeather's eyes. "This isn't a place for cats to live, or for kits to grow up," she added, looking at her playing kits. "But what can we do?" Harepaw sighed. "Sparrowpaw, Birdpaw and Honeypaw, the apprentices that died, tried fleeing, and that seems like our only option." He saw the apprentices in his mind again. He remembered Honeypaw and Birdpaw well, Sparrowpaw was vaguer. He had died in their hiding spot, due to an infection he caught there. Echostar had put the two she-cats in the elders den and left them to die. But they didn't even have a mother who looked at them or cared about them. They were all alone... Harepaw thought. He glanced back at the two kits. At least they have a caring mother.