(Outdated) Warriors: Clouded Skies #1 - The First Storm

Chapter Six

Ravenpaw licked the leftover daisy leaves from his paws, his lips curling from the taste, and Berrywhisker cracked out a hoarse laugh. "You'll make a good medicine cat, one day!" the silver tabby laughed, ending it with a raspy cough.

"Are you okay?" His ears perked up, and he sniffed at the elder's face and felt her pad. He was tempted to touch noses with the old she-cat to see if he would get a vision but decided against it in fear of what he would see.

"I'm fine, just an old throat," the elder chuckled lightly, which sent her into another fit of coughs. Ravenpaw moved his head forward, wanting to help, but then it happened. The thing he feared, the thing he had just thought about. Berrywhisker turned her head towards him, and, even though his legs went stiff and he tried desperately to pull himself back, his nose touched the elder's, and he was washed away.

Instead of the rest of his dreams, Ravenpaw was seeing through Berrywhisker's eyes. He knew because he could see his—no, her—broken whiskers, and her graying silver paws. The elder's breath was labored, and her throat was as dry as dirt. It was crackled and burnt when she breathed, and he could feel the ripples going through his body.

Then, they both—apprentice and elder—saw it; a swirling mist right in front of their eyes. It began to form a whispering, uneven shape, then it was the perfect shape of a large, muscular tom. His fur was transparent and thick, with what seemed to be shining stars.

For a terrifying moment, Ravenpaw thought, Boulderclaw? The tom, who was clearly a member of StarClan, looked identical to his father. Thick fur that was gray on the top, but his muzzle, chest and lower half of his body were a glowing white. But, truly, it was his eyes that caught the young apprentice's attention. They were a bright, glowing, memorizing green, with what seemed to be every shade of the forest inside them.

Then, Berrywhisker spoke in a hoarse, crackled mew. "Chiveclaw? Is that you, my love?" She swallowed a cough. Ravenpaw could feel an awful feeling erupt in his chest. A longing so strong that if he had been standing he would've been knocked to his belly. It was like this tom, this "Chiveclaw" was her entire life, and she wasn't herself without him. Love, maybe?

It wasn't what Ravenpaw felt for his littermates or parents, but he knew love like that was different. This was a feeling of complete protection and need, with the heart-aching longing to smell his scent again or feel the warmth come from his body.

"Hello, my love," the tom's meow was soft but deep, full of love and a longing much like Berrywhisker's. "It is time for us to be together again," he murmured, blinking and moving closer.

"I've been waiting for so long," Berrywhisker rasped, her heart aching in despair when she realized she couldn't scent anything from her long-dead mate, or even feel a heat coming from his pelt. It was like he wasn't real, just some... illusion. Was that all StarClan was? Could they even be considered real, if they were nothing but mist?

Ravenpaw was once again terrified, but less by the thoughts, but more because they weren't his, they belonged to the dying elder, splayed out in her flattened nest. She was having these doubts about their ancestors...

"Once you join StarClan, you shall be able to smell me again." Chiveclaw had moved forward so he was close enough that his breath would've been able to ruffle his mate's whisker, but there was nothing coming from his muzzle. "Are you ready to join us, my love?"

"Yes." Berrywhisker didn't even hesitate. A feeling of sadness washed over the she-cat, and a picture formed in her mind. It was four small kits curled at her belly, with a strong feeling of love, but different than what she felt for Chiveclaw. Complete, utter love, but somehow a little different.