Tangletuft's Mistake; (complete)

Prologue

Crisp brown leaves swept over the dusty landscape, breaking to little bits as they reared the end of the clearing.

"These darn leaves are such a nuisance! I don't see how ThunderClan even likes them." An old tom grumbled from the edge of the clearing, flicking a piece of the brown leaf off of his old pelt yet to his hardest attempts, leaves still got caught in the thick fur, in places the ginger furred tom couldn't reach with his paws or teeth. He grumbled as he tried to reach the large leaf on his back, lifting his tail and snapping his jaws shut but he could never reach the leaf.

"You need to listen to me Dewblaze." A dark brown she-cat murmured, her calm tone and sweet breath relaxing Dewblaze.

"Wh-what do you want?" Dewblaze asked while murmuring to himself he continued "I'm too old for StarClan's little games." He flicked his ear, hoping the she-cat wouldn't notice.

"A dark future is ahead of you and your Clan." The she-cat whispered then paused for several heartbeats, letting the wind and leaves fly by, and waiting for the leaves to get caught in Dewblaze pelt but as for the she-cat, the leaves slid off of her silky fur and right into Dewblaze's. At the she-cat's rate, Dewblaze would be a tree before he had even heard what she had to say.

"Are you going to continue or am I going to turn to stone?" Dewblaze muttered into his fur.

"Hmm, what's that?" The StarClan she-cat asked, flicking her tail "You don't want a prophecy? Okay I'll just give it to ShadowClan then." The she-cat spun on her heels and began padding out of the leaf flying clearing, the wind beginning to slow its pace.

Dewblaze sighed then called out "Come back!" To the StarClan cat. He may as well hear the prophecy, before the wind picked up again and more leaves pushed his temper to the end.

"Very well," the she-cat turned, amusement glittering in her blue eyes "If you absolutely won't let it go."

Dewblaze knew better than to fight with this StarClan cat again. He held his tongue and waited as patiently as the old tom could.

The she-cat's face and tone turned serious as she went on, saying each and every word with depth and precision "Like lightning, a cat will strike through the forest. But as lightning seems powerful, it disappears when the storm ends." And she said no more, the StarClan cat turned and began to fade away as she padded away. Soon, the whole StarClan world melted away and Dewblaze found himself at the Moonpool, his nose wet from the water piled up over the night. There were no leaves in his fur but instead, dew glistened in the ginger pelt, shining in the moonlight.

What could that mean? Dewblaze pondered as he stared at his apprentice, Rabbitpaw Is it about him? No it can't be. Next half moon he'll get his full name. It's too late for him. But maybe for his apprentice... Don't be foolish Dewblaze!

"Dewblaze?" Rabbitpaw lifted his head and mewed sleepily "Why are you awake already? It's not even close to dawn yet."

"My dreams are finished," Dewblaze shrugged "And I guess yours are too. We can go back to camp. I'm sure the other medicine cats will understand." Dewblaze swept Rabbitpaw with his tail and the two cats began padding back to camp in utter silence, letting the two medicine cats' thoughts drag on.

Once they entered camp, early dawn light began shifting into place, and barely any cats were awake. The only movements were Silverpaw and Rustlepaw whispering and giggling to each other while Grasspelt, the newest WindClan warrior, hissed at the two apprentices to go back to sleep while she was half asleep and half awake herself.

The last movement in camp was Grayclaw who was on guard. The young warrior was the obvious choice to be the next leader and he didn't fail to show it. The cocky tom would always boast about his prey catches to the other warriors.

Dewblaze led the way to the medicine cat moss area beside their den. The den was only mostly used just to keep the herbs fresher. Cats, unless they were seriously injured, usually never slept in there. This was WindClan, dens were only used in storms or leaf-bare. The day ahead seemed promising of warmth so most cats slept outside.

Dewblaze plopped down in his bedding and shut his eyes. The prophecy ran through his head Like lightning, a cat will strike through the forest. And as lightning seems powerful, it disappears when the storm ends. . . Great StarClan! Tell me what this means!