A New Horizon Book 2: The Dying Forest {COMPLETE}

Chapter 20

Blackpaw had an uneasy night of sleep. He didn't know how he could've slept soundly, he hadn't in days and things weren't any better now that he knew the truth about what was going on. The forest is dying, and it won't regrow after leaf-bare. And somehow we're supposed to find a new place to live.

There was only one positive thing on Blackpaw's mind, he was meeting with Honeypaw tonight. He wasn't sure why he asked her to meet him at the gathering hollow, it just kind of happened. Ever since they met at the river she had been occupying his mind more than anything. I need to talk to her, maybe that will put a stop to it. They were medicine cats, they were allowed to meet across borders.

Blackpaw sat up in his nest, letting out a yawn. He looked over at Skyfeather's nest and saw that his mentor hadn't slept well either. "What are we going to do?" Blackpaw questioned.

"What they told us to do." Skyfeather stood up, his eyes were hollow and his voice dry. "We're going to tell Riverstar and convince her to leave. We hope that the others will convince their leaders to leave, that's all we can do." He turned his blue gaze onto Blackpaw. "Come on, let's go talk to her."

Blackpaw nodded and stood up, following Skyfeather to the leader's den. Inside was Riverstar and Ashblaze. "Sorry to interrupt," Skyfeather mewed as soon as he stepped inside, pulling the attention of both the leader and the deputy. "But I have something very important to tell you."

Riverstar gave him a confused look but turned to the two medicine cats. "Alright, what is it?" Ashblaze narrowed his amber eyes.

"We spoke with StarClan last night," Skyfeather began. "And they told us what's going on with the prey and herbs." Riverstar and Ashblaze shared a confused and intrigued look. "The forest is dying."

The look in Riverstar's and Ashblaze's eyes matched what Blackpaw had been feeling when he had heard the news himself. "The forest is dying?" Riverstar echoed with bewilderment. "What does that mean? How does a forest die?"

"The forest is full of living things, those living things are dying." Skyfeather repeated what Honeywing had said.

"So what do we do about this?" Ashblaze questioned. "Do we find a way to save the forest?"

Skyfeather shook his head. "No, StarClan instructed us that we have to leave. We have to find a new home, all of the Clans."

"Find a new home?" Riverstar didn't seem very convinced. "How are we supposed to do that? How are all of the Clans supposed to get up and leave everything we've built here. The Clans were started here, they've never left."

"They made it very clear that if we stay here, we will die." Skyfeather's voice grew stern. "I understand that we've lived here a very long time, for countless moons, but we have to move. After everything dies in leaf-bare, the forest will be unable to grow anything back. We will have no prey and no herbs."

"If we leave during leaf-bare then we risk the lives of our elders and kits. Who knows what could be beyond our territories, no cat ever leave shere." Riverstar's fur was bristling. Blackpaw tensed. We have to convince her to leave. If she doesn't then AshClan is doomed to fall.

"If we don't leave then we are guaranteeing the death of every cat in AshClan!" Skyfeather argued. "AshClan needs to leave!"

"Don't forget who your leader is, Skyfeather." Riverstar hissed, Blackpaw flattened his ears. "I don't appreciate you yelling at me."

"And I am your medicine cat! It's my job to save, protect and heal my Clanmates! I gave up my life as a warrior to become AshClan's medicine cat when we had no one else. I've given my entire life to this, I speak with StarClan and they give me guidance to then pass down onto my leader. I will not stand by and let your stubbornness destroy my Clan!"

There was a painful silence in the den, Blackpaw stared at his mentor in shock. He knew that Skyfeather had full warrior training, but after Thornstar was defeated AshClan was without a medicine cat. Skyfeather stepped up, vowing to give up his life as a warrior to become his Clan's medicine cat. He sacrificed so much for AshClan, I can understand why he's so upset about this.

"I will take some time to think about this." Riverstar finally spoke, breaking the silence. Her voice was low. "I will discuss my decision with you later."

"I suggest we have a meeting with all four leaders and all the medicine cats. So we can fully discuss what the Clans will do." Skyfeather mewed before turning away. "Come, Blackpaw." Blackpaw hesitated for a moment, Ashblaze's intense amber gaze burned into him. Finally, he turned and followed his mentor out of the leader's den.

Once they returned to their own den Blackpaw turned to Skyfeather. "What are we going to do if Riverstar doesn't leave?" He questioned, terrified of what might actually happen.

"Hopefully Riverstar is smart and will leave with the others. I have no doubt in my mind that Dawnstar and Jaggedstar will leave without much hesitation. Shadowstar may take a bit more convincing but Ravenheart has been medicine cat for a very long time, Shadowstar would be a fool not to listen to him." He sighed. "It's Riverstar I'm worried about. Ever since she became leader she's desperate to prove that AshClan is strong and can stand alone, but the fact of the matter is no Clan can stand alone right now."

Skyfeather stared at his paws. "The warrior code says that Clans must stand together in times of need so that no Clan may fail, but it also says that the word of the Clan leader is the warrior code." Skyfeather met Blackpaw's gaze. "But if we learned anything from Thornstar it's that if the leader is putting the Clan in danger than we must stand up to our leader and save our Clan." Skyfeather let out a deep sigh. "I just hope that Riverstar can make the right choice, if she doesn't then I'll convince the Clan to leave myself. I'm not risking the death of my Clan."

Blackpaw felt a surge of admiration for his mentor. Skyfeather cared so deeply for his Clan, he had been forced to be an apprentice early because of Thornstar and gave up all his warrior training, gave up having a mate, just so AshClan had a medicine cat. I can only hope that I'll be half the medicine cat Skyfeather is. Blackpaw dropped his head. And I'm meeting with Honeypaw in secret tonight. He shook his head and the feelings of guilt away. It's nothing bad, we're just friends and medicine cats meeting to talk. Nothing else. What could happen?