Forest Of Guardians

Chapter 3

When Raven wakes up, she is no longer in a cave, but in a starlit clearing. She jumps up to her feet, expecting the pain in her paw to force her back down. But to her surprise, it is no longer there. The swishes her head side to side checking for anyone else, but there is no one there. Raven is really confused, and she has no idea how she got here. Raven takes a deep breath, and sighs. She tries to pick up any scents, but she can only smell a hint of....

"Lavender...." Raven exclaims out loud, "but how can there be scents of lavender? There is none nearby!" Almost instantly, the breeze turns into a strong wind and it changes direction. The wind behind her is so strong that Raven has to be careful not to get swept away. The smell of lavender has increased so much that it is almost over powering. The sound of paw steps echo around the clearing. Raven whips around to see a pretty golden-brown tabby she-cat with lavender coloured eyes. But the she-cat is different... she looks like she is made out of stars. She slightly shimmers, and has a small glow to her. The she-cat pads forward, practically floating above the ground.

"Hmmm...." her eyes sparkle with interest, "what do we have here? A visiter? We haven't had one of those for a while... not one who came here all by themselves... especially a young kit like you." The tabby she-cat flicks her tail with curiosity. Raven claws at the ground, sheathing and unsheathing her claws.

"Uh.... why am I here?" Raven asks, "and who are you? I've never seen you before, and it looks like you are made out of stars..." Raven trails off. The she-cat stares at Raven, and says nothing. Raven stares back and notices that she is slightly translucent.

"You...you.. You're... Dead..." Raven realizes with a start. The she-cat smirks, and pads close to Raven. The she-cat touches noses with Raven. Raven flinches back at the cool touch.

"Yes. I am dead." the she-cat recipes, "I know that this is a shock, but this is going to be a bigger one." the she-cat takes a deep breath and exhales. "Raven, you have guardian blood running through your body... more than most cats. You are destined to be one of the greatest guardians in the forest. You will meet another like you. And another. One will be known, and another... different." The cat looks intently at her back paw, and then Raven feels a sharp pain in it. "All fixed." says the shining cat. All of a sudden, the she-cat looks flustered. "Raven... I've told you more than I was supposed to. I fixed something I shouldn't have. I have to go. We will speak again. Good luck young one." the she-cat turns around and quickly races away.

"Wait! Please! Don't go! Raven cries, panicking. She races after the she-cat. As she gets to the top of the hill, she gets a shocking view. Cats. Cats everywhere. Some look normal, others look translucent. The smell of blood and death reeks. She has to help. Somehow. She charges into the middle and stops dead. In the middle of the crowd there are two cats. WisdomWatcher and a light brown tabby tom. A sharp pain jabs into her side, causing her to fall limp and close her eyes. When she does open them again, she is back in the cave. WillowDove is prodding her painfully in the side. "WillowDove stop!" Raven shouts. "I'm up! I'm up!" she says, lifting her head off of the nest made of moss. WillowDove looks surprised. Raven jumps to her paws and hisses at WillowDove "What do you think you are doing?" Raven digs her claws into the bedding to prevent herself from taking a swipe at WillowDove.

"Raven... you have been sleeping for five sunrises now... we didn't know if you would wake up." she has a look of concern on her face, "you can stand? I thought that your back paw was splintered... it was bent the wrong way."

"The pretty she-cat fixed it." Raven replies quickly, with a distant look in her eyes.

"What? What did she look like?" WillowDove asks with alarm in her eyes.

"She was golden and really pretty. Oh! And she was slightly translucent." WillowDove looks a little bit more relieved.

"And you say she fixed it? It's not unheard of but... lets keep this between us. The others will think that you are spewing nonsense. Trust me. The same thing happened to me." WillowDove examines Raven's paw and is satisfied with it. "Raven. Wait here." WillowDove races out of the cave, and returns with The Teller Of Fate. They dip their heads together, and mumble. After a few moments Fate Teller looks up and examines Raven.

"I heard what happened." he says briskly, "you can return to the nursery now, and resume playing with the others until you are ready for the test." Raven is Excited to leave the Healer's den, but gets shivers at the mention of the test. With a bow towards Raven, he leaves the den. Raven is understandably confused.

"Why did he bow to me?" Raven says anxiously.

"Well... as it turns out that she cat often visits him in dreams too. But not only that, she is... I mean was his daughter. She had mate that was betraying her. When she found out that she was having kits, she ran to tell him. But he was already in the cave hollow attacking with his "friends" when she got back to the hollow, she found that it was destroyed with cats fighting everywhere. She found her father outside the kit den, with a queen inside giving birth. Across from Fate Teller was no other cat then the traitor. As he went to give Fate Teller a killing blow, she flung herself between them, causing her to receive it instead. Her father was deeply upset and... I shouldn't continue this story anymore. Not to a young one like you." Raven nods her head silently.

"Could I... Talk to him about it?" she asks. WillowDove looks at her for a while. She gasps and her eyes cloud over, and her star-shaped pupils enlarge. After a moment, she gasps, and breathes in heavily.

"You haven't told me everything have you?" WillowDove stares at Raven waiting for a response.

"No... I haven't..." Raven trails off.

"That's what I thought." WillowDove looks down as tears drip off her face for no apparent reason. "You are very special Raven. You and another will save us...You must talk to Fate Teller." Raven nods her head again, and heads on her way. When she exits the den, bright light from outside hurts her eyes, and she has to blink a few times. She looks up at the small cliff edges that surround the camp. She walks to the entrance of the leader's den, before getting stopped. The cat that stands in her way is one of the Shines. Not just any Shine, but the father of her friend Cedar. She looks up trying to remember his name. "BirchShine!" she thinks, remembering it.

"Where are you going kit? This is the Fate Teller's den. You cannot enter without a good reason." Raven peeks into the den, spotting DoeSpots talking inside.

"Kit." BirchShine stares at her. "Go home." Raven thinks for a moment. How could she get past him?

"Invaders!" she shouts, waiting till BirchShine turns his head.

"What? Where are they?!" he spins around and bares his teeth. Raven sees her chance. She squeezes past him and bolts into the den. "Hey! Get back here you little rat!" he charges after her.

"No!" she yowls back defiantly. She looks back to stick out her tongue, and smashes into something. Well, more like someone. She turns around to see none other than Fate Teller. "Uh... Hi?" Raven says looking at him.

"My apologies sir. I will make sure that this won't happen again." BirchShine dips his head, and picks Raven up by her scruff.

"Wait! No! WisdomWatcher!" BirchShine stops.

"You do not call him by that name." BirchShine states through a mouthful of fur.

"WillowDove told me to! She said I had to talk to him. And that it was urgent!" at those words, BirchShine drops Raven onto the ground.

"What?" he says, "what do you mean she told you to?" he shakes his head and laughs a little, "that cat is insane. She is nothing more than a confused child. She had a chance to be like us. Brilliant protectors of the land. WillowDove had a tom chasing after her. That stupid cat gave it all up to study plants and hallusions." he laughs again. "She will just end up like SilentTooth. Going crazy and ki-" BirchShine is cut off.

"Those stories aren't for kit's ears." Fate Teller stares at BirchShine. No, almost like he is staring through him. "You need to be more respectful towards WillowDove. Yes, SilentTooth was the first, and it did turn out badly. But that does not mean that she will also turn out that way." a flash of anger in his eyes. "I am going to allow Raven to speak with me." Fate Teller pauses, "and when we are done, I am going to announce an important thing to our tribe. Please spread the word." DoePelt stands up and bows her head. BirchShine does the same. He quickly gives Raven a Dirty look, before turning to his mate and walking out. "So.... what's this urgent matter you must talk to me about?" Raven looks up at him.

"I haven't told you everything."