Lavenderpaw's Destiny

Chapter 12

Starlingwing watched anxiously from the mouth of the nursery for the last patrol to return. Lionstar had sent a group of cats to every clan to ask if they'd seen Daisystream and Turtlefoot, but so far there had been no luck. Only Mapleclan had reported anything, saying that one of their clanmates was missing as well. Petalface, an expecting queen, had disappeared the sunrise after the other two cats. Lionstar had seemed particularly shaken up about the queen's disappearance, which baffled Starlingwing. Why did he care so much about a cat from another clan? 

Shaking it off, Starlingwing realized he must just be worried about why the cats were disappearing. Would anyone else disappear? Starlingwing shuddered at the thought, and quickly glanced over at her kits. She heaved a sigh of relief as she spotted all four of them playing near their nest. Lavenderkit squealed as the three smaller kits piled on top of her, and Starlingwing purred in amusement. She suddenly remembered Strikepaw's dream, and worry wormed beneath her pelt. She'd tried not to think about Lavenderkit's destiny, but it kept nagging at the back of her mind. How was her small kit supposed to save the entire clan? 

Starlingwing turned as the brambles around the camp entrance rustled, and Frogclaw slipped through the log tunnel, followed by Rowanroot and Ivysprout. Russettail raced forward, her tail raised hopefully, only for it to droop as Frogclaw shook his head. Starlingwing couldn't hear what he was saying, but she could tell that Alderclan had not seen any sign of the missing she-cats either. 

Disappointed, she heaved herself to her paws and padded toward the freshkill pile. She quickly snagged a shrew off the top and took it back into the nursery. She settled down in her nest and began gnawing on the scrawny piece of prey. Leafbare was growing closer, and would be upon them any day now. The prey was starting to grow scrawny and the undergrowth was beginning to brown. As she tore a chunk off, she heard Lavenderkit's voice behind her. 

"Hi," The silver she-kit mewed. "Who are you?" 

Confused, Starlingwing turned to see who she was talking to. She stared in bewilderment at the kit, who was standing facing the wall of the den. Her eyes were clouded as if she were zoned out, and she stared off into the distance. 

"Lavenderkit? Who are you talking to?" Starlingwing called quietly. 

But the she-kit took no notice of her foster mom, continuing to stare at the wall. "I'm Lavenderkit". She paused as if listening to a reply, then began talking again. "Yes, I live in the clans. You don't?" 

Starlingwing leapt to her paws, panic and bewilderment spiking through her body. "Lavenderkit!" She mewed sharply. 

The kit jumped, seemingly startled, and turned around. "Did I do something wrong, Starlingwing?" 

"Who were you talking to?" She demanded. 

"I was having a vision!" The kit announced proudly. "At least that's what Spider called it. He's who I was talking to. He said he doesn't live in the clans, but he's met some cats who do. I don't know how I could hear him. Everything went dark, and then I could hear his voice, but I couldn't see anything but his eyes. Could you hear him?"

Starlingwing swayed on her paws, her mind whirling with confusion. "No... no I didn't hear him". She mewed tentatively. "Do you want to take a trip outside of the den? We can go see Junipertwig". 

"Okay, that sounds like fun!" She squeaked. "I love being in Junipertwig's den, she tells the best stories". 

Starlingwing led the way out of the den, her paws shaking. How is my kit having visions? Is this part of her destiny? She wondered to herself as she padded across the clearing. Her father, Owlsneeze, waved his tail in greeting as they passed the elder's den, but she barely even noticed. Her mind was focused on getting her kit to the medicine cat's den; she needed to know why she was having visions.