Scarlett's Redemption: rise of a new moon

Chapter 9

|| Chapter 9 ||
☬

A half moon had hung in the air that night. They were running a bit late, as she packed inside with three medicine cats. ThunderClan's temporary medic had arrived with two warriors, supposedly two cats in training with interest to be a medic some day. WindClan's medic hadn't been anywhere in sight, but time was crunching and so they had to move hastily.

Stepping into darkness, cold, earthy air was all she could smell. She had to rely on her whiskers and fur to aid her down the curves and sharp turns. As she saw some light ahead, she hurried forwards, took a left, and soon padded out into a wider space. A pool lay ahead of them, fed by waters underground. It then spilled out through an opening, running down the hills and toward the lake.

Within the center of the shallows was a stony platform. Within it, a divot that revealed the water, though within a bowl of what looked like gems growing about. Above them, the moon was creeping closer, its reflection towards the center of this odd formation. Koitail, Honeyclaw, and Crowshadow didn't waste too much more time and Scarlett followed their lead as they crouched down on this platform.

They bowed their noses to the water and closed their eyes, and as soon as Scarlett did the same, she was immediately frozen. Taken to a whole other place, the cat tried to move around but it wasn't working out too well. Gradually, she could almost feel herself being freed as she sat up and peered around.

Feeling an odd sensation, she glanced down and widened her eyes as she saw what were once her claws, twinkling and slightly see-through. Lifting her paw up to further examine them, she didn't get much time as she saw movement in the corner of her eye. Looking up, she stiffened as the stars began to move, twisting and swirling about one another, as if draped in a cloth of the dark night sky.

As they descended, Scarlett would realize there was now suddenly a crowd of cats ahead of her. They were positioned in a semi-circle, a decent distance away. None of them were close enough to get a close enough look at. It was dead silent. Then, one of them moved as they began to approach her.

Eyes widening, the cat's features soon became more clear. Lilac, lavender fur. Greenish-yellow eyes. A warm expression. "Louisa?" She whispered as her guard quickly cascaded away, emotion welling up in her eyes and pulling at her face.

The feline padded forward with a soft purr and licked Scarlett's shoulder. "Hello again, darling," she murmured sweetly as she pulled away to face her. Searching the darker molly's eyes, her own gaze melted with emotion and worry. "So much has happened, I'm so sorry I couldn't be there when you needed it most. But I am glad someone was, at least."

Scarlett swallowed around a lump in her throat, trying to calm herself down from getting hysterical. That wasn't something she did. "I've missed you so much, my friend," she whispered.

Louisa smiled wider. "As have I...but, we don't have much time right now, unfortunately," she murmured and then straightened up. "You are here to receive your nine lives by StarClan themselves. Brace yourself." Reaching up, she had to balance on the back of her paws for a moment as she touched her nose to the top of Scarlett's head. "With this life, I give you the gift of resilience. Use it well, for there will often come times in your life that try to knock you down, but you must always get back up for the sake of your clan."

Suddenly, she felt like a force had slammed into her internally, knocking the wind out of her. But her body was held frozen once more. Gradually, she felt the slow rise within herself, as if painfully getting back to her paws. Gritting her teeth, she swallowed back a growl.

As Louisa pulled away, she drew in a hefty breath of air. The lavender she-cat blinked lovingly to her and then turned to pad away. The next cat to approach was none other than Sandstorm. Scarlett narrowed her eyes at her skeptically. "Don't give me that look," she warned with a teasing tone. "I led you in the right direction, didn't I?"