The Darkest Moons (Warrior Cats)

10. Dreams and Worries

     The world was dark at first, but a bright light burned through the forest and illuminated the trees. The air rippled around Echopaw, outlined by lashing ash and white embers that covered her black pelt, turning her into the incarnation of the night sky. She screeched and collapsed, curling her head under her chest to protect her face. Once again, she was inside the fire that had savaged the woods so long ago and remained only as a distant memory. 

     The pain that she expected did not come, and she slowly raised her head and opened her eyes. Steadily, she stopped her trembling as she looked around. The trees were scarred, the ground coated in slick soot. The moon shined above, casting beams of light upon the dreamscape. Thick fog swept through the trees, and before Echopaw could react, it engulfed her. There was no cold or wetness against her fur, and she was flooded over with a sense of calm and wonderment. 

     A dream from StarClan, then. But what is it about? 

     "Hello?" She called. 

     A soft whisper answered back: "Come." The sound of trickling water filled her ears, and she searched fervently for the source, the soothing noise beckoning her. As she walked through the fog, it began to thin, and a mass of blood-red brambles grew before her, gnarled and knotted with spines like claws. The brambles began to quiver and move, opening into a small tunnel. Echopaw took a deep breath and began crawling through, inching past the briars that carefully bent away from her. 

     When she emerged, the fog cleared, and her eyes fell upon the large collapsed tree within the clearing. Upon it sat a cat, cloaked in cinders that still flickered with fire in their hearts, who gestured for Echopaw to approach with a flick of their tail. 

     Echopaw blinked and stepped up to the tree, jumping onto its scarred base. A pool of silver water shimmered before her. She glanced to her right, where the cat was, and saw nothing but the mist around her. 

     The voice spoke pleadingly again: "Find me." 

     Echopaw could hear only one thing when she awoke: terrible, strangled coughing. Gasps for air made her pelt bristle and puff out, and alarm swept away the grogginess in her mind. Panic shot through her, and she leapt to her paws and looked to the source. Clearwhisker was raking at the ground, eyes streaming as he choked.  

     "Clearwhisker!" Echopaw cried, scrambling out of her nest and hurrying to her mentor. He heaved, back arching, and gave out a single gasp more before collapsing and breathing heavily. Echopaw stumbled back and looked to the cavern store. 

     Juniper! That'll help! It has to!  

     She shot towards the opening of the small cave and dove inside, searching frantically with sight and smell. When she found the small, shriveled berries, she rolled one off of the leaf that separated them from all else and grabbed it between her teeth. Moments later, she was beside Clearwhisker again, urging him to eat the berry. 

     The old tom simply drifted back to sleep, wheezing, leaving the berry untouched. Echopaw slumped as she watched him, her shoulders hiking. The skin under her fur itched as she watched his sides shifting as he breathed and studied his ragged fur. She had never known how knotted it was, or matted his belly was, and it raked at her heart. He can't take care of himself. He should have been in the elders' den with Sandfoot and Tigerstripe seasons ago. 

     The gray of his fur reminded her quickly of the ash that had stirred in her dream, and of the soot-covered cat that had called out to her. The color of the brambles and the pool had been so very vivid, but the cat stood out more than everything. He said to find him, but how? Who is he? Her pelt began to prickle. Was it really a dream from StarClan, or something else? Wouldn't they have spoken to me?