Fernfreckle's Dream

Chapter 5

"Hello? Is anyone there?" 

Fernfreckle nervously wanders through pure darkness. He cant tell where he is, or where he's going. The blackness is never ending. 

After a few minutes of walking, he sits down and stares at his paws. He felt alone, but also not alone at the same time. 

"Fernfreckle, it's nice to meet you." 

The young tom whips around to see a large, fluffy, black and white cat looking back at him. His fur is long and flowy, and his eyes are an ocean blue. 

"...Who are you?" Fernfreckle choked. 

"I am Badgerstar. I have seen you grow into the wonderful tom you are today. However, I am here today to deliver a message that may alarm you." 

"A.. Are you from Starclan?" 

"Yes I am. I was Mossclan's leader before Batstar, and I died long before you were born." 

"Incredible..." Fernfreckle sits down and listens to Badgerstar. 

"Now, for the message..." The big tom clears his throat. "There will be a cat who shares your blood, who will be beyond redemption. My advice to you is to be careful later on." 

"Later on? What do you mean?" Fernfreckle felt his head start to spin.

Is he talking about Birchflight? Wait, where even IS Birchflight? 

He opened his mouth to speak, but he instead woke up with a jolt inside the very familiar medicine den. Beside him is a very familiar shape he'd seen on the high rock so many times. 

"Fernfreckle... You're awake," Batstar meowed in awe. 

"Batstar?" Fernfreckle squinted at her. "Why are you here..?" 

"To see you, of course." 

"To see me..?" 

"Yes, and it seems I came at the right time." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Cats have been visiting you on and off for the past moon. I came here to see you tossing and turning in your sleep." 

"The past.. moon?" Fernfreckle felt his mind go blank. 

"You've been in a coma for about a moon. You lost too much blood out of your tail." 

"My tail?" He looks down, only to see that about half of his tail was gone. The tip is covered in cobwebs. "AAH, MY TAIL!" 

"Stay calm," Batstar meowed. "You'll need to get used to living with a shorter tail, but Acornbranch and Hollygaze have treated any possible infections. They said you can leave the medicine den a few days after you woke up, by the way. So you won't be here for long." 

Fernfreckle carefully sat up. His tail felt stiff. "Batstar?" 

"Yes?" 

"What do you know about Badgerstar?" 

Batstar's eyes widened a little. "I haven't heard that name in a long time." 

"He... I think he visited me in a dream. He said that someone who shared my blood would be beyond redemption." 

"I see." Batstar cleared her throat. "I haven't seen him since I got my nine lives. He, Blazestar, Palestar and Burrstar aren't very social. They rarely come out to see anyone." 

"Why?" 

"I'm not sure. They were wonderful leaders, but all of their lives were taken by an event we call The Wipeout." 

The Wipeout? I swear I've heard that before...

"What's The Wipeout?" 

"It was a night moons ago, where we found all four leaders dead, their remains spread all over the grass. Three out of the four deputies were also killed, Darkwatcher being the only one who survived because he wasn't with the other deputies, but with me. Foxfire, Eeljump and Driftcoat would've been wonderful leaders. It's a shame what happened to them." 

"Darkwatcher? Is that.. Darkstar?" 

"Yes. He had to choose who would lead the other three clans. Me, Rainripple and Quailwing were chosen for that job, and the four of us travelled together to the moonstone. It was a longer journey than usual, because Quailwing was expecting kits at the time. But she didn't let that get in the way of becoming leader. She's a very strong cat." 

"Wow..." Fernfreckle muttered. "I think I remember Brindlepatch telling me that story when I was a kit." 

"I wouldn't be surprised. Both of your parents had strong feelings about The Wipeout. Beaverflash barely rested, and only focused on keeping the clan safe. I would've chosen him as my deputy if Vinestreak wasn't around." 

"He sounds.. really brave." 

"He was. Even his death was.. so brave. Dogs were going to invade our camp, but he distracted them and led them straight off of Mothermouth Cliff. But.. he went down with them." 

Both of them were silent for a while. 

"Anyways, it's good to see you up. Lilacpelt is out of the nursery, and her kits are starting their training. Tigerkit was born, too. You should come meet her in the nursery when you're ready." 

"Where's Birchflight?" 

"Fernfreckle... He was exiled shortly after you passed out." 

"Oh..." He suddenly remembered Birchflight's outburst, and Bluecreek's death. 

"I'm sorry, Fernfreckle. He didn't even want to stay." 

"What happened to Bluecreek's apprentice? Is she okay?" 

"Swanpaw isn't taking the incident very well, so her training has been on hold. The other day she told me she was about ready to continue, but I need to find someone who can take over her training." 

Bluecreek died protecting me... I need to do something for him in return. He truly was one of the best friends I could've asked for. 

"I'll take her." 

"But Fernfreckle, your tail! You'll be fresh out of the medicine den." 

"I don't care. I want to train Swanpaw into the best warrior she can be." 

Batstar chuckles a little. "You got spirit, Fernfreckle. You can have her." 

"Thank you, ma'am." 

"No worries. You'll make a great mentor. You can start her training once you leave." 

"Will do." 

She stands up, gives him a smile and casually walks out of the den, leaving Fernfreckle with his thoughts. 

Wait, Plumfall! How could I forget about Plumfall? 

He quickly stands up, only to tumble back down. He felt a lot less balanced because of his tail. 

"Fernfreckle, you're awake!" Hollygaze pokes her head out of her area of the den. "Acornbranch, he's up!" 

"Oh, Fernfreckle. I knew you could do it," Acornbranch purrs as she walks up to him. "You're such a strong tom." 

"Thank you." He lets his aunt tend to his tail, catching a glimpse of the end of it before it's wrapped up in some fresh cobwebs. 

"Brindlepatch was worried that you wouldn't wake up. But I know you. You're strong. You're capable of so much, Fernfreckle." 

He rests his head on the ground and sighs. 

I wish Birchflight knew he was capable of a lot, too.