Warriors: Prophecy of the Stars

Chapter Twenty-One-

Scorchflower stood atop a green, rolling hill. Flowers bloomed every so often, setting a little color for the grassy area. The blue sky held the orange sun, no clouds in sight. Scorchflower glanced around, enjoying the breeze in her fur. All was quiet. Suddenly, the wind picked up so it was almost blowing her over. She dug her claws into the ground to keep herself upright.

"Trust your heart, a storm brews in the paws of others." A voice was carried on the shrieking wind. It was barely able to be heard. Scorchflower squinted through the wind, looking for the source. The wind stopped, leaving her fur ruffled.

"Who's there?" She called. A small whisp of mist formed in front of her. It swirled for a moment, then blew away, revealing a small, black figure. A kit. Her brown eyes were dull, her fur sleek and lined with stars.

"I am Luna." She mewed. Her voice seemed older than she was. Pain gripped Scorchflower's heart. A kit this small shouldn't die.

"Why am I here?" Scorchflower's voice spoke on it's own. She didnt want to ask that. Luna fixed her with her piercing gaze.

"Your time is soon." Luna smiled. Scorchflower didn't respond. "Be true to your heart, don't let anger decide your fate."

The second that sentence was out, everything began to fade. Scorchflower looked around in shock.

"That's it?!" She yowled into the starry sky. Another soft wind blew beside her.

"Wake up."

~•~

Scorchflower jolted awake, crying out in pain as she tried to jump up. A tail rested on her shoulders. A fluffy, gray tail. Scorchflower looked up at Adderleaf.

"What hurts?" Adderleaf asked gently. Irritation filled Scorchflower.

"My everything." Scorchflower groaned. Adderleaf laughed.

"I'm going to give you one poppy seed. It should get rid of some pain, but not enough to put you to sleep. Deathstar doesn't want you to be asleep during the meeting at moonhigh." Scorchflower glanced around as Adderleaf spoke. Only one other cat was in the patient part of the medicine cat den. A silver bundle. Her breathing was slow and barely noticeable. The scent of blood hit Scorchflower, she hadn't noticed it before. Adderleaf turned to Silverheart.

"Where are the others? Riverstar, Amberclaw, and Darkclaw?" Scorchflower asked, panic edging her mew. Adderleaf's tail slid off as she let her head drop.

"I think it would be better for you to wait until the meeting." Adderleaf mumbled. She started to back out.

"Wait!" Scorchflower called as Adderleaf was almost gone. Adderleaf tilted her head.

"Yes?" Adderleaf asked. Scorchflower shuffled her paws.

"Is Blackfang okay? And Lightmoon?" Scorchflower added when Adderleaf narrowed her eyes.

"I think you should wait." Adderleaf muttered. Worry pierced Scorchflower's heart. The pain in Adderleaf's eyes worried Scorchflower. Scorchflower nodded, and let her head droop a little. Adderleaf hesitated before leaving. Moments later, she reappeared with a small seed on her paw.

"Eat it." Adderleaf ordered. Scorchflower lapped it up, waiting until Adderleaf left to curl up.

~•~

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather for a clan meeting!" Deathstar's voice rang loud and clear, waking Scorchflower from a light sleep. She stood up, stretched, yawned, then padded out of the medicine cat den.

The clan had already gathered, looking expectantly at Deathstar. Deathstar's pelt was matted and dirty, her eyes a dull color. She looked defeated.

"I have called you here to announce some extremely sad news. Today, our clan was attacked. Rogues attacked us. Our warriors fought bravely to the very end. I want to honor them. Riverstar lost her remaining two lives. Amberclaw lost her life. Darkclaw lost his life. Blackfang lost his life." Scorchflower choked when she heard Blackfang's name. Deathstar continued. "And Lightmoon, our deputy, lost her life, and the life of her kits."

Wails and cries erupted. Scorchflower tried to wail, but her voice faltered. A pelt brushed against hers. A brown pelt. Fallenleaf. She purred inwardly. Deathstar continued after a moment.

"So, I say this in front of my warriors and my warrior ancestors so that StarClan may approved of my choice. Scorchflower will be the new deputy, and, hopefully, the next leader of MoonClan!" Deathstar yowled. Only a few cats cheered. Surprise blossomed in Scorchflower. She was frozen. She faintly heard Fallenleaf calling her name. She was nudged, and was embarrassed to see they were waiting for her to accept. She rose to her paws.

"I would be honored to be the MoonClan deputy. Thank you for this opportunity." He purred. Deathstar dipped her head.

"Clan dismissed!" Deathstar yowled. Scorchflower pushed through the parting crowd, trying to get to the medicine cat den. Deathstar leaped in front of her.

"Yes, Deathstar?" Scorchflower yawned. Deathstar looked at her with amusement in her eyes.

"Patrols?" Deathstar reminded her. Another wave of embarrassment hit Scorchflower. She turned away and looked at the waiting clan.

"Er....Yellowfur, Swiftwing, Whitewing, and Lightwhisker go to the old CloudClan territory to hunt. Sweetclaw, get four cats to go on a border patrol around here. Tigerear, take three cats on a border patrol by the old NightClan territory. Goldriver, take a patrol of five cats to the NightClan territory to hunt and make sure to stay away from the rat nest." Scorchflower nodded to the cats in turn. They dipped their heads and ran off. Scorchflower sighed, and padded back to her nest in the medicine cat den. She fell asleep in moments, curled up with her tail over her nose.