Sparks of a Fire

Chapter 13

It was now moonhigh and no other cats were awake, owls were hooting and crickets were chirping in the night, but other than that, no cats were awake. Well, not a cat except for Kestrelpaw. The young orange-and-white medicine cat apprentice opened one eye and glanced around the den she shared with her mentor, Leafcrackle. A sly smile slowly formed on Kestrelpaw's face as she slowly and quietly snuck out of the medicine den and out of BreezeClan's camp.

She raced through the forest as fast as her paws could allow her as she made her way to the BirchTree to meet up with Bluepaw, Ripplepaw, and Starlingpaw.

"Hey Kessy! You finally made it!" Ripplepaw called from beside a dark russet she-cat. Kestrelpaw blinked and skidded to a halt at the sight of the russet-furred she-cat.

"Uh, Starling?" she meowed uncertainly, "who is this?"

The sable-furred she-cat smiled sheepishly and twitched her tail back-and-forth nervously. "Oh! I uh... this- this is my best friend, Foxpaw, she wouldn't let me go until I agreed to let her come." 

Bluepaw frowned and twitched an ear. "So, uh, Kestrelpaw, tell us! What was that secret you mentioned at the gathering?" she asked, blinking and tilting her fluffy blue-grey head to the side curiously.

The orange-and-white medicine cat apprentice sighed softly and flattened her ears, then meowed quietly, "Well, I-I uh, well you see... I can read minds." At her statement, the other four cats froze and stared at her with wide eyes.

"You can do what?" Foxpaw was the first to regain her voice. Kestrelpaw blushed and ducked her head, giving her chest fur a few nervous licks.

"I can read minds," she repeated, shifting her paws nervously.

Bluepaw was the next to finally speak up, "I guess there's no point in hiding it now," the others looked at her expectantly. "I can teleport."

Kestrelpaw grinned widely at the blue-grey she-cat. "I told you you'd find a way to get your butt over here!" she exclaimed, grinning cheekily up at her.

Foxpaw grinned at Starlingpaw, her amber eyes shining as she nudged her friend's side in order to snap her out of her trance. "Huh? Oh, uh, yes, Fox?" Foxpaw sighed and playfully cuffed one of Starlingpaw's ears.

"Don't you have something very important to tell them?"

Starlingpaw shifted her paws uneasily. "Well what are you waiting for!" she meowed suddenly, "go on and say something!"

"What do you have to tell us, Starlingpaw?" Ripplepaw meowed, her icy blue eyes filled with both curiosity and concern as she stared at the sable-furred she-cat.

"I have super-speed," she eventually told them with a sheepish smile and a nervous flick of her tail.

"Well no kidding," Foxpaw meowed, laughing and giving Starlingpaw a playful shove.

Ripplepaw spoke up next, "well I have telekinesis," she meowed with a small laugh and a flick of her fluffy white tail.

"Oh, there's one more thing I need to tell you." Kestrelpaw meowed, shifting her paws nervously as she stared at the four other apprentices.

"Yes, what is it, Kestrelpaw?" the white-and-cream she-cat asked, a hint of worry in her meow. Kestrelpaw shifted her paws uneasily. Starlingpaw patted her back comfortingly.

"I had a vision of Rosestar talking to a very pretty jet-black she-cat," the orange-and-white she-cat meowed, not sure if she should tell them what Breezestar had told Rosestar.

The four other cats gasped and stared at Kestrelpaw with wide eyes. "You what?" they all shouted in shock. Kestrelpaw ducked her head and stared down at her paws.

Kestrelpaw sighed softly and breathed in deeply through her nose. She had to tel them, no scratch that, she needed to tell them! She took one more deep breath and looked up at the four other apprentice's.

"While an enemy rises ready to fight, five cats will be born from the light. The first like a bird, riding the breeze, the second quiet like misty trees. The third is like ice, beautiful and bright, the fourth storms through, like a light. To find the fifth, look to the east. Then all five cats will bring the peace."

•••

It was dawn by the time the five cats had parted ways and all Kestrelpaw wanted to do was sleep for the next two moons. She stumbled into camp and began to make her way to the medicine den to get some well needed sleep.

The orange-and-white apprentice settled down in her nest and closed her eyes. She was asleep within seconds, but it didn't seem like she was asleep for very long when someone prodded at her side with a paw.

"Psst, Kestrelpaw!" came Leafcrackle's impatient and worried meow. "Come on, it's almost sunhigh! You gotta get up!"

Kestrelpaw's eyes shot open and she quickly scrambled to her paws. "W-what? Oh! I uh... I-I'm so sorry, Leafcrackle! I couldn't sleep so I went out for a walk and lost track of time!" she meowed, yawning and rubbing her eyes with one of her orange-and-white tabby paws.

"Don't worry, I sometimes go on walks at night when I can't sleep," her mentor meowed, his amber eyes filled with sympathy as he watched his apprentice clumsily get to her paws.

"You go on midnight walks too?" she asked him, her yellow eyes wide with shock and surprise. Leafcrackle nodded and guided his apprentice out of the den.

"C'mon, Kessy, let's go see Rosestar." Kestrelpaw blinked and stared up at him with confusion shining in her eyes.

"But why?" Leafcrackle smiled and brushed his tail against her shoulder.

"Because you need rest," he meowed in a matter-of-fact tone. "You look like you're about to collapse at any second." And with those words, Leafcrackle guided his apprentice to Rosestar's den.