Warriors: Shadows in the Light - Veiled Stars

Prologue

PROLOGUE

FERNFLAME | STARCLAN FIELDS

Fernflame gazed unblinkingly at the starry pond, watching as the stars danced and swirled around, creating images that warned her of the coming future. Unfortunately, they swirled by too quickly, too brief to understand what they were trying to convey. She wasn't satisfied with the results and had to refrain from clawing at the infuriating pond.

With a soft growl, the StarClan seer rose to her paws, sweeping her tail over the pond. The stars ceased to a gentle, slow motion, gliding across the pond with no purpose.

Fernflame turned around, ear twitching as a cat crashed through the peaceful undergrowth, jaws parted in a pant and head hanging, desperately trying to gain their breath back. Fernflame cleared her throat expectantly, fur twitching with impatience.

The cat raised their head, meeting her stare.

"Well? What is it?" Fernflame asked sharply before the cat had caught their breath.

"Your presence-" the cat took a breath, "-is required at-"

There was no need to finish. Hastily, Fernflame trotted into the forest the messenger had burst through, paying no attention to the trailing messenger.

"Wait for me!" the cat had to sprint to catch up with her fast trot. "Did you see anything in the pond?-"

A sharp glare from Fernflame silenced them before thy could ask her anything else. "It's not your job to stick your nose into my business, or is it?"

The messenger ducked their head, looking mildly embarrassed. "It's not my job," they murmured.

Fernflame ignored them, studying the trees above her. Birds rustled the branches and leaves as upset yowls disturbed the peace. Mice scuttled into nearby burrows and tree roots, squeaking with alarm.

She shoved through the lush undergrowth, not pausing at all to gape (unlike the messenger) at the beautiful tree that stood in front of her. She heard the messenger mutter 'wow' under their breath.

The tree, commonly referred to as Moontree, was indeed mesmerizing to gaze upon. However, Fernflame had seen it too many times to feel enchanted. The Moontree's boughs spanned out for multiple tree-lengths in every direction, covering a large portion of the gathering space in an ethereal glow that emitted from the bark and leaves.

Despite the tranquil appearance and aura it gave off, several cats were gathered beneath it, tails bushed out and teeth bared at one another. Arguments were ablaze, and as she neared the swarming crowd, she learned what this was all about. The Clans new problem.

Two voices stood out to her the most, louder than the rest.

"You aren't calling the Clans mouse-brained, are you?" One of the two cats accused. Fernflame pushed her way through the angry, bickering crowd, hissing at any who stepped on her tail or bumped into her harshly. She kept an eye on the loudest cats, nostrils flared.

"Of course not!" the other spat, fur bristling.

"Then what do you mean by 'they'll never figure out who the murderer is?'"

"I'm just saying-"

Fernflame intervened coldly, voice loud enough for all around her to hear. "What's the problem here?" The arguing died out immediately and all eyes darted to her starry pelt.

The cats she was glaring at both slowly met her face, discomfort clear on their faces.

"P-Problem? What makes you think there's a problem?" The first one asked, voice shaky. Fernflame watched as they shrank away when she snarled softly at them. She never did like Bloomshine; she was always trying to act innocent and lie her way out of trouble. Instead of prying information out of Bloomshine, she turned her attention to the other cat, Gullflight.

Gullflight glanced at Bloomshine, as though asking her to help him. She shrugged unhelpfully, so he sighed and met Fernflame's eye. "We were discussing the new threat."

Fernflame let out a dry laugh. "Discussing, huh?" She turned to the crowd, raking the large group with unforgiving eyes. "Would you call all of this discussing?"

Cats shuffled their paws, murmuring amongst themselves and shaking their heads.

Fernflame turned back to Bloomshine and Gullflight, deathly silent, waiting for one of them to speak up.

Gullflight tentatively spoke up. "We've been arguing about whether the Clans should get a prophecy about the new threat."

Bloomshine shoved past him, face smug. "He's basically calling the Clans mouse-brained! They're smart enough to find the murderer."

Fernflame dully gazed at her. Bloomshine noticed no other cat shared her triumph and gave her chest a nervous lick, stepping back.

Fernflame turned her attention back to Gullflight. "Why do you think the Clans need a prophecy?"

"Whoever is killing these innocent cats clean up incredibly well after a kill. I fear the Clans won't know who struck them until they're all dead."

"How can we deliver a prophecy," bile rose into her throat, "if we are clueless, too?" Fernflame bit back on the anger that threatened to creep into her voice.

Bloomshine looked utterly horrified at the fact the seer failed to see the future. "You didn't see anything?"

It took every ounce of energy to not snap at Bloomshine and ask her if she had been listening. She rolled her shoulders back, ears flattened.

Gullflight opened his mouth, eyes flitting between Bloomshine and Fernflame warily. "Would it possibly benefit the Clans if we gave them a prophecy? Once we have prophecy material, of course."

Fernflame closed her eyes, thinking about what the pond had been trying to convey to her. Everything fell into place, giving her a sense of satisfaction. She opened her eyes and stared right into Gullflight's.

"No." She turned around for all to hear. "A hero - or heroes - will rise up in their own time. I know it. I feel it."

---

here's the edited prologue. just to clear some things up, fernflame is a seer. i know, that isn't a thing in the books, but i decided that if starclan were to deliver prophecies, they needed a cat who'd have to decipher one from a pond of stars.

my main goal for editing is to improve my writing (trying to become more descriptive this time through) and because i didn't like how my book was heading. i made a big mistake sometime in the book and felt obliged to fix it while writing my second book. i also want to make my chapters longer.

-artemis