Stormflower's Courage *discontinued*

The Four

Picture of Pineleaf :3 - All rights belong to River Spirit! She's an amazing artist.

* * *

They found out that quick? A surge of excitement and anxiety ran through Stormflower, and she felt her fur rise. The group exploded in shocked voices. Cats gave each other suspicious glances.

"Quiet!" Shadestar called, his voice rang out among the assembled cats. The noise lowered reluctantly. "Each of us will call up our participant, so please act like Clan cats and be respectful. I'm sure none of them wish for this to happening as much as you." His gaze rested on Stormflower, and she felt a flicker of fear and annoyance. "Stormflower of WindClan, come up."

As Stormflower hesitantly got up and slunk towards the Rock, she felt the gaze of every pair of eyes on her. Murmurs threaded throughout the cats.

"She doesn't look too happy..."
"That she-cat is so young! How tragic..."
"I wonder who's next..."
"Look at Shadestar, acting all high and mighty..."

The cats parted somewhat for Stormflower to weave through, and stopped in front of the group of deputies. Haretail avoided her gaze, but she could tell he was in pain.

Icestar appeared beside Shadestar. "Duskfang of RiverClan, take your place next to the she-cat." Her voice was strained. A small, skinny cat padded up to Stormflower. She looked scared, with a dusky gray-brown coat with white spots along her forehead, spine, and tail. Her eyes were blue. Without a word, Duskfang sat down beside Stormflower, trembling slightly and looking at the ground. Poor thing, Stormflower thought.

"Darkpool of ShadeClan, step up," Miststar said. To Stormflower's astonishment, the one called Darkpool was the tom with the swirly mark. He gave her a scowl and settled down a few steps away from her.

Hollystar flicked her tail. After a few heartbeats, she declared her participant. "Pineleaf of ThunderClan, you have been chosen. Join your comrades at the base of the Great Rock." Stormflower turned to see a large tom walking towards them.
He had interesting patterns over his body, and his fur was different. It was light brown on top, with darker brown covering some of his face, chest, underbelly, and tail. One foreleg from the toes to the shoulder was completely dark brown. Black stripes and spots wove throughout his fur. Pineleaf's eyes were blazing amber, with flecks of gold. He had a dangerous and mysterious air around him, but he seemed overall quite handsome.

"We have now assembled the four cats of the prophecy," Hollystar announced. "One from each Clan. Tomorrow morning, the four will assemble here for a meeting on what to do next. This Gathering is over!" With that, she turned an leapt off the Rock, followed by the others. Conversations broke out among the felines as the groups broke off to join with their leaders. Duskfang gave Stormflower a shy glance before sprinting away. By the time Stormflower got up, Pineleaf and Darkpool had already gone.

Haretail padded towards Stormflower, and the two of them made their way towards Shadestar, who was surrounded by a group of questioning WindClanners. Stormflower kept her gaze on the ground, avoiding eye contact.

Shadestar only gave short, blunt answers to the cats as he started to lead his cats away. Stormflower hung back as Haretail picked up pace to walk alongside Shadestar. Stormflower trailed after the group. The cats seemed not to notice her yet and instead direct their attention towards the leader and deputy. Leaftail was also not answering any questions.

Before long they had crossed the log without incident and were padding along the shore of the lake back towards home. Aspenpaw bounded towards Stormflower, a gleam in her amber eyes. "You're part of a prophecy?! That's SO cool! I bet you're gonna be just like Stormbringer, Harbringer of the Storms!"

Stormflower smiled. I wish I thought as optomistically as that. "Yeah, and I'm gonna bring a huge storm that'll wash away all our problems., so we can have all the fat prey we want!" She figured she might as well not depress the bouncy apprentice.

Aspenpaw's fluffy tail flicked happily. "Crows are my favorite! I love hunting them, too!" To demonstrate her skills, Aspenpaw bunched her legs up and sprang high in the air, swiped at it, and landed softly.

"Good job. Scorchwing sure is training you well. You might just even be one of the best hunters in the Clan!" Stormflower praised. "Keep up the good work." Aspenpaw grinned widely and sprinted away, towards her black-furred mentor.

* * *

That night, Stormflower dreamt of darkness. It was black all around her. Then a fiery cat approached her. Firestrike. His face was serious, and a little sad.

"Firestrike," Stormflower said, her voice breaking. "Why did this happen to me? Why am I chosen out of every cat here? What's going on?"

Firestrike stopped in front of her and reached out his neck, brushing muzzles. Surprised, Stormflower took a little step back. Firestrike withdrew. "Sorry. It's habit, thanks to Valiant." He looked straight in her eyes. "I do not know why, Stormflower. I was summoned here because of your feelings. But think about it. Would you rather someone else have to carry this burden, and feel this pain? Would you rather it be an innocent kit or a young apprentice who have this fate? Or perhaps your leader, who is already under so much worry and pressure and work?"

Stormflower turned her gaze to the darkness in front of her. It was the purest black she'd seen, just like the shadow cat. The shadow cat?

"No," Stormflower said defiantly. Firestrike grinned in relief. Then, with a poof of orange, he disappeared. A wave of cold washed over Stormflower, and she grew rigid, her eyes wide. It wasn't the kind of cold you'd feel when touching ice. It was the feeling. Malicious and unforgiving. Stormflower turned.

It was the shadow cat, with its pupiless eyes, staring at her. The darkness emanated from him. Stormflower opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. The entity walked towards her, and before it could touch her she woke up, sides heaving.

After a few minutes she regained her bearings. She sat up, starting to groom her ruffled fur. Morning light streamed in through the entrance, birdsong filling the air, illuminating everything with a soft, warm glow.

Today was the meeting. Today, it was all decided.