The Search

| Chapter 4 |

Sleep did not come easily that night. Pebblefall kept tossing and turning in his new nest, kept awake by his thoughts. He was still awake long after all the other warriors had gone to sleep, unable to stop thinking about Poolripple's behaviour.

Poolripple never, ever did anything without a solid reason behind it. With how she had acted, she had clearly tried to tempt him into being a medicine cat.

But why? What in him did she see was fit to be her apprentice?

. . . or what discrepancy in his behaviour had she noticed that he hadn't, himself?

A shiver ran down his spine as the thought crossed his mind. He lay wide awake in his nest, feeling more bewildered than ever. Why is everything so confusing?

Moonhigh came and went before Pebblefall finally drifted off to sleep from sheer exhaustion. But he did not get long to rest before his eyes opened again.

The memory of his dream the previous night came back to him as he realized he was back in the misty place again, and it was just as difficult to see as it was last time. But now, the mysterious cat from the first dream was sitting across from him. Their face, though it was slightly obscured by the drifting mist, looked expectant.

Pebblefall nervously noted that the mystery cat was slightly transparent, and their fur glimmered gently. Clearly, this cat was from StarClan. But what did — Pebblefall briefly scented the air — he want with him?

The mystery cat dipped his head. "Greetings, Pebblefall," he said, his voice smooth and calm. It did not hide any traces of malice or anger, and Pebblefall let out a soft sigh of relief. "My name is Ravenpaw. You may have heard of me in legends."

Pebblefall instantly started searching his mind for any mention of Ravenpaw in the stories he had heard when he was a kit. "I think I may have heard of you in a story once or twice," he said slowly, "but I don't remember who you are."

His amber eyes glistened with slight melancholy, and they darkened a little as he spoke. "That doesn't matter anymore. I am here with a warning, Pebblefall. Heed my words carefully."

Pebblefall felt his confusion swirl around in his head. "A warning? About what?"

The melancholy glint had deepened into sadness. "Be careful with how you interact with others, Pebblefall. Don't let your heart lead your head too much, or you may be forced into situations you don't want to be in."

His confusion tripling, Pebblefall opened his mouth to ask Ravenpaw what he meant. Before he could utter a single sound, however, Ravenpaw flicked his tail. The last thing Pebblefall saw in his dream before being pushed into a normal dream was the swirling of mist around Ravenpaw's tail.

Not long after, Pebblefall awoke in his nest, feeling drained. He stretched uncomfortably, yawning. He then noticed that Sandwhisker wasn't in his nest, and neither were the rest of the warriors. He had overslept, but in some kind of cruel irony, he was more tired than he had been the night before. He let out a soft growl of annoyance.

Yawning again as he padded out of the den, he spotted Sandwhisker near the fresh-kill pile, about to bite into a fish. He lethargically made his way over to his friend as Sandwhisker began eating.

Sandwhisker paused in his chewing when he noticed Pebblefall's drained expression. He swallowed and meowed, "Hey, you alright?"

Pebblefall sat down with an audible thump, yawning again. "Not really," he confessed, scratching his ear. "I had a. . . weird dream last night."

Sandwhisker pushed the fish towards Pebblefall, who gratefully took a bite. Pebblefall hadn't realised how famished he was.

"What was it about?"

Pebblefall chewed the bite of fish as he mulled over his choice of words. "Well. . . I was in a misty place. There was a — a black cat sitting in front of me. He didn't say much, just told me to be careful."

Sandwhisker leaned over to take a bite. "Of what?" he asked with his mouth full.

Pebblefall took another bite, and he swallowed it before mewing, "He told me to be wary of — "

"Did a StarClan warrior visit you?" Poolripple suddenly interrupted, appearing out of seemingly nowhere.

Both Pebblefall and Sandwhisker jumped. "W-what? I didn't — I-I-" Pebblefall stammered, his tail tip curling in nervousness.

Poolripple's green gaze was unwavering and hard. "You said it yourself. A black cat visited you in your dreams. Who was it? What did he look like? Did he tell you his name?"

"I — what — no!" Pebblefall stuttered. He shuffled his paws, feeling as if his fur was on fire. "It — it was just a black cat. That's all."

Poolripple's eyes narrowed suspiciously, and her muscles tensed. She looked like she was about to pounce on him. "Did his pelt shimmer?"

"Ye — no. No." Pebblefall's eyes darted around vigorously. He nudged Sandwhisker to ask for help, but his friend only stared at him with confusion in his eyes. As Pebblefall struggled to answer the intense medicine cat, Sandwhisker slowly bent down to take yet another bite of fish, chewing while staring at Pebblefall.

Poolripple's lashing tail thwacked a passing cat across the face. She did not offer any apology when they yowled in anger. "So he was a StarClan cat," she breathed, her eyes dazzling with an emotion Pebblefall could not place. "What was his name? The colour of his eyes?"

"I — look," Pebblefall growled, beginning to get irritated. "Why do you care so much about some dumb dream I had?"

Poolripple's eyes were narrowed to mere green slits. "Is a message from our warrior ancestors not important enough for me to care about?" she sniffed. "And to you, out of all the cats they could have picked. Of course I care."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Pebblefall spluttered, taking a step backwards.

Poolripple took a step forward, her eyes blazing with intense eagerness. She was starting to scare Pebblefall. "It's a sign. It has to be a sign." Her eyes narrowed again. "What did he look like again? Were his eyes amber, by any chance?"

Pebblefall could feel a look of surprise crossing his face. Instant triumph burst in Poolripple's eyes. He started nudging Sandwhisker in the direction of the camp exit, stammering," Well, uh, we — we're needed on a patrol! I'll — I'll talk to you later, Poolripple!"

Once they were out of camp, Pebblefall let out a sigh, crumpling to the ground. Sandwhisker was still regarding him with a puzzled expression. "What was that all about?" he wondered, his ears flicking.

"I don't know," Pebblefall sighed, placing his paws over his muzzle. "I don't know."

How did life get so complicated so quickly?

Written by Aquarius, edited by Annco :3