Facing A Forest of Shadows

Chapter Sixteen {Edited}

Pineheart could hear the others as they finally shuffled awake in the depths of the abandoned badger den. Faint rays of sunlight bathed the grassy meadow, warming his dark fur. The vibrant shine heralded a new dawn.

Frostfeather had woken him up early. She claimed that she had had a strange dream about StarClan. She said they had shown her that they had traveled in the right direction. "Hopefully that means we don't have too far to travel," he murmured as soft pawsteps started to advance towards them.

Brokensong's head poked from the burrow's entrance. Her one good eye still twitched with tiredness. "Why are you guys up so early?" she asked.

Pineheart chuckled and shook his head. "Frostfeather hates to sleep in. I'm sure if she did, her tail might explode." Frostfeather snorted and jabbed him with an outstretched paw.

"You shouldn't tease your littermate," Elkleap's deep voice grumbled as he padded passed Brokensong and out into the open.

Pineheart rolled his eyes. I'll tease her all I want... he thought mutinously. As the others started to wake and stumble from the darkness of the den, Frostfeather beckoned Brokensong over with a wave of her tail.

Pineheart retreated a few paw steps, but remained close as Brokensong joined them. "Is something wrong?" she inquired. She searched the siblings' expression with her copper tinted eye.

"No, no there's nothing wrong," Frostfeather assured her, "I had a dream!"

Brokensong sank back on her haunches. "A dream? What sort of dream?"

Frostfeather took a short breath before she began. "I had opened my eyes, back up in the meadow. But I could smell so many cats! And when I ran to catch up to them..." she fell silent for a moment before she continued, "I couldn't believe my eyes! It was StarClan!"

Brokensong's mouth fell open in shock, her eye grew wide. "StarClan? They came to you?" Her voice trembled with emotion at the mention of their ancestors.

"Yes, they visited me... I think they wanted to tell me that we are going the right way." She stopped as she realized that Brokensong literally shivered with joy.

"Oh! Oh, this is great news!" she rejoiced, "we have to tell the others!"

Pineheart briefly touched his muzzle to Frostfeather's shoulder. "At least StarClan is speaking to someone," he muttered.

She closed her eyes and inhaled the warmth of his scent. As she opened them, she shook out her fur and trotted over to join Brokensong and the others.

Pineheart watched her go. He still wasn't sure how he felt, that his sister seemed to be closer to StarClan than to him. But hopefully their rift would not last. He took a moment before he followed, his head lowered as he came to sit behind her.

"Starclan shared with me in a dream," Frostfeather had begun to retell, "they were showing me which way we should go!" Pineheart could see the other cats' eyes as they glistened with wonder while she continued. "They told me to follow the setting sun, in the direction of the sea."

"What's the sea?" Lionpaw squeaked, her pelt spiked like a pile of pine needles.

Frostfeather shook her head. "I am not sure. But if we follow the sun, we should find it eventually."

Elkleap shouldered forward and turned to address his companions. His tail flicked with absolute excitement. "I think we should leave as soon as we can! Now that we know which way to go, we should arrive to our new home in no time at all!"

Pineheart nodded in agreement, there was no sense in sticking around for too long. But there was one small mew of disagreement. It was from Dewdrop.