Falling Moon- A Warrior Cats Fanfiction

Chapter 29

It was almost sun-high when Moonpaw returned to camp, having been gathering marigold along the WindClan border with Whitepool. Her paws ached from the long trekking to and from the moorland, but it was nothing compared to the worry she felt for her sister's dawn patrol. They should be back by now! She had watched them leave from the den, groggy from sleep, early that morning, yet their scents were stale. Where were they?

She entered the den with the marigold in her jaws, following behind Whitepool, who began to spread her bundle- presumably to dry. She was so absorbed in doing the same with her bundle that she jumped as a cat behind her spoke her name. To her great surprise, it was Thistlepaw, sat in Silverleaf's nest as the silver and white medicine cat pulled something out of his paw with a quick jerk that made him wince.

"What?" She swallowed nervously. "Where is my sister?" Worry flooded through her body as she saw the flash of anger in him. "Is she okay?"

The snapped response stunned her. "Oh, she's fine. Just giving away half of our herbs to ShadowClan."

Silverleaf suddenly jerked away. "What? Is she out of her mind?"

"Silverleaf--"

"Quiet, Moonpaw. What is going on, apprentice?" Her fierce gaze was locked onto the bristling apprentice.

He grunted as he sat up in the nest. "Well, on the patrol we met some ShadowClan cats- the medicine cat Tansyfrost and her incredibly annoying friend, Echopaw. Wolfwhisker offered to give them catmint. Oh, and Tansyfrost's mentor died, by the way. I don't know when. Anyway, the patrol just gave away all of our catmint! I was told to run back and tell everyone where they were. I tripped over a bramble tendril on my way back and that's how I got all these thorns in my paw."

Moonpaw was hardly surprised to see Thistlepaw furious. No, it was Silverleaf's outraged expression that stunned her. The older she-cat looked appalled. "How dare he? That foolish kit of a warrior doesn't know what he's done."

Moonpaw turned to Whitepool for answers as Silverleaf covered Thistlepaw's bleeding paw with a poultice reeking of marigold, but the white and grey she-cat looked just as confused. "Silverleaf, I'm sure it's not as bad as you think. If you could just--"

"Not the time, nor the place, to ask!" Silverleaf snapped back, throwing Moonpaw a hasty glance. She quickly finished off by smothering Thistlepaw's poulticed paw in cobwebs, then nudged him rather roughly out of the den, meeting his protests with another rough nudge. Moonpaw swallowed nervously. Had Silverleaf always been this careless with her patients? She didn't think so.

"Both of you need to keep in mind that ShadowClan do not trust us nor we them, and for good reason, too. After all, if left to grow, shadows will battle the storm clouds. The prophecy, Whitepool! Those storm clouds carry thunder!"

Moonpaw froze. "A prophecy? Silverleaf, you never--"

Silverleaf cracked a small, half-hearted smile. "What, a medicine cat can't have secrets? No, I didn't tell you. How could I, when it- oh, never mind!" Her gaze seemed to freeze the blood in Moonpaw's veins; it was so cold, so... So wild that it was all she could do to keep herself from flinching away.

After a long moment of nothing but the sound of Silverleaf's quick, furious breathing slowing, Moonpaw found herself able to move. She shuffled closer to Whitepool.

Silverleaf glanced darkly towards the entrance of the den, before padding out quickly. "You two have herbs to sort. I have a leader to talk to."

The older medicine cat left the other two she-cats as confused as motherless newborn kits.

A moment of tense silence crackled through the air, before Whitepool murmured, "Moonpaw, I think your sister could be in danger."

You think? She said nothing for a while, still shocked by the older she-cat's outbreak, until it dawned on her that she still did not know the prophecy that Silverleaf had spoken of. "By the way, what was - is - that prophecy?"

A pause. Then: "Silverleaf said most of it. I don't think she'd want you to know, but I don't think you'll give up." For some reason, that stung Moonpaw. The way she had said it seemed a bit frosty. It was nothing compared to Silverleaf's previous gaze, though, but for Whitepool, it was very cold. "It goes something like this: The light has risen. With the nourishment of this light, shadows will battle the dark clouds, making way for clear skies, taking the thunder within with it."

Moonpaw felt the fur along her spine bristle. "Have you any idea what it means yet?"

But Whitepool wasn't listening. Her ears were pricked, her pelt bristling, frozen into place, as a set of hurried pawsteps quickly drew closer.

Instantly Moonpaw was nudged out of the way as Whitepool dived for a pile of moss in the corner of the den. "Bring her in!" She called out. Why does she sound so scared? Moonpaw wondered as she shuffled away, standing by the side of the den to keep out of the way; something told her that she would need to, though she didn't know why. She saw Thistlepaw limp out quickly. What's going on?

But she soon found out, as the unmoving pelt of Gingerheart was carried in, dripping blood and water.