Warriors: The Undying Flame: Into The Wild

PROLOGUE

The blue-gray she-cat paced the clearing. Her long fur was unkempt and matted, and clearly had not been properly groomed in some time. It was a hard time for the whole of ThunderClan, and their leader couldn't be seen paying too much attention to her own appearance. She had to be focused on the needs of the Clan before her own, and to set a good example for the cats StarClan had entrusted to her.

She gazed up at the dark night sky, speckled with the stars of Silverpelt. She had been taught from a young age, as had every Clan cat, that each twinkling dot above her was a StarClan warrior, watching over her. As she gazed up at them now, however, she suddenly realized how far away they truly were, how distant they were from her. ThunderClan needed a sign, an omen that all would be well.

Unbeknownst to the she-cat, her paws had carried her to the edge of the clearing, where a large patch of ferns grew. Though they had suffered like all the forest during the recent leaf-bare, they formed a tunnel leading to a den set in a cave in the wall of the ravine that surrounded the clearing. This was the medicine cat's den.

As the she-cat registered where she was, she saw the ferns parting as another cat emerged. The newcomer was another she-cat, though with a very different pelt. This cat was a beautiful dark tortoiseshell. Her eyes widened as she noticed her Clan leader standing before her.

"Oh! Hello, Bluestar," she greeted the blue-gray she-cat with a respectful dip of her slender head. "What brings you to my den?"

"I suppose that StarClan guided my paws, Spottedleaf," Bluestar replied, returning the gesture.

"You're worried, aren't you?" Spottedleaf asked. "I can see it in your posture."

Bluestar would never have admitted it to any other cat, but the relationship between a Clan leader and her medicine cat was a special one.  She inclined her head ever so slightly.

"Do not worry," Spottedleaf said softly. "Leaf-bare was hard on us all, but now newleaf is here. The forest is warming, and soon the prey will be running again. We will finally be able to put the hard times behind us."

Bluestar sighed. She knew that Spottedleaf was only trying to help, but she wasn't in a mood to hear any empty promises. "I know, Spottedleaf," she told the medicine cat, "but that's just it. Leaf-bare was hard on the Clan. We have lost so many strong warriors in these last seasons. And there are so few queens in the nursery. I find it hard to believe that everything will be so easy from here on."

Spottedleaf dipped her head. "I understand, Bluestar," she said. "But what I said is true. Things do seem to be looking up."

Bluestar sighed again. "I wish I was still young enough to believe that," she said. "But ThunderClan has seen so much loss in the past seasons that it is hard to believe that everything could be fixed so easily."

"There will be new kits soon," Spottedleaf meowed, still trying to reassure Bluestar. "ThunderClan will thrive again."

"Perhaps," Bluestar replied sadly. "But training our young to become warriors takes time. The Clan needs more strong warriors if it is to survive."

Bluestar had expected another optimistic answer, but Spottedleaf remained silent. She stared into the sky, and Bluestar followed her gaze. "Have you had a sign from StarClan?" she asked.

"Not for some moons, unfortunately," Spottedleaf told her, tearing her gaze from Silverpelt. Her amber eyes fluttered in the starlight as she stared into Bluestar's blue ones.

Bluestar sighed once more. "If there was ever a time when we needed a sign, it would be now. The Clan has endured so much loss in these last seasons, and we would all benefit from a reassurance that things will improve."

Spottedleaf nodded. "I understand," she replied. "I would appreciate that more than any cat. But I have not heard a word from our warrior ancestors."

Bluestar returned her gaze to the sky, remembering the cats ThunderClan had lost and wondering if they had found their way there. She only had a few moments to reminisce before Spottedleaf gasped, rudely awakening her. Bluestar searched the sky for what could have surprised her medicine cat, and was just in time to see the tail end of a shooting star disappearing over the treetops.

Spottedleaf turned to look at her leader once again, and Bluestar could see the wonder in her gaze. "Was it a-" Bluestar began.

Spottedleaf cut her off before she could finish her question. "It was a sign from StarClan," she breathed, her awed whisper almost inaudible.

"Well?" Bluestar asked, impatient to know what the sign foretold. "What does StarClan have to say?"

"It is a strange message," Spottedleaf told her. "Fire alone will save our Clan."

"Fire?" Bluestar asked incredulously. "But . . . fire is feared by all the Clans! How could it possibly save us?"

Spottedleaf hung her head, looking uneasy for the first time that night. "I do not know, Bluestar," she meowed. "But that is the message StarClan has chosen to share with us."

"Was there more?" Bluestar pressed. "Was there more to the message?"

Spottedleaf shook her head. "StarClan speaks in riddles, Bluestar," she mewed. "Medicine cats have always known this. But they would not have sent us this sign if the prophecy was not about to manifest itself. We will know soon enough what it means."

"Very well, Spottedleaf," Bluestar conceded. "If StarClan have spoken, then it must be true. Fire will save our Clan."

But how?  she asked herself. Can it really be true? Fire is an enemy to all the Clans. And what will it save us from? After all, the four Clans had been more or less at peace for many seasons. Bluestar didn't want to believe that anything would shatter that piece, but she had to believe that StarClan would not lie to them.

"What could it mean?" she asked. She did not realize she had spoken aloud until Spottedleaf answered her.

"I cannot say for sure," the medicine cat meowed. "Perhaps it has to do with the Sunningrocks?"

Bluestar doubted that. "That conflict has raged for moons. I find it hard to believe that it would require a StarClan prophecy for us to deal with it."

Spottedleaf hung her head again. "What other conflict could be coming?"

Bluestar sighed. She did not know. "You are right," she began slowly. "StarClan does speak in riddles. But we must believe that they are warning us for a reason. We must believe that fire will save our Clan."