Owlpaw's Prophecy

Chapter 8

Mudpaw awoke to cats chatting loudly outside. He blinked blearily, before quietly padding out of the apprentices den. The moon was still high the sky, and Mudpaw realised, a little relieved, this must just be the gathering returning.

"How was it?" Mudpaw asked his sister having found her just outside.
"Did you stay up all this time just to ask us?" His brother questioned accusingly.
"No, you woke me up actually." Mudpaw replied a little irritated. "Did anything interesting happen?" He continued turning towards his sister.
"Darkmoon caused a load of trouble." Silverpaw informed him, "he nearly started a fight with the other leaders!"
"What?" Mudpaw asked shocked, "why would he do that?"
Silverpaw shook her head. "Wolf was right when he said the tensions high over there. Darkmoon clearly isn't handling it well."
"But he leads a whole clan, surely he should-" Mudpaw was cut off abruptly by another's voice.

"Go to bed." Eaglestrike called to them calmly. "You have training in the morning and I'm sure your mentor's won't be happy if they have to deal with bunch of grumpy apprentices, now would they?"
"No, sorry Eaglestrike." Silverpaw murmured padding of into the den sulkily. Duskpaw stood up silently, having been oddly quiet since he returned. Mudpaw left last, glancing back at Eaglestrike as he left.

That was another thing that had been on Mudpaw's mind, his uncle. He hadn't really had a chance to talk to him since he returned and Mudpaw wasn't sure what he was supposed to think about him yet. At least his father seemed happy though...

Mudpaw curled back into his nest and pretended to fall asleep. He kept his ears pricked waiting for the chatter to thin down outside. Once he sure the coast was clear, he carefully slipped out of the apprentices den.

He stuck to the shadows of the trees as he padded into the medicine den, careful not to alert the cats on guard.

He stood inside the medicine den for a few heartbeats searching for the sleeping body of Lillypaw.

"Lillypaw! Lillypaw!" Mudpaw whispered urgently trying to wake his friend up. "Wake up!" Lillypaw groaned stirring a little.
"In a minuet Brightflame."
"Lillypaw!" Mudpaw whispered louder. Lillypaw suddenly shot awake, nearly falling over due to her injured leg. Mudpaw felt his heart race as Brownpaw stirred, and he let out a long sigh he settled back down.

"Are you okay?" Mudpaw asked quietly, glancing back nervously to the medicine cats.
"Yeah," Lillypaw mewed stiffly.
"You don't have to come, you-"
"No." Lillypaw cut him off quickly, struggling to her paws. "Le-let's go before we wake them up..." Lillypaw stood up awkwardly as Mudpaw helped her walk out the den.

The two headed round the side of the den. Mudpaw nudged his way through the bushes lining camp as quietly as he could, waiting patiently for Lillypaw on the other side.

Once she emerged, the two began to head to four trees. Mudpaw stayed by her side to make sure she didn't hurt herself. It felt like a whole moon before they arrived, Mudpaw nervous and apprehensive about who was waiting for them.

As soon as they reached the clearing Mudpaw saw the silhouette of a slender she-cat waiting nervously for other apprentices arrival. She snapped her head up quickly hearing their approach, locking eyes with Mudpaw.

"Who are you?" Lillypaw asked sounding a little suspicious.
"I-I'm Owlpaw." The apprentice replied looking nervous.
"What clan are you from?" Lillypaw asked confused, taking a couple awkward steps forward. She tasted the air, as Mudpaw quickly took two steps forwards, still nervous about Lillypaw's leg.

"T-Topclan." The apprentice replied.
"Topclan?"Mudpaw questioned, perking up for the first time since their arrival. "I've never heard of Topclan."
"We live in this forest. Just past the wolves territories." Owlpaw offered quickly.
"Oh, yeah. Wolfspark mentioned that when he was here the other day." Lillypaw supplied. "I completely forgot." Mudpaw was about to ask how Lillypaw could forget something as important as that, when Owlpaw beat him too it.

"Yeah, Wolfspark's nice. I met him a few moons ago when he became a full medicine cat. He quizzes me on herbs sometimes on the way to the Moonpool. It's a nice break too, because all the other medicine cats always act so serious." Owlpaw Replied.
"You believe in Starclan?" Mudpaw asked curiously tilting his head.
"Yes," Owlpaw nodded, "of course."
"Are you a real medicine cat then?" Lillypaw asked edging a little closer to the apprentice. Mudpaw carefully followed behind her.

"Yes." Lillypaw let out a sigh of relief, slumping down next to Owlpaw.
"Thank Starclan someone here knows what they're doing!" Mudpaw chuckled a little tucking tail under his paws.

"Yes, please tell Lillypaw she shouldn't be out so long on that leg. I would really appreciate a fifth opinion."
"What?" Owlpaw questioned. She bent down a little and observed Lillypaw's leg for a few heartbeats.

"No, you probably shouldn't be out here." Owlpaw informed her. "That looks like it'll be pretty sore in the morning."
"Yep." Lillypaw replied carelessly. The three apprentices lapsed into silence for a moment.

"Is this where you hold gatherings?" Owlpaw asked looking around curiously.
"Yes," Lillypaw Replied, "we come here every full moon with the wolves and other cat clans."
"Ah," Owlpaw responded, "we meet with them and the other clans too. We meet when there's no moon instead." She informed them.
"Cool." Lillypaw replied. Mudpaw was about to bring up the topic of Darkmoon when he was once again interrupted by Owlpaw.

"What clan are you from?" She questioned.
"Oh! We haven't even introduced ourselves yet!" Lillypaw replied shaking her head. "Where are our manners? I'm Lillypaw and this is Mudpaw. We're Riverclan apprentices." They fell into silence again.

"Where do you think everyone else is?" Lillypaw asked after a moment.
"Well, I can't speak for the last, but I can speak for myself." A new voice mewed. "My apologies for keeping you waiting." The other three apprentices jumped, turning around. A black Tom had settled just a few tail lengths away from them. Lillypaw wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"You're a Kittypet."
"No. I'm a Loner." The Tom replied calmly.
"That's even worse!" Lillypaw exclaimed. "Why would Starclan make a loner part of a prophecy?"
"My father was a clan cat." The Tom Replied. "My mother was not, so now I wonder round the forest."
"I'm sorry," Owlpaw mewed dipping her head. "That must be Hard." The Tom shook his head.
"It's fine. My name's Smokey."
"Owlpaw."
"Lillypaw..." Lillypaw mewed glaring.
"M-Mudpaw." He hesitated after her.

"So..." Smokey mewed taking a few steps forward. "I suppose we're all here for the prophecy?"
"Yeah...." Lillypaw mewed cautiously.
"It's interesting, isn't?" Smokey asked flicking his tail. "Starclan works in mysterious ways."
"What would you know about Starclan..." Mudpaw muttered under his breath.

"What did they tell you?" Smokey asked taking a seat nearer the other apprentices.
"That we had to bring peace to the clans." Mudpaw replied unintentionally interrupting Owlpaw. She just nodded in agreement.
"Do you think-" Lillypaw was suddenly cut off by a strange presence behind them. There was a Starclan Wolf, standing tall and proud. His stary black and white pelt blending into the night, his blue eyes shining through the dark.

"It's good to see you all here. Well, most of you," he chuckled lightly, "my apologies. We didn't expect Shiningpelt's kits to come so late."
"One of Shiningpelt's kits will be in the prophecy?" Lillypaw asked surprised.
"Yes." The Wolf told them dipping his head in affirmation.
"Why are we here then?" Mudpaw asked pipping up.
"Don't you already know?" He asked sounding amused.
"But how are we supposed to bring peace to the clans?" Owlpaw asked. "What are we supposed to be stopping?"
"You'll figure it out in time, Owlpaw. The issue is my little brother, Darkmoon. He's breaking the warrior code more and more, and I fear for my clan mates safety. I just ask you try and fix this without a fight. Violence must only be a last resort. The other clans are already pressed with their territory being destroyed. I know it's a lot to ask, but I have confidence in your success." He paused for a moment glancing up at the sky. "You oughta get home before your clan mates notice you're gone. I hope you take up your father's advice on joining the clans, Smokey." The Wolf began to walk away fading slightly, before he turned slowly eyes clouded.

"Owlpaw, when you see Wolfspark again, please tell him it'll be okay." The Wolf faded back into the sky, leaving Mudpaw a lot more confused than before.

Owlpaw was the first to go, muttering a quick goodbye before racing off into the undergrowth. Smokey stood looking uncomfortable, he hesitated before pacing back into the forest. Mudpaw helped Lillypaw back to camp, collapsing into the apprentices den, hoping he could some sleep before sunrise.