Rising from the Ashes

Chapter 2

Honeypaw breathed a sigh of relief as she left the PineClan camp. For the past quarter moon, the Clan had been buzzing like an agitated hive of bees. Her pelt still tingled as she thought about why. StarClan themselves had visited the ravine to address the Clans. As a medicine cat apprentice, she had met with StarClan multiple times so that had not been quite as shocking for her as it had been for the average warrior.

What had shocked her was what StarClan decreed. They wanted volunteers from every Clan to join GrassClan so it could regain its former strength. It was so hard to believe but every other cat at the Gathering had seen and heard the exact same thing. No one seemed to know what to make of it. For her part, Honeypaw couldn't imagine leaving her Clan.

"Come along, Honeypaw," Mosspool, her mentor, urged. "We don't want to be late."

It was half-moon and the first time the medicine cats would be meeting with StarClan since the announcement. Naturally, they were all eager for clarification. StarClan had a lot to answer for. Of all the medicine cat meetings, this would certainly be the most important. They couldn't miss it!

Honeypaw picked up the pace to pad beside her mentor. The two medicine cats walked through the pine forest that their Clan called home. Moonlight dappled the forest floor, the tall straight trees stretching far into the distance, seemingly endless. Honeypaw loved the scent of pine and the soft needles that littered the forest floor. It was the most beautiful territory in the Clans.

They met up with Rainsong and Sunstripe-WillowClan and OakClan's medicine cats-at their typical meeting place but had to wait for Doeheart. The GrassClan she-cat was by far the oldest medicine cat, and they all had great respect for her wisdom and experience. Honeypaw was the only apprentice at the moment and while it was lonely being unable to share her training with a fellow apprentice, she did her best to learn from all of the medicine cats.

Sunstripe, a ginger tabby tom, had become OakClan's medicine cat right before Honeypaw had been apprenticed. As a result, he was the closet in age to her and often gave her helpful advice. The two of them sat side by side, his dark ginger against her pale.

"How has your Clan been handling StarClan's announcement?" Sunstripe asked.

"Not well. They are shocked, angry, and confused." She shook her head. "I've been trying to ignore it but it's all any cat will talk about. Shadestar is convinced no cat-certainly no PineClan cat-will even consider it."

Sunstripe flicked his tail against Honeypaw's shoulder in sympathy. "OakClan is the same. To the Clan, Dapplestar has accepted StarClan's will though she is certainly not encouraging any cat to leave. Only with me does she reveal her uncertainty."

"Stormstar is sympathetic to GrassClan's plight but loathe to see any cat leave. But who can argue with StarClan?" Rainsong added.

The conversation came to an end with awkward glances as Doeheart arrived. The oldest medicine cat didn't pause as they left Clan territory behind. The ground became hilly with sparse cover. The sky stretched out high above, the stars shining brightly in an endless display. For Honeypaw, it felt like they were climbing to join StarClan themselves.

The medicine cats fell into single file as they entered a narrow path through a tumble of boulders. These large rocks were striped as a tabby's pelt and glittered like starshine. They were known as the Star Stones and led the way to the place where Clan cats could commune with their warrior ancestors. The trail ended at a split rock that revealed a bright white inside. It was like a piece of the moon had fallen to the ground and it was known as the Moon's Heart.

They took up their positions around it, each reaching out a paw to touch the glowing white stone. In an instant, they were transported to StarClan's hunting grounds.