Dawnstar's Message

Chapter 14

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CHAPTER 13

"Dawnshtar! No!" Brindlepelt growled quietly around Dawnstar's tail, which was in his mouth. What a molebrain, running in and practically asking for a fight! Brindlepelt kept his jaws firmly clamped around Dawnstar's tawny tail, slowly pulling him backwards into the safety of the bushes. Maybe whoever that warrior was hadn't noticed them yet! I feel like a kit disobeying his mother, he thought. He knew it was far-fetched to think that a perfectly alert enemy warrior hadn't enough sense to see two strange cats bickering like kits, but there was hope for their pelts yet!

Brindlepelt bit down even harder and heaved backwards into the shadows, until Dawnstar glared at him with, you know, that look you get when you do something and your parents look at you as if to send a mental note saying, "Come on, you child! Stop it right now!" Brindlepelt dropped Dawnstar's tail like a rock; NOW he felt like a kit.

Dawnstar stepped forward, his tail throbbing, pelt bristling. "Cherryfoot! I have so many questions for you!" Had she no common sense?  Who WAS this cat? Why was she in the forest with him? What was the cause for all this?

She looked at him steadily. "You know why I'm here with Thunderclaw."

Thunderclaw? "No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"NO, I don't."

Cherryfoot was still staring. Her expression was that of a teacher to a student who wasn't trying to solve a problem. Dawnstar shook that thought off and nodded toward Thunderclaw. He was lean and mean, obviously a FieldClan cat. Thunderclaw's pelt was the dark shade of thunderclouds, given his name. He looked intelligent, for a field cat.

"I hope you can tell me why he's here," Dawnstar growled.

Cherryfoot still stared at him puzzledly. "That goes right back to the thing that you don't know about." The red she-cat shrugged. "Hmph. I was sure you knew.... Thunderclaw? Care to explain?"

Thunderclaw looked at Dawnstar. His whiskers twitched, and he sat up straighter. "I am a part of your prophecy."

Dawnstar scoffed. "Oh, please! The...." Then he stopped an thought. "Thunder must sound for the storm to end." That was the next part of the prophecy. Thunder.... Hmm. He could be a part of it, maybe. And Cherryfoot...

"Is that it? You met up to talk to him about the prophecy?" Dawnstar asked the medicine cat.

"Well, actually," Thunderclaw said, "The prophecy came to me a moon ago, and I didn't know what it meant. I asked my medicine cat Haileyes for advice, and he told me that I had to ask Cherryfoot. I asked Cherryfoot to meet me here when we were at the Gathering. We agreed then that she would help me with the prophecy, and in return I would teach her to fight."

By this time in the story Cherryfoot was looking at her paws. She looked ashamed. "I was never mentored by anyone but Whiteberry. She was old, and she couldn't teach me to fight." Thunderclaw stood next to her.

Brindlepelt was confused. "Prophecy? Thunder? What have any of you got to do with StarClan? Well, besides Cherryfoot, of course."

Dawnstar looked at the young warrior. "Brindlepelt, you have no part in this. It is not your business, it's ours."

"But can't I even know what this is about?"

"No."

"But I deserve to! I came with you all the way out here! I am a warrior now, not a kit! I have a mind of my own, and I can keep a secret! Please!"

"I think we should tell him," Cherryfoot mewed. "It would be easier for all of us." The medicine cat looked at Brindlepelt. "There is a prophecy, sent by StarClan ---"

"I know what a prophecy is."

"--- that warns us about the future. The prophecy says... well nevermind what it says, but what's left of it to happen has to do with Thunderclaw, and Sundance as well. We're trying to figure out just what it is that's going to happen."

"That doesn't sound so important."

"Well, it might not be! But we'll have to deal with it until it's fulfilled!" Cherryfoot, by this time in the conversation, was bristling and looked agitated.

"Alright," Thunderclaw meowed. "So we told this cat. What now? What do we have to do?"

"Well, I think we should list the possibilities. Thunder could mean actual thunder, or Thunderclaw here. Anything else?"

"Maybe... nope." Brindlepelt mewed.

"Nothing else?"

"Not that I know of."

Dawnstar was thinking about this prophecy. There wasn't much left of the prophecy, and nothing bad had happened yet. But the sun had to set? What would that be? Would Sundance be hurt?

Dawnstar looked up. "The prophecy says 'thunder MUST sound for the storm to end, and the sun will set.' So Thunderclaw, whatever the problem is that arises, StarClan is entrusting you to take care of it."

Thunderclaw nodded.

"So what do we do now?" Brindlepelt asked.

Cherryfoot spoke up. "Let's go our seperate ways for now. If there's a problem in the next few days, then we'll meet up again. Thunderclaw, you said that Haileyes is in on the prophecy as well? The half moon is soon; just ask him to talk to me about it. I'll talk to him if we figure it out."

Every cat nodded.

"I guess that's it, then," Dawnstar meowed. "Let's go, Brindlepelt." He motioned for the young warrior to leave with him.

Cherryfoot stayed behind for a moment. She gave Thunderclaw a quick look. "Thanks for being part of this." She nodded to the FieldClan warrior."

"You're welcome," Thunderclaw mewed. "It's been... alright."

Now it was getting awkward. "Umm... May StarClan light your path, then," Cherryfoot replied. She ran off into the forest.