Warriors: Cloak of Time

= Chapter 3 =

The breeze whipped through the air, shaking the branches of the large birch trees. They were graceful, dancing in the sunbath that was given to them. The sunlight rayed on their leaves, leaving them hot to the touch and any creature who roamed the forest were going to be dangerously hot due to the loss of rain.

She felt the light bashing down on her fur, and she felt tingles ripple through out her. The ground beneath her, which consisted of rocks and dirt, were burning. She could almost see the steam arising from them, or perhaps she was imagining it, she didn't really know.

Stormflight scurried hurriedly, another SilverClan cat just behind her. The patches of her mottled fur that waved through the wind reminded her of why she became deputy. She was popular among the Clan and was known for the great ability of strategy during quarrels or battles. The boldness and bravery of her also played a part in her popularity.

The other cat, Onyxshard, had been one of her lifelong friends, though she seemed to be the opposite of Stormflight. Onyxshard was calm, reserved, and sometimes she appeared to be the most bland creature alive. Yet Stormflight knew, behind her mask she was beautiful and wise. Like an owl, she wasn't tied down, and she could fly away at any second.

Onyxshard could leave the world, and it would be forgotten to her. It would be a distant memory flowing in the wind, unknown to her alone.

"Stormflight, do you see the flowers? They're wilting, what could be the cause of this disaster?"

At Onyxshard's words, she flung her head to the way the other she-cat was looking at. The flowers, once a beautiful point in SilverClan's territory, seemed to be on the brink of dying. She gulped, and studied them closer. Whirls of beautiful shades of white, gray, purple, and blue fled together. Stormflight shook her head. They just need water, she told herself.

Stormflight continued onward, her mind still stuck on the wilting flowers and what caused them. Her steps grew heavy as she kept her eyes on the flowers, and she noticed one white flower in particular. The petals were bent, and were turning an unnatural gray color. It was almost dead, and fear sliced in her heart.

Moonlight's Embrace.

The flower was the only thing Stormflight cared about as she called Onyxshard over, the horror and fear still in her heart. Onyxshard stood beside her, the she-cat's eyes narrowing as she said, "If the Moonlight's Embrace is starting to wilt, something very wrong could happen, Stormflight,"

"We should look farther on, we can't make an assumption with no evidence. Maybe this one was just crushed by accident, we have no idea," Stormflight offered the idea, the gray she-cat flicked her tail, a sign to the black she-cat beside her to follow her.

She could sense the unbalance of her breathing, and how it grew heavier in her chest with every glance. She was praying to StarClan that Moonlight's Embrace was alright, and that every one would be alright.

When she caught sight of another white flower, she knew she was so deeply wrong about anything being alright.

How could this happen? How could the most powerful existence of nature in our world just die like this? This has never happened before, or no times that I have heard of. Stormflight gulped, her thoughts racing with wonders of what could have happened to the flowers.

"What do we do now? How could the flowers just die like this?" Onyxshard said with horror, her eyes narrowing once again, and Stormflight noted that she was tense in the way she was standing, with her mind retracing back to flowers once again.

If she knew anything, it was that Moonlight's Embrace was magical. It was a force of nature, and a powerful weapon. If one flower died, it could have thrown off the entire magical cycle, and it would have caused their magic to waver. Once the magic wavered, it could affect all Moonlight Embrace flowers to the point of extinction.