Facing A Forest of Shadows

Chapter Thirty-Seven

The soft murmur of the sea's wake woke Frostfeather close to dawn. The brilliant shimmer of the aquamarine still emanated over its inhabitants, no weaker with the sign of the sun on the horizon. It doused the cats in a blue-green sheen.

As Frostfeather started to shake the numbness of sleep from her senses, she noticed Elkleap as he sat like a stone near the cavern entrance. His shoulders rippled as he lifted his muzzle to sniff the breeze over the roll of the ocean.

Quietly, she got to her paws and tiptoed across the stone to his side. He looked over at her as she sat, his gaze intense and serious.

"Good morning," he purred as his tail swept around to gently touch Frostfeather's leg. Outside, the beach hummed with life as tiny creatures swarmed across the sand.

She felt content to sit in silence as she marveled at the vast biology of their new home. A thick shelled turtle, similar to the turtles of the forest but at least three times as big, tumbled from the waves and started to pull itself atop the sand.

A bird, with feathers as vibrant as the sunset and as green as the freshest leaves, landed briefly before it extended its wings and flew back up towards the top of the cliff. Scents unlike Frostfeather had ever smelled filled the air around them.

"Something happened last nite," Elkleap stated. Frostfeather glanced towards him, her ears twitched in curiosity.

"What happened?" she asked quietly. Behind them, she could hear the sound of cats as they stirred and awoke.

"StarClan visited me," he explained, "and names me new leader of IceClan!"

She could see the excitement shine in the depths of his eyes, his muscles taught with renewed strength. Relief flooded over her, that their ancestors have shared with them after so long.

"Elkstar.." Frostfeather mumbled. His new name felt weird on her tongue, but it was so welcome as if that's what it had always been.

"Elkstar?" Brokensong echoed as she approached the pair from her side of the cave. "Is what you say true? You are leader of IceClan?"

Elkleap's whiskers quivered with amusement as he replied, "do you think I would lie about such a thing?"

Brokensong bowed her head. "I suppose not," she responded lightly. Her eyes were wide as she looked at the tom, full of delight and wonder.

"Everyone, come here!" she called out to their companions. In the depths of the space, the others slowly slunk towards the entrance where they sat.

Elkstar's tail curled to wrap around his paws as he dipped his head to his group. "We are truly blessed by the will of StarClan on this day," he began, "last night they walked in my dreams, and gave me the nine lives of a leader."

The Clan cat's tails raised in happiness but the Dockside cats seemed confused. "So you're leader now? Just like that?" Lily questioned as she stepped closer to sniff Elkstar's pelt.

"Typically, our new leader visits the Fire Stone to commune with StarClan. There, they receive their nine lives and new name as leader," he explained, "I think that means that this cave, is our new Fire Stone."

Brokensong's attention snapped to the back of the cave, where the massive aquamarine stone loomed like a blueish shadow behind them. "I should have known this was the place," Brokensong quietly scolded herself.

A purr rose in Elkstar's throat. "That means all we need is a camp," he added.

"We need to get up to the top of the precipice," Falcon offered, "there seems to be plenty of vegetation up there."