Mosskit woke up with a start.
She was alone in the forest, up to her belly in snow. Panicked and cold, she looked around, trying to recognize her surroundings, but she couldn't. Snow continued pouring down on her, forcing her down deeper into the ground. She choked on dirt, and her vision went dark.
Frantically, she attempted to dig herself out, but was unable to. The snow kept weighing her down, and her paws went so numb she could barely move them. She attempted to call for help, but dirt and more snow filled her mouth, nose, and eyes.
She heard a voice calling to her.
Mosskit!
She blinked, and opened her eyes to a lush clearing, and the scent of prey and dew flooded her senses. She suddenly felt light as a cloud, and her mind filled with peace.
A white cat with black-tipped ears stood in front of her.
"Greetings," Mosskit," she mewed. "I've come to take you out of the snow."
"Thank you!" she purred, excitedly trotting up to the cat. "Where are we? Where's Bluefur? And Mistykit, and Stonekit?"
"They can't come with us," she mewed simply, continuing to walk. Mosskit looked behind them, but couldn't see anyone. She walked alongside the cat through the clearing, looking at her with admiration. She was pretty and young, with stars glimmering in her pelt.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Snowfur," She looked down to Mosskit, who's head only went a little above Snowfur's belly. "I'm your mother's sister."
"Why can't they come with us?"
"This journey is for you alone, small one."
"Are we in StarClan?"
Snowfur nodded. "I'm going to take you to meet someone very special."
Mosskit wondered who that could be. She looked behind her. "Why am I in StarClan? Am I dead?" Mosskit remembered what Spottedpaw told her about StarClan; that it was the place for their warrior ancestors. If she was here, did that mean she had died?
"No, small one. It will not be your time for many seasons to come," Snowfur assured her. "You will be back with Bluefur in the nursery very soon."
"Then what happened in the snow?"
They arrived at the entrance to a bramble tunnel and Snowfur stopped. "What you experienced was what would have happened to you if things had gone differently," she mewed softly. She gently licked Mosskit's ear. "You came very close to a different fate, Mosskit."
She stood and began walking through the tunnel. Mosskit followed her, trotting to keep up with the older cat. When Mosskit opened her mouth to ask another question, they left through the other side of the tunnel, into what looked like ThunderClan's camp. It was filled with cats with the same star-covered pelts as Snowfur, all of whom were looking at them.
One of them stood at the entrance, her gaze directed straight at Mosskit. She was a silver cat with dark stripes and warm amber eyes. She dipped her head in greeting.
"Hello, small one," she mewed. "My name is Moonflower."
"This is your grandmother." Snowfur rubbed the cat's cheek with her muzzle.
"Mosskit," Moonflower began, "You have a great destiny ahead of you. We will meet again soon." She touched her nose to Mosskit's head. "You are always welcome in StarClan." The camp behind them began to fade into darkness. "Remember, we are always watching over you!"
Mosskit blinked and she was in the nursery, snuggled up with her littermates to their mother's belly. Confusion washed over her. Was it all just a dream?
You have a great destiny ahead of you.
Moonflower's words repeated over and over in Mosskit's head. What could her destiny be? Her head began to throb. She got up and stretched before padding across the clearing to the medicine den. Silverpelt shone above her, casting the camp in pale moonlight.
She looked to each of her sides to see if anyone was awake, and saw two shadows next to hers on the snow. One was a large cat, and the one in the middle was a small, lithe one. The final one was her own. She blinked and they were gone.
More confused than ever, she entered the medicine den. She saw Featherwhisker and Spottedpaw sleeping in their nests, as well as the same gray tabby from last time in the other nest. Slowly she approached Spottedpaw's nest, afraid to disturb Featherwhisker but desperately needing someone to talk to.
"Spottedpaw! Wake up!" She whispered. "I need help."
The tortoiseshell she-cat wriggled in her nest before opening her eyes. "Mosskit?" she whispered. "What's wrong? Do you have a bellyache?"
"I need to talk to you," she whispered as seriously as she could.
Spottedpaw's ear twitched. She got up and stretched, and the two of them snuck out of the den and into the fern tunnel. "I had a dream," Mosskit began. She described her dream of drowning in the snow in detail.
Spottedpaw gazed at her with wide eyes. "I don't even get dreams like that," she admitted. "We need to tell Featherwhisker! Maybe even Sunstar."
"What if they think something's wrong with me?" Mosskit worried. "What if they think I'm a spirit? Or a bad omen?"
"You look real to me!" Spottedpaw licked her ear. "It'll be fine. Featherwhisker will help us. But you need to go back to the nursery first, before your mother wakes up."
Spottedpaw walked her back to the nursery.
"What are you doing awake?"
They froze and looked at the warrior standing next to them. His fur was matted and dirty, and he had a fierce look on his face. The fur on Spottedpaw's neck bristled.
"Mosskit had a bellyache. I'm returning her to the nursery," Spottedpaw lied, her voice trembling. The cat's eyes narrowed. "Thistleclaw, Bluefur will be worried if she wakes up."
"Fine, but hurry up," he growled.
They hurried to the nursery and Spottedpaw mewed a quiet goodnight before running back to the medicine den. Mosskit guessed Spottedpaw would be worried about Featherwhisker waking up too.
Mosskit tossed and turned for what felt like moons before falling asleep.
"I have a thorn in my side," Mosskit announced.
Bluefur began sniffing her flank. "I can't find it," she mewed. "Where is it?"
"I better just go see Featherwhisker," she insisted. "It's really buried in there."
"Alright," her mother mewed. "But don't be long."
Mosskit left her mother and littermates and darted across the snow-dusted clearing to the medicine den, eager to talk to the Spottedpaw and Featherwhisker. When she entered, they were talking.
"There you are!" Spottedpaw mewed, sounding relieved. "I just told Featherwhisker that you came to me last night."
Mosskit repeated her dream and vision to Featherwhisker, who stared at her intently the whole time.
"Visiting StarClan's camp... I've never heard of that happening before," Featherwhisker murmured, his gaze cast aside. "That's the kind of connection medicine cats have with StarClan... But there's never been two medicine apprentices at once."
"I can help train her! I'll teach her everything I know," Spottedpaw promised.
Mosskit looked hopefully at Featherwhisker, who looked deep in thought. Their shadows caught her eye. They looked the same as the vision she had! She stared at them in amazement. Featherwhisker seemed to notice, as he also stared wide-eyed at the shadows. The three of them stood there, and Featherwhisker lashed his tail.
"I need to think about this," he finally decided. "Taking on another apprentice would be a huge responsibility. And you have moons before you'll be ready to take on your apprentice name."
Mosskit nodded, excited that he hadn't denied her immediately.
Please, StarClan, let me be a medicine cat!