Owlbreeze happily cleaned up her den, feeling at peace as she was finally able to get her den in order. She had been neglecting her cleaning duties in the midst of leafbare and it had ended up getting quite messy with scraps of dried herbs, moss and dust.
She sweeped up the herb scrabs and dust into a neat little pile in the corner while she sorted her herbs. She got rid of any old, dried out or rotting herbs and took note of all the herbs she was running out of. She would have to spend the next few days gathering the herbs, and it honestly excited her.
She was the glad the snow as mostly gone so the herbs would start growing again and she could have a well stocked medicine den again. After the harsh leaf-bare and getting rid of the old herbs her stores were pretty barren and empty, she would fill it up as soon as she could.
She carefully discarded the herb scraps outside of her den and returned to fix up her own nest. She often destroyed it in her sleep due to her anxious dreams, but now that Troutstream was finally out of the den and she was alone in the den again, she made herself an extra large nest so she could be comfortable and hopefully destroy it less.
She made her nest perfectly and looked down at it proudly. Her den was spotless and though it may not last long, she was happy with it for now. She felt her stomach growl and her tail twitched, she now realized she had been working on cleaning her den all morning without eating and decided to help herself to some prey.
She left the den, breathing in the early newleaf air. She absolutely loved the cool air and she could tell her Clanmates did too. Only a few remained in camp while the others were out patrolling. She specifically saw Riverstep sunning herself in a patch of sunlight while her tiny kits played next to her. They were just starting to find their legs and with ears and eyes wide open, they were rearing to go.
Owlbreeze was so excited to see the little kits, as well as Flamepetal's kits when she eventually had them. MountainClan was growing, and she was so excited to see it happen. She missed her family, but Owlbreeze quickly realized she had zero regrets about moving to MountainClan, she knew this was where she belonged. She felt so attached and loved by her Clanmates.
Owlbreeze padded over to the fresh-kill pile, making sure she would eat plenty before her trip to the Spirit Garden tonight, which was honestly the thing she was least looking forward today.
She used to love going to the Spirit Garden, but lately StarClan was her greatest cause of stress. Every time she was visited by Mosscloud they warned her about the war, sending her horrible visions that left her shaken and terrified. She needed them to realize that she couldn't stop this war, she tried and it didn't work. The war was happening, and the cats they really needed to be talking to about stopping it were Riverstar and Violetstar or at least Blackstorm and Oneflight, not her.
She shoved her thoughts about the half-moon to the back of her mind for now and began eating the mouse she picked off the fresh-kill pile. She sat outside of her den eating the prey in a patch of sunlight, enjoying the warmth from the sun on her light pelt.
She watched as the sunhigh patrol returned, they were laughing and seemed to be enjoying themselves, everything seemed perfect in MountainClan. Leafbare was over and despite a minor amount of flooding, the Clan was safe. She knew Mountainstar would not let them get involved in the war, and the other Clans with the exception of Riverstar didn't seem to want them involved which she was grateful for, she just wanted her Clan to focus on growing and thriving.
She finished her prey and discarded the remains before deciding to head out into the forest. She would gather some herbs on her way out and store them away, grabbing them on her way back from the Spirit Garden, she really didn't have anything else to do with her time.
She decided to start with mallow as she was completely out of it and it was always useful to have it around. She made her way through the forest, which was almost snow free. There were a few piles of snow left, but most of it had been worn away by the MountainClan cats venturing through the territory.
She followed an perfectly dry path towards the MoonClan border where the river was, she knew it was flooding slightly but she hoped it wasn't too bad. She reached the river quickly and found that while the river was certainly higher than normal, there was no risk.
She still took caution approaching the river and made her way over to a bountiful bundle of mallow. She picked off a healthy amount, leaving plenty for the plant to continue to grow and decided to check along the river while she was here to see what else was available for her to gather. She saw a large patch of marigold near the water and made sure to pick some of that as well.
She gathered that as well as some watermint and that passed enough time for her to head to the Spirit Garden. She wrapped the herbs with a leaf she managed to find and tucked them away somewhere safe so she could get them on her way back. She glanced up at the sky, the sun would be setting soon and she needed to start heading out.
Owlbreeze headed back towards the river and she noticed that the stepping stones were nearly covered by the water, she hesitated a bit with crossing as she had a sudden painful memory of her near death experience in the river before she was saved by Mountainstar.
She took a deep breath and stepped on the first stone, she could feel the water lapping at her paws. It was ice cold and made her jolt her paw backwards at first. She sighed and flicked her tail, she had to force her way across, but if the river got any higher she would have difficulties crossing for the next half-moon meeting.
She very carefully and very delicately crossed the river using the stones and made it safely across. She breathed out in relief once she was on the other side and flicked her paws clear of any water. She hurried towards the gathering hollow where she'd meet up with the SunClan and MoonClan medicine cats, hoping that she wasn't running too late.
She saw Oneflight and the SunClan cats crossing the gathering hollow and she quickly rushed over to join them. "There you are, Owlbreeze." Honeyfrost mewed, greeting her with soft green eyes. "We were worried about you."
"Is everything alright in MountainClan?" Pebblestep questioned, her voice lined with concern.
"Yes, the stepping stones are just nearly covered by the river being so full right now." She explained. "I had to be careful crossing."
"If the river keeps rising I'll meet you at the river next half-moon." Oneflight offered. "If we have to swim then I can at least help you across."
"I'd rather not swim but I appreciate the offer." If Owlbreeze had her way, she would never step foot in a river ever again.
"There is a better spot to cross farther up the border, I'll ask Violetstar if you can cross there. I'd meet you there to walk you to the gathering hollow."
"That sounds like a much better plan." Owlbreeze dipped her head. "I really appreciate it." Oneflight gave her a nod as the cats continued to walk.
"How are things in MoonClan? I feel like we're missing all the news between our trips. Did you all handle the blizzard alright?"
Oneflight nodded. "We had an outbreak of greencough and unfortunately we lost Frostfire. Leopardshine and Ripplestem are warriors now, and Leopardshine is already expecting kits."
Owlbreeze felt a surge of joy for her friend, though the two never really got to talk since MoonClan wasn't going to gatherings, she really did miss Leopardshine, they had been such good friends on the journey, but she was very young to be having kits.
"Oh wow she's so young." Pebblestep's eyes widened. "She can't have been a warrior very long."
Oneflight shook his head. "She's not that far along, she became a warrior not long after the full moon, so just over half a moon."
"Who's the father if you don't mind me asking." Honeyfrost chimed in.
"Shellstorm."
"That's Swiftheart and Mosswind's son right?" Pebblestep thought.
"I helped with his birth," Honeyfrost said as she recalled the event. "He and his siblings were born in the barn while we were on our way to the mountains. I can't believe he's already a full grown warrior, I'm starting to feel old!"
"You're starting to feel old?" Pebblestep shoved her apprentice playfully. "I'm practically turning to dust!"
Honeyfrost purred in amusement. "You're not that old Pebblestep! You're still young, you don't have to worry about retiring any time soon."
"Hey who said anything about retiring." Pebblestep said with sneer, playfully swiping at Honeyfrost's ears. "You'll have to drag me out of that medicine cat den! I plan on staying a medicine cat until I lose the rest of my senses and go blind in both eyes! I'll be an even grumpier old badger than Poppyfur was."
"If it makes you feel better AshClan already has a grumpy old badger for a medicine cat and he's Honeyfrost's age." Owlbreeze added with an amused purr and for a split second she saw a shift in Honeyfrost's expression as she mentioned Blackstorm.
She didn't really pay it much mind as the medicine cats continued joking together until they approached Roseheart and Blackstorm who were sitting together and talking quietly. "Hello everyone." Roseheart dipped her head and as always, the second Blackstorm and Oneflight made eye contact the tension rose and became palpable.
"Let's keep moving." Pebblestep clearly sensed and was very clearly over it. She led the way and Blackstorm and Oneflight kept their distance and kept their mouths shut. Owlbreeze hated how much this war had ruined was supposed to be a time of peace and this stupid war was ruining it.
The remainder of the walk to the Spirit Garden was in complete silence. They padded along the smooth stone bath up the side of the mountain towards the cavern. Owlbreeze walked in behind Oneflight as the medicine cats gathering around the Blazing Star in the center. She could already feel the effects of the Spirit Garden surrounding her.
She laid down along with the other medicine cats, tucking her legs under her body and closing her eyes. The sweet, floral scents filled her nose and urged into a gentle slumber.
When Owlbreeze opened her eyes she expected to see Mosscloud, but instead she was met with four medicine cats she hadn't met before. She recognized three of them as Poppyfur, Honeywing and Feathernose but the fourth was one she hadn't ever met, but she smelled strongly of SunClan.
"Good evening, Owlbreeze." The medicine cat she didn't recognize dipped her head. "My name is Goldheart, I was the medicine cat before Feathernose."
"Why are you all here..?" Owlbreeze asked, looking across the four medicine cats. She assumed she already knew why, but she was usually speaking with Mosscloud.
"We know that Mosscloud is usually your StarClan guide," Feathernose began. "But this situation is becoming urgent and Mosscloud is..."
"She's gentle with you." Poppyfur spoke up as Feathernose trailed off. "And you need to stop ignoring this war. She gave you your visions and you have done nothing with them."
Owlbreeze instantly felt heat rising her paws as anger flowed through her body. "What do you mean I haven't done anything with them?" She demanded with a hiss. "I went directly to Dawnstar with my warning and she brushed it off!"
"There's no need to throw a fit." Poppyfur growled in return. "You're not a kit."
Owlbreeze lashed her tail, she suddenly felt the past several moons of anger and resentment towards StarClan rising to the surface inside her chest. "What do you expect me to do?" She asked. "Do you really expect me to be able to stop this war? I did my. best, but when leaders don't listen what am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to march into AshClan and MoonClan camp and tell Riverstar and Violetstar to stop fighting? Like that would do anything?" She glared at each of them. "Why are you here and not talking to Oneflight and Blackstorm? They're the medicine cats of these Clans!"
"You can keep crying and complaining all you want," Goldheart added with a slight edge to her voice. "This is destiny you were born with, to save the Clans from this war."
"No." Owlbreeze said firmly, causing the other four medicine cats to look at her in shock. "My destiny was to build MountainClan and bring them here, then my destiny was to become MountainClan's medicine cat and now my destiny is to stop a war that my Clan isn't even involved in?"
"Destiny often isn't fair."
"This isn't about what's fair!" She yelled louder, she couldn't take this anymore. She couldn't take being treated like this by StarClan. "This is about StarClan forcing me to do the impossible! This war is happening and I'm not the one who can stop it!" She lashed her tail again. "So if you want to stop this war, then go to them. Maybe I could've stopped it, but not anymore. So there, this was my destiny but I failed I'm sick of being tormented by these terrible nightmares! Just leave me alone!"
"Cats don't get to pick and choose their destiny." Feathernose reminded her. "This is the life you were born with, just as your siblings were."
Owlbreeze felt so frustrated, she felt like she was talking to a bunch of rocks, she hissed in annoyance feeling so ignored. "Why won't you just listen to me!" She yowled in desperation, all of her emotions coming forward at once. "I'm not doing this! I'm done being StarClan's little cat of destiny! My siblings don't have to deal with this, just me! I'm not doing it!" She lowered her head and glared at the medicine cats. "And you can't force me to."
"Quit acting like a kit!" Poppyfur hissed. "What exactly do you plan on doing? Turning your back on StarClan?" She challenged.
Owlbreeze lifted her head high, her emotions ebbed away and she was left with a sense of confidence and certainty. "No, I'm not turning my back on StarClan." She told them, her voice low and steady. "I'm turning my back on destiny."
Their eyes widened and they opened their mouths to speak but Owlbreeze closed her eyes and forced her mind to wake up, she wouldn't let them keep here there any longer.
When she opened her eyes she was back in the Spirit Garden but instead of the four SunClan medicine cats it was the current, living medicine cats. They were all still in their own dreams. She let out a quiet sigh and stared at the Blazing Star in the center of the Spirit Garden.
She was told that the Blazing Star was a symbol of unity in the Clans, but there was no unity right now, the "peace" that had been going on was hollow, empty and meaningless and soon it would completely shatter. This war was happening, and Owlbreeze couldn't stop it. Cats would die, and she couldn't stop it. It wasn't her burden to bare, she didn't start this war and she wasn't going to end it.
She felt...lighter after her outburst. Like a weight had been lifted off her entire body. StarClan had been tormenting her with omens for moons now, and she couldn't take it anymore. She had never even considered standing up to StarClan in such a way, it seemed so unheard of. When I was younger, I thought StarClan had all the answers. She thought to herself, watching her fellow medicine cats stir. But now I realize, they're just as clueless as the rest of us. She rose to her paws and left the Spirit Garden cavern, glancing over the five territories.
War was coming, and she could do nothing to stop it. She knew deep down that lives would be lost, and likely the Clans would never be the same after but it wasn't her destiny to stop it, not anymore. Her destiny was to be MountainClan's medicine cat, and that's all she was going to be.