"Can I have a word, Mossdapple?"
Mossdapple slowly raised her head. Bluestar stood a fox-length away from her, a serious expression on her face.
Mossdapple let out a sigh. "Is it important?" She had just been in StarClan, training with Snowfur. She was just about to teach her a new move when Bluestar woke her up.
"Yes," Bluestar mewed irritably. "Come on."
Mossdapple slowly raised to her paws and stretched before following Bluestar out of the medicine clearing and into her den.
Newleaf had arrived at last, covering the clearing with small, white and yellow flowers. They had no use as herbs, but they decorated the camp nicely. The scent of dew and pray laid heavy in the air.
"What is it?"
"Is that how you talk to your leader?"
Mossdapple let out a scoff. "You're still my mother."
"You ought to show a bit of respect," Bluestar warned.
"I was busy! You woke me up."
"This is important!" Bluestar hissed. "I want to tell the Clan about your gift."
Mossdapple's jaw hung open. "Are you serious?"
"It's not a crazy thing to suggest, you know. It could make us stronger. You could give us a better connection to our ancestors than any of the other Clans have."
"So you want me to abuse my power for battle?"
"Of course not," Bluestar hissed. "There are other ways we could use it."
Mossdapple sighed. Tensions had been high between her and her mother since she had become leader. Mossdapple had spent so much time in StarClan, and Bluestar thought she should be awake helping her Clan. She had lost two of her lives already. "My answer is no."
"Why?" Bluestar fidgeted with frustration.
"I don't want to be seen as any more different than I already am. I'm already cast out for being a medicine cat."
"This is more important than your reputation!" Bluestar let out a deep sigh. "It's what Sunstar would have wanted."
Mossdapple hesitated. Sunstar had asked her to reveal her ability to the Clan many moons ago, which she had never responded to.
"I guess," Mossdapple admitted.
"Your Clanmates might stop thinking you're just lazy," Bluestar muttered.
Mossdapple's ears perked. "They think that?"
"I've just overheard it," Bluestar shrugged.
Mossdapple sighed. "Fine."
"You agree?"
"I agree."
Bluestar's tail curled in delight. "I'll call the Clan meeting now."
"All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather under the Highrock for a Clan meeting!"
Mossdapple sat underneath the Highrock, too nervous to breathe. This was it. Her life was about to change forever.
"Our medicine cat, Mossdapple, has something to share with you all."
She's going to make me do it?!
Mossdapple took a deep breath. "There's something I have been keeping to myself for many moons," she started. "But I have decided it would be best for the Clan to know, so we can use it to be stronger."
Mutters of confusion scattered across the Clan.
"I have been visiting StarClan most nights since I was apprenticed. Whenever I go to sleep, I can choose to wake up there."
Silence.
"She's crazy!"
A mew sounded from the back of the crowd.
Tigerclaw.
"Do any of us actually believe this?" he growled. "No cat's ever been able to do that before."
"Of course we do!" Mistyfoot yowled. "Mossdapple would never lie!"
Mossdapple's heart warmed at her sister's fierce defense.
"A medicine cat has a duty to protect her Clan." Stonefur added. "I'm sure there's a reason she's been hiding it from us."
"So she didn't even tell her own kin?" Tigerclaw scoffed.
"I've known this whole time," Bluestar hissed. "We have no reason to doubt her. Mossdapple has never been anything but a loyal medicine cat."
"No wonder she's always sleeping," Mossdapple heard Speckletail whisper. Mossdapple shot her a warning glance.
"This meeting is over," Bluestar called. "Tigerclaw, I want a word with you."
Mossdapple's ears turned hot with embarrassment. She had never meant to cause a fuss. She sighed and retreated to the medicine den.
"Mossdapple?"
Just before she could enter the fern tunnel, Rosetail's mew stopped her. She turned to her mother's old friend.
"You can visit StarClan, right?"
Mossdapple nodded. She looked at Rosetail's face and realized how old she had grown. White hairs were covering her muzzle.
"Have you seen Sweetpaw? She's a small, white cat with tortoiseshell patches."
Mossdapple nodded. "Snowfur introduced me to her. She's a friend."
"Oh, thank StarClan," Rosetail sighed. "That's wonderful. Can you talk to her for me?"
"Yeah," Mossdapple agreed.
"Just tell her I miss her, okay?"
Mossdapple nodded. "I will."
"And Thistleclaw too, of course," she added.
Mossdapple hesitated, but agreed. She had never seen Thistleclaw in StarClan.
She turned and entered the fern tunnel to the medicine clearing. The sky had begun to turn pink as a rose, with yellow clouds spread across.
"So you decided to tell everyone," Spottedleaf sighed.
Mossdapple turned to see her friend entering behind her.
"You did the right thing," Spottedleaf encouraged. "You were going to have to tell them eventually."
Mossdapple nodded. Heaviness tugged at her paws, pulling her to her nest.
"Mistyfoot and Stonefur were looking for you."
"I'll talk to them tomorrow," Mossdapple muttered.
She quickly drifted off to sleep. When she opened her eyes, she was in StarClan. She stretched and looked around before walking into the forest in search of Sweetpaw.
"Looking for someone?"
Birchface sat in front of Mossdapple. "Snowfur?"
"Sweetpaw," Mossdapple corrected. "I seem to bump into you a lot lately."
"Lucky you," Birchface teased. Mossdapple's paws turned warm.
"Have you seen her or not?"
"She's by warm-rocks," Birchface sighed. "I hate to see you go so soon."
"Well, you'll see me again."
"I can only hope."
Mossdapple left to warm-rocks, very aware of Birchface's eyes on her back. Once he was out of sight, she turned around. She found herself slightly disappointed he hadn't followed her.
Stop it, she thought.
"Sweetpaw?"
Mossdapple emerged to warm-rocks and saw the familiar tortoiseshell cat laying on her back on a flat rock.
"Hey, Moss," Sweetpaw mumbled.
"Feeling relaxed?"
"Very," Sweetpaw turned to her side and shook her head. "How's it going?"
"Good. Rosetail asked me to talk to you," she started.
"Really?" Sweetpaw purred. She flicked her tail in anticipation. "What did she say?"
"She said she misses you. And have you seen Thistleclaw? I'm supposed to say hi to him, too."
Sweetpaw looked away. "I thought you knew."
"Knew what?"
"About Thistleclaw," she sighed. "He's not here."
"What do you mean?" Mossdapple narrowed her eyes. "Where else would he be?"
"He's in..." Sweetpaw gestured to her side. "The bad place."
"Really?" Mossdapple's eyes went wide. "He's in the dark forest?"
Sweetpaw shivered. "Yeah."
"Oh, Sweetpaw, I'm so sorry." Mossdapple sat down next to her friend.
She shrugged. "It's okay."
"No, it's not. How did he end up there?"
Sweetpaw looked at her paws. "He just did some bad things is all."
She stroked her friend's back with her tail. "That's horrible."
"What are you going to tell Rosetail?"
Mossdapple shrugged. "That I haven't seen him, I guess. I don't really want to break the news to her."
"I understand," Sweetpaw mewed. "I'll tell her someday."
"Thank you," Mossdapple licked her on the ear.
"Tell Rosetail I miss her too," Sweetpaw mewed.
"I will," Mossdapple agreed. "I should go find Snowfur."
Sweetpaw nodded. "Don't mention Thistleclaw to her, okay? She's still pretty upset about it."
"I won't," Mossdapple promised.