Mistystar’s Omen

Willowshine nodded. “See you later,” she meowed, stretching up to brush her muzzle against Mothwing’s. With an anxious glance at Mistystar, she trotted out of the camp.

Mistystar stood up. Mothwing had vanished back into the shadows behind the rocks, and the clearing was silent apart from the murmurs of sleepy warriors in their nest. Mistystar pushed her way through the ferns and went down to the edge of the lake. She paced along the shore, feeling the stones smooth beneath her paws. Sparkling reflections of stars swirled and danced on the surface of the water—the empty, fishless water that mocked the RiverClan cats and their hungry bellies. Mistystar stared at the silvery patterns, desperately trying to read a message in their shapes. Should they be fishing in a different way? Were the fish about to return? Perhaps the hunger was nearly at an end.

But how would she know if there were any messages to be seen? She wasn’t a medicine cat! Mistystar hissed and sank her claws into the grit between the pebbles. Mothwing had made it impossible for her to lead her Clan with any sort of confidence.

“Oh, Stonefur!” Mistystar whispered. “I can’t do this alone!”

Mistystar tossed and wriggled all night, unable to get comfortable in her nest. The fresh moss seemed full of thorns, and she was convinced there was a lump of gorse caught up in it. As the first rays of the sun slanted through the rowan branches, she jumped up and trotted into the clearing. She just caught sight of Willowshine’s gray striped tail whisking into the medicine cats’ den. Mistystar followed and stood in the entrance. The two medicine cats blinked at her from the shadows.

“Willowshine, from now on you will be RiverClan’s sole medicine cat,” she announced. Her heart pounded, and she dug her claws into the earth to stop her legs from shaking. “Mothwing will no longer live with you in this den.”

“That’s not fair!” cried Willowshine. “I still have so much to learn!”

“StarClan will help you,” Mistystar mewed. She looked at Mothwing, who was staring at her in dismay. “I’ve had enough time to think about this. Mothwing, you have served RiverClan for many seasons, and we are grateful. As an elder, you will be well cared for. No cat needs to know about… anything.”

Mothwing stepped forward. “Mistystar, I know you want to punish me—”

“This is not about punishment!” Mistystar interrupted. “This is about doing what is right for the Clan!”

Mothwing twitched one ear. “Don’t you think the Clan has suffered enough change recently, with the loss of Leopardstar? Let them come to terms with that before you make them accept something else. You are not the only cat who has their best interests at heart, Mistystar. I’ll announce my retirement at the next Gathering, but not before.” Her blue eyes flashed briefly with anger.

Mistystar gritted her teeth. She must see that I have no choice in this! She cannot be a medicine cat if she doesn’t believe in StarClan! “Very well,” she hissed. “You may stay here for the rest of this moon.”

She started to back away, but stopped as Mothwing moved toward her. Placing her muzzle close to Mistystar’s ear, she murmured, “I am so sorry.”

So am I, thought Mistystar. You were my closest friend. But there was nothing to say, so she just shook her head and walked quickly away from the rocks, feeling her heart break with every step.

“Mistystar! Watch this!” It was Podkit, Duskfur’s sturdy son. He had sunk his claws into a twig and was dragging it toward the nursery. “I caught this giant fish and I’m going to feed the whole Clan!” he squeaked proudly.

Mistystar purred. “Great catch, Podkit. Make sure it doesn’t eat you first!”

“It won’t. I killed it with one paw!”

Duskfur appeared at the entrance to the nursery. “Podkit! I hope you aren’t bothering Mistystar!”

“He’s not,” Mistystar assured her. “If he can catch a fish that size, we might have to make him a warrior already!”

“Really?” gasped Podkit, his eyes huge.

“Of course not,” snapped his sister, Curlkit, who was wriggling out past their mother. “You’re such a minnow-brain!”

“Don’t be rude to your brother,” Duskfur chided. “If you can’t play nicely, one of you will have to go back to the nest.”

“She started it,” Podkit muttered, slicing the bark of the twig with his tiny claws.

Duskfur rolled her eyes. “Tell me it gets better,” she begged Mistystar. “Some days I feel I do nothing but scold them from dawn until dusk!”

“It does get easier,” Mistystar promised, though inside she felt a stab of agony that her time with four playful kits had passed so quickly.

Duskfur shuffled her paws as if she realized she had said something clumsy. “We’re all so pleased that you’re our leader,” she mewed earnestly. “Not that I didn’t like Leopardstar, of course, but every cat thinks you’re the best choice for RiverClan.”