« The Willow that Foretold Light »

      Hollypaw gasped in awe. Her eyes widened as she stared at the beautiful willow tree, shimmering like stars due to the moonlight reflecting off the frost. The half-moon rose high in the sky, beaming down upon the medicine cats and their apprentices. It was the time of month to share tongues with StarClan.

      Although Hollypaw had been to the Star Willow before, for her ceremony, it never ceased to amaze her. A strong spiritual feeling connected their warrior ancestors and the Clan's healers to this sacred place. The medicine cat apprentice could almost feel the energy pulsing from the ground underneath her massive paws.

      Dripnose, the RippleClan medicine cat, head-butted her in the flank sharply. "Get a move on," he grunted, lashing his tail,"the moon isn't going to wait for us."

      She watched as he and the other medicine cats— his apprentice, Oakpaw, Leafshine of GustClan, Snowdust of StormClan, and her mentor, Mintpool, gathered around the trunk. Hollypaw hurriedly scampered after them, standing beside Mintpool.

The tortoiseshell she-cat let out a chuckle, smiling at the large white she-cat and nudging her forward. A shiver crept up Hollypaw's spine as her nose touched the surprisingly smooth bark, a sensation of serenity overwhelming her.

She was dimly aware of the other cats who moved closer, feeling Mintpool and Oakpaw take a place on either side of her. The ShadeClan medicine cat apprentice let her knees buckle underneath her, laying in a comfortable position. Her body began to feel heavy with exhaustion and her eyes fought to remain open, until they finally shut.

A fierce, intense white light blinded Hollypaw. She hissed and squeezed her eyes shut, until its strength diminished. The she-cat saw a pair of eyes; one was green whilst the other was amber. They both became orange like a fire. Confusion swarmed her mind, and she shook her head.

Suddenly a cat, his black pelt speckled with white and gray, sat a tail-length away, where the set of eyes has been. His own golden ones replaced them.. "Hello," he greeted calmly, his eyes amicable.

"Who are you?" Hollypaw asked, cocking her head to the left.

The strange tom replied, "I am the first medicine cat, White Speckle." Noticing her puzzled expression, he quickly added, "but they call me Star Speaker now."

Hollypaw gasped. Why was Star Speaker, of all the cats in StarClan, speaking to her? She was just an inexperienced medicine cat apprentice!

      Star Speaker was staring at her expectantly, as if patiently awaiting a reply. She gulped. "Sorry, I wasn't listening," the odd-eyed she-cat mumbled, looking away.

      "It's okay," he chuckled, whiskers twitching in amusement, before his expression became serious. "I need to deliver a prophecy to you."

      Her eyes widened. "Me?! But I have only been a medicine cat apprentice for two seasons!" she exclaimed.

      The ancient tom nodded in understanding, rising to his paws and silently padding towards her. "I understand that. All will become clear once the storm has passed."

      Hollypaw stared at him questioningly. What did he mean? Why did StarClan have to make it so complicated? She let out a frustrated sigh. "Okay. What's this prophecy?"

      He placed his muzzle to her forehead, and the medicine cat apprentice felt her vision darken and her body grow heavy as she fell unconscious.

Storm clouds rolled in as rain pelted from the sky. The roar of thunder and screeching cats filled her ears. Suddenly it was cleared by a blinding light and she saw the same odd-eyed feline figure from earlier. It split into two, then four, before the figures became a blazing star in the sky. Fire licked the sky, and the scent of soot filled her nose. From the ashes rose four silhouettes, but before Hollypaw could eye them properly, the vision was over.

She sprang to her paws, accidentally shoving Oakpaw to the ground as she whipped her head around frantically. Her pinkish eyes were wide and her pelt bristled. Blood roared in her ears.

"Hey! Watch it!" whined the russet apprentice, lashing his feathery tail as he stood up, wincing. She had shoved him pretty hard.

Hollypaw flattened her ears shamefully. "Sorry," she mumbled, glancing away as she felt the others' gazes on her. The memory of the vision was still fresh in her mind.

The albino she-cat sighed. It was a rather... cryptic warning, to put it nicely. Annoyance bubbled in her stomach. Couldn't Star Speaker just have told her what the threat is? It made no sense to the ShadeClan medicine cat apprentice. At all.

She was broken from her thoughts as Mintpool placed her tail on her shoulders. "Are you okay?" asked the pretty tortoiseshell softly.

"I... had a weird vision, and I spoke to-," as Hollypaw began to tell Mintpool about what she had seen, Leafshine interrupted her, calling out from afar.

"Are you two coming?" she asked, Dripnose, Snowdust and Oakpaw staring at them expectantly.

Mintpool shook her head. "Go on without us!" the medicine cat replied. Leafshine nodded and padded away with the others, swishing her tail in goodbye. "Carry on, Hollypaw."

She nodded, and began to spill everything. From the blinding light to her encounter with Star Speaker to the vision of fire and unknown cats. Mintpool payed close attention, her ears pricked as she nodded or hummed occasionally.

"We should speak to Marshstar about this," the young medicine cat decided with an assured nod.

"A storm of sharp fang is coming. Only the bright light can clear the clouds," murmured a familiar voice. Chills ran up Hollypaw's back. It was Star Speaker. She gulped and looked at Mintpool with wary eyes. The medicine cat shared the look, and a sense of foreboding befell the Star Willow. Something terrible was going to happen soon. Hollypaw felt it in her gut, and she was scared.

      It couldn't possibly be Sharpfang that the prophecy spoke of. He was a kind tom that ShadeClan took in when he was a tattered, beaten loner. And the bright light? Was it Brightpaw? Her head began to whirl with all the thinking she was doing.

      Hollypaw sighed and blinked at the shining stars worriedly. She prayed that StarClan would aid them through whatever dangers the storm brought. If they didn't, who knew what could happen?

      It's not even the beginning, she realized, shivering due to the intense cold. Between her excitement to go to the Star Willow and frets of the vision, Hollypaw forgot how merciless this leaf-bare was. We must prepare ourselves for the worst.