She was sick of it.

Sick of the split in her Clan.

Sick of how they treated her.

And most of all, sick of the cause: that stupid prophecy.

"Eclipsepaw, can you hear me? Eclipsepaw!"

She was shaken out of her thoughts by her mentor, Snowrunner. The grey spotted female was staring at her with concern. Thankfully, she didn't hate her apprentice, like some of the Clan did. She seemed to think that Eclipsepaw would be their savior.

"Yes, Snowrunner?"

"We're heading up the mountain again today," she said. Her voice was slightly raspy, and as Eclipsepaw looked closer, she realized that the hunter looked very tired.

Nonetheless, she still began to whine.

"But why? We've been up there countless times and the Great Spirits have said nothing to me. How do you even know I'm the one in the prophecy?"

"We know it's you because you were born on the lunar eclipse. It matched up with the prophecy perfectly: When all hope seems to fade away-"

Eclipsepaw cut her off. "-the light will die. From this a presence will come forth and relieve you of your suffering," she meowed sarcastically. "Yeah, yeah. I've heard it a hundred times."

Snowrunner sighed. "Why must you resist your destiny? You should be proud that you were chosen to save us."

The apprentice flattened her ears. "You don't need me to save you. It's not that hard to cure a cold," she snapped. She knew she was being harsh, and she had been told time and time again that it wasn't a simple cold. But she couldn't help it. How had the Clan survived before she came along? As a kit, she had been regaled with tales of the great and powerful LynxClan, master of the mountains and manipulator of the snow.

As an apprentice, she was sorely disappointed. Her Clan was nothing more than a sad collection of suffering and despair.

"Let's just go." Snowrunner turned and led the way out of the cave, taking the all too familiar trail up the mountain.

The Spirit Cave was located a little ways up the mountain. It wasn't high enough to be dangerous, but it was high enough to be a tiring walk.

Once they reached the cave, Snowrunner waited outside while Eclipsepaw padded in.

The cave was warm, and a collection of lynx pelts decorated the floor and walls. The pelts were said to be owned by the bodies of the great lynx spirit of years past. The oldest, and first, of his pelts was hung up on the back wall, directly in the center.

For some reason, the cave kept all pelts from deteriorating. The Clan had chalked it up to the Lynx tending to his old furs.

At the back wall and underneath the first pelt was an open space. That was where Eclipsepaw would sit with her eyes closed, facing the cave entrance. She would sit and await the great spirits' guidance.

She sat, just like she had many times before. The floor felt like it was molded to her paws at this point. Her paw pads detected slight dips in the floor where she had placed her paws every single time she had come here.

The black and white apprentice shook her head, knowing that this would not work. Regardless, she closed her eyes.

It seemed like Eclipsepaw stayed like that forever. There were no changes in the wind or the smells. She opened her eyes to find herself still in the cave. Alone.

Despair rose in her and she got to her paws. "Tell me what to do! Why won't you speak to me? Please, I need help."

There was nothing.

"Fine then. Maybe I'll just...leave. If you won't tell me what to do, I'll take my destiny into my own paws."