BLINKING AGAINST THE harsh greenleaf sunlight, Dovepaw opened her eyes. Morning warmth flooded into the den and seeped into her fur. The sunbeams danced on the floor as they showed through the bramble screen of the den. It was the morning after the incident with Spottedsong. Dovepaw lifted her head to look outside the den. Immediately she saw Mousetail and Skystorm grooming each other lovingly, murmuring instinctively as they did. At first, when Mousetail and Skystorm first began to be so close, Dovepaw had been envious. She had wanted to have that same kind of love with Foxclaw, if only destiny and fate hadn't gotten in the way. But now she was happy for them, and every time she saw them together, her heart burst with joy for her sister.

"Good morning." Badgertooth's greeting tugged Dovepaw from her thoughts. "How did you sleep last night?"

"I slept well. The poppy seeds worked well. As they always do," Dovepaw responded tiredly. "How did the Gathering go last night?"

"That's good. It was okay. Lynxstar accused Breezestar of attacking our Clan, and it ended up as an argument with all of the Clans. We had to end it early when the clouds covered the moon," Badgertooth answered. "I couldn't help but think about the prophecy."

The prophecy! I nearly forgot about it, Dovepaw thought, her fur heating up with shame. "What about it?"

"We never knew what it would mean, but now I think that 'storm clouds' refers to evil. MoonClan, for one, but also the other Clans and cats in our Clan. They may be trying to turn our own cats as well as cats from different Clans against us so that they can finally destroy us once and for all," Badgertooth explained.

"What about 'light will shine from the darkest storm clouds'?" Dovepaw asked. "Do you know what that means?"

"Well . . . I would think it means a specific cat, and ever since we discovered your abilities, I thought that maybe it can help us keep our Clan going so that we can defeat MoonClan," Badgertooth explained. "In other words, I think the 'light' that is described is you."

"Me?" Dovepaw's eyes widened in surprise. "That's a load of badger droppings. I would never be a part of a prophecy. What good would I be at it?"

"Maybe you wouldn't be very good at it," Badgertooth admitted honestly. Dovepaw's ear twitched arrogantly. "But with these new abilities, maybe you can be. You definitely can be. You just have to believe in yourself," he explained.

"Then what happened when my special ability didn't work on Frozenfang's wound?" Dovepaw asked. "Is there a limit or something? How would that help anything?"

"I don't know . . . maybe there's some sort of rule that we haven't figured out yet," Badgertooth pointed out.

How is that supposed to help anything? Dovepaw closed her eyes briefly while she took a deep breath and met Badgertooth's gaze again. "And how do you suppose we figure it out?"

"Perhaps StarClan will know. They always know. Only they have the ability to give you these powers," Badgertooth pointed out.

"That's a reasonable explanation. Do you think we should go when I'm able to walk normally again? Before the half-moon meeting?" Dovepaw meowed.

"Sure. Tonight we can go. I believe you'll be able to walk like you did before in no time. Like I said, it was just a dislocated leg. Speaking of which, can you move it at all?" Badgertooth asked, gazing at her injured foreleg nervously.

"I think so." Dovepaw stretched her leg outward slowly. It was only when it was almost all the way straight that pain shot through it. She recoiled quickly. "Ow," she whimpered as the pain still came in waves through her leg.

"Hm. Well, at least you can move it some. Should we do some exercises?" Badgertooth suggested hopefully.

"As long as it still allows us to go to the Moonpool," Dovepaw answered. "I need these answers."

***

When Dovepaw's exercises were completed, she was able to walk normally around the den. It carried a slight limp, but Badgertooth had told her that it would go away soon enough and she would be back to her normal walking, which was still a limp, but better than walking on two legs. But the sun was beginning to set. They had taken breaks in between the exercises, so daylight was fading quickly while they worked.

"Thank you," Dovepaw meowed to her mentor thankfully.

"I'm happy to help. Would you like to start going to the Moonpool?" Badgertooth glanced up at the sky from where he peeked out of the den. "The sun is beginning to set."

"Sure," Dovepaw answered.

"Do you want me to help find answers?" Badgertooth asked.

"No, it's fine. I'm sure I'll find something without your help," Dovepaw answered.

***

As they walked along the path toward the Moonpool, Dovepaw's thoughts wandered. Will StarClan even have answers? Will they just be vague about it? I hope not. Because I need to know how I need to help my Clan—if that's my destiny at all. "Badgertooth, do you really think I'm destined to save the Clans? Because that's not what I think."

"Sure you are. All heroes don't believe at first. But soon you will realize that this is what you're meant to be," Badgertooth explained steadily. "Trust me."

Is that really true? Dovepaw wondered. Does he even know about heroes before me? Is he just saying all of this to inspire me? "Okay. Thanks." She looked ahead of the path and noticed the Moonpool glittering in the moonlight, which meant they were nearly there. "I hope StarClan has answers," she thought out loud.

"Sure they will. They always do," Badgertooth reassured her.

"They do," Dovepaw agreed quietly when they began to approach the Moonpool hollow. They walked down the rocky spiral path down to the starlit pool. She settled down on the side of the Moonpool while Badgertooth settled himself beside the spiral path, a few tail-lengths separating them. A claw of ice struck Dovepaw when she touched the surface of the water with her nose, then she curled up and fell asleep.

She was in the Moonpool hollow again, but the StarClan cats were lined up around the edges of the pool, standing in their dignity and magnificence. Only a few of them she could recognize; most of them must have been her Clanmates a long time ago, back at the old territory. A bright orange tom stepped forward. His fur was spiky like thistles; he must have been Thistlestar, the leader before Lynxstar. Dovepaw dipped her head respectfully.

"There is no need to be formal here," Thistlestar meowed in a gentle yet firm voice. "I have seen you struggle with your new ability that you have recently discovered. Is that what you came here for, expecting answers?"

Dovepaw looked up at the former leader nervously. "Yes. Badgertooth says I'm the 'light' in the prophecy because of this ability, but I don't think it's true. Is it true? And why didn't it work on Frozenfang when she was hurt?"

"Patience," Thistlestar soothed. "You must be sure of yourself, and the answers will come to you. With this ability that we have given you, you must use it wisely and with care, for bad things can come out of it if you do not."

How can a healing ability cause harm? What mistake could I possibly make to make it cause harm? Dovepaw thought, extremely confused. She looked to the other ranks of the StarClan cats. Her heart warmed when she saw Tawnyflight, Softcloud, Leafpaw, Frostfeather, Skysight, and her other Clanmates whom she could not name. She turned back to Thistlestar. "Thank you. I'm sure your message will be helpful in the future."

Thistlestar nodded. "I am sure it will. Good luck."

Dovepaw dipped her head slightly before the dream disappeared into darkness. She woke up again in the Moonpool hollow. Badgertooth was laying down beside the spiral path, his eyes almost black in the moonlight. "Find anything?" he asked when she stood up and stretched.

"Yeah. I'll explain it to you on the way," Dovepaw decided as she limped over to Badgertooth and ascended the path with him. "Thanks for bringing me here. It helped a lot. I saw Thistlestar, and he told me that I have to be completely sure of myself and the answers will come to me."

"What in the name of StarClan does that mean?" Badgertooth wondered out loud, his ear twitching with pure curiosity. "Is there anything else he told you?"

"I don't know what it means. He also told me that with this ability, I must be careful with the way that I use it because bad things could come out of it. I have no idea how a healing ability can cause harm to me or any of us. Do you?" Dovepaw asked.

"Well, perhaps Thistlestar meant that if you use it too carelessly, then MoonClan or any of the other Clans will find out and maybe try to steal it for themselves. I'm pretty sure that's what Thistlestar meant," Badgertooth explained.

"You can't steal power!" Dovepaw gasped. "Especially power given to a cat from StarClan."

"It's entirely possible," Badgertooth corrected.

Dovepaw thought about what he said. How, though? Could they find out and capture me and force me to use my power for them? She felt a shudder shake her. She looked at Badgertooth with understanding. "Okay, I get it."

"And you don't want that to happen, do you?" Badgertooth asked.

"Of course not. And if it does, I won't do anything for them!" Dovepaw declared proudly.

Badgertooth's eyes darkened with concern and dread. "StarClan knows what they, whoever would want this power, would do to you if you refused to use your power for them," he reminded his apprentice gently.

". . . Right." If that happens, what will I do to keep the Clan safe? "I want to have time to think about this, though. About what Thistlestar said."

"Alright," Badgertooth replied, flicking his tail at Dovepaw's ear proudly. "I'm so proud of you for doing this."

Dovepaw's chest swelled with pride. Now that I think about it, I think that MoonClan should always watch out, because they're going down.