The First Meeting (Med. cats only)

[Jay]

The wind rustled the many bushes and branches, and a single figure of a feline trekked across its territory. Although the blind medicine of Sunclan could not see where he was going, he could tell where the Starpool was, because of the many scents. Any other cat could probably not scent nature and enemies so far away, but he could. Snowfall could pick up the faint trace of a large expanse of water, and the four different trees that stood where the Gathering took place every full moon. “Ouch!” A sharp thorn jabbed Snowfall’s paw, and he took a step back, growling in frustration. Bending down, the medicine cat carefully placed his teeth over the thorn, gently pulling it out. At once, blood gushed out, splattering the snow. Almost instantly, Snowfall could smell the musty scent of a fox. Slowly the fox scent grew stronger, until it was almost completely unbearable. Frightened, the medicine cat breathed in. Beneath the strong fox scent, he could pick up a very faint trace of the Starpool. Feeling comforted at the scent of his ancestors, Snowfall walked on. It felt as if it had taken many moons for him to reach his destination, but Snowfall finally felt rock beneath his paws, and he could sense the dark tunnels that led to the Starpool. Shivering at the thought of the long dark tunnels, Snowfall sat down on the rocky ground. As he waited for the other medicine cats, he thought of how he would have to go through the pitch-black tunnel. Other cats might have thought it would be easier for him, since he couldn’t see anyway, but it really wasn’t. Snowfall could still sense the everlasting darkness in the Starpool tunnel, and he hated it. Every half-moon he feared to walk through that long, winding tunnel, with only his white whiskers to guide him. Now Snowfall’s heart was racing. He had to calm down when the others arrived; he couldn’t show them that he was terrified of a little tunnel. Breathing in deeply, Snowfall’s beating heart slowly calmed down, until it regained its steady rhythm. Wrapping his long tail over his paws, Snowfall now felt like his old, calm self. He was ready to meet the other medicine cats, and enter the warm, comforting world of Starclan, although he wished it wasn’t temporary. Dying would be fine, since he knew he would enter a world full of comforts. He would never have to face a Leafbare again, or watch another cat die under his care. In Starclan, he would have no responsibility. He would be free from the dangers of clan life, and he would forever live in a warm world full of everything he ever wanted. He could even see his family there! Even though his sisters were so annoying, he loved them deep down in his heart. Together they could live happily, without any dangers ever again. As a medicine cat, Snowfall knew not to be afraid of death. When it was his time to die, he would gladly welcome it. [bg=17061a][atrb=border,0,true]

[**Burn**]

COLD darkness coiled around Rootclaw's lanky dark brown form as he slipped through the undergrowth. Leaf-green eyes glowed in the darkness as the NightClan medicine cat made his way toward the Starpool. It was a long trek, but one he looked forward to each half-moon. Being away from the oppressive darkness of camp was like breathing deeply for the first time in an age. Even with all the wisdom medicine cats were supposed to have, Rootclaw had no idea why he felt trapped in his own clan, why he slunk the other direction when Stormstar showed himself in camp or why he found himself pondering ulterior motives every other second of the day. The young medicine cat tried to brush it off as lack of sleep most of the time, or as plain old worry because his stores were so low. It wasn't like Stormstar did a lot to help him, refusing his offer to take an apprentice. Really though, Rootclaw could see why Stormstar had turned it down since he was a young cat still. Really he knew he was being unreasonable about his wariness of Stormstar but he could not seem to stop himself. SHAKING the thoughts away, Rootclaw tried to relax the way Halfear had shown him when he was an apprentice. He skimmed through the frosty undergrowth on silent paws, ins his mind seeing each of his worries as birds trapped in his claws, ugly and malformed though they were. He imagined letting the birds go. By the time he reached the NightClan border, he felt much calmer. SCENTING ReedClan nearby, Rootclaw paused, seeking out any signs that Gentlecall had already passed by. No sign of her. Staying on the NightClan side of the border, the skinny dark brown tom continued along his way. He moved like a shadow, the snow contrasting starkly with his dark coloration, the moonlight turning his pelt black. As he neared the Starpool, he paused to see if any other medicine cats had beat him there. To his mild surprise, he caught wind of SunClan's medicine cat Snowfall. Flicking his long tail, the brown tom picked up his pace a little as he made his way toward the dark tunnel that led down to the Starpool. AFTER a few moments, Snowfall came into sight. Weaving his way toward the blind white-furred tom, Rootclaw didn't bother giving the tom any warning. With his heightened sense of hearing and smell, Snowfall had probably known Rootclaw was coming long before Rootclaw actually smelled Snowfall. Once he was close enough though, he slowed his pace to a smooth stop before reclining on his narrow haunches. "EVENING Snowfall, I hope things are well in SunClan?" UNLIKE the reputation his clan bore for being rude, secretive and cunning, Rootclaw didn't bother with any of it. He was old-fashioned good manners and calm caring that medicine cats were renowned for. Halfear had taught him well when it came to balancing the clan and medicine cat duties and knowing when he had to put his foot down and say no to the leader for the best of the clan. Thankfully, Rootclaw hadn't had to show his more aggressive side to Stormstar yet. The day he did, he sincerely feared for his life. Something in Stormstar was dangerous and the dreams he kept having of starless skies and darkness weren't helping soothe him. He hoped that this evening StarClan would give him a few more answers. [bg=414c23][atrb=border,0,true]

[Gentle]

OUR TIME TO depart is seldom recognized, but always dreaded. Whether we are departed a friend's visit, a loved one, a home, or this earth, we have to leave some time. And for the ginger medicine cat sitting outside of her den and carefully watching the stars, that time was now.

Yes, it was that time again. Time to go to the Starpool. Gentlecall didn't mind departing for this. She was eager- excited, in fact. She'd looked forward to it. Being able to connect with her ancestors was something incredible, something empowering. It was special- only certain cats could do it, her being one of them. So, deciding it was high time to get out of the camp, she scurried to the path that she knew by heart.

Gentlecall enjoyed the journey nearly much as the visit itself. She liked getting out of the territory. Being a medicine cat, she only ever left camp for herbs, and even when she did that it was rather seldom. Now she had the chance to break free for a bit, and as much as she denied it to herself, it felt nice not to be pestered by every injured creature in ReedClan. Not that she minded it. She loved her job. It was just... complicated.

"Ouch!" The painful cry of another made her jump, but she recognized the voice. It was Snowfall, the white tom of SunClan. He was also blind, but that didn't stop him from being an excellent medicine cat. He was one of the best healers she knew of, in fact. She tried to spot him or scent him out, but the sound was too distant, he was too far ahead. She continued, the scent of Rootclaw's passing already in her nose as well.

As the tunnel approached, the she-cat grew rather apprehensive. Why that tunnel always gave her the creeps she would never know. But just... walking through it made her feel so... frightened. Frightened and excited. It was like she was crossing from her world to StarClan's. It was exhilerating.

Taking a deep breath, she padded through the dark walls, her heart now the loudest noise she had ever heard. You'd think after so many times of passing though she'd be used to it, but she wasn't.

Seeing the two toms already there comforted her, and her beating heart relaxed only a little. She sat beside them and dipped her orange and white head in greeting.

"Hello, Rootclaw and Snowfall. Long time no see, hm?" Her words were simply a playful attempt at keeping her relaxed, which, so far, was working.

"I guess we're just waiting for Patchpelt." The remark was obvious, but she knew the toms wouldn't mind. They knew she was nervous. She glanced at the cool water that she'd soon be lost in and felt a mix of anxiety and eagerness all at once.

[Frankie]

Patchedpelt was sick of her clan. She hated their stares, their whispers; they followed her into her sleep, into her dreams, until sometimes she dreamed of her clan drowning her in accusations and hatred. She was sick of them. She had to get away.

As she ran over the hills of her GustClan home, the wind whistling in her ears and snow burying itself in her paw pads, for the first time since her accident Patchedpelt's mind was clear. She was going to Starpool, as she had gone with her mentor for many moons, and then alone even longer.

Starpool, where she would see her parents again, where she would share tongues with Nettlebone, her mentor, and Pansykit, her sister who had died before she could even become an apprentice. She would speak with all of the deceased warriors of her clan, all of the past Medicine Cats... It was a powerful time indeed, one of reverence and wonder.

And just as soon as she arrived at the mouth of the tunnel, Patchedpelt's mind regressed once again and now terror took her. What would StarClan think of her? What would they say? She had skipped the last Medicine Cat Gathering, fearing their revulsion and disgust in what she had become. Would they even meet with her?

Pain twinged in her gut as she stood frozen at the mouth of the tunnel. She couldn't do it. She couldn't face rejection from the last cats that might love her now, from her own family. No! I won't abandon them! Even if they abandon me! Steeling herself with closed eyes, Patchedpelt began the short journey through the dark tunnel that at this moment seemed to take hours.

As she grew closer to the pool, Patchedpelt heard a she-cat voice and opened her eyes sharply, "I guess we're just waiting for Patchpelt." Anger flared hot in her chest. So they were talking about her behind her back, mocking her lateness as if she were some kit who couldn't find her way? Muggy green eyes glowed with fury and coldness as Patchedpelt stepped into the cavern that held the Starpool. All the other Medicine Cats were there already - it was as she had suspected.

Head lifted coldly, Patchedpelt brushed past them, "Well I'm here now,--" she couldn't think of the she-cat's name. In fact, she couldn't quite remember which clan they were each from. Cutting off her cold, unfinished sentence with an angry sniff, Patchedpelt lay on her side beside the pool, as far from the others as she could get, eying them testily.

"Are we starting or not?" she practically hissed, ears flicking and eyes going slightly unfocused. All of her earlier terror had flipped into fury, which multiplied every second. But who knew how long it would last, and what her next emotion would be. That was how Patchedpelt was now.

[Jay]

Just as Snowfall was about to respond to Rootclaw, the two remaining medicine cats entered the Starpool cave. Gentlecall came first, a she-cat that Snowfall didn’t know much about. After that came the crazy Gustclan medicine cat, Patchedpelt. The snowy white tom had heard many stories about how different she was than everyone else, and about how sometimes she would forget simple herbs and her clanmate’s names. Those rumors might have just been false for all Snowfall knows; he had just heard small snippets about her, which was not enough to judge her yet. Nonetheless, he would have to show her respect and courtesy, that is, unless she returns the favour. Narrowing his eyes as he glanced at Patchedpelt, the tom twitched his tail irritably. Of course they were going to start; they were just waiting for her to come! It seemed as if the Gustclan medicine cat was blaming everyone else for taking a while to start the meeting, even though it wasn’t anyone else’s fault. Breathing in the somewhat comforting scents around him, Snowfall relaxed. Everything was alright. He was much older and wiser than these cats; they didn’t know much compared to him. They would learn to respect him, and perhaps even understand his blindness. “We were just waiting for you,” he said calmly to Patchedpelt. “Now let’s start,” he added to all of the medicine cats. Snowfall carefully settled down beside the Starpool, lapping up a few drops of the cool water and closing his eyes sleepily. Opening his eyes, Snowfall looked around the dappled clearing, hardly daring to blink. He didn’t want the endless shadows to consume him again, so he was trying his hardest to keep focus of the dream. It was hard though, and sometimes he was on the edge of waking up again. Usually his dreams at the Starpool were very clear, not foggy and confusing. Was he losing his connection with Starclan? Out of nowhere a pretty silver she-cat walked into the clearing, her tail raised in greeting. Snowfall instantly recognized the scent as Silverbreeze’s, the former medicine cat of Sunclan. She looked young and healthy, which was probably the opposite of what she looked like when she was slowly dying of old age. “Snowfall,” she said, her green eyes bored into his. ”I have a warning for you.” Flattening his ears nervously, Snowfall continued to look at his former mentor, his heart beating. He could take a guess at what the warning was about. “You know the rules are not fair. Starclan does not approve of them. The clans cannot go living with them.” Bored, Snowfall stifled a yawn. He knew about this already. Did it really matter though? The clans kept alive with the new rules, unlike the old clans. ”Your ancestors in Thunderclan would have never stood for this. The living cats must make a change for what is right.” “We keep alive this way! Our blood stays pure without any loner or kittypet blood. It’s better this way,” he said impatiently, lashing his tail. He wasn’t really mad at Silverbreeze, but he was mad at Starclan. Why did they have to always interfere with the living clans? They were fine without Starclan bossing them around all of the time. Silverbreeze let out a sigh; she suddenly looked old and tired, which made Snowfall feel guilty at his impatience. Just as he was about to say something, Silverbreeze spoke. “The new rules let innocent cats die. Every moon, new cats come to Starclan, dead because they didn’t agree with their leader, or that they took a mate from another clan. But, I shall not waste my time reminding you of this, Snowfall. Maybe if you actually saw the injustice killing of a cat you would understand.” The sunlit clearing and forest disappeared in front of Snowfall. Wind lashed in his fur and the world went silent. Shadows whispered around him and he could hear cats meowing. Startled, Snowfall realized that he had his eyes open, even though he could not remember ever closing them. Cats’ pelts brushed against Snowfall’s pure white one. No one seemed to notice he was there, even when he stood right in front of a small apprentice. All of the cats seemed to have their eyes on something, and looking up, Snowfall saw what they were all focused on. On the fallen log in the center of the clearing, there stood the old leader of Sunclan, Flamestar. Beneath the log there was a proud warrior, with his chin held out high and his eyes sparking with anger. “Mudfur, you have disobeyed the laws by taking a mate from another clan.” The leader spoke in a loud voice, gesturing with his tail at the brown tabby beneath him. “You will be executed for your crimes against the code. Graystorm, Hawkfeather.” At once two warriors came out from the crowd, growling and pacing around the warrior, who now looked incredibly scared. ”Kill him.” The dream faded away and Snowfall was thrown into darkness and whispering shadows once again. Then he woke up, hearing the gentle breathing of the other medicine cats. Heart pounding, Snowfall breathed in the scents around him. But they didn’t comfort him like they usually did; he was too shocked at what he had witnessed. Snowfall had never realized how cruel the laws were, and now he desperately wanted to rebel against them. How could he have not realized the cruelness of the laws? Only a minute before he was telling Silverbreeze how he agreed with the rules and how they kept the clans alive and healthy. Now Snowfall knew that was wrong and he knew he would have to try to save the clans against the unfair rules, just as Starclan clearly wanted. ooc: Almost 1,000 words. xD [bg=17061a][atrb=border,0,true]

[**Burn**]

DARK brown ears twitched as Rootclaw turned to see Gentlecall coming toward them through the low light of the half moon. Flicking his tail in greeting to the ginger she-cat, Rootclaw was about to answer her greeting when another cat appeared. The scents of the moors colored her patchy pelt as Patchedpelt came trotting toward them, stalling Rootclaw's polite greetings. A dark aura seemed to seep off the GustClan medicine cat, as though she was already in a foul mood, barking snide comments about having to wait. Rootclaw curled his tail around his paws, leaf-colored eyes narrowing only slightly in confusion at her attitude before he mentally shrugged it away. The moods of others weren't his concern. If Patchedpelt wished to be in a poor mood then far be it from him to deny her that pleasure. He had his own worries to deal with and those from other clans were not his. He needed this meeting to happen though and had been unwilling to wait long so he was glad Patchedpelt had hurried. He needed answers. Badly. SITUATING himself between Snowfall and Gentlecall, the lanky dark brown tom lowered his head to the Starpool. Lapping up a few drops of the cool water, he felt himself falling fast asleep before the drops had even slipped down his throat. WHEN he opened his eyes, Rootclaw found himself in a clearing surrounded by trees and sloping hills on all sides. Sitting up a little, the tom curled his tail around his paws as a gray and white tabby with mossy green eyes came down one slope. The tom was bulky, long-furred and rough around the edges in appearance. Even in death, his ears were heavily scarred. Rootclaw had never questioned why. It was his mentor, Halfear. The mere sight of his formidable predecessor made him sit up a bit straighter. The moss-eyed tom seemed uninterested in formalities though because as soon as he was close enough, his tail was lashing and fur bristling in a way that Rootclaw found quite alarming. Even in life, Halfear had shown signs of a strong determination but never had he shown outright aggression or even a hint of being frazzled in any way. "FOOLISHNESS! The whole business," Halfear hissed. It brought back so many memories. It had taken Rootclaw moons to learn to understand his mentor because Halfear would start off in the middle of a conversation and leave him struggling to figure out where one topic started and another ended. "There is darkness in the future, looming like an eagle over a kit," Halfear spat, his gravely voice rough on Rootclaw's ears but oh so comfortably familiar. Not until he died had Rootclaw realized how much he enjoyed his rough-hearted mentor. "It brings with it a future so dark even NightClan will feel lost in its gloom." "WHAT causes it?" Rootclaw asked, sitting up straight and attentive like any good apprentice was hard-trained to do. HALFEAR snorted in disgust at Rootclaw's question and narrowed his eyes. "What causes it? How dare you need to ask! I know I taught you better. What has the warriors whispering, the leaders' claws doused in blood and queens quaking in their nests?" THE fur along Rootclaw's spine bristled. "The laws? That can not be so, they preserve the clans Halfear, just as StarClan always wished." AGAIN the old medicine cat snorted in disgust. "Blind as a newborn kit! You will learn. NightClan, all of them will. A storm is coming Rootclaw, a storm so black it may smother you all." WITHOUT any further warning, the clearing disappeared. Trees, grass, stars, Halfear, all of it vanished in the blink of an eye. Blackness engulfed Rootclaw and he had the oddest sensation of falling and yet, not falling. Before he could yowl in fright or surprise, it felt like something thick and heavy pressed up against him from all sides, covering his nose and mouth, pulsing against his ears and shoving hard on his belly to drive the lingering air from his lungs. Fear coiled in Rootclaw's heart as he tried to wriggle, tried to find light or purchase in his unusual fall-that-wasn't-a-fall. There was nothing. No air, no trees, no grass, no stars. Nothing. Like his dreams of starless skies. Rootclaw wanted to yowl for help but he had no voice, wanted to cry out to his mentor, call out to StarClan. In the back of his mind, some evil whispered that no one would hear him. ROOTCLAW jerked violently awake, dragging in greedy lungfuls of air. The air was so sharp it burned. For a moment, all his green eyes could see was blackness. Pure unfiltered terror flooded the normally unshakable NightClan medicine cat until slowly his vision crept back. He opened his maw to speak but his vocal cords weren't working. All that escaped was half a choked gasp. Belly pressed to the ground, Rootclaw crept back from the Starpool, shaking from nose to tail tip. The fur along his spine and shoulder blades was bristling, his tail fluffed up and his claws flexing on the ground under his paws. SUCH darkness...the clans would not survive. [bg=414c23][atrb=border,0,true]