|:|BriarClan|:|Part 1|:|The Sun, The Moon, and The Star.|:|

"Foxtail, Gingerpaw, Finchfoot, Ravenfeather and Nightleaf are just getting back from a hunting trip, I believe," Ivystar agreed as the entrance shook, and they came through, Gingerpaw leading, her face as bright and cheerful as always.

"Hi Ivystar! Hi Fallenbird!" Gingerpaw called, her voice muffled by the vole, and raced across the camp to greet them. Gingerpaw noticed the prey in her jaws, and looked up at the two older she-cat's, "Want this? I'm not very hungry, anyways," Gingerpaw asked, smiling.

Finchfoot shook his head as his lively niece, and nodded to Ravenfeather and Foxtail as he set his prey down, "She hasn't said anything about the "wind", that's probably good,"

"Yeah, whatever, I'm just going to lay down a bit. She drains the life out of me, you know?" Foxtail questioned before heading off to his den. He curled into a ball, keeping himself warm as he looked at the den entrance, hoping someone would enter.

((Yeah, I'm not starting this dream thing))

"Sure, thank you, Gingerpaw!" Ivystar smiled, taking the small vole from her.
"You look tired, go rest up," Ivystar advised to Gingerpaw, smiling lightly as Gingerpaw obliged.
--
Gingerpaw curled up in her nest, her eyes slowly blinking shut as she fell into a light sleep.

Gingerpaw blinked her eyes open, confused when she woke up in a forest, for it didn't look like BriarClan forest. It looked similar, but softer, somehow, brighter and happier all around.
Gingerpaw looked around, spotting a small, ginger she-cat sitting with her tail curled over her paws, like she was waiting for someone. Gingerpaw realized with a jolt that this was her mother.
"M-mom?" Gingerpaw asked, eyes wide, "Y-you're.. You're dead!" Her voice began to tremble, her whole body looking shaky.
Sunfur padded forward, curling her tail around her kit. "I know, sweetie, I know," Gingerpaw began to cry slightly, and Sunfur held her close.
"Gingerpaw, I have to tell you something, it's.. It's important, it's about the wind you felt earlier," Sunfur explained softly, setting Gingerpaw in front of her.
"I knew it!" Gingerpaw gasped, "I knew I felt something! Nobody believed me though, not even Finchfoot," Gingerpaw sighed, "They all think I'm a liar," Her voice was rueful.
"You're not a liar! You felt it Gingerpaw, you felt it for a reason," Sunfur continued, "You've been picked by StarClan, to be on a mission, to save BriarClan," Her voice was far-away sounding now, "You'll have help, of course, from two others, the two others who felt the wind,"
"StarClan? ME? But.. But.. Nobody else felt the wind and.." Gingerpaw trailed off, as her mother pulled her close.
"I've got to go, Gingerpaw," Sunfur murmured, eyes closing as she began to fade, "I'll always be with you, remember that,"

Suddenly, Gingerpaw's eyes flashed open as she jolted awake. Her whole body was shaking, the fur under her eyes damp, as though she had really been crying in her sleep.
"Gingerpaw?" Finchfoot padded into the den, concerned, "Are you alright?"
Gingerpaw looked up, feeling a slight wind again, "I'm.. I'm perfectly fine, I need to talk to Foxtail and Ravenfeather, though," How she knew was the work of StarClan and StarClan itself.

Giving up on his wait for someone, Foxtail curled up even tighter as he softly fell asleep. He just hoped no one would barge in and disturb him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Foxtail awoke again, feeling very light-headed and looked at his surroundings. A tree stump that was very smooth on top, tall trees that almost destroyed the moonlight, his old den from childhood, and- Wait, old den from childhood? Foxtail jumped onto the tree stump and called out, "Whose done this?" The familiar cold wind blew as the trees were almost blown away, it's limbs leaving moonlight only where Foxtail was. He looked up at the sky to see clouds seemingly coming closer and closer until them were about to crush Foxtail to oblivion. However, it seemed to dissolve as it hit the ground, leaving only a fox. Now, this particular fox had triggered thoughts in Foxtail's mind, looking at his old den. Den, fox, night...
"Mum?"
"Yes, dearie, it's me," Air smiled as she ran to the border of the moonlight, but could not go any farther.
"W-why are you here? I thought you were dead!" Foxtail asked as he tried to run for her, wanting her love and protection again, but an invisible barrier at the edge of the moonlight stopped him from doing so.
"Ah, but I am! And because of that, I need to tell you something. Our own Moonpack, a fox equivalent of your Starclan, met with your Starclan and knew that you needed to protect you're clan. And so we picked you, which is why you felt the wind," Air explained.
"Wait, Gingerpaw felt the wind too, does that mean-"
"Yes, she was chosen as well. And one more will accompany you, but you will figure out who he, or she, is soon enough."
"Hold on a second... You said that foxes have Moonpack, and cats have Starclan... where do I go?" Foxtail asked, and as he said this, the moonlight was starting to close in on him.
"Child, you will find out soon enough. Speaking of which, why did you lie about not feelin' the wind? Didn't I teach you manners, boy?" Air yelled.
"Yes, mother," Foxtail smiled, even though he was panicking for the light was turning into a circle that turn into an orb that was slowly crushing him until he was turned inside himself until there was nothing left.

Foxtail awoke with a jolt as soon as the dream was done. No one could know yet.

Yet...

"Indeed," Ivystar agreed, "Her mother died, not to long ago, she's coping rather well."

((WHOA, okay, I'll follow 'er up. XD))

Ravenfeather dropped his sparrow quickly into the fresh-kill pile. "I, for one, don't need any sleep," he announced to the others. Somehow acknowledging he was lying to himself, he stepped into the warriors' den. I don't need to sleep, but my paws need a rest. Pulling the bracken and ferns of his nest closer to himself and farther from the huddled, twitching shape that was Foxtail, already sound asleep, he nestled himself comfortably in his nest. Before he knew it, his eyelids dropped quickly and the dark mist of sleep wreathed around him.
---

He felt strangely calm.
He was in the middle of a fight, and yet he felt calm.
Shadowy apparitions of bloody cats whirled all around him, and yet Ravenfeather pushed them aside with ease, not paying any attention to the crimson that spattered against his black fur or the screeches of fury and death cries of the weak. Ravenfeather weaved coolly through the violent massacre of his subconscious, until the screams became muffled and the noise of crickets in the grass became sharp. The young warrior slipped into a clearing, as if in a trance, padding forward until he spotted a small, dark pool in the center. The clearing was ringed by trees that seemed to whisper in the wind, almost as if phantom cats hissed from the leaves. Ravenfeather sat down, his eyes staring straight ahead as fireflies floated past him, blinking their lights. The water in the pond began to ripple, as if it had its own current, yet nothing had touched it. It began to lighten to a silver-blue, as in daytime, glowing around its banks in an unearthly white hue. A starry shape swirled in the center, taking the figure of a cat. Ravenfeather was still, not watching with anticipation, but rather bored. The cat suddenly peeled itself off of the surface of the pond, walking across the water without disturbing it. The ghostly cat alighted on the grass and it was then that Ravenfeather showed any sign of emotion. "Mallowkit!" he cried, torn between running forward to greet his sister or to back away in horror at his deceased kin. The light brown tabby she-cat stepped forward, characteristically tilting her head to the side with a smile.
"StarClan was good to me. They gave me my warrior name--Mallowfur." she purred.
"Like our mother." Ravenfeather murmured softly.
She nodded, and her solid white eyes seemed to sparkle. "Ravenfeather, I've been watching you. You've become such a good warrior. Daisyfur is so proud."
Ravenfeather was warmed by the praise, but a question lingered. "And Silverwhisker?"
Mallowfur's smile faded. "I've come here to give you a message," she meowed sharply. "Not to answer your every question."
Ravenfeather frowned, wrapping his tail around his paws, hurt.
"BriarClan is in danger," Mallowfur went on nonchalantly, glancing at the sky. "There will be three who can save it from this menace."
Ravenfeather's ears pricked in interest. "Who?"
Mallowfur shrugged. "You are one of them," she yawned. "There is a sun, a moon, and a star. You do not give light to the day or guidance to the night, but you are no less important."
"Stop speaking to me in riddles!" Ravenfeather spat, clawing at the grass restlessly.
"You keep the light and guidance in order, reminding them of their role, reminding everyone of what we live for. You will be the shield of the wind."
Ravenfeather opened his mouth to protest. Mallowfur seemed to see it, and instantly disappearing in a whisp of smoke.

Ravenfeather sat alone in the clearing, the hole in his heart his family had left becoming painfully heavy for such an empty thing. Frustrated, the black-furred tom paced back and forth, trying to make sense of it all.
But it does make sense. That's what confuses you. Your life and mind has become so muddled that what may be clear to others is but fog to you. a small voice seemed to whisper.
Ravenfeather let out a slow sigh, turning back out of the clearing and into the fray again. Feeling incredibly more vulnerable than before, he trudged through the cats that seemed surprisingly real, now, as one lashed out suddenly at his shoulder.
---
The pain lancing through his shoulder jolted him back to reality. Ravenfeather lapped at the stinging lines of blood, painfully aware of how real his dream had become. Sensing Foxtail near him, he was careful not to say anything to himself about the dream. Gingerpaw and Foxtail felt the wind. Was that a sign? Deciding he had been to rude to Foxtail on the patrol, Ravenfeather didn't dare sacrifice his pride by talking to him again. He walked outside of the den, seeing Cloudfall in the clearing. She can make sense of all this, can't she? No. I want to talk to Gingerpaw. He halted, uncomfortable, as he saw Finchfoot halfway inside the apprentice den.

Cloudfall caught sight of Ravenfeather as he returned to camp, but he headed for the warriors' den instead. Confused, the she-cat picked up the sparrow he had dropped. He knows I love sparrows. she purred to herself. She turned it on its belly to pluck away the feathers when she noticed a clump of brown tabby fur still clamped in the sparrow's beak, no doubt for its nest. Lightning seemed to flash across her eyes and the horrible scarred face of a rogue snarling at Ravenfeather appeared to be right in front of her. She gasped, eyes wide, and backed away from the sparrow. Is it a sign from StarClan, or just my nightmare? While Cloudfall liked to think she fooled everyone into thinking she had peaceful dreams of long-gone cats, she frequently had nightmares of the rainy scene where she'd seen, for the first and last time, Ravenfeather, terrified and lonely as an orphaned kit.

Foxtail consulted in his mind whether to ask Gingerpaw about the wind, but thought that it wouldn't make sense if he was wrong, or that Gingerpaw would dislike him for lying. Yes, that would be a challenge. He closed his eyes again, desperately trying to see Air one more time, just so he knew she was real, but he just could not sleep. As he failed at these attempts, he smelled Ravenfeather coming in, and wished to speak to him. He opened his eyes, only to see Ravenfeater outside the den already. He arose to his paws, gulping as he approached the pitch-black cat from behind.

Gingerpaw trembled still, but managed to unsteadily pad out to the middle of camp, in search of Foxtail and Ravenfeather.

Gingerpaw nodded, fearing that if she tried to speak her voice would crack, and followed Ravenfeather curiously.

Foxtail moved next to Ravenfeather. "I need to talk to you as well," He continued to Gingerpaw, glancing at the entrance to the forest. He decided to pass off her tear streaked face and not to look at them anymore. This really wasn't about her, it was about him figuring out Ravenfeather.

((At school, I scream out, "DR. WATSON! A DISCOVERY!

Help me.))

Gingerpaw wondered, for half a second, if they were the other two of the prophecy. But they hadn't felt the wind.. Or had they? Gingerpaw frowned.

((I'll do that, somewhat, like, "Haha! What do you make of it, Watson?!" to my friends when I find something. XD))

Ravenfeather settled down in the ferns, avoiding the two cats' gaze. "Did you two...have any dreams?" he mewed quietly, reluctant to outright state he'd received a dream from StarClan.

"I knew it!" Gingerpaw said, relaxing slightly. "I knew it, I knew it!"

"I wouldn't call it a dream, more of like, a creepy nightmare," Foxtail confessed as he laid down in the fern, looking at Ravenfeather.

Ivystar nodded yet again, "She wasn't okay for a while, but I think she's doing great now," Ivystar watched Ravenfeather, Foxtail, and Gingerpaw leave camp.

Gingerpaw sighed, "Something.. Something." Gingerpaw murmured, trying to recall what her mother had said. "I.. I don't know." Gingerpaw frowned.

"Ditto," Foxtail said, raising his tail in agreement. "We must figure out soon, though..." He continued, looking as if he was in deep focus.

Suddenly, a cold wind gust blew through, but this one was very real, and everybody could feel it. Gingerpaw looked up, spotting the dark, stormy gray clouds. Gingerpaw looked down abruptly, shocked by the cold of the raindrops that had started to hit her nose. Gingerpaw pressed closer to her mentor as the rain sped up, pouring down fast and furiously, the thunder rumbling in the distance.
"I.. I think we need to get back to camp," Gingerpaw mumbled, flattening her ears as the thunder rumbled louder, closer.

Ravenfeather hissed at the sudden, freezing rain, flattening his ears. Why can't you speak straight to us, StarClan? he demanded silently. He could've sworn he'd caught the achingly familiar scent of his sister as he slowly backed the other two up back to camp.

Cloudfall was surprised at the seemingly random storm. Somehow it had brought up more bad memories of that fateful night. Thunder rumbled, loud and low, and Cloudfall couldn't help but shiver at the ominous, oppressive atmosphere. It was almost as if the thunder was a sign...

'Looks like Starclan gave us a sign. We'll probably be figuring out what we're supposed to be protecting," Foxtail assumed. Ever since Air died, he had been very interested in the spirit world and Starclan and such. Perhaps he could talk to Nightleaf about it sometime.