Chapter 5

The rustling of leaves pulled Moonshine out of her sleep. She staggered to her paws, her body stiff. The pain of her wounds was more intense now, since the fear had drained away. She glanced down at her body. She had several scratches and bites, but no serious injuries. All the blood had dried overnight.

What am I going to do without a medicine cat? Suddenly her path seemed much harder. She didn’t know how to treat wounds. What if they got infected? Moonshine glanced toward Clan territory. It seemed so far away now. Can I ever go back? What will be left of the Clans now? And what am I now, without a Clan? A rogue?

The rustling sounded again, and Moonshine instinctively dropped into a crouch. A rogue? The one that was chasing me?

A silver head popped out of the bush. Moonshine blinked in surprise. A Clan cat? She stared at the cat in front of her, silence hanging in the air, until Moonshine realized who she was looking at.

“Silverpaw!”

“Moonpaw!” the silver she-cat meowed, pulling the rest of her body out of the bush.

Suddenly Moonshine felt happier. “I’m Moonshine now,” she announced proudly.

Silverpaw puffed out her chest. “I’m Silverfur now.”

Moonshine found herself purring. “Congratulations. And thanks again for saving me that night.”

Silverfur shrugged, giving her shoulder a lick. “It was nothing. I just heard you yowling for help and thought I wouldn’t let any cat die because I didn’t help.”

Moonshine felt a pang of grief. I didn’t help Treasure, or Flakeheart, or Dawnberry or Flowerpetal. “So what are you doing here?” she asked Silverfur.

The young cat flicked her tail. “Our camp was attacked by rogues. They tried to separate us, and I ran through ShadowClan and RiverClan territory to get here. I also saw ShadowClan and RiverClan being attacked, too, and cats fleeing.”

Moonshine twitched her ears. “Yes, me, too! ThunderClan was also attacked by rogues. I fled through WindClan territory; they were also battling with those mange-pelts.” Her heart lurched. “What if the rogues had driven us out forever? Is it the end of the Clans?”

“No!” Silverfur meowed. “We can’t believe that, Moonshine. There have always been Clans. They can’t end now. We’ll survive, and everyone else will survive, and we can come together again.” Even though her words were hopeful, her voice shook.

Moonshine rested her tail on the silver cat’s shoulder. “Then we’ll work together to survive, and to revive the Clans.” She looked Silverfur straight in the eye when she blinked in surprise. “We have to work together, Silverfur. If we want to do anything, we need to learn to be one and to be friends.”

Silverfur nodded. “You’re right. So what do we do now?”

“Do you know any herbs?”

Silverfur blinked at her eagerly. “Yes! Comfrey and marigold for wounds, and tansy for coughs.” She flicked her tail at Moonshine’s wounds. “You really need some treatment.”

Moonshine flicked her tail back. Silverfur had a long scratch down her side, and one of her ears was sliced. “You need treatment, too. How about I hunt and you can look for herbs?”

Silverfur opened her mouth as if to protest, then quickly snapped it shut and nodded. “Fine,” she grumbled, slipping away into the trees.

Moonshine watched her go, wondering what lay ahead for them. Silverfur and I will face it, she thought determinedly. Whatever happens, we have each other.

 

As Moonshine lifted her nose to scent the air again, she thought she heard someone calling her name. She twitched her ears. Did I imagine that? She stiffened as a soft mew sounded behind her.

“Moonshine.”

Moonshine whirled around and stared in awe. A beautiful silver-and-white tabby she-cat with blue eyes stood before her, stars sparkling at her paws. “A great time of change has come,” she mewed, her voice as soft as the newleaf breeze but ringing with certainty. “And you are the only one who can save the Clans.”

“W-wait!” Moonshine yowled as the cat began to fade. Was that a StarClan cat? Was it . . . Starlight? “What do you mean? Tell me more!” But she was yowling at empty air. The cat was gone.

Moonshine blinked. What even was that? Only medicine cats have visions . . . She glanced back through the trees. She could tell Silverfur. No. She would think I was mouse-brained. I won’t tell her. Besides, I could have imagined it. It was nothing.

 

Moonshine licked up the last scraps of her mouse. The sun was sinking down in the sky already, casting long shadows across the grass. Silverfur rolled onto her back and yawned.

“Our bellies are full and our wounds are clean and dressed,” she mewed. “Now what should we do?”

Moonshine couldn’t stop thinking about the words Starlight had said to her. “Maybe we can start looking around for other cats,” she suggested. “Our Clanmates, or any other cat. We can ask them if they’ve seen any Clan cats around here.”

Silverfur rolled back to her paws and nodded solemnly. “I’ll go deeper into the forest, and you can go toward Twolegplace, if you’re okay with that.”

Does she want me to ask kittypets? But Moonshine replied out loud, “Sure, Silverfur. We can spend the night away, maybe. Let’s meet back here at dawn.”

Silverfur flicked her tail in agreement. She turned and bounded away into the forest. “Good luck!” she called over her shoulder.

“You too!” Moonshine meowed. “Be careful!”

Silverfur’s last words barely made it back to her. “I will!”

Moonshine watched Silverfur disappear into the shadows, then turned and began trotting in the direction of Twolegplace. I wonder what I’ll find there, she thought. Well, I saw Shadowheart going under a fence. Maybe I’ll at least find her. Oh, StarClan, please let my Clanmates be alive. But she knew not all of them made it. That was how battles worked.

She hadn’t even come in sight of the massive Twoleg dens when something rustled in the bushes a few tail-lengths away from her. Moonshine tasted the air and detected cat scent. She didn’t have time to drop into a battle crouch until a shape exploded out of the undergrowth and knocked her down.

Moonshine blinked in surprise as she realized she didn’t feel the sharp sting of claws digging into her pelt. The cat sitting on top of her—a muscular long-furred golden tom with glowing amber eyes—would kill her easily with those massive paws, but he didn’t even unsheathe his claws.

“What are you doing here?” The tom’s voice wasn’t a growl. Just simply a question.

Moonshine hissed. The tom leaned back a little in surprise. She took her chance and freed a paw, raking her claws down the tom’s shoulder. But the weight was crushing—she only tore fur off. The tom leaned forward again, crushing her chest.

“I—can’t—breathe,” Moonshine gasped. For some reason this cat felt like a Clanmate. Felt like a cat she belonged with.

The tom instantly stepped off her. “I’m sorry,” he mewed. “I’m not used to other cats in this forest. I didn’t even unsheathe my claws.” He let out a purr of laughter. “Looks like my heaviness defeated you, though.”

Moonshine rolled her eyes. This cat seemed friendly enough. Maybe she could ask him if he’d seen any of her Clanmates. “Have you seen any other cats around here?” she meowed. “Ones that smell similar to me?”

The tom shrugged. “Nope. I don’t see other cats often, remember? Didn’t I just tell you that? The last time was when my brother . . .” He trailed off.

Moonshine felt a pang of sympathy for the tom. She knew what it felt like to have her brother gone. I hope I see Leafclaw again. But for this cat it must be different. He probably knew his brother was dead. I guess that’s worse than living without knowing.

“What are you doing?” Moonshine asked. “Who are you?”

The tom blinked at her. “What? Oh. I was just wandering around. Nothing much to do around here. My name’s Golden, by the way.”

Moonshine hesitated. “I’m Moonshine,” she told him. “I’m a Clan cat. I’ve just been driven out of my territory by rogues with my Clanmates, and the other Clans, I guess. I’m staying here with a friend until who knows how long.” She sighed. “I just hope there are still Clans.”

Golden rested his tail across her shoulders, making Moonshine flinch in surprise. “I’m sorry that has happened. It must have been hard to see everything you’ve known, everyone you’ve grown up with, all destroyed by strangers. But don’t give up hope! Surely the Clans will survive.”

Moonshine felt warmed by this strange cat’s words. Suddenly she thought of something. “Would you like to stay with us?” she mewed.

Golden blinked. Suddenly Moonshine felt foolish. Why’d I even think of that? “Of course I’ll stay with you!” the tom exclaimed. “It’ll be so nice to be with other cats again. And I know my way around here. I can show you good places to collect moss or places for dens or where to catch squirrels—”

Moonshine nudged him. “Okay, okay, you can stop now.” She felt so at peace with this cat. Maybe he was meant to be with her. Maybe, after all this, he could officially join the Clans.