Chapter 8

“Silverfur!”

Moonshine leaped down the slope and dashed across the rocky clearing, yowling her friend’s name. She skidded to a halt at the entrance of the den and peered in.

In the darkness of the den, she couldn’t make out anything but a shape sitting at the back of the den, its back arched and its glowing eyes narrowing. But after a heartbeat a voice meowed, “Moonshine?” and joy and relief flooded through her.

“Silverfur!” Moonshine took a step in. Be cautious, her mind warned. This could be a trick. But the SkyClan warrior’s familiar oak-and-plants scent washed over her, and she shot in eagerly.

“It’s you!” Silverfur exclaimed. “I thought I lost you last night! I was running forward, and then suddenly I was alone in the dark forest.”

“Same,” Moonshine murmured, giving her ears a lick. “I was following you and suddenly there was no one with me.”

“What happened?” Silverfur wondered. “I thought we were together.”

Should I tell her about my vision now? Moonshine asked herself. What if she doesn’t believe it? No, maybe I’ll wait. But what if she’s mad at me for keeping it a secret for so long?

“I’m so glad we found each other,” Silverfur mewed. She paused for a moment. “Did you see Golden or Shadow?” There was concern in her voice, and Moonshine knew that the silver she-cat cared about them as much as she did.

“No.” Moonshine shook her head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t find them.” What if they’re lost? What if there’s no Starlight to guide them like she did for me? What if we’ll never find them again? Worry and fear swept over her. Wait, no, she told herself. Starlight said they’re in no danger. But what does that even mean? That they’re not dead? Will they still be able to find us, then?

Silverfur stared at her anxiously, her blue eyes wide as if she’d heard everything that had gone through Moonshine’s mind. “We can’t lose them!” she whispered, burying her nose into Moonshine’s shoulder. “We just found them, and how are we going to form a Clan now, and Shadow—” She cut herself off abruptly.

Moonshine rested her tail on her shoulder, wondering if Silverfur felt the same way for Shadow as she did for Golden. If she does, I should tell her, shouldn’t I? I have more knowledge than her, and if I don’t share it, she’ll be sad, and it’ll all be my fault…

Silverfur stared at her paws, silent.

Tell her! Tell her now! Moonshine’s head screamed. “Silverfur,” she started shakily.

The SkyClan warrior’s head lifted and she met her eyes. They were still wide with worry, but a tiny spark of hope blossomed in the shimmering blue depths. Yes, tell her, Moonshine’s heart sang.

“I had the strangest dream last night…” she began.

 

 

“And here is where we’ll have Clan meetings!” Silverfur declared happily, leaping onto a large log in the corner of the rocky clearing. “We’ll call it the Log. And”—she jumped down and gestured to the hollow space inside the log—“we’ll even store our herbs in here!”

Moonshine nodded, trying to be enthusiastic, but inside she was feeling really uncertain about everything. What if we weren’t supposed to do all this? Is this idea of forming a new Clan wrong? Is Silverfur going too far with all this?

After Moonshine had told her friend about her vision, Silverfur had agreed it was true and started showing her around the rocky clearing she’d picked out for their camp. Under all the eagerness and cheerful ideas and bouncing around, Moonshine was pretty sure the silver she-cat had a place inside her to be unsure, even if it was a tiny one.

“What’s wrong?” Silverfur suddenly asked, padding to her side. “Why do you look so worried all of a sudden?”

“Oh—” Moonshine stammered, realizing she must have shown her feelings. “I-I’m just…really worried about Shadow and Golden.” For some reason saying his name made her heart tingle with some unknown feeling.

“Oh.” Silverfur blinked. “Me too.” After a moment she added, “But! Tell me the truth.”

Moonshine stared at her, surprised. “What? The truth about what?”

“About what you think about all this.” Silverfur waved her tail at the rocky clearing. “Do you believe in me? Do you think this is right? Do you really think we should form our own Clan?”

Moonshine observed that Silverfur hadn’t revealed any self-doubt or uncertainty. Just questions about what she thought. She sighed. “Well…I do believe that you can do this.”

“But you don’t believe this will work?” Silverfur inquired, raising an eyebrow at her.

“N-no!” Moonshine meowed. “There’s no but! I’m just…just unsure. What if this was all for nothing? Do you think the Clans survived after all?”

Silverfur fixed her with a firm blue gaze, her eyes blazing with hope and determination and certainty. “Never say that!” she growled. “Never say this was all for nothing! Yes, we’ve lost a lot, but we can’t let all those losses be for nothing!” After a heartbeat she suddenly seemed to soften, to relax and melt into her gentle side. “I know what you went through,” she whispered. “I understand everything you feel.”

Is that true? Moonshine thought, but she pushed it away.

“We are going to make this happen.” Silverfur rested her tail on Moonshine’s back. “Trust me.”

Moonshine nodded. “Of course I trust you.”

Silverfur purred. “Are you ready to do everything you can to help me form this Clan?”

“Of course.”

“Are you ready to work side by side with me, even if everything else, every_one_ else, falls?”

“Of course.” This time Moonshine had to try hard not to let her voice shake. I’ve lost enough already! I can’t handle more!

“Are you ready for all this?” Silverfur waved her tail around again and gestured to the camp-to-be.

“Of course!” Moonshine exclaimed as eagerly as she could.

Silverfur tipped her head at her. “Are you ready to stop saying ‘of course’ to everything I ask?”

“Of—oh.”

Silverfur burst into laughter.

“Wow those were such good speeches!”

“Super good!”

Achingly familiar voices came from the camp entrance, which Silverfur had marked with a long root and had insisted on building a barrier.

Silverfur whirled around. Moonshine followed more slowly, already knowing who was there, and both she-cats let out yowls of joy and relief, rushing up the slope to meet the newcomers.