Эрин Хантер - Moth Flight’s Vision

“Why didn’t you say anything?” River Ripple asked quietly.

“I thought they were just ordinary dreams,” Dappled Pelt answered.

Clear Sky padded toward Micah, opening his mouth to taste his scent. “You smell strange.”

“I smell like the farm I was raised on.” Micah stood still while Clear Sky circled him.

Cloud Spots nosed his way to the front. “I’ve had a dream too,” he admitted. “I saw the moonlit stone.” He looked at Moth

Flight. “Was it in a cave?”

Moth Flight nodded, swallowing back excitement. “Inside

Highstones.”

“And there was a hole in the roof?”

“You’ve seen it?” Moth Flight could hardly keep her paws still.

“I dreamed I was there with you, Dappled Pelt, and Pebble Heart.” Cloud Spots nodded toward Micah. “And him.”

Tall Shadow turned to Pebble Heart. “Have you had any dreams?”

“Only last night.” His eyes glowed like stars. “I dreamed Turtle Tail was leaning over me. She said she always knew I was special.”

Moth Flight’s tail quivered. “And she told you to take care of them all, didn’t she?”

“Yes!” Pebble Heart blinked. “That’s exactly what she said!”

Juniper Branch looked at Tall Shadow. “Are we actually going to believe this hare-brained WindClan cat?”

Gorse Fur flicked his tail angrily. “She’s not hare-brained.”

“So why does Spotted Fur always joke that one day she’ll find the end of a rainbow and try to climb up it?” Juniper Branch scoffed.

“I was joking !” Spotted Fur caught Moth Flight’s eye apologetically.

Fern Leaf brushed past him and stared at Moth Flight.

“What if you’re wrong about this, Moth Flight? You might have misunderstood the spirit-cats’ message. You can’t even tell the difference between plants and prey.”

Wind Runner faced the gray-and-white she-cat. “She can tell the difference. Perhaps she brings home plants because that’s what medicine cats do.”

Moth Flight felt a rush of gratitude. She glanced at Micah. “I think they’re going to believe me,” she whispered.

Clear Sky’s tail was still twitching impatiently. “So SkyClan is going to be stuck with an extra mouth to feed.” He glared at Micah resentfully.

“I can hunt,” Micah told him.

“Won’t you be too busy looking after sick cats?” Clear Sky sneered.

Star Flower stood beside her mate. “Perhaps we should wait for the spirit-cats to tell us themselves before we start making any changes.”

Juniper Branch and Swift Minnow murmured in agreement.

“The spirit-cats have spoken to us before,” Tall Shadow reasoned. “If they’re not speaking to us now, it’s because they have nothing to say.”

“But they do !” Alarm buzzed beneath Moth Flight’s pelt.

You have to listen to me! What more could she say? She suddenly remembered Half Moon’s parting words. We will split the sky. And later, stars will rise. The spirit-cats had promised to send a sign when she told the Clans.

Where was it? She stared up through the branches to the stars beyond.

“What are you looking for?” Clear Sky asked her, his mew thick with scorn. “Do you think you can call them whenever you want?”

Moth Flight blinked at him. “They promised to split the sky when I told you.”

Clear Sky’s whiskers twitched with amusement. Purrs echoed around the clearing.

“Split the sky?” Juniper Branch shook her head. “What nonsense!”

Moth Flight squared her shoulders. “They said they’d split the sky and later stars would rise.”

Clear Sky sat down. “Okay.” He looked up. “Let’s wait.”

Silence gripped the clearing. Above, the sky stretched cloudless and black.

Moth Flight’s pelt burned with shame. Perhaps I dreamed it after all! I’ve thought dreams were real before. Perhaps I’ve been wrong all along!

She could feel the eyes of the Clan cats on her. “What have I done?” she whispered to Micah. “I’m such a rabbit-brain!” She shrank beneath her pelt.

Suddenly, a flash lit the clearing. A bolt of lightning cracked the sky and, for a moment, the Clans were drenched in blinding white light.

Terror ripped through Moth Flight. She dropped to the earth.

On the far side of the hollow a tree exploded into flame as the lightning hit it. It shuddered and split. One half fell, blazing, to the ground.

Moth Flight stared in amazement. They did it! They split the sky! Her heart leaped into her throat. They have to believe me now. She glanced around the clearing.

The Clan cats gaped at the flaming tree. Then, one by one, they turned toward Moth Flight.

The roar of the flames died away as the fire burned itself out.

Moth Flight felt Micah shift beside her. The Clan cats stared at her in silence.

She froze, her breath catching in her throat, when River Ripple padded forward and dipped his head low. “Moth Flight, you were brave to speak up. Come with me.” He headed for the huge stone that rose from the soil as though it had been growing for countless moons from the heart of the earth.

Moth Flight glanced nervously at Micah as River Ripple leaped onto the great rock.

“Go on.” He nudged her forward with a flick of his muzzle.

“You’ve done the hardest part.”

Self-consciously, Moth Flight padded into the shadow of the rock and scrabbled onto a ledge, then leaped into the moonlight.

She landed beside River Ripple, who was gazing at the Clan cats below.

She peered over the edge. What a long way down! Her Clanmates seemed suddenly small. Moth Flight glanced at the sky. A thick band of stars stretched like a silver pelt across the indigo blackness. Was that where the spirit-cats lived? A star Clan? She remembered their star-flecked pelts, glittering in the darkness of the cave. How small the Clans must look to the spirit-cats. They were so powerful they could command lightning! And yet they cared about these cats, enough to watch over them and guide them.

“There can be no disagreement now.” River Ripple’s mew jerked her back into the moment. The Clan cats were watching her expectantly.

Thunder lifted his tail, his orange pelt pale in the moonlight.

“The spirit-cats have spoken. Each Clan will have a medicine cat.”

Quick Water called from among the SkyClan cats. “If we’d had medicine cats earlier, the sickness might not have taken so many.”

Moth Flight shook her head. “We don’t know any more now than we did then,” she pointed out. “We can’t change the past.

But we can change the future. Somehow we must discover new herbs and new cures.”

“How?” Pebble Heart looked up at her. “It will take moons to test out every plant.”

“Yes,” Moth Flight agreed. “In the meantime, we can learn from each other. Each Clan has cats who know a little about healing.”

Swift Minnow lifted her muzzle. “Reed Tail knows plenty.”

She glanced proudly at her mate.

The silver tabby dipped his head modestly. “I am happy to share the little I know with Moth Flight.”

“And I’ll share whatever you teach me with the other medicine cats.” Moth Flight nodded to Pebble Heart. “Will you learn all you can from the cats in ShadowClan?”

Pebble Heart nodded.

Cloud Spots whisked his tail. “I will gather all the knowledge in ThunderClan.”

“The medicine cats are to meet at Highstones every half-moon,” Moth Flight told them.

Dappled Pelt blinked. “That’s a long way to travel!”