Chapter 36: Moon Pool

I closed my eyes for just a few moments in time. There seemed to be something awfully strange in the air at the moment, but I could not quite grasp what it was. I shivered as I felt the wind blow across my body. Maybe that was what it was... Maybe it was just cold.

I did not like the cold... It was one thing that I did not like living in Windclan for. I loved living in Windclan for the fact that I could see for what seemed like forever when I was on a high spot somewhere, but I absolutely hated being in the cold.

I knew that it was like that for everyone at this time of the year, but it was a lot different for a Windclan cat, compared to other clans. I am sure that Riverclan was used to it, though they did not have very many trees on their land, they were in the cold water all year long.

I shook my head, as I thought of the word water. I had a small relapse of what Youngtail had told me a few moments ago. He had said something about the ice, and maybe it could have something to do with the prophecy. I felt a bit bad for pushing it off on him so easily, but I had a few things to do around camp.

Or maybe... It was because I did not... I could not say it, or think of the right word in my mind as to what it was that I was thinking about. Something did not seem right at the moment though, and I knew that it was not just because it was cold outside.

I turned my head away from where it was that I had been heading over to. I was going to check in on Steve, and Shilos kits. Steve had been doing a lot better lately, and after they had agreed to join Windclan, I was excited for him to start his training.

Though it was hard to see from him, as he was often fairly sick, I saw great potential in the cat. He was a strong, and a smart cat. I hoped that some time soon he would get over what it was that he had going on with him. I shook my head though, trying not to worry about all of that.

My mind needed to be on something else... Something that was a bit more important, than just thinking about a cat like that. There was a more important cat at stakes at the moment, and I felt a bit sick, and angry at myself for just pushing it off, as if she were not in fact my mate.

I thought about what it was that Youngtail had said to me, a lot more harder, and a bit more clear. I gulped, as it was beginning to seem a lot more important that I had just pushed it off as being. I then looked around, as if I were looking for help.

I spotted my friend Owl, on the far side of the clearing with his mate Ginger. They had big smiles on their faces, as it seemed that everything was going okay with them. I thought about it for a few moments, as it then suddenly seemed that things were going to be okay.

I then closed my eyes for just a few moments, as I remembered what it was that I had been doing. What this was, had nothing to do with Owl or Ginger. I began to freak out more and more, as I thought about my mate Mint for just a bit longer.

I quickly opened my eyes, as I looked back over to my best friend. He was engaged in a conversation with his mate, and it seemed like they were happy at the moment. I stopped myself for just a few moments, as I did not want to ruin any of their fun.

I shook my head once again... This was the job of a deputy, when something came up like this, he was the first cat that I needed to look over to for any sort of help. I began to head over to him, as fast as I possibly could, due to me not knowing how much time that I really had.

He looked over to me, hearing the footsteps of a cat quickly running over to him. He squinted his eyes at me, a bit confused as to the reason that I had ran over to him. He nodded to me anyways, for me to go ahead and speak to him. I nodded back to him thankfully, and then I began to talk.

"Owl... I've got to tell you something, are you busy right now?" I said over to my friend. He looked at me for just a few moments, and then he slowly turned his head over to his mate. They both stared at each other for just a few moments, and then I saw Ginger nod to him.

I wondered what it was that might be going on... Was it that Ginger was pregnant? They did seem to be acting a bit strange lately, I knew that for a fact. He was not thinking about leaving the clan right? Now was not the time for that kind of stuff!

Eventually, I saw Owl slowly turn his head over to me. He lifted himself up from off of the ground, as he nodded to me. I nodded back to him, as I waited for him to go ahead and respond to me. He sat there for just a few more moments, as he stretched himself out, and then he began to speak.

"Well... If it is really important, as it seems like it might be... Yeah, I can hold it off... I was just about to go hunting with Ginger though." He said to me. I looked at him, and then over at his mate for just a few moments, as I then suddenly began to feel a bit bad.

I did not want to interrupt what it was that they had planned. Maybe all of this was in fact nothing to be worried about. I closed my eyes, as I wished that it was just that easy to push it off in fact, but I knew that it was not the case.

I wanted them to go ahead and hunt with each other, as I knew that Owl had not gotten much time with his mate as of recently. I also knew that it was the job of a deputy and a leader, to put the clan above themselves. I knew that he would understand, especially after I told him what it was.

"Oh... I am sorry you 2... I don't think that you will be able to hunt... Look Owl, something is going on right now in the air, and it does not feel right... I just let Youngtail go out on his own to go and find Shilo and Mint... I am worried..." I said to Owl. He looked at me for just a few moments, as I saw him squint his eyes at me.

For a few moments, I thought that he might get angry at me, as though he wondered why this was the reason that I had interrupted them. I did not see an angry look in his eyes though, as it relaxed me just a bit, as I listened to what it was that he had to say to me, as I heard his voice speak.

"Look... If it seems important to you, me and Ginger can go and hunt another day. The clan must go above anything else... You have shown that to me, so you go ahead and make sure everything is alright... I will take care of the clan." He said to me. I looked at him for just a few moments, as I saw him smile at me.

I smiled back at my friend, as we both then nodded at each other. I began to walk off, as I saw a bit of a disappointed look on the face of his mate Ginger. I felt a bit bad for her, as I knew that they did not get much time to spend with each other.

I shook my head though, as I knew that I did not need to let it take my focus off of what it was that was truly at stake right now. I turned my head away from the both of them, as I looked over at the 3 new cats in the clan, as they had a bit of some confused looks on their faces, as they were standing by the prey pile.

I was about to go over and ask them what it was that might be wrong, but I knew that I did not have time for that at all. I did not know if I was already out of time in fact, or if I had pushed it off off for too long. I shook my head, as I knew that my deputy would see it, and he would take care of them.

I then left the camp, as I tried my best to smell the air for the scents of Youngtail, or Mint, as I knew that he would be following her. I could not focus on all of the smells from all of the other cats that had been around the area, or were back in camp.

I shook my head, as I wondered where it was that I might should start at, if I were to get lucky, and find out where they might have gone. I then remembered that Youngtail had said something about Riverclan. I turned my head over to the Riverclan border, that I could see far away through the fields.

I then began to quickly run over to it, as I knew that I did not have very much time to do what it was that I had to get done. I got off of the smell that I had smelt when I had in fact gone out of the camp. I then caught up to fresh smell of my mate.

She had been through this are not too long ago. I then smelt the even more fresh smell of Youngtail, as I noticed that he had just come through the area even closer to this time than Mint had. I then followed the direction that I smelt the smell going.

I noticed that it was going right over to the Riverclan border. I had remembered that Shilo had said that they were searching for some herbs that were in that area. It made sense as to why that they would be going down this way now.

I then saw it, not just the fact that the grass was stuff, and seemed to be frozen. The rivers were filled with ice as well, as it was the first time that I had ever seen a river like that. I then shivered, as I had remembered that it had been a part of the prophecy.

It was now beginning to make even more sense than it had before, and I felt even more sick for pushing it off as much as I had done. I quickly began running as fast as I could, following the smell all the way to the river between Windclan and Riverclan.

Once I was there, I then stopped myself, as the air was a bit cold, and it was hard for me to smell where it was that the cats might have gone. I lifted my head up high into the air, doing my best to sniff out where it was that they might have gone.

That is when I suddenly heard a cat hiss at me from not too far away. I turned my head over to where it was that I had heard the cat hiss. I then spotted 2 cats on the other side of the river from me. I noticed who the cats were right away, as I listened to what the first cat had to say to me.

"Moon... I smell a cat in our territory, do you have any explanation for this?" He said to me. I did my best to sniff out the smell, to see if I could see what cat it might be that had gone on to their land, but it was too hard, just based off of the retched Riverclan cat scent that was at the border with me.

I looked at my friend, Kettle, who had been the one that had just spoken to me, and I had a bit of a blank look on my face. He rolled his eyes at me, as I then suddenly began to realize where I was, and what it was that had been going on with me up to this point.

I then realized what cat it was that was the scent that had gone on their land, as I was surprised that they had not noticed the scent either, as it was a scent that went on their territory fairly often. I quickly began to remember why I was here, as I began to speak to my old friend.

"Kettle... Yes... I think something strange is going on right now... Mint went with a cat, and Youngtail said he had some sort of vision, I am looking for them right now... It seems as though they might have gone this way, have you smelt any other cats?" I said to him. He looked at me for quite some time, as he kept his eyes squinted at me.

I wondered if he was ever going to respond to what it was that I had just said to him. If he was not happy with the fact that one of my cats had gone on to his land, he could at least help me find out who it was. I then turned my head over to the other cat, his deputy Briar, as he began to speak to me.

"No... Just this one cat... He seemed as if he might have gotten lost this way and he went back... It is really nothing that we need to worry about... Let us be on our way." He said with a bit of a smooth, and relaxing tone in his voice. He then nodded to his leader Kettle, to follow him back to their camp.

He began to head off, but then he quickly turned his head over to Kettle, as he had seen that he was not following him at all. He looked at him, a bit confused as to what it was that was toing on with his leader. Kettle did not seem to have his thoughts focused on him at all at the moment however.

He had his eyes locked on to mine, as it seemed as though he might be thinking the same thing that I was thinking, it was about the prophecy. He then seemed to regain himself, as he turned his head over to his deputy Briar, and then he began to speak to him.

"Briar... You go back to camp, and tell the others that I am going to be back later... I think something is going on right now. Just trust me... Okay?" He said to his deputy. I looked at him, as if he was going to say something, like Dust might do when his leader said something to him.

But I remembered that Briar was not just at all, from the short time that I had been with him in that twoleg monster, and the shelter place. I nodded to the deputy, glad that he had understood his leader, as he then slowly began to head back over to camp, as if he might expect one of us to speak.

We just sat there for a few seconds, until I remembered that what it was that was going on right now, was important, and it needed to be addressed right now. I then turned my head back over to Kettle, as he turned his head over to me as well, to hear what it was that I had to say.

"Kettle... We need to go right now, I smell where it was that they went, and it seems that they went to the lake." I said to him. He looked at me for just a bit of time, as it seemed as though he might not be too sure, but he then nodded his head to me in the end.

I knew that he trusted me, as we had been close friends with each other at one point. It was a bit sad to have that relationship fall apart, as we had split into separate clans, but at the same time as well, I understood that was how it went.

I shook my head at myself though, as I knew that my mind did not need to be on those thoughts at the moment, as I knew that I had to focus on the current task that was in front of me. My mate, it was suddenly beginning to hit me more and more by the moment.

She was in danger, even if the prophecy might not be about it, I still could not help but think about it. I spotted the frozen lake in front of us, as we began to draw closer and closer to it, and the scent seemed to get nearer and nearer to the current time as well.

The scent then stopped, as I looked around a bit confused. I looked over to Kettle for some help, but it seemed as though he had his eyes on something completely different than I did. I turned my head over to what it was that he was looking at.

I then spotted them... All 3 of them, as I saw that Youngtail was behind the other 2 by a fair distance. He was standing completely still on the ice, as it seemed as though he was a bit scared to move. I then looked at the other 2 further ahead of him.

It seemed as though they did not know that Youngtail was with them. They were too far away to see what it was that they had on their faces, and I could not hear what it was that they were saying to each other either. I saw that they had their eyes on each other however.

I wondered what it was that might be going on, but then suddenly it all began to unfurl in front of me. I then saw it, as I saw Shilo then suddenly run over to Mint, as if she was running for help, but Mint dodged her. I was so lost as to what was going on at the moment.

I then heard Kettle then begin to speak to me, as I looked at my friend from the corner of my eye, mainly focusing my eyes on the 2 cats, that seemed as though they might be fighting. I watched as Shilo then landed to the ground, as she did not have steady paws on the ice.

It did not look like a very comfortable land either, but I turned my head over to my friend, as he finally decided to speak to me. I listened to what it was that he had to say to me at the same time as well.

"The ice... It is not steady... Its going to break!" He said a bit loudly, but not loud enough for all of the others to hear him. Just as soon as he had said it as well, it all happened so fast, and so unexpected as well, as I saw the ice split apart from where Shilo had landed.

The ice then tilted over on one side, and I watched as Shilo fell beneath the lake, and under the ice... All at the same time. I looked a bit scared, and also a bit surprised at the same time, as I was not sure what to do, or how to respond to what was going on right now, as a normal leader should be.

Then, I watched, as the older cat, Youngtail, was the first one to hop on all of it. I watched as the ice that he had been sitting on, split down just as it had done on Shilo. Luckily he had gotten off of it before it had done so however, as he was now at a safe point.

Or not really all that safe, as I he then to my surprise, hopped in to the water, to go and try to save Shilo from the deep water that she had fallen in to. I then turned my head over to my friend Kettle, as I looked to him for any sort of help, as I began to speak.

"Kettle! Save them! They are going to drown!" I yelled to him. We had just stood there for quite some time, as neither of us were quite sure how to respond to what it was that had just happened in front of us. Kettle turned his head over to me, though he stood still.

I looked at my friend, as I knew that he was a Riverclan cat, and he knew how to swim. Why did it not seem like he wanted to swim right now then? I listened to him however, as I heard him respond to what it was that I had just said to him.

"Moon... It's not drowning that you need to worry about." He said to me. I looked at him a bit confused for just a few moments. Those moments then past along, as I shook my head, not thinking about what he had said, as he then suddenly began to sprint over, to help Youngtail and Shilo.

I stood still for just a few moments, as I saw him running across the ice, to go over to help the cats from where it was that they had just fallen into the lake at. I then suddenly began to realize what it was that was going on at the moment, as I too began to run the same way that Kettle had just gone.

As I got on to the ice, I saw Kettle jump in to the lake. I then quickly began to run over to where I saw Mint, with quite the surprised look on her face, as it seemed as if she were stuck. I stopped myself just as I got over to her, though it seemed as if she was showing me very little attention.

I turned my head over to where I had seen Kettle go in to the water, as he suddenly lifted his head up, with the 2 cats with him as well, as we landed on to the frozen lake. I saw Shilo stand up, as it seemed as if she had a bit of an embarrassed look when she saw me, as she lowered her head to the ground.

I could tell that she was freezing cold as well, as she did her best to shake off all of the cold water, just as I saw Kettle do. I looked over at Kettle, to make sure that he was okay, as it seemed as if he was better than the rest of them happened to be.

I then looked over to Youngtail. I then began to shiver once I saw him. It was not because of it being so cold out in the air right now. It was more the fact that I saw his body, and it looked weaker than it ever had before.

It looked as if he had not eaten for days, as I could see the ribs through his wet fur. He was shivering, as he was laying on the ground as well. I then began to realize as to what it was that was going on right now, as I began to head a bit closer to him.

He was dying, and I knew it... I began to freak out, as I turned my head over to Kettle, to try to say something to him, for at least some sort of cry for help, though I was not so sure how much it would do, as it seemed as though we were a ways away from help, I began to yell to him anyways.

"Kettle! Please! Go to camp, and try to get Water for some help!" I said to him. He looked at me a bit surprised, and a bit scared for just a few seconds. As he did not know what it was that he should do, or how to really handle what it was that I had just said to him.

It did not seem funny at all to me, but it was a bit strange how the name Water would pop up at a time like this. I shook my head though, as I knew that it was the last thing that I should have my thoughts on at the moment. I then looked over at my friend Kettle, as I waited for him to respond to me.

I saw him nod a bit quickly to me, as he turned his head, as he was just about to run over to where his camp was, which was a bit of a ways away from where we were right now. I looked away from him, over to my friend Youngtail, as I saw him shivering.

I could see that he was weak, and I came a bit close to him, to warm him up a bit, and to let him know that I was here, and I was not going to give up. He purred just a bit, as he noticed it was me as well. I smiled, though it was more of a painful smile.

I knew that he was dying, and he did not have very much time left. I heard Kettle, as his footsteps began to fly across the ice. I tried not to focus on that at all at the moment however. I then turned my head over to Mint however, as I heard her speak loudly, to get all of our attentions.

"Do not bother Kettle! It is too late for him... You must spend what little time you have left, with your friend." She said to Kettle. I looked over, to see what it was that was going on, as I saw a bit of a surprised look on the face of Kettle, as he then nodded to Mint.

I wanted to get upset at Mint, as to why she had given up on him so quickly, but I also knew that she was right as well, though I did not want to admit to it. I lowered my head to the ground, as I stood close to Youngtail, warming him up. I then felt Mint, as she did the same too.

Youngtail began to purr a bit louder than before, as it was clear that he was happy that he was with his friends, in his final moments. I felt a bit sick thinking of it like that, but I also knew it to be the truth. Youngtail then lifted his head up a bit, as he then began to speak his last breaths.

"You all are great cats... Do remember that... My time is up... Do not blame her for it... It was meant to be this way, I did not have but a few moons left in me anyways... Moon... Kettle..." He said to both of us, we turned our heads to our friend, as he had a bit of a smile, as he then said his final words. "Its time the clans to begin... You must go get your 9 lives from the moon pool..."