The Ancestors



  Th e Anc est ors



 episode three of fire rainbow /preface

"Fire, how are we even going to ask?" I say, shaking my head. The Ancestors don't talk to us when we need their help - like right now, I suppose - but much less when we want to. Which is usually never.

"Trust me, Rainbow! It'll work!" Fire urges me, and I shrug halfheartedly. This is her idea, and apparently, something that she needs to do. Which is most likely impossible.

"Is this because of the joke yesterday?" Fire stiffens at once. "Oh, come on, Fir! I didn't mean to scare you! It was just, um, a joke..." I trail off, noticing her expression. Her eyes are blazing and her teeth are bared into a snarl. I take a step back, making a not to myself. Never push your luck when Fire is mad.

"This is something that I need to do, alright rainbow? I need to do something for our band... something new in honor of our new home. Please, Rainbow, please. Trust me, and everything will be fine. Okay?" I nod my head, letting her pace again.

"So... how are we going to contact them?" I ask, searching my brain for an answer. But everything goes blank as soon as I want it. That isn't good. Fire scrunches her eyes together for a second before opening then and jumping around. "Uh, Fire?" I ask, a laugh trying to take over. She gives me a sheepish grin, and composes herself.

"You know how you can contact Sunshine sometimes, right?" I wince, remembering Sunshine, my dead sister. Her bright ginger-yellow fur, and her tinkling laugh that could make anyone a fox-length away smile. For some reason, I contact her if I wish hard enough, and those were always my private memories. But I vaguely remember telling Fire about them, and I want to slep myself. She's going to use my connection to get what she wants.,

"Why don't you ask her to take us to the Dwelling?" The Dwelling is where the head ancestor, her apprentice, dead, and the future selves of every cat in the band resides. "Please, Rainbow, please!!" she comes up to me, her eye spleading. "I promise not to make fun of your clumsiness again." she says, when she realizes that the only way to get to me was to bribe me.

"Deal." I say automatically. Getting her to stop making fun of me would've been hard, and almost anything is worth having the teasing stopped. "But don't blame me if they refuse. They probably will, because it's your idea, so I-"

"Rain, can I come with you?" Fire asks, in a frenzy. That's what I'm usually like, and seeing her act like me makes me want to change my ways. Because what Fire is liek right now cannot be what I'm usually like everyday. We used to stick together... do everything together... but that has now stopped... because of Blizzard... but mostly me... I push the thought out of my head. There's no need to get off topic.

"But how, Fire? I can't just pull you into my dreams! We don't even sleep next to each other!" I protest, knowing that it wa sno use. When Fire has an idea, she'll do nothing until she can make it work.

"Maybe we can change that Rain." she winks and runs off towards our nests.

~

"So what are you doing again?" I ask, staring at Fire with wide eyes. It's scary how different we are. I'm calm, she's crazy. I'm full to the brim with good ideas, but she... they just have no point. And they don't even make sense.

"I'm combining our nests so I can enter your dreams. And because you're so fat." Fire shoots me a look, evidently more out of playfullness than annpyance. "And because you wouldn't share yours in teh first place." i roll my eyes, exasperated.

"Fire, this is absurd!" I protest, but she doesn't give in. She's ste on this idea, so she won't be sane again until she manages to make it work out. I just watch as she builds a super large nest, and I realize that the sun is setting when she's done.

"Come on, Rainbow. You'll see... it'll work. Goodnight, rainbow." she murmers when we climb in. I link my tail with hers so that we can have a connected dream. Soon, my breathing slows as I plunge into darkness.

~

Everything's black, and I feel somewhat relieved when I realize that Fire is beside me. There's somehting comforting about her presence in a place like this. But usually, Sunshien would be here by now...

"Sunshine!" I call out. "Sunshine?"

And just like that, a golden-ginger she-cat appears. Her eyes are a beautiful shade of amber, and she wears a smile like a crown. It suits her too much. And just her presence alone makes me happy. She's like an aura of happiness making every cat she passes full of joy.

"Rainbow?" she asks. Her tinkling voice makes me grin like an idiot. "Can you take us to the Head Ancestors' part of teh Dwelling?" Sunshine nods her head once, and the scene shifts.

~

Fire an dI are standing in a clearing, circled by tall trees. The grass underneath our paws in trampled - like it has been walked on too many times to count. There's no one there."Where are the elders?" Fire asks. And just like that, the three elders appear out of thin air, scorn dancing across their expressions.

"Sunshine?" I call out, hoping that my sister is here. But she's nowhere to be seen. She's just gone. I look around, trying to find her, but I can't. Fire does the same, and finally, we turn back to the elders.

"Well?" the cat in the lead - a white she-cat - asks. "What do you want?"

"We want to strike a deal." I say bravely. I see the she-cat on the White's right rolls her eyes. The white she-cat just looks annoyed, even though her eyes are blazing. I glance at Fire, who seems rooted to the spot.

"And why in the name of our ancestors would we do that''?" I gulp. The Elders don't seem to be very agreeable. But somehow, I think I expected that. Sunshine was always complaining about the head Ancestor, and how she was extrememly annoying and horrible in the Dwelling.

"Where is Sunshine?" ire asks, as if reading my mind. Sometimes, it's like we're sisters. We can just tell what the other is thinking sometimes. This is one of those moments.

The tom on the white's right rolls his eyes. "She's in custody." Fire looks at him questioningly. "For bringing you two idiots here." teh tom says, like it's pretty obvious.

"What?" I cry, agony taking over. I can see Fire flinch out of the corner of my eye. "Is there anything we can do to get her out?" I ask, on the verge of tears. A spark of hope flickers inside me when I see the tom excahnge a look with the white she-cat.

"We'll see about your deal." the lead she-cat says. "But I don't know about teh fate of your sister."

"I'll, I'll-" I'm cut off by Fire stuffing her tail into my mouth. She winces as I clench my teeth together, and end up biting her tail quite hard. I spit it out, forcing myself to hold my tongue; to keep the anger from spilling out.

"Let's make a compromise." Fire says. I feel my spark of hope come to life again, and a smile tugs at the corners of my mouth. Fire can usually get what she wants by making compromises and bets. That's her specialty, and how she was able to get this far in our band.

The she-cat on White's left snorts. "Please! You really think we have time for your barter?"

"Quiet!" White snaps. Turning to us, she stares us down. "What's your deal, living cats?"

"We have a duel. i win, and you have to do our deal, which is actually quite reasonable." Fire emphasizes the word reasonable, which makes me choke back a laugh. I can't afford to risk our lives... even if we're dreaming. Reasonable is the exact opposite of what Fire wants.

"And you have to set Sunshin free." I add, smirking. The leader ponders for some time before turnign to look at the cat on her left. "very well, living cats. Holly will fight."

Holly lets out a gasp. "B-But Snow!" Snow silences her with a flick of her tail, and Holly hangs her head low, letting out a wary sigh. I feel a sort of sympathy for her, and I wish I could take her back to our world. She'd be treated better there. Better than being abused by Snow, that's for sure.

"Fine." Fire says. "Rainbow will fight too." I jump back in surprise. Snow watches us, and I try to calm myself.

"Can we have a minute to discuss our plans?" Fire asks, and after Snow nods, pulls me into the forest.

"Fire!" I say.

"Rainbow, listen." Fire syas, harshly and quietly. "You can do it. Holly is probably just an apprentice. She needs to prove herself, and I'm sure that you can beat her. I'm 100% percent sure."

"But still!" I wail.

"Listen. Get to a tree as soon as possible. You knwo what to do after that." I nod my head, and she cracks a smile. Air fighting is my specialty. And with the vast amount of trees, I can do almost anything.

"Alright, Fire." We walk back to the clearing, and a plan starts forming in my head. Snow and Holly are waiting for us in the middle of the clearing. Holly and I face each other, poised to attack. I watch as little details flit in my mind - about how her form is a bit loose, and that she doesn't seem as sure on her paws as she should. I sigh, silently wishing her luck.

"Ready, set, Go!" Snow says, starting the duel. I run towards her, and everything starts to feel like a dream.

~

"You win, rainbow! You win!" Holly wails, lying on the ground. I look up at Snow - who looks at Holly with disapproval - before I help Holly up. We're both covered in wounds, though hers are more prominent. Soem of her gashes are still bleeding after my unsheathed claws raked themselves across her pelt.

"So, a deal's a deal." Fire syas, smirking at Snow.

"Fine." Snow says, rolling her eyes, exasperated. "What do you want?"

"We want you to get the future sleves in teh Dwelling to tell the past what their destiny is." Fire says, in an almost matter-of-fact tone.

"What?!" Snow says, taken aback. "I can't do that!"

"But a deal's a deal." Fire insists. "Or do you want me telling the cats of teh Dwelling when I die that their own leader turned her back on her word?"

"We'll do what you say." Snow says, in a monotone voice. "Once a season, we'll send a group of cats to see their past selves. Alright?"

Fire nods. "It's perfect." The three cats start to walk away before Fire reminds them about something. "You forgot to free Sunshine."

Snwo lets out a huge sigh, and she waves her tail. The three cats disappear, and Sunshine takes their place.

"Sunshine!" I exclaim.

"Rainbow, I'm so proud! You beat a leader in training!" she adds with a whisper.

"It wasn't such a big deal, Sunshine." I say modestly.

"Uh, Rainbow?" I see Fire behind me. "We should probably get going... you kno, before Snow and the tom come after us." I nod my head, wishing that I didn't have to leave Sunshine. She nod, understanding.

"Don't worry, Rainbow. I'll visit soon." And with that, she too disappears.

"Let's go home, Rainbow." Fire says.

"Yes." I agree. "I've had enough of this place to last me another season."

And like that, we've won. We've got our way, and everything will be okay.

~

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