Mousepaw and the Cave of Stars

“Here we are, Mousepaw!” Sweetfern mewed excitedly. “The Cave of Stars!”

Mousepaw gasped. The entrance to the cave was massive, with what looked like stone icicles coming down from the ceiling and up from the floor. Some even met in the middle. Mousepaw thought he saw a light dimly shining at the end of the cave.

“Do you see the stars in the cave?” Sweetfern asked him.

So the light wasn’t just his imagination!

“Yes! I do see the stars,” Mousepaw replied.

Sweetfern looked at him with a sparkle in her eye. “Then you’re a true medicine cat!”

Sweetfern looked around. “We must be early,” she mewed. “Oh well. The other medicine cats will be here soon.”

Right as Sweetfern finished speaking, Mousepaw saw a grey tom with white specks of fur coming down from the mountain above.

“Hello Sweetfern!” the tom meowed. “And who this?”

“This is Mousepaw,” Sweetfern introduced the young black and white tom. “My new apprentice. Mousepaw, this is Patchcloud, RockClan’s medicine cat.”

“Nice to meet you,” Mousepaw mewed shyly. He wasn’t used to meeting new people.

“I guess we'll just wait until the others get here,” Patchcloud said.

It wasn’t long before Mousepaw saw two more cats coming up the rise.

“Good, they’re here,” Sweetfern mewed happily.

A brown tabby tom with a black tail and a dark silver tom were at the base of the mountain, starting their ascent up the worn trail.

“The brown tabby is Fernstem of MeadowClan, and the silver one is Rushpool of LakeClan,” Patchcloud told Mousepaw. “Also, try not to let Fernstem get to you. He hasn’t been very friendly since his mentor died a few moons ago, but that doesn’t give him a reason to be as rude as he’s been.”

When the two toms eventually made it up the slope, Mousepaw got a better look at them. Rushpool was an older cat, with grey speckling his muzzle and the wisdom of age showing in his eyes.

Fernstem was much younger. He looked Mousepaw over, studying him.

“So this is your new apprentice, Sweetfern?” Fernstem mewed disapprovingly. “He looks a little out of proportion to me.”

Mousepaw ducked his head, embarrassed by his big ears and long tail.

“Fernstem! How rude of you to make fun of a new apprentice!” Rushpool scolded him.

Fernstem licked his chest fur, embarrassed, and meowed, “Let’s share with StarClan.” He walked quickly into the cave and was swallowed by the shadows.

Rushpool looked suspiciously to where Fernstem had disappeared, but after a moment's hesitation, followed him in.

Mousepaw followed the four other medicine cats into the Cave of Stars. It was a long, claustrophobic way down. The passage was so dark, you could barely see the cat in front of you. When they finally reached the Cave, it got surprisingly bright. Somehow, Mousepaw knew it was lit by the energy of his ancestors.

Inside, the Cave was a perfect dome shape. At the back of the Cave, there was a river that lead into hole on the other side of the hole the river came from. The river sparkled and shone very brightly. Its motion sounded like the whispers of cats. There was a weird feeling in the air, like there were way more cats than were really in the Cave.

“Before we share,” Sweetfern announced. “I must make Mousepaw an official medicine cat apprentice.”

Sweetfern stepped forward and turned to face the other cats

"Mousepaw, is it your wish to enter the mysteries of StarClan as a medicine cat?"

"It is."

"Then come forward."

Mousepaw walked shakily forward to stand in front of Sweetfern right next to the river.

"Warriors of StarClan, I present you with this Apprentice. He has chosen the path of a Medicine Cat. Grant him your wisdom and insight so that he may understand your ways and heal his Clan in accordance with your will. Now let us share with StarClan."

All four of the medicine cats laid beside the river and put their paws into the water. Mousepaw copied. As soon as his paws touched the water, icy coldness spread through his body and immediately fell into a deep sleep…

 

When Mousepaw opened his eyes, he was in a lush green clearing surrounded by trees. Prey-scent filled the air. It definitely wasn’t leaf-fall here.

This must be StarClan, Mousepaw thought.

He sat down, wondering what he was supposed to be doing. Was he supposed to go into the forest to find a StarClan warrior? Was he supposed to stay here? While Mousepaw was trying to decide what to do, he heard rustling in the bushes. A black she-cat with white paws and throat walked out. The cat looked faintly familiar, but Mousepaw didn’t know why. He had never met her before. The she-cat saw him and started running towards him.

“Oh Mousepaw, I missed you so much!” she meowed excitedly, licking Mousepaw’s head.

Mousepaw backed away from the strange she-cat. “Who are you?”

For a heartbeat the cat seemed confused, but then her gaze saddened as if she just remembered something.

“Oh yes, I forgot you were so young when I…” she trailed off with a distant look in her eyes. Suddenly her eyes snapped back to focus on Mousepaw again. “I’ll just have to introduce myself. I am Nightfall, your mother.”

Mousepaw now realized why he had remembered her. He couldn’t believe he was really meeting his mother. His father Duskpelt told him stories about his mother, but Mousepaw never thought he would see her until he went to join StarClan.

“I have something very important to show you Mousepaw,” Nightfall mewed. “Remember every detail of what I tell you. The fate of the Clan’s depend on it.”

The ground suddenly fell away so they were floating in space. Mousepaw yowled in surprise and astonishment. All he could see was Nightfall in front of him. She closed her eyes, and when they opened again they were glowing a blinding white light. Then Nightfall opened her mouth and spoke.

“Even in the blackest of nights, there is still one thing that can guide us through the darkness.”

Nightfall’s ominous words echoed so loudly Mousepaw had to put his ears back to block out the sound. She looked up with her brilliant white eyes and Mousepaw followed her gaze. He saw the night sky was being overwhelmed by swirling black clouds, blotting out stars one by one. Yet through the clouds, the moon shone as brightly as ever. The moon was still visible even through all the black clouds.

Before Mousepaw had time to comprehend any of it, everything started to spin around him. The whole world around him spun faster and faster out of control.

Right when Mousepaw thought he couldn’t take it any more, he opened his eyes to find himself on the hard floor of the Cave of Stars, the river still flowed gently over his front paws.