Moth Flight’s Vision

Spider Paw halted and stared wistfully after Windstar and Gorse Fur as they followed the others through the gap in the heather wall.

Bubbling Stream bounced around him. “Let’s play hunting!”

She ducked low, pressing her belly against the grass. Blue

Whisker crouched beside him. Honey Pelt scrambled onto a tussock and reached his forepaws into the air. “I’m hunting buzzards!”

“Has a cat ever caught a buzzard?” Blue Whisker blinked at Moth Flight.

Moth Flight padded toward her. “I don’t think so. But when Gray Wing used to tell stories of the mountains, he said they caught eagles.”

“Who’s Gray Wing?” Blue Whisker asked.

Before she could answer, Rocky padded from his den. The old tom blinked at her sleepily. “Do you want me to watch the kits while you gather herbs?”

Moth Flight hesitated. Her stores had been low since

Windstar’s sickness. She ought to restock them. But, in the days since she’d returned from the Moonstone, she’d felt a desperate need to be near her kits.

Rocky stared at her. “Yesterday, you said you need to fetch more catmint,” he reminded her. “You said your store was so low—”

Honey Pelt interrupted. “Can I have a badger ride?” He leaped from the tussock and landed on Moth Flight’s shoulders.

She staggered, struggling to keep her balance.

Rocky padded closer. “I can do badger rides.”

Bubbling Stream bounded toward him. “Me first!”

Moth Flight padded forward, Honey Pelt wobbling on her back. Her thoughts drifted and unease twisted beneath her pelt.

Windstar had nearly died. Spider Paw had nearly drowned. Torn between the needs of her Clan and the needs of her kits, Moth

Flight felt herself veering between indecision and panic. She wasn’t being the best medicine cat she could be. Her medicine cat duties threatened her kits’ safety. Her duties as a mother threatened the good of her Clan. How could she give her full attention to both?

I’m a medicine cat.

Half Moon’s words rang in her mind again and again. This is your destiny, whether you want it or not. You have no choice but to follow it. Every Clan’s destiny depends on you.

Rocky gazed at Moth Flight questioningly. “Are you going to collect herbs?”

Moth Flight winced as Honey Pelt dug in his tiny claws.

“Tomorrow,” she told Rocky. “I want to spend today with my kits.”

Moth Flight followed Pebble Heart through the tunnel.

Cloud Spots padded behind. The scents of Acorn Fur and Dappled Pelt hung in the chilly air. “They must be waiting for us,” Moth Flight murmured, half to herself.

Pebble Heart’s tail stirred the air ahead. “It smells like they’ve just passed this way.”

Cloud Spots’s mew echoed against the damp stone. “I hope the clouds clear soon. The moon is rising.”

Fresh scents swirled around Moth Flight’s muzzle as the tunnel opened into the cave. In the watery light, she could just make out Acorn Fur and Dappled Pelt, sitting beside the Moonstone. Dappled Pelt’s face was raised toward the hole in the roof. Cloud shielded the stars.

“No moonlight tonight,” Dappled Pelt murmured.

Cloud Spots padded to the Moonstone and settled beside

Acorn Fur. “The clouds might still clear.”

“Not before the moon passes.” Dappled Pelt turned to face him. “How will we share with StarClan?”

“Perhaps they don’t want to share tonight,” Acorn Fur sniffed. “That’s why they sent clouds.”

Moth Flight padded across the cold stone and sat down a little way from the others. Her heart felt heavy, her paws weary.

She’d spent the whole journey praying that the sky would clear.

She needed to share with StarClan. Half Moon, help me. Grief tugged at her belly.

Pebble Heart padded to her side and sat down. “StarClan has shared enough this moon.”

Acorn Fur tipped her ears toward him. “Did they give Tall Shadow nine lives?”

Pebble Heart nodded. “She’s Shadowstar now.”

Dappled Pelt’s tail swished over the rock. “River Ripple is Riverstar.”

“Thunder is Thunderstar,” Cloud Spots told them. He glanced at Acorn Fur. “What name did they give Clear Sky?”

“Skystar.” Acorn Fur’s tail swished over the stone. “I was so scared when I saw how much pain each life caused.”

“I don’t know how Riverstar stayed on his paws,” Dappled Pelt admitted.

Moth Flight gazed blankly at the Moonstone, only half-listening. She wanted to reach out and touch the dark stone.

Perhaps StarClan would share even without moonlight.

“Did they really heal Windstar’s leg?”

Moth Flight suddenly realized Cloud Spots was speaking to her.

She shook out her pelt, trying to focus. “It’s like it was never broken.”

“I wish I could bring Sun Shadow here,” Pebble Heart commented sadly.

Moth Flight jerked her muzzle toward him. “Is Sun Shadow sick?”

“He’s had redcough,” Pebble Heart told her. “He’s over the worst of it, but he’s taking a while to get his strength back.”

Dappled Pelt leaned forward. “Do you think the Moonstone heals any cat?”