"So here," Mossdream continued, " is the Moonstone." Birchpaw looked up at a massive pillar of sparkling rock. As his eyes followed it to the top, it twisted and turned around him. Dizzy, he stumbled back to look for Mossdream, but she was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a blindingly white she-cat sat in front of him, her claws digging into red dirt. "I should be going to the Moonstone!" She spat in his face, wheeling on him with fury. Suddenly Sootkit jumped in front of him, hissing. The tiny black kit was inches away from death-
Birchpaw yowled, "No!" As he shot up out of sleep. His claws pushed at the sides of the brush nest and frayed the mossy grass Mossdream had helped collect. He hit his head on the roof of the shallow dip he was camped in. Stupid Moonstone 'adventure'. Jumping up, he shot across the small shelter to Mossdream's empty nest. Confused and angry, he sat down against the cold wall with an echoing thump.
"Birchpaw?" Said a muffled voice from the entrance. "What is the problem?" Bounding down easily, she stopped in front of him and dropped a fat sparrow at his paws. After a moment of silence he hastily murmured, "Nothing, Mossdream." And took the sparrow with him out of the cave. The sunlight was blinding, and for a moment he was reminded of the swirling tower of rock he had seen in his dream. Was that the Moonstone?
No. It couldn't. Mossdream had been telling him about it for the last couple of nights before he slept.
"In those mountains ahead of us, Highstones, " She would say, " lies Mothermouth. The Moonstone lies at the end of its dark tunnel."
Mossdream trotted out to sit beside him, her tortoise shell fur fluffed out. As she sat down she motioned over Birchpaw's head with her tail. "There lies Mothermouth." Staring into his eyes, she carefully spoke again, "Birchpaw. I know... I know this is hard for you. I see... your friends and you, and how much you care for each other. Of all cats, I should understand about caring. And-"
She motioned for Birchpaw to keep quiet and suddenly twitched her ears. Her face blackened.
"I don't need to eat. You... shouldn't either. Did you eat any?" He looked down at his full sparrow, seeing it as a shame to waste it. "No."
She nodded. "Let us continue." She raced up the hillside starting for Highstones.

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Birchpaw wheezed. His muscles burned, but Mossdream sternly pressed him on, up to a shallow cave.
"Go on." He had no time to observe details of his location before he was plunged into darkness. Picking his sore pads up each time he took a step, he felt like an elder. Do medicine cats do this often? He wondered.
The blackness soon gave way to a beautiful domed cave, where a huge, ethereal rock listened in the center by dripping water from the small hole in the roof. The stone, however beautiful, didn't glisten like Mossdream said it should. It felt..... malicious. Birchpaw lunged forward to touch the rock as she had instructed him before they had come.
Mossdream shrieked, "DO NOT TOUCH THE ROCK!" As his surroundings faded into darkness.

He awoke by the spire of rock from his dream. Turning in circles, he took in his surroundings. Rock, rock, and more rock. But after turning completely around, figures appeared in front of Birchpaw. A white she cat that was eerily familiar laughed at him, "Do not fear. We are here from Star-"
A second voice rose out from the small patch of figures.
Snowybreath!" It meowed."Tigerstar is here to see you. He wants to instruct you again on your killing bite."
"Let me have my fun, Lightwater. This poor kit came here on this moon for a reason, didn't he?"
Lightwater's pale brown coat rippled. "We have committed to this. He is free. You will extract revenge, but not by killing him now."
Confused, Birchpaw lurched past the figures. Suddenly, his creamy paws left the dry ground as teeth dug into his scruff.
"Birchpaw!" Mossdream shrieked again. He shivered and shifted his weight up to face her. It took him precious seconds to realise that he couldn't see. Panicked, he found himself upright, being supported by Mossdream, who was digging at... His eyes?
He pitifully meowed and yelped as she carefully picked gravel out of his eyes. His vision was fuzzy, and sight was tempting. But as if he was under water, A quiet rumbled echoed off the walls. He could see more the next time he blinked, and saw rainwater streaming in through the hole in the roof.
"Birchpaw!" Mossdream cried as she flung the pebbles back at the rock. "We must leave!" She pushed him up through the dark tunnel, as rumbling turned to roaring and soon turned to the snarling of winds and rain locked in a deadly sky battle.
Over the wind, a gruff voice called, " Mossdream?"
"Oak! Take the apprentice!" She called as the wind forced her down. "Where are Blue and Midget?" Her voice dropped to a whisper as the wind took her breath away. "Are they okay? What about Tierno?"
Who are these strange cats? Why does she know them? Why am I here? And most importantly, Why was Mossdream Dying?
The newcomer, Oak, ran over and grabbed Birchpaw, as another tugged at Mossdream. As they were dragged out of the storm, Oak whispered just loudly enough to Mossdream, "Tierno is dead."