The dark night splashed onto the forest as Echoleaf and Mintpaw slipped through the trees. The bright shine of stars and silver moon contrasted greatly against the black ink color as cloud floated through the sky. It looked to be just a normal half-moon meeting night. However, both medicine cats were more tense.

There was less chatter of excitement as the patrol made their way towards the Gathering clearing. Mintpaw's pelt was ruffled uneasily, casting nervous glances over her shoulder, wondering if she was going to catch sight of a flash of a rogue's pelt. She could tell her mentor was feeling the same way, for she seemed to be jumping, startled, at every crack of twig and leaf. And, especially, since they were both medicine cats, they were pretty much doomed if the rogues attacked them.

After the rogues' attack, there was much to do. There were cats to heal, dens to build, herbs to collect, and they still had to patrol the territory. Much of the herbs were trampled on, and it was hard to find any that were useable. Thankfully, the medicine den had been guarded, but there weren't enough herbs to heal every cat. Because most of the dens had collapsed, the elders, queen, and kits moved into the medicine den. The others set up nests outside in the clearing. Mintpaw and Echoleaf joined their Clanmates there. There wasn't much else of an option until the dens were rebuilt. 

On top of that, most of the prey had been scared away because of the yowling. Most cats went to sleep hungry, having had just enough prey to keep themselves going. Although the rogues didn't seem like much of a threat, they had greatly impacted AirClan.

As though things weren't bad enough, Echoleaf had pulled Mintpaw out of earshot from their Clanmates soon after the battle, informing her that Spottedstar had indeed lost a life. The gray tabby remembered how her pelt had rippled with shock and horror. Had the rogues truly been that powerful? What could they possibly have against the Clans? Why were they attacking them? All her questions had remained unanswered, and perhaps that was for the best. 

"Hopefully StarClan will be able to give us information on what to do next." Echoleaf's voice startled Mintpaw out of her thoughts. The gray she-cat was staring wistfully at the sky. The moon glowed down at them. "AirClan needs to heal, and fast."

The gray tabby nodded. "How many lives does Spottedstar have left?" That was what she was most worried about. The golden she-cat still seemed weak, even though it had been some time after the attack.

Echoleaf paused, her tail-tip twitching with unease. "Two," she mewed, and Mintpaw felt her fur bristle. She hadn't realized that the leader only had so little. 

The two continued their journey to the Moonpool in silence. Neither cat spoke, both seeming tense and deep in thought. Mintpaw exhaled. Hopefully StarClan will have some advice to offer.

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The other medicine cats were already there by the time the two AirClan cats arrived. The news of the rogue attack hadn't yet been passed out, but the other Clans must've heard something. But, it seems that they didn't, for only Nightstrike offered a sympathetic blink. However, Mintpaw noticed a new ginger tom, younger than she and Cloverpaw, standing besides Ravenleaf. 

After the greetings were over, Ravenleaf stood up. "This is my new apprentice, Foxpaw," she announced, her fur fluffed with excitement. Mintpaw wondered if the ginger tom was her first ever apprentice. 

The black she-cat then stepped towards the Moonpool, reciting the sacred words that introduced the new medicine apprentices to StarClan, as Echoleaf had done for Mintpaw. When that ritual was over, the medicine cats leaned down, dipping their noses into the Moonpool. The gray tabby hurried to follow, hoping that she could exchange a few words with Foxpaw after.

The gray tabby leaned down, lapping a few drops of the clear, cool water. Instantly, she felt her body slump as she was sucked into a dream.

When Mintpaw opened her eyes, she was inside an unfamiliar forest. Trees dipped downwards, their branches swaying calmly with the gentle breeze. Leaves fluttered around, sometimes floating gracefully towards the ground. The air was thick with scents of prey. The grass was lush under the she-cat's paws, and she felt a calm feeling wash over her. She would be happy to stay here forever. It was so peaceful. For a moment, she didn't even care where she was. She was just glad that StarClan hadn't sent her another mist dream.

Suddenly, low voices caught her attention. The tabby's pelt pricked with unease as she tried figuring out where it had come from. As the voices grew louder and louder, realization dawned on her. The voices were coming towards her! Mintpaw suddenly felt an urge to hide. Swiftly, she leaped into the bushes besides her, just as the undergrowth rustled and three cats pushed their way into the clearing. The tabby breathed a sigh of relief. They hadn't seen her.

Peeking her head through the leaves, she caught sight of a small white tom. Recognition flowed through her. It was Cloudpool! The three cats' eyes were all dimmed with worry, their pelts twitching with unease, stomping their paws anxiously. Stars rippled through their fur. Mintpaw suddenly realized where she was. She was in StarClan's forest. The gray tabby angled her ears, trying to catch what the cats were talking about.

"What should we do?" Cloudpool was mewing, his voice twisted with worry. "The visions are piecing together!"

Besides him, a brown-and-white she-cat with blue eyes ruffled her fur. "We haven't had a vision about the rogues," she reminded him. "And besides, if we had, what could we have told them? That the rogues are bad? They aren't mice! They've figured that out pretty well themselves, haven't they? There was no way to stop the rogue attack."

Cloudpool nodded. "You're right, Skymist, but I just wish there was something we could do instead of watching helplessly."

"We've done all we can," a ginger-colored tom meowed. "We've sent all the visions we could to them! There's no knowledge that we can offer." His amber eyes flashed with defeat. "We can't even see what changes the future so suddenly into such a bloody one." His pelt twitched. "All we can see is the fighting and blood that lies ahead."

His words fell into silence.

Mintpaw pricked her ears. A bloody future? Why were they so focused on the rogue attack? What could that have brought? Why was that even a topic in the conversation? Her tail-tip twitched. The rogue attack couldn't have been that important, could it?

Skymist ruffled her pelt. "Maybe another vision will be sent to us soon," she offered. However, despite her words, there didn't seem to be much hope in her eyes. "Foxclaw, have you seen anything?"

The ginger tom shook his head. "Nothing but the last vision, the one with Leafwhisker and Cobrastrike, the one about the kits. The alternative future."

"Maybe that alternative future will happen instead," Cloudpool mewed hopefully.

Suddenly, Skymist's tail lashed with frustration. "I don't understand why there's no more visions!" Her voice was strained with worry, anger, and frustration. Layers and layers of emotions shone in her tone. "How are we supposed to guide the Clans with the little information that we have? Are we just supposed to sit here, knowing that there's a bloody future ahead, and not do anything about it?"

Foxclaw touched his tail-tip to her shoulder. "We've done all we could."

Skymist dropped her head. "I know," she meowed softly. "I just wish that there could be a vision about the rogues. You all saw how dangerous they are, and now AirClan's seen it, too! They've interacted! You all have seen in the visions about the affect they'll have on the future!"

"But there's nothing," Cloudpool meowed. "There's nothing more that we can do, either. We'll just have to wait and hope that another vision will come."

Foxclaw shuffled his paws. "Well, I'll go greet Ravenleaf's new apprentice, Foxpaw. We are kin, after all. Perhaps he'd like to meet who he was named after."

Shock flared through Mintpaw. Foxclaw was a WaterClan cat, not a AirClan one? Then why was he so hung up in prophecies that seemed to involve AirClan the most? Skymist had mentioned that AirClan and the rogues interacted, as though it was important! And, if anything, it should be FireClan or EarthClan, because of Leafwhisker and Cobrastrike! Realization dawned on her. Whatever the bloody future was, it impacted all the Clans.

Skymist dipped her head. "Ivyleaf's already greeting him," she meowed, "but you can go join them."

Foxclaw swished his tail, as though looking forward to something more cheerful. With a twitch of his pelt in farewell, he disappeared into the bushes, leaving Skymist and Cloudpool.

"I wonder," Skymist began, "if she even realizes that these visions are about herself. If she realizes what an important part she plays in this."

"I hope so." Cloudpool's voice was worried. "Otherwise those visions would've been sent for nothing."

Skymist opened her jaws in reply, but she suddenly stopped. Her brown-and-white pelt twitched suspiciously, and her gaze moved to where Mintpaw was hiding. The gray tabby froze. She'd been caught! 

"Sorry," Mintpaw began quickly as she stepped out of the bushes. "I just-"

"You're not supposed to be here!" Cloudpool meowed, worried. "Who let you in?"

Skymist's eyes narrowed. "You were spying!"

"I wasn't!" Okay, that was a lie, but under the brown-and-white she-cat's fierce gaze, Mintpaw couldn't help but feel afraid.

Cloudpool touched his tail-tip to his companion's pelt, perhaps in an attempt to calm her down, but it didn't work. Skymist leaped forward, her eyes swirling with rage. "What did you hear?"

"N-not much!" Mintpaw yelped. Again, lie.

"You're not supposed to be here." Skymist echoed Cloudpool's words. Her paws swiped out, slamming against Mintpaw. Not enough to hurt her, but enough to wake her up.

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Mintpaw gasped, lifting her head from the Moonpool. Most of the other medicine cats were still wrapped up in their dreams. Her mind whirled as thoughts flashed through it. Were the visions about her? The StarClan cats had mentioned how she'd played such an important role. Sure, they didn't mention her name, but she had received those visions, hadn't she? And, she understood Skymist's fury. She wouldn't like it if someone was spying on her, either. The StarClan cat must've been caught off guard. And, she was certainly worried, and anger was easy to release with those emotions.

The gray tabby shook her head. Am I meant to stop the 'bloody future'? What am I supposed to do? I'm a medicine cat! I can't fight. And most importantly, what was Skymist going to say before she spotted me?

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Word Count // 1790

Not Edited

Hi! Sorry for not posting in a while, and sorry for the long chapter. Any thoughts on Skymist? She's not going to be that important, but I'd still like to hear your thoughts! The picture at the top is Cloudpool! Okay, bye!