Chasing Shadows Chapter 20: Reflection in the MoonFalls

Chapter 20: Reflection in the MoonFalls.

It felt like the two apprentices had been sat there for moons. The night air was cold, but thankfully the terrain around the mountains blocked out the majority of the biting wind. The stone ground beneath them felt chilling against their fur, causing them both to feel the cold just that much more. The sky however remained clear, there wasn’t a cloud in sight and the stars and the moon shone clear as crystals over the coast.

Did that mean StarClan could see them now?

Razorpaw shivered, taking a deep breath as if trying to swallow his doubts. He could still feel a dull ache in his head from when he had passed out, echoing and pulsing like a wave of pain washing over him every few minutes. But it wasn’t so much the pain that was bothering him, more so the fact that the two apprentices could be padding into something big, ignoring a possible warning from StarClan themselves. He thought about the voices he had listened to while he had been unconscious, the way he had been suspended in darkness much like the first time he had heard the words of the prophecy. He wondered who the voices belonged to, and if they were trying to tell him something. But from what he had heard, there wasn’t anything in particular he could pick out that was any use to them. Maybe it was StarClan, or if Chaospaw was right, maybe something else was trying to speak to him?

Were StarClan the only ones looking down on them now?

It didn’t really matter. Even if there was something higher gazing down at the two apprentices, Razorpaw held complete faith that StarClan would show them the right thing to do when the time came.
He had to believe in them. His father walked those skies, after all.

He glanced over to Chaospaw, who had hardly moved a muscle since the two had stopped in the shadow of a large boulder. The black tom kept his eyes fixed on the MountainClan warrior perched at the cave entrance, watching like a hawk for any changes or sudden movements. Razorpaw looked from him to all the rocky surfaces surrounding them, the uneven crags and jutting rocks that made travelling harder but thankfully gave many places to hide. However, he still didn’t like the rocky territory of the MountainClan cats. Being encased by overlooking, jagged stones made him feel trapped. He didn’t think he could ever be warm without the grass and the shrubs brushing against his fur. It just didn’t feel natural to be where they were now.

“Hey!” He suddenly heard Chaospaw whisper to him. He quickly but quietly padded over to join the other tom, keeping just behind him as he watched Duskglow from the safety of the darkness. Razorpaw knew that while Chaospaw’s jet-black fur blended in ridiculously well with the shadows, his own sleek silver pelt would reflect even the slightest amount of moonlight if he made a wrong move.

“Look” Chaospaw flicked his ears ever so slightly in the direction of the mountain. Razorpaw crept forward a mouse-length, keeping himself pressed flat to the floor and as small as possible. Duskglow had been joined by another tom, and the two were having a conversation.

“What’s this about Shadepaw almost being caught by a bird?” The other cat, a reddish-brown dappled tom with sparkling lime green eyes, was asking the MountainClan warrior.
“There have been more eagles around lately” Duskglow answered briskly, obviously not intending to be friendly to this Medicine Cat either, “Acidstar just wants us to take caution.”
“I see” The brown tom nodded slightly, “So they sent only one warrior?”
Duskglow’s amber eyes narrowed and he gazed hard at the other cat. “No. Three, but the others are scouting the lower rocks.”
“Scouting around for what?” The Medicine Cat didn’t seem to have complete faith in the black warrior’s words. In all truth, Razorpaw had his doubts to.
“That’s none of your concern, Brackenshine.” Duskglow dismissed, quickly looking away as more cats began to emerge from the cave. The two apprentices in the shadows watched as Shimmerpool emerged with Flowerheart, and some cats the apprentices didn’t recognize. Ghostpaw and Russetpaw emerged at the back of the group, still having a hushed conversation between themselves.

“I had heard there was a warrior standing guard” And old, thin tom grumbled in a low voice, glaring outright at Duskglow. The old tom’s white and brown pelt was overshadowed by a long, pinky-red scar that stretched from his neck to his tail across the side of the pelt. There was no fur around the horrible looking mark, and the skin was cracked and loose. Whoever had treated the wound had made a mess of it, by the looks of things.

Duskglow didn’t answer, settling for glaring back at the old cat.
“He’s just here to keep us safe, Falconheart” Shimmerpool reassured, passing between the glaring cats, although she did cast a questioning glance at the black warrior, who again said nothing.
“We don’t need protecting” Falconheart scowled, “We do know how to defend ourselves.” He looked away from the other gathered cats, mumbling something to himself as he began to pad down the rocks. “Come on, Echopaw! It’s time to go!”
“H-Hey! Don’t leave me!” A long furred silver-grey she-cat hurried after him, almost tripping on several crags as she raced down the rocks to catch up with her mentor.
“I said wait, you old fish-face!”
“And I said hurry up!”

The rest of the group watched the duo pad down the rocks, occasionally glancing at each other with bemused looks.
“Echopaw’s so lively” Brackenshine purred, “You wouldn’t think though, y’know, having to train under Falconheart”
“You just can’t help some things” Flowerheart sighed, “Shall we get going, Shimmerpool?” She asked, turning to the ginger she-cat. Shimmerpool didn’t seem to be looking at anything in particular, just staring into the cold night sky, the stars reflecting brightly in her eyes. Flowerheart and Brackenshine both looked questioningly at the JungleClan Medicine Cat, while the three apprentices with them were still talking amongst themselves. Although he wasn’t facing the group of Medicine Cats, Duskglow had his head turned slightly towards them and he was watching Shimmerpool from the corner of his amber eye.
“Shimmerpool?” Brackenshine mewed, cocking his head to one side.
“Hm?” The ginger she-cat realized the others were staring at her, “Oh, sorry, I just spaced out for a moment” She purred lightly, giving her pelt a quick shake, “Well then, shall we go?”
“If you’re ready” Flowerheart dipped her head, “We’ll see you later, Brackenshine.”
“May StarClan light your path!” The dappled tom exclaimed, dipping his head in return, and beckoning his apprentice with his tail, “Come on, Hollypaw.”
“Okay!” The dusky grey she-cat in the group padded over to join her mentor, and the two left in the same direction that Falconheart had gone. The two remaining Medicine Cats watched them leave for a moment, before calling their own apprentices and beginning the journey home. Duskglow waited until they had all passed him before he too followed, padding along at the back of the group.

“Come on!” As soon as the group had vanished from sight, Chaospaw darted from the shadow of the boulder and headed straight for the cave. Razorpaw followed quickly, casting an uneasy glance in the direction the Medicine Cats had gone before following. He slowed as he came close to the cave entrance, eyeing the unlit cavern cautiously. They didn’t know what was in there, despite it being a passage up to the MoonFalls, stepping into the unknown was always a daunting prospect.

“How will we know where to go?” Razorpaw queried, waiting for his eyes to focus in the zero-visibility cave.
“We’ll follow the scents” Chaospaw explained, taking a step into the darkness, “Stay behind me.”

Feeling more nervous than determined, Razorpaw nodded shakily and filed behind Chaospaw as the two entered the cave, which soon enough thinned out to a tunnel. He could see nothing at all, not the rock walls that presumably surrounded them, nor Chaospaw in front of him or even his own paws. He could hear the muffled sound of his and Chaospaw’s paw steps against the cold hard stone, and the echoing drip of water from somewhere in the cave. He imagined there to be many cracks in the ceiling, leaking water from the MoonFalls down into the cave system. He tried to imagine what the MoonFalls looked like. Was it like the waterfall in JungleClan camp, only bigger? Or did it look much more different?

He realized he was letting his mind wander, so he tried to focus on following Chaospaw through the widening tunnel. The air was colder in here than it was outside, and it smelt of nothing in particular. Razorpaw fluffed out his fur and let out a cold sigh. He knew he couldn’t judge how far the tunnels went by the time the Medicine Cats took, because he didn’t know how long it took to talk to StarClan. He hoped that that it wouldn’t take long, but at the same time he hoped that they would tell him what he needed to know. At the very least, he hoped they would talk to him at all.

After a while, Razorpaw was able to make out the shape of Chaospaw in front of him. He could see just how wide the tunnel was, and see even some of the cracks and the crags on the wall. There was light somewhere ahead of them.

“Looks like we’ve made it” Chaospaw muttered as if reading Razorpaw’s thoughts. For the first time on this journey, Razorpaw was feeling excited, feeling his heart pumping in his chest and his paws tingling in anticipation. They’d made it across MountainClan territory and through the mountain by themselves and without being spotted. He felt a sense of pride for what they had done, despite it being against the code. Thankfully from the two apprentices, nothing had gone wrong.

Nothing had gone wrong. Yet.

“Can you hear it?” Chaospaw asked, glancing back at Razorpaw. The silver tom pricked his ears, picking up the faint rumble of water cascading over an edge just like the one back in camp.
“Yeah!” Razorpaw mewed happily, sounding like an excited kit, “We’ve made it!”
“Shh!” Chaospaw meowed, but with amusement in his voice, “We still don’t know what’s out there. So shut up, mouse-brain.”
“Sorry…” The silver tom muttered, feeling embarrassed. He hurried to pad beside Chaospaw as the tunnel began to widen, eventually opening out into an almost completely circular cavern, but one with no ceiling so the moon and stars in the night sky were visible. Water poured from one of the edges, cascading down one of the more uneven walls where shimmering wet moss grew. It wasn’t just a single waterfall either, three separate falls all joined together at the bottom to create a glittering pool of transparent water. More moss grew beside the edge of the pool, accompanied by some strange plants Razorpaw had never seen before. There were other, smaller still pools of water dotted around the cavern floor, and lichen-like plants dangling down the sides of the cavern.

“Woah…” Razorpaw gawped at the amazing sight, trying to take in everything at once, “This is amazing!”
“Hm” Chaospaw agreed, although he didn’t seem as impressed. He was gazing at the three falls, mainly the middle one, and the pool that was below them. Razorpaw followed his gaze, and for a moment he watched the water fall, entranced by the moon’s glimmering reflection off the water.

“Come on” Chaospaw made his was over to the pool, “We don’t have time to sit around.”
Razorpaw followed until they were both stood by the edge of the largest pool, staring down at their own reflections. Razorpaw saw his own image, his bright blue eyes and black-spotted silver fur so clearly, even in the rippling water. He could see Chaospaw beside him too, black fur gone silver in the light of the moon, and eyes looking a new bright red. And the cat on the other side of him, the big silver cat with eyes much like his own…

Razorpaw snapped his head to the side. Had they been followed? Had somebody found them?

But they were the only cats there. Razorpaw swept his gaze behind them, stopping momentarily at the dark tunnel entrance, but ultimately finding nothing.
“Did you see that?” He stared at Chaospaw, who was still looking at his own reflection.
“Hm, what?” The black tom didn’t seem to have been listening, “See what?”
“There was another reflection!” Razorpaw exclaimed, hating the feeling that he’d seen that cat before somewhere, but unable to figure out where.
Chaospaw looked from him to the water, and then back to him again, “There isn’t one now.”
“I know but-“ Razorpaw started.

“Calm down” Chaospaw told him, “This is the MoonFalls. I can’t explain everything that’s going to happen here. I’m in the dark about this as much as you are. If there was another reflection, it could’ve been StarClan or whoever else.”
Razorpaw blinked, deciding to take his friend’s words to heart and accepting the fact that for now, there was nothing they could do about the things they didn’t understand. “Alright” He took a deep breath, feeling his paws tingling again, “So what do we do?”
“Drink a bit of the water, I’m guessing” Chaospaw shrugged. He looked down into the pool a heartbeat longer, before crouching down and lapping up a mouthful of water. He lay down, tucking his paws neatly beneath his chest and hut his eyes. After that he didn’t move.

Razorpaw blinked again, wondering if Chaospaw was trying to sleep or already talking to StarClan. He wondered they could talk to StarClan at all.

Well. I suppose there’s only one way to find out for sure.

Taking the same position Chaospaw had Razorpaw stretched his neck and stuck his tongue into the water. It was cold and tasted of nothing, like any normal water. He swallowed, feeling the cool liquid slide down his throat. After a heartbeat, he began to feel different. His eyes were shutting by themselves, and he suddenly felt tired and achy, unable to move even in the slightest.

And just before his eyes had closed completely, gazing straight at him with his own bright blue eyes, the reflection of the third cat appeared in the pool once again.