Chapter 5

                                   Chapter 5

“Now.” Lakestar announced. “Where were you?” There was another tone in his voice, with a hint of worry, yet barely recognizable.

“We- w-we were…” Sunstreak stumbled with her words. Lakestar flicked his tail with impatience, expecting an answer to his question.

“We just decided to take a break out in the meadow.” Whiteclaw blurted out.

                  “I see...” Lakestar replied. His icy gaze drifted over Whiteclaw, checking for a small hint of lying. Whiteclaw didn’t know why, but Lakestar’s icy stare seemed to have another emotion, hidden deeper in Lakestar’s memory-filled eyes. “Sunstreak.” He stated. “I already told you today you would be having your lessons.”

By looking at Sunstreak’s guilty expression, Whiteclaw could tell she had forgotten.

                  “Now we will discuss these matters later.” He announced. “For now, follow me. We have something else to discuss.”

He led them into the castle, and Whiteclaw couldn’t help but admiring the green jade and ruby overflowing from chests. She padded after Lakestar, sharing a worried glance with Sunstreak. They stopped at the throne, nodding to the group of gathering wolves.

Lakestar started. “Shadestorm is arriving to-“ Suddenly, a grinning black wolf with wispy black fur and green eyes as sparkly as jade trotted through the doorway.

“I decided to leave a bit early.” The wolf, named Shadestorm, explained.

                  “Hello Shadestorm.” Lakestar greeted, his icy gaze filling with warmth and pleasant surprise.

                  “I missed you.” Shadestorm said, padding over to his father. His throat rumbled with pleasure as they touched noses. “Hello Sunstreak.” Sunstreak touched noses with her older brother, her expression breaking into a grin. He whispered into Sunstreak’s ear, as if sharing secret, and Sunstreak cracked up to his comment. Whiteclaw had just met this black wolf , yet she already liked him if he could turn a worried Sunstreak into a laughing one.

                  “How did your journey go?” Foxtail asked.

                  “Wonderful.” Shadestorm replied. “And I brought a few friends along.” Two wolves walked in, one with shaggy silver and dark gray fur, with intelligent blue eyes and her witty smile. The other one came in more reluctantly, slowly creeping into the room with his yellow eyes troubled. He had light brown fur, and a broken tail. “These are Mudfoot and Whistlewind.” Shadestorm introduced.                              

Whistlewind smiled, but Mudfoot just mumbled “Hi.” while looking at the floor. Whiteclaw could tell he was shy.

                  “I met them at Frozen Valley.” Whiteclaw shivered at just the thought of the valley’s freezing weather.

                  “My family was hurt in a snowstorm,” Whistlewind said. “They were too weak from their wounds to travel, but I told them I’d go with Shadestorm. I promised to not get hurt, since they’d probably expect me to fall off a bridge or something else drastic.” Shadestorm smiled at Whistlewind, and his tail curled around hers. He winked at her.

                  “Dad.” Shadestorm started. “I have something else to tell you…” He dragged on, waiting a few silent seconds to continue. “Me and Whistlewind are mates.”

Chapter 4

                                    Chapter 4 

Sunstreak leaped through the long grass blades, laughing and rolling around in the late spring green. Beams of bright sunlight glazed her golden fur. She was about to pounce on a rabbit, when she heard the soft patter of pawsteps approaching.

 “Who are you?” She growled, her fur bristling. She leaped onto the stranger’s white fur, her claws hanging on tight, and her sharp fangs sinking into the light coat. The stranger leaped up, scraping Sunstreak’s underbelly with sharp claws. Sunstreak backed away, and spat out the foul white fur sickening her taste buds.

                  “Who are you?” She asked again. She got no answer. She gripped the attacker’s ear, twisting it with her claw. The two cats turned into a writhing mass of fur and fangs. Finally they both lay down, exhausted but still glaring with anger.

                  “Its me.” Whiteclaw barked through clenched teeth. “Whiteclaw.”

                  “Whiteclaw?” Sunstreak repeated.

                  Whiteclaw nodded. “I just joined the Dawn Forest wolves and Mangopelt accidently transported me here.”

                  Sunstreak sighed. “Soon, I’ll be expected to rule over all of the regions.”

                  “But won’t it be grand being a leader?” Whiteclaw replied. “Oh, I see. It’s a lot of responsibility.”

Sunstreak’s eyes misted with tears. “Sometimes I just feel like taking a break from all the training and having days like these.” Sunstreak flipped onto her back next to Whiteclaw.

The morning drifted by as the two cats watched the trees rustle in the hazy wind. They talked more, smiling and frowning and laughing together. Even after their unpleasant first meeting,

Sunstreak considered this strange cat to be her friend.  She could tell her anything, and Whiteclaw had a kind empathy that helped Sunstreak feel better.

 Soon Sunstreak felt her responsibilities drifting away from her mind, and she actually seemed to be enjoying herself.

They padded through the sunny day, climbing great oaks that cast long shadows over the earth, and dreaming and laughing and running after each other. Sunstreak gave Whiteclaw a tour, explaining every shadowy corner, sunny field, lake, castle, great oak, or even patch of dirt they saw. Sunstreak had a story for everything. “This is the tree where me and Shadepaw invented leaf pie.” She chuckled at the memory. “I still remember taking the first bite.” Seeing Whiteclaw’s puzzled expression, she quickly explained that Shadepaw, now Shadestorm, was her brother, who had been sent to a different region for his first quest.

 “I understand how you feel.” Whiteclaw replied. “Silverkit is still in the dawn forest. He’ll probably make me write a novel about my adventures here.”

Soon the cheerful day was drawing to an end, and the two young wolves took a quick splash in a pond. “Its called Holsy Pond.” Sunstreak looked wistfully at the great body of water, memories flooding into her mind. She quickly pushed them away, and let herself take in the warm, soothing scents drifting from the great body of  water.

“I think we should be heading back.” Whiteclaw said, shaking the water of her snowy coat. Sunstreak agreed.

“Follow me.” She instructed. “I have a quick way to get back to the castle.” After trudging threw mud and puddles and treaching over large boulders, they arrived. Their cheerfulness quickly drained away as they spotted Lakestar sitting at the entrance, with a stern expression and a tail twitching with anger. They knew right away, trouble was coming.

Chapter 3

                                 Chapter 3

Shadows poured through the sunny glade. Tumbledown castles lay, in ruins, and smooth pebbles littered the landscape. A large blue lake lay in the middle of a grassy clearing, lined with rustling sticky pines. A tall mountain towered over the lake proudly, poking its pointy tip into the sky.

 Mangopelt flicked her tail, and they were bathed in sunlight. There was a loud clack, and a green castle replaced the lake.

Whiteclaw gasped at the shimmering emerald castle towering in front of her. It was decorated with green vines, and lined with clover. Castle servants poured out of the doors, in a tumbling tornado of clattering dishes (emerald) and (emerald) plates. She peered closer, realizing the servants were mice!

She followed Mangopelt inside, and gasped again. It was even better inside!

The walls were a deep, clear emerald and rubys and diamonds sparkled in emerald chests lined with pine needles. Murals lined the walls, showing dashing forests and sunny glades that looked as if they came from a dream.

There were even more servants inside, sweeping and hurrying about with all kinds of treasures. There long, pink tails dragged across the floor. Most of them were clustering around the green throne in the middle of the room, nodding to orders and then disappearing into the growing crowd.

A wolf sat atop the high throne, smiling proudly and announcing orders. A smaller throne stood cowering next to it, with a smaller wolf sitting atop it.

Mangopelt drifted by the emerald pillars and treasures of the room as if they were small specks of dust, only looking at the king’s waiting expression. Whiteclaw hurried after Mangopelt, struggling to not get lost in the crowd. She spotted Mangopelt chatting with the king. “So how is the Dawn region doing?” The king asked.

 “Wonderful.” Mangopelt replied. “The food is plentiful this year.”

The king nodded from his throne. He motioned for the smaller wolf to come closer. “This is Sunstreak, the next Guardian.” He announced.

“I can tell you’ll grow up to be a wonderful guardian.” Mangopelt praised.

Sunstreak blushed. “Thank-you.” She replied, smiling.

A third wolf, who had been near the wall, leapt to his feet. He carefully walked around the crowd, padding towards the taller throne. “Hello Sunstreak, Lakestar, Mangopelt.” He greeted. He had a noticeably long and furry tail, splattered with white at the tip.

“What is a guardian?” Whiteclaw murmured.

                 

Suddenly a loud crash interrupted her thoughts. Three dishes clattered to the floor, spraying water over a scrawny mouse’s fur. It let out a squeal of fear, and scurried into the closet.

                 

Whiteclaw twisted her ear back to the confusing conversation, listening intently. “Why, I think I spot a white tail over there.” Lakestar’s expression shifted from a smile to a puzzled frown. “It isn’t a mouse…” He dragged on. He crept closer to Whiteclaw. Whiteclaw shifted her tail down, but it was too late. “Who are you?” Lakestar frowned, his icy blue eyes staring into Whiteclaw’s green.

 “Whi-Whiteclaw.” She stuttered when realizing he was a leader, and felt uncomfortable in his presence.

          “Mangopelt, I thought you said you’d stop bringing in cats from different regions.” He calmly ordered to Mangopelt.

Mangopelt sighed. “Its been happening quite a lot.” Mangopelt’s gaze shifted towards the smaller throne, her mouth open to ask a question. She quickly changed her mind, her expression shocked. “Sun… Sunstreak is gone!”

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 She awoke to a sharp pain on her tail. “Sorry.” A kind, soothing voice said.  It had a calming effect on Whiteclaw, and she forgot about the other night’s worrying events.

A soft, moist herb was being rubbed on her back, and the pain eased. “Your wounds are healing quickly.” The voice said.

 “Thank-you for helping me.” Whiteclaw licked her snowy white fur, pulling out dirty tufts.

“Want a tour?” The voice asked, coming from a mango-furred wolf sitting on the stone. “And you may call me Mangopelt.”

“Ok.” Snowclaw nodded.

“Follow me.” Mangopelt, led Whiteclaw out of the cave, into the sunny forest. Light shone through the leaves, turning them emerald and gold. The sky was a deep dark blue, and finally, Snowpaw felt at home.  

When they were cubs, Whiteclaw and Silverkit were abandoned and forced to stay in hiding. They were constantly on the move, since they were on human territory. Kids played in nearby branches, and that forest had stretched out for miles and miles, and as a cub Snowpaw had long dreamed about leaving that musty wood, and exploring the world beyond. But to get out of that wood, Snowpaw and her sister would’ve had to go through a human settlement. . It was too dangerous.  

Yet they had been chasing squirrels one day, and accidently went into the terrible place the humans lived in.

Humans found them, and threw pointy weapons at their fur. A large dog, a golden retriever, had guarded them and hid them in the basement.  

They owed him many thank-you’s for that brave feat, and they became friends, though they  

were very unalike. The dog had offered Whiteclaw dirty brown things called kibbles, in a plastic bowl. The dog chased squirrels for fun, while Whiteclaw and Silverkit hunted squirrels to survive.  She was filled with jealousy over how those humans treated the dog, petting him and loving him and feeding him treats.  But Snowpaw knew she could never live that easy life. Not after the humans chased her. She was forced to stay in the forest, hardly managing to find scraps. But now, though she had been here only two days, felt like this would be her home.  

                  Mangopelt trotted ahead, and Snowclaw struggled to keep up. Mangopelt finally stopped at a fallen oak, plastered with spider webs and moss. “This is The Tree of Dreams.” She said. “Ask it any question, and if your question isn’t greedy or un-grantable, the tree will tell you the answer in a dream.”

Snowclaw stood, staring at the tree in awe. A tree that could ask questions? That sounded to good to be true. A thousand questions ran through her mind, yet she stopped at one. She was about to whisper her wish, when she noticed Mangopelt’s expression. She looked at the tree with hate, not awe and happiness. She heard a quiet mutter, at the edge of her mind.  “At least, it answers your questions with lies.”

Snowclaw quickly decided to continue on with the tour, but was turned to Mangopelt’s angry gaze. Finally she spoke. “Can you continue the tour?” She asked.

                  Snowclaw waited a few seconds, yet heard no answer. Mangopelt was whispering things to the tree, in an icy voice much different from the warm, soothing voice Snowclaw had heard before.,

                  Mangopelt started whispering a bit louder, reciting spell words. Somehow the words didn’t sound mortal, and they sent a strange sensation shooting down from her ears to her paws. Strange mist swirled around the air, and somehow Snowclaw knew she should stop it.  The tree branches shook, and rain poured down, swirling into a twisting tornado of light. Snowclaw raced to hold onto something, but it was too late.

Right before the darkness came, Snowclaw had one last thought. Who is Mangopelt really? She heard a loud roar of wind, and the stars came.