Prologue

Prologue - Tanja

The chilly new-leaf night dug its blunted claws into the forest.  Nothing dared move except the trees.  They bowed and bent in the late night air.  It was almost moon high, but the stars seemed to be hiding behind a thick layer of clouds.  A young she-cat sat among the grass and earth, staring up at the sky.  She hoped her warrior ancestors were not abandoning her, especially now.  If they did, who knew what would happen to him.  He needed to be okay.  Another cat padded into the clearing to sit beside the first.  The newcomer's tail wrapped around the other's comfortingly.  Together, they stared at the stars, surrounded by the nightly noises of the forest.  After a while, the second cat sighed.  "There is nothing more we can do for him.  Cedarfrost will hunt with StarClan forevermore."  The she-cat whirled around.  "What do you mean you can't do anything more for him?" she demanded. "You are a medicine cat for StarClan's sake!  You gave up training to be a warrior to let cats die?  There must be something you can do!"  The she-cat's words hit the medicine cat's heart, but she didn't even flinch.  Instead, she held the she-cat's furious gaze.  "I am still only an apprentice," she reminded the she-cat.  "There is still much for me to learn, but not even Bramblefoot can do anything.  It is his time to join StarClan.  You must learn to let go."  The she-cat blinked back tears. "He can't leave me."  The medicine cat calmly looked at the young she-cat as she tried to reason it out in her head.  Finally, she spoke.  "This is your fault," she said with her head bowed.  The medicine cat continued watching her process this loss for a few heartbeats before speaking again.  "You of all cats should know that I was never interested in having cats or being a warrior," she meowed calmly.  "And I never said I could save every cat."  The she-cat glared at the medicine cat, hatred burning in her eyes.  "You said you could save him.  You promised me," she said, her voice shaking.  "And I trusted you." She laughed coldly.  "What good is a medicine cat who can't even save one little cat?"  The medicine cat continued holding the she-cat's gaze.  "I gave an oath to serve every cat that needed my help, not to save every cat," she pointed out.  The she-cat laughed again, seemingly not having heard the cat she was laughing at.  "To think I once called you 'sister'," she said with a sneer.  "If you were my sister, you would have chosen better than this!"  Tears now joined the burning hate in the she-cat's eyes.  "I'll make sure none of Cedarfrost's kits ever become a disgrace like you!" she spat at her sister before turning to stalk away.  If she had looked back for even a second, she would have seen a glimmer of hurt in her sister's eyes, as well as the deep love the medicine cat had for her sister.  As the medicine cat stood in the semi-darkness and silence on her own, she looked up at the sky.  Cedarfrost would have joined her ancestors by now.  She noticed a single star shining brightly among Silverpelt.  As she stared at it, she understood what he was trying to tell her.  Cedarfrost was giving her something she very desperately needed: reassurance.  He seemed to meow in her ear: "My death was not your fault.  Forgive my mate.  She needs time and love."  As the young medicine cat basked in the warmth of his presence, she heard one more thing before the darkness returned: "The river, moon, clover, and fox will join together to save the clans.  The cycle of hate will be broken.  Fear not, Hawkdawn."  She let the darkness envelop her as she wondered what it could mean.