Skyclan returns

Chapter 6

Hollywing stifled a yawn as she woke up the next morning, dawn light filtering in through the tree canopy above the quarry. It took a moment for her to remember what had happened the previous night, and when she did, she looked to her left to see that Mousewhisker wasn't there. Hollywing smelled where he had slept the night before, but his scent was stale.

Hollywing stood up and stretched her stiff limbs, wondering what to do. She wasn't on any patrols that she knew of, but she felt like going hunting. Maybe she could ask Brambleclaw to let her go on a hunting patrol. With this thought in mind, Hollywing made her way over to the warriors' den and poked her head in. "Is Brambleclaw here?" she asked.

"He left on the dawn patrol," Hazeltail murmured sleepily.

"I wanted to go on a hunting patrol so badly, too," Hollywing replied disappointedly.

"I'll go with you if you want," Brackenfur offered. "I'll see if Whitewing and Icepaw want to come along too." Brackenfur crept out of the warriors' den and headed to the apprentices' den.

"Thanks Brackenfur," Hollywing purred. She made as if to follow him, but Firestar was coming towards her with a determined expression on his face.

"Hollywing, I want you to stay in camp today," Firestar mewed as he approached her.

"Why?" Hollywing asked, startled. "I was just about to go out on a hunting patrol with Brackenfur, Whitewing, and Icepaw."

"Tell them they need to find someone else for the patrol," Firestar replied briskly. "I want you to rest your wound so you can go to the Gathering tomorrow night."

"I'm going?" Hollywing asked excitedly.

Firestar nodded his head. "Honeyear and Lionclaw will be going too."

"What about Jaysight?" Hollywing asked angrily. Why did Firestar leave him out of everything?

"He'll be staying in camp," Firestar answered.

"Why?" Hollywing asked, shocked. "It'll be his first Gathering as a full medicine cat and he really wants to go to this one."

Firestar paused. "Alright, Jaysight may go," Firestar conceded. "As long as you stay in camp and rest up."

"Can I play with Harekit?" Hollywing asked.

"Of course," Firestar answered with a smile before he walked off.

Hollywing jumped as Jaysight padded up next to her. "Thanks," he murmured gratefully, licking her ear.

"No problem," Hollywing replied. Brackenfur was walking over with Whitewing and Icepaw. "Sorry, Firestar just told me I couldn't leave camp because of my wound. I can't go hunting with you guys."

"We'll find another cat to join us, don't worry," Brackenfur meowed before the small group moved off to find an available cat.

"I'm going to be bored out of my fur having to stay in camp all day," Hollywing sighed, wistfully watching the three cats go.

"You could help me sort herbs," Jaysight suggested in a friendly tone. "You were a medicine cat apprentice once, so you could out if you really wanted to."

"Okay, but only for a little bit," Hollywing agreed. "After that I think I'll go to the nursery and play with Harekit."

Jaysight led her up into the medicine den and to the back were it was nice and cool. He flicked his tail at a mess of herbs that had just been collected. "Horsetail goes over there, in that corner, catmint leaves go right here, dock leaves in this first row right here, borage right in the back there next to those nettles," Jaysight directed with his tail and muzzle.

Hollywing soon got the hang of sorting through herbs again and together they made the pile of herbs disappear into neat rows. Hollywing's paws were itching to be out running in the forest, smelling all the scents, and feeling the wind tug at her fur as she passed by soaring trees and prickly bushes.

"I think I'm going to go find Harekit," Hollywing announced, standing up. "She might want to play a game. Want to come?"

Jaysight looked as if he was about to refuse, but seemed to change his mind, and nod his head. Hollywing trotted briskly out of the medicine den with Jaysight on her heels, and they headed to the nursery. Daisy and Millie were outside sunning themselves while Molekit and Harekit were tumbling around on the ground.

As Harekit saw Hollywing approach, she entangled herself from Molekit's paws and bounded over to her and Jaysight. "Hi Hollywing, hi Jaysight!" Harekit greeted them. "Did you come to play?"

"Of course," Hollywing answered.

"Do you guys want to play hide and seek?" Harekit asked, turning to the other kits, who nodded furiously. She turned back to Hollywing and Jaysight, and they nodded their heads in agreement too.

"Okay, Hollywing, it's your turn to be it," Harekit told Hollywing. Then turning to Jaysight, she started explaining the rules of the game. "We're allowed to hide anywhere in the hollow, just as long as it's not on the quarry walls or out of the camp. You can't go in any dens, but you can hide behind them. You are allowed to change hiding places during the game, but if Hollywing sees you, you're it. The first cat Hollywing finds will be it the next round and the cat that's it can't scent out those who are hiding. Any questions?" Jaysight shook his head, slightly bemused. "Then start counting Hollywing, and no peeking!"

The two kits scrambled to hiding places and Jaysight tried to find one for himself, feeling slightly foolish at the same time. Hollywing closed her eyes and started counting aloud, giving the hiders plenty of warning. "One…Two…Three…Four…"

Jaysight hid behind the nursery, directly behind Hollywing and out of her immediate view. He scented Harekit hide behind the half rock and Molekit behind Millie, which caused her and Daisy to purr.

Hollywing stopped counting when she reached twenty, and started looking around. She immediately saw Harekit's tail poking out behind the half rock. Looking truly stumped as to where the kits were hiding, she casually walked over to the half rock, then jumped onto it, peering down at Harekit below her.

"Try hiding your tail," Hollywing advised Harekit as she looked up. Lionclaw, Jaysight, and I got caught hiding once because Lionclaw's tail was showing out of the bush we were hiding in."

"Thanks, Hollywing," Harekit mewed, and she started counting right where she was. Hollywing dashed over to the elders' den, and hid behind it, making sure to stay well out of view.

The game went on for a long time, each cat being found at least three times and having to be it, until Leafpool came back from collecting herbs and saw Jaysight playing when he should've been checking wounds from yesterday's battle. Jaysight returned to the medicine den, and Hollywing could tell that he had been enjoying himself once he had gotten used to the game.

It was decidedly no fun playing hide and seek with only three cats, so Harekit, Molekit, and Hollywing stopped playing. "I'm going to go help Jaysight in the medicine den," Hollywing mewed, and headed to the medicine den.

Hollywing pushed aside the brambles and made her way into the medicine den once again. "Do you need any help?" Hollywing asked Jaysight.

"No, actually I think I'm just about done," Jaysight replied.

"Oh, okay," Hollywing mewed. "I guess I'll just go get some fresh-kill then." Hollywing padded out of the den and ran into a SkyClan cat on her way to the fresh-kill pile. She was a gray tabby, and she looked very edgy.

"Hi, I'm Hollywing," Hollywing mewed, trying to be friendly.

"I'm Mintfur," the SkyClan she-cat replied.

"You look nervous," Hollywing commented as they reached the fresh-kill pile.

"I am," Mintfur told her. "What if the other Clans don't agree to let us stay here with them? Our home is already destroyed, apparently; we'll have nowhere else to go."

"I'm sure the other Clans will agree," Hollywing assured her picking out a mouse. "There's no reason why they shouldn't. It's not like any of them are losing any territory."

"Thanks," Mintfur sighed, picking up a vole and padding away to a group of her Clanmates.

Hollywing made her way over to the half rock where Lionclaw and Poppyflower were sharing tongues. "Hi," Hollywing greeted them before she started to eat.

"Hi Hollywing," Poppyflower replied. "I can't wait for the Gathering tomorrow night, can you?"

"It's definitely going to be a big night," Hollywing thought aloud. "I take it you're going?"

"Of course," Poppyflower answered. "I wouldn't miss it for anything."

"Me either," Lionclaw agreed. "If the other Clans agree, I wonder when SkyClan will move into their new territory."

"Probably the morning after the Gathering," Hollywing suggested. "They wouldn't want to have to try and explore their new territory at night when they can't see anything, so they'll have to wait until it's light out. They'll do it the next morning, though, because they want to have their own territory instead of living in ThunderClan's full camp."

"Sounds like sense to me," Leafstar agreed, walking towards Hollywing, Lionclaw, and Poppyflower, taking them by surprise. "That was what I had been thinking. Hollywing, would you like to take a walk with me in the forest?"

"I'm confined to camp because of my wound, so I can go to the Gathering tomorrow night," Hollywing replied. Why had Leafstar wanted to take a walk with her?

"We'll only be walking, and I'll take the blame if we get caught out of camp," Leafstar assured her.

"I wouldn't want you to get in trouble, and I don't want to go against Firestar's word, either," Hollywing meowed apologetically.

"Then we'll go and ask him to let you out of camp," Leafstar replied.

"Okay," Hollywing mewed, standing up and following Leafstar to Firestar's den. Why was Leafstar trying so hard to get her out of camp for a walk? Hollywing waited below the Highledge while Leafstar went into Firestar's den.

It was a long time before Leafstar came down, but she looked happy. "Firestar said we could go out for a little while," Leafstar mewed as she passed Hollywing, who fell in step behind her.

Leafstar and Hollywing went through the thorn tunnel and walked in silence below the trees' shadows. They were silent, each with their own thoughts. "You don't know what your destiny is yet, do you?" Leafstar finally asked.

"I'm not sure any cat knows their destiny until it actually happens," Hollywing replied, startled.

"You're going to be a great leader of ThunderClan," Leafstar told her.

"You don't know that," Hollywing mewed, shaking her head. "Brambleclaw is deputy and Firestar still has a lot of lives left."

"Firestar will not live forever, and neither will Brambleclaw," Leafstar replied.

"By the time both of them are done being leaders, I'll be long gone," Hollywing argued.

"Do you not want to become a leader?" Leafstar asked.

"Of course I do; who wouldn't?" Hollywing asked. "I'm just saying it's a little out of my reach. Even if, StarClan forbid, Brambleclaw did die and Firestar had to choose another deputy, he'd choose Graystripe, or someone much more experienced than me."

"Not if it wasn't meant to be," Leafstar persisted. "Hollywing, Echosong and I've had visions of you becoming the leader of ThunderClan after Firestar. StarClan sent us these signs, and they must not be ignored or taken lightly."

"I don't know," Hollywing sighed. "Are you sure they weren't just dreams you got from eating a rotten piece of fresh-kill?"

"Hollywing, I am sure," Leafstar assured her.

"Why tell me all of this?" Hollywing asked.

"You have a right to know, since it is your destiny after all," Leafstar replied. Hollywing looked up from the ground and saw that they were back at the thorn tunnel again. "Just remember what I've said; you'll be a truly great leader one day."

Leafstar disappeared into the thorn tunnel, leaving Hollywing behind, confused. Was it true? Was she really going to be a leader of her Clan? Excitement flowed through Hollywing, along with a strong hint of doubt. She shook her head to clear it, and headed through the thorn tunnel, back to where she had slept the night before.

Hollywing settled down to think things through, but ended up falling asleep in the sun's warm last rays of the day.