And medicine cats are especially forbidden to fall in love. She cannot be thinking of me instead of her Clanmates—they depend on her too much. And StarClan might have trouble reaching her if her thoughts were all wound up in me. I knew they would be very angry with us. I wished I could fall in love with a WindClan she-cat—I wished I could feel this way without breaking the warrior code. But there is no cat in WindClan like Leafpaw.
I thought that when we reached the lake and went our separate ways I’d be able to forget her. But first she came to our camp to bring watermint to our sick cats, Morningflower and Darkfoot.
And the way I felt when I saw her—it made me angry to realize how little I could control my feelings. Onewhisker asked me to escort her home. I went as fast as I could; if I spoke to her, my secret might come spilling out. As I left her camp, Leafpaw thanked me in this sweet, natural way, as if I hadn’t been behaving like a badger with its fur clawed off. I had to get out of there before every cat could see what I was trying so hard to fight.
After Leafpaw found the Moonpool, she brought me a message from Feathertail. She said I should stop grieving and open my eyes to the living. What did that mean? Could Feathertail approve of my love for Leafpaw? Wasn’t she angry?
It was raining the night everything changed. Onewhisker was planning to travel to the Moonpool to receive his nine lives. I’d noticed Mudclaw’s whispers and looks, but I never thought he’d try anything so reckless as attack to Onewhisker—and bring other Clans to help him too!
As the battle was breaking up, Brambleclaw sent me chasing after two ShadowClan cats who made a run for it. We tore across the moors and into the ThunderClan woods. Branches whipped at my face, and rain sliced through my fur, but I ran on, determined to catch the traitors and punish them for all the wrongs done to my Clan.
I heard yowling ahead of me, and I crashed through some bushes, and there she was. The two ShadowClan warriors had fallen to their deaths, but Leafpaw was clinging desperately to the edge of a cliff, her claws scrabbling on the slick, wet rock. Her wild amber eyes met-mine, and she called for help. I was frozen… All I could think of was how I had failed Feathertail, how she had died because I couldn’t save her.
But I saved Leafpaw. She brought me back. She helped me shake off the memories as I reached forward and pulled her to safety. We lay there on the ground, gasping for breath, and I knew in that moment that I couldn’t fight my feelings anymore. I loved Leafpaw, and I told her so.
From the look in her eyes, I knew she felt the same way. She said everything I’d been feeling—that this couldn’t happen, that she was a medicine cat. But I could see her heart blazing in the depths of her eyes. I could see how much she cared for me too. I’d seen the same look in Feathertail’s eyes… but this was different. This was more dangerous, more forbidden. There was a feeling like lightning prickling along my fur every time I looked at Leafpaw. And now I knew she felt it too.
I decided at that moment that we would find a way to be together. The future was terrifying, but we would face it together…
our pelts brushing, our tails twined. Our hearts in love, forever.
Prophecies and Omens
StarClan’s messages are not always clear. Perhaps the hardest part of a medicine cat’s job is reading the omens that are hidden in the natural world. Do they truly come from StarClan?
What do they mean? How can they guide our pawsteps?
It is easy to misread their meanings or to manipulate how they are read. For instance, RiverClan’s medicine cat, Mudfur, found a moth’s wing lying outside his den, which he took to be a sign that Mothwing should be his apprentice, even though she was the daughter of a rogue cat and Tigerstar. However, as Leafpool later discovered, Mothwing’s brother Hawkfrost actually left the moth’s wing there on purpose, intending to trick Mudfur into believing it was a sign. His plan succeeded, paving the way for Hawkfrost to blackmail his sister into manipulating future signs to his benefit as well.
Some cats see signs everywhere; others doubt that StarClan is behind them. If our spirit ancestors can walk in our dreams and speak with us, why would they need to use such cryptic messages?
But there have been some undeniable omens. Before the battle with BloodClan, Firestar saw instead of his own reflection the face of a lion in a pool. He realized this was a reference to the lion and tiger prophecy (see Major Prophecies) and that only by combining the four Clans into LionClan could he save the forest.
As WindClan returned from their exile, the WindClan medicine cat, Barkface, saw the dawn clouds stained with blood.
He interpreted that the day would bring an unnecessary death. It was true. On their way back to the ThunderClan camp, Fireheart and Graystripe were attacked by a RiverClan patrol, and a warrior named Whiteclaw fell to his death over the edge of the Gorge.
Prophecies, on the other hand, are proclamations from StarClan that foretell huge events in the future of the Clans.
Although they may seem ominous and hard to understand, they mark significant turning points in the span of Clan history.
Major Prophecies
Spottedleaf received this message from StarClan on the night of the battle at Sunningrocks. It was my first defeat as ThunderClan’s leader. Morale was low, and there were stirrings of trouble from ShadowClan. ThunderClan needed more warriors, and I needed a sign from StarClan. But what we got didn’t make sense.
“Fire alone can save our Clan.”
But fire is feared by all the Clans. How could it save us?
A few days later, I was leading a patrol along the edge of the woods near Twolegplace. Tigerclaw had gone on ahead with Ravenpaw, and I was turning to ask Redtail a question when I spotted a cat sitting on a fence, looking out at the forest. From the way he held himself, I thought he must be a Clan cat. He looked proud and restless and curious, ready to charge into battle. A ray of sunshine broke through the clouds and touched his orange pelt. It lit up like a blaze of flame. In the next instant, the clouds closed in, and the fire dimmed; the cat began washing his paws with quick, delicate strokes.
I realized he was just a kittypet—the prophecy must have muddled my brain. A kittypet would be about as much use to us as fire!
Still, I kept thinking about him, and I wasn’t surprised when we ran into him again on a patrol. Lionheart and I saw him hunting a mouse. He had excellent form and sharp eyes. When Graypaw attacked him, rather than running like a regular kittypet, he turned to defend himself.
Maybe there was something to my theory after all…
That’s why I invited him to join the Clan. That’s why I named him Firepaw—part of me was hoping that he was a cat of prophecy and destiny.
And I was right.
When I died and joined StarClan, I knew that Fireheart had saved ThunderClan many times over and would do so again as leader. He is living fire: he has the warmth of fire to protect his Clan and the ferocity of fire to defend it.
This prophecy came to me during my leadership ceremony. I had received my nine lives and my Clan leader name. Then, even as StarClan welcomed me, I saw a hill of bones spattered with blood. I heard Bluestar whisper, “Something terrible is coming, Firestar. Four will become two. Lion and tiger will meet in battle, and blood will rule the forest.”
The meaning of the prophecy revealed itself to me gradually. Four will become two—that meant the forest Clans. RiverClan joined ShadowClan under Tigerstar’s leadership, calling themselves TigerClan. ThunderClan joined WindClan to make LionClan…