Dreaming Phoenix

[Sable]

Phoenixpaw stood at the yawning mouth of the dark cave, relishing the cool stone against her weary paw pads. Her entire body was exhausted, her fur made stiff from the dried blood that had rubbed off Ghostpaw's heavy body on the journey she made to drag him away from the old Twoleg house.

Even now, as she stood with her eyes closed, Phoenixpaw felt a sharp pain in her chest, as if it had been she who had been torn apart by the ravening dog-monster. The memory had been forever seared into her mind and heart: Ghostpaw's penetrating blue gaze, his jaws parted, ready to speak, when the gaping maw lined with pointed fangs had crushed down around his body, the yellow eyes above glittering with bloodlust and deranged glee.

Phoenixpaw shuddered, and opened her orange eyes. She tentatively took a step inside the great cavern. A cold wind whistled out to greet her, moaning it's nerve-racking dirge. Steeling herself, Phoenixpaw pressed on, down the sloping tunnel and into the darkness.

As the tunnel widened into a spacious cave, Phoenixpaw couldn't help but wonder if she was doing the right thing. The moon wasn't at it's correct phase, as far as she could tell. She gazed up through the hole in the roof at the sky, speckled with stars. Were Ghostpaw and Shadow really up there? She wasn't sure, but somehow her resolute belief that StarClan didn't exist began to waver. Maybe the stars far above really were more than just specks of light.

Carefully lying down, Phoenixpaw pressed her cheek close to the great hunk of rock that shone slightly, illuminated in the weak beam of moonlight from above. Even if they do accept me as a believer, Phoenixpaw thought drowsily, Will they come to me? All I want to do is find Ghostpaw. Is that selfish, to them?

Any more coherent thoughts were stifled as she drifted off to sleep. She felt as though she had only blinked. When she opened her eyes, she was terrified to find herself floating, as though weightless, with a horrible pressure on her chest. I can't breathe! she wailed silently. She caught sight of a thin strip of light, shining far above in the blue-black darkness. I guess that's it then, she thought, feeling strangely resigned. I'm going to die.

No sooner had this formed in her mind then she felt herself plummeting at a heart-stopping speed, as if gravity had suddenly decided to kick in. She landed in a breathless heap, in a clearing that she vaguely recognized as the Four Rocks, where the Clans would meet. Only now the place was alien, unfamiliar, because everything was bathed in a blinding white light, and the stars swirled slowly, like honey, above her head. But she was alone. "Hello?" she called out, her plaintive meow sounding lost and small. "Shadow? Ghostpaw? Anyone? Please!"

[» &Göldιê™; «]

<sub>Curled up, Ghostwind purred deeply, a rumble in his throat echoing rustily through his slender, ghostly shape. He was sharing tongues among the other cats of StarClan. Often while he was alive, he had wondered what the cats of StarClan did in their time when they weren't thinking up prophecies or whatever they did. Well, sharing tongues was one of those things; despite being dead, the cats' spirits still felt very vibrantly alive. Storytelling also occurred often, and Ghostwind loved to hear the voices of the cats, old in life but now back to their youth, still filled with the days of yore.

The pale white ghost looked up, his ears twitching. He felt something in him, a stirring in his heart that questioned something that he couldn't focus on. It was fleeting, escaping his mind when he tried to pin it down. Excusing himself from the company of the orange tabby she-cat with whom he had been conversing, he padded out into the space of the clearing, looking around with his head tilted. Bright blue eyes trying to focus, he remembered Phoenixpaw again.

Eyes shifting up to the starless abyss above him, he shivered a little. Though this place was where he belonged, and was certainly peaceful, he still yearned to walk the grounds below him. And to look upon Phoenixpaw again. Nothing meant more to him than she, even through his death and membership of the Clan in the sky. If only he could speak to her again!

It wasn't that simple; he knew it wasn't. He couldn't just go off and randomly talk to cats... could he? She couldn't hear him when he was talking to her just after he died, so how did going down make any difference? Still, just the thought of seeing her again made his unbeating heart feel as though it were throbbing. So, he made up his mind to go down.

Er... just how did I intend to do that again? Grinning to himself sheepishly, he scanned for the cave entrance that he had come through when he was following Riverfur into StarClan. Hastening towards it before anyone saw that he was gone, he streaked through the entrance and back into the room with the Moonstone. Alarm threatened when he remembered that while he had been passing into death he hadn't seen it, but immediate calm seized him at the sight of the Moonstone, sitting there and glowing. Alright then, that part's done...

Spotting motion at the other entrance, he strained his eyes to see through the sparkly stone's cast-off light. Taking a step forwards when he saw who it was, Ghostwind meowed aloud in joy, but he knew she couldn't hear him yet. Watching her pad towards the Moonstone made his mind race. Why was she coming... did she believe in StarClan? But how was that... cutting himself off from asking anything else to his confused self, he waited for her to press her nose to it before turning around and peeking through the cave entrance back into the Four Rocks clearing.

What he saw -- or, rather, didn't see -- surprised him. None of the StarClan cats were laying there, murmuring stories or sharing tongues. It was completely barren... except for one cat, standing in the middle. Putting one paw forward, he considered briefly what to say. No one had told him what to do. Geez, I hope I don't get in trouble for this later...

Waiting for her, he heard her voice call out for him, and the tom she had explained to him about, Shadow. A pang of loss gripped his throat, and it took him a few seconds to swallow the lump and face the fact that he hadn't seen the tom yet. But there was always hope, for the numbers of StarClan were vast, and he had not met nearly one fraction of all the cats residing therein. Stepping out of the shadows of the entrance, he padded towards her. He couldn't help the look in his eyes, of relief and gratitude that he'd been allowed to see her again, but he remembered a few things at once.

First, how she was a medicine cat apprentice, and how if she believed in StarClan he'd be able to speak to her more often. That thought made a purr well up in his throat. Second, how he must look right now, a ghostly pallor with starlight clinging to his fur and paws like dew. And third, the unmistakable audience of the spirits of the other cats, watching, observing. There was no doubt that all the cats remained nearby, and this became obvious when he noticed that the sky was once again glittering, although he knew this time there were definitely more StarClan warriors up there.

"It's good to see you," Ghostwind said huskily, emotion clinging to his warm words. He carefully padded towards her, purring almost silently.</sub>

[Sable]

Phoenixpaw felt the fur along her spine bristle involuntarily as she heard, or rather felt, the warm, kind voice that had become so familiar to her. The voice she'd believed impossible to hear again. She whirled around, heart pounding hard against her ribs.

For perhaps the first time, the sharp-tongued she-cat was at a total loss for words. Even though she'd made it this far, she hadn't really expected anything to happen. Yet there he was, shining with starlight.

"Well, you took your time getting here, didn't you? Lazy even as a dead cat!" Phoenixpaw hid her surprise behind an indignant tone, but her orange eyes shone brightly, a teasing glint in them. [/color]