Echokit woke up the following day to Songcloud shaking her. “Songcloud, why?” she whined. “We’re seeing Irismoon about your dream! Wake up!” “I’m awake, I’m awake,” she groaned, stretching and almost sticking her tail up Windkit’s nose. “Hey!” Windkit squealed. “Be careful!” “Sorry,” Echokit mumbled. She then nearly crashed right into Icekit. That made Icekit wake up, quite grumpily. “Ugggh, Echokit,” Icekit groaned, shaking her fur and sending Echokit rolling backwards. “Be more careful. I was dreaming about honeycomb.” “We’re going to the medicine den,” Songcloud told her. Icekit popped her head up. “Okay, let’s go!” In the medicine cat den, Irismoon was sorting herbs. She turned towards the three kits. “Can I help you?” “Echokit’s been having a dream. A dream that Windkit and Icekit had a while ago,” Songcloud said. Irismoon turned to Echokit. “Tell me about this dream.” “Well, a glitter cat came and said ‘Beware the cat whose wings will shade the forest’ and then it was dark and another glitter cat said 'Three will stop the shade, three of a storm and three who blaze.’ and then it ended!” “That sounds a lot like a prophecy,” Irismoon said. “They’ve all had this dream,” Songcloud added. “They might be the Three if they all had this dream.” “What does ‘Blaze’ and ‘Storm’ mean though?” Songcloud made herself sound confused as she knew perfectly well what it meant. “Well, ‘Storm’ and ‘Blaze’ are both clan prefixes.” Irismoon sucked in a breath. “Greenwing isn't their father, is he?” Songcloud couldn’t keep a secret from a medicine cat, Echokit thought. “Their father isn’t Greenwing,” Songcloud admitted. “I don’t want anyone to know. Greenwing would get mad if he finds out I like another tom better than him.” “I understand. I’ll keep your secret, but who is their father? I have a few guesses. You don’t have to share if you don’t want to.” “I met him at a gathering, and we instantly fell in love, we snuck out and met at night, and soon came the first litter of kits,” Songcloud started to explain. “I’ve heard of one litter of kits that are half-clan, but two?” Irismoon looked impressed. “I can’t understand how you managed to pull that off. I myself, I have no interest in breaking the code that I am bound to. So that’s why you would sometimes sneak out of the nursery at night when I was a kit?” Songcloud smiled at Irismoon. “I sort of took Fangkit’s death as a sign, as I named him after his father. I thought it meant I wasn’t meant for him. But I kept visiting him. I still do, but no more kits. When I had Echokit I was scared she might meet the same fate as Fangkit, and I’m still scared of that. But also because these three are a handful. I’ll wait until they are apprentices for more.” She smiled wistfully at her kits. “There are only a few cats Fangkit could’ve been named after, and only one is from StormClan.” Irismoon clearly knew who Songcloud’s mate was. “Blackfang,” both Songcloud and Irismoon murmured. “Why are we talking about dad?” Windkit interrupted. “They know too?” Irismoon asked. “Of course they do. They are my kits, and I tell the truth. I also need them to know so that they would still call Greenwing their father and keep my secret.” “I like Greenwing too!” Windkit said. “I know!” Songcloud shushed him. “But who is ‘the one whose wings will shade the forest’?” Irismoon contemplated. “I guess we’ll figure it out eventually,” she said with a sigh. “Kits!” Songcloud turned to them. “Go play outside!” “Why!” Echokit whined. “This is about me!” “Because we’re having a private conversation!” “Could’ve said that before we heard your private conversation!” Icekit said, and walked out the entrance. Echokit bounded after her. “I have no idea who that cat could be,” Echokit, Icekit, and Windkit heard Irismoon tell their mother. “All cats in this clan are very sweet - well, except for my littermate, but other than making my job very hard, he does no harm.” “Maybe Shadepaw?” Songcloud asked. “He’s a single kit - a bad omen.” “Are you kidding me?” Irismoon asked. “No one could ever say that Shadepaw’s evil. He’s so sweet. Haven’t you seen him with your kits?” Echokit flashed back to when she was 1 moon old. Shadepaw - at the time, Shadekit - had played with them so gently, yet in a way that seemed fierce to Echokit. Yet fun at the same time. Echokit couldn’t believe Shadepaw was evil. He wasn’t. It was virtually impossible. “Another thing,” they heard Irismoon add. “Echokit doesn’t really look like you, Greenwing, or Blackfang. Since she had the dream, she probably has some involvement in what happens, but last time there was a prophecy that involved three cats, it wasn’t the original thought three that ended up being the final three. And also, sometimes one litter of kits can be born to two fathers. But each kit can only have one father, so Echokit might not be Blackfang’s kit.”
oOoOoOoH pLoT tWiSt (OoOoR iS iT.....)
