October Medicine Cat Meeting (2023)

An unsettling chill of unfamiliarity ghosted over the lurking depths of the night, fog joining in with its faint amber hue to give off an air of eerieness. It bothered Fawnshine so much so, reminding her of when the Dark Forest had taken over the reign of their originally claimed lands that the medicine cat found herself often looking over her shoulder in guard.

Eyes keen with caution never failed to notice the palpable tension in the air; stiffening cats from both the cold of Leaf-fall and iffy haze. Reoccurring visions flashed through Fawnshine's eyes, tail curling around Echosong in responsibility to help guard his fatigue from preying uncertainty of the night.

While she usually remained silent, or would politely dip her head in greeting to her fellow medicine cats—this time, they needed a difference. And if everyone kept feigning ignorant bliss to avoid impending danger from the stars; she knew the clans would be left under faulty paws. Not this time, Fawnshine narrowed her eyes, paws flexing against the cool earth in flashback to Batsong's miserably incompetent courage in mask for cowardice.  I'll take matters into my own paws.

No more lives should be lost for unreasonable fear. She looked over to Sandyshell, not missing her subtly longer stare. Lifting herself up to approach the fellow she-cat, Fawnshine tilted her head to whisper in her ear, "I know you've seen the vision just as I have. I don't think the Stars meant it on accident—they never do." Her gaze darkened. As much grudge as she held against them sometimes, she knew, with the duty she chained herself to as the medicine cat; that they only told prophecies necessary to hear. "If it's alright with you, I'd like you to stay with me, Echosong, as well as Smokepetal and/or Wolfblossom (when they arrive) after the meeting. I think a discussion of prophecies could help with the alliance between our clans and what StarClan is trying to foreshadow for us and the Forest."

She took a step back after, giving each cat a quick glance of observance; especially towards Echosong, to notify him that he was also included and would stay after the meeting with her and them. If this faired well, perhaps she could be warned of more danger that could affect Thunderclan, and learn more of theirs.

With the last medicine cat arriving at their meeting, Fawnshine took it upon herself to guide the others in. Her lithe figure slipped easily into the Mothermouth, eerie shadows swallowing her diluted form whole in the depths of the unknown. She beckoned for Echosong to follow close after her, tail flicking behind subtly in call.

Visiting the Moonstone and laying themselves under the prophecies Starclan held were all such familiar routines by now in every half-moon—though this time, it was bound to be different. She just knew it instinctively; and most times, she wasn't wrong. Pressing her nose up against the flat, cold surface of the stone, she laid her head down and allowed for her eyes to shut.

Fawnshine cringed both internally and out as she awoke from the prophetic dream; more nightmarish than pleasant, as expected of Starclan. She felt suffocated—drowning in palpable tension where it had already lain before, only now worsened by blood-stained memories. Even in such times when the Dark Forest had taken over the Forest, no illness as horrid as what the Stars had shown them was so hauntingly cruel.

With eyes narrowed, blinking as she sat herself back upright; she waited for Echosong, Sandyshell, and Smokepetal to stir awake from their own slumbers. "The red sun calls for you, and for your children. Choose your path, trust the sun's warmth. Your rivers will run dry, and your trees will die, and any meat you eat will turn to ash should you stray from your forsaken path." She repeats the prophecy, making sure to remember any important details in mind.

" 'Red sun', our kits and kins, and 'trust the sun's warmth'," Fawnshine mutters slowly at first, attempting to decipher the meaning behind the prophecy. "We know rivers drying, the trees dying, and meat disappearing are all of the sudden starvation and lack of prey in the forest. However, the cat seemed extremely ill, as was the cat in the previous moon's prophecy as well. Perhaps—they're warning us of a spreading, lethal illness?" Her tail flicked sharply, and she turned to her fellow medicine cats with concern. "What could the 'red sun' stand for?"