Chapter Text
He wasn’t nothing before now, but he wasn’t this. He wasn’t this excited, at least. This connected.
Cold air whistled past Acornpaw’s whiskers. The grass underpaw was slick with dew, and his wide paws skimmed over it like ice on ice, shooting him through the throng. Dense coats brushed his flank- no cat bothered to correct his manners.
Ahead of him, his clanmates slowed. He gasped in surprise, throwing up clots of dirt as he skidded to a stop. “What’s the hold up?” he cried.
A big gray paw cuffed him across the shoulder. Oakstep was panting at his side, squinting. The crowd jostled them forward in a fluid step. Pricking his ears, Acornpaw caught the burbling of a stream past the line in front of them. That’s what was holding everyone up? SkyClan didn’t want to get their paws wet?
“They’re dead!” he exclaimed, tilting his head at Oakstep. “They have plenty of time to fluff and dry their coats- after I get to meet a real-life ShadowClan cat.”
Oakstep shook his head. “How long can this obsession with ShadowClan go on?” He clearly didn’t care for an answer, but Acornpaw would happily offer one.
“Until I meet one!”
It was hard to place how long ago SkyClan walked alongside the other four. In StarClan, time ran into itself casually and dripped with disinterest in the goings-on of the living. It took concentrated effort for SkyClan’s ancestors to keep their noses on them, especially after so many seasons of absolutely nothing interesting to look down upon, and Acornpaw wasn’t one to meddle. The living couldn’t get more exciting than meeting Skystar himself, and he’d done that ages ago.
This journey- and it turned out that the dead could still go on journeys- was the most thrilling thing a deceased apprentice could imagine. And his clanmates were acting like a whisker-length of perfect sparkling water would sweep them all the way back to the gorge if they forded it faster than a woodcock.
“You’re going to get bored of them in a lick. They aren’t that exciting.”
Acornpaw shot Oakstep a murderous look. “Like you’d know?”
His littermate had only lived a bit longer than him. Their first journey was thrilling, he’d admit, but he wished he’d gotten to the end of it. Either way, SkyClan had been isolating from the other Clans since before he or his older-younger brother (Acornpaw came out first, Quailheart assured him of this often) were born- since before their mother was born, if he recalled correctly. Neither of them had ever spoken to a ShadowClan cat. Or RiverClan, or WindClan, but ShadowClan’s stories were the most fascinating. Hearing about Shadowstar firstpaw from Hawkstar always sent a thrill through Acornpaw from toe to tail-tip.
Acornpaw hopped in place, nosing closer to the cats in front of him.
Oakstep chuffed. “You’re small enough, just crawl under their bellies- ack!” His mew was always high, but it cut off in a squeak when Acornpaw raked an unsheathed paw across his muzzle. “Don’t claw me!” he squealed.
“Forver-apprentice rules!” Acornpaw countered firmly, fur raised. Oakstep’s ears dropped, and he ran a paw over his unmarred nose. “Sorry,” Oakstep snuffled.
Forever-apprentice rules were supremely easy, and Oakstep was supremely bad at respecting them. Just don’t point out that your littermate will be an apprentice forever! And he wasn’t even that much smaller than you, you were only a few seasons older, it was just rotten!
The sting had a habit of overwhelming Acornpaw. He shook his thick pelt out, hissing out quick breaths to clear the bad air from his lungs. Before he could find his trunk again, light flickered across his eyes. A flash of white reflecting off the gentle flow of the water. A gap in the crowd, signaling their turn to cross. He dug his paws in and surged ahead of Oakstep, shouldering the bigger tom aside. Oakstep shouted in surprise.
The stream was freezing and numbed his paws on contact, splashing against his chest. He gasped, trudging forward as fast as he could, fighting the sucking water. His paws slid on the smooth round pebbles, tail swishing wildly behind him. And then he was across. A sudden warmth filled his chest and ran up his throat and into his stomach. He felt the heat flood his cheeks and prick at his eyes. He blinked furiously.
Dozens of warriors dawdled on the other shore, lapping at their legs and bellies. Acornpaw shook his head derisively. He ignored Oakstep’s call and shoved cats aside. Odd scents drifted past him, and he parted his jaws to take them in. SkyClan didn’t smell quite like SkyClan postmortem, but that sharp evergreen scent lay under the surface. He had always wondered if the same applied to the other Clans, and it seemed it did.
Acornpaw felt he would drown in the scents flooding his jaws. Moss, stone, salt, sun. ThunderClan, RiverClan, WindClan, ShadowClan.
Acornpaw wanted to run the length of StarClan and back. He wanted to soak all of this in and get it over with. So many cats, so many seasons upon seasons separating him from them. He didn’t think he’d ever get to be a part of this StarClan. He worried for his Clan beside the lake- how many of them felt the same way?
After he’d pushed through the last of his clanmates, an open clearing of sedge and wildflowers lay between him and a seemingly endless wave of cats. All of the stars in the sky seemed far fewer when only SkyClan occupied them. At their front, a clans-worth of warriors singled themselves out. He didn’t recognize a single one of them, but four stood out. One in particular.
She was taller than he expected, her verdant green eyes sharp and cold. He approached, dropping into a crawl, belly brushing the prickly grass. “Shadowstar,” he greeted brightly.
Shadowstar peered down at him. She glanced to each side, bewildered. “Yes?”
Acornpaw took that as a release, rising as tall as he could, measuring himself against her. “I’ve always wanted to meet you! I’m Acornpaw, I served beneath Cloudstar.”
Her lip twitched. “Hello, Acornpaw. I didn’t imagine you would be in our greeting party.”
The massive ginger tom to her left let out a rich purr. Acornpaw didn’t spare him a look. “I’m not. Just here to meet you. I want to learn about ShadowClan. I’ve waited countless seasons to talk to you, and just you. Maybe Ripplestar.”
Shadowstar balked, tail twitching. “Is that true? Ripplestar does not walk these skies, young one.”
Acornpaw narrowed his eyes. He’d take that from her. The other Clans might not know forever-apprentice rules yet. “That’s fine,” he shrugged. “Then I’ll just talk to you.”
“Is…Skystar approaching soon?”
“That lazy-bones?” Acornpaw slapped a paw on the ground. “Give it a few more lifetimes, I’m sure he’s dilly-dallying with his kits somewhere.” He glanced up in surprise at a chorus of purrs. Several SkyClan cats had caught up behind him, and surrounded them in a half-moon. Their ears were pricked with intrigue.
Shadowstar nodded slowly. She languidly ran a paw over her whiskers. “Well then. I suppose you lot must all have questions about us, and about our living charges beside the Lake. We owe you much. I’m at your service.”
“Yes!” he cheered. “First, before we get started- just so we’re all of the same voice- let me tell you about forever-apprentice rules…”
Oakstep groaned.