A Forest Divided/Prologue

Chapter Summary
Clear Sky's PoV
 * Clear Sky watches as cats with pelts dusted with starlight pace around the clearing. He catches sight of Gray Wing on the far side of the clearing and shivers. A realization that the dead outnumber the living crosses his mind. Clear Sky glances at the grave where the cats killed in the Great Battle lay. The spirit cats glance at the light gray tom and continue to murmur to each other. Clear Sky wishes the spirit cats could've summoned them to a greenleaf clearing rather than a leaf-bare clearing, as it was a dream anyways.


 * He is approached by Storm, who comments that he came. The tom's heart aches with grief, and he wonders how things would be different if she hadn't left. Clear Sky asks Storm why she called him there. Her gaze hardens, and she tells him that they're tired of waiting. This confuses her former mate, but before he can respond, River Ripple emerges into the clearing, followed by Tall Shadow and Thunder. Quickly after, Wind Runner brushes past Clear Sky. Clear Sky shifts his paws uneasily when he realizes the dead are standing together, while the living are standing apart. He wonders if the spirit cats are all that unites them now.


 * Storm jerks the tom out of his thoughts. She mentions that the cats have not begin to grow and spread like the Blazing Star. The she-cat then asks if it's because they're scared. Clear Sky denies this; he tells Storm that they have already taken over the forest and moor, recruiting more cats all the time. He thinks about his own group's recent growth.


 * Clear Sky hears an angry mew telling him that it's not enough and is surprised to find himself looking at his sister, Fluttering Bird. He recalls her being a skinny, starving kit from the mountains, but now she looks sleek and firm. Storm excuses herself to go talk with Gray Wing, leaving the two siblings alone. Clear Sky begins to tell his sister that it's good to see her, but she cuts him off, calling him a mouse-heart. The tom stiffens, wondering how a kit dare speak to him like that. He then begins to ponder if his sister had become wiser than him in her time with the spirit cats. Fluttering Bird continues to remind him that nothing had been done. Clear Sky argues that they survived, mentioning that it's leaf-bare. The young kit tells him that they should be thinking about their kits, adding that strength doesn't come from cowering like frightened prey. The light gray tom bristles, claiming that he never cowers.


 * Fluttering Bird persists, telling him to act and to follow his heart, for it will lead him home. Clear Sky thinks she means the mountains, but the kit tells him not to think of his old home. He wonders where she meant, but Fluttering Bird says that she has told him all he needs to know, and now they must start thinking for themselves.


 * Clear Sky looks around to see cats reuniting with lost friends, spotting Wind Runner eagerly spending time with her dead kits. Upon seeing all the cats crowded together, he murmurs that they all traveled to this area together, but no longer even share prey. Fluttering Bird reminds the tom that it is his fault. He retaliates, claiming he was just trying to do his best. The tiny kit asks why he stands alone, if he has anyone to care for him. Clear Sky is unable to answer his sister. Gray Wing and Thunder seem far away now, and he knows they still blame him for taking One Eye into the forest. He wonders if they'd still come if he needed them.


 * The light gray tom turns back to Fluttering Bird, asking why she's saying all this. She tells Clear Sky that he has followed his head, not his heart, and that each cat must find their home soon. Fluttering Bird tells him to follow his heart, and begins to fade, along with the rest of the spirits. Clear Sky ponders the meaning of his sister's message, wondering if a possible meaning was that she wanted them to join forces, like a Tribe. The tom awakens in his nest, calm enfolding him as he believes he understands Fluttering Bird's message. He gets up and bounds into the forest and looks up at the sky. Clear Sky thinks to himself that he understands now, he must draw all the cats close together in order to grow and spread like the Blazing Star.