The moth

The moth led Moth Flight throughout Moth Flight's Vision, including to aid Moth Flight and Micah in the discovery of the Moonstone.

Description

The moth is a pale green insect with wide, translucent wings. Whenever she sees it, Moth Flight feels the urge to chase it, and it would disappear and reappear to guide her. The moth is seen only by certain cats; while Moth Flight, Micah, and Dappled Pelt have been said to see it, Gorse Fur and Moth Flight's kits have been said not to.

History

In the Super Editions

Moth Flight's Vision

During Moth Flight's dream of the blue-gray she-cat, she sees a great, green moth in the corner of her eyes, and sunshine floods through its transparent leaves, making them glow. Moth Flight watches the moth fly toward Highstones, and she unconsciously leaps the ditch and begins to follow the insect as it bobs over the grass. Moth Flight feels determined to reach it, but when it flies away, Moth Flight feels a fierce longing in her heart, and silently wails for the moth to wait for her.

Later, when Moth Flight hunts with Wind Runner, Gorse Fur, and Dust Muzzle, she sees wide green wings fluttering a tail-length away from her, and she realizes it is the moth from her dream. Moth Flight longs to follow the moth and she purrs, pelting after it, even though Wind Runner calls after her as she chases it. Although Moth Flight hears her Clanmates call her, her eyes are fixed on the great green wings, and she knows that the moth wants to show her something. When the moth and its follower reach the Thunderpath, they both pause, but the moth then wheels in the air and flies back to Moth Flight, swooping above her head. Moth Flight thinks that it is beckoning her to keep following, and she says that she is coming, and the moth heads toward the fields beyond the Thunderpath. Moth Flight leaps for the moth, but Gorse Fur stops her from going onto the Thunderpath, yet is infuriated with her for being so reckless. Moth Flight explains that she was chasing the moth, and she wonders if he hasn't seen it. Wind Runner scolds Moth Flight harshly and the young she-cat flees from her Clan, but the moth has disappeared by now. When she had been chasing it, she had been sure that she had been heading the right way, but now she is unsure of where to go.

At the end of Moth Flight's dream of the gray she-cat receiving her nine lives, she sees a familiar color flash at the edge of the cave and spots the green moth fluttering beyond the starry cat. It hovers over the tunnel entrance, and Moth Flight, thinking that she must follow it, passes through the circle of starry cats and hurries into the darkness beyond, but she wakes then. Moth Flight looks across the field and wonders where her moth is, then realizes that it is waiting to lead her. The white she-cat wonders where to and when the moth will lead her, and is curious as to why it always seems to disappears just when she starts to follow it. However, she thinks that the moth doesn't want her to give up, and though she briefly has doubts on if the moth might be just a dream, she still goes in the direction of Highstones.

The next morning, Moth Flight leaves Spotted Fur, who had found her the night before, and she goes in the direction of Highstones. As she continues, she reaches an area with rich foliage, and wonders if the moth simply wanted to lead her there. Moth Flight tries to catch a mouse, but as she is about to pounce on it, green wings flutter beside her and Moth Flight stops, realizing that it is the moth. She stares at the moth, which is right in front of her, its great wings brilliant in the sunshine. Moth Flight reaches up with her forepaw to touch it but it whisks away and begins to head across the field. Moth Flight chases the moth, delighted, and thinks that it has come to show her the way. It flits past a group of sheep which Moth Flight veers around, and lifts higher into the air. Moth Flight is afraid that she will lose sight of it, but runs faster, determined not to lose it that time. However, Moth Flight hears a dog and is forced to drag her gaze from the moth. Moth Flight gets saved from the dog by barn cats, and she goes into their barn. When Cow offers her a mouse, Moth Flight shakes her head, since she thinks that the moth still has something to show her. Moth Flight discusses her dreams with Micah, and mentions that she dreams about a moth, asking if he does too, and while doing so, she wonders if Micah would know what the moth meant.

The next day, Moth Flight goes outside to where the barn cats are, she wonders if the moth had been leading her to the farm, since that was where she found Micah. She thinks that the moth might have wanted them to meet, but she pushes the idea away. Cow and Mouse urge her to stay in the barn longer, but Moth Flight sees green wings fluttering at the far end of the stone clearing, and it swoops back and forth over a stone wall, as if beckoning her. The young she-cat heads toward it, but Cow and Mouse stop her from leaving. Moth Flight thinks that she can’t let the moth get away, but it suddenly flits away, heading for the trees beyond the wall. Moth Flight strains to see it over Mouse and Cow, when it flutters toward the wall once more. Moth Flight silently promises it that she is coming, and Micah convinces Cow and Mouse that Moth Flight must go. Moth Flight tells him that the moth from her dreams is trying to show her something. Micah also asks to come with Moth Flight, and he says that he must find out about the moth and the spirit-cats. Moth Flight decides that Micah must be linked with the moth and the spirit-cats, and decides to let him come. The moth lifts into the air and begins to zigzag toward the trees, and she urges that they must leave now. Moth Flight doesn’t wait for Micah to finish his farewells, and she glances at the moth, whose wings are nearly camouflaged against the budding trees. The young she-cat chases after it and begins to track the moth, barely managing to make it out as it flits through the woods. The moth drops low to bob over the ferns, and Micah catches up, asking what the rush is. Moth Flight shows him the moth, which has stopped to rest for a moment against the bark of a beech. She asks him if he can see it and Micah’s eyes widen, exclaiming that it is beautiful, and asking if it is the moth that she dreamed about. Moth Flight says that it is, and is relieved that the moth is real and not her imagination, since Micah can see it too. The moth takes off once again, and begins to weave once more among the trees, leaving Moth Flight and Micah to follow.

The two follow the moth, which avoids the Twoleg farm, and as Moth Flight and Micah emerge from the woods, it veers deeper into the valley. Although they haven't eaten all day, Moth Flight doesn't want to stop and hunt in fear of losing the moth. The green insect leads them over countless fields, following the setting sun and heading closer to Highstones. As they approach Highstones and the land slopes ahead of them, the moth lifts higher, swooping toward the sheer cliff above. Micah says that they can’t keep following it without rest, but Moth Flight insists that they must, since they could lose it. Micah sits down and comforts her that it will come back in the morning, since it has came back before. Moth Flight protests, but Micah looks at the moth that flutters against the cliff face, and asks how they will follow it up there. Moth Flight insists that there must be a way, but the moth’s wings are hardly visible against the shadowed stone, and Moth Flight needs to squint to make them out. She announces that it has stopped moving, and wonders if it is tired too. The moth is hardly visible as it rests on the lip of a cliff face, and Moth Flight knows that it must be what it wants to show her. She scrabbles up the slope, and as she nears the entrance, the moth lifts once more into the air and begins to spiral upward. Moth Flight calls to it to wait, asking if it won’t show her what is inside, but the moth keeps circling upward until it lifts above Highstones. Moth Flight stains to see it as it flutters higher until it is no more than a speck, and she desperately asks Micah if he can see it, but he says that it is gone. Moth Flight is horrified, but he soothes her that it has shown her what it wanted to show her. Moth Flight realizes that she must go into Highstones, but tells Micah that she will go herself, since he only dreamed of her, and not moths. As Micah goes to catch a mouse before Moth Flight enter Highstones, she glances at the gaping mouth of the cliff face, and hopes that the moth wouldn't have led her anywhere dangerous.

When Moth Flight is inside Highstones, and Half Moon visits her in her dream, Moth Flight asks why she must dream alone if her dreams led her there, but Half Moon reminds her that the moth led her there. Moth Flight asks Half Moon if she sent it but realizes that the StarClan cat must have sent it, and asks how she knew that Moth Flight would follow it. Half Moon answers that they didn't know, but hoped that she would. Once Moth Flight leaves the cave and explains her dream to Micah, she doubts if she can be a medicine cat, and he says that she has dreams of moths and spirit-cats, and would do brilliantly. She decides that she will be a medicine cat, but wonders if he is ready to be told of his destiny that he is to be a medicine cat too, since although he followed the moth with her, he did not agree to live with the Clans.

When Moth Flight goes to the Gathering that night with Micah, she explains that the moth led her to the cave, and Wind Runner asks if it is the moth she is always dreaming about. Moth Flight answers that it is, and when the other leaders seem doubtful, she insists that she didn't dream it, and it was real. Micah adds that she saw the moth, and when Clear Sky accuses him of saying that to be a medicine cat, Micah replies that the moth was real, and led them to Highstones.

Once the Gathering is over and Micah leaves, green wings flit in the moonlight overhead, and Moth Flight realizes that it is the moth. It flutters toward her until it settles on her muzzle, and her whiskers twitch as it tickles her nose. Moth Flight's breath stirs its wings, then it swoops away, higher and higher until it is lost among the trees. Moth Flight wonders if the moth came to say good-bye, and she silently thanks it.

Many moons later, when Wind Runner is ill and Moth Flight goes to Dappled Pelt for help, after the RiverClan medicine cat can offer no help, Moth Flight suddenly sees green wings flutters at the edge of her vision and sees that moth, but wonders why it came back now. She stares at the moth, which circles her then flits upslope, dancing on the breeze and, as if beckoning her like it had so many moons ago. Moth Flight glances at Dappled Pelt, wondering if she has seen it too, and the tortoiseshell she-cat gazes at the moth curiously as it flutters farther uphill and pauses again. Moth Flight breathes that it wants her to follow it, and Dappled Pelt murmurs that she should. The white she-cat races after the moth, wondering if it can show her how to save Wind Runner's life.

Moth Flight follows the moth upslope and though she runs quicker, the moth flutters farther and farther ahead, and Moth Flight silently pleads it to wait for her. Although she is tired, she knows that the moth will show her something, but wonders what it is. The insect flits on and Moth Flight follows it as it heads downhill, and she realizes that it wants her to go to Highstones again. The moth stops and hovers on the breeze before ducking past Moth Flight and heading back toward the moor. Moth Flight is surprised and asks where it is going, and she races after the moth and watches it bob downslope toward the camp, before halting again and shivering in midair while she catches up. Moth Flight is frustrated and demands to know where it wants her to go to, and it bobs again toward Highstones, but as soon as Moth Flight turns to follow, it heads back toward camp. the moth hangs in the air, letting the wind toss it one way then another. Moth Flight exclaims at it to make up its mind, but then she remembers that the last time she went to the Moonstone, StarClan gave them something, and something matters now, and she realizes that that is why StarClan sent the moth to fetch her. Moth Flight understands, and blinks at the moth, asking if it wants her to bring Wind Runner. The moth flutters closer to camp, as if agreeing, and Moth Flight hurries after it, yowling that it wants her to lead her mother to the Moonstone. As she does so, the moth flutters higher, its green wings bright against the gray sky.

Moth Flight sets out towards Highstones with Wind Runner, but her mother begins to suffer after crossing a Thunderpath. This causes Moth Flight to wonder if she was wrong, and if the moth had nothing to do with StarClan. She reminds herself that moths and butterflies always appear across the heather, and wonders why this one would be special. However, Wind Runner says that she won't give up and as Moth Flight gazes up at the sheer cliff face, green wings flutter above her, and the moth bobs toward the dark opening in the stone.

At the end of the book, after Bubbling Stream gives birth to her kits, Moth Flight tells her kits that her time to pass will come very soon, and she has been dreaming about it. Moth Flight tells her kits that she is very proud of them, but is interrupted when a moth flies in front of her. Her kits call her name but Moth Flight ignores it as she watches the moth flutter by her. She knows that none of her kits can see the moth and that it is just meant for her, and the moth flies farther away. As Moth Flight says farewell to her kits, the moth flutters above her head as she say her good-byes to Blue Whisker, and she follow the moth out of the cave. She is sure that StarClan sent the moth for her, and follows it until she sees Micah, where the moth stops and flutters behind her.

In the Field Guides

The Ultimate Guide

In Moth Flight's section, although no moth is specifically mentioned, it is said that she would be distracted by the discovery of a feather of a bunch of berries. It mentions that when Moth Flight was exiled from WindClan, she followed signs she could see, such as blowing feathers of flying birds, to a cave in the mountains beyond the Clans' territories.

Secrets of the Clans

Although there is no green moth in Secrets of the Clans, there is a similar blue feather in which Mothflight followed onto the Thunderpath just as she had followed the moth onto the Thunderpath in Moth Flight's Vision. It is described as a light blue feather, and she follows it when it drifts over ShadowClan territory, but is scolded by Windstar for it. Mothflight apologizes that she felt like it was calling to her, and Windstar asks where the feather was calling her to. Mothflight nods toward the Highstones, and Windstar banishes her from WindClan.

See also

• StarClan
• Moth Flight
• Moth Flight's Vision
• Highstones

External links

• Reading the Omens on the Warriors official website