I wait in the camp, as tense as my Clanmates. There is no deputy to organize patrols, so most cats are out to hunt on their own, or just stay around in camp, like I am. Suddenly, ferns swish, and a tall grey-and-brown tom enters the camp. "Rootwhisker!" I exclaim loudly. I watch as he climbs the tall boulder in the center of the CloudClan camp. My clanmates and I wait anxiously as he pauses at the top. "I have received my name and my nine lives from StarClan." he announces. His next words are lost in loud yowling. "Rootstar! Rootstar!" each CloudClan cat calls. I yowl my leader's name loudest of all. "Rootstar!" I feel another pang of sadness as I picture Rainstar walking among the stars. Although she's gone, her memory is still fresh in all of our hearts. But I know Rootstar will be a good leader. I look up at him, admiring his strength and power. What would it be like, to lead a clan? I ask myself.
After all of my clanmates are done celebrating, I feel sleep drag at my paws. Rootstar pads over to me. "Get some rest." he tells me gently. Eyes drooping, I pad to my nest in the apprentices' den. Soon, I give in to the blackness crowding my thoughts.
"Goldpaw." I see a starry shape in front of me. I can't distinguish the cat, but I feel a strange sense of calm and peace as she calls my name. "I am your ancestor." the cat meows. "I was once a part of CloudClan." A name forms in my mind. "Stormstar?" I ask hesitantly. "Yes, Goldpaw." the she-cat mews. "You can ask me anything." I can't help but blurt out what's on my mind. "Will I ever lead CloudClan?" I ask, a bit frightened at my ambition. Stormstar's eyes look amused. "No, leading CloudClan is not your destiny." she mews. I feel a bit of guilty remorse. Shouldn't I be happy that Rootstar will continue to be leader for many moons?
Stormstar's eyes sparkle with the light of the stars. "This is not your path." she repeats. "There will be many changes taking place for you to achieve your destiny." her faint voice grows more intense. "Storm and Rain will sweep many cats from their clans, and you will be among them. Soon, your time in CloudClan will be over, and you will never be able to return."
"What can I do to change this fate?" my voice rises to a yowl as I see everything around me start to fade. "No! Wait!" soon, I'm back in my nest in the apprentices' den, but I can't get Stormstar's words out of my head. They sounded like a prophecy.
Now I am Goldshimmer. The omen still haunts me, even now. Since I became deputy of CloudClan, the ambition has started pricking at my paws once again. Shouldn't I give up, now that I know I'll never achieve my goal? I, of course, don't ever want Rootstar to leave CloudClan, but I can't help feeling saddened that my dream was far from reality.
"Goldshimmer?" A voice reaches my ear. I turn around and see Dapplestar. "Dapplestar!" I mew happily. "What can we do for you?" Dapplestar purrs. "Can we come into Rootstar's den?" she asks me. "We need to talk..."
Dapplestar tells me about her plan. She wants to add two new clans to the forest. I support her idea. "What will the Clans be called?" I ask. "StormClan and RainClan." she replies. I shudder at the words "storm" and "rain". These two things will destroy the forest! Suddenly, I understand. Everything snaps into place. Storm and rain are the clans. They will bring cats from CloudClan and LightningClan to join them. The prophecy was not a bad thing.
Dapplestar's mew makes me jump back to the present. "Echospirit has chosen to lead RainClan." she meows. "You may lead StormClan, if you'd like." I know that this is what I was meant to do. Storm would take me from CloudClan, but not in the ways I'd thought. I would be Goldstar, leader StormClan.
Subject: Goldy's prophetic prophecy and an ominous omen about a feline's future ~ A short story with a long title by Goldy 
