[squidz]

| BERRYSHINE |

small & nimble dark brown she-cat with darker flecks and light, leafy-green eyes | the collector | dreamwalker |

[ riverclan medicine cat | she-cat | 15 moons | timid, kind, hardworking ]

—

Lostspark... did that name sound familiar? RiverClan's medicine cat wasn't sure, but she shook it off for now. The entire interaction had been strange enough, and Berry's mind was foggy enough with all that was going on. She simply took the news as it was, deciding to ponder if she'd ever seen or heard of the former Clan cat who now lived in the mystical cave below.

Berryshine had nodded gratefully to the news from both the newly-named Owlstar and... Cobwebstorm! At once Berry's eyes softened, recognizing the weight of her friend's new name. For honor, for her own force... the medicine cat knew it felt right. It was a bit unnerving to hear that StarClan had been disappointed enough not to give Owlstar a proper life, at least one, but... she was still granted her new name. It was gonna be alright.

She touched her nose to Cobwebstorm's ear and flicked Owlstar's shoulder with her tail, eyes gleaming with relief and pride. "Stars... I-I'm happy for both of you. We're... w-we're gonna be alright. Let's get home, before—"

But the jumpy she-cat froze, her wary senses catching that slight little tremble. At first, she'd thought she'd imagined it — yet it had still been enough for her words to falter off, eyes narrowed in confusion as she glanced back deeper into the cave. "Uh... sorry," she muttered, shaking her head. "T-Thought I heard something. But, a-anyway, we—"

This time, no, she knew she wasn't imagining it. Berryshine froze, eyes going wide as she felt the ground rumble beneath her paws. What in StarClan's name...? Before the she-cat could ask if her fellow high ranks had felt that, there was the sound of pebbles falling... then chunks of rock, one landing dangerously close to her paws. Berryshine jumped back in alarm, a squeak of surprise escaping her, heart skipping a beat. Oh no.

She had never experienced something like this before, the literal ground quaking beneath her paws. But that didn't mean her instincts didn't immediately scream at her: run.

And run, she did.

"W-What the-... w-we gotta get outta here! Run!" She sputtered to her Clanmates, practically scrambling into both of them as her small frame lurched, trying to propel her friends forward as well. The medicine cat ran as fast as she ever had as the rocks tumbled around them, hissing in pain as a few pebbles and smaller rocks struck her side. Thankfully, nothing fatal or too injurious, but enough to try and falter her steps. But she wouldn't let it; panic fueled her paws into a blur, the nimble she-cat racing faster than the erratic beat of her heart. The roar of tumbling rocks and the shaking ground overwhelmed her senses, filling her veins with fiery adrenaline.

It wasn't until she nearly stumbled to the ground, her lungs screaming for air when Berryshine finally stopped, whirling around. Gasping for breath, the medicine cat stared wide-eyed, making sure her companions were with her. To her shock and horror, the entrance to the Starcave—the place they'd all been standing just moments before—was now covered in piles of stones, not an inch of space spared.

The entrance had been sealed.

And had they'd been just a few steps short, a whisker too late — they would've met the darkness beneath the stones as well.

"Great StarClan..." Trembling like a leaf, Berryshine could only stare, stunned, for several moments. Then dread began to pool with an icy trickle into her belly. Maybe a sixth sense, maybe her own spiritual beliefs and connection to the stars via her position... whatever it was, something felt restless in the medicine cat. Unnerved, shifted, wrong...

"...Something's very, very wrong," she whispered hoarsely, ears flattening as the shock began to mix with her fear. StarClan... were they angry? Or had something terrible just happened? And... was this because of the RiverClan cats' visit, and their tumultuous past? More disapproval from their starry ancestors — and a final, unprecedented movement to cut them off?

Regardless, one thing was for sure, spoken in a horrified murmur of realization:

"..T-The Starcave is closed off... for good."

[ @Marigoldwhisper @finley ]