"You going to eat that..?" He referenced to the sandpiper she had only started to defeather. His face was rimmed with medium long, stark white fur and  he had striking blue eyes. His nose was a soft pink, as were the insides of his finely shaped, erect ears. 

"Yes--it's mealtime. Who... who are you...?" She looked out into camp, where all of the cats who had once been relaxed were now bustling around. The border patrol had just arrived, and with them was a lovely light gray tabby, and she assumed this tom was also part of it.

"I'm just a stray. But the name's Calla. So... you gonna eat that...?" He must be new Company! 

"Calla...? Like the twoleg flowers? They don't grow in the territory— I—er... yeah! You can have it." She nosed to sandpiper to him, and he purred. He must be starving! The Company we take in are loners, so he's probably not had a meal every day like me. 

"Yeah. It's Calla, like the twoleg flowers. Thanks, molly," he picked up the small bird and padded back to the others. Wha—?  Very clearly and loudly, she heard the gray tabby growl at his arrival.

"Really Calla? Always thinking with your stomach and not your head. Go put the prey back, we still don't know if we're allowed to stay!" The other loner growled. He sheepishly ducked his head with a laugh. Sealshadow neared curiously. The gray she-cat was a sight: pale gray tabby, with a darker gray face, legs, and tail, and neat white paws. Tabby stripes lined the darker parts of her fur, giving the she-cat a sharp look. Her eyes were a piercing blue— wait... Sealshadow paused, feeling her fur raise slightly. Her eye  was piercing blue. She only has one eye!  The other eye, her right eye, was just.. gone. Gray fur covered where an eye had once been.

The she-cat scowled as her eyes met the dark tabby warrior.

"What're you looking at, dog breath?" The loner growled. Sealshadow took a step back, eyes wide.

"Ah, don't mind Sealshadow, she tends to stare...," the leader of the patrol, Pelicanwing, brushed it off. The gray tabby loner held her head up with a huff, and Cloudpaw hurried over from the direction of the leader's den. The white tom whispered something in his mentor Pelicanwing's ear, his eyes bright. "Also, good news, Stonestar is ready to see you two. She's this way."

Sealshadow watched the loners pad off to the den crafted into the side of the Stone Ledge, her sea-green eyes carefully following Calla.

"I bet Stonestar will let them stay as Company, no doubt. Maybe even let them become warriors later if they want." Oatleap, who had also been on the patrol, pad over. Their amber eyes were as soft as their golden brown tabby pelt, and they gave a small twitch of their whiskers in greeting.

"Yeah..? Calla seemed nice." Oatleap blinked.

"Yeah. He did seem nice. You never know what's really under a cat's skin though, ya know? And Shark... she's a real fighter. I'm sure she'd make a great addition to the clan if she decided to take the next step after Company. But it'll be interesting to see how many heads she butts with to get to that point." Oatleap glanced up, and their eyes lit up as they saw someone else. "Ah, Shellfang's here! See you later, maybe." The sunny brown tabby bounded across the cavern to a tortoiseshell she-cat. Oh. Okay. See you later, I guess.

Sealshadow watched Oatleap happily chat with Shellfang. She slumped down, staring at her paws, feeling as cold as the shadows she lay in. She glanced up as she felt a strange burning feeling, as if someone were watching her. Sure enough, as quick as she looked up, she briefly caught the gaze of Crabberry as he quickly averted his yellow eyes. Her brows creased in confusion. He thinks I'm part of some prophecy. I wonder if it's bad though. It might be one of those bad ones. The elders called bad prophecies 'omens.' What if I'm part of an omen, and I'm going to die?! She met Crabberry's eyes as they flashed up, and he nodded his head as if to say "follow me." She thought for a moment before standing up. He already set off, hobbling up the slopes that led to the entrance to camp, and quickly bounded away to shadow after him.

The sudden burst of sunlight briefly blinded her as she stepped out of the cave, and she took a moment to let her eyes adjust. She glanced around to where she could see the red fur of Crabberry as he disappeared into a sand dune lined with beachgrass. She made after the small prints in the sand that marked where the tom had tread off. The loose grit attempted to slip her up as she climbed the slight incline of the dune, but it was no match for the muscled warrior who merely bounded up the hill and into the tall grasses.

The old medicine cat was waiting in a small clearing of the dune. Grass lined the front half, and short saltbush dotted the back that sloped out to a view of the shoreline. 

"Good. You're curious," the old tom meowed thoughtfully. His eyes were narrowed and gleaming. 

"I just want to know what the prophecy is. Does it say I'll get hurt? Does it say if anyone gets hurt?" Sealshadow ducked her head, her tail tucking. He sighed and started pacing. 

"Hopefully no-one is hurt. The prophecy is vague, I'm not sure what it means. It was told generations ago, but I just know it's going to come soon. I feel it in my bones! Albatrossleaf doesn't believe me, she thinks I'm crazy!" Sealshadow's eyes widened with shock. "Sealshadow, tell me, are you... good? Are you a good cat?" Her tail swished back and forth anxiously.

"I-- I think I am, but some of my classmates don't like me. Maybe they think... I'm not good?" The spotted tabby paused, her tail quivering. "I try to be good, I've only done one bad thing, I swear!"

"Oh, so do you ever crave violence? Feel anger for no reason?!" He shoved his muzzle in her face, and she jumped back at the contact.

"N-No! No, never! I've only done one bad thing, and Stonestar said it wasn't my fault!" Crabberry slowed, and some sort of sensibility seemed to pass through his eyes. He backed up. 

"That's right. I forgot about... the accident." Sealshadow ducked her head, and he sat down. "That settles it. You tried to stop the accident, so you are a good cat." 

"Is that... the prophecy? A good cat saves the clan?"

"No. It's... complicated. We've never been able to understand it fully. 'One who walks in darkness will destroy the light.'  We've never know which one was the danger, and what was even what. At first the medicine cats who got the prophecy thought the cat who 'walks in darkness' was evil, and would 'destroy the light,' whatever that is. But then when it didn't come true, they figured the prophecy was a dud or something. Then it became just a practice for medicine cat apprentices on what they thought it meant. The idea we had it backwards soon came up: what if the 'one who walks in darkness' was saving the clan by 'destroying the light?'"

"...Is this real?" He nodded. 

"One hundred percent. It's going to come true in this generation, I'm sure of it. I'm also sure that you are the cat who walks in darkness." He stood up, shaking sand out of his fur. "I'll be on the lookout for whatever 'the light' could be." I'm... a cat of prophecy...?! This is just like the old Clans! I can't wait to tell Piperwhisker or the Company!-- He held his tail up. "Sealshadow, before I forget, you can't tell anyone. It could put you in danger! If 'the light' figures out that you could destroy them, they'll kill you." She gaped, a shiver passing through. 

"Y-yes, Crabberry. I won't tell anyone! I promise!" He nodded. 

"You can only trust me-- and Albatrossleaf... but maybe don't tell her? She'll be mad if she knows I'm still working at this prophecy. I'll see you around, 'Dark One.'" The tom disappeared through the grasses, leaving Sealshadow behind. The chocolate brown she-cat took a deep breath in, and slowly let it out. Deep breath in, and out. Just like Albatrossleaf taught you back when it happened. When you're scared, take a deep breath in and let it out. She remembered being in the medicine den, blood dripping down from her split ear. She could only pace back and forth, frozen with shock. The only sound she could make was a soft incoherent mumble. Albatrossleaf was an apprentice then as well, and was the only cat who would take the time to talk her down. She's really sweet... she always knows what to say to help me. After a few moments of deep breathes, she gave a firm nod and head out of the dune back to camp.

//

pictured above is Calla; though Calla has blue eyes rather than amber.