*DISCONTINUED* Warriors: SE: Silverstar's Path

Chapter 4

Silverpaw awoke in the middle of the night, woken by her sister's hind paw jutting into her back. She stood up slowly out of her nest, exiting the apprentices' den. Silverpaw sat in the middle of the clearing, taking in a deep, cold breath of night air through her nose. She stared up at the moon, starlight dancing and twinkling in her eyes. I wonder what StarClan cats are watching over us, she thought. She remembered the tales Moonrise had told her of the great leaders of ThunderClan's past, including Firestar, Bramblestar, and Squirrelstar. Apparently Squirrelstar had passed and lost her ninth life a moon before Silverpaw and her sister's birth, and Oakstar had taken over. There were so many stories of those great three leaders, and even some of the old leader Bluestar, who'd ruled in the old forest. She was provoked out of her thoughts by a deep, elegant mew.

"Couldn't sleep as well?" Silverpaw jolted around to see her mentor, Sparrowflight, in front of her. Her initial instinct was to bend to the ground and apologize, pleading to not be punished for being out of her den. But she had a feeling that wasn't his style. She nodded slowly, licking a paw and running it over her forehead. Sparrowflight snorted amusingly, smiling as he sat next to his apprentice. "How brave of you to stand your ground and not apologize for being awake." Silverpaw widened her eyes. Am I really that readable? she thought. Sparrowflight glanced up at the moon as Silverpaw did, then stood up. "Come," he meowed.

"Where are we going?" Silverpaw asked, standing up and waving her tail.

"A place to be free," he responded quietly, padding out of the hollow. Silverpaw followed after him, practically having to run to keep with his pace. She trailed behind him, to where he finally stopped. They were standing in the pebbly lakeshore, waves lapping three foxlengths away from them, making peaceful and gentle noises. Silverpaw was tempted to ask what was so special about this area, until Sparrowflight pointed with his tail. Where he pointed was a small hill where the stream that divided WindClan and ThunderClan fell off a small stone cliff, and into the lake. The inside of the cliff was carved out and the entrance was covered in ivy and algae, and the stream made a gentle waterfall in front of it. The area was not able to be walked to, but had to be swam at to gain entrance. It was almost impossible to notice if padding directly to the lake. "Speechless?" Sparrowflight smiled warmly, resting his tail on Silverpaw's shoulder.

"Wow," Silverpaw breathed. She was stunned by how beautiful the natural outcropping was, and was drawn to it. She padded forward a bit as Sparrowflight nudged her. She stopped when her paws met water, and she glanced down at the gentle, moonlit waves. It's like the water is calling me, she thought.

"Can you make it?" Sparrowflight whispered, not sure if his apprentice could swim. As if on cue, Silverpaw waded silently into the water, paddling to the den with ease. Sparrowflight looked shocked, but smiled and paddled after her. He pushed himself into the den with his front paws, kicking with his hind legs out of the water. He shook his fur, and sat beside Silverpaw. "I come here when I can't sleep, or just want to get away from Clan life for a moment. It's best here at night, don't you agree?"

"It's so beautiful, the view here," Silverpaw murmured, peering out. A reflection of the silvery moon glittered on the surface of the lake. In the distance, the gathering island could be made out, the great tree shining brightly in the moonlight.

"Yes, it is," Sparrowflight agreed. "Tell me, Silverpaw," he continued. "Have you ever been drawn to the water, as if it's beckoning you?"

Silverpaw looked up at him with wide, oceanic eyes. "Yes! All the time! Do you?"

Sparrowflight shook his head. "No, but I could tell that you were pulled by the water. Which is odd, since you are a ThunderClan cat, after all..." His voiced trailed off.

Is he accusing me of being disloyal or half-Clan? She thought with a heavy heart. Her neck and shoulder fur bristled at the thought of her gracious and handsome mentor thinking such things. No, he wouldn't do that to me- he trusts me.

Sparrowflight rested his tail on her shoulder, his whiskers twitching with guilt. "I didn't mean for that to come out so sharp-tongued, I apologize," he chuckled. "It's just interesting to see a ThunderClan apprentice get along with the water so well." He shrugged. "I guess some cats are just born with the rare ability. But I must say, that was quite the impressive first swim."

Silverpaw shuffled her paws. "Thanks, I guess," she meowed in modest embarrassment.
~
Sparrowflight and Silverpaw chatted for what seemed like moons through the night, talking about tales of ancient cats, and rumors of different Clans. They'd gotten so lost in conversing that they'd fallen asleep in the small lakeside cavern. Sparrowflight opened his eyes weakly, blinking away sleep. The sun burned through his eyelids, noticing that it was late dawn. Silverpaw was curled up at his side, her muzzle buried into his long tail.

"Silverpaw," he whispered. The silver she groaned quietly, then opened her bright blue eyes. She jolted up into a well-postured stance as realization came to her.

"It's morning! Mouse-dung, we slept through the night! Surely our Clanmates notice us missing," she mewed with anxiety.

"Nonsense," Sparrowflight soothed. "We'll be fine. Come, let's get back to camp."

After shaking their pelts dry and finally reaching the grass of the lake's forest, a stern voice echoed from a tree next to Silverpaw. She jumped at the sound.

"And just what are you two doing out here?"

Silverpaw glanced over to the tree as a small ginger figure shimmied down its trunk. Robinfern! She thought.

Sparrowflight sat down. "I simply took my apprentice out for some extra training," he cooed, stroking Silverpaw's flank with his tail tip reassuringly. As if on cue, Pouncestep and Owlfeather hopped out of their own individual trees, Blossomdawn poking her head out of a shrub.

"Before the first patrol of the day?" Owlfeather interrogated, raising an eyebrow.

"I guess it's never too early to train," Pouncestep pointed out, waving his thin tail.

Owlfeather snorted. "I guess... Just at least make yourselves useful and get back to camp and join the upcoming border patrol," he grunted.

Sparrowflight nodded. "Of course." As Silverpaw and her mentor padded past the hunting patrol, Sparrowflight blinked thanks to Pouncetail, who responded with an almost unnoticeable nod of the head.
~
As they returned, Sparrowflight and Silverpaw were assigned to the first border patrol of the day, alongside Darkpaw and Badgerclaw, Nightfall, and Duskeye. The patrol padded up to the WindClan border. Darkpaw had clung to Silverpaw's side, chatting constantly with her. But as they approached the stream that divided WindClan and ThunderClan, the two apprentices became silent. Nightfall sniffed at the bank of the stream, a low growl rumbling from his throat.

"WindClan," he snarled, unsheathing his long claws. Silverpaw snapped her head to the left as she noticed a flash of russet fur up the stream. As if on cue, Badgerclaw hissed, "and there they are, on our side of the stream!"