Warriors: The Fall of the Clans: Sunlight

Chapter 7

Dawnpaw stifled a gag at the taste of the bitter mouse bile. "Now, you see, you're supposed to use your paws, dear." Ravenwing explained, seeing her expression and twitching her whiskers amusedly. "Pondfly, remember when we were like that?" The long furred tortoiseshell elder smiled. "Ravenwing, you made that mistake quite a bit!" He said back. Ravenwing shook her short black fur at that. "Not at all! You're thinking of Midnighteye." She mewed, her tone somewhat remorseful. Pondfly's expression mirrored hers. Dawnpaw looked between the two curiously. "Who was Midnighteye?" She inquired. Before the two elders could respond, Foxpaw had answered. "She was Pondfly's mate, Ravenwing's sister." Dawnpaw looked at him. "How do you know that?" Foxpaw glanced warily in her direction, which was strange. She dismissed it and turned back to her curiousity. "Oh, Foxpaw comes to help us often. Poor kit, always willing to help, he is." Dawnpaw titled her head. She didn't know that.

"Yes, well, you obviously don't know a lot of things about me." Foxpaw replied. "Did I say that out loud?!" Dawnpaw asked, bewildered. Pondfly and Ravenwing exchanged amused glances. Dawnpaw and Foxoaw turned to look at them questioningly. "What?" Foxpaw asked for both of them. Ravenwing stifled a purr, shaking her head. "Nothing, don't worry about it. You two young kits wouldn't understand." She explained. "Don't worry, you'll get it, when the time is right." Pondfly added, smiling. "Now, go. Leave the mouse bile with us. We're not so far gone that we can't even clean our own ticks." Dawnpaw looked reluctant. "But we were sent to help you guys..." Pondfly shook his head. "Don't worry. I'll tell Skynose and Cloudsky that you did your duty when they pass by. You two should go and actually train. Hunt." He mewed insistently.

Reluctantly, the two apprentices filed out of the elders den.

Dawnpaw gazed at the green-leaf leaves that were changing in colour, if only by a small degree. Leaf-fall was approaching. She glanced at Foxpaw exasperatedly. The mysterious tom hadn't said a word to her since the incident with the Currents. She'd begun to wonder if he had some sort of grudge against her. "Do you want to pick a hunting place? Or should I?" She asked, tired of the awkwardness. Foxpaw shrugged. "You pick." He said offhandedly. His lack of emotion irked Dawnpaw, which was strange. She had no real reason to care. Dawnpaw shrugged it off. She laughed drily, which earned her a curious look from Foxpaw. It was something.

"What?" He asked.

Dawnpaw looked at him, dry humour in her tone. "I've known you for five moons, ever since I was five moons old. Yet you talk to me less than you would a stranger. Isn't that ironic?" She said, not looking at him, but facing ahead, towards the Lake. Foxpaw's silence was irritating her. When he responded, it was so unexpected she nearly jumped.

"Because of what happened between you and Moonpaw."

Dawnpaw stopped walking. "Me and Moonpaw? What are you talking about?" She asked quietly, certain she knew. Foxpaw nodded. "All you had to do was apologize. And now neither of you are friends, and that hurts her. She's my little sister, and I don't like seeing her hurt. So, instead of involving myself in this, I'm just not talking to either of you that much." Dawnpaw felt angry. "So? She didn't even explain any of that to me!"

Foxpaw looked at her, pity in his eyes. "She probably thought she wouldn't have to." Dawnpaw felt surprised. "But...that makes no sense. Besides, she seems to be over it and stuff..." Foxpaw shrugged. "She doesn't want her hurt to mess with each very one else. Look, it's really not my place to be telling you this. She's training right now, but later, you should go talk to her. If you two are as good friends as I think, then you won't let it come between you. Now, let's hunt." He said. Dawnpaw nodded after a pause of thought.

"I guess. Where do you want to hunt then?" She asked. "I bet I'll be able to catch at least two pieces of prey, wherever it is." She said playfully, giving Foxpaw a challenging look. He stepped up to it, a confident expression on his face. "Please, I'll beat you by at least three. I pick...the forest bushes past the Lake that borders ThunderClan." Dawnpaw looked surprised. "But no one ever hunts there!" Foxpaw shrugged. "We can't just live off of fish. Besides, since we don't hunt there we should give it back to ThunderClan. Prey shouldn't go to waste." Dawnpaw thought for a moment. What Foxpaw said did make sense, but when had they ever expanded their territory like that? Lately, things about RiverClan weren't making any sense. She nodded.

"Let's go then!"

Dawnpaw pulled her paws close. Although they hadn't had much reason for it, Skynose had taught her a few stalking strategies, to be used mainly in battle and also occasionally for hunting. She quietly crept forward, keeping her eyes locked on her target. With a bit of a tense wiggle, she jumped into a pounce, launching at her target, claws sheathed.

"Hey!"

She snorted in amusement. "I win." She said, moving her paws up and down around him in a victory dance. Foxpaw laid fallen on the ground. He reluctantly murmured defeat. "How'd you even manage that?" He asked after a while, curious and disgruntled. Dawnpaw smiled triumphantly. "I dunno. Must be in my blood." She stopped, remembering those moons ago, when she'd overheard Froststar and Ripplewing talking about her mother's kits. About her.

"You know those kits' father isn't RiverClan."

Ripplewing's words echoed in Dawnpaw's mind. She tried to think reasonably, rationally. It wasn't working. The pieces of the puzzle fitted together, and she knew what it meant, no matter how much she'd avoided it for all these moons. Dawnpaw sat down, her look confused, and distant.

"Hello? Hello?"

Foxpaw's voice brought Dawnpaw out of her reverie. She blinked several times, focusing. "Um, sorry." She said, shaking away the thoughts. "Are you okay?" Foxpaw asked, uncharacteristically quiet. She nodded distractedly. "Yup. Great. Amazing. Fantastic." She said, getting up. "Dawnpaw? Dawnpaw, stop." She shook her head, turning around. "I-I'm sorry, I just remembered something and I really have to get to camp. Now." She said, looking around, somewhat frantic. Foxpaw seemed to sense her distress, cutting her off before she could leave. "What's going on? Is everything okay?" He looked genuinely concerned. She merely blinked and nodded. "I..I forgot something. I have to ask Streamfeather about it." She explained, seeing his somewhat disappointed face, she added. "Sorry. Hey I'll remember I owe you a hunting trip, alright?" Foxpaw didn't look convinced, but didn't push on the matter. He nodded. "Fine." Before she could say anything else, he turned, stalking through the reeds towards the Pond, the apprentices' nickname for the training pond.

Dawnpaw wasted no time, heading straight towards camp, even taking the risky shortcut that cut through ShadowClan territory by a tail-length. Dawnpaw glanced around past the shortcut, wary of border patrols and line warriors out hunting. She ran the rest of the way, hoping no one had seen her.

*•*•*•*•*

"Streamfeather?"

Her mother's glossy light gray pelt brought back comfortable memories if nuzzling into it with Stormkit, quietly poking his tail sneakily. She pulled that trick often enough, so much that Stormkiy had begun to move his tail away from her whenever thy were at poking distance. Streamfeather now turned, stopping her hushed talk with Petaldust, who smiled shakily in Dawnpaw's direction.

Streamfeather gently waved away the pretty spotted she cat, focusing on her daughter with a smile. "Yes?" Dawnpaw took in a deep breath, walking over to her mother by the wooden twigs that made up the medicine cat's extra storage area. She looked her over. She sat down. "Streamfeather, please can you do something for me?" Streamfeater nodded, albeit curiously. "Of course. What is it?" Dawnpaw looked at her, carefully siting down.

"Tell me, who was my father?"

*+•*+•*+•*+•++•*+•*=•

And that is why we call a CLIFFHANGER...ish. Anyways, new cover and this book is no longer Dawn. It is Sunlight. :3

Comment. Vote. WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN???

Who do you think Dawnpaw and Stormpaw's father really is?

Who do you ship?

What's up with Petaldust?

Keep reading to find out more!

~Wolf