Warriors: Shadows Incoming ~Series 2 Book 5~

Chapter 7

Silvershy's POV:

Sunhigh arrived quicker than expected. Silvershy had only just returned from a Ravenclan border patrol when Nutwhisker whisked her out of camp and into the training hollow where Stormstar was waiting.

The clan leader had an excited look on his face as Silvershy entered the clearing, Nutwhisker pushing her in from behind. "Ready for your training?"

"Honestly? No." Silvershy sighed. "I'm hungry, I haven't had a thing to eat since yesterday evening." She wanted to go on, but a flash of blue and dark grey caught her eyes, which shut her up. Great Starclan, that tom is stalking me. She knew it was Tyler by the unique fur colouring she had seen for a heartbeat before he disappeared into the shadows of a thick oak tree.

Stormstar's voice snapped her attention back to his icy blue eyes. "We're going to start small for today. All I want you to do is disable this rabbit. Kill it and we try again on new prey."

"What rabbit?" Silvershy asked, her question soon answered when Stormstar revealed a rabbit which was incased in a fiery cage.

"Ready?" Stormstar asked, moving the rabbit closer to her.

Silvershy looked at the rabbit in the cage. "This is cruel."

Stormstar let out a dry laugh. "I'm not allowing you to test on cats until we have harnessed your powers sufficiently. Until then, we practice on prey."

Silvershy felt her fur prickle when Tyler's voice echoed in her head. Go on Silvershy. Do it. I want to see this. She expected to hear a sneer in his voice within her head but instead all she heard was genuine encouragement. She reached out with one paw and Stormstar removed the fire cage so that she could hold down the writhing rabbit.

Silvershy placed one paw on the rabbit's ears and her hind legs held down it's body. Her free forepaw settled on the rabbits head.

She took a deep breath, letting the cool leaf-fall air glide in and out of her lungs. Her silver tabby fur was smooth and sleek, her green eyes calm and determined. Next, Silvershy focused on her powers. She looked deep inside of her, mentally toying with the magic within her. She felt it stir and her foreleg shuddered slightly before everything went still again.

Silvershy gritted her teeth, forcing herself to become completely still as she reached out again for her powers. This time, it flickered stronger within her. The lightning within her crackled with energy she felt it shoot down her leg and to her paw. She flattened her ears as she tried to focus the electricity to die down a bit and redirect to the rabbit's ears instead of its heart. But she barely had a second to register her power's sudden moment before the rabbit jolted and went limp beneath her- dead.

"Failed! Try again!" Stormstar commanded from a few pawsteps away.

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Stormstar's POV:

It was coming onto sunset and Silvershy still hadn't done as she had been ordered to do. She had gone through six rabbits now; all of them killed by her powers. At least the clan had plenty of spare prey to eat. Thank Starclan Stormstar had found that twoleg garden filled with rabbits. There were enough there to keep them going for a long while.

Stormstar hissed as she killed her seventh rabbit. "Mouse-brain!" She winced at his harsh words and he stalked right up to her, his nose nearly touching her's. "You will never get this right! Why can't you just do it already?"

Silvershy bared her teeth at him. "I'm tired and I'm hungry and I can't do this! Just let me rest and I'll continue tomorrow!"

"Excuses!" Stormstar spat. "I told you that you will knock out a rabbit today and I won't let you rest until you have done that!" He didn't see why it was so hard for her; his powers came easily for him. It was so simple to control them, as if they were a second tail.

Silvershy's green eyes blazed with anger and she snarled. "You're insane!" She raised her paw, her claws flying to meet his muzzle. Stormstar tried to duck but her paw struck him before he could move and he felt a jolt of electricity in his head before everything went black.

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Stormstar awoke.

He was still in the training clearing. He narrowed his eyes and looked around to see Silvershy and Nutwhisker staring at him with wide eyes. "You're not dead!" Nutwhisker meowed with a sigh of relief.

"What happened?" Stormstar asked, rising shakily to his paws. He felt something in the back of his mind as he moved- as if something were trying to get inside his head. NoName. He unsheathed his claws and pushed her back. Not now, you fox-heart.

"I-I used my powers on you..." Silvershy whispered. "But you didn't lose a life. That means I successfully dodged your heart!" Her whisper turned into a yowl of joy and she grinned at her leader.

Stormstar, still dazed, murmured. "Oh.. That's.. That's wonderful Silvershy. You finally did it."

"Can I go back to camp now?" The young she cat asked eagerly.

"Yes, of course." Stormstar meowed and chuckled as Silvershy took off at a fast run back to camp. He watched her go, suddenly seeing Silverstar in her place. The way Silvershy moved was so similar to her previous form. It was confusing at times for Stormstar. When he looked at the young warrior, he saw his dead mate.

Nutwhisker nudged Stormstar up. "Come on, you need your rest. I'll give you some more poppy seeds for tonight to help you sleep."

"Thanks Nutwhisker." Stormstar meowed.

The medicine cat didn't reply to Stormstar- he just nodded his head and trotted ahead of his clan leader, tail twitching.

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