Warriors: Silent

13

      Dreaming, Frostpaw watched a white she-cat pad forward in a silent black world, darker than night, with no visible earth beneath her.

  She moved in complete silence. Frostpaw watched her from a higher surface, though she couldn't move- it barely felt like she existed, as if she were a phantom studying this stranger. A stranger who hadn't even noticed her presence.

  Then there, in the distance, tiny specks of grassy trails appeared. One trail of grass, just to the left of the cat, had a white-blue tint. Tiny frozen droplets of water clung to the blades, stiffening them. Following that trail, Frostpaw could see, led to almost nothing of comfort, only to several bearwalker dens and barren, cold land.

  Meanwhile, the second trail led to the right had grass that was lush and green. Further up the pathway was brush, where kindly deer grazed, and though they couldn't be heard scurrying, Frostpaw felt certain there were mice scampering in the undergrowth.

  The white she-cat stopped at the trails, and for a few moments she studied them. First the right trail, then the left. Then confidently, she padded into the frosty grass, which Frostpaw imagined crunched beneath her paws, even in this silent world.

  Frostpaw wanted to shout at the cat- that icey path would only lead to hunger and foreign land, why would she take that trail? The other way was a path towards warmth and a full belly!

  But Frostpaw could only watch while the stranger walked down a path that would certainly lead to her starvation... if she didn't freeze first.

  Suddenly, Frostpaw was awake. She laid still in her nest for several heartbeats as her eyes adjusted in the dimly lit den. Then, lifting her head, she just barely caught a glimpse of Littlepaw leaving the bramble shelter. Mosspaw still slept beside her.

  Lifting herself upright, Frostpaw uncertainly watched her feet. Why were her dreams feeling so... real? Normally they were so simple; dreams where she played in the forest with Mosspaw, or practiced battle moves with Cricketlegs, or maybe she hunted with Riverpelt.

  But these dreams with the white cat left her feeling anxious. Was that the same cat who didn't hear the bear? It was hard to tell, Frostpaw realized. She'd never caught the cats scent before, never even saw her face. But if it was the same cat, why would she choose to follow a cold, frozen trail?

  Frostpaw shook out her fur in an attempt to shake away her thoughts. She padded out of the den and noticed the fluffy white clouds splotching the bright pale-blue sky. She watched the clouds for some moments.

  Frostpaw twitched her whiskers subconsciously. She knew there wasn't any reason she'd be dreaming of a white cat- she was the only plain white cat in PineClan, the only white cat in any of the four Clans as far as she knew. She'd never seen that stranger before, how could she possibly dream of her?

  "Frostpaw!"

  Frostpaw snapped her head around to spot Cricketlegs trotting towards her. "Haven't you heard me calling? ValleyClan could've!" He started. Some foxlengths away, Leafear was twitching her whiskers in amusement. Buckheart sat next to her, his ears perked.

  "I'm sorry." Frostpaw dipped her head as her mentor stopped in front of her.

  He eyed her for a moment. Then, twitching his whiskers dismissively, "We'll be patrolling StoneClan's border this morning."

  Frostpaw nodded and followed her mentor towards the entrance, Leafear and Buckheart following after.

¤¤¤

  Border patrol was quick. StoneClan stayed to their side of their border, PineClan to theirs. So the cats, deciding to take a break before returning to camp, basked in the warm rays of Sun Stones.

  Cricketlegs was sat upright, his ears perked and eyes wide as he intently pawed at a beetle. The bug tried to scurry away, but to no avail as Cricketlegs would lift it with a nail and drop it back in its original place. Frostpaw stiffled a purr at her mentors little game.

  Buckheart had sat near Frostpaw before Leafear placed herself between the two. "You play games like a kit." Leafear teased.

  Cricketlegs glanced at the trio, his eyes glowing. "I'm no elder yet." He said before shamelessly returning to his beetle. Frostpaw had always admired her mentors playful nature.

  "There's always a reason to play." Frostpaw purred.

  Leafear eyed Frostpaw, who shifted herself onto her feet awkwardly under the warriors sharp stare. What had she said?

  Then Leafear spun her head towards Buckheart, "I saw you playing with Sunfur's kits the other day." She said happily.

  Buckheart purred shyly, "Oh, right. Those little balls of fur are certainly getting energetic."

  "I wonder who will mentor Warmheart's brood." Cricketlegs mused, placing his foot down while the beetle tumbled away from him, sheltering itself in a crack.

  Buckheart sat up straighter to lock eyes with Frostpaw over his friend, "Maybe if you receive your warrior name in time, you'll be made a mentor."

  Frostpaw perked her ears, "You think so?" The idea of being a mentor had never crossed her mind. She'd never been in a real battle- only the rare skirmish if a squirrel turned on her.

  She wasn't particularly fast, Frostpaw knew. Supposedly, she had more strength than her size let on, but even still she wasn't especially strong. And bravery? Frostpaw hid cowardly in her den every time it rained.

  "Why not?" Buckheart asked, "You're a great hunter."

  Frostpaw blinked in mild surprise. Was she? She rarely returned to camp without prey in her jaws, she noticed thinking back. But even still, her hunting was hardly a natural talent- it was a skill Cricketlegs had taught her, that being patient was key. Her first moon as an apprentice was of Cricketlegs constantly correcting her hunting crouch and lecturing her to not hesitate when pouncing. She was clumsy enough back then to scare away a deaf mouse.

  "These kits are so well-fed they'd be twice her size by the time they're six moons old." Leafear said with a dismissive flick of her tail.

  Cricketlegs began to say something but Leafear interrupted him, "More likely you and I would get an apprentice." She said, turning to Buckheart. And mewing gently, "Any cat would be lucky to be mentored by such a strong warrior."

  "Buckheart's still pretty new to warrior life." Cricketlegs commented, "But with Needlepelt getting older, and the kits so bonded with their parents and their denmates parents, it's not impossible."

  Buckheart's orange eyes fluttered with excitement and Frostpaw couldn't help but purr lightly at her friends delight. But under Leafear's irritated look, she fell silent and instead of watching her friend, she peered into the forest uncomfortably.