A little pool, clear as the night sky, nestled itself into a crack in the biggest rock at the top of the mountain. A tiny stream curled out of the mountain, traveling quickly down from the top. The stream tumbled through a snowy glacier, leaving its track and joining others. Soon the river grew bigger and approached a drop. A silvery waterfall crashed down on the river, sending a cloud of droplets into the air. Nearby, trees sprouted, scattered amongst yellowing grass and small stunted bushes. The river curled lazily through a clump of trees and wound around into a forest. The trees of the forest were close together and were tall enough to be affected by the little swirls of wind up near the clouds. The river deepened and widened now, rushing through more yellowed grass and over rocks. It cut a deep canyon in the rock and plunged down in another, smaller waterfall. Soon the rocks receded from the land, leaving sand and bushes. The river wound further and further, and gradually the sand grew warmer and the prickly plants gave way to a long stretch of sand. The river spilled into the ocean, rolling over itself and joining with the salt.
A black and silver cat sat with its back to the beach, facing the ocean waves. It sat motionless, pricking its ears only slightly as a crackle sounded behind it. Suddenly a dark shape bowled out of the bushes, yowling loudly. The silver and black cat whipped around and neatly caught the intruder under the chin, causing it to cry out in a screech of pain.
“Why are you here?” the intruder demanded, fur ruffled. “You haven’t been seen since before the Clans were begun! Why have you appeared now?”
“I have come to witness great change,” the cat stated calmly.
Silverkit bounced excitedly as she heard Firestar calling out to the Clan. “Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!”
She ran out of the den, followed by Dawnkit. Their mother, Dovewing, followed them out of the den. “Not so fast, kits. You’ll get your pelts all dirty! You’re two moons old, not some ridiculous kit who just came out of the den for the first time!” Silverkit looked down at the white splash of fur on her chest. She licked it a few times in embarrassment. Pinekit purred in amusement. “Mousebrain!”
Her father, Bumblestripe, padded up. “Come on, let’s go,” he meowed.
“The time has come,” Firestar called. “The Twolegs are less than three tail-lengths from our dens. No cat can survive much longer with them so close to our camp. When I went to the Moonpool, I met the other three leaders. It seems that we all want to move. Our territories are all being invaded.”
Silverkit bounced nervously. Should she tell Firestar about the tunnels that she and Dawnkit had discovered only a few days before? She glanced at her white-furred sister. Dawnkit seemed to have had the same thought. She kept looking at Firestar, twitching a furry gray ear, and nuzzling Snowkit for reassurance.
“Jayfeather came with me to the Moonpool,” continued Firestar. “He will tell you the sign that StarClan sent him.”
Jayfeather looked awful. He lay at the edge of the clearing, having collapsed there last night after the long journey to the Moonpool. At Firestar’s words, he jerked up and struggled to walk to the Highledge. When he was just below it, he looked up at Firestar beseechingly. With a sigh, Lionblaze walked up behind Jayfeather and shoved him up to a rock just below the ledge. Jayfeather grunted. “I’m not an elder! I don’t need help!”
Poor Jayfeather, thought Silverkit. Dovewing and Ivypool’s litters born at the same time must have exhausted him, especially right after that battle with RiverClan. I can’t imagine helping two queens kit at once. No wonder he’s so exhausted.
Jayfeather began speaking, his voice rasping a little more with every word. StarClan had told him that they must move, he said. They said that the journey would be hard, but made easier by a single kit.
Oh, no. Silverkit’s heart sank. That’s me they’re talking about. I’ll get in so much trouble if I tell Firestar.
Jayfeather finished speaking and lay down again. Murmurs spread through the Clan. “Shouldn’t the journey be made harder with kits to care for?” yowled Brambleclaw from the elders’ den.
“Kits are the future of ThunderClan,” spat Dovewing.
“It is settled already,” yowled Firestar. “We must move. Stock up on prey. Eat well. We must all be healthy for the trip.”
The meeting broke apart. Cats drifted off in twos or threes, casting suspicious glances at the group of kits.
Ivypool gently pushed Snowkit away. “Go play with Dawnkit and Silverkit. Dovewing and I need to talk.”
Snowkit scurried over to them. Silverkit stared blankly at the two other kits as they began to wrestle. She quickly slipped away.
“Firestar?” Her voice sounded like the squeak of a mouse in the huge den. She called out again.
“Were you calling for me, Silverkit?” said Firestar from the back. He padded closer. “What’s wrong?”
“I- I did something bad,” she confessed, shuffling her paws. Firestar cocked his head. “How?”
“I snuck out of camp with Dawnkit. We wanted to explore. We found tunnels!” She brightened. “We saw rabbits! And we smelled fresh air, but there was a boulder blocking the way. But there was grass in the tunnels, too. And a hole in the top of one.” Silverkit jumped up and down as she remembered the sprawl of yellow grass, just recovering after the long snows of leaf-bare.
“Is that where you went when you disappeared for four days? You told us ShadowClan cats captured you!”
She hung her head. “They did at first. That yucky cat Nightkit tried to take me prisoner… but then we escaped and found the tunnels. They were so cool!”
“You shouldn’t have lied, Silverkit.”
Her heart sank. “You won’t punish us, will you?”
“No! You actually found something useful. I’ll inform the other leaders of your discovery. You made this journey much easier. I’m proud of you. Telling me was the right thing to do.”
She looked up into the leader’s eyes. They twinkled back at her. He was amused! Indignation and gratitude swelled in her belly. “Thank you, Firestar!”
*****
Silverkit moaned with pain as a sharp stone dug into her pad. This journey was hard and tiring. Behind her, Dovewing carried Redkit, who coughed weakly. He had caught greencough shortly after they had left the camp. Now he hung limply in Dovewing’s jaws.
She sighed with relief as Firestar called, “Clans! We have come to a stopping point. You may rest now.”
She flopped down and sank into dreamless sleep.
*****
“No!” Her mother’s wail jolted her awake. “No! Redkit! Please wake up!” She opened her eyes, twisting her head. Dovewing stood over Redkit, who was lying motionless in her paws.
“She won’t wake up!” cried Dovewing. Beside her, Pinekit sniffed warily at her brother. “Mother!” she cried. “Why doesn’t he wake up?”
*****
Silverkit’s pads had never hurt this much. She groaned, and Dovewing picked her up gently by her scruff. “You’re getting much too heavy,” she muttered. “I shouldn’t be carrying you. You can walk yourself.”
“I miss Redkit,” she muttered. Dovewing sighed. “I know, little star,” she murmured. “He’s with StarClan now.”
“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here near me for a meeting,” yowled Firestar. Silverkit pricked her ears. Blackstar had named a new apprentice, Nightpaw, yesterday. Would Firestar do the same for her?
He did. “Silverkit, Dawnkit, and Pinekit, please come up here.”
“Oh, no!” cried Pinekit. “He’s making us apprentices!”
Silverkit nudged her and purred. “Of course he is, mousebrain!”
“I’m gonna be sick!”
Silverkit pulled away in horror. “Ew!”
Dovewing nudged them gently. “Ivypool said the same thing when she was made an apprentice,” she meowed. “Now look at her! Off you go. You’re going to be fine.”
They scampered up to Firestar.
“These kits have reached their sixth moon, and it is time for them to become apprentices.” Firestar said. “Silverkit, from this day forward, you will be known as Silverpaw.”
He beckoned with his tail for a cat to come forward. “Mistwing, you will mentor this young cat. StarClan honors your kindness and wisdom, and I hope that you will pass on all you have learned to this young cat.”
The beautiful black and silver tabby bowed her head and touched noses with Silverpaw, her yellow eyes glinting in the half-light of the tunnel.
“Dawnkit, from this day forward you will be known as Dawnpaw. Frostgaze, you will mentor Dawnpaw. StarClan honors your fighting skill and courage, and I hope you will pass on all that you know to Dawnpaw.”
The red-furred cat with his cold, gray gaze stepped up to Dawnpaw. Dawnpaw looked nervous as she touched his nose.
“Pinekit, from this day forward you will be known as Pinepaw. Ivypool, you will mentor Pinepaw. The Clans honor your courage and bravery, and I know that you will teach your apprentice to follow the warrior code.”
“Silverpaw! Dawnpaw! Pinepaw! Silverpaw! Dawnpaw! Pinepaw!”
She puffed out her snowy white chest and met Nightpaw’s gaze defiantly. You can’t beat me! I’m gonna be a better warrior than all the cats in ShadowClan put together, and you won’t stop me no matter what!
*****
She groaned. What was the point of doing patrols? All they did was walk up and down the tunnels. And this night, Firestar had put her on patrol with that mousebrained cat Nightpaw.
They silently paced the tunnels. The iciness was almost too much for her. She spun around, flinching as Nightpaw did the same, kicking gravel in her eyes.
“Ow!”
“Oh- I’m sorry!” Nightpaw bent down in front of her. She struggled to open her eyes. They watered uncontrollably, and a tear streaked down her silver fur. She angrily sliced at his nose. “What did you do that for?”
He winced. “I didn’t do it on purpose- I-“
Silverpaw shied away as their whiskers brushed. Her heart skipped a beat. Ew! I touched a ShadowClan cat! I’m poisoned forever!
“S- s-“ stuttered Nightpaw, stepping back. “Ouch!” He lifted his paw again, stepping off of a sharp stone. Blood spurted out of his pad. He gasped. “Ow-ow-ow!” Silverpaw’s eyes widened. His pad was bleeding so fiercely, he was staining the cave floor red. She crouched next to him. “Lick it,” she ordered.
He licked it once, flinching away from her. She leaned in closer and growled, “Lick it!”
He obliged, lapping at the bleeding pad, but it only made it worse. He thrust his muzzle in his face. She could see the whites of his eyes. “It won’t work!”
Silverpaw stumbled back. Nightpaw tried to put his paw back down. “Ow!” he yowled, removing another stone from the other pad. He gasped and slid towards her.
His breath smelled like sagebrush. His eyes glowed a bright green. The fur on his ears tufted above into a point. She saw every detail of his fur as if it was highlighted.
Silverpaw cried out as he fell on her, unable to stand anymore. He was losing too much blood! Silverpaw struggled to get out before he fainted. He grabbed her. “Help me!” She looked back in his eyes. They reflected her, a ridiculous scared apprentice trying to be a medicine cat. She groaned as Nightpaw’s eyes closed. His nose brushed against hers once before he slid to the floor, eyes closing, head hitting the floor with a dull thump, to lie unconscious until morning.
*****
Silverpaw woke up to feel a warm pelt pressed against hers. She twisted her head around, seeing the other cats preparing to leave already; tongue already half out to lick her sleep-ruffled fur, she blinked as she saw not the white pelt of her sister, but the spotted pelts of Nightpaw and Sunpaw. She drew back, fur prickling, as Nightpaw stretched and turned his face towards her.
“Oh…” Nightpaw looked as embarrassed as Silverpaw felt. She leapt to her paws, avoiding Sunpaw, looking for an excuse to run away, when she saw her sister curled up with Snowpaw a few tail-lengths away.
“Dawnpaw,” she whispered, shaking her sister’s shoulder. “Wake up! We have to go!”
Dawnpaw and Snowpaw stretched, tails brushing against each other. “Silverpaw!” Dawnpaw complained. “I was having the most wonderful dream about a fat squirrel-“
“Mousebrain,” muttered Pinepaw, opening her eyes blearily.
“Come on!” Silverpaw interrupted, her tail swishing irritably. She gestured towards the other cats, who had already begun to eat. Dawnpaw sighed and picked up a vole. Silverpaw chewed halfheartedly on a thrush, but her mind was on Nightpaw, who was watching her…
*****
They padded over a thin path on the tunnel- mountain, watching the skies warily for bats. Silverpaw hung back to watch the elders, carefully placing her paws so that she would not slip.
Blackstar was watching her, eyes narrowed. “Nightpaw,” he meowed quietly. “Will you go and help Silverpaw with the elders?”
But I can manage on my own! Silverpaw narrowed her eyes. Did Blackstar really think she needed help from a ShadowClan cat? She shook her head, troubled, as Nightpaw padded over.
He dipped his head politely. “Silverpaw.”
“Nightpaw,” she said, nodding her head respectfully and trying to keep her voice from trembling as his green eyes pierced her blue ones. She turned her head and mouthed his name again, feeling the delicious taste of it on her tongue, not noticing the rock ahead of her until she tripped over it.
Silverpaw let out a yowl as her paws slid on the rock and she tumbled off of the precipice. She swiped at thin air, hoping to find a hold, and managed to grasp a rough edge of the rock. The apprentice gritted her teeth as her claws scraped the rock.
Silverpaw yowled as her claws slid off the rock. She was about to give up and let herself tumble into the abyss when strong jaws gripped her scruff. His muscles strained, his teeth clamped on her neck, the cat that had saved her life hauled her to safety. Weak with terror, Silverpaw looked up and saw Nightpaw, his pupils diluted with terror.