Hi! Half of the credit for this story goes to Brightflame (at least, that's her screenname on Amazon) anyway, she and I wrote this, so read & enjoy!!

Background information: Splashpaw is a deaf young RiverClan apprentice—a gray-and-white tom.

Over the past few moons of his apprenticeship, he has been visited in dreams by Swiftwind, the deceased RiverClan deputy, who suffered hearing loss later in life.

Swiftwind has been coaching him on hearing in his dreams, and a few mornings before the Gathering, something incredibly special happens to Splashpaw…

A strange sensation startled Splashpaw. It made his ears rumble, as if they had been awakened… after moons of sleep. Then Splashpaw knew what this must be: sound. He strained his ears to hear it again, and this time the sound came as a rumble inside his own head. It was as if he was the one speaking.

"Swiftwind! Are you there? Have you let me hear them after all?" Splashpaw called out in his head. He stretched up into the light breeze as if trying to find Swiftwind in the sky.

Her voice came in an amused murmur. "No, little one. You must find your own way to listen. But Palepaw doesn't know that. She really cares for you."

Splashpaw looked over at Palepaw, confused. The light tabby she-cat was snarling at Puddlepaw a few fox-lengths away, and Puddlepaw was in turn looking indignant. Splashpaw recognized the snarling from his hearing lessons from Swiftwind, but he was accustomed to hearing the old deputy's voice only.

Palepaw's light mew against Puddlepaw's low hiss startled Splashpaw. He remembered one time training with Swiftwind when they had practiced pinpointing sound based on where it came from. Now Splashpaw heard Puddlepaw's voice as he growled at the other apprentice. This was very confusing, as Puddlepaw's mew sounded as if it was coming from right in front of Splashpaw.

"What does this mean, then?" he asked Swiftwind.
"You are understanding what goes into Palepaw's ears. She is hearing for you," came Swiftwind's patient mew. Splashpaw looked at Palepaw again. Her meow rumbled inside his own head, and surprisingly he could understand her.

She was saying, "He may be deaf, but he's not stupid, and he's certainly not blind to your hostility!" What? Was Palepaw talking about him? Splashpaw felt her anger bubbling in his paws as if it was his own. Puddlepaw snorted and threw back a retort, but his voice came out as a blur of mews and snarls.
Splashpaw huffed in frustration. He closed his eyes and turned away from the quarreling apprentices. "Why have you given me this gift, Swiftwind? I can't even hear what other cats say--only Palepaw."

A breeze tickled Palepaw's ear (whoosh!) as Swiftwind spoke again. "I didn't give you this, Splashpaw. Know that you and Palepaw now share something very important."
Splashpaw gulped. "Does she know?"
"Yes. She was very willing to share her ears."
There were so many questions he still had for Swiftwind, but she had already gone.

With a small shrug and a sigh, Splashpaw padded up to Palepaw, who was now just sitting there. Puddlepaw had stalked off after his mentor, and now she was just staring at him.

"Palepaw?" mewed Splashpaw as he had in training. For the first time he heard his own voice. It didn't sound like Palepaw's or Swiftwind's. It was slightly deeper and a bit huskier. What did you expect, lousy furball? They're she-cats and you're a tom!

Splashpaw also noticed that it was much too loud, and was slightly embarrassed. Was this what other cats heard when I used to wail all of the time? But I couldn't have known! The vibrations in my throat just felt neat.

Palepaw looked up as he approached. "Hi, Splashpaw," she mewed, sounding friendly. Splashpaw started to pick up his paw as he normally did to greet another cat, but realized he didn't have to.

"H-hello," he murmured hesitantly. That sounded right! Now Splashpaw could be sure his words made sense to other cats.

Palepaw brightened. She sat up and drew a paw over her left ear. Splashpaw heard a small swoosh of air as it passed. "Thank you for what you did. It really means a lot," he said, growing less timid with his words. Palepaw nodded, twitching her whiskers with satisfaction.

Finally! They'll all be able to understand me, now, and hear what I have to say! Splashpaw breathed in as she spoke again and relished hearing the smooth, feathery tone of her voice. "It was a pleasure. The former deputy, Swiftwind, came to me in a dream and I told her what I wanted to do for you. I've been praying for this, Splashpaw."

"It's truly amazing," Splashpaw agreed, surprised how quickly the words came to him, and how smoothly they came out of his mouth. Swiftwind's lessons have paid off wonderfully! Splashpaw thought he heard a tiny "You're welcome," in the breeze.
Splashpaw saw Owlpaw approaching from Palepaw's left side, and he heard gabber coming from the older apprentice's jaws, but Palepaw didn't seem to notice. "Hi, Owlpaw," he said to alert Palepaw. She turned around and seemed surprised to see Owlpaw standing there.

"Oh, hello," Palepaw said, turning to face him. Owlpaw raised his paw to Splashpaw in greeting. Before Splashpaw could object the brown apprentice was speaking.

"Palepaw, Mistflower and Emberfrost are taking us on patrol," he meowed. Splashpaw's eyes widened. Owlpaw's words were blurry, but Splashpaw could understand him! Perhaps his mind had just needed a moment to adjust to the concept of sound coming from other cats. Palepaw blinked at Owlpaw blankly and then shook her head.

"Right, sure. Thanks, Owlpaw." The older apprentice dipped his head and padded away. Palepaw watched him go. She pawed her left ear and Splashpaw heard her muffling it. A bolt of realization struck him. He was hearing out of Palepaw's left ear. And she couldn't.

"Er—" Splashpaw cleared his throat. Palepaw swiveled her left ear and turned towards him. There was shock in her eyes. Splashpaw swallowed nervously.

"I couldn't hear him from that side," Palepaw murmured. Splashpaw felt his shoulders sag sympathetically.

"Palepaw, I'm sorry," he began. Palepaw silenced him with a gentle sweep of her tail against his muzzle.

"Don't be. I figured Swiftwind's gift would come with sacrifice. I'm just grateful I could help could help you, Splashpaw." Splashpaw stiffened. He had never meant to disable Palepaw.

"You know what this means, don't you?" he ventured. Palepaw shook her head disbelievingly.

"I'm sorry, Splashpaw. I have to go on patrol." She turned tail and bounded after Owlpaw.

Splashpaw watched the half-deaf cat hurry after her patrol, and he heard Owlpaw mew a greeting to her as they slipped out of camp, following their mentors. All of Splashpaw's delight at hearing had evaporated, and he retreated to his nest, the rustling of undergrowth around Palepaw's patrol providing a constant reminder of the gift.