Warriors
A Starlit Path
Prologue:
Lionpaw stared up at the night sky as he sat at the entrance of the cave. His and Heatherpaw's cave. The sky was a ribbon of starlight. He sighed and thought about the most beautiful cat he had ever known… Heatherpaw.
Just then, a noise sounded behind him. He spun around. It was Heatherpaw. "Heatherpaw," he purred, bounding up to her and pressing his cheek against her own. Lionpaw was surprised when she didn't purr back. He stepped back and looked at her…
Suddenly, Heatherpaw flung herself at Lionpaw. Lionpaw fell back and Heatherpaw scored her claws along his flank. "Heatherpaw! What are you doing?!" Lionpaw meowed, pushing her back. She flung at him again and then a bright light shined. It was then when he saw that the cat that was attacking him was not Heatherpaw.
"Breezepaw!" Lionpaw spat, and before he could push back Breezepaw, the bright light shined on him. Breezepaw then turned and fled into the darkness where a cat stood. Lionpaw knew this cast was Heatherpaw. Her beautiful eyes glowed with sadness and longing. "Lionpaw… come with me…" the she-cat mewed, but Lionpaw could barely hear her. Her voice was barely a whisper…
"Heatherpaw!" he shouted. The bright light came from under him. He was walking on a path of light. Breezepaw stood beside Heatherpaw and suddenly, they became one cat. Lionpaw stared in puzzlement and fear. Suddenly, he felt pain all over his body. There were cats… invisible cats fighting him. "Help!" he shouted. He lashed out and felt the skin of cats with the scent of ThunderClan blood.
"Lionpaw! Lionpaw!" he heard Heatherpaw's voice ring through the air. He tried to follow her voice, but the path had begun to move. He felt cats clawing him and hurting him. He fought, but realized he couldn't defeat all of these invisible cats.
When he stopped, the pain and clawing suddenly began to die away. He felt sore, but the only place he felt sore was his heart. The moving row of light suddenly became dark and he saw Heatherpaw again.
"Heatherpaw!" he shouted. "Lionpaw," he murmured warmly. She pressed her fur against his. But then he saw another cat amid the mist. She smelled of ThunderClan and had tortoiseshell fur. He smelled blood too. "Danger…." the tortoiseshell cat mewed. "Beware…." she mewed.
"Don't go there Lionpaw. You heard her, there's danger," mewed Heatherpaw. But Lionpaw was drawn to the place the tortoiseshell she-cat was warning him about. He turned to Heatherpaw and said, "I have to check it out." Heatherpaw then disappeared.
Lionpaw called her name over and over again, and when she didn't come, he bounded towards the ThunderClan scent. He was suddenly in darkness. He heard the frantic and angry voices of his clan mates. He felt their pelts around him, but he felt… content.
He then saw a light… a light that was the color of heather. He began to go to it, but was losing the feeling of content he had. "Heatherpaw?" he called, scenting the beautiful she-cat. "Lionpaw!" Heatherpaw shouted, her voice filled with pain, hurt and emotion.
"Heatherpaw!"
CHAPTER 1:
"Lionpaw, wake up!" Lionpaw lifted his head and blinked his eyes open. Hollypaw was staring at him with anger in her eyes. It was night. Lionpaw realized he had been sleeping and was dreaming that dream for the third time now.
"You were shouting Heatherpaw's name again," his sister hissed. "You're lucky I was awake to make you stop," she snarled at him. Lionpaw stretched and sighed. "It's the third time you know," he murmured. Hollypaw's eyes softened a bit. "I know," she meowed. "Do you think it's a sign from StarClan?" she asked him.
"I don't know," Lionpaw admitted. "If it is, I don't understand it. How could it be anyways?" he murmured in puzzlement. Hollypaw shrugged, trying to shake it off. "Let's just go back to sleep," she mewed to him, lying down beside him.
Lionpaw nodded in agreement and sighed. He laid his head down and tried to go back to sleep and when he did, he slept peacefully. No dreams of Heatherpaw entered his mind.
Sunshine peeked through the entrance of the apprentice den. Lionpaw rose and quickly groomed his fur. "Hey Lionpaw, Ashfur says that you and him are coming with Sandstorm, Birchfall and I on the hunting patrol," said a familiar and friendly voice.
Lionpaw nodded to Honeypaw who flicked her tail and then darted back out of the den. He padded out behind her and saw Birchfall eating a mouse. Honeypaw joined him and he padded over to Jaypaw for a quick word.
"Hey Lionpaw," Jaypaw meowed in his usual voice… revealing no friendliness, nor revealing any unfriendliness. Jaypaw's attitude would always be a surprise everyday. "What's up?" Jaypaw murmured. "I've been having this dream… three times in a row," he mewed to his brother. He had caught Jaypaw's attention. His brother's eyes showed concern, even though his brother was blind.
"Lionpaw, come along. We're leaving for the patrol," Sandstorm called from across the clearing. Jaypaw shook his head. "I've got to go and get herbs for Leafpool anyways. Poppypaw has a cough and Thornclaw has got a thorn in his pad," he mewed. "Tell me when I get back," he mewed. Lionpaw nodded. "Okay. See you later," Lionpaw meowed and bounded over to Ashfur.
"Sandstorm says Honeypaw caught enough prey to feed the whole Clan the other day. She's coming along great," he mewed. "I told her you could beat her any time. If you're up for it, you two could have a contest of who could catch the most prey today," Ashfur meowed. Lionpaw instantly brightened. He nodded eagerly. "I'll show Sandstorm and Honeypaw that I can beat both of them," he said, not meaning it in a boasting way.
"We'll see about that!" challenged Honeypaw, coming up behind Lionpaw and butting him in the shoulder. He narrowed his eyes at her playfully. "What you're going to see from me is lessons. I'll show you how to hunt the real way… like a warrior," he hissed. She rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she growled, her eyes teasing him.
They entered the hunting grounds and Lionpaw got a strong whiff of WindClan. Ashfur and Sandstorm exchanged a glance. Birchfall lifted his head and scented the air while Honeypaw looked around curiously. "Why do I smell WindClan?" Honeypaw hissed. Lionpaw then saw a patrol containing Berrynose, Brackenthorn, Hazelpaw, Dustpelt, and Hollypaw rushing over to the border.
"We shouldn't worry. If the patrol needs help, we'll have one of you stay and hunt closer to the border," Sandstorm meowed, watching as the patrol raced by. Honeypaw tilted her head to one side. Lionpaw could see she was confused about WindClan scent so nearby.
"I'll be the one to hunt closer to the border," Lionpaw offered. Birchfall then mewed to Honeypaw, "Then you'll be hunting on the other side. I'll be hunting closer to camp with Sandstorm and Ashfur. Report back to us by the entrance of camp at mid-day," he said to the apprentices.
Honeypaw and Lionpaw nodded.
Immediately, Lionpaw darted towards the WindClan border. He could scent WindClan. He came to the little river and scented the air. He could scent a starling and a chaffinch, but he wanted to see Heatherpaw.
He then saw something in the distance. It was a light brown tabby with those beautiful eyes. She was racing towards the border. "Heatherpaw!" he shouted. The beautiful apprentice raced forward and tumbled to the ground, her pelt matted with blood. She collapsed and didn't move…
"Heatherpaw!"
