Shadepaw entered camp, carrying fresh-kill. She left her mentor quickly to present her first catch to the elders. Before she could reach the den, however, she was confronted by the Clan medicine cat, Sandfur. His eyes were glazed and he stared at Shadepaw without seeing her, it seemed.
Startled, Shadepaw jumped, dropping her mouse.
"What's wrong? Sandfur?" she asked.
"You are the shade that darkens the light. You will block out the warmth of day, be the cloud that covers the sun…" Sandfur rasped, while Shadepaw stared, wide-eyed. "A shadow is the only hope for our Clan." He limped away, the glazed look fading. Disturbed, Shadepaw picked up her fresh-kill and walked to the elder's den.
Inside, three elders, Redstone, Treefall, and Skyshine, were sharing tongues. Skyshine looked up at Shadepaw's arrival, and purred.
"Hello, young 'un. First catch?"
"Yes, Skyshine. I brought it for you to eat." Shadepaw dropped the fresh-kill at her paws, and began to back out of the den.
"Oh, Shadepaw, would you bring some water? It's so hot these days…" Redstone asked, sighing.
Shadepaw nodded and bounded to the trickle of water falling from a cleft in the rock. Grabbing some moss from the pile nearby, she gathered some water and padded back.
"Here you go. You're right, the days must be hotter. The little waterfall has nearly dried up!" Shadepaw informed Redstone as he lapped at the damp moss. Treefall gazed up through a hole in the leafy roof.
"Indeed. The sun is shining brighter, the days are longer…" she trailed off, turning her gaze to the dusty, cracked floor. "Thanks for the fresh-kill, Shadepaw." She said dismissively.
As the days passed, every cat seemed to be tired more quickly, pelts ruffled more easily, and the water supply was running lower and lower. Sandfur made a point of watching Shadepaw whenever she carried out her duties in camp, and it had started to annoy her. One morning, in fact, as she padded back into camp, she dropped her fresh-kill on the pile, bounded over to the corner in which Sandfur had been resting, and sat down, pelt bristling.
"Why do you keep watching me?" she demanded.
Sandfur gazed back at her, unfazed.
"Time is running short. You must be the dark cloud."
"But our Clan lives and in the sun! Why should we block it out? Shadepaw protested, confused. The medicine cat just shook his head and lay down, his eyes narrowed to slits against the daylight. Shadepaw, refusing to leave without an answer, lashed her tail, waiting, and eventually Sandfur sighed..
"StarClan are angry. They feel that some cat is trouble for our Clan, and they are sending this drought as a sign. This cat has committed a great wrong against our ancestors."
Shadepaw had heeded Sandfur's advice and had taken extra care to search for suspicious Clanmates. At first she thought she was being a mouse-brain, that every SunClan warrior was loyal. Then she started seeing signs. A warrior, Brightshine, had been roughing up her apprentice, Gorsepaw, by using harsh training methods; the usually warm-hearted queen, Goldenfur, had begun leaving her kits to sleep outside of camp as punishment for misbehaviour; Stonefall had started a fight with his mate, Petallight. Finally, Sunstar decided things had gone far enough.
"Let all cats gather here now!" she growled. As cats started to gather, she began: "What is happening in SunClan? First, Goldenfur: You know your kits are not allowed to leave camp! Stonefall, Petallight! You do not attack a Clanmate!" Sunstar left that to set in, and returned to her den, tail lashing. Cats began to murmur, shooting dark glances at Sunstar's retreating back. Shadepaw, turned to Sandfur, and saw her own worry reflected in his eyes.
But how can I stop this, Sandfur? I'm still an apprentice!
Shadepaw followed Leafclaw out of camp.
"We're going to train with Stonefall and Yellowpaw today. You need to train harder; all the other apprentices have surpassed you," Leafclaw meowed. Shadepaw's pawsteps slowed a little. It wasn't like Leafclaw to criticize so openly. She continued: "I suppose it's my fault. I've been too soft on you." Leafclaw halted. "We're here."
Shadepaw approached Yellowpaw, and the two apprentices touched noses. Shadepaw looked expectantly at Stonefall and Leaftclaw, waiting for instruction. Stonefall nodded, and Shadepaw was confused, but a moment later something crashed into her side and bowled her over. Yelping, Shadepaw saw it was Yellowpaw, and scrambled to her paws. As both she-cats circled each other, Shadepaw shot a look at Leafclaw, who didn't reply.
"Fight, Shadepaw!" Stonefall called mockingly.
Growling, she lunged at Yellowpaw, nipping her on the ear, then swiped at her with sheathed claws. Yellowpaw hissed and leaped at her opponent, pushing Shadepaw off her feet again. Yellowpaw pinned her down and began clawing at her face, growling. Shadepaw yowled in pain and blood ran into her eyes, and she lashed out blindly.
"Your claws are unsheathed!" she whimpered.
"This is how real a warrior trains!" Yellowpaw replied, spitting. Shadepaw glanced at Stonefall, who narrowed his eyes gleefully.
Shadepaw , back at camp, called Sandfur and bounded after Stonefall, who had padded to the empty warriors den.
"Stonefall!" Shadepaw hissed.
"Ah. I had foreseen this, but I didn't expect you to find out so soon." Stonefall growled.
"What are you doing to the Clan?"
"Well… I killed one of StarClan, then convinced SunClan to become stronger. To overcome our ancestors."
Shadepaw tilted her head.
"Killed one of StarClan? But they're already dead!"
"I killed them in a dream, banishing them from existence. But that's beside the point. You know the truth, and for that you must die."
He lunged, and Shadepaw backed up, causing him to land on a long, sharp stone. He yowled as it pierced his belly, and suddenly the blazing sun seemed to disappear. A mass of cloud had covered it, and Shadepaw could feel rain on her pelt. She spun around in shock, and saw Sandfur.
"You have saved SunClan, Shadepaw."