Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own Warriors. Why would I be on fanfiction if I did? I do own almost all the cats I've used so far, though, except for Moonkit and Goosekit. Guess who they are! :3
A/N: Second chapter is up! The plot-bunny for this story came hopping back at about 1:45 in the morning. Now, it's about 2:30 AM, so.. yeah. Sorry for any mistakes. Also, the plot-bunny had a bit too much sugar, so this might be a bit melodramatic. Sorry! ^^;
Anyways, enjoy~!
Fernpaw shook herself awake. The air around her was cold, and she felt like something was missing. 'It must by Hazelpaw.' she thought groggily. 'She probably went on the dawn patrol.' Fernpaw opened one eye and peeked outside of the apprentice's den. The sun was still rising, and the clearing was empty, except for Moonkit and Goosekit tumbling around, and a few warriors sharing tongues.
Fernpaw stretched. She padded outside to the clearing, only to have a small mass of fur bump into her. "Sorry!" Goosekit squeaked.
"It's fine." Fernpaw replied, purring, flicking her tail playfully at the younger cat. Goosekit never did seem to be totally there; his head always was up in the clouds. Goosekit nodded, and then scampered back off, tackling his littermate.
Fernpaw watched him go in amusement, and then sighed wistfully. Oh, how she sometimes wished she was still a small kit, with nothing to worry about but when you'd get to go outside and explore, and how much you could play. Sadly, you didn't miss it until it was gone; since to a kit, being an apprentice is the best thing in the world.
The mottled gray she-cat padded over to the fresh-kill pile, where her mentor was sitting. "Hi, Whiteheart." she meowed, peering up at the older warrior with bright green eyes, to meet startling icy blue ones.
"Hello, Fernpaw." the pure white she-cat purred, a warmth shining in her eyes that Fernpaw couldn't place. To Fernpaw, Whiteheart was more of a second mother than a mentor. After all, they were kin, since Whiteheart was her father's littermate.
"Did you go out on hunting patrol?" Fernpaw asked. Usually, Whiteheart woke up later, and went out on the dusk patrol.
Whiteheart nodded. "Your sister came along, too. I think she might have gone out again to hunt on her own." she replied. "Although, she might have brought one of your denmates with her, I'm not quite sure." Whiteheart tilted her head slightly, as if pondering the idea, her mid-length fur swishing slightly from the movement.
"Thanks, Whiteheart!" Fernpaw purred, nuzzling her mentor. She then bounded towards the gorse tunnel, to go look for her sister.
-----
Hazelpaw padded towards sunningrocks, a small sparrow in her jaws. She didn't take any fresh-kill after their earlier hunt, so Bluefall had let her go out on her own to catch something for herself.
As the cream-colored she-cat reached sunningrocks, she slowed down her pace. She stopped near the edge of the forest, staying away from the river, and flopped down to eat her sparrow. Even though she didn't actually drown, and it was just a dream, she was still wary of the river. But this river was pretty slow-moving and was a brilliant blue, unlike the black, fast-paced waters that plagued her nightmares.
As she started eating her sparrow, Hazelpaw could swear she heared her name being called. She perked her ears up, but didn't hear anything else. She flicked her tail in annoyance, and went back to eating her sparrow.
After she finished, she licked her paws, and then cleaned her muzzle. She slowly stood up, her muscles aching from sitting for so long. As she padded through the forest, she almost ran into another cat; a mottled gray one.
"Fernpaw!" Hazelpaw exclaimed, looking down at her sister. "What are you doing out here?" she asked the smaller cat.
"I was actually looking for you." Fernpaw said sheepishly, meeting her sister's gaze.
"Why were you looking for me?" Hazelpaw purred affectionately, pushing her sister's shoulder lightly. In some ways, her sister still acted like a kit. Then again, Hazel sometimes did too. 'Like being scared of a dream.'
"Well, all the patrols were completed for now, and I had nothing to do, since Whiteheart had just gotten back, so I thought I could look for you." Fernpaw replied nonchalantly.
Hazelpaw chucked. "C'mon, then." she said, turning, and beckoning her sister with her tail. "Let's go."
Fernpaw bounded after Hazelpaw. She hated being the smaller one. She purred as she caught up with Hazelpaw, nudging her shoulder. "Slow down! I have smaller legs, remember?" she purred, amusement lacing her voice.
Hazelpaw nodded and fake-pouted, her eyes filled with laughter. "Fine. But only because it's you." she said. "Let's go to the little stream, and have some sister-time." The two of them laughed, and bounded off towards the stream. But there was a little voice in the back of Hazel's mind. 'Be careful." it simply whispered, lacing her thoughts with worry. But she wouldn't let a little voice stop her from having fun.
-----
This time, she really was drowning.
Well, not really, but it sure felt like it. Hazelpaw and Fernpaw had been wading through the shallows of the streams, splashing each other, when a huge rush of water took them by surprise, Luckily, it didn't unearth them, but it soaked through their pelts, and went over their heads, leaving them coughing and sputtering in its wake.
"Ugh!" Fernpaw cried, looking at her drenched pelt. "Thank StarClan it's greenleaf, or else we'd be shivering like Twolegs in a storm! What are we going to tell everyone? We'll look like ignorant kits!"
Hazelpaw wasn't paying attention. She was shaking slightly, staring off at nothing. The voice had been right. 'Be careful' it had warned her. But alas, she didn't listen, and this was the consequence. Feeling like her nightmare had come alive; like she was about to die. She'd have to be more careful next time.
"Hazelpaw?" Fernpaw asked, snapping Hazelpaw back to reality. Fernpaw was worried. Hazelpaw looked extremely shaken by this. "Are you alright?" she asked her sister. Hazelpaw just nodded in response.
"Come on, let's head back." Fernpaw pulled herself out of the stream, and then offered a paw to Hazelpaw. Hazelpaw clung on to her sister's paw, and Fernpaw helped to pull her out of the stream.
As they headed back, Hazelpaw drifted away from reality again. 'What could this mean?' she pondered.
'Beware water, Hazelpaw.' the voice said in the back of her head. 'Beware.'
A/N: Okay, so.. what do you think? Am I doing well? I'm starting to feel a bit sleep-deprived, so night!
Please review! Thank you for reading this!
~Mirana
