Hi! Welcome back^^ I don't know whether to call this late or not, but its here, so...

Also, to those living in the US: Happy Veterans day!

I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Silverpaw

A quarter moon had passed since the gathering.

I kept a close eye on my cousin; I didn't miss the little exchange Smokepaw had with Hazepaw.

So far neither had encountered the other, but then again, I couldn't know for sure. I wasn't able to follow Smokepaw everywhere he went, otherwise he would know that I knew something was up.

"Silverpaw," Sootpaw hissed, "Silverpaw, Get up! You need to see this."

I rolled over and groggily got to my paws, leaving behind the sunny spot I was dozing in. "What's so important that you need to bother me, Sootpaw? The one time I try to sleep and you bug me."

He huffed. "It's Smokepaw."

I was immediately attentive. "What about him?"

My brother grinned sheepishly. "Well, uh, not just him. It's Heartpaw, too. We're going to go battle training."

I let out a long, low groan. "Not battle training," I whine.

I was paired with Bumblepaw. And as far as the "worst partner ever" goes, he was the worst.

He smirked. "I know its your favorite thing."

"So why did you tell me that Smokepaw was, uh... what was he doing anyways?"

Sootpaw laughed. "Nothing. I just needed to get you up." He dropped his voice to a whisper. "Anything yet?"

He knew about it, too. I guessed that one of our parents were observant, otherwise where would we get it from?

I shook my head. "Nothing. He always watches the WindClan border whenever we're on patrol, though."

"I noticed that too," Sootpaw mewed, nodding, "Anyways, we should get going. They're waiting."

I flattened my ears and slowly trotted after him.

Waiting at the tunnel was Smokepaw-of course. He never misses a chance to show off his ridiculously amazing battle skills. Then there was Heartpaw and Honeypaw, Dawnpaw, Bumblepaw, Bramblepaw, and our mentors.

I tried to steer clear of Bumblepaw as we walked to the Mossy Hollow, but he liked to bother me. I snapped at him when he kept stepping on my paws and quickened my pace, but then he continued to trod on my tail.

Eventually I decided to take the tree route, springing from branch to branch.

"Showoff," Dawnpaw scoffed from below and I snorted. She was one to talk.

Descending an oak tree and landing softly on the moss, I reluctantly padded over to my spot next to Bumblepaw.

Prickleflame and Bluetail, Bramblepaw and Honeypaw's mentors, told us to practice simple sparring. I attempted to stifle a groan and failed; we had been doing this since the gathering.

Prickleflame shot me a sharp glare even though his dark green eyes shone with agreement. He and Bluetail had been the ones watching us for each training session. He had been made a warrior maybe one or two moons before we were apprenticed, so he was about as patient as Aspenstar.

"Don't be rude, Silverpaw. Today's the last day anyways. Then we'll move on to some more advanced moves. Now start!" He said loudly.

I hissed as my paws were swept out from underneath me, and I was looking into the bright amber eyes of Bumblepaw.

"I wasn't even ready," I spat, "You can't do that!"

He smirked. "Well I just did, so I guess I can."

I growled and bit his forepaw. Bumblepaw cursed and limped out of my way as I stood up.

"Sorry," I purred, not meaning it whatsoever.

He glares at me.

I immediately stood on my hind paws and slammed my forepaws down on his head, stunning him, and sunk my teeth into his scruff. When he didn't move I relaxed, and then realized my mistake too late. His claws scraped the insides of my haunches, catching me off guard for the second time.

He sprang up and bowled me over, and we struggled for control. I clawed at him fiercely until I felt a deep throbbing in my shoulder.

Bumblepaw scrambled backwards, pausing the fight. "Oh, Silverpaw, I'm really sorry. I-I didn't mean to..."

Blood was slowly trickling out and down from four claw marks on my shoulder. "Gee, thanks. I really wanted another one of these to add to my collection. You've made my day."

Bumblepaw narrowed his eyes in response.

Bluetail bounded over to us. "Ouch. You might want to get that checked out, Silverpaw. Take Bumblepaw with you. He might as well get some treatment on his paw."

I silently cursed Bluetail on the way back to camp.

I made a mad dash for the thorn tunnel and crashed straight into Rainpaw, who had a squirrel in his jaws.

A look of confusion crossed his face. "Silverpaw? What are you doing out here? Wait-what's wrong?"

No, I didn't need this right now. Not after what just happened. I got back on my paws and kept running, heading to the very heart of the territory.

"Silverpaw!" I heard him call.

I scaled a tree and waited for Rainpaw to pass under me before going in the opposite direction.

What just happened?

I glanced at my shoulder after stopping in a small clearing.

No, I had to be seeing things. The wound couldn't possibly have healed so quickly.

Yet after examining it some more, there wasn't the slightest bit of evidence that I had been hurt.

One of pain.

The voice had sounded so familiar…

I sat in a pile of dead leaves, embracing the chilled air. The cold helped keep my mind off of…that.

But suddenly the air changed. It seemed warmer, thinner. I looked up to see what seemed like black mist.

What is that doing here?

The sun should have cut through it and made it dissipate, but it rushed forward as if it was...magical.

Magical black mist.

I inched forward to get a better look, but once it touched me I regretted it. A hot, searing pain tore its way throughout my body and I couldn't move. I tried to open my mouth to call for help but no sound came.

One of pain.

There it was again. The black mist seemed to be taunting me, its hissing, rushing sounds creating what sounded like the whisper that I had heard.

One of pain.

The mist continued to burn me, sinking into my pelt, until I blacked out without even closing my eyes.

It was night, and the moon was half full. I found myself at the border between WindClan and RiverClan.

"Stonefoot? Stonefoot, what's wrong?"

Fallingfeather?

There was a light grey tom with grey eyes in front of her. And I was behind the both of them.

The grey tom-Stonefoot, Fallingfeather had said-was lean and wiry. He looked skinny, skinnier than he should have, and his eyes were dull and hollow. They looked red and puffy and his entire being was just...sickly.

He let out a horrible cough that shook his whole body and Fallingfeather jumped back a couple of fox-lengths. "Oh...oh no," She whispered, "Not you too..."

Stonefoot stared back at her miserably.

Fallingfeather began pacing. "How could StarClan let this happen," She wailed, "Is this their punishment? I get to suffer and watch my mate die, watch my only kit grow up without a father? How am I going to even explain her existence in the first place?"

A look of utter pain crossed Stonefoot's face and he looked like he wanted to comfort her, yet he wouldn't go any closer.

My eyes widened in horror and I stumbled backwards.

This was the fatal Blackcough. The sickness that ensued certain death on anyone who caught it. The sickness that had no cure.

Brighttail had told Sootpaw and I as kits that it had spread through the Clans like wildfire when she had just become a queen. It lasted for almost two or three entire seasons, and Sootpaw and I had been born in the very middle of it. There had been too many cats that died.

"W-well, there is something we can do," Stonefoot rasped, his voice dry and hoarse.

Fallingfeather looked up.

"Give her to me. We both know kits are immune. I can say that I found her just outside of the quarantine."

Fallingfeather lowered her head again. "Alright…,"she whispered, "Fine."

Just like that? A mother would give up her kit, just like that?

Well why not, a small voice in my head murmured, your mother didn't fight for you…

I bit my tongue, pushing the memory to the back of my mind.

Stonefoot gave Fallingfeather a serious look. "You can't acknowledge her, Fallingfeather. Not ever. She's old enough to be able to remember, and-"

He cut himself off with a coughing fit. I could see droplets of blood and foam dribbling from in between his lips.

"And you'll need to tell her that she needs to pretend she doesn't know you personally as her mother."

"I understand, okay? I'll bring her to you in two sunrises. I'd say a quarter moon, but I don't know if you'll be alive by then."

Stonefoot flinched.

That was harsh, I thought.

Fallingfeather turned around and walked away, her silent tears streaming down her cheeks and onto the ground.

I was swept into the mist again, but I was relieved as it wasn't painful.

I opened my eyes to see the pair again, along with a kit. I couldn't see her completely because she was hiding behind Fallingfeather, but judging from what I was able to see she was around four moons old.

"Mother, are you sure about this? Are you sure I won't get sick?" She whispered.

Fallingfeather also looked uncertain, but she told the kit that it would be fine.

Stonefoot sat at the border, looking even worse than he had only two days before. "Just give her to me, Fallingfeather. Please. It-"

He tried to hide the blood that spewed out of his mouth when he coughed but couldn't. "It-It'll make this less painful," he breathed, his voice shaky.

Fallingfeather stepped back and pushed the kit forward.

My eyes widened-even though she was young, it was clearly Swiftpaw, who Hazepaw had introduced to us at the gathering.

"Go, dear. Remember what I told you."

Swiftpaw, or kit in this case, looked back at her mother sadly, but then sprinted over the border and stood next to Stonefoot.

"I didn't name her," Fallingfeather muttered, "I wanted you to."

Stonefoot blinked in surprise and then glanced at the kit.

"How about Swiftkit?" He laughed bitterly, "For how quickly she dashed over here, and how swift I hope my death will be."

Swiftkit opened her mouth to object but Fallingfeather gave a curt nod. "Fine." Then her eyes softened. "Swiftkit, show me how quickly you can get to that clump of bushes. I'd like to speak with your father one more time."

The newly named Swiftkit, bottom lip trembling, ran back over the border and buried her face into her mother's chest. "I'll miss you," she mewed quietly.

Fallingfeather touched her head with her muzzle, and then Swiftkit ran to the clump of bushes her mother had pointed out.

"Fallingfeather," Stonefoot hissed, "there's something I need to tell you."

"What could you possibly have to say?" She spat, her voice laced in sarcasm.

"This is serious," he mewed, stepping over the border. Fallingfeather rushed back, and he held up a paw. "Wait, its okay! I'm not contagious."

"Is this sickness making you biased? Of course you're contagious!"

"No," he whispered, "I'm not crazy. Blackcough isn't a worse version of Greencough. Its spread through poison."

"What do you mean?"

"There's this plant, its called Nightshade. If its digested there's something in it called a…a chemical, I think it was, that causes our bodies to, well, overreact to it and try to get rid of it through making us sick. But my point is that the disease isn't a disease."

Fallingfeather shook her head. "No," she whispered, "No…You don't mean that…"

Stonefoot coughed again and nodded. "Yes. Someone's been doing this to us. To all of us."

Fallingfeather let out a snarl. "I can't believe this," she cried, "Who would even…"

Stonefoot glanced at the sky. The moon was lowering. "I don't know. But I overheard Ebonyeye muttering to himself about it and I needed to tell you before..." he trailed off and looked at her, his eyes full of angst.

Fallingfeather sighed. "Tansypelt was diagnosed with Blackcough yesterday. Cherrystar named me the new deputy."

"That's, um… great," Stonefoot muttered.

She sighed again. "Okay, never mind. I just wanted to let you know. Stonefoot," she breathed, her eyes brimming with tears, "I don't know what I'm going to do without you…"

She ran to him, with newfound knowledge that she couldn't get sick, and engulfed her face in his fur, sobbing. He sat there, his bony face grave, and let her tears seep into his pelt.

I swallowed a lump forming in my throat. Why was I seeing this?

Swiftkit had long since crept out of the bushes and was standing only a few fox lengths away, watching and listening to the entire thing.

On her face wasn't a look of sadness, though. Her gaze was steely and cold, and I wondered how a kit could have such intense emotion.

Did she even remember any of this now?

I needed to get out of here and tell Smokepaw about this. Maybe he would let me go with him and see Hazepaw so that I could tell him, too.

With my eyes still set on this horrible scene, I clenched my teeth as a burning sensation crept up my entire body from the very tip of my tail.

"Silverpaw? Are you okay?"

I groaned, attempting to stand up. I was met with a throbbing in my head, however, so I laid back down, slumped against a tree.

I looked up, and Rainpaw was standing over me, his vibrant green eyes glowing with worry.

"I-I found you unconscious in that clearing…Brackenstar sent out a few patrols to look for you, but I figured you wouldn't want all of them fussing over you so I brought you somewhere more hidden. I hope you didn't mind."

I gave my best friend a grateful smile. "Thanks," I whispered. That was Rainpaw, alright. He knew me so well.

He sat down next to me. "So what happened? You didn't really seem in a great mood when I saw you earlier."

I flicked his side with my tail. "Before I answer your question…you do realize its almost dusk, right? I was out for a while, since it was sunhigh last time I checked. And uh, you know… I'm kind of hungry."

Rainpaw smiled, got up and dug up a squirrel. "I thought so," he mewed, dropping it at my paws, "You're always hungry."

"Not as hungry as you are most of the time," I shot back, digging into the kill.

He shrugged and batted at a falling leaf, following it around the clearing. He looked back at me, bits of the leaf scattered across his muzzle. I laughed. "You're such a kit, Rainpaw."

He pawed the leaf bits away just as I finished the squirrel. "Well, kits are adorable. Thanks for the compliment."

"No, you're just a huge ball of fluff."

He huffed. "Don't remind me. Anyways, are you going to tell me what happened now?"

I looked away. "Um…so, we were battle training-"

Rainpaw snorted. "Let me guess. My brother?"

"Geez, how did you know? But yeah. Bumblepaw gave me this nasty wound on my shoulder, so Bluetail sent me back to go get it treated. But by the time I got to camp…the scratch had completely disappeared. Birdflight thought I was crazy and sent me to my nest to rest, but I left camp instead."

"And that's when you ran into me. I looked for you everywhere, Silverpaw, only to find you in a place I had already searched. How is that possible?"

I took a deep breath. "About that. I hid in a tree and waited for you to leave, then I sat down to think about what happened."

I told him about the mist and what I had seen. "Then I woke up, and you were here."

Rainpaw looked like he was deep in thought. "My question is why you saw that in the first place. And also where that mist came from."

I shrugged. "I figured it was magical or from StarClan or something, if the sun couldn't slice through it."

"But really, Silverpaw. Do you think this could be serious?"

I shrugged again.

I hadn't told Rainpaw about the voice. Or the way the mist felt like it was trying to kill me. If he knew he'd worry, and I didn't want that to happen.

I shook my head. "First Hazepaw and Smokepaw, and now this," I muttered so he couldn't hear, "Rainpaw, something's up. And I don't know if I like what it is."

Swiftpaw

I opened one eye when I heard Hazepaw stirring to my right.

He's probably going to try the light thing again, I thought, and waited until he had gone up the dirt path before making sure nobody else saw and followed after him.

In the time since the gathering, he had been going out whenever he had a chance to see if he could make the burst of light happen again, but without luck. I had no idea if he knew I watched him from a safe distance or if he even cared.

But as I padded after him he took a different route than usual.

Hazepaw headed straight to the ThunderClan border, clearing the stream in one leap after gaining speed, and continued to…wherever he was going. I waded through the water, clenching my teeth at the chill, and then ran after him.

He walked through the trees quietly, careful not to get caught up in the underbrush, and stopped in a clearing that had moss for the ground and old pawprints scattered everywhere.

I prodded the moss. It seemed really springy. Was this where the ThunderClan apprentices went to train?

"Smokepaw?" He called quietly, "Are you here?"

I jumped as a figure dropped from a tree and landed in front of him.

"Hey."

I turned around upon hearing a voice behind me, and I was met with the bright violet-blue eyes of Silverpaw.

"Smokepaw, we have a follower," she called, and she Hazepaw's head whipped around.

"Swiftpaw, what are you doing here?" he snapped.

"I'm making sure you don't do something stupid. Why else do you think I'm here?" I spat, adopting the cold façade I had grown to rely on since-

Hazepaw huffed, rolling his eyes. "Well you can't be here."

"And why not?"

"Because," Silverpaw drawled, licking a white paw, "My cuz and Hazepaw are here to talk about you."

"What?" I said, turning back around and staring at the two toms, "Why? W-What's so important about me?"

This was why my mother and I couldn't be seen in the same place.

"The resemblance between you and Fallingfeather is uncanny," Smokepaw said simply, "Too uncanny."

Meanwhile Hazepaw was infuriated at Silverpaw and I. "Silverpaw, you're not supposed to be here either! This was supposed to be a quick discussion, nothing more."

Silverpaw suddenly looked grave. "It's much more than that."

"Silvy, what do you mean? What do you know?" Smokepaw hissed.

The black and white she-cat looked away and took a shaky breath. "Something that I thought you could, but I don't think I should tell you. Swiftpaw," her voice drops to a whisper. "What do you know about Blackcough?"

I gasped and took a few steps back. "No-Nothing…"

She took a step closer, her face laden with sympathy. "It's okay. I already know. I just needed to make sure you remembered."

Smokepaw and Hazepaw were watching us, puzzled, so we walked to the trees at the edge of the clearing. When they were out of earshot, I turned back to Silverpaw. "How? How do you know?" I demanded.

She sighed and explained what had happened to her that day.

"That's…I don't… Something weird happened to Hazepaw, too. But not that weird."

Silverpaw looked bewildered. "You mean I'm not the only one?"

"Yes," I muttered, and then continued to tell her what I had seen Hazepaw do. "It was so strange. It was as if the light came from his paws, but that's not possible."

"Yeah well I was attacked by black mist so I don't know what's possible anymore," Silverpaw muttered.

Hazepaw and Smokepaw were padding over to us, Smokepaw's eyes full of amazement and Hazepaw...Hazepaw still looked mad. But his fur was sticking straight up and seemed to be sparking?

He was literally about to be on fire.

"What in the name of StarClan…" I breathed.

"Please tell me what this is. Because I would prefer that I didn't become a walking fireball, thank you very much," The almost walking fireball hissed.

"I don't think that this is fire. Hazepaw, when you killed that rabbit, did you hear a voice?"

I looked up at Silverpaw questioningly. Hazepaw's fur began to wave. "So Swiftpaw told you. And yeah, I heard a voice. It said 'one of stars' right into my ear, and then the light happened."

Silverpaw nodded slowly. "I don't think you're on fire. I think that your body is creating energy that somewhat resemble a star's appearance-a burst of light. You… you're a walking star."

I hope you liked it! Tell me what you thought in a review! They're extremely encouraging.

I really enjoyed writing this, because you got to see more of the TC apprentices. In the next chapter they're most likely not going to make an appearance.

QOTD: So, Hazepaw's a walking star. What do you think Silverpaw is? I'm looking forward to seeing what ideas you might have.

Don't forget to leave a review! Even if you're a silent reader, a little Hi is nice to see.

Peace out kitties,

~SK💙🐈