Yay! Chapter one! –grin- This is the only chapter that will be from Silverstripe's point of view. Nothing really happens in this chapter. The point of it is just to introduce some of the characters, I guess. Enjoy!
Pawsteps echoed against the ground. An icy wind blew. Dewdrops brushed against her legs. A dense mist hung over the forest like a damp pelt. The soot floor was covered in thick black ashes.
I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy.
They're beautiful!
Where is he?
Voices boomed in her ear, whispering words of the past. She shook her head, trying to clear it. Trying to ignore the eerie murmuring. Rain pelted the ground.
I'm not crazy!
I thought you were lost.
Let's name them.
The ground split apart. She gripped desperately clung to the grass, trying not to glance down at the swirling black pit below her. But it sucked her in.
The smoky mist that hangs around us and makes the forest seem calmer.
The thunder that echoes off the trees.
The ashes that now lay on the ground where the fire once was.
Suddenly, light streamed through her eyelids. Scents of prey and moss filled her senses.
"Where are they?" she gasped. She glanced around frantically, searching for the three familiar bundles of gray fur.
"Where are who?"
Silverstripe gazed up to see a longhaired gray she-cat hovering over her, a worried expression spread across her face. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Wingfeather," Silverstripe assured. "I…just had a strange dream."
"Perhaps you should talk to Leafwhisper about it."
"It wasn't prophetic, or anything. It was just a nightmare."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!"
Silverstripe and Wingfeather had been best friends ever since they were in the nursery, along with Rosethorn. Sometimes Silverstripe got annoyed with how much Wingfeather got worried over the smallest things, so she snapped at her without thinking.
"I'm taking Pinepaw out training today." Silverstripe rose to her paws and followed Wingfeather out of the warriors' den.
"I remember when I trained Willowbreeze. She was so sweet and gentle, but when she got into battle mode, she could've ripped the fur off of all of LionClan's warriors!" Wingfeather meowed. Silverstripe grabbed a magpie off the fresh-kill pile and nodded as she listened. Wingfeather and Rosethorn were older than Silverstripe, so they'd both had apprentices before her. Oh, well, Silverstripe thought, At least I've got an apprentice right now and they don't.
"…Rosethorn and I took our apprentices out training together," Wingfeather continued to ramble. "Sprucefoot was always hard on Willowbreeze…"
Silverstripe shifted her mind away from apprentices and back to her dream. Words filled her ears again, whispering: I'm not crazy! I'm not crazy!
"Um…no, you're not…I guess."
Silverstripe focused onto Wingfeather's puzzled stare. "What? I'm not what?" Silverstripe inquired.
"You said, 'I'm not crazy' and I was just agreeing with you."
"I said that? When?"
"Just now, mousebrain!"
"I did?"
"Yes! Would I lie about that?" Wingfeather's face grew even more confused every word Silverstripe blurted out.
"Oh. Well…" Silverstripe's ears burned. "I…I didn't notice. I was just thinking…about something."
There was an awkward silence between the two friends as they finished their meal and began grooming themselves, until Wingfeather pointed out, "Oh, there's Pinepaw. You'd better go on."
Silverstripe stood, waved her tail goodbye, and hurried over to her apprentice. "Good morning, Pinepaw!"
The dark brown tabby tom glanced up from licking the base of his tail and his green eyes immediately lit up. "Morning, Silverstripe! What're we doing today?"
"We're going to do a little battle training. Let's go!" She turned and dashed out of the camp. She could hear Pinepaw's pawsteps thudding against the dew-soaked soot and his sharp breathing. Once they reached the training hollow, Silverstripe slowed to a stop and sat there, panting. A few heartbeats later Pinepaw caught up to her.
"You keep up quite well," Silverstripe commented, and thought a bit. Then she added, "for an apprentice."
His eyes sparkled with mischief. "You were an apprentice once too, you know." Silverstripe nodded. "I know. Now let's begin. I'm going to teach you how to play dead."
Pinepaw looked puzzled. "Play dead? This is a fighting move?"
"Of course. If your opponent has you pinned down, act like you're dead. Then his grip will loosen up a bit so you can spring up at him and attack him by surprise."
"Clever," Pinepaw commented thoughtfully. "But what if he doesn't loosen his grip?"
"Chances are by 99% that he will because he will think that he already killed you, so his job is done. Let's try it. I'll pin you down and you stop struggling."
"So…all I have to do is quit moving?"
"Exactly." Silverstripe pinned the apprentice down and meowed, "Go ahead."
Pinepaw struggled, but then slowly went limp. Even his breathing stopped. Silverstripe took one paw off of his chest and waited for him to leap up at her.
She waited.
But nothing happened.
"Pinepaw, you're supposed to leap up at me, remember?" Silverstripe glanced down at his apprentice, whose eyes were wide and unmoving. "Pinepaw."
No response.
"Pinepaw!"
Nothing.
Silverstripe felt panic tighten in her throat. She leapt off his apprentice and knelt down beside him. Had her weight crushed him? Had he stopped breathing for so long that his heart stopped? "Pinepaw, get up! Pinepaw!" She shook her apprentice, pushing her paws into his side. "Pine-"
Pinepaw let out a screech and leapt at Silverstripe, who was obviously unprepared. Still shocked, Silverstripe gave a yelp and was pinned to the ground. Pinepaw pressed his paws against her chest and panted, "How was that?"
"I…I thought…" Silverstripe couldn't believe it. "…You…I…"
"Did you think I was really dead?" Pinepaw's eyes beamed. "Did I play dead well?"
Once Silverstripe caught her breath, she gasped a shaky, "Yes! Now…get off me…you great furball!"
Pinepaw stood aside and watched as Silverstripe scrambled to her paws. "Sorry for scaring you," he meowed. Silverstripe twitched her ears. "It's okay. At least you got the point of the lesson. How about we work on hunting now? I haven't taught you how to hunt a rabbit yet. If there are even any rabbits in this territory."
After the training session ended, Silverstripe let Pinepaw go back to the camp while she hunted a bit. She trotted through the forest, feeling the sunlight warm her silver tabby pelt. Silverstripe tasted the air and whispered, "Vole."
She followed the scent to a large tree where the tiny brown creature was sitting, preening himself. Just as Silverstripe was about to begin stalking, she heard a voice.
"Silverstripe."
She ignored the murmuring and crept toward the vole.
"Silverstripe."
An eerie wind brushed over the trees, rustling the leaves. "Silverstripe."
The vole glanced up, and, upon seeing Silverstripe, darted away. Silverstripe gave a frustrated growl and tried to catch up to the vole, her claws unsheathed and her eyes glued on the brown rodent. It scampered into a hole and she stood there, panting. "Who is that?" she yowled in aggravation.
A pale gray she-cat padded over to Silverstripe, green eyes aglow. Her slender body was silhouetted in silver light.
"Willowbreeze?" Silverstripe realized after tasting the air. Willowbreeze said nothing except, "Three young cats from each of the four will unite and risk their lives battling against the thunder and rain. The three are here, Silverstripe."
After a tense silence, Silverstripe finally managed to choke out, "You…you're not Willowbreeze! Who are you?"
"I am Willowshine." The gray she-cat's eyes were changing color…from green to blue. Silverstripe backed away in horror as Willowshine whispered, "The three are here!"
"What are the 'three'?" Silverstripe demanded.
"You know who the three are from your one of the four."
"What?"
"You'll understand when the thunder and rain arrive." Willowshine was disappearing. Silverstripe raced to her, demanding, "Wait! Tell me who the three are!" But Willowshine had already vanished, leaving an eerie aura throughout the forest.
Wow! Nice ending, for once! I'm proud of this chapter, but it is certainly a long one…-scrolls through it with eyes wide- I really hope you guys enjoyed it. See ya!
xx-Starfall-xx