Chapter 4:
Shadepaw woke up with a start, someone was shaking him.
"Oh, you're up," Amberpaw's voice said, "finally."
He got onto four paws, flattening his fur down and looking up. The moonlight peeped through the gaps in the den roof, the sky was clear and cold.
"Is it the gathering?" He asked.
"Obviously," his sister said, "but be quiet, all the other apprentices are asleep."
Shadepaw glanced around, the rest of his den mates were asleep apart from Amberpaw was getting ready to leave and Violetpaw whose figure was silhouetted against the moonlight as she groomed her fur. Amberpaw padded past her without a word, heading back into the camp's clearing. Shadepaw did the same a few seconds afterward, yawning to himself.
The clearing was quiet, only a few cats were milling around waiting to go. Ace was sitting not to far off, he flicked an ear in greeting to Shadepaw but ignored Amberpaw who didn't seem bothered by it.
Violetpaw also emerged from the den but walked straight past Shadepaw to sit beside her mentor. Shadepaw glanced over to Flashheart who was talking to Flamefern, another Pineclan cat, and sighed. He trotted over, ready to listen.
Flashheart glanced down at him.
'Oh, it's him,' Flashheart said. Well, he didn't really say it, the thought of him saying it popped into Shadepaw's head, It was like he had said it, but his mouth hadn't moved.
"Shadepaw," his mentor said, this time Shadepaw was sure he was actually speaking, "we're almost ready to leave."
"Uh," Shadepaw paused, "right, okay."
He shook himself slightly, slightly freaked out that he had just imagined his mentor saying something.
Flashheart looked at him, 'weird.'
It just happened again! Shadepaw must be more tired than he thought. He kept imagining his mentor saying something even though his mouth wasn't moving and no words came from him.
Shadepaw quickly dismissed himself and stumbled over to the centre of the group and stood there for a second, trying to wake himself up.
'Honestly, will he get a move on?' Another voice , that sounded awfully like one of his sister's, made him jump.
He turned around to see Violetpaw looking at him, "what's got you so jumpy today?" She asked in a condescending manner.
"You just told me to get a move on!" He accused.
She blinked, "are you mad? I didn't say anything, but I was thinking it, for sure. Get outta my way."
Shadepaw narrow his eyes.
"Hey," she snapped again, "don't glare at me."
"Then don't call me 'mad,' I know you said it."
"I didn't say anything, you're crazier than bloody Amberpaw."
"I'm not crazy."
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are you two kits or something?" Another, snappy voice interrupted, "hurry up, we're gonna be late."
The two other siblings shot a glare at one another and hurried to catch up with the rest of the clan which was streaming out of the camp.
They caught up with their mentors who didn't seemed too worried about them lagging behind. Shadepaw hung back slightly, feeling as though everything was just a bit too loud at the moment.
They trekked through Rainclan territory towards the island, Shadepaw grimacing at the reeds that brushed against his fur. He knew that Rainclan hunted from the lake and the stream where the reeds grey tall and wild, but most Rainclan cats tended to be sleek furred and rather 'large' because their supply of food was almost constant when compared to the other three clans.
They moved past the horse place. Shadepaw couldn't see the large, brown, hoof stomping creatures that his mother had told him about, but he wasn't willing to go in and find out.
Finally, they reached the fallen tree, the one that allowed passage to the island. Scarletstar, followed by Starlingwing, hopped on, gracefully crossing the lake without looking down at the dark water below.
Shadepaw watched it disinterestedly but he felt Amberpaw stiffen beside him.
'What if it falls?' Her voice said.
"It won't fall," he responded.
She looked at him, "I never said it would."
Shadepaw opened his mouth to argue that he'd just heard her say that but then started to wonder whether he was going mad or not, it wasn't the first time he'd imagined people saying things.
"Doesn't matter," he said in a resigned tone.
He climbed onto the tree, feeling the worn bark from moons of cats crossing across it underneath his paws. He strolled straight across, landing safely on the other side.
Violetpaw was only a few steps behind him, also confidently landing. He noticed Amberpaw eying the water cautiously as she walked across at a slower pace.
"Scared, Amberpaw?" Violetpaw said cockily.
"No," she shot back stubbornly, "I was just wondering how deep the water is."
"Deep enough to drown in," Shadepaw told her bluntly, "Now will you hurry up."
Sending one last cautious look at the lake, Amberpaw glared at her two siblings and stumbled a landing onto the island. Violetpaw snickered but didn't make anymore comments as they gathered on the main part of the island.
Shadepaw's eyes instantly narrowed.
"Starclan," he said, "it's loud."
"It's not that loud," snorted Violetpaw, "you just have sensitive hearing."
"That's a good thing," he said, "it means I can actually hear the prey."
"I can hear!" She stuck her nose up, "I was just pointing it out."
"Whatever," he strode off into the crowd.
Instantly, he bumped straight into someone.
"Sorry," his apology was mumbled.
"Yeah," the voice replied, "just watch where you're going."
Shadepaw suddenly felt sick.
He was standing on top of a hill, looking down across a large plain of two leg dens, probably bigger than the lake itself. Half of it was burning with brightly coloured flames. One burnt a bright orange colour, dotted with yellow and reds whilst the other burnt with a cooler colour, Purple.
"That's dad's Curse!" Shadepaw said as he looked at the violet flames.
But no words came out from his mouth, he felt like a spectator, watching the scene unfold.
He looked down at his paws to find they weren't his own, they were grey, a similar shade to Amberpaw's.
"What's going on?" He asked but, once again, nothing happened.
"Are you sure we're doing the right thing?" Asked a voice beside him.
He turned around to see Ace, his father, standing beside him, his bathed in the light of fire. He looked much younger, maybe apprentice age.
"We are," said the body that wasn't his, the voice was feminine, "you saw what our father was doing."
"Amber," Ace took a step forward, "did all those cats deserve it?"
"They did, Flicker, trust me on this."
"Hey! Are you okay?"
Shadepaw shook himself, his body trembling. He looked at his paws, brown. So then, what had happened. His eyes still round with shock, he glanced up to see who was talking to him.
It was the Rainclan cat from the other day, the one that had been on their territory. She was looking down at Shadepaw with a confused look on her face.
"Yeah," he said, "just spaced out."
The Rainclan she-cat looked down at him, "right."
"Shadepaw!" Amberpaw burst in between the two, "where'd you go?"
Shadepaw paused, glancing at Amberpaw and the warrior she-cat. Both had the same shade of dark grey fur with lighter grey markings running down their back. In fact, the only difference seemed to be one had eyes that burnt orange like fire whilst the other had much less intense yellow eyes.
For all his life, Shadepaw had thought that Amberpaw had got her looks off of Ace, but now he was having doubts.
"I went here," he said.
Amberpaw glanced up, "oh, you're the cat from earlier, the one on our territory."
The she-cat narrowed her eyes, 'she looks like him.'
Shadepaw took another moment to regain himself, he was imagining people speaking again, he was sure he was going mad.
"That's me," the she-cat said, "I need to ask you a question."
Amberpaw glanced at Shadepaw who shrugged.
"What is it, then?"
"Do you know a cat called Flicker?" She asked, "I've been looking for him for a while."
"Flicker?" Amberpaw frowned, "the name doesn't ring a bell."
"He might've changed his name," the she-cat continued, "I don't remember what he changed it to… it was long ago."
"What does he look like?" Shadepaw asked.
The she-cat blinked, "like her."
She pointed to Amberpaw who's eyes widened.
"You're talking about Dad," she said, "his name's Ace."
"Ace," she said softly, "that was it."
"Why are you looking for him?" Amberpaw continued, "he's nothing special."
Shadepaw glanced at his sibling, "we can take you to him if you want."
"No," said the she-cat, "he won't want to see me."
"Who are you?" Asked Shadepaw, "you said you were a rogue before you joined Rainclan, did you know my father?"
"I did," she said simply, "not anymore though, thanks for your help."
She disappeared into the crowd.
Amberpaw turned to Shadepaw, "what did she say her name was? She told us, I swear she did."
"Amberfall," he said, "that was it, wasn't it?"
"I guess," Amberpaw looked thoughtful, "was I named after her?"
"You looked exactly alike."
"We did?"
"Yeah."
"We should find dad," she said hesitantly, "he'd want to know."
Shadepaw looked at Amberpaw, she'd never had a good relationship with her father, he'd never figured out why.
"Alright," he said finally, "let's find him."
'I wonder if Amberfall is related to us,' Shadepaw thought as they looked for Ace, 'she did look a lot like Amberpaw.'
He found his mind drifting back to the strange moment he had, when he had stood on a hill next to a much younger version of his father in a body that wasn't his own. It was like he was experiencing a memory that wasn't his.
He bumped into his father.
"Dad!" He said.
Ace glanced down, a surprised look on his face as he glanced between Amberpaw and Shadepaw. He was probably shocked that, for once, they weren't arguing.
"What is it?" He asked.
"There was a cat, a she-cat looking for you, I think."
"Who was it?"
Ace was sitting next to Stormlight who had her eyes narrowed as she watched the leaders on the branches of the island's large tree. Ivystar, the Lightningclan leader, was sitting near Scarletstar, the two talking with their heads bent down together. Aspenstar, the Heatherclan leader, was sitting away from them next to the old Rainclan leader, Snowstar. The two latter leaders were glaring at Scarletstar, probably because she was still the only leader that accepted Cursed cats.
"Some she-cat," Amberpaw put in, "the one that was on our territory."
"Her name was Amberfall," Shadepaw told him, "she knew your old name, Flicker."
Ace looked up.
He was on the hill again, this time seeing the fire from a slightly different angle. Shadepaw glanced around, what was he doing back here? He glanced to the side to see a familiar figure, Amberfall. She was looking out onto the fire, her eyes alight.
Shadepaw realised with a jolt that he was looking through his father's eyes, this must be his father's memory. That means, the first time it happened he was looking through Amberfall's eyes, how did the two know each other.
"Are you sure we're doing the right thing?" Asked Ace.
"We are," said Amberfall, "you saw what our father was doing."
"Amber," Ace took a step back, "did all those cats deserve it?"
"They did, Flicker, trust me on this."
Shadepaw turned back to look at the fire, half of the two-leg place was burning down.
Had his father started this fire?
A/N: I am soooo sorry! I wanted to update this ages ago but school just took over. I've just began year 10 and I've already had so many mock GCSE exams it's sooo annoying! I usually can write a chapter in one sitting but now I'm only able to write maybe 400 words a day if get the time. I'll try an update asap but you might just have to wait another week! Sorry!
