Chapter 4

"Wake up Hawkpaw! Hurry!" Lunarpaw whispered into her sister's ear.

"Wha …?" Hawkpaw sat up slowly, blinking away the thick layer of blur that fogged everything she saw, the stood up quickly in realization, hitting her head on the top of the den.

"Ow!"

"Sh!"

"Sorry …" rubbing her head, Hawkpaw felt a small bump form almost directly between her ears.

"Whatever, let's get going already!" Lunarpaw hissed impatiently, and headed recklessly out of the den before Hawkpaw could protest.

Grunting in frustration, Hawkpaw followed after her sister.

"Quit being a meek slug, would you? We gotta get moving!"

Suppressing the urge to claw her sister's ears off, Hawkpaw quickly took the lead before they leaped into any trouble.

"Hawkpaw, hurry-"

"Shut up before you get me into any trouble!"

"Sorry I just …"

"Yes, I know, but really! You could pass for a dizzy WindClan she-cat!" Hawkpaw laughed after barley managing to pass by Squirrelflight and Crowfeather, who had recently fallen in love after realizing what they had while the Battle of the Stars had taken place.

Shivering and breathing in the cold night air, Hawkpaw looked up at the stars, wondering if three cats in particular were looking down upon her and her sister. 'I'm sorry … if I hadn't been pressured into … this … this mess …' Hawkpaw hung her head as she prayed to Snowfur, Ashfur, and Redtail.

"What's wrong?" Lunarpaw asked, her neck fur fluffed out from the cold. Hawkpaw shook her head, and Lunarpaw shrugged; the two continued on.

Reaching the river that separated WindClan and ThunderClan territory, Hawkpaw searched for the stepping stones, still sleepy and not used to the dark quite yet.

"Over here!" a voice called from upstream, and Hawkpaw flicked her tail dismissively, knowing already that it was Shadowpaw. Walking to where he stood, his pelt glowing silver in the moonlight, Hawkpaw leaped onto the fist stepping stone, her tail out as she crossed, the cold rushing water brushing against her paws in little rivulets. Trying not to look at the cold water, Hawkpaw leaped from stone to stone, feeling more than ever like a toad.

Finally, after several heartbeats, she and Lunarpaw leapt onto the soft marsh moorland grass on WindClan territory.

Smelling the sweet scent of heather, Hawkpaw brushed her flank against Shadowpaw's, and the three kept moving once Lunarpaw caught her breath.

"I brought Smallpaw along." Shadowpaw said quietly, and the twins heard a rustling from a nearby bush. "Ugh! Yeesh, stupid twigs!" a young she-cats voice exclaimed in a whisper, and the three suppressed snorts of laughter.

"Why ..?" Hawkpaw asked in confusion after Smallpaw caught her balance.

Shadow paw looked to Smallpaw, who flicked her tail shyly.

"I-I'm in love with Boulderpaw." she mumbled, and Lunarpaw hissed immediately.

"What!"

"I'm sorry … I just …"

"I love him more!"

"I loved him first!"

Hawkpaw sighed and looked at Lunarpaw sadly.

"Lunarpaw … it's better that Smallpaw moves on with Boulderpaw. WindClan are closer to RiverClan than we are." she mewed, and Lunarpaw hung her head low and growled sadly. "I know," she began, "but it's not fair! I love him … I …" she sighed and her tail drooped so low it brushed against the ground. "I understand … besides, this is all too overwhelming … and Seedpaw has been of interest lately."

Hawkpaw licked her sisters cheek, and purred in a sad, comforting way.

"Go home." she sighed. "Get some rest."

"I will … and Smallpaw?" Lunarpaw had turned away, and looked over her shoulder to the small she-cat.

"Yes?"

"Tell Boulderpaw … tell him that I never really loved him, that I … we …-"

"I know, and I will."

Grimacing as if she had swallowed bile, Lunarpaw then shook her head and smiled sadly, nodding and heading back home.

All Hawkpaw could do was stand and watch as her sisters small frame shrunk on the horizon as they each walked opposite directions until both disappeared from each other's sights.

…...

"There you guys are I- where's Lunarpaw?" Boulderpaw's voice dropped in disappointment.

Smallpaw then stepped forward and Boulderpaw cast her a scornful look.

"What happened between them ..?" Hawkpaw mumbled in Shadowpaw's ear, and he sighed. "The gathering before tonight's was our first gathering … where they met. It doesn't really concern us though, so we should just bow out." he added, and then leaped up onto the tree where the leaders sat each full moon.

Glancing around, Hawkpaw leaped beside him, and leaned against his flank.

"What do you think StarClan thinks of us right now?" Hawkpaw sighed, and Shadowpaw purred.

"They're probably thinking that we're just like two cats I've heard about."

"What?"

"You know, the story of Shadowstream and Hawkflower?"

"Not really …"

"Oh, well it's and old nursery tale, long before the warrior code was even thought up!"

"Oh, really? It sounds silly."

"It actually isn't. Well anyways, its about this young ThunderClan she cat named Hawkflower who received a dream of fire from StarClan about her, her sister Lunarmoon, and two cats from the other clans around the lake. Over all, though, in the end, the evil was fought, but Hawkflower fell in love with a WindClan tom, Shadowpelt, and no one knows what happened after that … because the story always ends with ThunderClan finding out about her kits that had never been known about due to being stolen after birth." Shadowpaw's eyes shone in mystery, but Hawkpaw felt her fur begin to raise and she touched her nose to his ear, and said, "I gotta go."

Racing nervously past a rather happy Smallpaw and Boulderpaw, Hawkpaw rushed across the tree bridge, through the murky moorland, across the stepping stones, through ThunderClan territory, and all the way back to her nest in the apprentices' den.

Trembling in her nest, Hawkpaw had several thoughts run through her mind.

'Evil? Prophecy? Love? Kits? Kits who were stolen? A great battle between good and evil … again!" she buried her nose into her paws, these, and many more thoughts, ran through her head as if she were experiencing a a night mare … only it was all pure reality!

'Great StarClan, am I Hawkflower reborn ..? Or am I … am I someone much, much more powerful beyond that ..? Will the story be the same ..? Or this time … will it have a different ending ..? And maybe … just maybe will that old nursery tale be true ..? If so, are we going to figure out the rest of the story?' looking to the sky, Hawkpaw let out a silent wail.

'StarClan! Is this a coincidence! Or are we the ones who will be acting out the roles of the play this time ..?"