Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors. I frankly wish that I did, but I don't. Humph.

BTW, this chapter is taking place in the same time period as the previous chapters.

Featherpaw woke with a start. The walls of the den were dark with shadow. Featherpaw could see a starry patch of sky through the thatched reed roof. She closed her eyes, letting the starlight soothe her nerves.

She pulled herself out of the den, shuddering as she left the toasty den and stepped into the crisp leaf-fall air. Less than half of the clan was in the camp. The rest were… Somewhere. Not here.

Featherpaw sighed. She wished that she had been chosen to join the patrol that went… Where did they go? It was well past Moonhigh.

Featherpaw shook her head to clear it. She wandered toward the edge of camp, only half noticing what she was doing.

Reeds crackled gently as she passed by them. Pebbles scattered beneath her paws as Featherpaw padded along the bank of the river. She sat down and began to wash herself with slow but strong strokes. She tried not to think of what might have happened to the patrol.

'It must have been big to keep them this long,' mused Featherpaw. Then without thinking, she dove into the water.

The river swirled around her like smoke. Featherpaw let the current drag her under until she settled to the bottom with a gentle bump. She started counting. '1, 2, 3…' She arranged herself in a more comfortable position. After a few seconds of just lying there, Featherpaw gently pushed up off the bottom and into the main flow of water. She let out a bit of her air and watched the bubbles swirl around her muzzle and then rise to the surface.

Featherpaw practiced one of her special moves; using her back legs and tail to propel her forward and her front paws to steer. '34, 35, 36…'

Diving back down to the bottom, Featherpaw searched among the rocks for a pretty shell or something like that. As she drifted by a large boulder on the river bottom, an object caught her eye. Swimming against the current, Featherpaw backtracked. When she saw what was there, half her air floated to the surface.

A round, almost shiny object was sticking out of the ground. Featherpaw dove down next to it. '56, 57, 58…'

Featherpaw dug her hind claws into the pebble-speckled bottom. She reached out with her front paws and touched the oval. Its surface was slippery and hard.

She gently tugged at the thing. It didn't move. She pulled harder, digging her claws into the surrounding rock to help it slid out. The oval pulled out a few inches.

Featherpaw steadied herself on a rock and pulled with all her might. The rock gave way and she was sent tumbling backward. '88, 89, 90…'

The object was weighing her down. She struggled with it, trying to swim with it clasped in her front paws. She let go of it, and then swam down to retrieve it from the river floor. '100, 101, 102…'

Featherpaw carefully rolled the object behind a large rock that broke the force of the current. She settled to the bottom, wondering about the mysterious thing that she had found. '115, 116, 117…'

Featherpaw scoured her mind for any name to suggest what the object was. She rolled it up the boulder, pushing it inch by inch up the rock face. '139, 140, 141…'

The object disappeared above the surface. Her head was inches beneath the air. '154, 155, 156…' She hurled herself out of the water. 160 seconds! Her new record!

But the victory was short lived. Curiosity soon overtook all of her other feelings. The object was lying in a small tide pool. Featherpaw padded cautiously over to it.

Now that she was out of the water, Featherpaw saw that the object was stone. It was round and smooth, perfectly shaped by the river's current. It sparkled in the moonlight. Featherpaw was fascinated by it.

Gently, she rolled it back along the riverbank, carefully keeping it away from the edge of the water. Back through the reeds they went, back to the camp. All of the cats were still sleeping. Featherpaw rolled the stone to the apprentices' den and to her nest.

She centered it in the middle of her nest and settled down around it. She was still wet and the rock was icy cold. But the moment that she touched it, she was instantly plunged into a deep sleep.

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