CHAPTER 7

For once I actually felt cheerful as we padded through the Steppe, completely silent. Silence. Sweetheart would've scared away all the prey with her non stop talking. But Mousefang was quiet and collected, I liked it.

"Sweetheart filled me in on how far you are into your training. You are much farther ahead than your denmates. I'm impressed," Mousefang purred to me, his eyes shining in pride. "I'm surprised Sweetheart gave you to me."

"She just had some problems with Blackfoot, nothing to do with me. But thank you, Mousefang," I mewed firmly. Although Mousefang had been hanging around Icepaw, he was a brilliant warrior. I didn't like that he hung around my friend so much, but now he was my mentor so I had to let it go and focus.

Mousefang nodded at me. "We're just going to take a look at the ShadowClan border. It's almost been half a moon since we've heard anything from them. Firelily and Russetstar are worried. Shouldn't take too long."

I nodded at my new mentor and we continued on. It was odd that ShadowClan had been silent for so long. It was unlike them. Then again, now they had a rogue as their leader. And I had a rogue as my father.

"How long is Buddy staying?"

The warrior looked down at me. "Until Russetstar can assess him properly. He may join WindClan. He claims to love Whitefoot, but don't think I haven't noticed you and the other apprentices seem to be avoiding him."

"I didn't tell them to do anything. We're all ashamed of the poor choices our parents have made," I responded as we reached the ShadowClan border. The ShadowClan scent was so faint that the WindClan scent was the only scent you could smell now.

"I hope they're okay," Mousefang mewed with concern and then marked the border quickly. "Mothflower will tell us after the medicine cat meeting if we haven't heard from them yet."

I silently disagreed. ShadowClan was one of the most evil Clans, and although for a while we had an allegiance with them, now it was definitely gone. Or at least, I didn't want an allegiance with them anymore.

"We should check on the rogue border too. That was StrikeClan's old border," Mousefang told me as he sniffed the air, tilting his head. "It just doesn't make any sense why they aren't even marking the border."

Sweetheart had already shown and told me about StrikeClan's old border, and I had already met the StrikeClan cats.

"To the other border then?" I asked, eager to get back to camp. Littlecloud had been punishing Icepaw since Blackfoot had overheard her. Not a lot of things but less patrols and more cleaning duties.

He nodded and led the way towards the other border and away from ShadowClan's.

"I noticed Littlecloud has been punishing Icepaw lately," Mousefang commented as we made our way past the Steppe. "What's that about?"

My paws itched in irritation. "Look, Mousefang, you're my mentor and Icepaw is my friend and denmate, I'm sure if she wanted you to know, you would," I snapped.

"You're my apprentice, Soulpaw, you're supposed to listen and obey. When I ask I expect you to answer, not give me attitude," Mousefang retorted, flicking his tail. "Come on, let's get this over with."

I followed after him with my tail lashing, angrily glaring at him as we went.


We padded into camp and I instantly veered away from Mousefang over to where Icepaw was carrying moss to the apprentice's den.

She smiled warmly as I approached her. "Hi, Soulpaw!"

I smiled back at her, instantly forgetting about my quarrel with Mousefang. "Still on cleaning duties, hm?" I asked with amusement, my eyes shining at her.

"Yes, well, it's not so bad. Shadeclaw was with me for a bit today but then he went to see Cherryheart." She flicked her tail at me. "I think Whitefoot and Buddy are looking for you."

"Do you know where they are?"

Icepaw chuckled softly. "Here they come right now."

I froze and turned around slowly, seeing my mother and father hurrying up to me. I had done so well to avoid them. Curse you Icepaw for distracting me!

"Soulpaw!" Whitefoot mewed, pausing in front of me. "Buddy and I need to speak with you." She nodded over at Icepaw. "Excuse us." Then she practically dragged me away from Icepaw. I wanted to plea at Icepaw to save me, but I knew that would hurt Whitefoot's feelings.

We stopped under the Tallrock and Buddy spoke now, "I'm joining WindClan, Soulpaw. I know you don't like me but I want to be here for you and your mother. Whitefoot told me about the other kits who were born with you and I should've been here to support you. At dusk Russetstar will be doing my ceremony. I hope you can understand," Buddy explained to me with a frown on his face.

I stopped myself from snapping at him. I didn't like Buddy, but I did love my mother. "If this is what Whitefoot wants I will support her. However, don't pretend like you are my father. You aren't." I glanced at my mother who nodded at me. "Very well." Then I hurried away from my parents, right back to Icepaw.

She was gazing at me with concern and a tilted head. "What's going on?"

"Buddy is joining WindClan," I responded, my kindness completely gone. "Instead of Russetstar punishing Whitefoot for mating with a rogue, her mate gets to join our Clan and torture me." I went to slip past her into the den but she stopped me with her tail.

"I'll always be here for you, Soulpaw." Her green eyes soothed me a little. "Are you going to sleep?"

I nodded numbly at her, unable to speak. My voice just wouldn't work.

"I'll let you know how Buddy's ceremony goes, okay?" she told me in her soft honey-like voice and flashed me a smile.

Quickly, I padded into the den and settled down into my nest, tucking my tail around myself. I just needed some rest and maybe I wouldn't be as grumpy as Jaypaw!

The sleep came quickly and I willed it to be peaceful.

"Are you ever going to open your eyes?" a snappy voice asked, causing me to jolt awake.

Before me stood a large pure brown tom with long legs and a long tail. He had bright green eyes that bore into me, causing me to be quite uncomfortable. There was something weird about him but I couldn't figure out what.

Around us was the open moor, although none of it looked familiar. Was I no longer in WindClan territory?

"Who are you?" I demanded, glaring at the tom who was far larger than I.

He rose to his paws, lumbering over me. "I am Fallowstar. I once was the leader of WindClan. I now reside in StarClan. And you are Soulpaw."

My eyes flickered around, seeing other cats racing around us, all of them unfamiliar.

"What do you mean, I'm in StarClan?" I asked, feeling worry itch at my paws. Had RiverClan attacked and killed me in my nest? Was Icepaw okay?

Suddenly, I spotted what was so odd about Fallowstar: he had glimmering stars in his fur. My entire body shook in fear.

"You're perfectly fine, Soulpaw. I summoned you here. You have a special connection with StarClan. We figured you'd listen to me better than anyone else. I have to tell you something important," Fallowstar's voice was booming and quite threatening.

I stepped towards Fallowstar, intrigued. "What is it?"

"The Four's journey has come to an end so now the Three must rise to destroy The Lurking Darkness," Fallowstar mewed loudly and disappeared into black. The setting around us changed into a forest, one I was not familiar with. There were cats battling everywhere. Some of them I recognized as Clan cats but the others were merely shadows, as if they didn't exist.

Then it faded away and all I could hear was the echoes of pained warriors.


Something hard jabbed me in my stomach and I sat up quickly, my heart pounding. Icepaw stood in front of me, concern plastered on her face.

"Hey, are you okay? You were yowling in your sleep," Icepaw told me, her voice was soft and I looked over to see Wildpaw was still in his nest. His paw was twitching slightly.

I nodded at Icepaw, trying to push back the dream of blood and yowls for help. "Y-Yes. Sorry if I woke you…" I eyed her for a heartbeat, noticing that her pelt was groomed nicely. "Finally going on a patrol?"

"The dawn patrol!" she purred excitedly. The happiness in her green eyes instantly warmed my pelt. "Although Whitefoot and Shadepelt are coming with us. Oh! Shadepelt is Buddy's warrior name, I forgot you weren't there." She shook her head and chuckled softly. "Anyways, I have to go. Good luck today." Then she hurried out of the den.

The prophecy echoed in my head. The Four's journey… Who was the Four? WindClan cats?

I rose to my paws and quickly exited the den, looking around the empty clearing. Firelily was under the Tallrock by herself, Mothflower was outside her den with no sign of Jaypaw, Icepaw was leaving with her patrol, and Morningtail and Grayclaw were outside the warriors den eating a rabbit and talking quietly.

Mousefang slipped out of the warrior's den and nodded a hello to the other two warriors before turning his head and spotting me.

He quickly padded over. "Today we are partner hunting with Icepaw when she gets back from patrol. You should bring some prey to Mothflower and Jaypaw while we wait," he told me, flicking his tail over to the medicine den.

I nodded at my mentor and padded to the fresh-kill pile, grabbing a rabbit. I could feel Mousefang's stare follow me as I walked up to Mothflower.

"Catmint, I need to remember to get some Catmint," Mothflower mumbled to herself and then looked up at me. "Oh, hello Soulpaw."

I gave her my best fake smile. I was still a little shaken up from my dream. "I brought you and Jaypaw a rabbit," I told her in between the fur of the rabbit. I set it down in front of her.

"Jaypaw already ate, he's out getting herbs, so we can share it," Mothflower purred and took a bite out of the rabbit and continued sorting her herbs. "How is Mousefang treating you?"

I also took a bite out of it too, realizing that my belly was empty. I swallowed before I answered her. "I haven't learned much from him yet but Icepaw says he's a great mentor," I responded, feeling a twinge of jealousy but I quickly shook it off. "We're doing partner hunting today so I'll let you know."

Mothflower nodded at me but her eyes never left her herbs. "I heard about what happened with Blackfoot," she mewed, taking a heartbeat to look at my reaction. She was disappointed since I gave none. "He's always been like that. I'm not sure why."

"It's no big deal," I told her firmly, trying to remain calm. Blackfoot did more than just tell an apprentice not to gossip. "Do you know who is going to be mentoring Gorsekit?"

The medicine cat looked up at me, a small smile on her face. "I would say Morningtail or Flowerwhisker, but I don't know who Cherryheart chose. Guess we'll find out soon, hm?" She grabbed a plant and moved it to another. "I have to start moving this. Finish off that rabbit, would you?" She grabbed another stack and slipped into her den.

I quickly ate the rest of the rabbit and faced the clearing again, seeing that more warriors were leaving their nests and surrounding Firelily who was firing off patrols. She was a good deputy. Russetstar chose well.

Littlecloud padded in with Icepaw and my parents padding close behind. Littlecloud and Icepaw quickly approached me.

"Do you know where Mousefang is?" Littlecloud asked urgently.

"Not sure. He's probably over by Firelily," I told him and looked at Icepaw warmly. She was smiling and turned her head to look at me.

Icepaw's mentor padded away to find Mousefang and Icepaw mewed, "The RiverClan border was quiet. Although they're marking their border, unlike ShadowClan. I can't wait to go hunting!"

"Me either," I purred in agreement, watching Littlecloud and Mousefang talk over by Firelily who was finishing up patrols. "Plus I heard partner hunting is super cool!"

She nodded at me and opened her jaws to speak but our mentors padded up.

"We're going hunting now," Mousefang mewed. "We'll teach you how to partner hunt when we get out there. Come on." Then he hurried to the entrance with Littlecloud by his side and Icepaw and I racing after.

Outside of camp, we slowed down a little, our mentors leading the way towards the rogue border. Icepaw was looking around with wide eyes, as if she'd never been to this part of our territory.

I guess she saw me staring at her because she pushed me playfully. "Don't judge me! It just amazes me how much territory we have! The moor is amazing to live on. I don't know how ThunderClan and ShadowClan can live under trees," she snorted.

I glanced around too, seeing the moorland stretching all around us. It really was beautiful and I didn't get how they could do it either. Didn't they want to see the stars?

"Here we are," Littlecloud mewed and then they turned around. "So partner hunting is about relying on your partner." His eyes flashed at me. "One of you will scare the prey into the other's paws. Go try on that rabbit over there." He flicked his tail to the plump rabbit to the right of us, jumping around unknowingly.

"I'll scare you catch?" Icepaw suggested, her green eyes meeting mine.

I paused, shaking my head. "No, no, you should catch it. It's been a while." I smiled at her and then quietly went upwind of the rabbit so it could smell me while Icepaw took her place downwind, ready to catch it.

Now I pounced at it, letting out a yowl and purposely missing. It darted away right into Icepaw's claws where she delivered the killing blow.

"Nice!" I yowled proudly, bounding over to her. "First catch in a while!"

Icepaw giggled. "Thank you for allowing me to catch it, Soulpaw."

Before I could respond Mousefang nudged in between us. "Now we need to find a new spot since Soulpaw scared all the prey away with his yowl," he snapped at me.

"That was quite a show," an unfamiliar voice mewed and my fur instantly stood up. This reminded me of Fallowstar.

I turned my head to see four cats staring at us from the rogue border. Littlecloud padded up to us, looking at them suspiciously.

"Who are you?" Mousefang asked with narrowed eyes.

There were two she-cats and two toms. The first she-cat, the one that seemed like the leader, was an orange she-cat, the other she-cat was blue-gray and looked similar to Bluestar. The first tom was black and the other was brown-and-white. They each seemed intimidating in their own way. The only weird thing was the blue-gray she-cat. There was something off about her.

"I am Red. These are my friends." She gestured to the other she-cat. "Blue." Then the brown-and-white tom. "Kiaser." Then the other tom. "And Just. We mean no harm, we're just observing."

Littlecloud stepped forward, taking over the leadership of our patrol. Mousefang was too heated to be talking to rogues. "This is WindClan territory and I'm going to have to ask you to back up."

Red's green eyes flashed. They brought me no comfort like Icepaw's did. "I know where I am, don't worry." She turned her head to look at me. "That one." Red flicked her tail at me and instantly I felt fear crawling up my throat. "Where is Buddy?" she asked me.

I narrowed my eyes instantly. "You know Buddy?" I asked in surprise. How did she know my father?

"Obviously she knows Buddy if she said his name," the other she-cat, Blue, snorted. Her brown eyes were not meeting mine though and it creeped me out.

I looked over at Littlecloud who hesitated, examining the cats. "Buddy is a WindClan cat now. He lives with his mate," he responded firmly. This was odd.

Kaiser snarled, glaring at me. "He became a WindClan cat for you?" he spat, his eyes meeting mine evenly. "Does he even care about what's coming?" Now he turned to look at Blue.

My ears pricked in interest, the prophecy flashing in the back of my mind. "What's coming?" I asked, stepping forward to stand by Littlecloud.

Blue's entire head turned and now her brown eyes were on me. They seemed glossed over and reminded me of Jaypaw's eyes. Was she blind? "Soulpaw," she whispered, just loud enough for me to hear. "Bring Buddy here and I will tell you what you need to know." Her voice became soft and smooth with no emotion.

"We have to get Buddy," I commanded Littlecloud, looking at him seriously.

Littlecloud looked uncertain, still staring at the four cats. "I'm not sure-"

Icepaw cut him off. "I'll fetch him, Soulpaw." Then she sprinted away, heading back towards WindClan camp.

Blue smiled just a little. "Icepaw…"

"You know us?" I asked, stepped forward again. She knew my name and Icepaw's? What in StarClan's name was going on?

Just bared his teeth at me. "You get to ask questions when Buddy is here, got it?" He was about my size, despite being older than me. Wouldn't be too hard to take him down. But I needed answers.

"Just, that's enough," Blue mewed waving her tail at him. "Of course I know you, Soulpaw. You have a very important destiny ahead of you." She offered a small smile but it only sent a shiver down my spine. Creepy.

Shadepelt and Icepaw raced up and Shadepelt instantly stopped beside me.

"Red?" he whispered and his entire body quivered. "What're you doing here?"

The orange she-cat looked at him and her eyes narrowed. "You had to run away, didn't you? I've been looking for you for moons, Buddy."

"I-It's Shadepelt now, Red…" he responded, his voice shaking. Was he scared of Red? "I'm so sorry I just didn't think I could-"

"Oh but you could for this mouse-brain?" Red snarled, gesturing at me. My fur started bristling.

"Red, that isn't helping," Blue mewed, her head tilted and pointed in the general direction of Shadepelt.

Shadepelt shook his head. "Are they okay?"

The she-rogue glared at Shadepelt. "Oh now you care about them because I've caught you?"

"Who are you talking about?" Icepaw asked, looking at Red and Blue.

Blue swung her head to look at Icepaw. "We're talking about Red and Buddy's kits. And not Soulpaw."

I instantly felt a sting and I looked over at Shadepelt. "What, so this is a lie? You mated with Red, got scared, and ran away and then found Whitefoot and got scared again? What magic in your head thought that Whitefoot and I would even want you here? Apparently Red wants you, why didn't you go find her?"

Red snarled loudly, getting our attention. "That's not the point! A badger came, Buddy. Heron and Cloud are okay but… Berry…" She paused, sucking in a deep breath. "Berry died, Buddy."

Shadepelt froze, his eyes wide. "B-Berry died?" he repeated, as if it was unbelievable. "Where are Heron and Cloud? Are they here? Can I see them?"

"You think I would bring them here?" she snapped back angrily. "No, they're back with some friends. If you want to see them then you have to come with us."

I looked over at Shadepelt for a heartbeat and then parted my jaws to speak. "I-I have to go… I can't…" I turned around and quickly padded away, shaking my head slowly.

Pawsteps were following behind me quickly and I whipped around, expecting to see Littlecloud or even Icepaw but instead Blue's brown eyes met mine.

"Great StarClan!" I gasped in fear, sucking in a deep breath. "What're you doing on WindClan territory?"

"Littlecloud, the light brown tabby, he told me I could follow you. That beautiful little white apprentice, Littlecloud's apprentice I think, she was going to follow you but I told her I would speak with her later," Blue mewed calmly, her voice and face was unreadable.

"H-How do you know what they look like if you're…" I trailed off, staring at her.

She smiled at me now. "I see more than the rest of you do, Soulpaw. That's how I know about your destiny, about the Four, and about the Three."

"Who was the Four? And who are the Three?"

"Russetstar knows about your destiny, Soulpaw. You should speak with him," she told him and turned around. "Goodbye Soulpaw." Then she padded back to the others.

I watched her go, surprised. How would Russetstar know anything about my destiny?


I stood outside the leader's den, staring at the piece of lichen that hung in the entryway, separating the den with the clearing. Russetstar was inside.

"Are you just going to stand out there or are you going to come in?" Russetstar called.

I jumped in fear and then slowly pushed my way into the den, seeing him in the corner of the den in his nest.

"Sorry, Russetstar… I just needed to speak with you…" I mumbled, padding forward to see him better.

Russetstar sat up in his nest, his ears pricked. "Well, speak then."

"I-I met this she-cat and she told me to talk to you about… well, about the Four…" I trailed off, watching his facial reaction.

Russetstar's eyes widened and he climbed out of his nest. "How do you know… about the Four?"

"Fallowstar came to me… He told me I'm part of the Three. The new Three," I explained.

He shook his head. "The new Three… Dear StarClan, I knew that you would exist but I didn't think you'd come right to me!" Russetstar gasped and smiled a little. "The Lurking Darkness, Soulpaw, is the Dark Forest. Where all evil cats go when they die," he explained with worried eyes.

The Dark Forest. My head was whirling. "Well I don't know the other two cats. Do you think they could be WindClan cats?"

"It's very likely. A warrior or maybe an apprentice?" he suggested. "The Four were all WindClan cats. Maybe one of Dawnpool's kits or one of your denmates or even Gorsekit. Don't worry, we'll keep an eye out. Now let me rest, okay?" Russetstar turned around and climbed back into his nest.

I slipped out of the den and into the clearing, seeing Icepaw, Littlecloud, and Mousefang entering the camp.

"Where is Shadepelt?" I asked, approaching them.

Icepaw looked at me with sad eyes. "He went to check on his kits - his other kits. Just for a bit," she explained in a quiet voice with a frown on her face.

I shook my head. "I don't care about that. I just, uh, Mousefang," I looked at my mentor, "I'm just going to lay down. I don't feel so good."

"You should go see Mothflower then," Mousefang replied coldly. "Go on."

I glared at Mousefang and then padded away to Mothflower's den, slipping inside and seeing Jaypaw with some herbs.

"Soulpaw," he mewed instantly, moving one of his herbs. "What do you need?"

"Alone time, so I told Mousefang I didn't feel good but he sent me here," I responded bitterly.

He nodded, moving more herbs. "Goto your nest then and get some rest. Oh, and you really should go see Gorsekit tomorrow. Like I said, she likes you," Jaypaw mewed, looking over at me for a second with his blind blue eyes.

I nodded and then shook my head. "Thank you, Jaypaw." Then quickly slipped out of the den and raced across the clearing to the apprentice's den.

Much to my surprise, Icepaw was laying in her nest.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked, tilting my head. Her eyes were closed tightly.

Icepaw shook her head. "No, my stomach hurts and my head hurts and then den is swirling. Please get Mothflower," she ordered, her eyes still closed tightly.

Without a second thought I darted out of the den, spotting Mothflower entering the clearing.

"Mothflower, over here! I need help!" I barked at her and she came racing over, her eyes wide. "It's Icepaw."

The ginger-and-black she-cat slipped into the den and I peeked inside. Mothflower was talking to Icepaw but I just couldn't listen. I was panicking.

"Okay. Hold on Icepaw I'm going to fetch Russetstar, Littlecloud, and Jaypaw." She pushed past me and I looked at her with wide eyes. She paused, turning around to face me. "She's sick. Looks like we caught early Greencough. We can treat it, I just need to go speak with Featherwhisker of ThunderClan."

"What, why?" I asked, stepped towards her.

Mothflower sighed quietly. "Because I need Catmint to treat her and WindClan doesn't have any Catmint, Soulpaw." Then she hurried away.

I felt like my heart jumped into my throat and I gazed over at the den. It was barely Leaf-fall and already WindClan was getting symptoms. Icepaw was getting symptoms. Everything felt like it came to a stop as I looked up at the sky. Don't you dare let her die.