Continuing The Journey
"If you help me, I won't bother you again, I promise. I'll find a way to get back home without passing through SunClan's territory." Silverpaw says.
Emberdawn snorts, "Coming back here is suicide, you wouldn't come back this way no matter where you were headed."
"Emberdawn, please." Silverpaw replies, "What do you want from me? I can't stay here, and no one is coming for me. Just help me, please, I'll do anything. I have to get that cat home."
Emberdawn regards her with narrowed eyes. She then sighs, standing and pacing her den, "Getting you out of camp will be hard enough, you can forget me getting you all the way to RowenClan. There's no way I'm going back there."
Silverpaw's ears perk up, "So, you'll help me?"
Emberdawn stops and winks at her, "Don't look so excited. I'll get you out tonight. But once you're out of camp, you're on your own. If Flamedance catches you again, he'll kill you."
Silverpaw nods, "Thank you, Emberdawn."
"Thank me once you're back home safe, kit." Emberdawn lies down in front of Silverpaw, "Get some sleep. You're going to be doing a lot of running tonight."
Silverpaw nods again and lies down, closing her eyes.
...
Silverpaw's walking through the forest again. The cat made of stars appears and, again, she follows it through the forest, plains, desert, and then into the marsh. As before, she finds who she knows to be Icefell, asleep in the mud. She walks up to him slowly, "Icefell..?"
The cat opens soft blue eyes, "Who.. Are you?"
She nudges him, pushing him gently to stand. He sways lightly, but stays standing. He looks exhausted and he's holding his front left paw up, "You look.. Familiar..?"
She smiles softly, "I should. We're in the same Clan."
He tilts his head, "You're.. Just a kit, what are you doing here?"
"I'm an apprentice, actually." She sighs, "I'm here to take you home."
"What..? She-cats can't be warriors in GlacierClan.." he frowns.
Her smile brightens, "They can now."
...
Silverpaw's woken by Emberdawn nudging her up. The medicine cat whispers harshly, "Get up, the night patrol just came back. You'll be safe to cross into RowenClan for a few hours."
Silverpaw nods and stands fully, whispering back, "Tell me what to do."
Emberdawn nods and goes to the den entrance, looking around. She comes back to Silverpaw a moment later, "It looks like everyone's settled down for the night. There are two guards at the camp entrance, Flamedance is one of them. I'm going to sneak you out through the back, but you have to be quiet as you get away, okay?"
Silverpaw nods again, "I will, I promise."
Emberdawn goes to the very back of the den and digs at the back wall. Silverpaw moves and stands beside her. She tries to help, but her paw is still sore. Emberdawn steps back once there's a small hole in the back, small enough for a kit to fit through. She nods to Silverpaw, "Go. I hope you find your friend and make it home."
Silverpaw nods and slowly forces herself through the hole she's slightly too big for. Once she's on the other side she turns back to the hole, "Emberdawn?"
Emberdawn lies before the hole, looking back at her. She smiles softly, "Don't thank me yet. And Silverstorm?"
"Yes..?" Silverpaw asks
Emberdawn grins, "Make one hell of a warrior out of yourself."
Silverpaw smiles and nods once more before she turns and runs away from the SunClan camp. She runs until the desert returns to the grassy plains of WoodedClan. She frowns lightly, looking around, "I must have went the wrong way.."
She looks around and sniffs the air, trying to find something familiar. It surprises her when familiar is what she catches the scent off.
"Sandstorm," she realizes, "He's still here."
She runs towards the scent of her friend and finds him nearby under a large bush. She gasps, "Sandstorm. Sandstorm, get up!"
Looking him over, she sees his fur is matted with mud and blood. He has cuts all over his body, but he's still breathing. She nudges him again, "Come on, we need to go. I think I know where Icefell is."
He doesn't wake up and she crawls under the bush with him. She licks at his face, lightly, whimpering, "Sandstorm, please.. I can't.. Do this by myself. I need your help."
Tears come to her eyes and she snuggles closer to him, licking at his wounds as her mother would lick at hers, or her brothers wounds. After a few minutes, Sandstorm's eyes open. He looks at her and smiles lightly, "I told you.. To run."
She smiles as tears soak into her fur, "I did. But I came back for you. A warrior.. Would never leave a friend behind."
He grunts, getting up out from under the bush. He stretches, wincing. She crawls out behind him, shaking leaves off her pelt. He looks at her and his eyes narrow, "What happened to you?"
"I.. Was caught by SunClan. Their deputy.. Wanted to make an example out of me for being in their territory." she explains, shaking her head, "But their medicine cat, Emberdawn, let me go. She helped me escape. I was heading to RowenClan, I think that's where Icefell is, but I went the wrong way and ended up here."
She smiles, "But I'm glad I did. I was able to find you. I was so scared without you. I didn't know if I'd ever see you again."
He puts his nose to her forehead, "I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you."
She steps back, shaking her head, "You protected me from Mistwave. From the looks of it, I hope he's worse off. Wait, is Russetfur okay?"
"I think so. We beat Mistwave and Russetfur took him back to camp. I was coming to find you, I must have collapsed." Sandstorm replies, frowning, "At least I collapsed under cover."
"I'm glad you're okay." Silverpaw says.
Sandstorm nods, "So, uh.. You mentioned you think you know where Icefell is?"
She nods, "Yes, I believe he's been taken by RowenClan. Russetfur said he was looking for someone past SunClan. The only other clan is RowenClan. I was told RowenClan has been known to kidnap other Clans' cats."
"We suspected RowenClan had something to do with it but we were never permitted to go that far. Given how hostile SunClan is, Glacierstar didn't want to start an altercation between us and them." Sandstorm explains.
"Do you think you can make it to RowenClan and back okay?" Silverpaw asks.
Sandstorm nods, "I'll be fine. trust me, I've lived through worse. We don't want to cut through SunClan again, so the best way to RowenClan is to go south from WoodedClan. It's a longer walk, but it's a little safer."
He starts heading south and Silverpaw follows after him. He looks her over, "Be careful of snakes once we get close. They live in the marsh, it's crawling with snakes. And sneaky cats. prepare for an ambush."
