A/n Well, here's chapter 8! I didn't plan about half the chapter... hope it turned out good!

Chapter 8

A few days after Hollypaw's death, I walked around in a daze as I padded to the lake. I lay there as I got lost in my grief for Hollypaw and the loss of my sister.

"Jaypaw." Cinderpaw nuzzled me. "It's alright. You still have Lionpaw, Brambleclaw, Squirrelflight, and... me."

I leaned into her warm body, "Yes, I still have you and I should be thankful for that, shouldn't I?" I asked ruefully.

"I don't blame you, Jaypaw, did you know it's only been 7 days since you got back?"

"No, I didn't." We laid side by side for a while, not talking, and there was no need to.

I lifted my head and felt the cool breeze, "It's almost dusk, why don't we go back to camp?"

Cinderpaw purred, "Let's."

We padded off to camp with entwined tails, but when we got close, we regretfully acted like we were only friends.

Just as we arrived at the entrance, Cloudtail ran out, "There you are! Brightheart's having her kits right now!"

"What?" I dashed to the nursery to help Leafpool.

That night I curled up, satisfied that Tinykit and Snowkit were safe. I recalled my conversation with Cinderpaw as I fell asleep.

I immediately looked for Breezepaw. When I found him, I said bluntly, "Hollypaw is dead."

"What?" the apprentice gasped.

I nodded sadly, "ShadowClan attacked. She died bravely." I looked down at my paws, then back up. "Come on, Lionpaw will be waiting." I gently nudged Breezepaw before leading him in the direction of Lionpaw.

Lionpaw was laying on the ground staring at the sky. He seemed oblivious, but he sprang up, "What we will do now?" He asked, filled with grief. Hollypaw had been the unspoken leader among us, though it seemed to be Lionpaw. "What happens to the power of three?" He added.

I laid my tail on his shoulders. "I don't think she was meant to be one of the three."

Breezepaw caught on to what I meant. "You mean because she didn't really have any obvious power, like you two?"

I nodded, "Power of the Stars doesn't mean that we'll be all powerful, but that we'll have powers similar to what StarClan has. I can see through other cats' eyes and walk in their dreams, and even their know their memories."

Lionpaw snorted, "I don't have any power to do with StarClan."

I stared at him, "What about Tigerstar and Hawkfrost?"

"Tigerstar appeared to Brambleclaw, too." the golden apprentice argued.

"But did he appear when Brambleclaw was awake? Could he tell Tigerstar to do something as ridiculous as saying that he loved Firestar?"

"What does it mean about my power then?"

"That you can have Sta- dead cats appear to you when you want them to, without them being unreasonable?" Breezepaw suggested.

Lionpaw considered that and sighed, "I guess that makes sense."

"Of course it does." I answered.

There was a heavy silence after that. We stood there uncomfortably.

Deciding to lighten the mood, I tackled Lionpaw. He let out a yowl of surprise, before trying to get out from underneath me. I laughed at his efforts as I playfully batted at his ears.

Breezepaw found it really amusing. In fact, he had fallen over laughing.

I let Lionpaw up as we exchanged conspiratorial looks. We sprang as one and tackled him.

"No fair!" he yowled as he struggled out from underneath us.

I purred in exhilaration.

Lionpaw's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Jaypaw!" he meowed excitedly, "If we practice fighting moves now, while you can see, maybe you'll be able to use them when we're in the forest! And if you use them while other cats are watching, maybe they'll allow you to be a warrior, too!"

I nodded, "Let's start next time we meet up. I want to try something with my powers."

"Sounds great," Breezepaw sounded muffled, "but how about letting me up first? And then you can use me."

"Okay!" Lionpaw and I released him.

I closed my eyes and searched him out. Immediately, I was him.

"Nightcloud!" I whined, "Why can't we go outside?"

"Because there are predators out there that could kill you and Sweetkit." Sweetkit? Breezepaw had a sister? Huh.

We pouted until Nightcloud fell asleep, then we snuck out. We laughed as we dashed across the moor, carefree. I pounced on her playfully and we wrestled.

All of a sudden, we froze. Something around here smelt awful! We shrunk into each other, scared witless.

There was a growl suddenly from behind us. We turned around, trembling. There was a huge black and white animal glaring at us!

It flashed out a paw and sent Sweetkit flying. I dashed after her, and stared down at her little body, oozing blood and limp... she was dead. I yowled in grief before burying my nose into her fur.

I heard the yowl of cats behind me, and sagged in relief. I was safe... but my sister... was dead... I should've listened to Nightcloud.

"Breezekit!" a sharp (and mad) voice meowed.

I looked up and saw my father. I dashed over to him and tried to burrow into his fur, but he didn't notice. "What were you thinking? Your sister is dead because of you!" he growled, picking me up by my scruff. I closed my eyes meekly...

...And opened them to see Lionpaw and Breezepaw staring at me.

"It didn't work?" Lionpaw asked.

I let out a mrrow of laughter, "It did..." I turned to the other apprentice, "You had a sister?"

The black apprentice winced, "Yeah... I did... and its my fault she's dead..."

I stared at him. "Crowfeather was just upset that he didn't keep a better eye on you, so that you wouldn't go wandering off. It's not your fault... you were just a kit... And wasn't it her idea to sneak out in the first place?"

He hung his head, "But I agreed..."

I flicked his ear, about to say something else, when another thought froze me. I turned to Lionpaw and whispered urgently in his ear.

I turned Breezepaw around as a small, gray tabby kit appeared behind him. He stared, hardly daring to believe that it was Sweetkit.

"Breezepaw." She mewed, "Stop blaming yourself. It was a long time ago. And usually, there's no badgers around. It was just bad luck that I was killed." She padded up to him, purring.

They walked off together, tails entwined.

I turned to Lionpaw, "Good job bringing Sweetkit here."

He stared at the fading figures. "I can't believe I actually did it!"

I chuckled and went off to find Cinderpaw, knowing Lionpaw wouldn't be able to do anything else because he was so excited.

The next day was really uneventful... until... "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highledge!" Firestar's call rang out just as I finished sorting the wide expanse of herbs.

I slipped out of the den, then caught scent of Poppypaw and Honeypaw nervously sitting next to their mentors.

I was too busy finding Cinderpaw to pay attention to the ceremony.

"Do you agree to uphold the warrior code?"

"I do."

"I do."

I found Cinderpaw, "It'll be your turn soon enough." I murmured pressing against her fur.

She sighed, "I know... I just wish that my training hadn't been delayed."

"From this moment, you will be known as Poppycloud. StarClan honors your loyalty and eagerness to learn. From this moment, you will be known as Honeyflower. StarClan honors your bravery and loyalty." Firestar stepped back as we all cheered for them.

As everyone dispersed, I saw Sandstorm winding her way to Firestar. I read her mind and purred broadly when I realized what was on her mind.

She meowed something to Firestar.

Firestar stared at her, then purred as his tail twined with hers.

Lionpaw sighed and turned to me, "Okay, what was that all about?"

I "looked" at him, "Sandstorm's pregnant."

A/n Yay! Another chapter done! And its fairly long... almost 4 pages! A new record!