Yeah, I don't own warriors but I do own Sandstorm's brother, Tendrilkit. Why has no one used this prefix? Unlike doves, ferrets, apples and fallows, they have actually been heard of in the Warriors forest.

Anyway some pretty sure proof that I don't own warriors is that last death in the next-to-latest book (yeah, my exams took so long that Night Whispers was no longer the latest book). Read it and find out who I mean.

Chapter 10: Tendrilkit

Sandpaw had underestimated how long it would take to reach Highstones. It was almost sunhigh and she could still see cliffs and crags ahead of her and no end of WindClan territory in sight. Reluctantly she turned back the way she had come, hating to give up now. She would have to wait for her trip to Highstones with Bluestar. She wondered if she should try to catch another rabbit on the way back but decided against it. Breaking the warrior code twice in one day was not a good idea. The air was no longer damp and misty and suddenly hot on her back, baking her skin. She looked longingly over the edge of the cliff. If only she could drink that water. But she couldn't and she had to keep moving. The warriors and elders would notice her absence before long if they hadn't already.

Sunhigh came and went. Sandpaw didn't see or smell any WindClan patrols and was grateful for that. She didn't know how much longer her good luck would last. Just as she was starting to wonder if it wouldn't be easier to leave the gorge and cross the territory more quickly, she spotted dense woodland up ahead of her. Exhausted though she was, Sandpaw broke into a run. She dashed straight into the cover of the trees and landed there, panting. But this wasn't ThunderClan territory. It was RiverClan territory. And yet, there was a recent ShadowClan scent. Sandpaw frowned. Was ShadowClan secretly marking every territory but that of her own Clan? No, they weren't. Sandpaw only smelled the trail of two cats that had recently walked through here but no scent marks. But this time she shook off her curiosity. It was probably just a couple of prey-stealers. Let RiverClan deal with it.

She turned towards the direction of the ThunderClan border but hesitated at the sound of the rushing river. The cliff was not so steep here and she could get down for a drink. She was so thirsty at this point that it did not seem like such a big deal. She could only get a quick drink and then go.

Carefully, Sandpaw limped her way down the now-narrow slope. Her paw pads were cracked and bleeding by the time she reached the river. She lowered her head to drink, relishing the taste of the water. Once she'd taken a good long drink, she padded along the side of the river, avoiding the wettest rocks which would cause her to fall in. The Twoleg bridge Sandpaw could see from her own territory could be seen from where she was out of the corner of her eye. Sandpaw made her way towards it, pausing only to drink again twice.

Then just as she pulled herself up the bank around the bridge, she sensed she was not alone. A RiverClan cat was on the bridge, concealed behind one of the posts, downwind from the tired ThunderClan apprentice but sitting very still. Sandpaw was sure the cat could hear her even if he or she couldn't smell her.

When the cat slid out from behind the post on the bridge, Sandpaw backed into a clump of tall grasses, startling a large bullfrog that was seated there. It leapt angrily out of the clump of grass and landed in the river with a huge splash. Sandpaw felt the splash soak her fur but knew there was a chance that the RiverClan cat would think he had heard the bullfrog not her. But she received a shock as she recognized the red-brown coat, the crooked jaw and the wise confident eyes. Crookedstar, the RiverClan leader!

Crookedstar padded out onto the middle of the bridge. Sandpaw tensed. But then he sat on his haunches and beckoned forward with his tail. Sandpaw relaxed. Then the reek of ShadowClan hit her nose and she tensed again. She spotted three ShadowClan cats walking up to the bridge as if they owned it. Brokenstar, a silver tom Sandpaw didn't recognize and a tabby tom. Crookedstar dipped his head in greeting. Brokenstar dipped his head back but sat on the bridge and raised his head to loom over the RiverClan leader in a very disrespectful way. The silver tom sat on one side of Crookedstar and the tabby tom sat on the far side, hemming him in. Sandpaw could see Crookedstar's surprised expression but he earned back a smidgen of respect from the apprentice when he remained calm.

"You summoned us, Crookedstar," Brokenstar said the elderly tom's name as if he would like to use an epithet instead.

"I believe that you summoned me," Crookedstar said smoothly, staring the younger leader down. "I believe that I graciously agreed to meet you on my territory. And I believe that as you are guests here, I have a right to know what was so urgent that it couldn't wait until the next Gathering." Sandpaw felt a mixture of admiration and dubiousness. Why didn't Crookedstar have any other warriors with him?

"Ah, yes," Brokenstar backed off slightly, clearly impressed by the elder tom's composure even if Sandpaw would bet a moon's worth of fresh-kill he wouldn't admit it. "I have spoken with you about the previous leaf-bare have I not?"

"I believe you were there, yes," meowed Crookedstar. "Raggedstar expressed his regrets. You were lucky indeed not to lose a single cat despite everything."

"It wasn't luck," Brokenstar was obviously disgruntled by the reference to the previous leader. "Our Clan is strong. Our cats are strong. They can weather hardship."

"You didn't come here for small talk, Brokenstar."

"No," Sandpaw could barely make out the sneer on Brokenstar's face.

"Well, then," Crookedstar wrapped his tail around his paws. "You have some plan of action, I take it? About winter? And it somehow involves my Clan?"

Brokenstar's eyes were wide open now and his ears laid back. "Yes, indeed. I have some plan of action. For my Clan. All of them. You may have noticed that a Clan grows much larger when kits do not die whenever they are exposed to winter weather."

"Yes, indeed," agreed Crookedstar. "Which is why we keep them inside when its particularly cold. But you did not come here to chat about kits."

"No," Brokenstar's eyes narrowed. "I came here because ShadowClan is much bigger than it was this time last year. So big, in fact, that I must admit we are having some trouble feeding our Clan."

"It's been a harsh year," agreed Crookedstar, obviously surprised that Brokenstar would admit such a thing to an enemy. Sandpaw was surprised too. Any smart Clan cat would not admit such a thing out loud unless they could be reasonably certain of the other Clans total weakness. She knew RiverClan wasn't weak even if she wouldn't say so to any of their faces. Why they got fat on fish every year and were bigger than any other Clan cats. They might not expend as much energy as ThunderClan getting the fresh-kill, Sandpaw thought loyally, and be a bit too fat for her liking but they sure weren't weak if they could keep Tigerclaw and Lionheart and Redtail at bay over the Sunningrocks for so long. At the moment, though, a piece of grass was twitching her nose. Sandpaw wanted to sneeze. Why did this only happen when she was stalking prey or spying?

"It has," agreed Brokenstar. "Harsher for my Clan, I think than yours but harsh not because we have too few cats to do all the jobs but because we have too many."

Sandpaw could hear another frog ribbiting away in a clump of grass nearby. All she needed to do was find something to toss in its direction. A rock or a piece of wood. Her heart was beating harder than ever. Anytime that she imagined herself as a spy, she sat confidently, perfectly still so that even prey would walk up to her and ignore her, not a hair on her pelt out of place. But no. She could feel her tail getting tired of sitting in one place. It was going to twitch any minute. And she was sitting uncomfortably on her hind paws. And...was she shaking with nervousness. Sandpaw felt like Ravenpaw. It was a good thing that Dustpaw couldn't see her now. Dustpaw...why was she thinking of him? Focus, she reminded herself. Pretend you're doing this to impress Whitestorm. His calm face popped into her head. She felt relaxed. She listened to the frog carefully, trying to pinpoint its exact location.

Sandpaw tossed a piece of rock straight in the direction of the frog. As it jumped into the water, she dashed straight under the bridge. As she skidded to a halt, she felt a rock cut her paw pad. Drops of blood spread out of her paw onto the unnatural Twoleg material, jagged with years, that was holding the bridge in place. Above the bridge she could hear Crookedstar and Brokenstar arguing briefly about the frog and then head off somewhere else when one of Brokenstar's lackeys scented Twolegs coming. Quietly as she could, she settled herself into a crook in the old rock-like stuff, right under the edge of the bridge. She tried to ignore the noisy feet trapping over her head and settled down. She felt her exhaustion catch up to her. Maybe if she closed her eyes for only a minute...

Sandpaw suddenly felt herself tumbling. She landed on her feet in a clearing that looked like Fourtrees. She shook herself and looked around. Cautiously, she reached out a paw and touched the Great Rock. She heard a scuffling in the bushes behind her. Standing in the grass, with the cool wind blowing it across his face, was her tiny brown-and-white brother, Tendrilkit, with stars in his fur.

Sandpaw wanted to dash over and lick his cheek but he was in StarClan now and she didn't feel comfortable doing that. Tendrilkit had been the smallest kit in the nursery even when Dustpaw's younger litter had also been there. That was why he was named Tendrilkit. That and his strangely hooked claws. Redtail claimed they came from his grandfather, Adderfang's, side of the family.

"You're not supposed to be here, Sandpaw," Tendrilkit whispered. "I shouldn't be here either. But I just had to come because I want to deliver a warning."

Sandpaw inched closer. She was not often speechless. Tendrilkit looked wise and old, unlike when he had been alive. "Is it really you?" she whispered.

Tendrilkit nodded. He smiled but there was sadness behind his smile. Sandpaw shivered. He was frightening her and she didn't like that. She stepped back slightly, and then looked apprehensively at her brother. Had he noticed?

Tendrilkit leaned forward. "You will not find the answers you seek at the Moonstone," he whispered. "Wait until the arrival of the flame-coloured cat. He will come to the forest and there will be great change."

Sandpaw remembered the orange cat standing over another cat, having just killed him. She shivered. Who was he and who was this other cat? And had she heard clashing claws in the background. She was sure she had. And what about Dustpaw? The cat had said something about him. How was he involved?

"Tendrilkit," Sandpaw squeaked. "What does this vision have to do with Dustpaw?"

Tendrilkit frowned slightly. "Well, I always did say that he paid far too much attention to you."

Tendrilkit had said that. Sandpaw hadn't thought he was serious.

A shadow flashed out of the corner of Sandpaw's eye. Sandpaw looked warily behind her. Tendrilkit had said she wasn't supposed to be here and neither was he. Were StarClan coming to punish them? Instinctively, she felt herself stepping closer to her brother's spirit, feeling comforting warmth emanating from him. She looked at the sky above her head. It was unnaturally blue, too perfect, bluer than any sky in the living world. Sandpaw shivered.

"Are you afraid of me?" whispered Tendrilkit. His tail drooped. Sandpaw looked into his eyes, filled with the wisdom of StarClan but also with the hurt of a young kit whose only littermate had made him feel bad. "No," she mumbled. "Of this place. Are the rest of StarClan around."

"They agreed to let me come."

"Glad to hear it."

"You needed this message."

"That's for sure."

"You're only on the fringes of StarClan's territory." Tendrilkit pointed a paw around them. "And you should probably get back to your Clan."

"Not yet," insisted Sandpaw. "Tendrilkit, did you hear what I just heard Brokenstar and Crookedstar talking about."
"Yes, I did," Tendrilkit nodded. "This meeting is something Bluestar should hear about. She should also know what ShadowClan is doing to WindClan. Be careful Sandpaw. ThunderClan may soon stand alone against Brokenstar."

Sandpaw nodded. "I'm telling Bluestar. As soon as I get back."

"You might want to go get Spottedleaf's herbs first. And some quick prey." Tendrilkit's eyes were sympathetic. "You were supposed to be hunting for the elders today."

"Oh yes, thanks," Sandpaw could see her brother's outline fading. "Wait!" She rushed forward but ended up running into the river. Gasping to get a foothold on the slippery rocks, Sandpaw's paws fumbled and she spat water out of her mouth. As she righted herself on the shallow river bed, she realized that where she was the water only came up slightly above her knees. Well, that's embarrassing. I'm glad no cat saw that. I'll never get close to water again.