Silverfur could not fall asleep.

His body was exhausted and his eyes were closed, but his mind was restless as ever. After meeting with the three other cats, Silverfur could do nothing except think of the omen that the four messengers had gave them; it made his fur stand up on all ends at the thought that this storm was brewing and it was strong enough to destroy everything he has ever known. His den mates, his leader, Emberheart-they would all be gone. Unless he and the others were able to function as one, then they wouldn't stand a chance against the mysterious threat. 'We must train,' Shadowsoul told them. 'We have to become strong and ready when the threat finally arrives.' Those words flashed through the tabby tom in an instant. The Shadowclan cat was right: it was imperative that they were ready. Sleep finally began to take effect as Silverfur realized that he was losing consciousness. Releasing a fatigue yawn, the silver-colored male departed into the realm of dreams, but not before the words of Oceanpelt whispered through his mind. You have an unlimited amount of wisdom...

By the time Silverfur was awake, he leapt in shock at the discovery that it was almost sun high. Dashing toward the entrance area, Silverfur saw that most of the cats were already out - and - about. Sudden embarrassment washed over the newly appointed warrior as he realized how badly he slept in. Silverfur decided to head toward Lakestar's den to find out what his next objective would be, but before he could even attempt the short and easy trek, he was greeted by a friendly voice.

"Good afternoon, Silverfur," Twinpaw chirped

"Oh, hello Twinpaw," Silverfur responded.

"I just came by to thank you for getting me the supplies from last night."

"You are welcome," Silverfur gave his chest fur a couple of licks before responding again. "It was nothing."

If anything, Silverfur was glad that the young apprentice asked him to find more herbs for the supply den; it served as an excuse to go and meet with the other cats. After they were able to return home, Silverfur retraced his steps and returned home with a mouthful of herbs.

"Well," Twinpaw spoke sheepishly. "I got to go, see you later."

"Off to meet with your molly?" Silverfur joked.

Twinpaw stopped in his tracks. Silverfur saw the apprentice shaking nervously and his fur growing hot with embarrassment; it didn't surprise the tom to see his friend act this way because he knew the cause to it. He would never admit it, but Twinpaw had a small crush on the more experienced medicine cat, Greenrose. Though she was three moons older than Twinpaw, she showed promise at an old age and given the task of medicine cat after the previous one passed away. After Twinpaw was chose the path of a healer, he was made Greenrose's apprentice; it didn't take long for the younger tom to become infatuated with her.

"Hey, Twinpaw," Silverfur called. "Are you all right?"

Twinpaw jumped at the sound of the warrior and remained still afterwards. He turned to face the silver tabby and his fur fluffed up.

"Sorry, Silverfur," Twinpaw stuttered. "I have to go!" Before his friend could respond, Twinpaw took off in a flash, leaving the confused Silverfur alone.

"Hello, Silverfur," Said cat turned around to see Emberheart purring in humor; Silverfur realized that she must've saw what was going on between him and Twinpaw. "Are you busy?"

"Wha-what," Silverfur stammered. "No, I'm not busy! What is it that you want?"

"I was wondering if you would be interested in sparring with me, if you would like?"

"You...and I...spar," Silverfur questioned.

"To help Brownpaw, of course," Emberheart corrected quickly. Her fur began to puff up causing her to lick them furiously. She turned her eyes back on Silverfur, who was bewildered at Emberheart's action. "I mean, she has been working very hard, but she still needs help on some of her techniques. I wanted to show her how to do it properly, but I will need a partner. Will you help me?"

"Okay, why not," Silverfur meowed.

Emberheart nodded in gratitude and beckoned Silverfur with her tail. Together they made their way toward the river, where Brownpaw was sleeping on a pile of leaves. Shaking the tired apprentice she jumped in fright and landed on her legs in a battle stance formation. When she saw the two warriors, she fell on her rump in embarrassment.

"Sorry, Emberheart," Brownpaw squeaked.

Glossing over Brownpaw's apology, Emberheart directed her apprentice back onto her bed and asked Silverfur to stand in opposite direction from Brownpaw. Afterwards, Emberheart stood beside Silverfur and looked back at her apprentice.

"Let us begin, Brownpaw," Emberheart instructed. "The first thing you need to work on is how to react to an incoming attack." She met Silverfur's gaze and instantly understood where this was going. "I will attack Silverfur and he will try to dodge me, but also counter with an attack of his own. Are you ready, Silverfur?"

Silverfur gave a curt nod and moved a feet away from the she-cat. They both fell into a battle stance and proceeded with the false training. Emberheart bared her teeth toward the tom, who counter with a barrage of hisses and spitting. After the pair circled each other, Emberheart dropped on all four and sprang high into the air; the move was so quick that Silverfur couldn't react until it was too late. As the she-cat fell from the sky, Silverfur braced himself for impact. Suddenly, time seem to slow down because as Emberheart's descent grew slower and slower with each passing minute.

How in the name of- Silverfur thought in disbelief. Before he could finish his thoughts another voice appeared inside his head. Roll out of the way! Responding to the voice, Silverfur quickly rolled out of the way of Emberheart's attack and faced her side of her shoulder. Now, rush her to the ground! Obeying the words of the voice, Silverfur rammed his head to Emberheart's shoulder and knocked her to the dirt floor and held his forepaw to her throat.

The match was over, but the outcome was still the same: all three cats were shocked at what just transpired. Brownpaw's mouth was gaped open, Emberheart's eyes were as round as pebbles, and Silverfur was beyond shocked; no, he was...amazed. Silverfur was already aware of his abilities, but he didn't know that he could do this. And what was that voice he heard while facing Emberheart? Then it dawned to him - it was Oceanpelt's voice. But that didn't explain to him on how Emberheart's movement slowed down before him. Suddenly, he remembered: "You can read your opponent's movement". Oceanpelt said.

"Silverfur," Brownpaw exclaimed, unable to contain the surprise in her voice. "How did you do that?"

Silverfur released his hold on Emberheart and moved away. "I don't really know," he answered. "I...just acted."

"But it was so fast," Brownpaw went on. "She just leapt into the air and you acted as though you saw it coming! That was awesome!"

"I just got lucky,"

"There is no such thing as luck," Emberheart meowed. She was now facing the confused tabby. "You either know how to respond in battle, or you don't. What you just did is an example on what to do when facing an enemy cat. Be happy with yourself, Silverfur."

Silverfur could hardly breathe. Emberheart, the she-cat he had always admired, had just complemented him. And she was being serious with him. It took every amount of Silverfur's self-control to not start meowing in delight and make a horse of himself - not in front of Emberheart. As Silverfur calmed down a bit, he saw a small figure appear behind Emberheart. The creature stood at the river's edge and pushed her face farther onto the watery surface.

"Hey," Silverfur called out to the small figure, but it was too late. The creature jerked its head in his direction and fell into the deep river. "Oh, mouse dung!"

Passing the two she-cats, Silverfur sprinted toward the river and jumped into the liquid bed. Complete darkness surrounded the riverclan cat as he struggled to find his place in the underwater environment. When all seemed at its worst, Oceanpelt's voice rung inside Silverfur's psyche and he found himself listening to her voice: Stop struggling and open your eyes, mouse brain.

Pausing for a minute, Silverfur did as Oceanpelt instructed and opened his eyes. When that happened, he was speechless. Everything looked so gorgeous and breathtaking as he saw the rocks and fishes fly by him. As he looked around, he caught sight of a small creature soaring through the current, flailing her paws and trying to breathe.

It's a kit. Silverfur thought immediately.

Excellent! Oceanpelt's voice appeared once more. Use the current to reach the kit; swim with it, not against it! Remembering her advice, Silverfur shot through the fast-pacing water and bit the kit by the scruff of her neck. He swam up the water until he spoke the surface and swam diagonally toward land. Once he reached the edge of the river, he forced his way out of the water and placed the motionless kitten on the ground. Fear gripped Silverfur's heart as he stared at the unresponsive, young kit.

"Silverfur!"

Said cat turned toward the voice of Emberheart. Her expression was that of fear and dread as she looked down at the motionless lump of fur.

"Creamkit," Emberheart let out a terrified wail. Silverfur watched as the warrior paced back-and-forth balling in sorrow, screaming with dread like a mother who had just lost her kit.

The tabby tom looked on with sorrow in his heart as he grieved for the loss of the two month old kit, as well as pitied the she-cat for losing such a friend. Creamkit…Emberheart. Silverfur thought.

Enough! Oceanpelt's voice hissed through Silverfur's mind. The gray colored cat blinked in surprise as the starclan cat spoke. He searched the area for any sign of her, but remembered that no one else could see her.

The she-kit is not dead, yet. Do you wish to save her? Silverfur shook his head rapidly. Then listen to every word I say. Following Oceanpelt's command, Silverfur did everything he was instructed to do: First, he straightened himself up and padded toward Creamkit. Next, he shooed the bewildered Emberheart away and placed his forepaw on Creamkit's throat and began rubbing it gently. Afterwards, he placed his muzzle on her's and exhaled his air into her. He repeated this process again and again, with no show of any progress.

Suddenly, Creamkit began to cough up water and she regained consciousness.

"Creamkit," Emberheart yelled at the realization that the kit was alive.

She rushed to her side and began licking her head frantically. The cream colored kit looked around in a daze and tired from her little misadventure, but at least she was alive. Emberheart looked at Silverfur and couldn't bring herself to say anything; after what transpired, she didn't know what to say. However, given the circumstance, Silverfur already knew what she wanted to say and bowed before her.

"You are welcome," Silverfur meowed.

As the two cats stared into each other's eyes, they didn't hear the approaching sounds of alley cats. Both warriors turned to see a group of cats running toward them; in front of them was Lakestar, Greenrose and Twinpaw. The group of cats gathered around the three cats and the medicine cats began checking on Creamkit. As she was being looked on, the rest of the cats turned their attention back on Emberheart and Silverfur. The first to speak was Lakestar, accompanied by Brownpaw.

"Brownpaw told us everything," Lakestar explained as he faced the two warriors. "Thanks to the both of you, Creamkit will live."

"Emberheart! Silverfur!"

The group let out a victorious cheer, much to Silverfur's embarrassment. He was not use to this form of congratulations and didn't know how to respond to it. Before he could say anything, Emberheart made herself heard.

"Wait," her voice sounded through the forest as every cat turned toward her, including Silverfur. "I don't deserve to be praised like this. It was Silverfur who jumped into the river, saved her, and revived her," she said while facing Silverfur. "If anything, he is the one that deserves to be praised - not me."

Every cat now focused on the silver tabby. He tried to ignore the gaze that befell him, but it was unavoidable. His eyes fell to the dirt floor and his tail wagged back-and-forth in unease. The sound of footsteps approaching him made him look up to see Lakestar a whisker-length away from him. His eyes were serious and showed a form of pride to the young tom.

"Is she telling the truth," Lakestar asked. Silverfur nodded in agreement. Suddenly, a low purr erupted from his throat as he placed his tail on the cat's shoulder once more. "Then let me the first to thank you for all that you've done, Silverfur."

"Silverfur! Silverfur!"

Now all the cats, including Emberheart, began to cheer Silverfur's name. As he looked around is eyes suddenly fell on Creamkit; she still appeared weary, but she looked better than she originally did. Standing beside the two medicine cats was a cream-and-brown colored queen who remained by her daughter's side; it was Creamkit's mother, Vanillafur. As he looked on at the motherly affection she bestowed onto her daughter, all of the negative emotion he once felt vanished. Seeing the grateful looks on the group of cats made Silverfur purr with joy.

"Thank you, Oceanpelt," Silverfur whispered low enough for no other cat to hear his prayer. He waited for her to respond, but all he received was a grouchy snort.

That will be the only time I lend you advice, tom, Oceanpelt rasped. Next time, you will be on your own. And never forget: you have unlimited wisdom.