Hey, guys, sorry for the wait. This chapter is dedicated to my Stormpaw fans!
Pale-eye: Wow, that's fancy! I'm glad you like it!
Watercolour Rainbows: Thank you, thank you! And I know I completely suck at grammar and other stuff like that... sorry!XD This chapter might make you cry...
XSpiritwingX: Thankie! I know, I LUV Dustypaw, he's just adorable.
Redpaw kneaded the earthen camp floor as she waited, a cool breeze circling her. These were the last few sunrises before leaffall was swept away with a swirl of cold and white ice and snow that howled through the nights and whistled through the days.
She pondered her worries, and focused on the flow of air through her lungs. Sunstar's golden fur caught her eye as the majestic she-cat mounted on Highledge for a clan meeting.. "All cats old enough to hunt prey gather beneath Highledge!" she yowled, her voice summoning the clan from it's usual routine.
Redpaw flexed her legs and shuffled over to sit by Dustypaw. "What's this about?" she asked. Dustypaw shrugged casually, gesturing that he didn't know.
"Stormpaw, Shadowpaw" Sunstar continued. "You have trained for six moons, and I believe it is time you became an apprentice. Splotchedtail, Graypelt, do you agree?"
The pretty tortoiseshell she-cat briefly tipped her head. "Yes, Sunstar. Stormpaw desrerves this with no doubt." she confirmed. Graypelt nodded and grinned.
Stormpaw arose from his seat by Bluepaw and Weaselpaw and stepped up to stand directly below the clan leader. Shadowpaw followed him and placed himself beside his brother. Sunstar smiled at him, and then lifted her head to stare into the sky.
" I, Sunstar, ask my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard in the ways of your noble code. Stormpaw," she said, facing the large gray tom once again. "Do you promise to uphold the warrior code and defend your clan, even at the of your life?"
"I do."
"Then, by the power of StarClan, I name you Stormpath. We welcome as a full warrior of ThunderClan." she chimed.
"Stormpath! Stormpath!" the clan chanted. Redpaw raised her voice, and tried with all her might to make Stormpath hear her. Dustypaw's eyes flicked over her, and she looked away.
His ceremony was followed by Shadowpaw's, and the clan meeting ended with a round of, "Shadownight! Shadownight!" by the clan.
The sun had begun to set, and the sky was dyed pink as it sank lower and lower, until it turned purple, and then deep blue, and then finally an inky black. Not a moon or a star shined, and sleep tugged at Redpaw's consciousness.
"C'mon, Redpaw." Dustypaw urged, brushing her flank softly. Redpaw glanced at Stormpath and gulped, then followed the yellow tomcat into the apprentice's den and sank into her nest with a wide yawn and closed her eyelids slowly.
Redpaw's dreams took her to a golden meadow lit with the silver twilight sky, and she recognized Star sitting in the middle. It wasn't like her usual dreams. Star didn't see her or speak to her, but sang the simple song:
"Dewdrops form on the dawning morn
Small ones wake in sunshine warm
Darkness flees to a shadowy wood
Day reins bright where night once stood
Forests shimmer in daylight phase
All submit to a red fire's haze"
Star finished the last note, but then the entire meadow was enveloped in dancing flames, and Star's pure white fur was singed into a dark, dark black. Her sweet, soothing song turned into a series of merciless cackling that echoed in her ears.
The heat was unbearable, and Redpaw cried out in pain. The black darkness Star's burned fur consumed every source of light and left her with an empty, burning sensation. Nothing existed other than the heat, and coughs racked her ribcage.
The apprentice's den was cool and quiet when she opened her eyes again, but it was still so dark. Redpaw felt the need to escape the darkness and slipped away from her nest and out into the camp.
Where's the moon? She thought, searching the ebony sky for any shimmer or sign of the glowing orb that usually lit the sky.
The stone hollow felt open and exposed, so Redpaw escaped into the woods through the chink the armor of the thorn barrier. The freezing air filled her lungs and refreshed her spirit. The flames were gone and so was the darkness. It was just a dream, a very strange dream.
A bat squealed and an owl hooted deeply in the distance. Prey scuffled in the freedom of the night, still preparing for leafbare. A tree loomed overhead, with many strong branches to climb. A perfect place to sit and brood. Redpaw thought. She clawed her way to the crown of the oak, leaves still floating down. She chose a sturdy branch that reached out over the ground and draped her body over it, letting her tail hang down.
The image of Stormpath passed through her mind and she felt a painful stab of longing strike her. If only he or Dustypaw would just never have been in her life... instead of leaving her alone to decide between the two of them. She sat up and rasped her tongue over her fur lightly, ridding it of dirt. The breeze was getting colder, and she shivered.
"Cold! Burr!" mewed a voice. It startled Redpaw so much that she lost her balance and went plummeting to the ground, only to land on something soft. "Sorry! Are you okay, Redpaw?" the cat said again. Redpaw studied the breaker of her fall and realized she was staring into the liquid blue eyes of Stormpath.
"Ah! What're you doing here? Shouldn't you be doing your silent vigil?" she asked, stepping away from him. Stormpath sniffed, and sat up.
"Well, I saw you leave camp... and I followed you." he explained. Redpaw sighed.
"Oh." she said, laying down in the mossy bed of the forest. "I was just thinking." Stormpath lay down as well, a few mouse-lengths away from her.
"I'm sorry I startled you." he said with a hearty laugh. Redpaw, giggled, imagining how funny she must have looked. Stormpath inched towards her, and their pelts brushed. "You look beautiful in the darkness." he whispered, not looking into her eyes. Redpaw's ear tips grew warm and she remained silent.
"Thanks." she finally said, rolling over. Stormpath's blue gaze burned into her backside.
"Redpaw, would you please just give me a chance?" he pleaded, voice strained with anxiety. Redpaw swallowed and she turned to face him.
"Stormpath... well, Dustypaw-"
"You have to choose." he interrupted her. "You can't leave us guessing like this, Redpaw. You have to choose. It's me or Dustypaw." he said, finishing flatly, though his eyes gleamed with such emotion that it was impossible to think he didn't care.
"Yo-you can't make me do that, Stormpath. I'm not ready." she breathed, barely audible. Stormpath sat up, his gray bulk towering over.
"But you're friendship won't satisfy me, Redpaw. I can't stay here watch you from the side." he told her.
"Yo-you're not-not leaving, are you?" she asked suddenly, shocked. Stormpath stared into her.
"Redpaw, if you choose Dustypaw over me, then I must leave. Like I said before, I can't stay here and live watching without being able to reach you." he said. Redpaw was speechless.
"Stormpath, I can't choose." she mumbled. Stormpath looked her in the eye, and stood up squarely.
"Then I must go."
"No!" she shrieked, shooting to her paws. "I'll know who I belong with soon, but not yet!" she yowled at him. Stormpath looked at her, grief filling his eyes.
"I love you, Redpaw, and I can't be here and not with you." he said, as if that closed the topic forever.
"Stormpath, please..." she said quietly, staring at her paws. Stormpath nuzzled her and pressed his body against hers as tears trickled down her cheeks.
"Stormpath doesn't exist anymore. My name is... Galaxies." he said. Redpaw's eyes widened as she realized that the gray tom was fading away from sight.
"Stormpath!" she wailed, and collapsed in her tears. "Stormpath!" she continued to call his name until she lost her voice and drifted back into a dreamless void.