"There, one fresh-caught rabbit!" Silvershine dropped her kill at the base of the gorse bush where the rest of the patrol's prey was buried.
"If you had just made the kill when you were close, it woulda been killed faster and we coulda caught more prey," Bitterclaw hissed. "Now quit foolin' around."
"You can be a little nicer about it, Bitterclaw," said Tailwind, the leader of the patrol. "But, Silvershine, he does have a point. Leafbare is on its way, and we can't afford to waste prey, and time is prey right now."
"Alright, alright," Silvershine grumbled.
"Everyone already knows you're the fastest cat in WindClan," Rainfall put in, "so you don't have to prove it."
"I wasn't," Silvershine kicked dirt over the kill, "I was just having fun."
"You're a warrior now," Tailwind told her, "fun is done."
Silvershine made a sour face, but refused to argue anymore.
"I think we have enough here," Rainfall said, "let's head back."
"You guys go ahead," Silvershine said, "there was something I wanted to look into."
"Where are you going?" Tailwind asked.
"The ThunderClan border," Silvershine said, "remember those fox scents Rosedust's patrol found before the Gathering?"
"You can't investigate it alone," Rainfall said. "Bitterclaw, go with her."
"WHAT?!" the two young cats exclaimed.
"Tailwind, is there a problem with that?" Rainfall asked.
Tailwind looked at the two cats in question, apparently pondering the question. "I suppose."
"You two have fun," Rainfall said with a sly grin as the remaining two cats headed back to camp.
Bitterclaw hunched his shoulders and glared at Silvershine. "What do you even want to do? You better not cross the border!"
"Oh shove a mouse in it!" Silvershine huffed. "I'm not too happy about you coming either!"
"Why are we going there?" Bitterclaw demanded.
"If you must know," Silvershine sighed, "at the Gathering, I was talking to a friend of mine in ShadowClan. She said that she scented foxes on the other ThunderClan border as well."
"So?" Bitterclaw asked, "ThunderClan's infested with foxes, I hope they rip them to shreds."
"Shadetail also said that foxes can live out here, even though they prefer not to," Silvershine went on. "I just want to head over there and make sure they're not coming."
"That's what we have border patrols for!" Bitterclaw spat.
"It's worth keeping an eye on," Silvershine protested. "If ThunderClan discovers them, you think they'll hesitate to chase them over into our territory?"
"Hmmm…good point," Bitterclaw consented.
"Besides, what else were you gonna do at camp?" Silvershine asked, to which Bitterclaw did not respond.
They arrived at the border, and after only a quick sniff, had found what they were looking for. The fox scent was fresh, but there was another scent coming from ThunderClan's territory.
"Smell that?" Silvershine asked.
"The foxes or the rain?" Bitterclaw asked.
"Both," Silvershine said. "We should hurry before the rain washes the scent away. Let's head up to the Moonpool and see if we scent some more, I think I smell a stronger scent that way."
"Whatever," Bitterclaw sighed, following the grey tabby.
They did scent more; the fox scent got gradually stronger as they headed to the Moonpool. The scents and where they were brought flashes of what seemed like memories back to Silvershine. Silvershine shook her head to clear her thoughts, and also shook her whole body.
"What's wrong with you?" Bitterclaw demanded.
"Nothing," Silvershine replied, "I just thought of something I'd rather not have."
"What?" Bitterclaw asked.
"Well, back when I was an apprentice," Silvershine began, "I had this sort of vision of fighting a fox." As she explained, she fought to remember it, grasping at the images that danced on the edge of her consciousness. Suddenly one vision overtook her own and she saw, clear as day, the image of a white cat laying against a rock. Her tabby legs were sprawled out in ways they shouldn't bend. She opened her mouth, and the yowl rang in Silvershine's ears: "ANGEL!"
"Moonsong!" Silvershine cried out.
"What?!" Bitterclaw jumped back.
Silvershine didn't answer him, but set off running across the border.
"Hey! Get back here!" Bitterclaw called, but didn't follow, not that Silvershine cared at the moment.
She bounded along, following the stream to its source: the Moonpool. "Moonsong!" she breathed as she bounded down the rocks. "Moonsong! Come out! I have to talk to you!" She stood at the shore of the Moonpool and looked around, but there was no sign of the starry cat. "Moonsong! You can't hide! I know you're there!"
"Silvershine, shut your yap!" Bitterclaw's hiss came from behind her. "You're gonna get all of ThunderClan on our tails!"
"This is the Moonpool, mousebrain!" Silvershine spat, "it's neutral territory. They can't kick us out any more than we can kick them out."
"Well what in StarClan's name are you doing here?" Bitterclaw demanded.
"Yes, I was wondering likewise," a female meow came from beyond the Moonpool.
"Moonsong?!" Silvershine whirled around hopefully.
"Who?" the ThunderClan medicine cat tilted her head. Rainflower stood beside the stream with a young blue-gray tom with a black stripe across his eyes beside her. Silvershine could also see dark clouds behind them over ThunderClan territory; a storm was on its way.
"Oh, it's just you," Silvershine sighed.
"Who were you expecting?" Rainflower asked, "a warrior from StarClan?"
"Actually, yea," Silvershine said. "What're you doing here?"
"Unlike you, I'm a medicine cat," Rainflower replied, "and frequently come to the Moonpool. But, I was actually collecting herbs before leaf bare sets in until I heard all this noise. Hard to believe two apprentices could make this much noise!"
"We're warriors, I'll have you know!" Bitterclaw bristled.
"Who's that?" Silvershine asked, pointing at the little tom with her tail, "is he your apprentice?"
"He may be," Rainflower replied. "Raccoonpaw's shown some interest in different herbs and where we find them. And he's also taken a great interest in StarClan."
"What do you mean he may be your apprentice?" Silvershine asked.
"Right now he's a normal warrior apprentice," Rainflower explained. "Willowwhisp is training him, but he may decide to be a medicine cat."
"I'm not sure," Raccoonpaw finally spoke. "Right now I'm just learning everything I can about Clan life so that way I can decide where I best fit into it. What Clan are you guys from?"
"WindClan," Silvershine replied.
"And we should be getting back to it," Bitterclaw jumped in before Raccoonpaw could say another word.
"Alright, but don't let me catch you actually on ThunderClan territory," Rainflower warned. "C'mon, Raccoonpaw, I'll show you were we get marigold, it's good for treating infected wounds."
"Be careful of foxes!" Silvershine warned as they headed out.
"C'mon!" Bitterclaw wrapped his tail around her neck and pulled her back to their own territory. "You talk too much!"
"What, I was just being friendly," Silvershine protested.
"With the enemy!" Bitterclaw snapped.
"They're medicine cats!" Silvershine rolled her eyes, "what're they gonna do!?"
"That apprentice was a rogue," Bitterclaw growled. "I could smell it! You can't be so quick to trust rogues!"
"ThunderClan found nothing wrong with him!" Silvershine defended.
"ThunderClan didn't look!" Bitterclaw hissed. "Honestly, ThunderClan would accept a dog into their clan if it asked! They're about as critical as a fox about its next meal! Don't forget, they were led by a kittypet for so long."
Silvershine said nothing, arguing with Bitterclaw was pointless. Her thoughts were on what she had remembered. Moonsong, she thought, she was there. Does that mean that really happened? What happened? When was it? Was that when…. She allowed her thoughts to trail off and fade into oblivion. She didn't want to think about it, to think about just how her mother had died. "What if it was my fault?"
"What if what was your fault?" Bitterclaw demanded.
"Huh?!" Silvershine snapped to attention.
"You just said 'what if it was my fault?'" Bitterclaw said, "so what if what was your fault?"
"Oh…nothing," Silvershine replied. "You wouldn't understand."
"Are you still going on about that stupid battle?" Bitterclaw demanded.
"What?!" Silvershine turned to him.
"With ThunderClan," Bitterclaw said, "the one that was your fault?"
"Wha…?! I never said…"
"You think Adderfang didn't tell anyone?" Bitterclaw asked.
"Who else knows?" Silvershine asked.
Bitterpaw made a sort of shrug. "He told me, that's all I know. I don't think Stormstar knows, or Canyonleaf, or Icepaw."
"Why'd you mention Icepaw?" Silvershine asked.
"Aren't you scared of her?" Bitterclaw asked.
"N…not really," Silvershine answered nervously. She had been, it was true, but now she didn't think much of the devious apprentice.
"You should be," Bitterclaw said. "Don't underestimate her. I know I would hate to be on her bad side."
"Seriously?!" Silvershine asked. "Like you think she'd go to an extreme like kill you in your sleep?"
"WHAT?!" Bitterclaw demanded. "What is wrong with you rogues! Clan cats don't do that foxdung! I thought you've learned by now that we're better than that!"
"If anything I learned that you aren't," Silvershine muttered. "Oh, wait!" Silvershine darted over to the lake as they neared the camp.
"What now?!" Bitterclaw groaned. "We're almost there!"
"You can go if you want," Silvershine said, "I'm just gonna go catch a fish for Lostmind."
"You're not an apprentice anymore, you know," Bitterclaw meowed, "you don't have to do that."
"I want to," Silvershine crouched beside the lake and flicked her tail for silence. She stayed completely still, poised to strike, with only her tail moving back and forth in anticipation. She heard a scoff from Bitterclaw and pawsteps fading in the distance. A few more heartbeats later, a fish swam into view. She snatched it up with her claws and caught it in midair. "Hmm, that took a while," she muttered to herself. "I guess fish don't like the cold either. How did I survive leaf bares without Moonsong? Was she gone before that? Did I ever face a leaf bare? How often do they come? Every 6 moons? 10 moons? I'm 11 moons, so…"
"Who're you talkin' to?" Flavorkit asked. "Your mommy? Moonsong?"
"No, no," Silvershine said, "just myself, I'm just thinking."
"You think pretty loud!" Flavorkit said with a mrrow of laughter.
"You should talk about being loud," Patchkit growled.
"I'll bet they can hear you in ShadowClan," Sunkit complained.
"Can not!" Flavorkit protested.
"Hey, Mosspaw!" Silvershine bounded over to the blue-gray apprentice as he entered the camp and made his way to the elder's den with fresh-kill in his jaws. "Can you give this to Lostmind?" she dropped the fish at his paws.
"Yea, sure, I guess," Mosspaw muttered, putting his catches down and then picking them all up again with the fish.
"Thanks," Silvershine said as he padded off. Silvershine headed back to the fresh-kill pile and found a vole for herself and settled down to eat it. She faced the WindClan entrance, and could see the clouds coming from ThunderClan's direction. "Looks like it'll be here soon. Blah, I don't feel like getting wet." She scanned the clearing, and saw most of the other cats getting into their dens to take shelter from the coming rain.
Bitterclaw crossed the clearing to get to the warrior's den, it looked like he had been at the apprentice den.
"Where were you?" Silvershine asked.
"None of your mousebile!" Bitterclaw snapped before disappearing into the warriors den.
Silvershine rolled her eyes, gulping down the last of her vole. After a quick washing, she headed into the warrior's den herself. She was partly glad for the storm because it now gave her an excuse to sleep early ; she just had to talk to Moonsong.
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"Moonsong!" Silvershine called as she padded to the shore of the Moonpool. "Moonsong?!"
A breeze blew through the world of her dream, but other than that everything else remained still, even the Moonpool itself didn't ripple. Silvershine leaned over the pool's surface and peered in. The stars were reflected clearly in the water, more clearly than they hung in the sky. Still, though, Silvershine remained alone.
"Moonsong!" she called again. "Where are you? I need to talk to you! I remember that night! With the fox, what happened? You were there, weren't you? Tell me, what happened! Why can't I remember anything else? MOONSONG!"
The starry sky remained silent; no one came to answer her questions.
"You said you'd always be there!" Silvershine called into the sky, "but you're not. Where are you now?! Now when I need you! I…is it my fault? Did you die saving me? Why won't you answer me!? It's my fault, isn't it. It's my fault…"
The breeze swept up into a wind and obscured the crystal surface of the Moonpool. Rain began to fall in sideways sheets, battering against Silvershine from all angles.
"Moonsong where are you!" Silvershine wailed above the roaring winds.
"Silvershine, are you alright?!" Silvershine awoke to the voice of her old mentor, which still seemed to be a common thing for her.
"Y…yea, I'm fine," Silvershine moaned, rising to her paws.
"You're soaking wet!" Amberpelt exclaimed, "what happened?"
"It's raining, isn't it?" Silvershine asked. She looked around the den to find that it wasn't as crowded as she expected with the storm.
"Not anymore," Amberpelt informed her. "The storm passed after night fell. It's nearly Moonhigh and I was going to get a hunting patrol ready."
"At Moonhigh?!" Silvershine exclaimed.
"Rain or shine, leaf bare is still coming," Amberpelt said, "and this rain only made us get further behind in catching prey which is already becoming scarce."
"I'll go," Silvershine stretched and headed out of the den where she could shake the clinging water droplets from her fur. How did I get wet? she thought, I was in the den way before it started raining. It rained in my dream, but things in dreams can't really affect the real world….can they?