Thank you for your consideration about the new uploading schedule! Now here are some review replies:
EradrinSkyleaf: What's preventing her name from becoming Flamestreak?
ShadowHawk: *moment of silence* I also had two cats who died. :( This was before I became obsessed with Warriors so they never received their warrior names. Also, a late review is no problem whatsoever. Thanks for reviewing anyway! :)
Anova00: Six... TEEN? What in the world? I want sixteen cats! XD
Jeffrey Dahmer: That's a pretty cool idea, actually. I might do that after I finish the three books in A New Rise. :) Thanks for the idea!
Willowdream of ForestClan: Caspurr is such a cool name! I 3 it! :)
Rainpaw's POV
As Cinderpaw and Foxpaw raced for the entrance, my tail flicked back and forth worriedly, gazing after them as Cinderpaw's gray tail vanished through the thorn barrier. The others began drifting away, apparently not as worried as I was about Cinderpaw's test. But I continued sitting there long after Grayheart had disappeared into his den, staring at the entrance, until a voice roused me from my concern.
"Rainpaw?"
It was Silverpaw, the pretty apprentice I'd been watching all this morning, once the stress of the fight had worn off. She'd been both coy and dangerous in the battle, which reminded me slightly of Cinderpaw and made me take a second glance at her. That second glance had let her enter my heart, where she seemed to have taken up permanent residence.
"Uh…" I said, my mind suddenly full of cotton, "um… hi, Silverpaw."
Silverpaw's sparkling, sky-blue eyes stared into my own darker ones, her brow furrowed in concern. I felt suddenly self-conscious. Had I said something wrong? Did she doubt my sanity, wishing she hadn't come to say hello?
"Are you ever going to move from there? You must be hungry after missing a meal this morning. How about you come with me to get some fresh-kill?"
I relaxed. She was worried about me, that was all. And that knowledge sent a warm, fuzzy sort of feeling through my body, almost like the sun had unexpectedly come out from behind a cloud to warm my fur. "Yeah, sure," I meowed, standing up quickly.
Silverpaw nodded and turned to lead the way over to the fresh-kill pile. I followed, wondering why she wasn't walking beside me. Was it because she was annoyed at how quickly I'd stood up? Was she even now planning how she would escape from me? Maybe she was going to leave me with a shrew and take a rabbit to the kits because I'd been too hasty and had seemed overly excited?
We reached the fresh-kill pile and Silverpaw stooped, picking up a brown rabbit. The contented glow I'd felt before evaporated on the spot. She was going to desert me for the nursery.
"I thought we could share this," she said, turning back to me and smiling around a mouthful of fur. I felt a surge of relief flood back through me and wondered if I was being too paranoid about her? Perhaps I could start acting more outgoing and hope to win her heart as she had so easily taken mine.
"Here, I can carry that for you," I said, reaching down to grasp its scruff. "It looks heavy."
Silverpaw allowed me to take it from her and gave me an even wider smile, which sent tingles down my spine. "Thanks a bunch, Rainpaw," she meowed. "Come on, I know a great place to eat."
She bounded across the stone hollow. I followed close behind, no longer wondering fearfully why she wasn't walking beside me. She was leading me – that was all.
"Here we are!" Silverpaw announced, stopping beside a low, flat rock by the side of the camp. It was at just the right angle that it had been sitting in the sun for a majority of the morning already, but would still be in sunlight for a long time after.
I smiled as I dropped the rabbit on the sun-warmed rock. "It's perfect," I purred.
Silverpaw cast me another of her dazzling smiles that made me feel jittery with delight. "I'm glad you think so."
We crouched down, the rock seeping warmth through my paws and my belly fur as I dipped my head to take a bite from the rabbit. Juice and flavor flooded my mouth as I chewed, making me smile with pleasure. Admittedly, though, while I was with Silverpaw, it didn't seem to take much to make me smile.
"It's delicious!" I exclaimed.
Silverpaw grinned. "Foxpaw caught it earlier. He and I were on a hunting patrol and I watched him take it down. He really seems to have a knack for catching rabbits!"
"Wow," I meowed, impressed.
"Yeah, I know! And he was filling in for Dawnpaw, too, so he must have been tired from doing the evening patrol plus the dawn patrol plus the morning hunting patrol."
I took another bite. "Foxpaw sounds like a good hunter," I said thoughtfully. "And who's this Dawnpaw cat I keep hearing about? Why haven't I seen her yet?"
"Oh, I forgot, you and your littermates are new," Silverpaw said apologetically. "Sorry."
"That's fine," I meowed, slightly impatiently. "Who's Dawnpaw?"
"She's Dovewing's and Bumblestripe's only surviving kit. She was injured in an attack that happened in early afternoon the day you three arrived. Her sister, Featherpaw, was killed and another warrior, Aspentail, was injured. Aspentail and Dawnpaw were sent to the medicine den when they returned to camp, dragging themselves along with the news of Featherpaw's death. They only survived because they managed to climb a tree and hold the NightClan warriors off until they left.
"Featherpaw, poor thing, didn't stand a chance. Dawnpaw and Featherpaw were new apprentices. Dawnpaw said one of the NightClan warriors leaped straight out of the bushes onto Featherpaw. She was dead before she hit the ground." Silverpaw's voice quavered and broke.
I cautiously placed my tail across her shoulders in a comforting sort of way. "It's okay," I said softly, wondering what to do. "Featherpaw's happy now."
Silverpaw nodded, as if she was trying to convince herself as much as me. "Yeah. She's with her mother and father now." She sniffled and her gaze drifted to rest on the cave I'd seen Stormtuft and Goldenpaw enter the previous night. "I just hope Dawnpaw's okay. After she lost her father at age two moons and her mother when she was five moons, and now her sister. She'll have to be strong and if she's not, I'm worried she'll die in the next invasion."
"She won't," I reassured her. "How about we go see her and cheer her up?"
That seemed to drive away Silverpaw's sadness. "Yeah, okay," she meowed and stood up to bound across the clearing to the medicine den. I paused for a heartbeat to eat the last bite of rabbit before racing after her.
We entered the cool shadows of the medicine den. Glancing around, I saw that the yellow-orange mottled apprentice was there, sorting herbs beside a pool of water, but the black medicine cat was absent. Near the back of the den, two nests were occupied. In one curled a light gray she-cat, her eyes shut and her tail over her nose. In the other, I could just make out a mound of dark brown tabby fur, mostly hidden in shadow.
"Hi, Goldenpaw," Silverpaw said in a hushed voice, nodding to the apprentice. "Is it all right if we see Dawnpaw?"
Goldenpaw nodded. "She's just back there," she meowed in a quiet voice, flicking her tail at the light gray she-cat. "I think she's awake and resting, but if she's sleeping, try not to wake her. Sleep is the best medicine for her."
Silverpaw nodded and beckoned me forward. We squeezed past Goldenpaw together and padded farther into the den.
Dawnpaw lifted her head as we approached, her eyes opening to reveal their pale blue color, the shine taken from them by the dim light. "I heard you come in," she meowed in a raspy voice. She coughed once and continued in a normal, slightly hushed voice. "What do you want?"
"How are you doing?" Silverpaw asked, ignoring this less-than-welcome greeting and sitting beside the nest. "How's your leg?"
"Better," Dawnpaw admitted grudgingly, lifting her tail to reveal a shallow half-healed slash down the entire length of her leg. "Stormtuft says the NightClan warrior must have been aiming for my tendons to permanently damage my leg. Luckily, he missed and only got my muscle and fur."
"Well, that's great then!" Silverpaw purred. "You'll be up and running in no time!"
"I guess," Dawnpaw murmured, dropping her tail back onto the moss and resting her head on her paws.
"This is Rainpaw, by the way," Silverpaw meowed, nodding at me while still looking at Dawnpaw. "He's new here. He came from the group of peaceful cats who left for a better place."
"I wish Dovewing and Bumblestripe had done that," Dawnpaw muttered darkly. "Then I'd still have a sister."
"You know what?" I asked, stepping forward. "I almost lost my sister and my brother on my journey here. And, for a moment, I thought they had indeed died. I received a small portion of what you must be feeling right now. I'm so sorry for your loss."
Dawnpaw appeared not to be listening. "It's all just death and destruction here," she whispered, her pale blue eyes seeming to take on an even duller sheen. "I wish I'd just died with Featherpaw. Then I'd be in StarClan with my parents again." She closed her eyes once more.
Silverpaw glanced at me. "Sorry," she murmured. "Dawnpaw's been like that since the attack. She's so depressed nowadays."
"Take your meowing outside, will you?" came an irritated-sounding voice from the other nest. I squinted over and saw a pair of amber eyes gleaming out of the dark mass of brown tabby fur. "I'm trying to get some rest."
"Sorry, Aspentail!" Silverpaw squeaked in a small voice, beginning to back out of the den. "We were just about to leave!"
"Too right, you were," Aspentail muttered, curling into a tighter ball so his eyes disappeared behind a mass of fur.
Giving me a look like Come on! Silverpaw led the way out of the den. I paused for a heartbeat to say, "I know I can't make anything right, but you still have friends, Dawnpaw. There's me, Silverpaw, Rustpaw, Foxpaw, Cinderpaw, and Sootpaw here for you. You may have lost a sister yesterday, but you gained three friends."
Dawnpaw made no move to show me she'd heard me. As I was at a loss for what to say next, I just nodded at Goldenpaw and bounded after Silverpaw into the clearing.
So progresses Silver x Rain.
AOTD: I have two cats, one orange tabby named Flameheart (Widget) and one black cat named Shadowpool (Hallow).
QOTD: Who is your favorite character pairing in this story so far? (Ex: Silver x Rain, Light x Hyperion, Light x Ash, etc.)
