"Riversong...Riversong...Riversong...?"
Riversong groaned and rolled over onto her side. She looked up into the ominous yellow eyes of Mudslide. The dark brown tom shivered. "Riversong, look, I tried to tell Brightstar I didn't want Sunpaw. 'You can't do this!' I told him, 'He's Riversong's!' But he didn't listen. He won't talk to me anymore. I'm sorry!"
Riversong pushed herself up. She was in Healingtouch's den for the second time this week. The gray queen couldn't believe her memories. Sunpaw was gone. He was Mudslide's apprentice now. She slumped back to the ground in a miserable heap.
"I don't blame you, Mudslide," she murmured, "Brightstar has always had it out for me since I became a warrior. Him and Wingfoot. What's his deal, I wonder."
"I don't know," Mudslide meowed, "All I know is that I'm not going to train Sunpaw. He's not my apprentice. No, Riversong. He's yours. I'm done with mentoring apprentices for a while. Snakepelt had my paws full. Sunpaw is still your apprentice."
"No, Mudslide." Riversong stood up. She looked deep into the he-cat's eyes. "You have to train Sunpaw. I'm leaving DuskClan."
Mudslide dropped back. "No...You can't..." he began hoarsely.
"I can," Riversong insisted, "And I'm leaving tonight. I've had enough of Wingfoot and Brightstar. To PlagueClan with them! You are to tell no one. No one!" She took a deep breath, then continued in a calmer voice. " Take good care of Sunpaw. He's incredibly brilliant. Don't let all his talent go to waste. If he asks where I went, tell him I've gone to visit Dustin and Martin and that he's not to follow me at all. Got it?"
"But who are D-."
"Got it!" Riversong snarled. Mudslide sat down hard. He whimpered softly.
"Got...got it," he whispered. Riversong nodded and stalked away. The guards at the camp entrance tried to stop her. She spun around and hissed at them. Her face was so ferocious, neither had any further comments.
Once outside the camp, Riversong flopped down on her back on a grassy hilltop. She gazed sadly up at the sky. The bright stars of Silverpelt shone down upon her. "Foxpelt...I lost the only cats who ever cared about me," she whispered, wondering if StarClan's newest warrior from DuskClan could hear her, "I-I don't know what to do or where to go. Tell me..."
Suddenly, a star blazed across the night sky. Riversong bristled and leapt to her paws. She watched the comet blaze out, noting its path. Her blue eyes shone with its reflected dazzle. The gray she-cat nodded. "Thank you, Foxpelt," she murmured, "Thank you." Just as she was settling down to sleep, more and more flared across the skies. Riversong was puzzled. She sat up and watched them all fall for hours on end.
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"She went where!" Sunpaw demanded.
"Look, she said she was going to visit Dustin and Martin. Who are they, by the way?" Mudslide asked. Sunpaw ignored him. The reddish tom began to pace anxiously.
"I'll have to go find her," he muttered.
"She said you weren't to follow her, Sunpaw," Mudslide reminded him, "Just try and get some sleep, okay? We have..." The next word was hard for him to get out. "Tr...ain...ing to do tomorrow."
Sunpaw halted and looked up at his new 'mentor.' He purred softly. "You don't want to have me, do you, Mudslide?" he asked coyly. Mudslide spoke to the wall behind his new 'apprentice.'
"No offense, but...no. I don't. I don't want any part of this."
"That's okay, that's okay. Neither do I," Sunpaw replied. He quirked his brow at Radiantpaw in signal. The cunning she-cat took over.
"But do you know what we really want?" she asked sweetly. Mudslide shook his head slowly. Radiantpaw flicked her tail for Sunpaw to imitate her. She began rubbing herself against Mudslide's long, brown legs. "We want to know where Riversong really went. Not where she said she was going."
Mudslide felt his vow of secrecy start to be tugged from his mouth by the two apprentices. Creekpaw, Heavenpaw, Racepaw, Moonpaw, Timidpaw, Quartzpaw, and Willowpaw all watched in awe as their fellow apprentices slowly forced Mudslide to do exactly what they wanted him to do. Mudslide broke down. Between Radiantpaw's sweet voice, Sunpaw's innocent brown gaze, and the feel of their soft fur against his body, he felt compelled to spill the beans. But he wouldn't confess to just anyone. "S-Sunpaw...I need to talk to you in private," he meowed shakily.
Sunpaw nodded and tapped Radiantpaw with his tailtip as he passed in a silent sign of thanks. The red-gold tom sat down at the camp's edge and looked expectantly up at Mudslide. Mudslide cleared his throat nervously.
"You see, Sunpaw...Riversong...left...DuskClan. I have no idea where she really is. Okay? I don't know anything, I swear!" Sunpaw nodded. Mudslide eyed him carefully. "You're not going to follow her, are you?" he asked.
Sunpaw shook his head. It wasn't really lying. After all, it is hard to 'follow' someone if you don't know for sure which path they took. Mudslide nodded and escorted Sunpaw back to the den.
"Well?" Creekpaw demanded, his green eyes wide, "Where is Riversong?"
"Come on, Sunpaw!" Heavenpaw mewed persuasively, "We have the right to know. We all like her."
"Please?" Quartzpaw pleaded, "We won't tell anyone. Not even our mentors! Right, guys?"
"Sleetfur doesn't need to know."
"Neither does Nightwalker."
"I don't necessarily have to tell Wingfoot."
"I-I can k-keep a s-s-s-secret from Longf-fang."
"Same with me and Gracestep!"
"Trueheart doesn't need to know everything I do."
"Or Blacktip, for that matter."
Sunpaw gazed at all his friends. He listened to each name their mentors, who they would keep silent around. He saw eyes of all colors: Timidpaw and Creekpaw's green, Quartzpaw's, Radiantpaw's, and Heavenpaw's amber, and Moonpaw, Racepaw, and Willowpaw's blue. He saw friends surrounding him. He knew the secret would be safe with them.
"All right. Heavenpaw, you and Creekpaw pull the ivy across the den entrance. Quartzpaw, take Timidpaw and Willowpaw and stand guard outside. I'll tell you myself later. I don't want anyone but the apprentices to know about this. The rest of you, gather 'round and keep close. I'll tell you."
Sunpaw waited until the rest of the apprentices had assembled around him before speaking. "Mudslide told me what happened. Riversong is so angry with Brightstar for trying to reassigning me that she left DuskClan." There wasn't a single apprentice who didn't make some sort of shocked noise. Sunpaw hissed for them to be quiet. "Mudslide doesn't know where exactly she is, so it's up to me to find her and bring her back."
"I'll come too!" Radiantpaw declared immediately. Sunpaw shook his head.
"No. Only I can go. If more than one apprentice went missing, the whole Clan would freak. Besides, no one really cares about me. I'm mentorless. I don't have a warrior to worry about me. Now get Quartzpaw and the others. Keep watch in their place."
When the others knew of the secret, Quartzpaw raised his objection. "Sunpaw, I think it's great and noble that you want to find Riversong and bring her back here, but what if she doesn't want to come back? What if she won't?"
"Well, then," Sunpaw meowed, staring fearlessly up at the much bigger and older apprentice, "I'll stay with her. I love Riversong. If she won't come back to DuskClan, then neither will I. I can't live here without her."
Quartzpaw nodded solemnly. His amber eyes glittered with new respect for the tiny he-cat. "Very well, Sunpaw," he said, "If you wish it, I will make sure no one tries to convince you otherwise."
"Thank you, Quartzpaw. I'm leaving tonight while her trail is still fresh."
"You need a diversion," mewed Timidpaw, catching all present by surprise by the conviction in his voice. Normally, the tom was quiet and unobtrusive. "And I have just the way to get it."
Every apprentice leaned forward to catch Timidpaw's every word. The young he-cat seemed to have lost his little nervous twitches. For once in his life, he seemed so confident and sure of himself. Sunpaw had no doubt his plan was a good one.