Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors.

Rainpaw ran and ran along a path of moonlight that seemed as if it would never end. Then the moon was covered by clouds, and only the starlight guided her. She ran along Silverpelt's path, through forest and over field to get to a goal that seemed impossible to get to, getting farther away and at the same time getting closer. Suddenly there was a flash of light, and she was surrounded by cats. Not normal cats. At first she saw two familiar cats—Greymask and Wolfstorm. Then she remembered that they were dead, and had died about two moons before her apprenticeship. What was going on here?

Suddenly more cats appeared. She couldn't smell. Who were they? She recognized no one else. Then she saw something. She was no longer standing on land. She was surrounded by darkness, and the only light came from the other cats. They looked like starlight, with their shimmering, glowing pelts.

Starclan.

"Welcome, Rainpaw," one cat greeted. "I am Froststar, the leader of Thunderclan before Dawnstar."

Rainpaw looked around. Had she died? Why else would she be up here? She whimpered silently in confusion.

As if she had read her mind, Froststar assured her, "You are not dead. But we have not come to see you. You have come to us."

Finally Rainpaw welled up the courage to speak. "Why?" was all she could say.

"You have a gift, little one. The gift to see us. Normally we are hidden, reveal ourselves when we must. But to you, we are always there."

"What in the-" Rainpaw was very confused. The thoughts in her mind were tangled together, and no matter how hard she tried to untangle them, they only got worse. "You have to ability to separate your spirit from your body. Only your consciousness—your body on earth is still alive. It is sleeping and cannot be roused until you return."

"O-o-okay," Rainpaw mewed, still somewhat perplexed. Froststar had loosened her tangled mind some, but not all the way.

Froststar saw that the apprentice was still unclear on what was going on. Trying to explain it better, she tried again, "You can control your consciousness even though you are sleeping. This is no dream, Rainpaw—this is real. You are actually seeing us, even though you are alive and well. And despite the fact that you are seeing us, this is not a dream. This is real, and you can control your actions."

Rainpaw was considerably less confused now. She understood her situation, just not how it was happening. "I… I knew that medicine cats had a close connection with Starclan, but not close enough to do this," she stammered.

"No, this is not something all medicine cats can do. This is something you can do. This is your special power. Visiting us." Froststar sighed, then continued, "I know you are confused, and it will take a while for you to figure out and comprehend everything that is happening now. But come back soon, and I'll see if I can help clear things up a bit more."

Nodding unsurely, Rainpaw started to walk away. The next thing she knew she was next to her body, and she leapt into it and lied down in its position.

Rainpaw awoke later feeling rather odd. She was convinced that even though Starclan said it wasn't a dream, what she had experienced that night was one. It was odd, though. She had felt as if she was controlling her body in her dream, not just feeling that way as the dream went on. She felt like she had her own mind in her dream. It was strange. But it was impossible for one to leave their body like that. Wasn't it? Rainpaw decided to wait to tell Nightwind. Right now this wasn't important. It was just some crazy dream with no meaning. At least not to her.

Seeing the daylight streaming into the den, Rainpaw stretched, got up, and walked out. It was another beautiful day. Rainpaw, oddly, didn't feel like learning at the moment. She felt playful, rowdy. She searched out her friend Flamepaw and greeted him.

"Oh, hello!" he replied warmly.

"How's your training going?" Rainpaw asked. She couldn't think of anything else to say, besides commenting on the weather.

"Great. Dragonclaw's a lot of fun."

"To annoy?" Rainpaw teased. Flamepaw laughed.

"Ha ha, Rainpaw. No. He's a fun mentor. He has that rare sense of humor. I think he's proud of me."

"I wouldn't be surprised, you're an energetic, strong apprentice. When are you going to be made a warrior?"

"Not for I while, I think. Dragonclaw says that while I may be a good hunter, I still don't quite know fighting techniques and such. He thinks it will be a while more."

"Oh. I still have a lot to learn, too. I don't know when I'll get to receive my name. I can't call it a warrior name, so should I call it a medicine cat's name? I wish my name could be Rain... Rain… Rainclaw. I like that name. But it doesn't fit a medicine cat."

"Hmm… Rainstorm… Rain… pelt… Rainfall…"

"No, not Rainfall. It's pretty, but there's already Starfall. I love her name…"

"What about me? Flame… claw, Flameheart, Flamepelt… I don't know, nothing seems to fit my name."

"Well, maybe Dawnstar can think of something that will. She's given nice names before. Starfall, Runningbrook…"

"Starfall. Wait, isn't Shadowclan's leader's name Fallingstar?"

"Yeah… just a coincidence, I bet. It's happened before. Embersky and Skyfire… it happens."

"Whatever."

"Well, I came to play. So let's go. I'm bored! Why are we discussing our own names, anyways? Our names are for the leaders to decide."

"Wait, what was Fallingstar's original name?"

"I'm not sure. I'll ask Nightwind. Now come on! Why don't we go to the training grounds for a duel?"

"But you're not even a warrior."

"Like I care!" The friends laughed, then walked out of the camp.

Heh heh, are you sensing something here? I am...