Silentpaw took a step forward. Caution was still of course being taken. "What do you mean you've been with me since I was born?"

Lilytail flicked a pawful of pine needles into the water and watched them sink to the bottom. "I died and I've been tied to you I guess. I don't know anymore than you do" She paused. Silentpaw guessed that she probably did know more. He took another step forward. "How long have you been dead for...If that's a polite thing to ask?" He asked, sounding unsure. She laughed at the question "It's fine, I died about 6 moons ago" Lilytail seemed to become a little more subdued. "hadn't been a warrior long" Silentpaw felt a pang of guilt but was confused as to why, He'd had no hand in her death. He could be certain of that. "Where is this place? Starclan right?" If it was it was awfully quiet and still. He'd imagined a dune with plenty of prey, sunny days and comfortable nights. It seemed a bit dank and depressing to be the home of departed souls until they were forgotten.

Lilytail opened her mouth as if she was going to speak but closed it again. She looked like she was thinking. Thinking very carefully about what she was going to say next. "This isn't Starclan" She whispered. "But please keep an open mind, we're not here because we're bad ca-"

"This is the Dark forest! Land of everlasting night!" Silentpaw's fur stood on end and he unsheathed his claws. It wasn't an act of aggression, but rather an act of fear. He didn't know how to defend himself and he was alone. Stumbling backwards, he turned and tried to run. A large tree root tripped him, exposing his underbelly. He clenched his eyes shut, waiting for her to pounce on him and tear out his throat, or disembowel him, or something else horrific. And yet Lilytail stayed in place, staring out across the pond. Her eyes were round and saturated with a mournful look. "When we died we were chased here. I don't deserve to be here, I'm not a murderer, I never hurt anyone"

"Then why are you here? There's no other reason" Lilytail shook her head and laughed at him. This was less of a friendly laugh and more of a scoff. "It doesn't matter who's good or bad, It matters who's in Starclan" Silentpaw tilted his head confused as to what she was implying. She looked back at him, an eyebrow raised. "Wow. Guess they were serious when warning your clan"

Silentpaw asked one final question. "Who's in Starclan?"

"Duneclan and Meadowclan" She replied.

There was suddenly light. Silentpaw blinked, eyes adjusting to the light streaming in between the woven grass of the medicine cat den. It was disorientating, lying there suddenly in a warm down filled nest, having just been in a decrepit forest. He then curled up into a ball, exhausted despite being asleep. He guessed it was early afternoon. Fresh air filled his lungs as he inhaled. He felt safer here.

Lilytail's last message was cryptic. Silentpaw couldn't figure out what she meant by it. There were two clans, She had to belong to one of them? Maybe she left her clan? That would make sense, maybe it was seen as treachery or betrayal. It wasn't his problem right now, his problem was a building headache.

"You can see him now but I don't think he's awake yet. I'd be prepared for him not to be himself, I've never seen behaviour like this before and I don't know how that's going to impact him. Be gentle and try not to overwhelm him" Silentpaw could hear Cloudfang outside the den, talking in a hushed voice. "I'll try" A meek voice answered back. He immediately knew it was his mother Smallscar.

Silentpaw's relationship with his mother had always been a little distant. He didn't have what other kits had with their mothers. When Silentpaw and Rabbitpaw were born, Ravenfrost their father died tragically in a badger attack. The same attack would claim the lives of many warriors. His mother was young, pregnant and alone. When he was born, there were three of them, Silentpaw, Rabbitpaw and Sootkit. Smallscar was unable to look after them, she was distant and would wander the camp. Grief did strange things to cats sometimes.

Left often unattended and cold, it left all three of them vulnerable. Willowheart would rush to them whenever Smallscar went walk-about, but she couldn't always be present. The kits all became ill. Sootkit passed away, her tiny body just couldn't fight it. They spent a moon in the medicine cat den alone. Rabbitpaw recovered. Silentpaw recovered but the infection meant he would never talk again. His mother tried to be a better parent, but that would always loom over Silentpaw. Maybe Sootkit would be Sootpaw now if Smallscar had been a better mother.

Smallscar rushed around the corner to her son, Cloudfang following behind her. "Silentpaw!" She gushed greeting her son by rubbing her cheek against his. "How are you feeling? Are you alright?" Silentpaw nodded awkwardly. The she-cat began to groom the top of his head, causing his fur to stick up.

Cloudfang spoke up. "You might be feeling a little tired or out of it, I gave you a single poppy seed to calm you down. Poppy seeds can also be used to help a cat sleep, but be cautious when giving them to queens" He told his apprentice, slipping in a little bit of knowledge for later. Silentpaw wanted to ask what happened. He purposely looked around confused and then back at Cloudfang. He seemed to understand. "Why are you here?" The older tom asked to confirm. Silentpaw nodded. His mother was now sitting next to him in the nest, resting her head on his shoulder.

There was a brushing noise as another cat entered the den. Lizardglare walked in head down. He took a cautious look at Silentpaw before sitting down next to Cloudfang. "Lizadglare could probably explain better, he was actually there" Cloudfang prompted, looking at the muscular tom. The tabby tom looked uncertain.

"Alright then. You seized up, It was like you couldn't hear or see what was going on around you. Brambledip tried to get you to calm down and you screamed at him. You said you hated him and you hoped he would die" Lizardglare's eyes seemed to glaze a little at the end. Silentpaw looked horrified, his eyes were wide and his mouth agape.

"At least we know you can speak now! You don't have to pretend" Smallscar nudged him. Her eyes were beaming with optimism and he couldn't help but feel like he was going to disappoint her. "Why not try it now?"

Silentpaw looked down and shook his head. There was no point. Cloudfang seemed to sense that it was maybe time for Silentpaw to be alone for a bit. "Smallscar, I need some help gathering herbs. I need to bulk up my supply, could you help me?" He smiled pleasantly at the small she-cat. "Oh, I can- If that's alright with you Silentpaw" She seemed to be urging him to let her stay, it was in her eyes. He nodded and he saw her eyes dull. "Alright then.. I'll be back later with some food" After a gentle lick to his cheek she slunk out the den with Cloudfang.

"He's staring at you" Lilytail's voice echoed in his ears. So now she decided to talk again. She was right though. The deputy had his eyes fixed on the apprentice. "I don't know what happened on your side, I don't know how you did it and I don't know how you knew about it. Keep in mind I have every reason to be cautious" Tension filled the den and Silentpaw's ears flattened. "I don't know what you're capable of," The older tom continued. "He's trying to scare you by being passive aggressive about it. Ignore him" Lilytail said indignatley.

"I hope you feel better soon and for your sake that it doesn't happen again" Lizardglare said curtly, dipping his head as a means of goodbye. Silentpaw dipped his head and the tom left the den without another word. "That was definitely a threat," Lilytail concluded. "So what was the thing that happened exactly? A vision?" Silentpaw asked thoughtfully.

He could tell she was thinking. "It's something to do with me I think. Strong emotions between cats as well, strong memories. I'm not really sure. I know you're probably not that grateful for it but it's nice having someone to talk to again. It awfully quiet here" He felt like she was telling the truth. "Your welcome? I guess?" He told her. Maybe this wasn't so bad. It was the first time he felt understood at least.

Gingerpaw ran like a hare to the camp, kicking sand up as she went. Crabfang had given her permission to see Silentpaw and go ahead of him, Brambledip and Shadedpaw. Shadedpaw asked Brambledip if he could run ahead as well but the tom said he had no real reason to. She skidded through the entrance, causing sand to spray Troutfin as he left dirtplace. Luckily she was on his blind side and managed to slow down and temporarily walk civilly towards the medicine cat's den.

There was a large pile of used bedding outside the nursery as she passed. She immediately recognised her mother's pale grey fur and scarred legs as she hauled a large clump of twisted down out. Gingerpaw chirped to get her attention. "Oh Gingerpaw! How was training today?" Willowheart asked fondly, placing the clump of feathers down to hear about her daughter's day. Gingerpaw fidgeted a little. "Good, it was mostly seeing how good we were at fighting. Crabfang seemed impressed" She would ask about her brother later, now she wanted to get away and see Silentpaw.

Willowheart laughed lightly. "I know you don't want to hang around, You look like you're standing on ants. I know you want to see Silentpaw-" the she-cat paused and changed her tone to a whisper. "Keep in mind that he might be a bit out of sorts. Be a little cautious that's all I'm saying. Tell him I'll bring him some more bedding soon" Gingerpaw didn't understand why she'd have to be cautious around him. He was Silentpaw and he was perfectly fine. "Alright mum" She sighed. "Good, i'll get back to moving out. I'm making Leopardheart's nest. She's actually going to be-" Willowheart began as she turned to pick the bedding up. When she turned around her daughter was gone. They grow up so fast after all.

A wave of smells hit Gingerpaw as she entered the medicine cat's den. It was a strong wave of herbal aromas and it was quite pleasant. The front half of the den was part woven with live grasses and brambles. The latter part of the den was another part of an unfinished warren, with one chamber being Cloudfang's den. There was a section of the back wall that was sandstone and had small pockets worn away in it to store various herbs. Silentpaw was sat in a nest sorting herbs by the back wall. "Silentpaw!" She shouted, before flinching at her own noise. Quiet voices for the medicine cat den she told herself. She had to cap her excitement.

"Hey buddy, how you feeling?" He sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "I see Cloudfang has already put you to work eh?" She joked walking over to him. "Mind if I join you?" She said nodding to the ground in front of him. Silentpaw smiled and scooped a few pawfuls of herbs out of her way. It still didn't stop a few flying through the air as she clumsily thudded onto the ground.

"I had battle training today. Crabfang seemed impressed, I did a huge flip on Shadedpaw. You should have seen his face" She told him a little smugly. "Hey I got you back after. I think I won the next two fights after that" Shadedpaw sauntered in, wispy tail raised. "However it was an impressive flip" He added. He smiled at Gingerpaw and nodded briefly at Silentpaw.

"Mind if I join?" He asked Silentpaw. He just nodded. The larger tom placed himself next to Gingerpaw, tucking his paws together as he sat. "Brambledip wasn't as bad as I thought he'd be today," Gingerpaw told him. "Guess its because Crabfang was there, he's not going to step out of line in front of lord Crabfang" Shadedpaw joked. Gingerpaw laughed. Silentpaw didn't understand why it was that funny. His stomach growled loudly. Gingerpaw laughed even more. "I'll go get you something, you want anything Shadedpaw?" She asked, still tittering a little. Shadedpaw shook his head. "I'm alright for now, thanks for offering though" He smiled.

"I'll be right back" She beamed at her friends. She turned and left. It seemed that Shadedpaw and Silentpaw got on and she was happy about it. Obviously Silentpaw would always be her best friend, but it was nice that Shadedpaw could go on patrol and train with her. Having a friend who could actually talk back was nice, even though she felt guilty about feeling that way. They'd been casual playmates as kits but after today she felt a lot more attached.

Silentpaw sat awkwardly, occasionally making eye contact with the larger long furred apprentice. It was almost impressive how much bigger he looked with all that extra fur, especially the tufts framing his face. He couldn't try to make it less awkward by starting a conversation. "I don't really know how to say this without being harsh, but don't drag her into whatever weird stuff is going on with you" Shadedpaw leaned in and hissed in his ear. "I have a bad feeling about it. That's all. Nothing against you alright" Silentpaw frowned. Who did he think he was? "Young love eh" Lilytail sighed wistfully.

Gingerpaw trotted in with a vole in her mouth and the tension dissolved. Shadedpaw smiled at her. Silentpaw hoped that Lilytail was wrong. Surely no one could develop feelings for someone that quickly. It was far too quick in Silentpaw's opinion. "There you go! If you want something else let me know" She winked at him. Silentpaw's ear twitched as he heard another cat enter the den. Could he just have some time alone with his friend? Was that too much to ask? A cream she-cat with speckled fur turned the corner, it was Ghostfalcon. "Hiya all" She said in her usual wispy, quiet voice. "I'm going to be giving a tour of the territory for apprentices who want it, I was told you two were in here. Glowpaw's coming"

Gingerpaw's eyes lit up, she was probably going to take the opportunity. "I'll go! You want to come with Shadedpaw?" She asked. Shadedpaw seemed torn. "I'd love to but I'm exhausted. Where do you get all that energy from?" He laughed, standing and then stooping into a stretch. Silentpaw stood up hopefully. "I'm sorry Silentpaw but I think you've got to rest up a bit more"

He visibly sank a little. He didn't want to be left behind. "Maybe when I'm free I can take you for a tour?" She offered gently. Silentpaw nodded and sat down again. "I'll see you later Silentpaw!" Gingerpaw tapped him on the head playfully before scuttering after Ghostfalcon as she left. She turned around, sticking her tongue out. Silentpaw did one of his soundless laughs and returned the favour.

Then she was gone.

This literally took me all day to write, I went a little bit mad halfway through,I couldn't tell if it was any good. Anyway's thank you for reading! I'm in the process of fleshing out characters who in the original definitely got neglected. Shadedpaw and Lilytail are definitely getting more development as the story goes on.