Silentpaw panicked when he realized he was looking down on his own body. He could see the rise and fall of his chest, his thin tail wrapped around his paws yet barely covering them. He could hear the storm going on outside but within the nesting chamber he was unaffected by any flashing light from the storm. He felt light and strange without his body as he floated above himself. He had no mass to him, no sense of physical being or embodiment.

He felt unnerved by the lack of Lilytail's presence. He was so used to sharing a headspace and knowing she was there even when she wasn't talking,that he felt alone. It was daunting. He considered for a second if he had died in his sleep and was about to ascend to Starclan. But looking at his body beneath him, he was certainly alive still.

The nest next to his body was empty. He edged downwards towards it and could feel warm radiating from the bedding. Cloudfang had only just left, he watched the tip of his mentor's fluffy tail disappear up into the main chamber of the medicine cats den. He felt drawn to follow him but what if all he was doing was going to dirtplace? That wasn't something he wanted to see.

He was floating through the medicine cat den, not sure if he even looked like himself in this ethereal dream state. Was it even a dream? It felt like he was simply observing events going on around him whilst asleep, it didn't feel like a dream. He heard Cloudfang let out a hiss as he padded out into the heavy rain. Silentpaw drifted out into the camp, feeling dry as the rain simply seemed to go through him.

It was like his soul had left his body, but he felt overwhelmingly calm about it, he guessed this was some form of dream. Other medicine cats had probably done the same. Cloudfang galloped across the clearing, Silentpaw hovered just a little behind, keeping pace with the tom. His mentor slowed down towards the high boulder, entering into Nightstar's den.

"You asked for me?" Cloudfang mewed, eyes narrowed as he tried to shake the water from his pelt. At the back of the den Nightstar was pacing, bits of fur and bone left over from what appeared to be a rabbit. Lightening flashed, showing her troubled face and cold eyes. Silentpaw felt unnerved just by being around her, he felt completely on edge and he was pretty sure she couldn't even see him.

"Yes I did. I have news-" The leader sighed irritably. "As discussed I went to the border to speak with Froststar about the competition results. He said that none of his apprentices showed any sign of being Nightclan, or at least being mixed Nightclan. He thinks the young cat has to be in Duneclan"

Cloudfang raised an eyebrow skeptically but said nothing. Silentpaw knew there was a real reason for the competition, it wasn't just for good fun or a morale booster. That's why she'd been so intent on watching from afar. It was an assessment. Lilytail had been right from the get go.

"If you hadn't have dealt with the kits then we'd know they were the threat-" she paused as Cloudfang cleared his throat to speak. "The kits are dead so there is no threat to Duneclan anymore" he told her simply. Nightstar's fur bristled but she carried on speaking.

"But there is still a threat to Duneclan. That prophecy came after you dealt with the kits so we still have a problem" Nightstar growled with exasperation. Cloudfang flicked his ear but that was the only small sign of any irritation. "I don't think we have a mixed clan cat, I think we have a Nightclan cat on our hands" Nightstar claimed gravely.

Cloudfang blinked at her as if thinking of something to say. "I think I know who it is-' Nightstar whispered. 'I think It's Gingerpaw"

Silentpaw recoiled. Oh no. Cloudfang's tail tip was tapping the ground, a confused frown on his face. "She can't swim, she uses anchor points in fights, an interest in the ashfields- it all adds up, she even described herself as having a fiery spirit, just like in the prophecy I was given" The leader hissed, striking a bone across the den with a paw.

"I'm going to be honest here," Cloudfang said with a sigh. "I think that's quite frankly a ridiculous conclusion and I think you're being hyper-vigilant. Not all Duneclan cats are good at swimming and using vantage points in a fight for leverage is tactical. I was there when she was born for Starclan's sake!" The medicine cat said bluntly with exasperation.

Nightstar narrowed her eyes, fur bristling. "I'm really beginning to doubt your loyalty to Duneclan, don't think your attempt to skew the meaning of Badgersting's prophecy went unnoticed" The leader spat with venom. Cloudfang sat unfazed.

"You have no need to doubt my loyalty, I am doubting your logic. Gingerpaw is Duneclan through and through" He said calmly and simply. Silentpaw really wasn't looking forward to the day he was the only medicine cat in Duneclan if this was how Nightstar behaved. Hopefully she'd be dead before then. How many lives was she on?

Nightstar scoffed, seemingly offended. Then she paused, her eyes flickered to the side. She was thinking and in half a second there was a look of realisation in those eyes. He guessed very soon that a look like that on Nightstar wasn't a good thing.

"As sure as fire casts embers to a voiceless wind.." Nightstar locked eyes with Cloudfang, a grim smile on her face like she knew something the medicine cat didn't. "Gingerpaw and Silentpaw are good friends aren't they-" She purred. Cloudfang's face cracked, concerned. "Fire was mentioned in my prophecy, Gingerpaw is fire, Silentpaw is a 'voiceless wind'"

"It's about them isn't it, and you knew that?" Nighstar's voice was sweet but it felt more like a wall against anger. "I don't think-" Cloudfang began.

"You've been trying to protect your apprentice this entire time, screw the rest of Duneclan, am I right?" She said sarcastically with a fake smile. Silentpaw watched as Cloudfang was unable to respond, his heart going cold. The medicine cat had put himself at risk for his sake. Fur and bones flew across the den as Nightstar slammed her paw, claws unsheathed, into the scraps of fur and bone of her last meal.

"Well then- either Gingerpaw is dealt with or both of them are. Who would you rather lose? Two young cats or one young cat" Her voice cut through the crash of thunder and the pounding rain. He reeled in horror at the suggestion, were they in danger now? Gingerpaw was certainly in danger, she was seen as the main threat. Nightstar wasn't fit to be called a leader,whatever Baystar (the leader before her) had seen in her would remain a mystery to him.

Nightstar was mad, bad and dangerous to know he decided. "None of this is logical!" Cloudfang burst out. "If you kill Gingerpaw the clan will become even tenser, there's only so much you can blame on rouges. Tensions with Meadowclan will flare as cats look for a logical explanation for the deaths and disappearances, this could start conflict" Cloudfang said seriously "Kill both of them and the effect will only be amplified"

Nightstar smiled at him, cocking her head to the side. "Well then I guess I get to call the shots then" Cloudfang began to protest, stuttering. Silentpaw began to feel like a force was pulling him back, pulling him away. He had to know the rest, he had to know who was going to get hurt and how to avoid it. He had no body to claw forwards with, to fight to stay.

Air rushed around him as he was pulled back. His body jolted awake, heart booming in his chest, eyes wide open and claws unsheathed. There was no rain, no thunder. Daylight streamed in through the medicine cat den into the nesting chamber. "Silentpaw are you-" Cloudfang asked from his own nest as Silentpaw gagged, rushing out the den. Sunlight stung his eyes as he wretched. "Silentpaw!?" Lilytail sounded like a concerned mother.

His last meal resurfaced as he vomited onto the sand. Lizardglare grimaced from where he was lounging in the sun outside the warriors den.

Neither of them were safe anymore. The argument could be put aside: he needed to keep Gingerpaw alive.

Reviewer responses!:

Succulentsofa: Brambledip is an enigma. As for Shadedpaw and Gingerpaw...It's the only ship I've been given so far which is eligible ;)

ReadingEevee: She's certainly looking for something important...

Mintflight0245: If your reading this then you now know lol

Welcome to Astral projection with Silentpaw lol. I guess this chapter counts as a big info reveal? I had fun writing it nonetheless.

Question of the chapter: What are Silentpaw and Gingerpaw going to have to do now?