Badgerpaw was late to rise from her nest for several days. She went with Raventail and Thistlepaw for training, but her heart was never in it. All she could imagine was what she would be doing with Featherleg, what he would be saying to help her.
She still caught prey for the Clan. She still fed the elders. She still talked to Birdpaw. But every time, her mind was absent from it.
She finally understood what it was like for Cloudflower when Breezekit died.
The morning she finally woke up on time was after she received another haunting dream from her brother.
They were both sitting in an empty, dark field. The night sky hung above them. Breezekit was staring at her with wide amber eyes. There was a long silence before he spoke.
"You'll never see him again," he mewed.
"What?" Badgerpaw asked, tilting her head slightly.
"You'll never see him again," Breezekit repeated. "At least, if you follow the path you may be destined for."
"I don't understand," Badgerpaw meowed. "What path am I destined for? Who won't I see?"
"Featherleg won't want to see you if you follow that path," Breezekit meowed. "I won't either. But if you don't, Thistlepaw will."
"What path?" Badgerpaw asked, feeling herself grow frantic. "How can I stop it if I don't know?"
Breezekit shook his head. "I can't tell you. They won't tell me everything, and they've made me promise not to tell you want I know."
"Who?" Badgerpaw's heart was pounding in her chest.
"They," Breezekit mewed. "It doesn't matter. Just don't follow the path that you think you should."
"What does that mean?" Badgerpaw cried, but the dream was fading. Everything was drifting away like sand in the wind, and she felt as though she was falling.
She sat up quickly in her nest, and she saw Thistlepaw rising too.
"You're up!" Thistlepaw meowed, her voice cheery. "Are you feeling better?"
Badgerpaw furrowed her brow. Since when had Thistlepaw been the happy one? She shrugged.
"Well, come out when you're ready," Thistlepaw meowed, trotting out of the den. Badgerpaw watched her go.
Her dreams of Breezekit had always circled back to Thistlepaw. He often said something about Thistlepaw possibly following a wrong path, too. As though he wasn't sure which one of them would.
But this time, he had threatened that Badgerpaw would never see Featherleg again. And that stung her when she though of it again.
She forced herself to stand and left the den, and her eyes widened when she saw who was waiting outside for her.
Redstar was sitting beside Raventail. "Ah, good," he purred when he saw her. "Badgerpaw, I was hoping you'd come with me today."
"Oh," she mewed, a bit startled. "Okay." The offer had shocked her, but she couldn't exactly deny the Clan leader.
"Raventail, do whatever you wish with Thistlepaw today," Redstar meowed. "I'll take care of Badgerpaw."
"Thank you," Raventail meowed, dipping his head. "Come along." He and Thistlepaw walked out of camp.
"Why are you taking me out today?" Badgerpaw asked Redstar as they padded to the the camp entrance.
"To talk," her leader responded, and his face turned grim.
They were walking towards the ShadowClan border. Redstar said nothing until they were a long way from camp.
"The day you and your littermates were born, I received a sign from StarClan," Redstar meowed.
Badgerpaw looked up at him, alarmed.
"I walked into the nursery, and I saw Breezekit being held by your mother, and I felt sadness deep inside me," he continued. "And then I looked to you two."
"What did you see?" Badgerpaw asked nervously.
"Not see, felt," Redstar meowed. "I felt ice creep through my bones. Ice cold fear gripped me. When I looked at those kits, I knew for certain that one of them would try to destroy the Clans."
Badgerpaw's heart sped up. "Which one?"
Redstar looked down at her and stopped walking. "I didn't know."
She swallowed. "I have dreams," she admitted. "I though that they were just nightmares, but now that you've told me this…"
"What sort of dreams? Redstar asked, his gaze intense.
"I sometimes see Breezekit, and he says that it's me and Thistlepaw's fault that he's dead, and if I follow the wrong path, I'll end up harming cats, and Thistlepaw might too."
"Do you know if Thistlepaw has the same dreams?" Redstar asked.
"No," Badgerpaw mewed. "I haven't asked if I'm honest."
Redstar sighed. "I wouldn't have expected StarClan to go directly to one of you, but…"
"Is this why Willownose doesn't trust me?" Badgerpaw interrupted. "Birdpaw told me the Willownose had instructed her not to speak to me after I told Birdpaw about my dream."
Redstar nodded. "I would assume. I told her of the sign I recieved. StarClan must have spoken to her, too."
"If StarClan warned you of me, then why tell me?" Badgerpaw asked. She shifted on her paws. "I mean, you must have been worried about me being a danger-"
"I was," Redstar admitted. "But I've observed you and you sister closely over these moons of your apprenticeship, and I think I've figured out which one of you I should be fearing."
Badgerpaw held her breath, waiting for her leader to leap at her, kill her, and blame it on a fox so that he could prevent the destiny that must have awaited her.
"Thistlepaw isn't as controlled as you," he meowed. "There's something almost chaotic about her. Most things she does seem to be for herself, and during battle training, she was as violent as she could be without claws."
Badgerpaw felt first a wave of relief, then shock. Her sister couldn't bring destruction to the Clans! She was a good cat, with a good heart.
"How do you how she would act in training?" Badgerpaw asked, desperate to find a flaw in what her leader was saying. "You weren't in the hollow with us- not ever!"
"There's a reason I choose my deputy and one of my closest friends to mentor the two of you," Redstar meowed. "I didn't tell them of my suspicions until about a moon into your training, but I did have them report closely to me of your behaviors."
Badgerpaw felt startled. "Featherleg never treated me differently," Badgerpaw meowed. "He always acted as though he didn't think I was part of a sign…"
"He told me he was sure that you will grow to be a fine warrior," Redstar meowed.
A fresh pang of grief spread through Badgerpaw, though it was different than normal. This time, it was almost a warm feeling- like she was remembering how much she had loved him as a mentor.
"Raventail, on the other paw, sees things about Thistlepaw," Redstar meowed, his voice turning darker. "I hate the thought, but I believe the sign was true."
"Why are you telling me this?" Badgerpaw finally asked. "This is a lot to put on me."
"I want your help," Redstar meowed.
Badgerpaw blinked in shock. "My help? What can I do?"
"You're Thistlepaw's sister," Redstar pointed out. "You can be a lot closer to her than others, maybe even influence her more. I want you to try and get any thoughts that may hurt the Clans out of her mind, and if not-"
"I can't hurt my sister!" Badgerpaw snapped.
Redstar turned his head away from her. "I'm sorry," he mewed. "I know that it's a lot to ask, but-"
"No!" Badgerpaw snapped again. "I can't hurt my sister, even if StarClan thinks she'll ruin everything." Badgerpaw was hardly aware with how she was speaking to Redstar- her leader. "I can't do this."
"You're right," he finally mewed quietly. "She's your sister, after all. I wouldn't have been able to hurt my littermates. Just... try to keep an eye on her, I suppose. That's all I can fairly ask of you."
"Then you won't make me do this?" Badgerpaw asked.
"No," Redstar meowed. "But there's one other thing I wanted to discuss with you on this walk."
"Alright," Badgerpaw meowed nervously.
"As much as I trust Raventail's judgement on Thistlepaw, I still don't know for certain which of you will follow the path that I so badly want to prevent," Redstar meowed. "And now that Featherleg's gone," - his voice cracked slightly at the dead cat's name- "you need a mentor. I think that I can fill that roll for you."
Badgerpaw's eyes widened. "R-really?" she stammered. "Why?"
"Fernleaf is the friend I am closest to besides Raventail, and he is your close kin," Redstar meowed. "And I want to keep an eye on you, and try to guide you down the right path."
"Okay," Badgerpaw mewed quietly.
"We'll have the ceremony when we return to camp," Redstar meowed. "Don't interpret this as me not trusting you," he added. "This is just a bit of insurance."
They padded back to camp, Badgerpaw's heart beating fast. She was about to become the apprentice of ThunderClan's leader- after learning that her sister was destined to destroy the Clan.
I need to prevent it from happening, Badgerpaw thought desperately. StarClan, show me how.
But she was no medicine cat. Why should StarClan send her signs?
