Chapter 4

The sky was growing pale with the first light of dawn, and Waterpaw heard the first lone birds beginning to sing. The storm had eased off sometime after moonhigh, and with it, Waterpaw's fears, but still he found it hard to believe that he could fulfill a prophecy by not being tired.

The apprentice stretched his legs one by one, stiff from his vigil that night. As he bent down to groom his matted pelt, he heard a stirring behind him and turned to look.

"You're still up?" Fishpaw mewed in wonder. His yellow eyes were dull with drowsiness, but still betrayed his surprise at seeing Waterpaw there.

"Yeah. I couldn't sleep." You'd better get used to it, because I can never sleep. In fact, Waterpaw still wasn't tired after sitting here all night. Maybe it is my power, but it still isn't a very useful one.

Fishpaw gave a grunt that might have been indifference, and tucked his muzzle firmly under his tail. His breathing slowed within moments and Waterpaw could tell he'd gone back to sleep.

Fine, be that way, the apprentice thought, knowing there wasn't really any reason his denmate should care. Instead, he went back to grooming himself, rasping his tongue quickly over his tangled fur.

He heard pawsteps on the path outside the cave, and turned to see the dawn patrol heading up the path, Snowspots among them. He finished grooming in a hurry and bounded after the patrol, catching up as they reached the top of the gorge.

"Can I come?" he begged Snowspots.

His mentor turned around, her orange eyes revealing her surprise at seeing him up so early. "Waterpaw? What are you dong here?"

The rest of the patrol had stopped too, and Waterpaw suddenly felt self-conscious under their stares. "I want to come," he repeated in a small voice.

Snowspots looked at Nestpelt, who must have been leading the patrol. The light brown warrior just shrugged. "He can come if you think it's okay," he meowed.

Waterpaw's mentor sighed. "Come on," she meowed. "Stay close and do what Nestpelt says."

"Thank you!" Waterpaw squealed, bounding after the patrol as they bounded up the last ledge and onto the ridge above the camp.

The patrol moved quickly along the borders, only stopping for a moment to refresh each scent marker. Waterpaw almost had to run to keep up, but it was no trouble; he could never get tired from running. Maybe it could have some uses after all, he thought hopefully.

They sprayed the dead tree and stumpy bush that marked this section of the territory, then went on into the cover of the trees. Waterpaw breathed a sigh of relief; he didn't mind open spaces, but not that open.

They continued along the border, moving efficiently and spraying each scent marker with barely a pause. They moved so quickly that Waterpaw barely noticed the scent clinging to a bush.

The apprentice stopped and sniffed the air again. Definitely intruders...and that wasn't cat-scent. "Guys? I think I found something."

The three warriors stopped and turned around. Once again Waterpaw fought the urge to shrink under their stares.

"What have you found?" Snowspots asked.

Lilystem spoke up. "I think I just caught a trace of fox-scent." She padded cautiously forward and sniffed the bush where Waterpaw had noticed the the strange scent. She looked up. "Definitely fox," she reported. "It's not strong, but it's reasonably fresh—maybe from yesterday."

Nestpelt padded closer and sniffed the bush as well. "You're right," he meowed. He turned to Waterpaw. "That was well scented. I can't believe none of us noticed that. But it'll probably have gone by now, StarClan willing."

"Well, should we keep on?" Lilystem mewed.

"Yeah." Nestpelt waited as Snowspots paused to scratch her ear vigorously with her hind leg, then led the patrol farther through the forest. This was how it was supposed to be. Waterpaw breathed in the scents of the forest, all thoughts of the prophecy driven from his mind. He was just a SkyClan apprentice, patrolling the borders with his Clanmates. He breathed in again, drawing the warm prey-scents over his tongue. But this isn't a hunting patrol, he reminded himself. He dashed ahead, not having realized he'd stopped walking and the patrol was now a tree-length ahead.

They continued along the perimeter of SkyClan's territory; Waterpaw was surprised at how much shorter the distance seemed compared to the first time he'd been this way a few days ago. He could already recognize most of the landmarks, too. His heart ached as he remembered that he might have to leave this place soon, the territory he was just beginning to explore. StarClan, he wailed inwardly, why couldn't you have chosen a different cat? Anyone but me?

"Waterpaw," a familiar voice murmured in his ear.

"Owlstare!" His relief that came with his mother's presence was swamped by anger as he recalled last might. "Where were you last night? Why weren't you there when I actually needed you?"

"Sometimes, when you need me most, I will seem to be absent. But in truth I will be with you then more than ever. I can't keep coming back this often, and I must go now. Just know that I'm always here."

Before Waterpaw could reply, Owlstare's scent had already vanished. Why couldn't she stick around long enough for him to ask some questions, just once? Waterpaw sighed and dashed ahead to catch up with the patrol again. Why did his life have to be so complicated?

"Waterpaw? Badgerstar wants to see you in his den." Duskflower's visit surprised him, and he quickly finished the sparrow he was eating and hurried to the leader's den.

Badgerstar was waiting for him, along with Duskflower, Snowspots, and, to his surprise, Windfur. When the young apprentice arrived, Badgerstar gave him a nod. "Hello, Waterpaw."

Waterpaw dipped his head respectfully to the leader, hoping the muscular black-and-white tom would just get on with it.

"We've already told your mentor about the prophecy," Duskflower began.

Again with the prophecy. Waterpaw sighed. Couldn't he forget about the prophecy for a few minutes at a time?

"Since we first spoke, StarClan has confirmed that you are the cat who will fulfill the prophecy," the medicine cat continued, "but still gave no clues as to what your power is. Do you have any idea what it is, Waterpaw?"

Waterpaw gulped. "Well, actually, yes. I...I can't get tired, no matter what I do or how long I stay up."

"You can't get tired." Badgerstar sounded distinctly unimpressed. "Is that all?"

"Well, think about it." Waterpaw found himself defending the power he had resented when he first learned of it. "I can keep watch all night and not be weakened in the morning. And I could probably run across the whole territory without needing to take a break."

"That's true," Badgerstar admitted.

Waterpaw was just noticing that neither of the two warriors had said anything up to this point when Windfur spoke up. "So where does this involve me?"

"Well, I believe it involves you even more now that we know what Waterpaw's power is. The idea is to speed up his training as much as possible by giving him a second mentor. Now that we know what his power is, I think I may even give him a third. That is, if that's okay with you, Waterpaw? I don't want to put too much stress on you."

Too late for that, Waterpaw couldn't help thinking. "No," he replied. "That sounds fine."

"So...are we telling the Clan what we're doing, or not?" Snowspots asked. "You said not to tell any cat, but I can't really imagine hiding it for long if we're giving an apprentice two extra mentors."

"True," Badgerstar meowed. "And I don't think we will be trying to keep it quiet anymore. I think I'll call a Clan meeting once I decide what to tell them."

Waterpaw sighed. Somehow his mentor knowing about the prophecy made it seem so much more real. And soon the whole Clan would know about it. So much for a partially normal life. It's going to be absolute chaos from here on in.