Hey guys :3 I'm pleased that the reviews for this story have been positive! It makes me happier than I think ya'll know. I don't how much you're going to like this chapter: it's a bit boring, but it helps establish some character of the other cats. And yes, Wolfpelt has an accent. I don't know why, but I just pictured all the Clans having different accents, just because they're from different areas and don't talk to other Clans very often. But it was too late to construct individual accents for every Clan, so I gave the one major SkyClan character a bit of a southern accent. And if you say, 'hey, that sounds nothing like a southern accent!' you're wrong. Because I'm from Texas. And damn it, that's how we talk down here in the Lone Star state.

Hope I haven't scared you off O.o Plz enjoy!

Chapter Five

Dare Skyeyes convince herself that this was the best day she'd ever spent with her Clan? Not a single cat mistook her for her sister. Not a single one asked her to clean out their bedding, de-tick them, or even to ignore the gnawing hunger in her belly. They let her eat whatever she wanted. They let her do whatever she wanted. Skyeyes felt free. Bluestorm stayed near but didn't smother her daughter. She watched with calculating eyes. She seemed to be trying to work out in her head how it would feel to be without her.

Such freedom came with an expiration date, one that loomed closer with every passing moment.

All too soon the sun set, the sky darkened, and the shadow of the Selection's outcome rose its ugly head. It wanted to make her afraid. It wanted to make her cripple under its weight, like her sister had. But Skyeyes refused to allow anything to break the fragile façade she wrapped around herself. And so she never allowed herself to fear.

Longstar came and found her. She was sharing a blackbird—her fourth--with Nightpaw and Tigerheart when he came over to tell her that he and Leopardclaw were ready to leave the camp. Strangely, Skyeyes arose with a bit of excitement. She felt more curiosity about the contents of the cave then she did fear. She considered this to be because she was so young, yet she had no proof.

Her leader had groomed himself as was the custom. He looked incredibly handsome, with his black fur shining like ebony in the fading light. He nodded to his deputy and her son before speaking.

"S—Dawnstorm," he said, still struggling to call her the right name. "It's time to leave."

Skyeyes dipped her head and stood. "I'm coming," she said. Longstar turned to leave, and Skyeyes faced her former mentor and friend. "Good-bye, you two."

Nightpaw stood quickly. He touched her nose and shied away after the contact. "Bye," he murmured. "You…you should fight as hard as you can. That way, you can come back to ThunderClan."

The blue-gray warrior dipped her head. "I will."

"Don't forget all I've taught you," Tigerheart whispered as she touched her nose to Skyeyes' cheek. "You're a brave she-cat with great skill. You're going to come back. We all trust you."

She nodded and backed away. She saw Longstar and Leopardclaw standing at the top of the ravine. The toms looked at her, and Leopardclaw flicked his tail to beckon her onward. Skyeyes paused. Since the moment after their warriors ceremony, Sandstone had simply vanished, refusing to participate in the supposed 'last supper'. In fact, he never spoke a word to her the entire time. She thought she'd caught glimpses of him every few moments, but he always disappeared seconds later. She scanned the Clan, hoping to find him.

"Come on!" Leopardclaw called from above. "Hurry! The sun is setting!"

With a sigh, Skyeyes gave it up and turned to leave. She padded up the ravine and faintly heard the good-byes of her clan mates. Hurt, she joined her leader and medicine cat with a heavy heart. How could Sandstone let her go, knowing she might die, without saying any kind of fairwell?

Leopardclaw squinted his eyes at her face. "Here. Stay still for a second."

"Wha...?" Skyeyes stopped when he reached up with his paw and tore off the cobwebs. It didn't hurt, but the action surprised her. She'd completely forgotten about the wound. It felt like it'd been ages since her sister struck her. Leopardclaw wiped the cobwebs on the ground and examined his work.

"It's healing," he mumbled. "Not perfectly, but healing. Just say that you got in a fight with some shockingly skilled kits."

Skyeyes purred. "Okay."

"Pace yourself," Longstar told her. "We've got a long journey ahead, and you must keep your strength."

Skyeyes nodded absentmindedly. She was still lingering on Sandstone's neglect. It seemed unlike him to leave her side for a minute, and here he was, letting her walk into the unknown. They started off into the forest, that familiar forest that Skyeyes would miss dearly if she were to not return. They'd gotten halfway to Fourtrees when a loud call stopped them.

"What on earth was that?" hissed Longstar.

"I wonder," Leopardclaw added, though he flashed a knowing smile.

A tawny blur burst through the bushes and skidded to a halt in front of Skyeyes. Panting, Sandstone took a moment before he straightened to his full height and stared at the blue-gray warrior with wide eyes.

"S-S-Skyeyes," he panted. "I-I-I'm s-sorry I haven't spoken to you earlier."

She shrugged. "It's alright." Inside, she was singing with joy. He'd come to see her off after all!

"No, it's not alright. It's not. I've been horrible and selfish, and…" Sandstone shook his head. "I'm sorry." He lowered his voice so the other two couldn't hear. "You see, Leopardclaw put me up to this, and I'm damn nervous about it."

Skyeyes blinked. "Well?" she asked. "What is it?"

Sandstone opened his mouth, but all the color drained from his face. "I-I-I—"

"Oh spit it out already!" Leopardclaw shouted. "We haven't got all day!"

"I'm…" Sandstone swallowed, drew himself up, and shut his eyes. "I'm absolutely certain that you're coming back."

The she-cat felt disappointment course through her. "Really?"

"Yeah. I've got that feeling. You know the one?"

Skyeyes nodded.

"So…" He took a few steps back towards camp. "I'll be waiting for you."

"That's good to know," Skyeyes said quietly. She lowered her head and rejoined her leader. "Good-bye, Sandstone."

The tawny tom nodded briskly. "It's not forever."

The three cats began to walk off when they heard him yowl again. They spun around to see Sandstone, barely a speck of color against the greens and browns of the forest. "Skyeyes!" he shouted. "I love you!"

Skyeyes felt her heart beat faster. She blushed and looked down at her paws. "I love you too," she murmured to herself so no cat could hear. Then she flicked her tail and strutted past the two toms. "Let's go to the cave," she said over her shoulder with an obvious smile. "I'm ready."

---

SkyClan and ShadowClan were already there when they arrived. The medicine cats were closer to the entrance while the leaders were shouldered together. The chosen cats sat a few tail-lengths apart from one another, though Wolfpelt of SkyClan shot Nightstorm curious glances every few moments. It was clear he wanted to speak, but she wasn't having any of it. Skyeyes padded over to them while he leader and the medicine cat split. Wolfpelt brightened at the sight of her.

"Howdy," he purred. "You're Dawnpaw, right?"

Skyeyes bit her lip. That's right, time to be her sister. "It's Dawnstorm now," she replied. "My warrior ceremony was today."

"Congrats to ya'," Wolfpelt replied. "I'm Wolfpelt, case you don't remember."

"Nightstorm," the black she-cat hissed. "But it doesn't matter whether you know my name or not."

Skyeyes and Wolfpelt exchanged a fearful glance. They both smiled as the scent of WindClan grew stronger. They had to travel through WindClan territory to come here, but this scent was different, fresh. Skyeyes looked up to see Featherstar, Emberfur, and Sleetfur as they jogged over. Sleetfur padded over to them with a dark look in his eyes.

"Hey," he said. "So…Everyone's here but RiverClan?"

"I met some of 'em on a hunting patrol," Wolfpelt said. "They were yakin' about some queen named Lilypad, how she was havin' her kits. Any of ya'll know 'er?"

"That's Cinderstar's mate, you mouse-brain," growled Nightstorm. "And her last kitting went poorly. It's no wonder Mousepelt didn't want to leave her."

Sleetfur cocked his head. "How'd you know that?"

"Because unlike single-minded toms who fight to relieve boredom, we she-cats actually listen to one another at Gatherings," she replied, her lip curling slightly. "The last time Lilypad came to a Gathering, she confessed that she was afraid she may die from this litter. Didn't you notice how nervous Cinderstar was at the Selection?" The others shook their heads, and Nightstorm rolled her eyes. "Every good warrior knows that observation is the key to everything! You're all like daft apprentices!"

"We're ain't daft just because we don't mingle in their business," growled Wolfpelt. "I don't really care what happens in other Clans, long as they mind their borders."

"Typical tom answer," hissed Nightstorm.

"Well are you saying you'd sympathize with a cat from another Clan as long as it was a queen?" growled Sleetfur.

"No, of course not! My Clan comes first! But at a Gathering—you know, that place where there's a truce?—I use the other queens' loose tongues to learn about other Clans! What did listening in tell me? First of all that Mousepelt is shaky in her duties as a medicine cat. Also that Cinderstar has a weak spot for his mate. Both of those pieces of information could be useful in a fight."

Skyeyes knew anything she said would be shot right back at her. She kept her comments to herself and shuffled her feet. Neither Wolfpelt or Sleetfur continued the conversation. They assumed correctly that Nightstorm believed she couldn't be proved wrong. They waited another few minutes before the scent of fish filled Skyeyes' nostrels, and Skyeyes saw Mousepelt, Cinderstar, and Rowanheart coming towards them. As they grew closer, the chosen cats dispersed, each going back to their leaders. Skyeyes searched the RiverClan cats for any kind of emotion that would tell her about Lilypad, but they were gone too quickly. Skyeyes mimicked the others and sat before Longstar. Leopardclaw padded over to them too.

"Hold out your paw," Longstar ordered.

She complied. Longstar met her eyes before, all of a sudden, his claws dug deep into her skin and slashed across the top of her foot. She held in a yowl of pain.

"It's tradition," Leopardclaw told her. "We're not sure why."

Skyeyes looked around to see that all the others were doing it as well. Once they were finished, the leaders touched their noses.

"Dawnstorm, over here."

She turned, and Longstar touched her nose. "ThunderClan will be with you," he whispered.

She nodded slowly. Leopardclaw stepped up in Longstar's place and touched her nose. "StarClan will be with you," he whispered.

Skyeyes backed away from them as the other cats were doing. Led by Nightstorm, they began to pad over to the entrance to the cave, where Dognose was waiting. They lined up single-file in front of him. Skyeyes felt a rush of air go by as Rowanheart sat beside her. She glanced at him sideways and caught eyes with him. He had fiery amber eyes that lit up when she looked over. The corner of his mouth lifted in a smile.

"May StarClan be with all of you," Dognose said loudly. Skyeyes winced at his sightless blue eyes. They were giving her chills. He dipped his head to each of them—and how he knew exactly where to looked Skyeyes will never know—and stepped away from the mouth of the cave.

Every cat in the clearing paused. Who would go first?

It wasn't surprising that Nightstorm stepped up. She gave her leader and medicine cat one last nod before running into the cave at a flat out sprint, her black fur melting into the darkness. She clearly wasn't afraid of anything the Dark Forest may throw at her.

Next was Wolfpelt, surprisingly. While Skyeyes didn't peg him as a coward, he did seem like the kind of guy to have a bit of self-preservation. Regardless, he winked at Copperstar before he too was swallowed up by the shadows.

Sleetfur let out a sigh. "I guess we're going in order," he mumbled. Skyeyes saw that he was right: Nightstorm had been the furthest on the left, Wolfpelt next to her. Sleetfut got to his feet. "Tell my kits I love them," he called to Featherstar. "And be sure they make WindClan proud."

The beautiful she-cat nodded. "I swear it."

He hovered at the entrance, one paw in. Then he sighed and shouted, "And tell that piece of fox-dung Rustclaw that I hope he's next!" Before any cat could reply, he dashed into the cave.

Skyeyes repressed a purr as Rowanheart stood. He nodded to Cinderstar. "Make sure Koipaw takes good care of my mother for me," he requested.

Cinderstar nodded. Skyeyes scanned his face and found the remnants of tears. Were they for Rowanheart or Lilypad?

Rowanheart inhaled deeply. Then he too left her.

Skyeyes got to her feet. Every step she took made her panic. What would her sister say? What would she do? She turned to Longstar, opened her mouth, and froze. What to say?

"Tell Mother that I love her," she called, hoping she sounded even the least bit like her. "And…And tell Owlmoon that it'll be alright."

A flicker of amusement sparked in the black-and-white tom's eyes. He nodded. The other cats assumed it must be because he was agreeing, that he was promising to deliver her final message, but Skyeyes knew he was praising her for keeping up with this charade.

She, like Rowanheart, drew in breath.

"Sandstone, I hope I can trust you," she whispered.

She shut her eyes as she felt her paws begin to move. A rush of cool air blasted onto her face as all previous sounds—the calls of birds, the distant bark of a dog—and all previous scents—the Clans, the moorland, and the stale scent of rabbit—vanished.

She was in the Dark Forest's domain now.

Sorry this one was a bit later than the others. I got caught up in school work, so I haven't had much time to write. Try and see if you can guess what will be in the cave! Go on, just guess. I'm 90% sure that asking will end poorly for me since guesses in the past have been pretty spot on...so here's to me making bad decisions! :D Plz review, even if you hated it!