Silverpaw curled into her nest and closed her eyes. Silverpaw knew she wouldn't be able to sleep after what she saw, but she closed her eyes.
Please Dovewing, visit me. Silverpaw pleaded to her Starclan mentor. After what seemed like moons of silence and darkness, she drifted into an unsettling sleep.
Silverpaw woke up in a strange forest. It reminded her of Shadowclan. It was dark and foggy and Silverpaw got a creepy feeling while she was there. This defiantly was not Starclan. Silverpaw walked through the strange forest, trying to find out where she was. Silverpaw instantly thought of the Dark Forest as she walked deeper.
But that can't be possible. Firestar is protecting the clans and it should be impossible to get through. It's probably just a dream. Silverpaw soothed herself, though she doubted that.
"Hello, brave one." A voice growled. A pitch black cat the shade of darkness prowled out. She had glowing red eyes that made Silverpaw want to run.
"Who-who are you?" Silverpaw stuttered.
"Doesn't matter. Why are you here?" The cat asked. She was circling Silverpaw.
"I-I don't know. I just woke up here." Silverpaw said.
"You woke up here?" The cat hissed, "Lies!"
She yowled and leaped at Silverpaw. She pinned her down and hissed. Silverpaw scrambled under her grip, trying to throw the bigger cat off. Nothing worked. She dove down into Silverpaw's neck.
Then the weight was lifted. A blue-gray she-cat hissed at the black cat and sliced her claws across the black cats face. The black cat ran into the gloomy forest and disappeared.
"Come on." The blue-gray cat said. Silverpaw chased after her. She had a silverish glow around her so Silverpaw thought she was trustworthy.
As they ran from the forest, it seemed to get brighter. Silverpaw jumped over a log and the forest was bright and safe looking.
"Thank you." Silverpaw said to her savior.
"You're lucky I was there. One more heartbeat and you'd been joining us." The blue-gray cat said, "I'm Bluestar. You must be Silverpaw. I've heard a lot about you."
"Oh, it seems that most cats know about me." Silverpaw said.
"Silverpaw, I'm sorry to tell you this but, you were just in the Dark Forest." Bluestar said. Silverpaw's heart dropped.
"But…Firestar sealed it off when he died!" Silverpaw said.
"I know, but even Firestar can't keep the Dark Forest away forever. Just like the clans, the Dark Forest goes on. They will start regrouping cats and soon…There will be another war." Bluestar said.
"Wait…The prophecy. My prophecy. Is the Dark Forest the evil I'm supposed to prevent from arising?" Silverpaw asked. She knew the answer and waited for Bluestar's yes.
"I wish I could tell you, but even Starclan doesn't know. We will have a better idea as you grow older." Bluestar said, "It is time for you to go now, Silverpaw, Silverpaw, Silverpaw-" Bluestar's voice faded as Silverpaw regained consciousness.
"Silverpaw! Wake up!" Hollowpaw's voice woke her. He was jabbing Silverpaw in the ribs.
"Ow! Get off of me." Silverpaw growled. She sat up and stared at Hollowpaw.
"Sorry. It's dawn. Ashcloud is about to announce today's duties." Hollowpaw said. Silverpaw ran a paw over her ears and followed Hollowpaw out of the den.
Silverpaw was exhausted. After her trek through the forest and her unsettling dream, Silverpaw wasn't in the mood for working all day. She joined the group of warriors that were getting ready to leave on patrols. Ashcloud and Blizzardstar came out of Blizzardstar's den and jumped down the Highledge and stood in front of the warriors.
"Brackenflame and Hawkflame, hunting patrols. Brackenflame take Honeypelt, Bluejay and Hollowpaw. Hawkflame take Beetlefur, Dusklight, and Cloudpelt." Ashcloud flicked her tail to the brothers. Silverpaw shuddered as Ashcloud said Honeypelt's name. Hollowpaw waved his tail to Silverpaw and followed his father out of camp.
"Hollyflower, dawn patrol with Silverpaw and Rustpelt." Ashcloud said. Hollyflower swept her tail to gather the rest of the patrol and they left.
They started at the Windclan border. Windclan recently remarked their border so the patrol did as well. Then they started toward the Shadowclan border. Silverpaw began to get nervous. What if they smelled her scent? Will they be angry and think she was the one betraying her clan? To Silverpaw's relief they didn't seem to notice her scent.
As they remarked the border Silverpaw scented her scent in the bramble bush she hid in, became distracted, and ran into it.
"Ow!" Silverpaw yelped. She pulled herself out. Her fur was stinging and when she looked in the bush she saw several clumps of her fur stuck in the bush.
"Silverpaw, are you alright?" Rustpelt asked. Hollyflower ran back to check on her.
"Um…Yeah. I'm fine. Just got distracted." Silverpaw said, trying to get them away from the bush.
"Alright…Rustpelt remark that bush and we can head back." Hollyflower said. She sniffed Silverpaw one last time before turning and leading the patrol away.
"Did you notice that Shadowclan's border markers are very weak?" Rustpelt asked.
"Yes. I was going to tell Blizzardstar about that." Hollyflower said.
"The trio arrived back at camp. Blizzardstar was speaking to Stormtail and, for a heartbeat, Silverpaw couldn't figure out who was who.
"Yes. I will tell her to resign her duties soon. Hollyflower, anything to report?" Blizzardstar asked. Stormtail flicked his tail to Darkpaw and he shot up from his place by the fresh-kill pile.
"All clear. Except it seems Shadowclan hasn't renewed their border in a while." Hollyflower reported.
"Hmm…I'll have the patrols keep an eye on the border." Blizzardstar said. He dismissed the patrol and Rustpelt went to the fresh-kill pile. Silverpaw realized she hadn't eaten anything that day.
"Come on, Silverpaw. I decided we could do battle training today." Hollyflower said. She flicked her tail to Silverpaw.
"Hey, I was going to take Darkpaw to the Mossy Hollow. Could we tag along?" Stormtail asked. Hollyflower nodded and they left.
Silverpaw was getting even more hungry and exhausted. She never understood why the apprentices said they liked being kits. Now she knew why. Silverpaw noticed Darkpaw's breath smelled like mouse and her belly growled. She imagined sinking her teeth into a huge mouse and she nearly ran into a tree.
When they made it to the Mossy Hollow, Silverpaw stretched and yawned. Darkpaw darted across the clearing and bounced of a tree and bowled over Stormtail.
"You've gotten good at that move. Have you been practicing?" Stormtail asked
"Yeah. Did I do it right" Darkpaw said enthusiastically.
"Perfectly!" Stormtail said.
"Wow. That's quite an advanced move." Hollyflower said, "Stormtail what was the first move you taught Darkpaw?"
"Partner Fighting. In my opinion, one of the most important moves you ever learn." Stormtail said.
"Silverpaw, today you are going to learn Partner Fighting. Stormtail, Darkpaw, will you show us how it is dine?" Hollyflower asked.
Stormtail and Darkpaw turned so they weren't facing each other. They pressed their backs against each other and swiped their forepaws around with precise moves. Hollyflower tried to attack Stormtail but got batted away.
"You see? Partner Fighting is a very useful tool and can be very dangerous and helpful in battles." Hollyflower explained, "Are you ready to try?" Silverpaw nodded.
Hollyflower turned her back to her apprentice and pressed it up against Silverpaw's. Silverpaw was much smaller than her mentor so her head only reached the middle of her back. Darkpaw stood across the clearing in front of Silverpaw. Suddenly he shot forward and leaped at Silverpaw. Silverpaw couldn't believe how fast he was and she ended up being late on one of her blows. He bowled over her and pinned her down.
"Okay, let's try again." Hollyflower said, flicking Darkpaw off of her.
They practiced until Sunset. Silverpaw couldn't get the move right. She didn't know if that was because she was horrible fighter or if she was just so exhausted that she couldn't concentrate. She still hadn't eaten anything and she was very weak. She stumbled the whole way home. At one point she even collapsed. Hollyflower came back to walk with her.
"Silverpaw, what's wrong. You're acting like you haven't gotten any sleep." Hollyflower said. Silverpaw decided she could trust her mentor.
"Hollyflower, I didn't get any sleep. But that was because I…" She trailed off as she waited for Stormtail and Darkpaw to disappear. She explained the situation with Honeypelt and how Silverpaw had spied on her. Then she told Hollyflower about how Shadowclan was ill with the Neetle plague again. Hollyflower stared at her and bowed her head.
"I knew it."
Hello. Sorry i didn't post. chapter nine is kinda just a filler chapter. Chapter 10 should be here quicker. Please review. I need reviews. Take a minute and review, it is much appreciated. Also check out my other story. Thank you for reading. Bye bye marhsies!