CHAPTER 6

Finchpaw was alone. He was standing in a silvery forest that was seemingly made of pure stars. He looked around, bewildered. How had he ended up here? The last thing he remembered was…oh, wait.

He was dreaming. He took a few cautious steps forward. Is this what StarClan looks like? "Yes, little one," murmured a gentle voice. Finchpaw pricked his ears in surprise as a silver she-cat emerged from a glowing white bush.

"Who are you?" Finchpaw asked. He should feel nervous, yet an aura of comfort radiated from the she-cat. Almost as if he knew her well, and trusted her.

"That is not important right now. I have come to give you a warning. Along your path of life, there will be many cats that try to interfere with your destiny. You mustn't let them." The strange she-cat's voice grew stern. "You make your own path, Finchpaw. Always remember that."

"What?" Finchpaw meowed, confused. "I don't understand. Who will try to interfere?"

"Just know that I walk beside you, Finchpaw. Always and forever." The she-cat stepped forward, bumping noses affectionately with Finchpaw. She curled her tail around him and closed her eyes. Slowly, she faded into thousands of twinkling stars, leaving Finchpaw with nothing but confusion and a sharp pang of loneliness.

Finchpaw woke with a start. He was lying in an uncomfortable position in his nest in the medicine den. He peered around the corner and spied Applefoot examining a stash of moss. He leaned back and slowly replayed his dream in his head. Was she one of my warrior ancestors? Finchpaw wondered. No, probably not, he decided. She seemed too important.

But then who was she? Finchpaw was puzzled. "Finchpaw?" Applefoot called from the other side of the den. "Are you awake?"

"Yes!" Finchpaw replied. "I'm coming, I'm coming." Finchpaw rose from his nest and shook off the scraps of moss and feather that clung to his fur. He then joined Applefoot near the herb store, his paws being chilled by the cold stone floor.

"It seems like leaf-fall's here early," Finchpaw remarked, sitting down next to his mentor.

"Indeed. I'm worried about whitecough and greencough this year. It's seeming like leaf-bare will be joining us early this year," Applefoot remarked, staring intently at the moss in her paws.

"What's that about?" Finchpaw flicked his paw toward the moss. Applefoot sighed.

"It's from Adderpaw's nest. He came in here a few minutes ago covered in scratches, claiming that there was a thorn in his nest. Not that I can tell, though." Applefoot dropped the moss onto the floor of the medicine den. "Anyways, on the topic of leaf-bare, I want you to go fetch some catmint for me."

Finchpaw opened his mouth to reply, but just then Amberpaw sprinted into the den, yowling, "Finchpaw! Finchpaw!"

"What is it?" Finchpaw asked, fearing the worst. His heart pounded as Amberpaw took a few moments to catch her breath.

"I need to talk to you," Amberpaw finally meowed. Finchpaw frowned at her.

"You didn't need to come caterwauling in here like that," Finchpaw huffed. "But anyways, I'm busy right now. I need to go fetch catmint for Applefoot. Can it wait?"

"I'll come with you!" Amberpaw decided. "I can help carry more, anyways."

"Fine," Finchpaw agreed. He was looking forward to spending some time alone to analyze his dream, but he could wait. "Let's go." Finchpaw nodded his goodbye to Applefoot before padding out of the medicine den, followed closely by Amberpaw.

Finally, once they were trekking through the chilly forest, Amberpaw began to speak. "I think Adderpaw's been sneaking out at night," she blurted as they rounded a juniper bush.

"Sure," Finchpaw scoffed. This was just another of her crazy conspiracy theories. Amberpaw's eyes narrowed.

"I'm serious!" she protested. "I hear him leave around midnight and come back right before the dawn patrol wakes up. Last night, it looked like he had fallen through a bramble bush!"

"I'm worried about him," Amberpaw admitted, her voice suddenly somber. "He's been slacking at his hunting duties, and he's always tired." Finchpaw widened his eyes, realizing that Amberpaw was actually serious.

"It's probably nothing. I bet he's just…going for a walk or something," Finchpaw meowed soothingly, trying to reassure her. They both knew he was lying.

Amberpaw rolled her eyes. "Sure. We need to figure out what he's doing, Finchpaw. It's important. With Stormsight and-" Amberpaw suddenly stopped.

"What about Stormsight?" Finchpaw asked.

"It's no big deal," Amberpaw mewed, dismissing his question with a flick of her tail.

"Amberpaw."

"I really shouldn't tell you!"

"It's my business too."

"No it's not!"

"Yes, it is. Anything having to do with our brother should be my business." Amberpaw huffed, clearly conflicted.

"Okay," she decided. "But you cannot tell Tidepaw that I told you." Finchpaw nodded.

"So basically…Stormsight and Featherflight have been arguing. Like…a lot. That's why Stormsight's so grumpy now. Tidepaw said that they don't love each other anymore." Amberpaw stared at her paws. "And Stormsight's been really hard on Adderpaw recently. He yells at Adderpaw all the time and insults him. It's especially bad on days where Adderpaw's extra tired. It seems like Adderpaw doesn't even want to be a warrior anymore because of Stormsight."

Finchpaw was surprised. Sure, he had noticed Stormsight's unusual behavior, but he had never guessed it would be because of his relationship with Featherflight. "That is a problem," Finchpaw remarked.

"Well, duh." Amberpaw rolled her eyes. "So anyways, we need to figure out where Adderpaw's going."

"Uh huh," Finchpaw agreed.

"So that's why we're going to follow him tonight."

"WHAT!?" Finchpaw exclaimed. "You can't be serious. We would be breaking so many rules, Amberpaw. And what if Moonstar finds out?" Amberpaw sighed.

"It's important, Finchpaw. We have to do it for Adderpaw." Finchpaw sighed. She had a point.

"Fine," he agreed. "What's the plan?"

Later that night, Finchpaw tossed and turned in and out of sleep. He was terrified of his adventure with Amberpaw, but he was also scared to receive a dream from Starclan. He didn't quite know why, though.

Suddenly, he pricked his ears. Light pawsteps echoed through the medicine den. "Finchpaw," whispered a voice. "I have a thorn stuck in my paw." That was the code word. Finchpaw opened his eyes to find Amberpaw bending over him, her pelt illuminated by the moonlight filtering in through the den entrance. He nodded to her, and cautiously rose to his paws. He followed her silently out of the den, padding close beside her so that their pelts brushed as they walked. They finally reached Foxleap, who was guarding the entrance tunnel. She flashed them a confused glance as the two padded up to her.

"Can I help you?" she asked. Finchpaw nodded.

"Yeah. We were wanting to do something nice for Applefoot, and we thought we could surprise her with a nice, warm rabbit when she wakes up," Finchpaw explained.

"But why do both of you need to go?" Foxleap asked, still suspicious.

"Well, Finchpaw isn't the best hunter, so he asked if I could join him for some assistance. And, well, he couldn't give a gift that he didn't help at all with," Amberpaw told her.

"Well, I can't argue with that," Foxleap sighed, stepping to the side. "Go ahead. Be careful." She nodded to them as they plunged into the undergrowth. Finchpaw finally let out a sigh when they were out of earshot.

"That was terrifying," he whispered. Amberpaw snorted.

"Don't be a scaredy-mouse. Now hush and let me track him." Amberpaw tasted the air, before nodding to the left. "This way." The two padded wordlessly through the forest, Amberpaw's muzzle constantly in the air, leading them in the right direction. Finally, the two stopped in front of a large heather bush. "Under here," she hissed. The two plunged beneath the bush, poking their head out a bit on the other side so they could look around. Finchpaw stifled a gasp. There was Adderpaw!

Adderpaw was crouched down, facing away from his siblings. He took a few pawsteps forward before springing and landing with a thud. He then turned around, a squirrel dangling from his jaws. "See! He's just hunting," Finchpaw whispered.

"Wait," Amberpaw hissed. Finchpaw sighed and turned around. Adderpaw was padding away…but wait. He was walking away from camp. "C'mon!" Amberpaw ordered. The two followed close behind Adderpaw, skirting around bushes so they would be out of sight. After what seemed like moons, Adderpaw finally stopped. Finchpaw was about to confront him, when another cat entered the clearing.

A pretty black and white she-cat padded up to Adderpaw, flashing him a smile. "Adderpaw!" she exclaimed, brushing her muzzle with his.

"Hi, Twilight," Adderpaw greeted her, setting the squirrel at her paws. Finchpaw felt Amberpaw tense beside him.

"So, what's new in Thunderclan? Are you clan leader yet?" Twilight asked teasingly.

Adderpaw snorted. "I'm not even a warrior," he told her, amusement glittering in his eyes. Something hardened in his voice, and he looked down.

"Are you okay?" Twilight asked, concerned.

"Yeah," Adderpaw muttered. "It's just…I don't even know if I want to be a warrior anymore."

"What?" Amberpaw hissed quietly.

"What?" Twilight asked, her surprise mirroring Amberpaw's. "Why?"

Adderpaw shrugged. "It's my mentor, Stormsight. Every day, he pushes me around and insults me. I hate it."

"I'm sorry," Twilight whispered. "It'll be okay, I'm sure. You have your siblings, and your friends."

"And Jinxpaw," Amberpaw whispered. Finchpaw winced. He hadn't even thought of that. Poor Jinxpaw.

"I guess," Adderpaw muttered. "I should be going. Amberpaw will start to wonder. She's close to figuring us out."

"Okay," Twilight meowed, sadness filling her tone.

"Stay safe," Adderpaw whispered. He bumped his head against hers before bounding away. Finchpaw watched Twilight stand there somberly for a moment before she picked up the squirrel and padded off.

This was worse than he thought.

Notes: Drama! Now, about the competition…

The results are in! Thank you to everyone who posted a suggestion. Here are the winners:

Tom #1: Robinkit (thank you, raindropp14)

Tom #2: Hailkit (once again, thank you raindropp14)

She-cat #1: Iriskit (thanks, Stormshade [guest])

She-cat #2: Fernkit (thank you, TheTragedyMachine)

Once again, thank you so much for your suggestions. Hope you enjoy seeing your kit's name in ALS!

-Onyx