Clans of the Forest:1: Stone and Silver (COMPLETE)

Chapter 12

Silverpaw dashed up to his sister and dug his muzzle in her fur. He sensed Firefly doing the same on his other side. She smelled strange, like water and caves, and . . . Twolegs.

"Are you okay?" Firefly asked. "What happened?"

By now the Clan had woken up had pricked their ears eagerly to see what she said. Stonepaw looked slightly embarrassed at all all of the cats staring at her. She shuffled her paws.

"Why is there Twoleg scent on you?" Silverpaw blurted. Stonepaw looked at him in surprise.

"A kittypet helped me find the way back here," She admitted. She yawned. "Can we save the questions for tomorrow? I'm tired." She stretched, and padded off to the apprentice's den.

"I'll get her some fresh-kill," Moonbeam offered.

Bluestar nodded her head. "That would be a good idea," she mewed. She too turned and headed back into her den. 

Silverpaw longed to sink into his nest and enjoy a nice, long sleep, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to. Go on, he thought. It wouldn't harm you to get some sleep. But Stonepaw. . . He just couldn't shake off the feeling that she was hiding something.

. . .

Silverpaw entered camp, a mouse dangling from his jaws. Dawn sunlight filtered through the leaves. Moonbeam was by the fresh-kill pile, sniffing. He padded up to join her, placing his mouse gently next to a vole, which he took to eat. 

"Moonbeam? . . ." He began awkwardly. He took a deep breath.

"Yes?" Moonbeam didn't look up from the pile.

"I wanted to ask you . . ." He trailed off. Was this the right thing to do? Curiosity and anxiety were churning in his belly, but this felt . . . strange. He took another deep breath. Birds chirped overhead. It was very tense.

"Well?" Moonbeam prompted. Silverpaw could tell from the look on her face that she was growing impatient.

"Does Stonepaw seem strange to you?" He leaned down and took a bite of his vole, embarrassed by what her response might be. 

"What do you mean, strange?" Moonbeam tipped her head. Her expression remained blank, with a hint of curiosity and concern. 

"Like . . . she's avoiding answering questions about her voyage, on top of her guilt for the death of Greenmoon. She just seems . . . more defensive than usual." He waited for a response.

Moonbeam nodded her head. "I've noticed that too. But I trust Firefly to take care of her."

Silverpaw dipped his head and turned away. He clearly wasn't getting anything out of Moonbeam. He would have to confront his cousin.

Finishing his vole in a few quick gulps. he stood and padded to the apprentice den, where Stonepaw was laying, staring off into the distance. Her paws were cracked and covered in dry blood.

"You should go see Powersnow," He suggested. 

"Go away!" Stonepaw snapped back at him.

Silverpaw took a step back, surprised and hurt. Stonepaw could be annoying sometimes, but she never yelled  at him. He heart beating in his chest, he felt a sudden rage build up inside him.

"What's wrong with you?!? Why must you fuss so much over everything!?! It's not like you own the camp!" He paused, taking a deep breath. "I'm just trying to take care of you! Why must you turn your back on me like this?"

He hoped that she would realize what she was doing and stop, but instead she turned on him. "You're just jealous! It's not like you own camp either! STOP ANNOYING MY FUR OFF AND MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!!!" She stood up and pressed her muzzle into his face. "You think you know me, that I'm hopeless by myself. You failed to realize that I can take care of myself. Stop being a mouse-brain and GO AWAY!"

She stormed further into the den, until she was swallowed by darkness. Silverpaw stood alone, pain filling his chest. What had happened to the cousin he loved so much? His tail drooping, he slowly padded out of camp and into the woods. The sun sparkled above him. Oh, why did this have to happen? StarClan, why?

The day blew on as if it were a breeze. Birds flew by, and Silverpaw stayed rooted to the spot, gazing at passing clouds. The grass quietly rustled, tickling his soft underbelly. Butterflies came and went. Silverpaw remembered that when he was kit, he used to chase butterflies out of the nursery, pretending that they were intruders. He had been so young and innocent then, right now it seemed like a lifetime away.

Memories of playing with Stonepaw as a kit, play fighting, tossing a moss ball, listening to the elders tell stories of the great cats that came before. They were overflowing inside Silverpaw now, welcoming him in a warm embrace. 

Silverkit pounced, bringing his paws down on the leaf. It crunched satisfyingly beneath his feet. Stonekit was running in circles behind him, scattering the dead oak leaves all over the place. She giggled and kicked some in his face. Silverkit kicked some back at her, and she pounced on him, gently batting at him as if he were a leaf.

Late greenleaf breeze blew through the clearing, sending the leaves flying all around as Silverkit brought his paws down on Stonekit's head. This is so much fun! He dodged her next attack, moving swiftly on his paws. The blood of LionClan spread swiftly in his veins, pulsing within him with every breath he took.

Silverpaw sighed, the happy memories beginning to ebb away. He uncurled his tail from around his paws and stood up. The breeze reminded him so much of that warm greenleaf day, except that it was leaf-bare, with the first signs of newleaf on the wind. More kits to be born for our clan. 

He began to walk back to camp, feeling a little bit better. Right as he was nearing the entrance, paws trampled over him. Shocked, Silverpaw got to his feet just in time to catch the BlizzardClan scent. BlizzardClan warriors! It's an attack! He broke into a run, clearing ground with determination, and burst into camp just in time to hear the drwadful words. 

"BlizzardClan! Attack!"