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Stonepaw sank as fast as a...well...stone. He didn't notice ,though, for in his mind, he was walking in a very peculiar forest. Starlight glimmered on the trees and grasses. A sweet and warm breeze rushed through his fur. "Hello?" Stonepaw called into the trees. A tortoiseshell she-cat rushed by. She was limping badly and she wore a huge gash on her neck. "Hello!" Stonepaw called again. The cat turned her head and looked at Stonepaw with fear-filled amber eyes. "Is this StarClan?" Stonepaw asked. The she-cat quickly limped off into a rabbit hole. "Wait, come back!" Stonepaw yowled, "Where am I?" He scrambled over to the rabbit hole and looked into pitch darkness. "Please come back!" Stonepaw wailed. Then, Stonepaw woke up. He was on the shore of the lake, looking up into a pair of extravagant aqua eyes. Stonepaw vomited an enormous load of dirty lake water. Panting, he looked back up at the cat. It was a she-cat with golden brown tiger-like fur. She looked about a moon younger than him. "Look, there he is!" Stonepaw heard yowling from far away. The mysterious cat dived into the water, her head disappearing under the surface. "Stonepaw, are you okay?" Bramblestar questioned as he came bounding up to him. "Ye-" "Good," Bramblestar interrupted, "Try not to fall off next time." Stonepaw followed his father absentmindedly back to the tree bridge. His effort to not slip off the trunk was only halfhearted. What Stonepaw was looking for was that extraordinary she-cat. When the gathering started, Stonepaw took his place next to Firepaw. "Firepaw," he meowed. "What Stonepaw?" Firepaw meowed irritably. "Why did you look worried when I fell in the lake?" Stonepaw asked. Firepaw's ear pricked up. "That was not worry," she corrected, "just a startled sneer." "Why are you always mean to me?" he asked. "Look Stonepaw, you're the smallest so you deserve to-um...what's the word...oh yeah, suffer," Firepaw said with a flick of her flame colored tail. "And Stonepaw, one more thing: no cat likes you," Firepaw sneered, bowling Stonepaw over by ramming her head into him. The siblings looked over at him and snickered. All except Scalepaw, who was squealing his hideous laughter. Stonepaw found a quiet place at the back of the crowd where he could be alone and have some peace. Then, the gathering started. Rowanstar spoke first. It was all about how prey was plentiful and on and on with the bragging. Onestar's report and Bramblestar's report were the same. Only Mistystar's report was interesting. She claimed that somecat was stealing prey. "My cats are not prey stealers!" Rowanstar yowled. "I'm not saying it was one of you, I'm just saying it was somecat," Mistystar reasoned. "The gathering is over!" Onestar leaped down from the tree followed by Bramblestar and Rowanstar. Bramblestar gathered his Clan with a twitch of his tail without question. As he lead the patrol back to camp, Stonepaw gazed at the crystal blue current that went on forever. Somewhere, wherever that might be, his rescuer waited for him.

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