Book 1 - Warriors: The Shadow Outcast

Chapter Three

Rainpaw barely knew what happened after he'd fallen unconscious. He remembered slightly that he'd woken just long enough to see Robinpaw sitting by him, looking worried and guilty. It faded, but then he awoke again. This time he could hear Snowdrift and Ravenstar talking, although it wasn't really clear. "StarClan" was said a lot, alone with "The Prophecy cat".

Rainpaw also continued to have nightmares, but this time they were different. According to his dreams, he was a killer, a murderer. He kept visioning himself with dark blue eyes and unsheathed claws. It made him shiver every time. What was he thinking? Why was he thinking it? He never wanted to kill like that; he'd always want to leave it to someone else unless they were hurting the one person he wanted to keep safe. He didn't have that person anymore, so why did he want to kill?

"You are changing, young one," answered a familiar voice. "You have nearly learned what it is to be loyal." Rainpaw looked up from the stupid, annoying darkness that kept returning. Cheetahfur, the first cat he'd ever seen, before he'd been turned into a cat, was standing in front of him, a smile on her face.

"Cheetahfur!" said Rainpaw happily. After being alone in darkness for what seemed like hours, he was lonely. Any person, or cat, was okay at the moment.

"Hello," said Cheetahfur, purring with amusement, "did you figure it out?" Rainpaw tilted his head.

"Figure what out?" asked Rainpaw. "I've been stuck in here, so of course I didn't."

"What do you mean?" asked Cheetahfur. "This is your mind; it is the best place for you to figure things out." She then looked around, making a very strange face. "Though I can see why you don't think in here. It's far too gloomy." Rainpaw, however, was thinking of other things.

"This . . . this is my mind?" asked Rainpaw, eyes widened with shock. Cheetahfur looked at him and then nodded with a kind smile on her face.

"StarClan has given you the ability to hide in your head when you feel too many emotions," Cheetahfur explained. "So, whenever you feel like you need to sort out your mind, you can retreat here."

"But what about the cats around me?" asked Rainpaw. "Will I just . . . disappear?" Cheetahfur shook her head.

"No," she said, "you'll only fall asleep." Rainpaw smiled widely in wonder, his eyes searching his mind. Nothing was there, but for some reason, he felt safer. He felt like he was in a comfortable place where he could hide, a place he could go to whenever he wanted. He felt like he was home.

"But why is it so dark?" asked Rainpaw curiously. "Why is it covered in shadows and full of darkness?"

"This is your mind, young one," Cheetahfur replied. "Your mind is full of the things you love and cherish. It's full of what you put your trust and loyalty to. It's full of what you protect—your goals, and your failures."

"So I've got nothing?" asked Rainpaw, lowering his head. "I don't have anyone that I love or cherish? I don't have anyone that I have put my trust and loyalty into, no one to protect? I don't have any goals or any failures?" Cheetahfur shook her head again, making Rainpaw sigh with frustration.

"Oh you have failures, but you aren't looking for them." Cheetahfur explained. "The bad things, such as failures, stay away as long as you don't call for them. Sometimes you do accidentally, but that's not the point. You have no happiness in your life, you never did. All you cared about was your Twoleg brother. As I said before, however, you are learning the meaning of loyalty."

"What do you mean?" asked Rainpaw, curiously.

Cheetahfur laughed a bit, and then stood. "Follow me and you shall see what I mean." She then took off, making Rainpaw dart forward to try and catch up. Why, oh why, did cats have to be so fast?