Warriors: Prophecy of the Setting Sun

Chapter Eleven

     Stormpaw stretched near the main entrance to the camp, glancing up at the chilled sun momentarily. Soon enough, leafbare will be here, he thought, wondering what the forest would look like covered in snow. He almost felt bad for the RushClan cats—he probably would feel sorry for them if they didn't have such a rude old cat for a leader. Their river would be freezing soon, and every cat knew that the fish lurking in the water were their main source of food.

     He let his gaze travel across the camp, watching as his Clanmates interacted. Newtsplash sat with Wrenfeather, the two cats sharing tongues as they relaxed for the remainder of the day. His mentor's sister, Dovesong could be heard scolding Ferrettail just outside the medicine den for not visiting the sick Warblerwing. Stormpaw held back a frown as he briefly looked for Mintwillow around the camp, wondering if, after all she'd done to them, he would still visit his mother should she fall sick.

     When he couldn't find the dark silver warrior, he noticed the lighter silver pelt of his sister. Silverpaw had avoided him since she caught him training with Dawnstrike and Ferrettail, though she clearly had no intentions of telling anyone about it or his plans to meet the rogues. Beside her sat both Cricketpaw and Rookshade, the former looking rather annoyed with the latter's presence. Maybe the annoyance will push him away, he thought a bit too proudly.

     After a short while, Stormpaw rose to his paws and trotted over to the trio. He locked eyes with Rookshade, giving his friend an approving nod as Cricketpaw carried their conversation.

     "Hey, Silverpaw, I found this cool spot while I was on a hunting patrol the other day!" the brown tabby mewed excitedly. "I really wanna show you sometime, if you wanna see it."

     "Oh, where at?" Silverpaw purred, twitching her whiskers curiously. "What about our mentors?"

     "It's a bit north of the camp, I'm sure my dad would let us go!" Cricketpaw chirped happily in response.

     Stormpaw resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and he could see that Rookshade felt the same by the way he twitched his tail tip suddenly. Wrenfeather being his father shouldn't get him privileges like that, he thought as he eyed his denmate. Everyone knows apprentices can't just go out without a warrior with them, unless they're sent by their mentor or some other cat. Then Stormpaw's gaze fell on Rookshade again and he got an idea—he'd have to put it on standby for now, though. He had come here for something else.

     The grey tom cleared his throat and feigned an apologetic expression as he interrupted the conversation between Cricketpaw and Silverpaw. "Hey, Silverpaw, could we talk for a moment?"

     "Sure," Silverpaw mewed after eyeing him cautiously. Wordlessly, Stormpaw rose to his paws and beckoned for his sister to follow him away from the other cats.

     "I'll be here once you're done, Silv!" Cricketpaw called cheerily.

     "So will I," Rookshade added, his tone calmer than the younger tom's as he glanced toward Stormpaw. The grey apprentice gave his friend another encouraging nod as he led Silverpaw to a secluded spot in the clearing, finding refuge beneath a high overhanging root that most cats seemed to choose for more private conversations.

     Once they had settled, Stormpaw gave his sister a serious look. "You know I wouldn't do anything to endanger you, right?"

     "Are you talking about the night I found you with Dawnstrike and Ferrettail?" Silverpaw asked, tilting her head with the question. "Look, I trust you, but it isn't me that I'm worried about."

     Stormpaw frowned and shifted in his spot. "What do you mean?" he mewed slowly.

     "Stormpaw, the rogues are a danger." This time, Silverpaw's tone had a scolding edge to it. "You heard that BlazeClan cat at the Gathering—an ex-rogue, no less. For the love of StarClan, they attacked a patrol of ours!"