Shining of the Four

Chapter 47

            "Come here, Sunrise," the boy called, nestled in his bed. The sky had already turned dark, and Sunrise was tired from a long day. She sprang onto his bed, curling up next to his legs that were tucked beneath the blue covers.
            "That's a good girl," he said, stroking her between the ears. Sunrise purred and rolled onto her back, purring loudly as he gently rubbed her stomach.
            When his hands left her, he reached for the light and turned it off. Sunrise curled up beside him and shut her eyes too, listening to the sound of the autumn wind until it eventually lulled her to sleep.
            At first, her sleep was nothing more than darkness...peaceful and calm. And then, a forest came into view with tall trees stretching from the ground. She'd had dreams like this before, when she dreamt of being a clan cat. Sometimes, she'd still have them, even though her dreams felt like they'd never come true.
            But this was different. She found herself in a den, and she knew every corner of it. To the left was where Stormpaw and Graypaw slept. Over in the corner was Tinypaw's resting spot. Cats flooded her mind. How she knew all this, she wasn't sure.
            "Shinypaw, wake up!" she heard.
            Sunrise padded outside the den easily, a calico she-cat waiting patiently near the den entrance.
            "Sorry, Tawnyheart," Sunrise spoke as if it had been on cue.
            Tawnyheart only smiled slightly. "We all sleep in some days. Why, once Spottedmask had to shake me so hard..." She paused, and Sunrise understood this she-cat's past instantly.
            Memories flooded through Sunrise's mind of Tawnyheart's secret being spilled: she was a medicine cat apprentice who had given birth to Thornfrost's kits in secret. And Cloudstar had been kind enough not to exile her but allow her to become a warrior. What a surprise that she, a former medicine cat with barely any warrior training, was mentoring her.
            Wait, I'm Sunrise. I'm a kittypet. I don't have a mentor. Her thoughts suddenly caught up to her, but her legs followed Tawnyheart into the familiar forest, noting where the meadow was, the rushing river, and best hunting spots.
            "Today we'll practice battle training," Tawnyheart explained, leading her further into the woods. Already, Sunrise was aware they were heading to the clearing. How did she know all of this? It was odd...
            "No hunting?" Sunrise wondered.
            "Not today," Tawnyheart replied, shaking her head. "I want to be sure you know how to protect yourself."
            "From what? What threats could there be?" she asked.
            Tawnyheart only bit her lip. "Just for protection."
            Sunrise knew Tawnyheart was keeping something from her.
            "We'll practice side-sweeping today," Tawnyheart explained, stopping in the middle of a clearing. It was a warm day, and the sun's rays warmed Sunrise's pelt.
            "Simply rush towards the cat on one side and swipe at their paws. If you do it fast enough, they'll be confused and end up face-first in a pile of dirt," Tawnyheart explained, her whiskers twitching in amusement.
            Sunrise nodded, instantly running towards Tawnyheart. Unfortunately, she did not notice the stick on the ground, and she slipped, landing next to Tawnyheart's hind leg.
            "Oops," Sunrise spoke, laughing.
            Tawnyheart laughed too, helping Sunrise up. "We'll practice some more," she purred.
            Suddenly, everything began to fade from Sunrise's view, the forest, Tawnyheart, this world disappearing from her instantly. Her eyes opened to find sunlight shining through the window, the rays appearing on Sunrise's pelt.
            Sunrise shuddered, trying to shake the dream away, but it had been real. It had not been the first dream she'd had. She'd been having nightly dreams where she was training to become a warrior, going on patrols, doing warrior stuff, she supposed. But she had not known how these cats had all appeared, why they kept appearing. She hadn't even known this much about warrior training. How could these thoughts have all come together?
            Maybe it was just what Sunrise thought warrior training was. But these dreams were so continuous and life-like, they felt almost like memories. And who was Shinypaw? Why was she always Sunrise?
            Thoughts racing through her mind, Sunrise leapt down the bed, finding that the door had been left open for her convenience. She padded outside the bedroom, her long claws making noise on the hardwood floor.
            How come Holly and Polly's claws were short and round?
            Sunrise's claws had never been cut, but they sure were long than other kittypets. She noticed it especially around Fawn and Anna. Their claws were tiny, rounded. Perhaps it was just some recessive gene.
            Sunrise found cat nibble already laid out for her, and she munched away, hoping the food would calm her thoughts. It did not.
            It wasn't that Sunrise disliked these odd dreams. In fact, she thoroughly enjoyed them. In her dreams, she was a warrior at long last, learning about the warrior code, hunting, fighting! Being a warrior seemed like fun.
            But it's not real. That's not what warrior training is like, she reminded herself.
            Sunrise left the rest of her food and padded outside through the cat door, a cool breeze running through the air. Leaves fell off the trees at a constant pace now, and Sunrise could tell that in a few months, snow would coat the ground.
            Sunrise sat down on the grass, licking her pelt clean. She could still feel soreness where she'd landed on the ground after failing to sidesweep Tawnyheart. But how? It was all fake anyway.
            "Sunrise!" came a shout.
            Sunrise tensed up, not wanting to turn around. It was obviously Fawn, but Sunrise was not in the mood to speak.
            "Sunrise, are you deaf?!" Fawn called again.
            Sunrise spun aound nervously, giving a weak smile. "Good morning!"
            Fawn leapt down from the fence, approaching Sunrise curiously. She eyed Sunrise, then paused. "You okay?"
            "Fine," Sunrise lied, trying to throw her thoughts away quickly. But Fawn could pick up stuff Sunrise could not, and she only frowned.
            "You've been acting strange awhile now. I can tell something's been bothering you. Has it been the prophecy?" Fawn asked.
            Sunrise had kept these dreams from Fawn, Anna, and even Frog, for fear they'd look at her strangely. She'd wanted to tell them, but she had just felt so odd mentioning it.
            "Nothing," Sunrise replied.
            "Sunrise," Fawn spoke sternly. "I'm your best friend. You can tell me anything. If it's the prophecy, let me tell you that it'll all turn out fine."
            "It's not that," she sighed.
            "What is it?" Fawn asked.
            "Have you ever had strange dreams?" Sunrise asked.
            Fawn looked at her as if Sunrise had just asked if Fawn's coat was brown.
            "Oh, right," Sunrise spoke, laughing uneasily.
            "What dreams have you been having?" Fawn asked. "StarClan dreams?"
            "Um...maybe," Sunrise replied.
            "Really?! What are they?!" Fawn exclaimed, suddenly intrigued.
            "Well, I don't know. It's like I'm an apprentice in some warrior clan, training with this she-cat—her name is Tawnyheart. She's a medicine cat, or she was."
            Fawn looked lost. "What?"
            "I've been dreaming that I'm an apprentice named Shinypaw. I have brothers, a mother, an adoptive father. I've been training to become a warrior in this clan...I still don't know the name," she explained.
            "That's not been any StarClan dream I've received. Maybe it's just your imagination."
            "That's what I thought, but they're continuous. I thought maybe it was just me thinking of training to be a warrior, but I've been learning the code. It all seems so real. The same cats keep appearing. It just seems like a cat's memory almost," Sunrise explained.
            "We're seeing Anna now. She'll have the answers," Fawn decided.
            "But what about you? Has StarClan told you I'd get weird dreams?" Sunrise asked.
            Fawn shook her head. "StarClan has been silent for awhile. Maybe they have been sending dreams to you. Then again, those are unlike dreams I've had before."
            Sunrise reluctantly followed Fawn towards Anna's house, her stomach twisting and clenching in every direction. Maybe telling Fawn about the dreams had not been a good idea after all.
            "Anna!" Fawn called from the top of Anna's fence. The she-cat was bathing in sunlight. She glanced up at them and smiled, motioning them with her tail to come down.
            Fawn immediately marched up to Anna, Sunrise following behind slowly.
            "How are you?" Anna asked.
            "We have something serious to talk about," Fawn explained.
            "Hmm..." Anna sat up, eyes fixed on Fawn. She peeked around her, noticing Sunrise. "Ah, Sunrise, you're here too!"
            "I can go," Sunrise offered.
            "No!" Fawn growled. "Come here."
            Sunrise came to Fawn with her tail drooping. She sat down next to her, and Anna eyed them curiously.
            "What is it?" she asked.
            "Sunrise has been having dreams."
            "What sort of dreams?" Anna asked.
            "That's what I'm trying to figure out," Sunrise explained. Fawn eyed her, and Sunrise began dwelling on everything, even more so than she told Fawn. Anna just kept nodding, patiently waiting for Sunrise to finish.
            "Is it StarClan?" Fawn asked as soon as Sunrise finished.
            "I cannot be sure," Anna sighed. "From what Frog has told me, this seems like the correct method of teaching for warriors, which is strange, considering you've never heard these things before. But like I said, this must relate to the prophecy. Maybe this has something to do with the cats who look like you. Perhaps you are all sharing these memories, or perhaps they are memories of that cat. Either way, keep a lookout. I'll talk to Frog, see if he has any ideas. We're getting closer...I can feel it. Fawn, keep me notified with any StarClan dreams."
            Fawn nodded, but Sunrise felt sick to her stomach. What was going on?