Shining of the Four

Chapter 51

Sunrise awoke on a particularly cold autumn morning, glancing out the window to see even more multicolored leaves coating the lawn. Just by the tingling in her fur, she knew snow would be on its way soon.

The boy was still curled asleep in his bed, leaving Sunrise to watch out the window as leaves swirled to the floor. Hungry, she abandoned her post on the windowsill and leapt down onto the floor, padding out of the room and into the kitchen.

Holly and Polly were sleeping on the couch closely together, though from where Sunrise stood, they looked like one huge pillow. She laughed to herself and padded to her food bowl, already finding some cat food inside.

Grinning, she ate quickly and finished it off with a bowl of milk her owner had laid especially out for her. Satisfied, she decided she'd better head outside and keep a lookout for Fawn.

Her mind suddenly was filled with anxious thoughts. The dreams had not stopped, and each night she dreamt she was an apprentice, learning the ways of a warrior. Though she enjoyed it, she kept wondering about the prophecy.

Frog and Anna had come to no conclusions about these dreams. When Sunrise had heard this, her stomach had twisted. Could no one help her truly discover who she was?

And as far as she knew, Fawn had no other dreams of StarClan. It was if the mysterious place had abandoned them after all. No other clues had come, and all Sunrise could do was think of the other three that Fawn had mentioned. Were they real cats? Or maybe they were part of StarClan too?

Padding outside into the crisp autumn air, Sunrise glanced around for her friend, only to find Fawn's usual sitting spot on the fence abandoned. Frowning, Sunrise leapt up onto the fence and peered into Fawn's backyard, only to find the she-cat not there.

Sunrise sighed, glancing longingly at Fawn's home. Perhaps she had come too early and the she-cat was still sleeping. Lonely, Sunrise decided it best to head towards Anna's instead. Maybe she'd have some stories to tell Sunrise, or something about the prophecy.

Thinking of the prophecy made Sunrise's heart lurch, but she knew Anna would have no other news. She hadn't had any the other days Sunrise had visited.

Sighing, Sunrise slowly trotted along the fence line, watching as humans raked leaves from their lawns, children ran around in autumn coats, dogs barked furiously at Sunrise's appearance. Sunrise only laughed as a dog barked at her and continued along, spotting Anna's house in the distance.

Her heart leaping, she padded a little faster, already hearing Anna mewing. At first, Sunrise believed it was Fawn she was speaking to, but as she came closer, she noticed it was unfamiliar to her.

Slowing down her pace, Sunrise crept by Anna's house, noticing the old she-cat speaking to an entirely new tom. He was young, like Sunrise--a gray tabby tom. A yellow collar was strung along his neck, causing Sunrise's heart to sink. By his muscular arms and legs, she'd nearly mistaken him for a warrior.

"Sunrise, dear, is that you?" Anna called, catching Sunrise's gaze.

Sunrise squatted down, wishing she could just run away, but she'd already been seen. The tom turned too in curiosity, and Sunrise was forced to leap down from the fence and land in Anna's backyard. She smiled weakly, padding towards the two.

"Hey, Anna," she said, waving her ginger and white tail at the she-cat. "Who's this?"

Anna grinned. "This is Boulder, Sunrise. Sunrise, Boulder. Boulder, Sunrise."

Boulder smiled warmly, his bright amber eyes leaving an impression in Sunrise's mind. He sure was handsome, she had to give him that.

"Nice to meet you," he purred, dipping his head.