Curled Silence *Completed*

Chapter Four

A/N Before you start to read his chapter, I want to thank all of you guys who helped make this book great. That includes commenters, voters, followers, and even the people who just read this. When I'm writing this, Curled Silence has 78 reads, but when you're reading this, I hope it has close to 100. Thank you everyone who has helped get this book so far! Now on with the story!

For a second, I didn't move. Save the Clans? "I - I think you have the wrong cat," I mewed hastily and started backing away, out of his den. Having the weight of saving the Clans was too much weight for me to bear.

Brambleclaw pulled himself to his paws, and stretched to full height. Suddenly, I'm didn't feel so old and wise, but more like a kitten next to the broad-shouldered leader. "I am the leader of ThunderClan, and if I feel it is best for you, you will stay in ThunderClan." He added with more sympathy, "I know you're young, but if I let you go wandering off somewhere, you might stray into another Clan's territory. They would for sure kill you on the spot." He started to pad out of the den and meowed over his shoulder to me, "Come with me out to the forest, I shall test your skills to see if you must go through training as an apprentice before you become a warrior."

I tagged along behind the striped tabby tom, out of his den and onto Highledge. He led me down the rocks and into the clearing. It was still littered with fur tufts and broken twigs and undergrowth and the scent of blood and fear still lingered clearly. All around the clearing, cats were repairing things around the clearing or patching up a tunnel that lead out to the forest. Jayfeather was just returning with a bundle of leaves and flowers in his jaws. Brightheart, the cat I had met earlier was dragging a long bramble across the clearing to the warriors' den. Squirrelflight, the newly named deputy, was keeping watch over a couple of apprentices who were fixing up their own dens.

A couple brambles snagged at my long pelt as we passed through the tunnel. When I got through it, sunlight shown through the browning and yellowing leaves on the canopy of trees above my head.

A brown vole scurried in front of my tabby paws. By instinct, my fore-paw flashed out at the little creature. My claw sank deep into its neck, and it let out a little squeak before lying still. Bright red welled out around my claws. I should give this to the clan for taking me in for a bit.

"Nice! You have impressive instincts, Curl! Where are you from?"

I shrugged. I wasn't sure whether I should be trusting these clan cats. I picked the vile up and offered it to Brambleclaw. "For your ThunderClan."

"Bury it here, so foxes or badgers don't eat it up." He showed me how to dig a hole and kick dirt over it, and come back for it later.

Brambleclaw led me through the supposed heart of ThunderClan territory. Rain patterned lightly on the forest floor, and thunder rolled quietly off on the horizon. Weak sunlight filtered through the clouds and landed on Brambleclaw's tabby pelt, slicked down by rain. My paws began to ache yet again and Brambleclaw's pace never seemed to falter, silently padding on. Finally, after what seemed forever, we came to a giant tree. The highest branches seemed to reach the dark thunderous clouds, and the nearest branch to the ground was several tail-lengths above either of our heads.

I gasped.

"The Sky Oak," Brambleclaw breathed.

Brambleclaw turned around toward me. His Amber eyes gleamed in the weak light. "Climb as high as you can."

My heart skipped a beat. "What?! That's impossible, what do you think I am, a squirrel?"

Brambleclaw chuckled a bit. "I am testing you on your tree-climbing abilities. If you don't want to, fine."

I knew though what kind of test this really was. Bravery. "What if I fall?"

"Don't,"

I padded up to the ancient oak. The bark was rough, easy to claw onto. I stuck my claw in. It held. My back claws latched on, and I heaved my weight off the ground. Slowly but steadily, I clawed myself up the trunk of the tree. The first branch was very high, and as I reached it, I desperately held on to it. It swayed under my weight, but held strong.

"It is amazing up here!" I yowled over the treetops.

"You are doing better than I had expected! Keep going!"

My confidence vanished, looking up at how much farther I had to climb. Eight times the height I just climbed, easyily.

My confidence may have vanished into thin air, but my determination still burned strong as a flame inside me. Now though, it was easier since branches weaved through each other although I had to test the strength of every brach and twig. Greenleaf had shed most of the browning leaves from the oak tree. I managed a glance down at the ever-shrinking earth below. I had to grip on to the branch even harder as to not fall, as the tiny world beneath my paws began to spin. I closed my eyes. When I opened them, the spinning had stopped and I let out a sigh.

It began to get harder as I climbed higher, the branches got thinner and more spaced apart. One time, I almost slipped on a dry but thick branch. The branch tumbled down and down, through the tree until it hit the forest floor. Brambleclaw was a little ant down there... way down there.

Soon, I could see far around everywhere. The thunder clouds had rolled away, a lake reflected the blue and bright sky. Next to ThunderClan were pine forests and swamplands. On the other side were rolling hills, going on and on. And all the way across the lake were many rivers that ran from the lake and on. It was amazing, being so high and seeing everything.

A wind began to blow, and I held on tighter to my unstable branch. Yet again, the tiny world beneath me began to spin, and I closed my eyes. Although this time I wasn't as lucky. When I opened them again, everything was still spinning. The tree was still swaying in the wind. My stomach did a couple flips and I instinctively my loosened my grip. Beneath me I heard a loud CRACK and I found myself falling, into the blackness of unconsciousness. My body whipped the twigs and broke through some other branches. I could see myself tumbling through the branches. Once or twice, I got slowed by a harder branch, but I always kept tumbling off of it. The ground grew and grew before me. I could see the shape of Brambleclaw, his pelt ruffled and yowling. Soon I could see even the fear reflecting off of his amber eyes. I wondered if this was the same strange calmness the Tabby had felt when he had been thrown off the ground at the Great Wind. Or what Scoop, his mother, had felt when she was stranded in that burning barn. The last thing I remember before I hit the forest floor is the last conversation me and Brambleclaw had had before I climbed the Sky Oak.

"What if I fall?"

"Don't."