Fandom As the Prophecy Foretold(1x1 for Galaxxies&Svenny)

[Galaxxies]

Silentstep felt her heart sink to her paws at Riversong's tone. So the young calico said nothing in reply. As the warrior started to scent for prey, Silentstep moved slightly off to the side and sat still, not wanting to disturb possible prey or Riversong. She watched the grace with which the warrior hunted, and felt... something. Pride? No, that didn't feel quite right. Envy? Nope... Not that one either. Silentstep ended up pushing the thoughts aside. Whatever it was, it would keep till another time. She focused on watching the warrior hunt and dispatch the squirrel. As Riversong nudged the prey towards her, SIlentstep felt that feeling stir inside her again. With deft mental paws, she shoved it away as if she were packing away her herbs stores and turned her attention back to the present. "Squirrel is great!" Like all JadeClan cats, SIlentstep had developed a taste for the meatier forest prey. Things like mice, squirrels, and voles were all perfect picking for her. Sure, they had all had rabbits and birds, but neither of those did for her what a nice plump mouse could. Rabbits were too lean and birds were too much work with plucking feathers. Silentstep bent her head and took a bite of the squirrel. Being so freshly caught, it was still warm. Usually, by the time an apprentice got around to bringing her a piece of prey, it was cold. She so rarely got to eat a fresh meal, that it felt like a real treat. Realizing that Riversong must be keeping watch while she ate, Silentstep quickly finished her share of the kill, and then pushed the rest toward Riversong. "Thank you for catching that." Silentstep now sat and gazed around, every so often bringing up a licked paw to wipe her face. When she finished with her face, she started scenting the area around them. She could smell different herbs. From their strong scents, she guessed they grew much thicker here with no one to regularly deplete them for an herb store. "You know, I'll have to remember this area for when we return. It would be a long trip, but when needed, I could come here to gather herbs if the need for it ever arose. I'd have to tell Littlemist as well. He'd enjoy picking the thick clumps of them as well." A purr rose in her throat at the thought of a peaceful say picking herbs with her medicine cat friend.

 

[svenny]

As Silentstep ate her share of the kill, Riversong's ears swiveled around, testing the sounds of the new forest. Nothing seemed amiss and the tension that she held between her shoulders relaxed some. When Silentstep thank her, she turned her attention to her medicine cat. She studied her for a quiet moment before nodding and bending down to begin her part of the meal. A few bites in, Silenstep spoke again. Riversong looked up at her from her crouched position, the purr emanating from Silentstep almost a foreign sound. For a moment, she marveled over how easy-going she was and felt a stab of envy. Why couldn't she just relax? She finished her portion of the kill and then sat up, licking the sides of her jaw. Riversong scented the air. While she could catch the scent of various animals, she couldn't distinguish between the different herbs. "It would be a long trip," she agreed, glancing back in the general direction of the Clans' territories. "With the permission of WhisperClan, we could send a small patrol with you to collect the herbs." The idea of sending the medicine cat alone through WhisperClan and into the largely unknown forest didn't settle well with Riversong, even with her slight distaste for Silentstep. "You'd be protected and you'd have more jaws to carry back herbs with." Ever since Silentstep had joined JadeClan, Riversong had never interacted with her much -- only when necessary. It felt strange now, that the only cat she had to talk to was her. A cat who didn't know her at all, a cat who didn't know her past. Riversong could only guess what she saw; a prickly warrior and an even worse companion. Picking up the remains of the squirrel, she deposited it and her thoughts into a small pile of leaves. When she turned back to Silentstep, she nodded in the direction of the sun, "Shall we continue?" As an afterthought, she added, "Or would you like to gather some herbs to bring with us?"

 

[Galaxxies]

"A long trip yes, but could be worth it to stock up before Leaf-bare." The medicine cat kept scenting the air, identifying a few of the herbs she could scent. Borage and tansy. Poppies for poppy seed. Marigold! And so many more. She let her mind drift into her herb stores and she tried to picture how much of a dried stock they could reasonably hold.
She was brought back to the present when Riversong asked if she wanted to gather herbs or keep going. She shook her head. "No sense in trying to carry bundles of herbs. I should be able to find some if they are needed. Cobwebs and herbs to keep infection at bay are pretty common." She turned her gaze to the sky and saw that the sun was still shining brightly directly overhead. "Lets just keep walking."
Silentstep lead the way forward on through the trees. She kept walking the same direction they were facing when they left WhisperClan territory. She knew it was close enough to the direction they needed to be heading, and hoped that the sun would start falling into the afternoon soon, so she could be certain. She felt like they had walked forever before they came to a small stream flowing through the forest. "Oh!" Her exclamtion was happy and she quickly trotted to the edge of the water and lapped up a few mouthfuls of the cool and refreshing water. After having drank her fill, she sat back on her haunches and looked up at the sun. It had finally started to slide far enough past sunhigh that she could clearly see which way the sun would set that night. And It was directly behind then. "Look, Riversong!" Her usually gentle voice was filled with enthusiasm. "We have been walking the exact way we need to." Silentstep was delighted to see she had been correct in their course all day. And now the small stream stretched in front of her, following they path they needed to walk. It would make travel easier in a number of ways. They would have a clear marker of direction, a source of water, and a source of food in the water voles that would litter the banks of the stream. At least until the stream inevitably curved away from their path. But Silentstep would talk StarClan's blessings, no matter how small they were.

 

[svenny]

By the time they reached the creek, Riversong's entire body ached. How Silentstep managed to harbor so much excitement was a mystery to Riversong. While Silentstep drank, Riversong was unable to shake the uneasiness she felt and bounded on top of a large rock on the bank of the stream, taking in the world around them. A few sun-lengths ago all familiarity with the new forest had vanished. What Riversong didn't recognize was a potential threat. After a few moments of detecting nothing unusual, she forced herself to jump from the rock and join Silentstep at the edge of the stream. Crouching, she lapped at the water, thankful for the refreshing water. When she was done, she sat up and turned in the direction Silentstep was indicating, seeing that sundown would soon be upon them and that Silenstep was indeed right; they had been following the path of the rising sun almost perfectly. "That's good news," she agreed, though she couldn't muster the same enthusiasm. An entire day away from their clan. How much farther would they have to travel, she wondered? "We should rest here for the night," Riversong suggested, flicking her tail toward a gap between two boulders that would fit both of them, "I don't know about you but I'm exhausted." As if to prove a point, Riversong yawned and shook herself, joints groaning in protest. Even though she was exhausted, she wasn't sure she would be able to sleep much. "Why don't you clean that up," the gap between the two boulders was littered with twigs, leaves, and pointy rocks that would make sleeping there uncomfortable, "And I try to catch us something?" Without waiting for a reply, Riversong trotted away.

----

When Riversong returned, another sun-length had gone by. An array of warm colors engulfed the forest now with sundown was officially upon them. In her mouth, she carried two mice that were plump enough for a satisfying meal. Her fur was dusty and crusted with dry mud. In her stalk of a squirrel, she had slipped and fallen into a muddy puddle, scaring both herself and the squirrel. She was in desperate need of a bath, but she needed to quench the groaning of her stomach first. "Here," she meowed around the mice in her mouth, dropping one at Silentstep's paws. Riversong took her own mouse and ate it a couple of tail-lengths away. Once she was finished, she sat up and yawned once more. "This is going to be a long journey," she managed after a short series of yawns. "Was there anything in your vision about what season we needed to find them by?" It was an afterthought, really, that perhaps resting too much now might get them behind schedule.

 

[Galaxxies]

As Riversong padded off to hunt, Silentstep set about her task of making them a nest. Squeezing her way into the gap, she started to drag out all of the twigs and leaves. Before too long, she was left with a decently sized space under the rocks. There would be enough space for the two of them to curl up, but not enough for two separate nests. Leaving the den, Silentstep didn't range far and quickly found moss to line the floor of the gap in the rocks. Once back with the moss, she spread it out in a soft layer for them to sleep on that night. Noticing that the warrior wasn't back yet, Silentstep decided to see what herbs she could find. A small batch of traveling herbs would do them both good for the next morning.

Siletnstep looked up from her herb mixing when Riversong dropped a mouse at her paws. "Oh, thank you. Let me just finish mixing these." Silentstep set about completing her task. She lay a few of each leaf on two separate dock leaves and folded them up when she was finished. She had found the dock while searching for the sorrel to complete the mixture of traveling herbs. The thick waxy leaves would keep the herbs safe while they slept. However, she had also picked enough to line their moss with. Then, she gratefully tucked into her mouse, enjoying the nice meaty taste of it.

"I don't remember there being a specific time frame. I was shown so much about them, so quickly that moons seemed to pass while I watched them." She wished StarClan had been clearer, but maybe it was just one of those things that they would get there when they got there. Surely the cats would still be hanging around. They seemed pretty established in the area, even if they weren't actually a proper clan. "But bright side," she spoke after swiping her tongue around her mouth to get rid of the remaining traces of the mouse, "I found us traveling herbs for tomorrow. We shouldn't use them too often, but every now and then, they should give us a nice boost on our journey. I mixed up enough for each of us to have a dose first thing before we set off tomorrow." A purr rose in her throat, proud of her accomplishments. "And," she drug the word out to build anticipation. "I lined our nest with dock leaves. They'll help with the stiffness we will surely feel in the morning after a full day's traveling." She picked up a paw to lick and started washing her fur, pausing mid-lick to yawn as well. "But you best clean that pelt of yours up before you get in there. I worked hard on that nest, we don't need to clog it with mud." Her tone was teasing and light-hearted. "I could help you if you'd like. A thank you for the meals you've caught today." The small graceful cat gave a warm purr to her companion.

 

[svenny]

Riversong couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed at the vague answer Silentstep gave her; of course, StarClan hadn't been specific. But that wasn't Silentstep's fault. A surge of guilt crept up her chest -- what kind of cat was she, constantly doubting StarClan and Silentstep? Riversong shook the thoughts away. No, she had a right to be upset... When Silentstep continued to talk, Riversong turned her light green eyes to her. As she listened, Riversong nodded here and there as an indicator that she was listening. So, apparently, this was what medicine cats did all day. They learned all the ways in which they could make the lives of warriors more comfortable. There she went again, bubbling with excitement. Riversong really didn't understand it. She'd never considered herself a grumpy cat or easy to anger, but she also had never been that enthusiastic about anything but being a mentor. "Thank you," Riversong finally replied, dipping her head in appreciation, "My bones will appreciate that." The thought of waking up the next day and not feeling sore was certainly appealing. "It's okay," she added, gently declining Silentsteps offer, "I'll go wash in the stream." She wasn't quite that comfortable with Silentstep yet and the thought of another cat touching her made her feel uneasy. Ravenfeather and Larktail were the only cats she had ever felt comfortable enough with to let them groom her. "But thank you for the offer. You've done enough," she gestured with her tail toward the nest she had prepared for them. Riversong rose to her paws. "I'll dispose of these," she motioned to the mice carcasses at their paws, "in case a creature comes at some point in the night." The warrior glanced around quickly, reassuring herself that there was nothing there right now. "I'll be back." With the two mice in her mouth, she crossed the stream and brought them a few meters away on the other side.

When she returned, she stopped halfway through the stream and tried to clean herself as best she could. She was able to wash away the majority of the grime through a mixture of the stream water and her tongue. After a quarter of a sun-length, she returned to Silentstep, now thoroughly exhausted. The forest had turned almost completely black. Riversong yawned again as she slipped into the gap between the boulders and curled up. The moss bed was rather comfortable and the dock-leaf smell was soothing. "You did a good job," she murmured to Silentstep. Riversong curled her tail over her paws and rested her chin on top of it. It was a matter of seconds before Riversong had snoozed.

***

Riversong wasn't sure how many sun-lengths had passed when she stirred again. She lifted her head and pricked her ears. Had she been woken by a sound? The forest around them was still, outside of the scuffle of some kind of rodent on the shore of the stream. When Silentstep moved beside her, Riversong almost jumped in surprise, the feeling of her fur brushing against hers unexpected. Riversong craned her neck around and looked down at the medicine cat who seemed to still be asleep. Unable to shake the uneasy feeling of having woken up randomly in the night, Riversong rose to her paws and slipped from the gap. Maybe if she stretched her legs she would feel better. The dock leaves had worked a small miracle, as when she padded away, she felt little stiffness in her muscles. Riversong felt sad, the loss of Larktail and Ravenfeather and her brothers were heavier now that she was less exhausted. It could be moons before she returned to her clan and saw them again. Although most of the sky was blocked by the branches of the trees surrounding her, she jumped up on a rock and looked up at the sky. The lights shined down on her. Although they had traveled some distance, the lights were the same and for the first time since leaving JadeClan, she felt some comfort. "Hi, mom," she meowed up at StarClan, "Are you disappointed in me, for doubting this journey? Would you have gone without question? Father always says I'm too much like you..." Riversong grimaced; she knew it was the reason her father pretended she didn't exist. It had been moons since Riversong had last spoken to her father, despite the fact that they slept in the same den, hunted together, and were on the same patrols together. "I can't help but wonder what you would have thought."

 

[Galaxxies]

Sunrises passed and on Silentstep and Riversong walked. It didn't take long for the little stream to curve away from the rising sun, but without any new dreams or visions to show her a different path, Silentstep lead them on toward the sun. Not far past the curve of the stream, the forest ended and they were left with open fields dotted with shrubs and coated in a layer of tall grass. Their routine stayed consistent. In the mornings they woke, ate, and traveled. In the evenings, they ate again and settled into a nest for the night. Riversong did most of the hunting, and Silentstep was forever grateful for the warrior's skills. Of course, Silentstep knew how to hunt, it had been part of training, but she was nowhere near the level of a seasoned warrior. Silentstep contributed to their travels in other ways. Every night, the two slept in a moss-lined nest. Most nights, those nests were also lined in dock leaves to keep their muscles and bones from growing stiff. And every couple of days or so, they woke and were able to eat traveling herbs to help with their stamina and energy. Even though the two weren't exactly friends, they functioned well enough together for the past few days to go smoothly.

On the morning that marked exactly a quarter moon since they left clan territory behind, Silentstep woke from a nest below a blackberry bush. She padded out quietly so that she didn't wake Riversong and made her way to the top of the rise about a tree-length away from their bush. Once at the top, she let out a quiet gasp. At the bottom of the other side of the hill, a twoleg place sat. There were rows of uniform twoleg nests intersected by thunderpaths. Monsters crawled slowly along the thunderpaths with the rising sun glinting off of their shiny pelts. The small territories behind each nest were blocked in by wooden barriers. The sight brought SIlentstep all the way back to when she was a kitten. As she sat and watched the small twoleg place come to life, she brushed one paw against the collar she still wore around wrapped around her leg. Though she knew it only served as a sign to the other clan cats that she had once been a kittypet, she couldn't bring herself to get rid of it. It may have been given to her by the twolegs, her housefolk, that had cast her to side like she was no more than crowfood, but it had matched her fathers. And for that reason, she couldn't let it go. Of all of her littermates, she had been the closest to her father. She had stuck to his side and tried to be just like him. But now she had no way of knowing if she was. She could only hope that she was a cat her new family, her clan, could be proud of. And now, she was going to have to walk through that twoleg place with a warrior from her clan by her side. It had been four whole seasons since Silentstep had joined JadeClan, and another four seasons on top of that since she had been a kittypet. However, she had a feeling that that wouldn't mean anything to RIversong as they walked through the twoleg place. Everything around them would remind the warrior just how different Silentstep really was. With a deep sigh, she set about cleaning her pelt and letting her mind wander as she watched the commotion among the nests below her.

 

[svenny]

A sudden draft woke Riversong. The warrior blinked a few times before she registered that Silentstep was no longer beside her in the nest she had made the night before. Riversong let out a long sigh and rested her chin on top of her paws -- a quarter moon had passed and Riversong felt like the cavern in her heart had only grown larger. Thoughts of the cats she had left behind wouldn't leave her at peace; How were her brothers doing? Larktail? Had Ravenfeather already moved on... Riversong abruptly lifted her head and shook the thought away. Moved on? No. The two she-cats had never had that conversation before and Riversong would do best to dispel any silly notions of such things. Not only was she from another clan, but also another she-cat... she could only imagine her father's sneer: "I always knew something was wrong with you. You've damned us all, in particular your mother!" With a small groan, Riversong pushed herself to a stand and slipped from the blackberry bush. For a moment she searched for Silentstep, but it wasn't long before she spotted her. Before joining her at the rise, Riversong paused where she was and gazed at her. She took a moment to reflect. Although she had been avoiding much conversation with the she-cat, she couldn't deny that they had found a comfortable co-existence. Both did what they needed to without having to be asked and Riversong appreciated it.

Riversong padded up the small rise to join Silentstep. What she saw at the top made her shrink back, hackles raised and lips drawn back in a hiss. She dug her claws into the earth, fixing Silentstep with a glare. "We are not going through there," she declared, flicking her tail back and forth. Riversong eyed the medicine cat suspiciously, had she planned this? Was this where she had come from? She couldn't help but look down at her leg, where her collar was wrapped. Riversong jumped when a monster sputtered faintly on a thunderpath below them. She knocked into Silentstep and to her dismay, Silentstep went tumbling down on the other side of the small hill. Riversong watched as she fell, still flattened against the ground. When Silentstep came to a stop several tree-lengths below her, much closer to the twoleg nests, Riversong didn't have any other option but to follow her. She reached the bottom in record time, half because of her terror of the twoleg clan and also mild concern that she had hurt herself in the fall. "Are you alright?" Riversong whispered when she reached her, even though she didn't know why she bothered because another monster drowned out some of her words. "Let's go," she turned back to the hill they had come down from, but when she looked back over her shoulder, she saw that Silentstep wasn't following her. "You can't be serious?" Riversong hissed but managed to sit up, glaring at her again.

 

[Galaxxies]

Silentstep started to protest as she watched Riversong glance down at the collar around her leg, but before she could utter a word, she found herself tumbling head over tail down the hill she had just been on top of. Once she came to a halt with her muzzle pressed firmly into the earth, she heard the warrior clambering down the hill after her. Silentstep pushed herself up so she was in a seated position and quickly took stock of herself before answering. Every leg moved fine, her head moved with no pain, and even her tail and whiskers twitched on command. "Yes, I'm fine. No thanks to you. What did a monster that far away scare you?" Her voice was mostly playful, but there was an edge of agitation to her mew. That fall, while had left her with no injuries, had hurt and would leave her with some bruises. When the warrior suggested that they go, Silentstep stayed seated and waited on Riversong to turn back around. "Yes, I'm serious. You can see the sun rising on the other side of this twoleg place. StarClan hasn't told me otherwise, so that's the way we need to go." Her voice was matter-of-fact and she hoped it left no room for argument. "The quickest way to the other side of this place is straight through. You can take the time to travel around the outskirts of it if you wish, but I won't be. That will add days and days to our travel." Silentstep turned and faced the twoleg place fully. Even from their place at the bottom of the hill, she could see the sun rising just above the tops of the twoleg nests. Directly in front of them, a long wooden barrier faced them. She knew it blocked in the small territories of the twolegs and also knew they would have to jump up and over it to officially get into the twoleg place to continue their journey. She turned her gaze back to Riversong. "You in?"

 

[svenny]

For a moment, Riversong stared at Silentstep in disbelief. She flattened her ears. Riversong had never seen a monster before in her life; what she knew of them was through stories shared by Raggedstar at gatherings or Ravenfeather. In the whirlwind of the last couple minutes, the she-cat had evaded her mind, but when she came crashing back, Riversong couldn't help but wonder if she would have been as terrified as she had been. Was she overreacting? Or was Silentstep's irritation with her because of her kittypet upbringing? "Unlike you," Riversong finally managed through tightly clenched jaws, not bothering to keep the accusation from her voice, "I've never seen a twoleg nest before, much less a monster." Her gaze flitted to the wooden barrier, to the sun that was only now rising, and then back to Silentstep. Riversong didn't like it one bit, but Silentstep certainly was telling the truth -- the sun was rising directly on the other side of the settlement, casting the world in the new pale golden hue, the color of newly changed leaves. A tree blocked the sun from direct view, a tree on the other side of the wooden barrier. The long shadows of the freshly leaf-cluttered branches almost reached her paws. Everything looked daunting and absolutely terrifying. While the thought of going through this place made her uncomfortable, the thought of separating from Silentstep with no promise of them finding their way back together was even less appealing. And she couldn't deny the will of StarClan or deny Silentstep's desire to fulfill what she believed to be Starclan's will. "Unwillingly," she finally answered, still glaring at her and still talking through clenched jaws. Riversong had only relaxed fractionally, but her initial panic had subsided enough to think rationally. "And very unhappily. On two conditions," she rose to her paws, "I hunt first, and we stick to the outskirts. I don't want to take any chances of running into anything." Twoleg, kittypet, dog, or monster. None of them sounded fun to Riversong.

**

After Riversong had disappeared over the top of the hill again and caught a bird large enough to feed them both, she knew it was time. Time to enter a place she wanted desperately to avoid, but the two alternatives weren't good, either. "Lead the way, then," Riversong had to bite her tongue around the word 'kittypet'.

 

[Galaxxies]

SIlentstep led Riversong into the twolegplace. She was still having to force her pelt to lie flat at Riversong's earlier comments. "Unlike you." Even now, the words made the sleek medicine cat's fur want to stand on end. But it would do no good to start a fight over it now. Instead, Silentstep gathered her muscles under her and launched herself up the side of the wooden barrier. Once balanced on top, she was able to look down into the small twoleg territory. Flowering bushes grew along the edge and short springy grass covered the area. Noticing nothing out of the ordinary, SIlentstep walked along the barrier. It wasn't the easiest thing to do, but walking along the narrow top wasn't impossible. She led the warrior along past small twoleg territory after twoleg territory. At one point, a small yapping dog hurtled out of a flap in the side of the nest and stood on its hind legs to bark up the barrier. The annoying creature was about the size of a cat, very fluffy, with the pointed nose and ears of a fox. Its reddish color also wasn't far off that of a fox's. Silentstep arched her back and fluffed her fur up while hissing at the furball. "Get back to your twolegs, mangepelt!" Silentstep kept padding along after her insult left the wretched creature still yapping up at them. "Ignore it. The small ones never do anything besides bark your ear off anyway." She hated how it sounded like she was used to dealing with the everyday obstacles of a twoleg place... but she was. She spent four whole seasons living outside of one by herself when her old twolegs had cast her out. She knew how to frighten off small dogs, outwit the larger ones, and how to weasel food out of twolegs. It's not something she was proud of, and it showed by the way she slunk along the top of the barrier. Silentstep just wanted to find a way for them to get off of the barrier and into the twolegplace to start crossing it without them having to go directly through the middle.

Some time passed without further incident and eventually, Silentstep and Riversong came to the end of the barrier. Turning along it, Silentstep followed the wooden barrier up toward the rising sun. It followed beside a nest and once at the end of it, Silentstep faced the end of a thunderpath. Where it stopped, there was a hedgerow with another set of twoleg nests on the other side. Along the other side of the thunderpath, another row of nests sat. It looked identical to the ones they had just padded past. However, the hedgerow seemed to stretch on to pass by a few more rows of nests and thunderpath ends. "Hey, this will be perfect! We can stay beside the hedgerow and jump into it if any danger comes!" Without waiting on an answer from Riversong, Silentstep lept down and started to follow the hedgerow. As they passed the empty expanse of the end of the thunderpath, Siletnstep gazed out over the rows of small fields that sat in front of the twoleg nests. She kept walking on before a voice made her stop in her tracks.

"Alex! Alex is that you?!"

Silentstep turned and in the tiny field in front of the nest closest to them, she saw a familiar orange tabby pelt with a russet red collar sitting on top of a stump. Her icy blue eyes locked with the deep jade green ones she hadn't seen since her kittenhood. "Harold?" The name sounded odd after not having been spoken in so many seasons. It came from a very different time in her life. Before she could even think of anything else to say, the orange tabby started speaking again.

"Wait until I tell Jessie! Oh, she's going to be so thrilled to see you!" His tail flicked excitedly behind him as he dashed off toward the nest and disappeared inside through a small flat in front of the nest.

 

[svenny]

After muttering a few curses under her breath, Riversong swiftly bounded up the wooden barrier. Balancing on the wooden barrier was more difficult than she anticipated, the branches of trees were broader than this. Riversong followed Silentstep in a half-crouched position and the further they ventured into the twolegplace the more uneasy Riversong became. That didn't surprise her, but the ease with which Silentstep navigated the area was almost as disturbing as being here in general. When the dog came barreling out of the house, Riversong was so startled that she arched her back, fur standing on end, and hissing fury at the yappy dog. The little thing bumped into the barrier enough to unbalance her and Riversong's hind paws slipped. She let out a surprised hiss as she began to struggle to regain her balance, her hind paws helplessly clawing at the wooden barrier to push herself back up. But the more she struggled, the more her front paws began to slip, and before she could stop herself she was falling. She sent a silent thanks to StarClan for making sure it wasn't on the other side of the wooden barrier, with the dog. Riversong flattened herself against the ground for a moment to regain her composure before she followed Silentstep along the edge of the twolegplace, too stubborn to address that she had fallen because of a dog that was almost smaller than she was.

When Silentstep leaped from the wooden barrier, Riversong was silently thankful to be reunited with her on real ground. Silentstep guided her past the thunderpath and toward the hedges and all the way Riversong was quiet. She would never admit it out loud but she was relieved that Silentstep at least knew her way around a twolegplace -- she would have been lost without her. She also wouldn't have set paw in a place like this either... but that was beside the point. When the branches of the hedge brushed against her pelt RIversong relaxed some. Even if there was another set of twoleg nests on the other side of this, the hedge provided enough cover, for now, to hide in if she was startled. The voice behind them also drew Riversong to turn around, surprised to find a large orange tabby looking at them, but not as surprised as when Silentstep named the cat. Her head swiveled around to stare at her, unsure how to feel. Alex? Harold? Riversong was smart enough to deduce that they knew each other somehow. From Silentstep's time in a twolegplace like this; once a kittypet, always a kittypet.

For the first time since they entered the twoleg place, Riversong spoke, "Alex?" The name felt strange on her tongue, "That was your kittypet name?" Riversong dropped her gaze to the collar that was wrapped around Silentstep's front leg. Was. The implication of using the word was lost on Riversong, too distracted by everything going on. "Who is that kittypet to you?" There was no bitterness in her voice but there also was no enthusiasm or curiosity -- she needed to know what kind of a threat he posed to them. "If it were up to me I would say we should run while he's not in that twoleg nest," she flicked her tail, "But I know you will refuse." Riversong turned her head toward the rising sun, it was only a few sun-lengths away from sunhigh. If she had her way, they would be many sun-lengths away from here by the time the sun disappeared again.

 

[Galaxxies]

"He's my father. And I won't refuse. Let's go before he comes back." Her voice was tense and shook with something close to fear. She turned back the way they had been walking and started quickly padding away. She didn't want to face her parents. Before she had taken more than a few paw steps, another voice broke the silence.

"Alex!"

Silentstep stopped as a dainty and graceful black she-cat thrust herself in front of the fleeing calico. "H-Hi." Silentstep took a breath as she spoke to her mother. Before anything else could be said, Harold made his way to Jessie's side. Silentstep said nothing as the two cats sat down a few paw steps in front of her. She couldn't help but notice how much they looked like night and day. Harold was a large ginger tabby. The stripes that crossed his body were such a dark orange, they may as well have been brown. His shoulders and head were wide and he had a strong jaw. He had dark green eyes that seemed to pierce through her. His voice was deep and solid. However, where Harold was all muscle and size, Jessie was dainty and delicate. She was small, even smaller than Silentstep. Her frame spoke nothing but grace and elegance. She looked every bit the kittypet she was. Her dark fur didn't hold the brown undertones that most black cats had. Jessie stared at Silentstep with blue eyes the color of a bright green-leaf sky. "But, I'm not Alex." She hoped her voice was convincing enough, but she knew it wasn't. Her parents would know their own daughter.

"Don't even start that, Alex! I know my own kit when I see her! Even if she has grown into such a beautiful cat. Have you had any kittens of your own yet? And who is this? Does she also belong to your housefolk? Where do your housefolk live? Have you been in this place this whole time?" The small black cat spoke so quickly, Silentstep barely had time to register her questions before Jessie moved on to the next one.

"Jessie, love, give her time to answer one question before you ask more," Harold spoke with a purr rattling his mew. He nuzzled his head into her cheek in an attempt to quiet her. His show of affection worked, and now both parents sat staring at their daughter.

Silentstep turned a look of fear to Riversong. What did she say? When she had been a kitten, Jessie and Harold had told her story after story about the evil wild cats that lived in the forests. They had always held contempt for them. Jessie, especially had claimed that the beastly cats often stole kittypet kittens from their twolegs and drug them into the forests to live by their wild ways. What would they say if they that she was now one of those "wild cats."

Siletnstep took a deep breath and took a step closer to the sturdy warrior at her side. "I am not Alex, because my name is now Silentstep. I am the medicine cat to JadeClan. And this, is my clanmate, Riversong. She is a warrior of JadeClan." She now sat down and continued speaking before her mother could rain more questions on her. "No, I have not had kits. My position in the clan forbids me from a mate and kits. Nor do I live here. Riversong and I are just passing through." She didn't want to give away any more than she had to. She knew her parents wouldn't understand anything to do with StarClan.

Jessie's hiss broke into Silentstep's thoughts. "A clan!? Alex, surely you know better than that! Did I teach you nothing?"

 

[svenny]

Riversong experienced so many emotions in a series of heartbeats; surprise, hope, impressed, nervous, and anger. It didn't take long for her to settle on the latter, fur bristling she glared at Silentstep's mother. Riversong, a kittypet? She wanted to laugh in her face but she bit back -- no kittypet could look as lean and fit as she did, not with their spoiled, lazy lives. When Jessie hissed at the mention of the clan, Riversong lost some restraint. A low threatening growl emanated from her chest and she stalked forward, tail fluffed. She pushed past Silentstep, acting as a barrier between mother and kit. Riversong knew that the sudden, intense anger she felt was not only because a kittypet was questioning her way of life, but she was also scolding Silenstep for making the best out of her life after they had abandoned her. She would not stand by and watch her bring down the cat Silentstep had become, had made herself. She drew back her lips, revealing her canines. "Choose your next words carefully, kittypet," she dared her, eyes narrowed and ears flattened against her head. Riversong was half crouched, ready to pounce if need be. The position made her muscles tighten; one look at her and Silentstep's parents would have no doubt that she was a strong and fierce warrior. And likely confirm that all wild cats were mean and evil. When Riversong was certain she had Jessie's attention, she continued, "I will not sit by and listen to you speak that way. Not about my clan, not about Silentstep. She came to us weak. Exhausted. Bruised. Because you abandoned her." That was an exaggeration, technically it had been their twolegs. "We took her in, even when we barely had enough food for ourselves. And we haven't regretted it for a second. She is a great addition to the clan and an even better medicine cat," she took a step forward so that she was so close to Jessie that all she had to do was swipe out a paw, "And you will not mock her. Not in front of me. Not in front of StarClan. She leads a better life than you ever could."

 

[Galaxxies]

Silentstep felt her eyes widen as Riversong leaped to her defense. She was used to the stoic warrior seeming to barely tolerate her. When Riversong moved forward to stand between Silentstep and her mother, Silentstep stood as well and stepped a little closer. She waited for Riversong to finish her tirade before speaking as well. "She's right. Joining the clan is the best thing that has ever happened to me. After your twolegs threw me out, I spend four entire seasons on my own. And now I live for my clan and for StarClan." The entire time they both spoke, growls rumbled through both Harold and Jessie. Silentstep was the only one of the four cats not bristling and growling. Eventually Harold spoke.

"Our twolegs will take you back in, Alex."

Silentstep cut him off before he could say any more. "My name is Silentstep. I worked hard to earn this name among my clanmates, and you will respect me by using it. And no. I will remain with my clan. The warrior code states that clan cats reject the soft life of a kittypet."

"What happened to our kit? She used to be so kind. Now you've turned no better than those wild cats you've let lure you into their lifestyle." Jessie was no longer hissing her words, but her anger was still apparent and she was doing her best to avoid looking at Riversong. It was easier if she pretended the warrior was not there. "If your precious clan hates anything related to house cats, then why would they take you in? You're a born and bred house cat. Both of our kin go back as far as any cat can remember as house cats."

Silentstep spat. "What honor is there in that? With the clan, I serve them all. I serve my leader Slatestar. I serve my deputy Fawnleap. And I serve every member of my clan from the newest kit, to the most senior elder. I have a purpose. I care for and heal my clan. My live is given to the betterment of the entire clan. And one day, I will pass on and join StarClan to forever help more medicine cats and leaders." Silentstep spoke with such conviction that both of her parents quit their growling. She had known what she wanted before she had even joined JadeClan. As she sat on the outskirts of the clan's territory and watched their daily activities, she saw the pride and honor they all performed their duties with. Even battles were a gruesom thing of beauty. Each and every warrior and apprentice was always ready to lay down their life to fight for their clan. She had never known such kinship like what she felt with her clanmates.

Harold stopped and stared at his daughter and her... clanmate. "You really mean all of this. You really feel this strongly about your clan?" He shook his massive tabby head. "Jessie... she's happy where she's at."

"She can't be happy with those savages! She's not even allowed to have a mate and kits!"

 

[svenny]

Riversong swiveled her head around to look at Silentstep, ears pricked and face slack with surprise. Was this truly how she felt, as a former kittypet? It hadn't just been a second choice for her? Riversong realized that deep down she had always assumed that Silentstep would leave at the first sign of being welcomed back into a twoleg nest. When Harold saw reason, Riversong looked back at them, but her attention quickly snapped to Jessie. Savages. A deep growl rumbled in her chest again as she stalked toward the she-cat. She stopped only when their noses almost touched and she could smell the fish on her breath. "A mate and kits are not everything," Riversong said, though the growl that had been emanating in her chest had vanished. Her words were heated, matter-of-fact, but not completely angry. Jessie's words were a reminder that she hadn't taken a mate, hadn't had kits, even though at thirty-one moon she should have her eyes on someone. Her heart ached as she suddenly realized that she did. "A life can be measured in the cats she heals and touches. Life can be measured in the cats they train and how they serve their clan. There is no need for a womb full of kits. That is not how clan cats get their worth." While kits were necessary to continue the clan, most cats didn't treat other cats differently if they chose not to take a mate or have kits. "Stand aside, kittypet, or this savage will make you. You heard Silentstep, she's coming with me. We don't have the time to waste here."

 

[Galaxxies]

Silentstep felt herself nodding along to Riversong's words. She was right. Kits were essential to the clan, but not every she-cat needed to bare kits. Some couldn't and some simply didn't want to. Though it did make her wonder what Riversong's hold-up was. The warrior had no mate or kits. Maybe she just didn't want those things. Pointedfur also hadn't taken a mate yet either. A pairing of the two warriors crossed her mind, but it was fleeting. Pointedfur was far too playful and carefree for the no-nonsense warrior traveling with her.

As Riversong told Jessie that Silentstep was leaving with RIversong, the calico stood and started to walk up to her mother. Jessie had stood when RIversong approached and now her fur was fluffed up to twice her size and a low growl came from her chest. Silentstep looked at her mother in her blue eyes. "I belong to a warrior clan, Jessie. And nothing will change that now." She stepped between her parents and gently pressed her nose to her father's cheek. "Thank you for understanding. Maybe one day, I can tell you more about clan life." She took notice of her mother's still bristling pelt. "In a much more peaceful manner."

Harold nuzzled her in return before watching her walk away past him and his mate. He turned his deep green gaze onto the other warrior. "Look out for Silentstep for me." His daughter's warrior name sounded odd in his mouth, but he knew it now fit who she had grown into. But he hadn't missed the fact that her kitten collar was wrapped around her leg. Harold lay his tell on Jessie's shoulder as she spat and hissed after the warrior and medicine cat. "Leave it, Jessie."

 

[svenny]

Several minutes went by before Riversong's fur lay flat again. Their encounter with the kittypets, with Silentstep's parents, had left her rattled. Not only did Silentstep prove to her that she had been mistaken in the she-cat, but it had also brought her nose-to-nose with a hard truth that she hadn't wanted to confront. Silence hung between them, heavy as fog and Riversong didn't dare to break it for fear she would explode. Every now and then, she shook her tail and let out a few unhappy noises. After leaving Silentstep's parents behind, she barely paid attention to the wooden barriers that they passed outside the occasional dog that barked from the other side. Riversong had often wondered why she wasn't as interested as Larktail was in finding a mate, or why she wasn't like Branchfoot, who had taken a mate by the time he reached 30 moons. Because of their confrontation with Jessie, Riversong realized that it wasn't the lack of interest in finding a mate, but rather a lack of interest in finding a mate who could father kits. She stopped abruptly by one of the twoleg nests and dug her claws into the earth. Riversong glanced over her shoulder, back at where they had left Harold and Jessie. After letting out a string of noises she shook herself, trying to rid her body of such thoughts and the strange feeling that had settled deep in the pit of her stomach. What good would they do? They were only beginning to weigh heavily on her. She looked at Silentstep for the first time since leaving the kittypets, "Do you really mean that?"

 

[Galaxxies]

Silentstep drew to a halt as Riversong stopped. She said nothing, though. They had both been silent, save for a few mews from Riversong, since they had walked away from Silentstep's parents. At Riversong's question, Silentstep nodded and then turned and walked on. Had she meant it? If she was correct, and she'd bet a moon of clearing ticks off elders that she was, the warrior meant everything she had said about the clan. Silentstep heaved a sigh. "Yes, Riversong, I do." Her tail flicked behind her as she continued to talk as she walked. "I know many of you in the clan can not stand the fact that I am not clan born. And not onky am I not clan born, I spent my first six moons in a twoleg nest. But now I'm here. And JadeClan, StarClan, the warrior code, and my medicine cat code mean more to me than you could ever know." She turned her gaze to the sky, as if she'd see their warrior ancestors looking down at her this very moment. "While you were born into this life... I made a choice to join it and another to stay in it. And I'd make those choices time and time again if given the chance." She knew there wasn't much she could say to convince the warrior of her loyalty to the Clan. If Silentstep's actions as their medicine cat hadn't made some understand, then those cats would likely never understand. Silentstep led them past another wooden barrier with a yapping dog on the other side. In her silence now, the dog sounded deafening.

 

[svenny]

Riversong studied the medicine cat as she spoke, understanding the sincerity in her words. The warrior padded on in silence, deep in thought. When the dog began to bark, she flinched and let out a startled hiss, but it was the only sound she made until they reached the other side of the twoleg place. Riversong was relieved to be on the other side and turned around to study the place they had just walked through. Had it not been for Silentstep, Riversong would have lost all her wits and likely gotten herself killed. Not that the warrior would thank the other she-cat for that, though. Just the thought made her want to squirm. Had it not been for her insistence to walk through this place to begin with... Riversong shook her head. Behind her, the sun was approaching sunhigh -- they still had the rest of the day to put even more distance between them and this awful place. The place that they would have to cross again on the way home. Riversong flicked her tail and finally broke the silence, "I may not approve of your kittypet beginnings or approve of the Clans accepting kittypets into their ranks, but I meant it too, you know. I can see that the clan needs you," it wasn't like they had any other medicine cat lining up to take the position any time soon, anyway, "And I can see what it means to you." For Riversong, it was as high a praise as she could muster without shifting uncomfortably and hoping for the moment to pass as quickly as possible. It was true, she didn't like the fact that Silenstep had once been a kittypet, but she had been homeless and a clan cat longer than she had been a kittypet. It didn't change that her ancestors had been, but Silentstep's disdain for any association with kittypets was enough to silently convince her that she was more a clan cat than a kittypet.