Spiderpaw watched as Mothspring settled herself down behind him, curling herself up before throwing her ginger and white tail over her face. "See you at sunhigh," she murmured tiresomely. Spiderpaw could barely see her in the dimmed light of the forest.
Once she was still, Spiderpaw turned away from her with a little smirk of pride that he perhaps had finally made the she-cat seem to despise him a little less. He flicked his tail back and turned towards the moon half covered by the clouds before lowering his head and letting the icy waters of the Pool of Stars shock his nose. He felt his eyes begin to close out of his control, and even though he wasn't in the comfiest portion, he didn't fight the force and let the darkness take over him.
Spiderpaw woke up soon after, blinking the sleep from his eyes. His vision was clouded and fuzzy, but he could manage to see his paws as he pushed himself up. The gorgeous, dim blue glint below the bottoms of the trees in the forest surrounding him gave him an overwhelming sense of comfort, and he was pleased by the strong scent of prey not too far from him. But he knew this was no place to hunt, let alone a place to chill out and explore. He had no right to be here unless he was speaking to a warrior ancestor.
Spiderpaw stepped forwards, scanning his vision around the clearing for any sign of a cat he could converse with. "Hello?"
No cat seemed to hear him, so Spiderpaw made his way forwards, walking slowly through the trees, keeping a close eye out for anyone that could help him. He narrowed his eyes as he thought he saw a shape flicking around at least ten fox-lengths in front of him, and he instinctively followed carefully, cautious not to trip himself over in this dreamy land.
He hadn't caught a glimpse of the cat's face yet, but he could tell by the pelt colour and shape that he hadn't seen this cat before. He didn't want to startle the cat - he looked as if he was alone, but searching for something.
Spiderpaw continued to make his way forwards, bending around the trees, relieved every time the cat he was following paused so he had a minute to catch up. He felt confused as to why the cat wasn't in the centre of the dreamworld, and why he seemed so comfortable in the blurry outskirts.
Spiderpaw noticed that as his paws thumped against the ground, crushing the grass underneath his paws, the bulky cat seemed to leap gracefully over the grasses, each blade poking back up as his creamy paws left the ground. He wasn't far away now, and Spiderpaw figured that if he managed to call loudly enough, the feline might just hear him.
"Excuse me," Spiderpaw called out, dipping his head behind the rock instinctively as the cat looked around to see what had made the noise. Spiderpaw felt a little intimidated by the echo his voice had made, and he took a few seconds before raising his head again. Shock overwhelmed him as he jumped to see that the figure was making his way over to him, and he couldn't help hiding back under the log.
"Hello there, young one." The voice sounded as he had wisdom well past Spiderpaw's imagination, although not too old, seeming young at heart. "Are you lost?"
Spiderpaw took a minute to straighten himself, attempting to let the hairs on his pelt lie back. He couldn't help noticing how intimidated he was by the flashing eyes of the cat, as friendly as they seemed. "A little," he mewed at last. "I came to speak to a warrior ancestor, I-I needed some information."
Spiderpaw caught a decent glimpse of the tom's face as he sat down, wrapping his cream coloured tail around his legs. His pelt was a very light sandy ginger, which Spiderpaw perceived as white. The thing Spiderpaw found the most remarkable about the markings was the mask of ginger across his face, as well as the tops of his face. "Well, you've got yourself someone to talk to now."
Spiderpaw opened his mouth, not wanting to protest that he would prefer to speak to a warrior he had known. But the tom seemed to sense the anxiety in his pelt, because he slapped his tail against his rear gently and humorously. "I'm only teasing with you," he spat. "But finding a specific warrior could take a long time. Who did you want to see?"
Spiderpaw gulped, almost too afraid to say the name. "I need to speak to Redshade of RiverClan," he spluttered. "If you know her."
The cat dipped his head, his eyes widening as if hearing the name had caused a grief within him that could never be cured. "Listen, little one," he muttered, lowering himself down to Spiderpaw's level. "All I know is that she never arrived to StarClan."
Spiderpaw felt as if every inch of panic within him had been pulled out of his pelt. "There's no way!" he spat, heaving himself up and looking frantically from left to right. "Does that mean she's alive?"
"I'm no ancient wise cat who knows everything," the cat complained. "Although I wish more than anything that I could be. No cat in StarClan knows what happened to the cats who've never arrived.
"You mean - there were more of them?" Spiderpaw spat. "More cats that had never found their way to StarClan?"
"Not exactly the idea of not finding their way," he meowed.
The white tom opened his mouth to speak, nodding sadly, but Spiderpaw didn't give him room to speak before talking again, his voice spluttering and taut with worry. "Did Stonekit ever arrive?"
"You mean Echostar's kit?"
Spiderpaw felt astonished. "You know my leader?"
"I know many things," he meowed, turning his back to jump on top of the log in which Spiderpaw had cowered under. "But Stonekit is being well-looked after by someone who means a dear lot to me."
Spiderpaw dipped his head, seeming to understand that the tom didn't want to share much more.
"These cats that never arrived," he meowed. "You don't happen to know names of any, do you?"
Suddenly, Spiderpaw noticed the tom's gaze clouding, as if he was looking away and dazed. He shook his pelt. "I don't share more than I must, you should've figured. You young ones ask too much," he growled, turning his head away and taking a few strides away.
"I-I didn't mean to upset you," Spiderpaw admitted. "I apologise, I didn't know..."
The cream-faced cat dipped his head. "I hope I've provided you with enough information, young one."
Spiderpaw nodded his head. "Although, who do I have to thank?"
But before the cat could reply to him, he collapsed, and just like the end of all of his dreams, he fell into black.