"Sleep well," Spiderpaw could recall himself saying as the golden medicine cat had rested her head in her nest.
But that was time ago. Honeyflower was fast asleep. Spiderpaw felt an ache in his stomach as his eyes adjusted to the light and he remembered the promise he had made to Briartail. But with a heavy heart he knew that she was right, if the warrior ancestors above had been divided, he couldn't sit on the sidelines and watch without question.
He carefully lifted himself up from his moss bed and cautiously lifted each paw out onto the ground. He had felt a little lonely going to bed tonight, even though the greetings back to ThornClan had warmed him like the afternoon sun. He missed Oceanfur, missing the comfort of knowing he was besides him. But nevertheless, he was much happier to be sleeping besides Honeyflower.
Convinced she was asleep, Spiderpaw let out a yawn and padded towards the exit of the den, being very gentle as he moved the lichen over his shoulder. He scanned the camp for a sight of his sister, but he shrugged his shoulders when he couldn't sense a sign. He made his way to the warrior den, and once he was convinced all he could hear was snoring, he made his way to the back - until he was interrupted by a fast whisper.
"What, did you think I was hiding from you?" Briartail meowed impatiently. "We've got to get a move on."
Spiderpaw nodded in approval and followed Briartail towards the leafy tunnel, stalking silently through the camp as the blades of grass brushed against his feet. "What is Heronkit doing?" he questioned, getting to her pace and pacing beside her.
"I've checked up on her," Briartail meowed. "She's fast asleep, thank StarClan. That furball would do anything to get me in trouble."
"I guess she's just been trying to take out her anger on others after not being named an apprentice. She's young - she can grow out of such a thing."
"Sure," Briartail meowed, her voice flattening. "If she's ever given a chance to learn and grow up a little."
"I think she needs her punishment," Spiderpaw added as him and Briartail disappeared from the leafy tunnel. "If not, how could she ever learn sneaking off is wrong?"
"Common sense?" Briartail sneered. "Or do kits not have such a thing, these days?"
Spiderpaw nodded. "Dustpaw seems to be fine. The only thing is, I've noticed him wanting to slow down for his sister. He feels bad that Heronkit is envious, and he cares about her so, so much."
Briartail nodded, but Spiderpaw spoke again. "Dustpaw could be made a warrior without her, too," he meowed. "That would hurt Heronkit. Although she doesn't show her emotions, I think she does care about her brother very deeply."
Briartail nodded. "If she's a cold kit, I don't want her growing up even worse. Although, I think the chances of her changing are awfully slim."
"The thing I don't understand is why she's turned out to be so frosted. She was completely fine until..."
Briartail cut off her voice. "Where do you think I'm taking you, Spiderpaw? I'm telling you, something has put a switch in this kit. And I want you to see for yourself."
Spiderpaw dipped his head. "I understand - how long until we arrive?"
"Not long now, I have memorised the steps. The rockpile is in a very forested part of the land - you've definitely walked past collecting herbs. We just never used the pile for anything, and for good reason."
Not too much time passed until Spiderpaw could finally see the rockpile for himself. His eyes widened as he recognised the pile that made a small hill above the floor. "Surely there's no way Heronkit can fit in there," he meowed.
"Oh, we both can," Briartail meowed. "There's more space inside than you would have thought. Come on, I'll show you the way in."
"Alright," Spiderpaw meowed, pushing off the cracks in his voice as he followed after his sister. I trust you."
Briartail turned her head as she continued to walk forwards. "I should hope so," she meowed, continuing further on into the taller grasses that waved against her.
Feeling a little uncomfortable with the weeds scratching his paws, Spiderpaw breathed uneasily. He didn't know whether he was shaking because the night air was freezing cold, or he was nervous for what was happening next.
"Just like travelling to the Pool of Stars," Briartail assured. Spiderpaw appreciated her support, but travelling to a pile of rocks that he knew nothing about couldn't feel less like meeting with his warrior ancestors. Every step he took closer to the rockpile, the more his tail twitched - the more he felt like he should turn around.
Although he knew there was no turning around - especially not from something that Briartail seemed to care so much about. Seeing Briartail well ahead of him, sniffing the outside of the rockpile and heading towards the crack of an entrance, he picked up his pace and bounded unsteadily towards her.
When he finally reached Briartail, he felt shortened by the size of the rockpile. Every step he had taken, the pile had seemed to grow larger and larger until much taller than he was. He felt intimidated by the rocks, and even felt his stomach churn as Briartail headed inside. Hesitantly, he followed her inside, making his way slowly through the dip in the rocks.
The air around him was cold and murky. Spiderpaw felt a chill spark down his spine. Although he had to admit, Briartail was right. Although the space he was confined in wasn't the nicest place, there was enough room for both of them. Although what caught his eye the most was the large, black rock that was centred in the space.
"I see what you're looking at," he heard Briartail speak. "That's the Shadowstone - or so that's what Heronkit likes to say."
Spiderpaw narrowed his eyes. "And what you're telling me, is that this boulder can lead cats to speak with StarClan?"
"I'm certain," Briartail replied.
Spiderpaw felt taken back. "Don't the two of you know that speaking to StarClan at the Pool of Stars without a medicine cat is forbidden?"
"Good you're here then," Briartail replied coldly. "And last time I checked, this wasn't the Pool of Stars."
Spiderpaw said nothing for a moment, and washed the offence away with the excuse that Briartail must have been exhausted from not being able to rest yet.
"Well, are you ready?"
Spiderpaw stayed still, lowering his shoulders. "Are you sure?"
Briartail narrowed her eyes. "Don't you understand? You're the medicine cat here! If StarClan is divided, we can't just sit on the sidelines and watch!"
Spiderpaw bit back a comment louder than Briartail's, instead choosing to keep his chill. "Alright," he replied coldly. "If we're going to speak to them, we have to speak to them now if we want to be back by the time the Clan wakes up. We have to be ready for the Gathering."
Briartail rolled her eyes. "Sure, you do. I don't know whether I'm going yet."
"You mean, Echostar hasn't announced the attending cats?"
Briartail snorted. "She'll tell us the moment before. You have to go anyway, so you probably didn't realise. She acts like she doesn't even care about her duties."
Spiderpaw felt like his heart skipped a beat for a second, but again let himself be washed over with the excuse once again.
"You need to rest," he meowed.
"Finally," Briartail replied. "And so do you. No need to lick the boulder like you drink from the Pool of Stars, just lay down with your fur touching the rock."
"Yeah," Spiderpaw murmured, finding Briartail's attempt at making him feel stupid quite obnoxious. "Thanks for the advice."
Briartail said nothing, and Spiderpaw watched as she lowered herself down and curled her tail around her body, leaning her back against the rock. Spiderpaw nearly felt worried about how comfortable she was doing the action, but instead of complaining simply joined her, touching his nose against the rock before turning himself in a similar way to how Briartail had. On the cold, dry floor, he noticed that he had longed for a warm, inviting nest more than he had even done on his first night in Muskstar's Clan. At least there, he felt welcomed.