Voices outside of the den reminded Eclipsepaw what time it was. She had been awake since before the dawn patrol went out, and had heard it leave and return. Now, new voices alerted her of the beginning of the day.

She sighed, getting to her paws wearily. All of the other apprentices were already out and about. They hadn't woken her up, but she wasn't surprised. Most of them hated her anyway.

The air was bitingly cold, and a sharp wind swept into the cave as she exited the den. Immediately, voices became hushed and, as the apprentice looked around, she noticed that most of the warriors were either glaring at her or averting their gaze.

Oh well, she was used to it. It didn't bother her anymore, not like how it did when she first became an apprentice.

Some cats believed she was a demon, sent to wipe out the clan. That was their interpretation of the "and relieve you of your suffering" portion of the prophecy.

The cats that didn't hate her worshiped her instead. She was dubbed their savior, their "fallen star".

They thought she was sent from the Great Spirits, because on the night she was born, Coldstar claimed he had gazed into the sky, knowing something monumental was about to happen. Darkness had slid over the moon, making the stars seemingly more vibrant. The sky reflected in his dark eyes, and if one were to gaze into them on that night, they would have seen a star streak across them.

At that moment, the shrill cry of a newly born kit had split the air. Both Coldstar and the medicine cat, Owlsight, knew that she was destined for great things. Coldstar knowing because of the star, and Owlsight because of the prophecy he had received some moons before.

Eclipsepaw gazed around camp, searching for Snowrunner so she could ask her what they were doing. She spotted her mentor speaking to some other warriors and began to walk towards her.

As she crossed camp, she accidentally walked too close to a tom named Harefoot. Seeing him flinch away, she stopped, staring at him. Usually she ignored this kind of behavior, but something made her stop. Maybe it was because he had never reacted this way before. Maybe because normally she avoided going near other cats, so she didn't see them flinch too much. Whatever the reason, her legs stopped moving.

After a moment, the fear in Harefoot's amber eyes was masked by anger and hatred.

"Why are you just standing there? You hare-brained or something?" he sneered. His claws unsheathed and scraped against the stone floor.

The grey female standing next to him flashed a quick, scared glance at her before nudging Harefoot. "Don't provoke her! She might kill you!" she hissed.

He rolled his eyes. "Oh please. If she was going to do something, she would've done it already. You're so paranoid."

Eclipsepaw almost laughed at how ridiculous it was. Harefoot was an arrogant fool, and Stormwhisper was a mindless follower. Despite their big talk, they were very much afraid of her. It was almost certain that she could kill them and they wouldn't do a thing. After all, she had a prophecy to fulfill. Nobody would dare get in the way of the Great Spirits' will.

The female strode away and walked up to Snowrunner. The hunter's eyes gleamed as she looked over at her apprentice.

"Eclipsepaw! We were just talking about you!" she purred.

Oh great.

One of the other warriors, whose name was Wolfpelt, nodded. "That's right. Snowrunner was just saying how great of an apprentice you are. She just knows you'll make a great warrior and save us all!" she meowed excitedly. 

Immediately, Eclipsepaw regretted ever coming out of her den. There were two ways she could approach this: one, be her usual snarky self and further extend the conversation; or two, smile sweetly and agree, effectively making them move on. 

She bit her tongue, instead raising her tail and pricking her ears. "Really?" she exclaimed with fake excitement. "Thank you!"

Wolfpelt nodded. "Although your hunting needs work, and you're too aggressive during training," she went on. 

Snowrunner flashed a glance at Eclipsepaw, whose ears had begun to flatten. "Hey, why don't you go hunting?" she interrupted. "The prey-pile is running low, and nobody else has been sent out yet."

"Fine."

And with that, she spun around and stalked out of camp alone.