Shadowstar is quieter in the following days. She's always in the medicine den, talking quietly with Tinyblossom like she thinks we can't hear her. The clan has taken to clustering around it, distressed by how closed off two of their authority figures are.

No one knows everything that goes on in there, and Shadowstar always snaps at whoever she catches outside (usually apprentices), but everyone knows bits and pieces of the prophecy.

"Golden eyes," mentions Hazelpaw to us one day. "They say the prophesied cat has golden eyes."

"That's why everyone thinks it's Goldenkit. You can bet they'll be keeping a close eye on her from now on." adds Rubypaw.

"Well, I think it's all stupid. Why are we even afraid of this cat? Some sort of curse we don't know exists? This is sounding more and more like a story elders would tell to spook kits and less and less like rational discussion amongst clanmates." Titanpaw snaps. She's the biggest and bossiest of all of the apprentices, and both of them shrink when they hear her.

"There has to be something to it. You can't fool the warriors that easily." Rubypaw objects.

"I think it sounds cool." Hazelpaw adds. "Haven't you ever wanted to be caught in the middle of a prophecy? Think about it! Drama! Action! Romance! All the cats who lived around prophecy times are immortalized in DragonClan history."
Titanpaw snorts. "You're both ridiculous. Stop messing with the kits, it's going to go to their heads."

Novakit, Sharpkit, Sparrowkit and I watch this eagerly, and all of us object loudly. "We're not that malleable!" Novakit says indignantly. "You're just no fun, Titanpaw."
"Yeah!" Sharpkit says.

"Apprentices aren't supposed to be 'fun', we're supposed to be 'learning'. By the way, we're going to get in a ton of trouble for telling rumors to kits when we're supposed to be doing some repairs."

"Repairs are finished. The kits are moving into the new nursery tonight. We have nothing to do, that's not our fault." Hazelpaw says casually.

"Yes you do." Emberstreak approaches, tail lashing. "You three are going to have to explain this." She bumps a cat at her side, who looks guilty and mischievous. I recognize him immediately.

"Hi, Scorch!" I call, and he purrs loudly. Emberstreak's muzzle scrunches up in confusion.

"You know this cat?" she asks.

"You remember me?" Scorch asks, seeming mildly amused by the whole ordeal.
"Yeah, from that one time almost a moon ago! I was really little then." I purr.

"You're still so little now. You clan cats grow so slowly." He teases, cuffing me behind the ear with a paw.

"Don't touch our kits!" Emberstreak says.

"I don't think he's hostile." Titanpaw says, looking less agitated and even slightly entertained.

"I'm not." He turns around. "I came here to join this clan, if you'll have me."
Emberstreak looks profoundly surprised at this. All the apprentices and kits turn to her with wide eyes. "Come this way." They slink away, Scorch with his head a little higher.

"You kits should go work on moving to the new den. We should go." Titanpaw says curtly.

"Did you see that new cat?" Hazelpaw asks. "I think I saw him in the woods once."
"I don't care where they found him." Rubypaw pauses, then adds, "He's kinda cute."
"Alright girls, let's not get distracted here." Titanpaw says, flicking her tail across both of their flanks. "We have work to do."

We watch them go. Sharpkit pads after them. "The leader's den is the other way, stupid!" I yell. "Where do you think you're going?"
She turns around and leers at me before continuing onwards. I cackle. Novakit looks boredly after the she-cats. "Apprentices are so shallow. I'm glad you're not like that."

"Of course not! I'd never want to be boring." I say, purring. I plop my head down on his back.

"Sure. Being mean must be so much better." Sparrowkit snaps before walking contemptuously after Sharpkit.

I feel my hackles raise but say nothing. I remove my head from Novakit's back and we walk back to the leader's den where Nettlekit and my mother already wait with leaves, ready for the big move. Beside her, Goldenkit and Crowkit are chatting idly.

I jump up the rocks and begin heading to my den. Novakit nods at the two she-cats as he passes by and they both look awestruck by even this smallest of gestures.

I grab as much moss as I can in my teeth and look down. The pile has barely diminished.

This is when I realize it's going to be a long day.

We spend most of the afternoon gathering our bedding from the old den and dragging it into the new den. I'm tired and hot, so I fall onto my new den with a thud.

"That's where I was going to sleep!" Sharpkit complains, standing over me. "You just came and took my spot!"
"Well maybe you should've marked it first!" I hiss back, hackles raised.

"Maybe the two of your should stop fighting." Sparrowkit warns, coming out of nowhere. I look around but Novakit isn't here. That means I'm fighting on my own.

"Why? Is there a problem?" I snap.
"She's my friend." Sparrowkit says timidly. "I just don't like watching you fight."
We both stop, unable what to say next without hurting Sparrowkit's feelings. With a loathing glare, I flick my tail.
"You both sound so beautiful, you know. Melodies like that should work in harmony." Sparrowkit says.

"Melody?" I ask. "Sound?"

"She doesn't know?" Sharpkit whispers. She looks happy about this. I can tell she shares some secret with my brother. Is it a secret code of a sort?

"Wh-what do I not know!" I stutter angrily, suddenly on my guard. All my muscles are tensed and my ears are flat.

Sharpkit shoots a longing glance at Sparrowkit but he speaks anyways. "I can hear souls. They sound kind of like birdsong. I know it's weird, but I promise I'm telling the truth."

I tilt my head. "Uh... okay. If this is some sort of game..."
"It's not!" he snaps. "I promise! I can't prove it to you now, but I will someday. Just come up with a way I can test it."

I stay silent. "What if I was to hide somewhere in the camp and you find me based on the song thingy?"

Sparrowkit looks at Sharpkit and back. "Okay. I'm gonna count to thirty. Starting... now!"
I dash off in the opposite direction. With a savage grin, I jump in the nearby freshkill pile to hide my scent and then jump past the wall of the camp. He'd never expect to see me out here!
"Thirty!" I hear. I watch Sparrowkit amble out of the den through the bushes... then I see him close his eyes. Step by step, he walks right to me and then opens his eyes, peering through the bush.

I stand in shock for a few seconds. Sharpkit is grinning savagely from a while away.

"I'm sorry. It's weird." Sparrowkit murmurs.

"Do you think you're the golden eyed prophecy cat?" I ask suddenly. The prospect is still vivid in my mind.

"My eyes aren't gold. Maybe there are a ton of special cats in DragonClan no one even knows about."
I nod, excited by this, when suddenly I hear, "All cats come to the Highfall for a Clan Meeting!"
I jump through the bush and follow the mob to the Highfall, which is a rock on the right edge of the waterfall. There are stones on the way up so the leader can get up or down, but Shadowstar still looks untouchable as she looms over the crowd. By her side, Knottedspeech, her brown fur blowing in a breeze over the waterfall, sits licking her paw. She's even older than Shadowstar but not quite as scary, and her eyes make her look resigned.

I notice Scorch in the audience at Emberstreak's side. His amber fur sparkles in the dusky twilight. His tail flicks as Shadowstar yowls, "We have a rogue in our midst tonight, but he wishes to be a rogue no longer."
Emberstreak looks sort of sad. "She's thinking about Wave." says Hazelpaw at my side. "He was another rogue who she was in love with. He hasn't come around since the flood."

"Probably dead." adds Rubypaw.

"Stop it!" Hazelpaw hisses back, teasingly. "That's so mean!"
"Both of you, be quiet. This is extremely rude to both Emberstreak and Shadowstar." Sandstorm hisses, glaring down at them.

"Sorry." They both shrink and I continue looking up.

"Do you promise to care for this clan and train diligently until you become an apprentice?"
"I do." Scorch lifts his head and looks right into Shadowstar's eyes.

"I name you Scorchpaw. I will take on your training myself." Shadowstar replies.

The clan roars, "Scorchpaw! Scorchpaw!" They're used to rogues joining. The last leader, Crabstar, was not only Shadowstar's father but a rogue himself. According to the older warriors, she still lives under his legacy.

"We should get back to the nursery." I hear a voice and turn around, expecting to see Novakit but instead seeing my brother, Sparrowkit.

I walk with him, looking for Novakit but not seeing him. Disappointment crosses my face but Sparrowkit doesn't notice. He's unnaturally tense.

When we get back to our new den, Scarletsky is there but Hailkit is nowhere to be seen. I feel bad about not talking to him lately. He's always been snarky or quiet with no in between, so he's not much fun to play with, but he's still my brother.

"Where's Hailkit?" I ask.

Scarletsky looks away at the question. It's a long time before she replies. "He's sick. Tinyblossom is probably helping him as we speak." She looks back at me and Sparrowkit and she wails loudly, turning away and disappearing into the back of our new den.

I waited outside the medicine den in the morning with Sparrowkit. They wouldn't let us in. "Your brother might be contagious. I'm immune to many diseases that you kits are susceptible to."

"We won't get too close! We just wanted to say goodbye to him." I insist.

"He's not singing anymore." My brother says solemnly. My heart skips a beat. What does that mean for Hailkit? Why is Sparrowkit's weird soul-hearing stuff so confusing?
Tinyblossom looks confused but she escorts us in, where I look upon my brother's limp form. Something crawls inside of me, a bad feeling that I can't really place. It feels like hate and loathing, with a touch of sadness to it. I just don't know who it's directed at.

Sparrowkit and I sit there for a while in silence, unsure of what to say, and then I whisper, "Get better soon." We leave tail in tail, both deeply reassured by the other's presence.

We never saw Hailkit again.