One step, he thought, raising a paw into the air. Two steps. His other paw followed, and rested on the smooth surface of the rock below. His senses began to work, already painting the picture of the stone in his mind like a vivid, bright memory. To that, he smiled, as his pads brushed against the familiar touch of his stone. Sighing with relief, the apprentice pulled the rest of his body onto the rock. His whole body began to relax as he settled onto the one place that made him happy.

I'm glad I can find this rock, he thought, as he rested his head on the two paws below his chin. Resting in this place always made him feel better. With the sun blazing onto his pelt and warming his spirits, he couldn't feel any happier. But the shadows in his vision sealed away any trace of the yellow sun. How he wished he could open his eyes and let the blinding light fill his world.

But he could not.

There was no difference to him when he was sleeping as to when he was wide awake. He knew that his eyelids were open. Every few seconds, he could see something outside of his vision move or flutter — or maybe it was just his imagination. As time went on in silence, he began to believe he could see faint movements through the black blanket covering his eyes.

Anytime he opened his eyes, it was all the same — complete darkness.

He had hoped that his sight could be magically returned to him, yet there was no cure for blindness. Even where he lay, where he was always relaxed, he found himself letting out a disappointed sigh. He felt his eyes move again. Perhaps he was blinking in hopes that others could believe he was just like them. Having two, working eyes that could see the colorful world around him. Up to the bright sun, the vibrant shades of the forest, and the mountains around them. Seeing a dark cave wouldn't even hurt, he figured, as he was used to darkness. He just wished that he had the ability to see darkness like the other cats did.

Sunpaw couldn't ask for anything more.

To help cope with complete shadows and silence, his memory began to work with him. Painting memories into his head from what he could remember. The sun . . . was it always that bright? Along with the stone gray that he called home, was it always this light in the morning, and dark in the evening? The trees, swaying together in a green bunch. Were the colors the same? From conversations around him, he heard that some trees tend to lose their leaves in leaf-fall and in leafbare, 'snow' — or whatever it was called — covered the land. What did it look like?

As his memory began to work, Sunpaw found himself striving to learn what colors looked like. Purple, green, blue, yellow . . . what was his pelt color again? Was it fluffy white? Maybe it was spotted gray with black spots? Or was it golden like the sun? Whatever the answer was, he couldn't figure it out, unless he asked other cats around him.

Then his mind painted out the last scene of color he had ever seen. Cheers arose around him as he gazed out onto the Clan with bright eyes. He remembered pelts, but couldn't put a name to each one. All he knew was that they were cheering for him. His apprentice ceremony. The moment he got his apprentice name, he knew that he was going to be the best hunter in the entire Clan. Swooping from above to crash onto mice or squirrels below, or snaking through the forest to snag a fleeing rabbit. Leaping into the sky just like a bird, and bringing a paw down on a robin or sparrow. Sunpaw's excitement had gotten the best out of him.

That is, up until the point where he lost his sight, an important tool needed to hunt. It allowed him to spot quick movements in the forest, such as a squirrel's tail disappearing behind a tree branch or a brown pelt flash across the land. Any hopes and dreams of becoming the best hunter were torn out by the talons of a falcon.

He was searching for prey all by himself. The mountains held the biggest prey. He thought the best way to impress the Clan was bringing in a massive catch. He wanted to see them praise him again and make his parents proud of him. Instead, when he was searching around for any scents, a sound caught his ear.

He had turned around, had saw the tip of a talon enter his eyes and red fill his vision. His eyes had burned as the talons scraped around to grab him. Pain had filled his little body, and he had scrambled away from whatever was attacking him. Wingbeats that sounded like thunder boomed in his ear, making his screams go unheard. He had shut his eyes to prevent any further damage, Sunpaw had felt the creature above him winning. His heart had beat against his chest madly, desperate to break free. With the pain from his eyes now affecting the rest of his body, he had felt himself go numb.

Razors had sunk into his face madly like an older cat had gone mad. Sunpaw hadn't even let out a squeak of fear as the falcon attacked viciously. When he had thought it was over, talons wrapped around his pelt and he felt himself rising into the air. His stomach had flipped over and he had weakly tried to jump out. Flailing helplessly in the air had begun to take too much energy to do. Sunpaw was only able to cry, yet even that couldn't wash away the blood running down his face and over his ruined eyes.

For some reason, the animal above him had let out a screech of pain and a mass of snarling and hissing replaced his terror. Sunpaw fell on his side, too tired and scared of what was going on to think. The last thing he remembered was his name being called by a warrior he didn't know the name to anymore. A few days had passed and he recovered, and paid the price of hunting all alone on the day he became an apprentice. He had lost his eyesight and had no way to get it back.

Worst of all, he picked up from other cats that his parents began to think differently of him ever since he lost his eyesight.

Thinking about it now, moons later, Sunpaw frowned. Remembering the pelts of other cats around him became a challenge. Ever since he was shut out from the sun, seeing and remembering the pelts of everyone was harder and harder. Was it his sister who had the fluffy white pelt like a cloud? No, wait, that was his father, or was it? What did his father even look like again? Sunpaw bit his lip, fearing that one day he would forget the entire Clan and camp. What did the MistClan camp look like? Was it as sheltered as he remembered, or was it just a dream?

"Sunpaw! Hello?" A voice snapped him out of his mindless thoughts. Whirling his head around to figure out where the voice came from, he opened his ears to hear her voice again. It didn't come, leaving him disappointed. Anytime any cat wanted to talk to him made him feel wanted — like they didn't care if he was blind. Like they treated him like a normal cat.

It will never happen, he thought, with a stab in the heart.

"Sunpaw!" The voice came again and he nearly jumped off the rock. The voice sounded right beside him and he saw a dark shadow move around him. His nose opened and he breathed in the familiar scent of his sister. Goldenthorn purred, filling his ears and chasing away any depressing thoughts that came. Sunpaw began to nuzzle the warm pelt next to him as she happily licked the top of his head. Relying on his other senes such as his touch, taste, hearing, and feeling was beginning to become a daily thing now. Not like he had any other choice.

"What are you doing on this rock?" she asked happily, "It's far above the ground, you know."

"I know this rock better than any other cat in MistClan," he replied, hoping he was looking at his sister's face and not her pelt or tail.

"Wow, you're rude, don't even want to spend time with your sister and rather have small talk with a rock," she joked, gently bumping his side.

"But you're busy and —"

"Again, with my always being busy. What's so bad about spending time with my brother?" she huffed.

"Nothing! I enjoy your company . . . It's just when you are busy, I spend time with this rock. At least I know it's not moving anywhere or busy," he confirmed, planting himself further into the rock. Had he had roots, Sunpaw would've planted himself onto the surface a long time ago. Goldenthorn didn't reply. He guessed she was doing something else. Maybe she was rolling her eyes, or shaking her head. He wondered what she looked like when she was annoyed.

"Well, I'm surprised you haven't fallen off this rock yet," she countered.

"Huh?"

"It's so far up and without your sight, I worry you'll fall."

"As I said, I know this rock and I know where the edge of it is."

"Surely you must've fallen off when you first were on it."

"No, when I was first on it, I searched it and figured out where the edges are. That way, I know where it stops so I don't fall."

"Oh, come on, you know you can be truthful around me. You had to have fallen off sometime. Tell me, did someone scare you? I bet that was when you fell." He could sense her eagerness rise inside of her body — again, what was her pelt color? Were her eyes shining brightly, and was there a happy grin across her face? Sunpaw could only wonder what she looked like now.

"You don't know me, I can hear when cats approach me so they don't scare me," he claimed bravely.

"Sure," she agreed sarcastically.

"Why do you sound doubtful?" he asked.

"You nearly jumped off when I came to you today," Goldenthorn pushed. "So that makes me think you're just trying to cover up that you've fallen off before".

"What?!" Sunpaw protested and Goldenthorn laughed. "No! That's not it! I was just in deep thought! It's not like you surprised me!"

"Hmm, okay, fine" Goldenthorn nudged his shoulder. "What made you fall?"

"Nothing!"

"Ah, it was prey, wasn't it? You were so hungry that you ran off, not remembering that the rock has edges!"

"No! I told you! Besides, I'm not usually hungry —"

"Lies, I tell you! Beautiful lies!" Goldenthorn declared dramatically. "Anytime you can find yourself with prey, you dig into it like there is no tomorrow! I guess it was prey."

"It was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Okay, how about sleepwalking?"

"I don't even sleepwalk! I'm in my nest when I'm sleeping too! How could I get up and onto this rock?!"

"Well, you did say you know this rock better than any other cat in the Clan," Goldenthorn commented. "So maybe you had a nightmare one day and came to this rock for comfort!"

"That's just strange, Goldenthorn," he commented, wrinkling his nose at her.

"We're all strange in our own ways, brother," she replied. "Aha! So it was the sleepwalking!"

"No, it was not!"

"How else should I pull your tail today?" Goldenthorn suddenly asked, letting her guard down.

Silence passed throughout the two. Sunpaw felt his jaw drop open in surprise and possibly, his sister was trying to hide her laughter.

Wait, this was just a . . .

Goldenthorn broke out into a series of laughter. "Ah, Sunpaw, it was all just a joke! You take these things way too seriously, be a little bit more relaxed once in awhile. It really helps, you know?" Sunpaw stood there as he tried to figure out what was going on with his sister. Goldenthorn was still laughing on the stone, seeming to enjoy this way too much for his liking. Yet, he felt his jaw close and form into a grin.

He joined in her laughing fit, noticing that his laugh was much weaker than hers. Even so, he couldn't help but bring himself to enjoy the spare time with her. Goldenthorn was perhaps the only cat in the Clan that seemed to seek him out to strike a conversation with. That made him smile and laugh. The two sat beside one another on the rock and laughed to each other, carefree of the Clan below them. Sunpaw enjoyed this time of day the most.

Whether it was purposeful or as a joking gesture, Sunpaw felt a sudden thud and found himself slipping off the rock. Goldenthorn instantly shut her jaw and the laughter died off as he tumbled off the rock. Without panicking, he placed his paws on the rock, catching himself before he completely fell off. Climbing back onto the rock to join his sister's side with his strong sense of touch, silence passed through the two.

Like striking a match, Goldenthorn burst out laughing at the action, followed by Sunpaw's weaker laugh. Still, the laughter was much louder than the last one, filling up the camp and drawing attention to them from below. The apprentice didn't need to see the faces of curious warriors in MistClan camp to know that they were at least a couple of cats staring at them. He didn't care and continued to laugh alongside his sister.

"StarClan, you were right about not being able to fall off," Goldenthorn wheezed through her giggles.

The laughter had to stop sometime.

A loud-pitched screech filled the camp, shutting off any laughter shared between the two. Goldenthorn's laugh was cut off and Sunpaw's laugh was only drowned out by the discord. To him, he flattened his ears to save his hearing from the sound. Losing one sense made his other senses shoot up drastically, and the ear-splitting sound was almost like a dying hawk. The thought of a hawk screeching brought him back to the day he lost his sight.

It didn't die down, to his disappointment.

Through his ears, he thought he could hear the sound of the noise calling "Sunpaw! Sunpaw!" It slowly became clearer through his broken ears. Sunpaw's fur relaxed, knowing that he could understand the sound. Then his heart dropped to his stomach as hard as a rock in seconds when he recognized the voice. Paws scrapped against the rock, claws sliding down the surface as the cat grunted to get up to the two. Goldenthorn went silent and stood close to him; her attention must've been drawn toward the incoming cat.

Mother! Sunpaw thought, his heart leaping as he heard the pawsteps getting closer. Dawnshade!

"What are you two doing up there?! It's dangerous! Especially you, Sunpaw! You could fall and break something like a leg or two! You don't need that!" Her desperate voice became closer to the two. She was clearly holding back her rage, he could tell. Like she was a snake, just waiting for the chance to spring at them. Worry flooded her voice as she managed to reach the two and she let out a huff. "Do you understand me?!"

"Y-yes!" Sunpaw corrected, fiddling with his paws, careful not to slip off. He didn't know if his mother had a sharp gaze like a hawk. Perhaps she saw him shift around and only increased her worry in him.

"Do you not know how high this rock is?!" she demanded.

"I do," he responded.

"Then what in the name of StarClan were you doing up there?!" she shrieked, no longer holding back her worry and rage.

"Don't worry," Goldenthorn stepped in, to his relief. "He told me that he knows this rock better than anyone in the Clan. He's safe, trust me."

Thank you, he thought.

"If you're —"

"Silence!" Dawnshade snarled and he heard something lash across the air sharply. He took a fearful step back and Goldensun curled her tail around him, comforting him. "Shut up, Goldenthorn! You don't know anything about him! You may be a full-grown warrior, but Sunpaw's still an apprentice, not to mention, a blind apprentice too! He needs to be careful when he does things and I don't want to see him doing the reckless things you do on a daily basis!"

With that, Sunpaw felt his mother snatch him away and drag him off the rock. Goldenthorn let out a growl of annoyance, displeased at the lecture. He turned his head around, trying to figure out what was going on, but without sight, it was useless. Dawnshade slid down the rock angrily, keeping her grip firm on him the whole way. She was treating him like a newborn kit, rather than an apprentice.

"Don't worry," she reassured through his pelt. "I'll bring my little kit back to camp safely".

Little kit? That made his heart sink to his stomach. So this is what they meant. Instead of Dawnshade seeing an apprentice, she saw a helpless kit wandering around blindly throughout the world. Parts of it were true, he admitted with a stab in the heart. Ever since he lost his sight, he felt like the world had suddenly become darker and cruel. Yet Goldenthorn was the only thing he saw worth living for in the dark place.

"Dawnshade —"

He was abruptly cut off by his mother's sharp attitude. The moment she went on, Sunpaw felt like he lost his voice as she set him on the ground and shoved him by her side to keep him close. The presence wasn't new, he was used to her being overprotective around him. Still, he hated hearing her lectures every day.

"You need me, Sunpaw! I want to be your eyes! If you can't see, you don't know if something's coming to kill you! What if another falcon comes up and swoops down to take you? You wouldn't even know it was coming from a mile away! That's why I have to be near you at all times! I don't want to lose you again! I wasn't there to protect you when you lost your sight! This is what happens when I'm not around! This world is so cruel and it hunts for the weak! Until you're strong, I have to be with you! I don't want to see you hurt! So stay away from your sister!"

If Sunpaw was supposed to feel bad for himself, it wasn't working. As the lecture went on — with Dawnshade repeating some points over and over — he felt bad for her instead. Dawnshade hadn't been one to burst out, but now, she wasn't stopping. The lecture continued, and he could tell she was tired and desperate to prove her point.

"If I weren't around you, you'd be dead, Sunpaw!" That caught his attention. "You would've been killed so many times, I can't keep track. As long as I'm around, you'll be safe from anything. I promise, a vow! Be more grateful next time, Sunpaw! I'm your mother, and if you would show the slightest amount of gratitude, that would be amazing! Instead, you don't show anything toward me and spend time with your reckless sister! StarClan forbid, you ungrateful child!" she paused. "I truly care about you, Sunpaw, I don't want to see you hurt in this world."

I know, he thought sadly.

"So stay away from Goldenthorn. She's reckless, oblivious, lacks common sense, and doesn't know what she's talking about. She'll influence you to do bad things and hurt yourself over and over. And I don't want to see you injured any more than you already are. She's a disappointment to the Clan, always loud and acting like a kit when she's a warrior. MistClan keeps her, for some reason. She somehow has the skills of a warrior and stays around. Still, she is going to be the death of MistClan, because she's irresponsible! If it were up to me, I'd be much happier if it was just the two of us".

Sunpaw felt the bad feeling start to rise. His life turned black the day he lost his sight. Both physically and literally. Nothing he could do would stop this fate. Goldenthorn was trapped in his life as well, whether she liked it or not. Did she know what Dawnshade said about her? Did she know her mother's true thoughts about her? Or was she blind in a different way? He was blind in sight, yet his eyes were wide open to the truth.

Running away wasn't even a chance. He wouldn't get very far out of camp with his eyesight. Getting back to camp was another challenge he couldn't do. Without his sight, he couldn't find his way out and back into the camp if it all went wrong. Not to mention, he had Dawnshade on him like a hawk. Her eyesight seemed to be made for him and him only. Goldenthorn was out of that sight, and probably could run away. Dawnshade wouldn't care for her. Sunpaw, however, was different.

He was never going to escape her, he knew. Ever since that day, his life changed — most likely for the worse. Dawnshade was never going to leave him alone.

And that was a fact he could see clearly, even though he was blind.

Written by Solstice
Edited by Mack