"I'm so tired paws could drop off." Tinypaw sighed as they padded side-by-side into the apprentices den. Cheetah was just in front of them. "Me too," she said. Her paws and tail dragged as well.

Rowanpaw was in the corner with her head lowered. She twitched her ears as they all walked in.

"This is what the warriors have been dealing with. Imagine getting a few winks of sleep then waking up to the sound of a wolf attack on the camp. It's back to more of that, Crescentpaw."

Crescentpaw sounded weary as she agreed with her sister. "Yeah, I pray to Starclan they don't attack us anymore. That would be a miracle wouldn't it?" She mewed with feeble hope.

"Don't say that," The brown chestnut she-cat warned. "It could very well happen tonight. Or right before dawn." Crescentpaw shuffled her paws, unsettled because her littermate was right.

This makes me feel worse about my plan.

"Let's sleep over there!" Tinypaw cut in before Cheetah could flop down. Rowanpaw gave them a condemning glance, as if they were weird.

"Thank Starclan. The chattering kittypet will be farther away from my nest now." She complained with her paws crossed, but all three she-cats ignored her.

They settled in a nest beside the back wall. Cypress shrub needles brushed against their stretched out tails. Crescentpaw tugged a few twigs out of her belly-fur with her teeth, flinging them far away from the nest.

"Hey. We need to talk about something when you get the chance." Tinypaw lowered her meows to an urgent whisper. It was clear she was trying to supress her anxiety, as she turned with her backside facing toward Rowanpaw.

"Don't say anything else about it. But it was very hard to hide my... problem today." Her voice was quieter than the chirping crickets outside the den. She folded her forepaws under her chest against the spare nest of moss. "Sooner or later we're going to need a better solution."

Crescentpaw kept an eye on their sister, benevolent as she gazed between the other apprentices.

The tabby-and-white she-cat thought she could see a half-open yellow slitted eye, but Rowanpaw hadn't moved. If she'd heard anything she was pretending not to. With her tail curled around her paws, Rowanpaw's head was lain flat against the nest-bottom. Still lying down, then. We came in a little bit loud while she was trying to sleep...

"Say no more." The apprentice's silky meow was hushed.

The bracken beneath each nest was dusty and crumbled. It crunched under Crescentpaw's weight as she laid down. The dark den-space adjacent to them had room to spare. But there was no need for more nests; bare patches of weeded-out earth lay dark and smooth in the gloom.

There was once a time when Riverclan had lots of apprentices, and queens and kits and elders. But those days were gone.

Until someone brings them back.

She felt a stir of resilience in her gut. Cheetah talked a bit more, but she was inclined enough to notice that the apprentices needed their sleep.

And Crescentpaw especially. Because she had something very special planned for tomorrow's sunrise.

By the will of Starclan, please Riverclan ancestors. Help me wake up early enough, she prayed before she fell asleep.

🐈‍⬛

Another cat's paws were resting on her flank when Crescentpaw awoke. She drowzily pushed them off without thinking, never realizing it was Cheetah.

Her first reaction was to close her eyes and go back to sleep. But then she flung them wide open, remembering the plan. It's time to go.

There was no dawn light spilling in through the trendil-covered den entrance. Instead the sky beyond the entryway was indigo-black. The clouds held a slight stormy-grey hue. Soon the horizon will lighten for dawn.

She had to get out there and on with her mission before Lagoonstripe woke up. Crescentpaw eagerly tried to bound over her companion's nests, but she recklessly stepped on Cheetah's ear as she went. This time the spotted she-cat fully woke up.

She lifted her head and cracked open one eye, asking "What's up? Why are you awake so early?" Her tone was half-sloggy with sleep. She yawned, mouth stretching hugely.

"I-uh." I don't have time for this.

Crescentpaw worriedly glanced at the exit and into the dingy clouds outside.

"Look, Cheetah. Just listen real fast okay? I have to leave. Lagoonstripe will train you while I'm gone. Whenever she wakes up just ask her what the apprentice duties for today are."

"But what about you? Where are you going?" Cheetah blinked. Her golden irises glowed, huge pupils dilated to let in the weak light. She seemed wide awake now. "Won't Lagoonstripe be mad if I tell her that you disappeared?"

The guilt that tugged at Crescentpaw's heart was too much to bear. She realized that she couldn't let her clan think that they were missing a  member again.

"I might as well tie up a few loose ends now," she sighed and scooted closer. "Just tell Lagoonstripe and Tinypaw that I won't be back for two sunsets. NO ONE ELSE," She whispered fiercely.

"And one more thing. Tell them not to look for me until after then." She let her voice drop into an even more serious tone, hoping it helped burn the instructions into Cheetah's fleetful mind. "It's very important that you tell Lagoonstripe not to leave the territory until I get back- or don't, after that second sunset."

For a long moment Cheetah just stared at her. The wheels began turning in her head until she eventually gasped. "Hush!" Crescentpaw scolded as Rowanpaw shifted in her nest. Her sister was submerged in moss close to the entrance. She soon settled again.

"You're going on Lagoonstripe's mission for her, to meet with the other clans." Cheetah's voice quieted with awe. She flicked her tail-tip eagerly with pause.

"Can I go with you?" The she-cat finally blurted. "You're going to need help."

"No! I have to go." Crescentpaw fitfully snapped. She pressed her clawless paws into the bracken impatiently. Cheetah eventually gave a slow nod.

"Alright, but be safe." The spotted she-cat got up to nuzzle Crescentpaw before she left. She was surprised by the gesture, but melted with relief regardless.

"I'll see you in two sunrises, best friend." Cheetah meowed as she stepped back.

That's the second time she's called me that. Are we really best friends already?

Starclan please don't let her fall to the wolves while I'm gone! Crescentpaw thought as she looked at her friend.

"And by the latest on the second sunset. Don't forget to tell Lagoonstripe that." I hope that's giving myself enough time. Haven't cats went around the lake faster than that before?

"Be careful around here, Cheetah. If you hear a guard yowl then bolt for the nearest tree and climb it. Just... try to make sure Tinypaw is hidden behind a den wall first." She felt her reassuring smile falter into a frown. The tabby-and-white apprentice looked over at her sleeping black littermate.

Will all my clanmates be alive when I come back? Am I helping them more in this way than if I just stayed in camp?

Ugh. I mustn't second guess myself.

She didn't allow herself a goodbye any longer. If she did then Tinypaw or Rowanpaw might wake up. Not to mention Lagoonstripe poking her nose into the den for early training.

While the tabby-and-white apprentice flitted from the den she crossed the clearing in an innocent manner. She had her tail loftily lifted and eyes set on the dirtplace tunnel.

No cat spotted her. As the pounding of her heart settled she slipped through the exit and out the other side. The dirtplace had soft, peaty ground. She stepped across it silently and pushed through the bulrushes.

Crescentpaw hadn't preferred to use this way but it was her only option at avoiding the camp entrance's guard. They often patrolled beyond the camp's torn-apart walls, padding around the perimeter.

As she came up to the riverbed's lapping waves she kept her ears pricked for any pre-dawn hunting warriors. Not that there was likely to be any, though.

She shook water off onto the woodrushes, picking up speed and racing through the territory. Crescentpaw knew that she needed to leave Riverclan land before dawn fully broke. Before the sun stained its crimson across the horizon. Before the clan wakes up.

The apprentice knew exactly where she would head first. She would get her minds-image of the most intimidating clan out of the way.

Shadowclan, here I come.

________________________
Crescentpaw