dawn

~~~

VIOLETPAW WOKE UP PANTING. It took her a second to regain her senses. As her mind ran wildly with thoughts from her dream, she had to force herself to focus on something present and grounding. 

Surprisingly, she found that to be Ravenpaw's snoring. Even though it'd been a moon since their time in SkyClan, it seemed the comfort he'd given her while they were in the paws of their enemies still held. 

Whatever the reason was, listening to the sound of the black tom asleep helped to slowly calm her breathing, and Violetpaw flicked her ears, looking around.

Early morning light was creeping into the den, shining on two empty nests. Eaglefrost and Dapplelight had become warriors last week, and Ravenpaw's Warriors Assessment was set for the next moon. They were all growing up. 

Violetpaw sighed, turning her attention to outside the den. She could hear the low, tired murmurs of the warriors assigned to the dawn patrol, and it was with a start that she realized she and Sunbounce were meant to be on it.

Quickly, she pushed herself to her paws and trotted out.

It was brighter than usual, and felt much warmer. Violetpaw loved the snow, but after that scary dream, she couldn't help but be happy for the light and warmth.

"Violetpaw. Good, you're up." Sunbounce greeted her with a flick of his tail.

Her mentor looked much better than he had in moons, too. It seemed he'd finally been able to get some sleep, and his blue eyes finally recovered that spark of life they'd been void of. 

It was with a sudden chill that Violetpaw remembered what Ashbird told her, and that Violetdust had also been murdered by the Ghost Assassin. Should she tell Sunbounce?

Funnily enough, Ashbird called Violetpaw Violetdust at the end. Was that a mistake on the SkyClan she-cat's part? 

 "Fogsky and I were just about to come get you guys," Sunbounce mewed, gesturing to Brightpaw's mentor standing a little behind him. 

Fogsky nodded. "Can you go wake her, please?"

Violetpaw flicked her tail and turned around, but couldn't help dragging her paws a little as she ducked into the apprentices den. Her relationship with Brightpaw had turned... weird. The calico had been one of her best friends, but now, she seemed to always prefer Ravenpaw's company over hers, and was prone to giving Violetpaw an odd, cold look.

The white she-cat hadn't had time to ask Brightpaw about it. For StarClan's sake, she hasn't even spent one-on-one time with Brightpaw since they were kits. This patrol certainly was going to be interesting.

Once everyone was awake and up, they set off. As usual, the warriors split off into their own groups, chatting amongst themselves as the apprentices fell together. An awkward silence enveloped Violetpaw and Brightpaw, and the white she-cat stared ahead, unsure of what to say.

It wasn't like they needed to talk, anyways. Now would be a good time to fully interpret her dream.

Violetpaw took a deep breath and thought back to Ashbird's memory, running through all the events. As she recalled Ashbird's argument with the Ghost Assassin, she found herself caught on one line:

"Oakkit needs his father."

Oakkit? As in Oakbounce? That would make sense. Oakbounce is Ashbird's daughter. But that means... That means his father is the Ghost Assassin.

Violetpaw flicked her tail nervously. Did Oakbounce know? Does he know his father killed his mother? Does he know his father's identity at all?

She had to find out.

Another part of that dream stuck with her. Ashbird referred to the Ghost Assassin's home as ThunderClan.

Violetpaw shivered. So Crowstar wasn't crazy; the Ghost Assassin was indeed a ThunderClan cat. But how was that possible? 

She thought of her Clanmates. Which one of them was a murderer? Which one of them would father a kit with a SkyClan cat, then kill her? Violetpaw couldn't even begin to think of a motive that would drive a cat to do that, much less have it somehow connect with one of her Clanmates.

Was this cat still in ThunderClan? A cat sleeping in the same den as her parents? That was a fact that the white she-cat was having trouble wrapping her mind around.

And, as the Violetpaw remembered Ashbird's panicked face as the chasm pulled her into the Place of No Stars, the dark gray she-cat had mentioned another cat.

"He's not going to stop until she's satisfied."

This left Violetpaw with chills running beneath her skin. All along, she'd thought, if the Ghost Assassin were real, he was just one cat. She didn't realize that there were two enemies to deal with, an upper power that the Ghost Assassin answered to.

And finally, of course, the Violetdust situation. Ashbird had called Violetpaw by the name of Violetdust as she was swallowed up. Was that a slip of her tongue, brought by panic? Or was that something else?

It was odd. Violetpaw was indeed named after Violetdust, but being called the late she-cat's name left a feeling in the apprentice's stomach that could be described as nothing less than weird. 

But it didn't feel misplaced. No, rather, it felt... right.

"A cat from the past seeks revenge."

Violetpaw practically jumped in shock, and her head snapped over to her right. Those words had interrupted her train of thought, hissed into her ear. Or, at least she thought they were hissed into her ear. It felt so real, but there was nobody to her right except Foxbounce and Ivydust, and they were much too far away to whisper something like that.

Maybe she'd imagined it.

Slowly, she drew her head back to center and looked forward.

"Their fallen future, they want to avenge."

This time, the sound came from her left, and Violetpaw flinched, instantly whirling her face over. However, her gaze found no one except Brightpaw, who was already peering back at her with a perplexed look.

"You alright?"

Violetpaw puffed out a breath, slowly shaking out her pelt. She was losing her mind. "Yeah, sorry."

The calico nodded, but she was wearing a strange expression on her face, as though she had something else she wanted to say. Violetpaw waited, but when Brightpaw remained quiet, she decided to prompt her.

"Something wrong?"

"No. Yes. Well..." Brightpaw trailed off, and her eyes turned to her paws. "Violetpaw, I've been your friend since we were kits. I've never not been your friend."

The white she-cat blinked, unsure of where this was going. "I know this."

"And, well, now I'd like you to be very, very honest with me." Brightpaw inhaled deeply. "Do you... do you like Ravenpaw?"