Dawnpaw watched her littermate's tail fade away. Even after it had disappeared, she stood outside of the camp, hoping that they would come back soon. The white and orange she-cat turned slowly to face the busy RiverClan camp and sighed. Through the bushes she saw that her clanmates were scrambling around, repairing dens and making plans for fishing and defending camp. Emberstar organized the patrols, and Aspencloud left camp to gather herbs. Nobody was paying attention to her.

It's not against the Warrior Code, Dawnpaw thought, her paws itching to splash in the lake or the small stream. Rocks and dirt sprayed across the path as she ran through a bundle of trees and undergrowth. Her paws pounded on the ground, and she didn't stop running until she stood at the edge of the babbling river. Although it looked calm, Dawnpaw knew that underneath the surface there could be riptides waiting to pull her in.

"Never go in the water without a partner," Tanglebrook said, padding up from behind his apprentice.

Dawnpaw whirled around to see the white and black tom staring at her with a peculiar expression of his face.

"I'm sorry, Tanglebrook,"she exclaimed, shifting her paws. "I wasn't going to go in the water, I promise!"

"Don't tell me that you are just here to look at the river," he mewed calmly. Looking at Dawnpaw he added," Oh, don't worry. Almost every RiverClan apprentice has gotten caught trying to swim alone."

"Can I?" asked Dawnpaw. "I haven't been swimming or haven't done anything in ages."

"Try a quarter-moon," Tanglebrook grumbled. He flicked his tail towards the water, which grazed Dawnpaw's nose. "There's a school of carp down there. Why don't you try out your diving skills?"

Dawnpaw stood carefully at a ledge that was a fox-length above the water. Through the greenish blue water, she could see black shapes swimming in the water, carefree. She dropped into a crouch on the ledge and unsheathed her claws. Leaping off of the ledge, she hit the water and sank down into the world of water.

Bubbles floated past Dawnpaw's fur and up to the air above, but she didn't pay attention them. Quick as a fox, she pushed forward with all four paws and grabbed a carp with her jaws.

The fish struggled against her grip, and Dawnpaw bit down on the tender fish slightly, until blood drifted through the water and the fish stopped struggling. Dawnpaw kicked her way to the surface and threw the fish down on the grassy bank. Blood slowly ran down the stained scales, gathering in a pool underneath the fish as she gasped for breath.

"Dawnpaw!" Tanglebrook said. "Why is the fish punctured? What cat will eat that?" Dawnpaw stared at the bloody carp, imaging blood trickling down Silverpaw's beautiful pelt, matting the fur in clumps. Her sister could be killed just as easily as the fish. She shivered, paws numb.

"Dawnpaw!" Tanglebrook growled. Dawnpaw turned to him, her eyes hollow and full of fear.

"Silverpaw won't die," he said, pressing his warm black and white pelt against hers.

"StarClan let Ferntail die," Dawnpaw said. "How do we know that they won't let Silverpaw die as well? For all we know, she could be dead right now!" Tanglebrook looked at the ridge of trees that blocked the river from view, then back at the fish, whose blood had stopped flowing.

"It was Ferntail's time to die," a cat said,from behind Dawnpaw. "You and Silverpaw— you two have a great destiny. Your time to die is not yet." Dawnpaw whirled around, claws unsheathed in case of a ShadowClan warrior and braced herself for an attack. Instead, a thick grey-pelted tom sat in front of her. He was not one of her clanmates, but still carried the distinct scent of RiverClan. With stars shining in his eyes, the tom stared at Dawnpaw.

"StarClan has instructed me to tell you that your time will come, but not now. You and Silverpaw have a greater destiny that has ever been written in the stars— greater then Dovewing, Lionblaze, Jayfeather, or even Firestar's."

"What?" Dawnpaw gasped, but the grey tom had vanished, leaving only the memories of his words ringing in her ears.

"Dawnpaw?" Tanglebrook said, looking at his bewildered apprentice. "What's wrong? Did you see a ShadowClan warrior?" He opened his mouth to taste the air.

"N-no," said Dawnpaw, sitting up. She met his eyes and shook her head. "I-I didn't see anything."

That is, nothing but a warrior from StarClan.