[MillietheWarrior]

A soft voice spoke up from behind the assembled cat, and a light brown tabby she-cat stepped forward, her amber eyes glowing and a smile on her face. A gray tabby tom was at her side, his blue eyes almost a milky white color. He sniffed in Bearpaw's direction, his eyes widening slightly. But any remark he may have made was cut off by the tabby she-cat.

"I think she is right. They are supposed to be here. They already seem like they belong. Perhaps there is more to their arrival than meets the eye."

[MillietheWarrior]

Firestar nodded. "I think you are right, Leafpool," he mewed, turning to the two newcomers. "Very well. From now on you, Stormypaw, and you, Bearpaw, shall be a part of ThunderClan. I welcome you, on behalf of all the forest. Tomorrow, we shall hold the official apprentice ceremonies."

Bearpaw stared into Leafpool's eyes, smiling her thanks as Stormypaw thanked the ThunderClan leader. But Bearpaw's gaze was drawn to the gray tabby beside the medicine cat, and his dark, accusing eyes. It was as if he knew something about her that she did not. When he turned his gaze away, Bearpaw breathed a sigh of relief, and all of the pent up stress and anxiety from the day seemed to be lifted from her shoulders.

With that gone, Bearpaw fainted straight away.

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[MillietheWarrior]

Bearpaw struggled to sit up, blinking her large eyes owlishly as she tried to adjust to the darkness surrounding her. She felt so tired, and her legs ached, as though she had been running for a very long time.

As her eyes adjusted, she stood. Her paws felt like lead, heavy and cumbersome. She could not move, and was rooted to the spot. In the distance, she could make out a shimmering shape, drawing ever closer. There was an urgency in the air, the strong and eye-watering scent of fear permeating the darkness.

[MillietheWarrior]

Bearpaw panicked. She had no idea where she was, or what she was doing here. The shape was drawing ever closer, and it frightened and intrigued her all at the same time. "Please, let me go!" she rasped to the nothingness that held her fast. The shape shimmered, flickered, and nearly disappeared.

Fear forgotten, Bearpaw stared hard at it, and it continued to move towards her, gliding without seeming to touch the empty ground. As it came within a few feet of her, she gasped. It was a cat! The shimmering shape was completely black, it's eyes a cloudy, sightless blue. Stars shimmered in his pelt, and his paws seemed to wisp gently over the ground beneath him.

[MillietheWarrior]

His gaze was warm as he beheld her, and bent forward, touching his nose to hers softly. A tingly warmth spread throughout her body, and the aches and pains were gone. She found that she could move her paws, and her legs no longer felt like lead. She gazed up at the unfamiliar cat to thank him for his trouble, but there was no warmth in his eyes this time; instead, there lingered a grave sorrow, one that chilled Bearpaw to the bone.

He opened his mouth, and she expected his voice to be gentle, and beautiful, just like he was. But instead, a harsh rasp, barely a whisper flickered in the air. Bearpaw drew her head back, looking confused as he spoke.

"Though many will walk this path, only some shall return. Sometimes one must look to see what is not there. Find what lies beneath the underneath. What lies ahead, now what lies behind. Eyes that once saw so clearly, have become clouded. Many paws shall stray, and the stars shall fall from the heavens. Beware what lurks in the heart of darkness. Not everyone can be saved."

[MillietheWarrior]

His words hung ominously in the air around them, and Bearpaw stared at him, eyes wide and horrified. What did it mean? "Wait!" she suddenly cried out, for his form had begun to shimmer and disappear. She lunged forward, determined to get an answer from him, but he vanished into thin air, a sparkling trail of stardust left in his wake. "Wait..." she called again, despairingly. Already, the darkness had begun to close in around her once more.

She felt a heavy weight on her chest, and sucked in a deep breath. Why was it getting harder to breathe? Crying out, she fell to the ground, and felt herself slowly, inevitably, sinking back into the darkness she had come from.

[MillietheWarrior]

Bearpaw woke with a start, her chocolate fur bristling. A heavy weight lay across her back, and she wriggled unhappily, finding it quite hard to breathe. A snort came from above her, and she turned her head, only to find Stormypaw's large paw slung over her shoulders. While it was a nice gesture, it was restricting her breathing.

Shifting, she slipped out form beneath his paw, and tumbled out of the soft nest she had been sleeping in. A small squeak of surprise escaped her lips, and she fell to the ground with a soft thump, knocking into something large and solid as she did so. Blinking and shaking her head, she glanced up, only to find a pair of sightless blue eyes staring grumpily back at her.

"Whoops! I'm so sorry!" she mewed hurriedly, jumping up.

[MillietheWarrior]

Jaypaw blinked his cloudy blue eyes, his whiskers twitching with hidden amusement as he caught the embarrassment rolling off of her in waves. "Don't let it happen again," he mewed gruffly, before twitching his ears in Stormypaw's direction. "That great lump of fur has been in here since yesterday. He refuses to leave your side, the mouse-brain."

Bearpaw turned, and her eyes gazed at Stormypaw warmly, a soft smile on her face. Jaypaw shifted uncomfortably as he felt the affection emanating from the chocolate brown she-cat. He couldn't understand why it made him uncomfortable or upset, but it did. To take her attention off the other apprentice, he cleared his throat.

[MillietheWarrior]

"Well, I'd say you're going to be all right, then, Bearpaw. You fainted yesterday, you know. No one really knows why." He shifted, scooting a small pile of herbs across the floor in thought. "I think you were overwhelmed, and just tired." He grunted, looking back up at her. He wished he knew what she looked like. "Lionpaw's been asking about you, and Hollypaw too. They both seem pretty curious about you."

Bearpaw seemed lost in thought, and nodded slowly. But remembering he could not see her, she amended this with a small sound of understanding. "If I were in their places, I think I'd be curious about me too," she said with an amused twitch of her whiskers. Lionpaw had been asking about her? The one who had found she and Stormypaw on the patrol? And who was Hollypaw?

[MillietheWarrior]

Shifting slightly uncomfortably, Bearpaw found that Jaypaw's sightless gaze had never left her face. He seemed to be concentrating, as though he was trying his hardest to see her, despite his inability to. She turned her eyes away, embarrassment causing her tail to twitch.

Jaypaw kept his eyes on the she-cat, willing himself to see her. He had never wanted to see anyone. Not that he could remember. So why then, did he want to see Bearpaw so very badly? After a few more moments, he could feel her embarrassment, and gave up, shifting his blind gaze to the floor, and the unsorted herbs.

"Um..." It was Bearpaw. She didn't really know what else to say.

[MillietheWarrior]

Jaypaw shifted, turning his gaze back to her, a hopeful glint in the back of his mind. Hopeful? Hopeful for what? he asked himself, growling mentally. Opening his mouth to speak, the two were interrupted by a loud snort, as Stormypaw roused himself from the small nest of moss and his slumber. The absence of Bearpaw must have woken him.

Blinking the sleep from his amber eyes in an owlish manner, he smiled brightly when he saw Bearpaw sitting on the stone floor of the Medicine Cat den. Her eyes found his, and she smiled warmly. Stormypaw hopped out of the nest, his black fur brushing her own as he purred.

[MillietheWarrior]

"You're awake! Glad you're okay, Bearpaw. Jaypaw here has been looking after you." He glanced at the apprentice, not really liking the way his sightless eyes stayed locked onto Bearpaw. "Anyway, Firestar said that after you woke up, we could begin our official apprentice ceremonies. You think you feel up to it?"

Bearpaw was still staring at Jaypaw, but there was a curiousness in her gaze, a strange flicker of light, that put Stormypaw on edge. Hackles raised, he nudged her towards the entrance of the den. "Come on! I can't wait until we become official ThunderClan apprentices!" He nudged her a bit more, directing a shadowy glare at the blind apprentice that Bearpaw missed entirely.

[MillietheWarrior]

Jaypaw could sense the jealousy and hostility rolling off of Stormypaw. He smirked. Good, he thought, though he had no idea why. He returned the glare, his own jealousy at having Bearpaw taken away baffling him. But he would not let Stormypaw intimidate him, not for a second.

Stormypaw and Bearpaw continued out of the den, Stormypaw seeming smug for having won the she-cat back. But as she left Jaypaw alone with his herbs, Bearpaw glanced back over her shoulder, and Jaypaw could feel her regret at having left. This startled him, and he blinked rapidly, staring sightlessly after the retreating she-cat. What was going on?

[MillietheWarrior]

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Firestar touched his nose to Stormypaw's his eyes bright as he gazed down at the apprentice. "From now on, you shall officially be known as Stormypaw, apprentice of ThunderClan. Your mentor will be..." His eyes seemed to warm and glow for a moment, before he continued. "Graystripe." His former deputy only smiled knowingly, a gentle light in his amber eyes. He padded forward, and touched noses with his new apprentice.

The Clan took up a chant, calling out Stormypaw's name as he was officially inducted into ThunderClan. He looked embarrassed, and smiled sheepishly, dipping his head and lowering his eyes. Graystripe, sitting beside him, could only chuckle, knowing the feeling all too well. Firestar, with a wry smile, turned his eyes to Bearpaw next.

[MillietheWarrior]

The young she-cat could feel her body quaking. She hadn't known she'd be so excited to become a true apprentice. Only a few days before, she had an entirely different life. She had never dreamed she'd be here, in the forest. Who could ever dream such a ridiculous fantasy up? She had been turned into a cat by who knows what, and now, here she was, becoming a part of a cat Clan. This was ludicrous, but exciting at the same time.

She felt Firestar press his nose to hers, and a smile lit up her features. Her fur stood on end, and her paws trembled with excitement. "From now on," she heard him say. "You shall be formally be known as Bearpaw, apprentice of ThunderClan. And your mentor will be..." She held her breath, body tense as she waited for him to speak. "Millie."