Dawnghost paced fervently. Her fur bristled and flattened, and she worried. She had told their leader, Bramblestar, that she was spending a day at hunt. How, exactly, would she explain coming back with no prey whatsoever?
And where was Hiddenstep? Yes, Dawnghost had ultimate faith in her, but sunset? Taking her sweet time, indeed! But she wasn't just annoyed. Either something was really, really good . . .
Or really, really bad.
*splash*
Dawnghost whirled around to see a dark form scrabbling for a hold near the bay of the lake. Night-black, and, in the seven minutes of sunset, reflecting (but there was nothing to reflect; it seemed like the mirror line was inside Hiddenstep's fur) specks of white light - like stars - from her pelt. There was no time to lose! Dawnghost raced to the water edge and, for a heartbeat, was focused on the path of sunlight that the setting sun cast upon the lake. Then, she threw herself into the water.
There was a moment of crazed confusion, because Dawnghost skidded on something soft yet smooth, ice but sun-warmed. She felt (and all these thoughts were in this moment) that something was very odd indeed, since she had jumped into water. So why was there anything solid beneath her paws? Why wasn't she sinking? And she realized that she was lying on that sunpath, legs splayed, sliding faster and faster toward the black cat -
Dawnghost grabbed her scruff and pushed off of the strange substance - neither solid nor liquid nor air - that had saved her in the same moment, launching both cats onto the path. They half-slid, half-fell off the path and into the water. Dawnghost managed to stand up straight, but Hiddenstep fell straight through. Dawnghost pulled her sister back up and looked at her in shock.
She was barely visible! Becoming a shadow, a version of the fading sunlight.
"Where...were....you?", she said through gritted teeth, fresh emphasis on each word. "What's wrong? Where have you been? You don't have any refugees with you . . . "
"I got caught," Hiddenstep said simply. " then the Shadows saved me. And tried to suck me back. But the thought of you saved me and then StarClan cats told me that we have to save the StarClan caretakers."
Dawnghost snorted, and turned around. Doing so, she let go of Hiddenstep and the black cat fell like a stone through the sunpath again. Dawnghost sighed and pulled her back up. "You have some explaining to do," she told her. "And then again, what are we doing, standing on water?!"
* * * * *
"How can StarClan have leaders?" Dawnghost mused aloud. "All the Clans are joined together."
"Caretakers," Hiddenstep corrected.
"Ri-i-i-ight," said Dawnghost. "Because they trim the grass and make sure the river water is clean?"
"Don't be silly," snapped the black warrior. "Be quiet, too - any deaf rabbit could hear you and your sarcasm!" Then Hiddenstep softened. "But these Bright and Shadow . . . if we were born out of those sparks of their fight . . . are we even cats? Are we dead, or StarClan or something? Because we don't actually have a physical mother. What are we?"
This question was very odd and perhaps what they needed to answer before "restoring faith to the Clans," as the StarClan cats had put it.
"Well, you know, come to think of it? I've never heard of Bright and Shadow before," wondered Hiddenstep aloud. "I think a lot of generations have forgotten about them. As far as I know, even in the time of the leader before Bluestar, cats didn't worship them! What if they're withering because no one knows or believes in them anymore? But how could have cats forgotten them if they were the nurturers of StarClan?"
Dawnghost grumbled. "I know another problem. What are these powers that Bluestar spoke of? Because how the heck are we going to teach the Clans about Shadow and Bright with invisibility?! I can't even do it right!"
A light breeze swept over them and skimmed the edge of the stone hollow. "We know I just walked on the sunpath . . ." Dawnghost said slowly. "What if you can walk on the path that is cast by the moon?"
They glanced at each other, eyes wide at the promise of many hours of adventure and kit-like play. They didn't waste a minute in racing back to the lake edge to soak themselves and run on the light on the lake.
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