Hiddenstep and Dawnghost, Chapter 4

Hiddenstep took a deep breath and took a running leap at the moonpath. She was half-expecting herself to fall through, half-expecting to feel herself skid like she was on ice. But when her paws touched the moonpath, she stood on the water. It wasn't solid or icy; but she wasn't falling through. It felt like water, but the only difference was that she wasn't falling through. Standing on water.

"I could run across the lake this," she yowled back to Dawnghost. The thing is, it would depend on where the moon is in the sky and what part of the cycle it's in. "Maybe it's easier to stand on when the moon is full. I hope StarClan keeps the clouds away."

"Try running!" called Dawnghost. "Come on, it's lots of fun!" Hiddenstep complied and raced along the water, the substance shifting with the waves her pawsteps incited. It was exhilarating, and suddenly Hiddenstep summed up what exactly she was doing: running on water. Before she knew it, water in every direction was all the black cat knew, and the only thing that mattered was the light blue path before her, showing her the way.

Running, away from ThunderClan, towards the unknown and away from any night creature that might lurk in the dark water, watching, creeping. Hiddenstep was too fast for them; like lightning she sped across the never-ending expanse of water, paws and legs blurring together with grace and power. And then, before she knew it, Hiddenstep was facing the island. She had run across the lake.

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Collapsing into her nest, Dawnghost dreamed of nothing but, despite her exhaustion, woke up at dawn. Time to practice. She crept out of the whole in the dark corner of the warrior's den she had dug a long time ago and climed the secret path along the hollow. The sun, coming over the horizon, shone with a bright gold-and-rose light, and Dawnghost closed her eyes.

She willed herself to lose substance, to become transparent and clear as the glassy Moonpool she had once visited to get her blessing from StarClan. Willing herself into a clear, dreamlike state of mind. And, for the first time since a long time, it held. Dawnghost was suddenly pulled into sharp focus, everything around her sharp and clear and very, very solid. She groaned softly and padded over to the nearest puddle, and nearly sprang fifteen tail-lengths into the air. She had no reflection. Even her eyes were gone! So she didn't have to be dreamy and fuzzy in the mind to be invisible, after all.

Then, she went to wake Hiddenstep. "Wake up! Hiddenstep! Shh, it's me, Dawnghost . . . wake up! Follow me. Oh, are you groggy? Well, too bad. I have to show you something. Only forty heartbeats had passed since Dawnghost had turned invisible. Together, night and day padded to the same puddle and looked into it. Dawnghost let her eyes show, so her sister knew where she was.

"Disappear," she said softly, but with elation. "I want to be invisible together!"

The light that shone upon them was on the brink of sunrise and dusk; night light was fading while the sun took over. "Quick, before the night disappears!" Dawnghost urged her sister. Hiddenstep closed her eyes and let herself become one last ray of darkness, swallowed up in one, and disappeared, camouflaged into the leafy colours. Dawnghost looked up at where her sister should be, into empty space, and let her eyes slip into the dreamy fuzz before letting herself become aware again. They were invisible.

Suddenly, they saw the world around them fade and blend into everything, anything and nothing. They were whirling through the sky, passed through nothingness and then, they were standing on sparkling green grass by a crystalline river - bluebirds singing merry songs in the trees, and cats with starlight in their fur standing around them wherever they looked.

StarClan.