Dreampaw's Adventure

Dreams can come true...

but not always in the way that we think.

Chapter One
Dreampaw sat quietly, tail curled around her paws, staring out at Twolegplace. A pure white she-cat, blue-eyed and lovely, an exact replica of herself, sat on the fence.

Sometimes Dreampaw imagined that she was that she-cat. But she'd chosen her life, and Wish had chosen hers. ''Wishpaw. Wishpaw and Dreampaw. ''If only her sister saw the same thrill of the forest, and life as a warrior, as Dreampaw did.

Yet, she couldn't just abandon Wish. Getting up, she padded across the dew-soaked grass, her ears pricked and her steps cautious. "Wish?"

Her sister gazed at her with sorrow on her face. "Dream...paw. Hello."

"Wish-"

"Don't bother. I belong here. Let's just have a pleasant conversation, for once."

"Okay, okay." Dreampaw gathered her haunches beneath her and leaped onto the top of the fence. Surprise flickered in her sister's eyes, but she didn't say anything. "How are you?"

"Fine," Wish said. "How is the, uh, prey running with you?"

Dreampaw smiled. "Great. It's new-leaf, spring, I mean, so there's lots of prey. Life's pretty great."

"I'll bet," Wish turned her eyes towards the Twoleg den. Dreampaw shuddered. She remembered it perfectly; the closed walls, the rabbit-dropping food, and the odd Twolegs stomping about. And worst of all, the feeling of helplessness. Of being a pampered kittypet who couldn't fend for yourself. Not that Dreampaw would ever tell Wish that.

"So... how's it with you?"

"Huh? Oh. Well, I mean, okay. For some strange reason, my Twolegs are putting their belongings in boxes. The house is being emptied."

"Why? They don't need to store food for leaf-bare now," Dreampaw said.

Wish gave Dreampaw a funny look. "We have plenty to eat in the winter anyway."

Suddenly, Dreampaw's ears pricked. "I have to go. My clan won't like it if I'm here."

For a moment, hurt flashed in Wish's blue eyes, then she purred and rubbed her chin against Dreampaw's chin. "Bye sis."

"Bye!" Dreampaw leaped of the fence and raced back into OakClan's woods.

"Dreampaw!" A brown tabby tom was running towards her, followed by a gray-and-white she-cat and a ginger tom.

"Hi Brindlepaw, Stormwind, Suntail. Sorry, I accidentaly chased a squirrel too far."

"Dreampaw, you shouldn't keep straying near the Twoleg fence." Suntail looked mildly angry, but more concerned. Dreampaw heard her mentor's unspoken words. ''You were a kittypet. The other cats will begin to be even more suspicious, and you can't afford that.''

"Sorry Suntail. It won't happen again, honest."

"Good." Her mentor relaxed. "We're going to the training hollow now, for some fight-training."

"Sounds like fun." As the two apprentices fell in behind their mentors, Dreampaw suddenly felt very concious of every part of her body; how her paws crunched heavily on the grass, when her tail got slightly stuck in a bush. But Brindlepaw always made her feel like that. She couldn't understand it. As a kittypet and a warrior apprentice, toms had always fallen all over her. But Brindlepaw, he was friendly, but not adoring. His kind and calm personality drew her to him, but she didn't think he looked twice at her.

"So.." she said. Brindlepaw glanced at her and she dropped her gaze to her paws, unable to meet his amber eyes without melting. "Learned any new tactics?" She added a teasing tone to her voice. She tried to flick her tail over his shoulder flirtingly, but whipped it against her own cheek instead.

''Mouse-brain. ''She focused on trying to walk properly.

"Sure, I guess. Nothing you don't know."

"Huh? Oh, right. Well, I guess we'll see who's the better apprentice now."

Brindlepaw grinned. "Yep, and let's start now. Race you to the training ring." He shot ahead of Stormcloud, who rolled her eyes, and vanished into the woods.

"Hey no fair!" Dreampaw leaped after him, bumping into Suntail. "Sorry," she called.

Dreampaw felt right at home sprinting through the woods. Sometimes, since she was a former kittypet, she felt clumsy and useless in clan life. But she knew she was fast. She could imagine she was a StarClan cat, sailing over the ground. And the one compliment Brindlepaw had given her, almost making her swoon, was this: "With your glowing white fur you look like a beautiful star-cat."

Brindlepaw was waiting for her. "I won!" He did a little victory prance.

"Hmph. Anyone can win when they're twice their opponents size and get a headstart of a thousand tail-lengths." Dreampaw pretended to be miffed, when actually, she gone slow on purpose, so they could have a friendly teasing.

By the time they were done critizing each other, their mentors had arrived. "Okay you two. Smokepaw and Lilacpaw are doing hunting assesments right now, so we'll stay out of their way. Let's start with that move we learned last time. The roll-over and belly-swipe."

"Ready to get bowled over?" Brindlepaw said. He was surprisingly agile for his bulky body, but in any move that required speed, Dreampaw knew she could take him.

"Okay, Dreampaw, you try it first. Brindlepaw, try to attack her."

Dreampaw tensed up, waiting''. Predictable'', she thought as Brindlepaw charged at her. ''He always uses brute force. ''At the last moment, she ducked. Like Suntail had taught her, she used the force of her drop to roll hersel onto her back and pummeled Brindlepaw's belly with sheathed claws.

Brindlepaw backed off Dreampaw. "Oww," he complained.

"I didn't really hurt you," meowed Dreampaw.

"Good job, both of you," said Stormwind. "Brindlepaw, you can try to counter next time. Try springing down on her belly, or using your muscle to roll yourself on top of her."

"Okay," Brindlepaw said.

They went over some wrestling techniques, which Brindlepaw excelled at, and headed back to the camp. Dreampaw walked onto the Flat Rocks at the back of the camp and stretched out to enjoy the sun. A sleek blue-gray she-cat leaped up beside her. "Hi Lilacpaw. How was your assesment?"

Dreampaw's best friend beamed. "Great. I caught a thrush, two mice, and a squirrel. Smokepaw did good too."

"Congratulations," Dreampaw purred. "I'll bet we'll all be warriors soon."

"Yeah," Lilacpaw answered. "I wonder what my name will be. Lilacflower? Lilacpelt?"

Dreampaw laughed. "What about me? Dreamchaser? I hope Olivestar comes up with better names than what we have."

Lilacpaw nodded her agreement. "So," she said mischeviously. "Did you and Brindlepaw have fun?"

Dreampaw flicked her tail at Lilacpaw. Naturally, her best friend knew about her crush on Brindlepaw. "Great," she said. "But he still only thinks of me as a friend."

"He'll get over it," meowed Lilacpaw. "You've already captured the hearts of toms everywhere. You'll capture his too. I think he's just shy."

Dreampaw gazed at the tabby tom. "Maybe."

Chapter Two
It was early dawn. Dreampaw was sitting casually by the apprentice's den, waiting for the dawn patrol to leave. She was planning to see Wish again.

Finally, Mosswhisker flicked her tail. "Let's go," she said. The four cats headed out of the camp.

Dreampaw waited a bit, then slipped out the entrance, an uncovered tunnel that had formed from an old stream. She raced through the dark pine trees, violet-gray light just reaching the ground and turning her white pelt to silver. She reached the stretch of grass between. Wish was waiting for her. But instead of sitting up on the fence, her sister leaped down and met her halfway.

Dreampaw purred a greeting, when she noticed Wish's eyes were wide with fear. "Wish? What's wrong?"

"Oh Dreampaw," Wish said. "My Twolegs are... they're moving."

Dreampaw's blood ran cold. "Moving? Twolegs don't move."

Wish shook her head. "They do now. They've been packing their stuff, and now they're trying to catch me so we can leave. Dreampaw, this is the last time we'll see each other."

Dreampaw felt her heart pounding as Wish's words sank in. "Why? You don't have to go, Wish. Please, join my clan."

Wish stared at her sorrowfully. "I'm sorry Dreampaw. I can't."

Dreampaw glanced at the fence. "Let's sit there and watch the sunrise, just one last time." Wish nodded, and Dreampaw leaped up and landed gracefully on the top. She smiled down at Wish, when suddenly something grabbed her from behind.

"Gotcha!" Dreampaw found herself staring at a Twoleg! She began clawing furiously. The Twoleg yowled and yelled but didn't let go. ''There must be a mistake! ''Dreampaw turned to the fence, but Wish hadn't appeared yet.

The Twoleg opened a large flat thing and walked into it's den. A barrage of old scents assaulted Dreampaw's nose, and her kithood came flooding back. The Twoleg placed her down, and she made for the door. The Twoleg grabbed her and placed her on a big plush boulder. Dreampaw turned and found herself staring at a small square frame. In it were... Impossible. Staring out at her was the image of herself and Wish, somehow captured in this frame. Seeing her and her sister side-by-side, with matching blue eyes and shimmering white coats, Dreampaw realized what had happened. The Twolegs think I'm Wish!

They didn't know she was their lost kitten, who had run away into the woods several moons ago. They thought she was their well-behaved little kittypet, and now she was going to be taken along with them when they moved.

Just then, she was scooped up and thrown in a box with slits in the walls. It was picked up and carried to a... monster! Dreampaw went crazy, scrabbling at the walls till her claws tore. As she licked blood off her paws, she realized she was inside the monster!

"Oh StarClan," she whispered. "I'm doomed!"

Dreampaw jumped as the monster belched loudly. The ground beneath her began to vibrate, and she herself was shaking with fear. She began scrabbling again, this time at the fixture that held the cage shut. Carefully, she took the bolt in her mouth and tried to lift it upwards.

Just as she felt it slipping, the monster started to move, and she was thrown back against the cage wall. She let out a whimper, but the Twolegs didn't hear over their loud, obnoxious yowling.

''What must Wish think? ''Her sister would feel abandoned. Would she figure out what had happened? The monster zoomed on, it's pace fast and smooth. Dreampaw was shaking uncontrollably. The faces of all her friends back in OakClan flashed through her mind.

After a few failed attempts, Dreampaw was able to get to her paws. She stumbled to the front of the cage. Taking the bolt once more in her mouth, she pulled it up, ignoring the metal cutting into her mouth. Just when she thought her face would get stuck between the bars, the bolt lifted. The door fell open and she tumbled out of the cage and the ledge it was seated on.

One of the Twolegs up front noticed. She yowled and waved her arms. The monster stopped. Dreampaw braced herself as the Twolegs got out. The instant the door opened, she sprang out, claws unsheathed. The girl Twoleg let out a yell of shock. Dreampaw didn't pause to see what happened. She streaked off, paws pounding the ground, running for all she was worth.

It felt good to be moving. She had been so cramped riding in the tiny box. Gradually the yowling of Twolegs faded away, and Dreampaw was left alone with her own thoughts.

What now?

Chapter Three
Dreampaw crouched on a little rise, staring out at the bright morning scenery. Her heart thudded against her ribcage painfully still, and she kept casting glances over her shoulder, expecting to see angry Twolegs charging after her.

The monster couldn't have gotten that far from Twolegplace and the woods, but looking around, she saw no sign of her old home. With a sickening feeling she thought of how fast monsters could go, and how far. Stifling a whimper, she guessed on a direction and began to walk slowly. Her instinct told her it was right, but she didn't think that was enough. Straining to make out a familiar landmark, her eyes caught on a dark shape hidden in the grass.

Dreampaw raised her head and sniffed. It was a cat! Trembling, she watched as it crept closer. When it was within hearing distance, she said, "Who are you?"

A dappled tortoishell she-cat popped out of the grass, looking shocked. "You saw me?" she pouted.

Dreampaw blinked in surprise. "What?"

"And I thought my stalking was really coming along," she added. Her face lit up again, like a firefly that could only go out for a few seconds at a time. "I'm Fern. What's your name?"

"I, uh, Dreampaw," stammered Dreampaw. This cat was no clan cat, but not a kittypet either. "Do you live here?"

Fern gestured to the woodsy land behind them. "And in those woods. With old Simon. He's not good for hunting and all, but I take care of that, and he supplies the brains and wisdom."

"Who's old Simon?" Dreampaw felt herself warming to the pretty she-cat.

"'Old Simon? Well, he's an old tom, half-blind, but not deaf or dumb definetely. 'Do you want to meet him?"

Dreampaw hesitated, but the woods were on her way, and she needed company. "Sure. Lead the way."

Fern gave a rather dizzying giggle. "Okay! Follow me. You'll love him. We never meet any other cats, so we'll talk your ears off. But that's all right, isn't it?"

"Sure," Dreampaw said, laughing. Who could dislike such a darling? Unfortunately, she was about to find out.