Runes



The wind whipped around Gingerpaw, whirling faster and faster as if it could swallow her whole. She didn't move though, didn't even consider returning to RedClan. Today was not a day she was going to spend listening to the other apprentices jabber and chat about things that she didn't give a mouse-tail for. She'd rather be out here at the border, alone with nature.

It was better this way.

Besides, everyone had been acting so weird lately. It was like the apocalypse was coming up or something. When she had approached her mother that morning, Crimsonfall had leaped about five feet into the air and squalled like a banshee.

It had something to do with the strange prophecy their medicine cat, Willowwood, had recieved two days ago, when he went to the MoonRock. He had told no one but Leafstar what it was about, and since then, the whole Clan had been shaken to its roots.

It confused and scared Gingerpaw, but she wasn't sure what she could do about it. Surely things like that didn't concern an apprentice like her?

The reason RedClan was so upset and suspicious about the prophecy was rooted in the fact that RedClan prophecies never worked out well. Somehow, they always led to disappearances and mysterious happenings that could never be explained. The last prophecy had been when Gingerpaw was a kit. She barely remembered it, and all her mother had told her was that her father had been killed because of it.

That was enough to make her loathe prophecies, silly as it sounded. After all, she needed something or someone to blame for the fact that she had grown up without a father. Some nights, when she walked past the warriors' den, she would see Crimsonfall quietly sobbing to herself, and it tore her heart in two.

That was why Gingerpaw liked it better out here. It was better this way.

"Gingerpaw?"

At the familiar voice, she spun around and broke out into a smile. "Hey Darkpaw," she mewed to the black tom that had emerged from the ruddy-barked trees of RedClan territory.

"What are you doing out here?" asked the tom - her best and only friend - as he trotted over.

She gestured vaguely at nothing and everything with her tail. "Thinking. Getting away from it all."

Understanding mingled with sympathy in his gaze. Darkpaw was the one cat who always understood her, no matter what kinds of crazy things she said. She knew she could always turn to him for help. "It's quieter out here, isn't it?" he said softly.

"Yes. I like the quiet sometimes."

Gradually, Gingerpaw let her eyes travel towards the horizon. The pure, untamed beauty of the neverending gray sky sent a chill down her spine. Her mind longed to capture the way the branches overhead stood out in stark contrast against the stormy underbellies of the clouds. Every part of her wished the other RedClan cats could see the world like this, could see it in all its angles and colors and beauty, instead of just a drab landscape to their drabber lives.

But few cats saw the world like she did. It was a fact she accepted, even though she wasn't completely happy with it.

Finally, Darkpaw broke the silence. "Aren't you cold?" He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, concern - and something else, possibly - showing in his liquid brown eyes, as soft and thick as melted cocoa.

"No, I'm fine," she reassured him, though she was shivering slightly. That was one of the downsides of being so short and lightly-built; people always felt like they had to take care of you, like you were a little kit. Knowing Darkpaw though, he would try to take care of her anyway. That was just the kind of friend he was.

"Okay. I'm just saying, I bet you wouldn't want to spend a few days in the medicine cat's den, especially with Willowwood so off his rocker."

"Off his rocker?" she said, a light frown creasing her brow. "You don't think he has reason to be worried?"

Darkpaw shook his head, the white star-shaped mark on his forehead standing out against his night-colored fur. "Nope. I mean, we don't even know what the prophecy is. It could be, 'You will be constipated next week. Avoid the mouse that that idiot Lancepaw brought in.;'"

Gingerpaw burst out laughing. "Darkpaw, be serious."

"I am. It would suck for our medicine cat to be constipated, don't you think? Kinda ironic."

Shaking her head, she bumped her shoulder against his. "You're ridiculous."

He grinned back at her, a friendly twinkle in his eyes. "In a good way, right?"

"No comment."

"I'll take that as a yes."

Unable to help herself, she smiled. Darkpaw had that way with her; he could cheer her up no matter how bent she was on being miserable and grumpy. It wasn't just her; almost everyone she knew liked Darkpaw. A combination of his gentle sweetness and witty humor made him impossible to dislike. Still, she knew she was one of the only cats he really trusted, besides his mother. They had grown up together, and the bond they shared could never be broken.

"Gingerpaw..." Darkpaw said softly, breaking her daydream, which involved images of a tiny Gingerkit and Darkkit dancing about the nursery together.

She glanced up, wondering if he had been reveling in their long, glorious friendship together. Probably not. The last time she had asked him "Do you remember when?" it had ended in a long, painfully awkward explanation of how they had not met as apprentices, and yes, she had been in the nursery. It was really quite sad, but she overlooked it. Darkpaw's friendship was worth it(even if he only remembered half of it).

"Yes?" she asked expectantly.

He glanced away uncomfortably. "This is going to be hard to say..."

Instantly, her guard went up. "Then you should probably not say it. You know how easily I get mad, and there are plenty of things around here that could become flying projectiles. Including you."

Darkpaw swallowed hard. "No, it's not like that. Nothing bad. At least, I don't think it is. Maybe it is-"

"Oh, stop talking in riddles," she said, hoping to lighten the mood - and prevent him from throwing up; he looked like he was about to be sick. "What is it?"

"Uh... Well, I know we've been friends for a long time, but-"

Just then, their conversation was interrupted by a crashing noise in the woods in front of them. Seconds later, an explosion of dust, wind, and grit hit them. Over the roar of flying objects, Gingerpaw could hear Darkpaw coughing. Her pelt stung where bits of debri caught in it, and her eyelids and forehead were scorched with a peculiar kind of burn, almost acid-like in its fierceness. The rancid scent drifting off of the wound made her dizzy and light-headed; as the smoke cleared, she had to fight to stay conscious.

"Are you okay?" Darkpaw was at her side. A few cuts and bruises showed through his fur, but he didn't seem to have been affected by the poisonous acid liquid like she had. As his eyes reached her forehead, they grew as huge as suns. "Gingerpaw! What happened?"

"Ravener demon. You might want to get someone to look at that."

Both Darkpaw and Gingerpaw turned as one. Gingerpaw's jaw dropped when she saw the cat who had addressed them. He was a ginger tom - actually, ginger wasn't exactly the right word to describe him; his coat was that sunset hue that was sometimes a pale gold and other times a fiery orange - with piercing golden eyes. The corners of his mouth crooked up as if he was laughing secretly at the world. Flanking him on either side were a raven-black tom with electrifying blue eyes and a pearly-white she-cat with eyes precisely the same hue of cobalt. All of them were too good-looking and put-together to be true, and Gingerpaw, with a giant bump on her head oozing blood, felt like an idiot.

Luckily, Darkpaw recovered enough to stammer, "W-What now?"

The handsome tom took a step forward. His gaze was cool, collected, and analyzing as it slid over them. "Ravener demon," he repeated. "Poison." He flicked his tail towards Gingerpaw. "She won't live if you don't get it out of her, idiot."

Bristling, Darkpaw laid his tail across Gingerpaw's back. She almost buckled under the weight... why was his tail so heavy? Her eyelids were drooping, and she was tired. Oh, how tired she was. Her vision swam runnily. The last thing she saw were the tom's golden eyes before she slipped into the blackness.

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"... Will she be okay?"

Darkpaw.

Vainly, Gingerpaw struggled to make her brain focus, to pry open her eyelids. It didn't work. Her body, especially her forehead, was on fire. Then she felt a light prick on her forehead. What felt like a burning - but in a pleasant way - claw traced across her wound. She could feel the "Ravener" poison ebb away. New strength flowed gradually into her body.

When she opened her eyes, there was a ring of faces looking back at her. The three strange cats were standing over her, the scrutiny in their gazes making her giddy. Spotting Darkpaw, she locked onto his familiar features and reached out a paw, which he grabbed gently and pulled her up with.

"Thanks," she mumbled in a slurred voice, leaning against him.

The beautiful white cat she had noticed earlier watched with a skeptical look on her face. "You okay?" she smirked, in a way that made Gingerpaw think she didn't really care one way or another.

Beside her, the black tom gave a chuckle. "Of course she is. No one's better with a stele then me."

"Don't get too full of yourself, Ravenpaw," the golden tom replied, eyeing Gingerpaw warily. "She might die yet."

At that, Gingerpaw narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me? Exactly what just happened? Why did I get hurt? What was that explosion? What is Ravener poison?"

All three cats looked taken aback. The snowy cat flicked her tail. "She's all yours, Chasepaw."

"Leave me with the nutjobs, huh?" the tom - Chasepaw - shot back.

"Watch your mouth." Darkpaw curled his tail protectively around Gingerpaw; she shrugged it off impatiently and took a step forward. She felt much better now, more healthy and ready to face these crazies.

"Exactly who do you think you are? And why do you have Clan names? You aren't RedClan cats."

Chasepaw raised his eyebrows, as if marveling at her unintelligence. "There are more Clans then just yours, hon."

Spitting in fury, she mewed, "Don't call me hon!"

Almost lazily, he purred, "And what should I call you, hon?"

"Gingerpaw," she snapped.

Before he had a chance to continue arguing - which would be rather pointless - her eyes fell on an object he had in his claws; it was small, and gleamed like a shard of crystal. Squinting, she bent down to peer at it more closely. "What is that?"

Instantly, Chasepaw was all wariness and caution. The white she-cat brushed past him impatiently. "None of your business," she snapped. Then, in a lower tone(though Gingerpaw could still hear her) she said, "Way to go, Chasepaw."

The tom flicked his ears irritably. Meanwhile, Ravenpaw, who seemed the most peaceable of the three, watched her with an interested expression. "Should we tell her?"

"Her? What about me?" Darkpaw exclaimed haughtily.

Ignoring him entirely, Chasepaw turned on Ravenpaw. "Are you nuts? She's a regular cat. She won't understand."

Ravenpaw arched his eyebrows. "Really? Because it doesn't look like she's dying or turning into a Forsaken to me. Does it to you?" This exchange made no sense to Gingerpaw, but Chasepaw shut his mouth with a snap, a startled look on his face. The white she-cat looked puzzled as well. Ravenpaw seemed to take this as a cue to continue. "She's fine. Completely fine. Which means..."

"That something's up with the universe," Chasepaw interrupted. He took a step towards Gingerpaw, staring at her - no, her forehead - intently. "The rune's fading... Weird."

Gingerpaw had had enough. "What. Are. You. Talking. About."

"Starpaw, Chasepaw, they deserve to know," Ravenpaw said quietly. "We just scalded her with Ravener poison. And she," - here he flicked his tail towards Gingerpaw - "can withstand a stele. They're different, definitely. We've got to give them some explanation. If word gets out to their Clan..."

"We're finished," Starpaw mewed. "Redwood and Maplefern will kill us."

A grumpy Chasepaw muttered, "Fine. What are we supposed to do? Take them back to the Institute?"

Starpaw looked uncomfortable. "No..."

"You're not taking us anywhere!" yelled Gingerpaw. "Not till you explain what a Ravener is, why it's dangerous, and how you magically made me feel better."

"They drew on you," Darkpaw said faintly. "With that." He pointed to the crystal shard by Chasepaw's feet. "And the burn just disappeared."

Impossible. And yet she knew Darkpaw well enough to know when he was kidding; he wasn't kidding now. His eyes were huge, and he looked like he had just seen a ghost. Suddenly, the whole encounter was too much for Gingerpaw. She felt as dizzy as she had when the Ravener poison had been in her. Sensing her faltering strength, Darkpaw was instantly by her side. Chasepaw raised his eyebrows slightly, and she leveled a steady glare at him.

Her decision was final. They would forget this would ever happen. Her life in RedClan was crazy enough, with strange prophecies and a preoccupied mother. She didn't need this, couldn't handle it. There was no other choice.

"Come on, Darkpaw. We're going home."

Now Ravenpaw looked surprised. "What? Don't you want to find out what just happened?"

"No. I'm done here."

With a flounce of confidence that she didn't feel, Gingerpaw whirled, turned her back on those cats - freaks, whatever they were - and marched away. She'd would forget this ever happened. And yet, on her forehead, the rune remained, a blazing black against her ginger coat.

Unforgettable.

"Gingerpaw? Gingerpaw! Get your butt out of bed!"

With a groan, Gingerpaw kicked Darkpaw clean in the jaw, knocking him backwards. "Go 'way, Mom. Don't wanna go... snork..."

Quiet for a blissful moment. Then, "GINGERPAW! WILL YOU GET OUT OF BED?"

"Gah!" She tumbled out of her nest, stood, crashed into Darkpaw, staggered three steps away, and said indignantly to the wall, "Get the hooble, you flurp."

Obviously fighting back a laugh - unsuccessfully - Darkpaw said, "It's late. You should've been up hours ago. Crimsonfall sent me in here to wake you up."

Blinking to get the sleep out of her eyes, Gingerpaw sighed. "She sent you in here to wake me up? And I suppose she's been up since the crack of dawn." No matter how much she tried, she couldn't keep a hint of bitterness from leaking into her voice. Darkpaw's eyebrows went up in gentle concern.

"Are you still mad at her for missing your hunting session yesterday?"

Deflated, she let her shoulders sag. "Yeah. I know it's silly to get so upset, but I can't help it. I hardly get to see her anyway, with her warrior duties and my apprentice training. And lately, she's been missing all our appointments. I miss spending time with her. I mean, how do you just forget your daughter like that?" She forced herself to take a deep breath. "Anyway, sorry to burden you with it. It's not your problem; you shouldn't have to be worried about it."

"Hey, as your best friend, I'm entitled to poke and pry into all aspects of your private life," Darkpaw announced. "Forget Crimsonfall. Let's go do something together, just you and me."

Gingerpaw gave a weak smile. "Snail-eating contest?"

"You know it."

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Contentedly, Gingerpaw let her gaze wander up to the dark treetops of the coniferous woods. The spicy-sweet smell of pine sap was pungent on the breeze, and the sleepy trills of birds echoed through the quiet evening. Above their heads, the sky was a panorama of sunset colors, ranging from scarlet bloods to peach 'n apricot creams to hazy violets. Her paws tingled as she thought of the beauty of those colors, so natural and yet so wonderful. A longing to create things equally as beautiful surged through her.

Gently, Darkpaw brushed his pelt against hers. "What are you thinking about?"

"Hm?" she murmured. "Nothing much. Just... thinking."

Her reply made no sense, but Darkpaw seemed to accept it. They padded along in companiable silence. Peace washed over Gingerpaw, erasing her nausea from having a mouth full of snails. Darkpaw's black fur was warm against her fiery ginger pelt, the air smelled like honey, and the plox and primroses were in bloom. What else could you ask for?

A second later, a piercing scream split the air. All the hackles on Gingerpaw's back went up, and she froze, her eyes growing huge in disbelief. "Crimsonfall!"

"Are you sure?" asked an astonished Darkpaw.

"I'm sure! Come on!" She grabbed his tail with hers. "We have to find her! Something's wrong!"

In a mad dash, the two apprentices tore through the woods. The scream came again, sounding from somewhere along the RedClan border, away from the camp. Vaguely, Gingerpaw wondered what her mother was doing there; the evening patrols had all come back in. But that thought was swallowed up in the face of her fear, which was a tidal wave threatening to choke her.

Side by side, she and Darkpaw burst in upon the location of the scream. The dirt was churned up and mixed with blood, and the ferns and azaleas were trampled; there had obviously been a struggle.

There was no sign of Crimsonfall.

"No... No, no, no!"

Frantically, Gingerpaw raced into the brush surrounding the place she'd heard the scream. "She must still be here! She can't have disappeared!"

After several minutes, she collapsed in the middle of a blood-stained patch of grass. Darkpaw sat beside her, stroking her back soothingly. "It's okay, Gingerpaw. She's probably just back at camp."

Raising a tearstained face, Gingerpaw shrieked, "How can you say that? Look at the blood!" Still shaking with sobs, she buried her face in his fur, not knowing who she was angry at, nor what to do. Panic and despair coalesced in her veins, making her tears run harder. What had happened to her mother? The air lacked the musky scent of badger, or the woodsy smell of fox. But what else was strong enough to attack a full-grown cat with Crimsonfall's fighting skills?

Hopelessly, she got to her paws. Common sense told her she should go back to camp, and that she'd find Crimsonfall there; this would be all a big misunderstanding that Darkpaw would tease her about for moons. But the clenching feeling in her heart told her differently.

"Need a little help there?"

Shocked, Gingerpaw looked up. "H- How do you always show up out of nowhere?" she spluttered.

Standing there, framed in the fiery glow of the dying sun, were Starpaw, Ravenpaw, and Chasepaw.

With their fur turned to flames and their eyes like sparks, they looked like mythological warriors, or members of ancient LionClan. In spite of herself, Gingerpaw felt a tremor of fear. Who were these phantom cats?

When she spoke, her voice came out surprisingly steady; she'd expected it to squeak like a kit's. "You again." Then, as things began to fall into place, she said with more force, "What have you done with my mother?"

"Your mother?" Starpaw said with a dainty sniff. "What would we want with your mother?"

Rage flared inside Gingerpaw. "What would you- You took her! Look at what you've done!" Flinging her tail in a wide arc to indicate the blood and mess, she gulped in a deep breath of air. It stung her lungs and cleared her head a little. The blots of red on her vision disappeared. "Okay. Okay. If you haven't done it, then have you seen her? She looks kinda like me, only taller and prettier."

Darkpaw raised his eyebrows at this last part. So did Chasepaw, but neither tom spoke.

"No, we haven't seen her..." Ravenpaw said quietly. "But we might know what happened to her."

"You do?" she screamed, nearly hysterically. Lunging forward, she proceeded to yell at him with the force of a hurricane. "What? Where is she? Who took her?"

The black tom looked taken aback. "I'm not sure of all those details..." He shot the smirking Chasepaw a glare. "But I'll bet we might be able to help, if..."

Gingerpaw was in no mood for riddles. "If what?" she demanded.

Just then, Darkpaw nudged her. "Uh, Gingerpaw?"

"Not now, Darkpaw."

"But-"

"Not now!"

"Gingerpaw! Guys! That thing that took Crimsonfall? Yeah, it's standing right behind you."

"What?" Starpaw and Ravenpaw exclaimed simuntaneously. With speed like nothing Gingerpaw had ever seen before, all three cats whirled to face the... monster that was rearing up behind them. She screamed as her eyes took in the full extent of what it was.

"Behemoth!" Chasepaw yelled.

Blinking, Gingerpaw wondered why he was yelling insults at the monster - or whatever it was. It looked like a giant slug. Green ooze dripped off its jellyish sides, and rows of serrated teeth flashed as it opened its mouth in a roar. A scream caught in Gingerpaw's throat. "What is that?"

Without replying, Starpaw, Ravenpaw, and Chasepaw sprang into action. Ravenpaw dropped to the ground, rolled a couple feet, and sliced at the giant slug with his claws - which suddenly seemed to be... glowing? That wasn't possible, and yet Gingerpaw was sure her eyes weren't decieving her. A look at the shocked expression on Darkpaw's face confirmed it. Ravenpaw's claws were glowing.

And he wasn't the only one. As Chasepaw dived straight toward the monster's belly, his claws unsheathed; they shone with a fierce light. With a crackling noice, Starpaw reached for something wrapped around her leg. She whipped it out; it looked like a long whip made of thickly intertwined grasses and tipped with brambles and thorns. As she swung it above her head, it lit up like a flare. Giving a gasp, Gingerpaw ducked out of the way as Starpaw sent the whip lashing against the monster. The slug reared back its ugly head and dived towards the white she-cat.

"Look out!" Darkpaw yelled, but his warning wasn't needed. Executing a neat somersault, Starpaw landed a good tail-length away from the slug and swung her whip again, catching it full on the face. Meanwhile, Chasepaw and Ravenpaw were taking turns dueling the monster. At least, Ravenpaw seemed to be trying to take turns. Chasepaw was hurling himself into the fight with a sort of wild abandon that both awed and terrified Gingerpaw. It was like he honestly didn't care if he died as long as he died fighting.

"You two, get out of here!" hollered Starpaw. At that instant, the slug reached her legs. An acidic sizzle filled the air. She screamed and yanked back, her whip cracking like newleaf lighting.

"Starpaw!" yelled Ravenpaw, racing towards her. He slashed at the monster with his claws and continued ripping and tearing. "Faster, Chasepaw! We're wearing it down. It can't keep healing itself at this rate."

''Healing itself? ''Peering more closely at the creature, Gingerpaw saw that many of its wounds which had seemed huge at the time they were inflicted were now closing up. What in StarClan is going on?!

Paralyzed by fear - though any normal cat would've been running at fifty miles per hour away - Gingerpaw watched with a horrific sort of fascination as Ravenpaw and Chasepaw proceeded to launch a series of daring attacks at the monster. All while Starpaw's whip cracked cruelly over their heads, the two toms twirled, leaped, and spun in the air, kicking and tearing with their oddly glowing talons. Gingerpaw had never seen such fierce fighting or quick reflexes in her entire life.

"How are they doing that?" Darkpaw said in disbelief, as Chasepaw did a double flip, landed on the slug's head, and dug his claws into its eyes.

She shook her head. "No idea."

They were startled by a groaning noise. Gingerpaw turned in time to see the slug give a depleted moan and vanish in a cloud of ash. All that was left of it the next instant was a pool of green slime. Ever so slowly, she turned towards the three "apprentices", who were standing, panting. "What just happened?"

Chasepaw looked smug. "We just defeated a Behemoth," he explained.

"Well that explains a lot!" Darkpaw threw up his paws; he tended to be sarcastic when he was frightened to death.

Pursing her lips, Starpaw gave her silky white fur a dainty lick. Looking closer, Gingerpaw saw that th she-cat's gorgeous ivory complexion was marred - nay, Marked - with scrawling shapes. Some were faded and old, like long-forgotten scars, but others stood out against the pale fur starkly. A chill ran down her spine as she looked at each spiraling rune. Some were small and wiry, others large and flowy. All seemed to hold a different message.

As she looked closer at Chasepaw, she saw he was Marked too. Ravenpaw was too. The black didn't show up against his dark fur, but ridges and swirls in his pelt showed where the runes were imprinted. Gingerpaw recalled the crystal-tipped "stele". Had it been used to draw these Marks? And why?

Trying to stop her voice from trembling, she meowed, "What was that... thing? That snail, or slug, or whatever..."

"A Behemoth demon," Ravenpaw said, watching her closely, as if to gauge her reaction.

Adopting Darkpaw's method of sarcasm, she said, "Oh yes, of course. Silly me!"

"It's not funny, Gingerpaw," snapped Starpaw brusquely. She was done with her grooming session, and now took a pace towards them. "You don't understand what you've just witnessed. You and Darkpaw aren't a part of our world."

Ravenpaw's words were so quiet that Gingerpaw wasn't sure anyone else could hear them. But she did.

"Maybe she is."

"Are you sure we're doing the right thing?" Chasepaw said loudly to his friends, as if Gingerpaw and Darkpaw were invisible. "I mean, they don't look like-" he seemed to catch himself from saying something, "us. Especially not the tom."

Darkpaw bristled at that, but Gingerpaw signaled him to let it go with a tiny flick of her head.

Casting a wary look over her shoulder at the receding RedClan border, Gingerpaw said, "Are you sure you know where we're going? I mean, we have a Clan to get back to."

With an exasperated sigh, Starpaw said, "Look, you want to know where your mother is, and we're the only ones who can help you with that. We're doing you a favor. So stop your whining."

"What she means by that," interjected Ravenpaw more amiably, "is that you just need to trust us."

Obviously still shaken by the encounter with the Behemoth demon, Darkpaw babbled, "Right. Trust the crazy tattoo-covered cats who just killed a massive gastropod with candle-claws and are like totally insane and will probably kill us too-" Here he had to stop for breath; Chasepaw took this chance to butt into the conversation and contribute what he apparently considered to be an encouraging, reassuring piece of information.

In short, just the opposite.

"Get over it, dude. We only kill demons, which are quite common around our domain."

Clearly appalled, Darkpaw halted so suddenly that Gingerpaw rammed her nose into his leg(he was taller then her). "And are you talking us to this... domain?"

"Yep!"

A greenish pallor appeared under Darkpaw's fur. "I see," he quavered.

Sympathy for her friend flowed over Gingerpaw, but she was too concerned about Crimsonfall to be worried about herself. "And you think my mother'll be there?"

Ravenpaw's brow creased in a frown. "No, but if anyone can find her, it's Redwood and Maplefern. They have connections all over the place."

She felt her shoulders slump. "How long is this going to take?"

"Relax," Starpaw said with an annoying casualty. "We'll figure out all those details when we get there."

And that was that.

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''Crunch. Crackle. Crunch. Crackle.''

The rhythm of leaves crunching under her paws served to soothe Gingerpaw's frazzled nerves and give her something to focus on. She was so immersed in its steady beat that she hardly noticed when the others stopped. Only when Darkpaw breathed, "Whoa," did she look up.

And she was rewarded to quite a sight.

Right in front of them, a giant, polished cave rose out of the ground. The rock shone with marble in places and was formed of clear-cut alabaster in others. Most fascinating were the Marks scrawled in some sort of black ink across the main entrance to the cave. She recognized some of them from the others' pelts.

Starpaw glanced at Gingerpaw and must have seen the awe etched plainly on her face. She gave a thin smile.

"Welcome to the Institute."

Sucking her breath in with a whoosh, Gingerpaw took a pawstep forward. "Wait, don't!" yelled Chasepaw.

As she stepped onto the Institute's gleaming rock threshold, she frowned and glanced over her shoulder. "Something wrong?"

Chasepaw, Ravenpaw, and Starpaw were all staring at her with eyes as large as moons - Darkpaw just looked confused. "Impossible," Chasepaw breathed, his golden eyes keen as he studied her, as if she were an interesting specimen of moss or fungi.

Trying not to lose her patience, she said, "I stepped forward. Is there something awe-inspiring in that?"

With a sigh, Starpaw padded over to her. "No. It's just... a non-Shadowhunter shouldn't be able to enter the Institute unless another Shadowhunter says so. By the way, Darkpaw, you can enter." The black tom seemed to have run into an invisible wall at the Institute border; at Starpaw's words, he seemingly stepped through and joined them, his expression dazed and bewildered.

"A Shadowhunter?" Gingerpaw crinkled her nose confusedly.

At the same time, Darkpaw blurted, "What the heck was that? Did I just run into an invisible wall or something?"

"I don't believe this," Chasepaw said, his eyes wide.

Starpaw nodded, her paw pushing against the heavy slab of rock that served as a door to the Institute. "I know."

"We'll have to check her bloodline, guys, but I think we just discovered a Shadowhunter," Ravenpaw confirmed.

On that note, the door swung open, and Gingerpaw stepped into the Institute.

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"Redwood? Maplefern? We have visitors for you," Starpaw called softly. When there was no reply from the dimly lit cave they stood outside, she hollered, "Mom! Dad! You in there?"

A voice called, "Just a minute, honey!"

Two cats emerged from the den, both serious-faced and mature-looking. One was a petitely built she-cat with reddish fur and the same startling blue eyes as Starpaw and Ravenpaw - though hers were more steady, wearied by age. The second was a broad-shouldered tabby tom whose bulk filled the narrow hallway. Both looked stern and not to be messed with, though they didn't appear hostile.

The she-cat - Maplefern, Gingerpaw assumed - spoke first. "Yes Starpaw?"

"And who are these two?" rumbled Redwood, studying Darkpaw and Gingerpaw critically.

"Uh... We ran into them. Gingerpaw here can survive being Marked and come into the Institute on her own," Ravenpaw said.

Redwood's eyebrows shot up, and Maplefurn looked at Gingerpaw with new interest, her face losing some of its loftiness - before she'd looked at her like she was made of dirt. "Is that so? Shadowhunter blood? Gingerpaw... what bloodline are you from?"

"Excuse me?"

Traces of impatience hardened the corners of Maplefern's mouth. "What bloodline are you?"

What is she talking about? Gingerpaw shot a desperate glance at Darkpaw, who shook his head helplessly. "I... RedClan? My mother was Crimsonfall."

Instantly, the she-cat stiffened. Redwood's eyes widened as he glanced at his mate, then back at her. Finally, Maplefern said, "Crimsonfall. Of course; you look just like her."

Gingerpaw gasped. "You knew my mother?"

"I did."

Relief poured through her. "She's been kidnapped! Disappeared! She-"

Maplefern held up her tail. "Whoa, whoa. Slow down. First we must have a little talk. About who you really are." She turned and nodded at all of them - save Redwood, who had disappeared back into their office-cave. "Come on. Follow me."

She had no choice but to obey.