"What is your name?" a strong and firm voice asked her, it sounded very familiar to her ears however she couldn't place where she had heard it before. The cat sounded authoritative and stern, but his voice was gentle. She cocked her head to the side and ignored the question she had been asked, she simply contemplated who this cat could be. Her blue eyes swept across the Ravenclan camp, taking in the high tree and the dens crafted in fallen logs and holly bushes. White stones surrounded everything, forming a rock barricade. Clever entrances and exits could be picked out however. A strange feeling of déjà vu crawled over her skin, goose bumps raising the silver hairs along her pelt. Then it hit her, everything came rushing back into her mind like a tidal wave sweeping out over the Seaclan beaches. All her past life, all of Stormstars life, filled every crevice of her being.

The hatred.

The fear.

The ambition.

The determination.

The promise.

She closed her eyes tightly shut, trying to block out the persistent pressure of the memories.

"I'm just a kit, I've just been taken in by Ravenclan, there was a storm, my mother is gone." Silverkit whispered under her breath, trying to make sense of the muddled mess of her memories and Stormstars.

"What is your name?" the voice asked again, Silverkits eyes opened tenderly, afraid of what she might see. A pare of amber eyes looked down at her imploringly in a face of midnight colored fur. Something clicked in her head, she placed a name on the cat. Nightstar.

She looked at him and realized the question he asked was the question that would decide her fate forever, would it be a path of good or evil? Stormstar was a path of darkness and a blood thirst for power. Silverkit was a path unknown. She gulped inwardly before replying, her knees felt like they might buckle under the stress.

"My name...is Silverkit." she breathed at last. Welcoming cheers filled the camp and Silverkit peeked over her shoulder at her sister Shadekit. She was smiling with content, everything seemed perfect.

Then the realization came. If Silverkit didn't choose the path of darkness and power then Shadekit would never murder Larkflight, and when the time came Larkflight would betray the clans and they would crumble.

"Rock you better have a plan." Silverkit muttered and scooted closer to her sister protectively. Shadekit looked enthralled with the attention she was receiving under the gazes of Ravenclan warriors. Silverkit looked at Nightstar, Stormstars memories invaded her mind again and she grasped faintly at the fact that he was her father. She looked away quickly, but she could feel Nightstars gaze on her long after her and her sister went to the medicine cat den for sleeping herbs.

"Hey hedgehog, move over! Some of us are actually trying to run here!" Larkpaw teased Shadepaw relentlessly, using a despicable pet name like hedgehog. This was the moment when Silverpaw became a hero in her sister's eyes. She needed to flay Larkpaw. Her claws slowly slid out of her paws, digging into the ground, waiting to tear into Larkpaws smug expression. But she stopped herself before she attacked him.

There has to be another way… she silently pleaded, not wanting to return to the life Stormstar had chosen. Would she ever be able to escape the shadow she had created for herself? Determination to prove Rock wrong seeped into her heart.

"I won't become Stormstar, I won't chose that path." she declared softly, but she wasn't about to break her promise to Shadepaw either. A thought so incredibly stupid came to mind that she decided it might just work.

"Oh don't mind us Larkpaw." she said sweetly, feigning innocence. Larkpaw quirked an eyebrow suspiciously and slowly started jogging away. But just like she suspected he stopped behind a bush to eavesdrop. Silverpaw whispered quite loudly to her sister. The whole conversation was devised for Larkpaw to hear.

"That silly tom thinks he's gonna win the race!" She mock exclaimed, thinking from Stormstars memories back to apprenticeship when everyone had to compete in a race to the tallest tree in the forest. Shadepaw eagerly waited for her sisters "plan."

"I know a short cut that'll get us there twice as quickly." Silverpaw boasted, she could see Larkpaw twitch with annoyance from the bushes. Shadepaw and Silverpaw then set off on the shorter trail. Larkpaw tagged behind, just out of her view, like a shadow dancing just behind her vision. Twently fox lengths before the finish line Larkpaw tried to sprint ahead with a gloating laugh to steal the victory. Silverpaw stepped in front of him and threw him off his paws.

"Gah!" Larkpaw exclaimed as the wind got knocked out of him when he went tumbling to the ground.

"So you followed us!" Silverpaw said, trying to sound angry and disbelieving. She tried to fight back laughter, Larkpaw didn't even notice the beetle stuck to his forehead from when he face planted. She cleared her throat before continuing.

"I suppose now that you know our secret you'll have to join the clan." She proclaimed disapprovingly.

"I'm already apart of Ravenclan!" Larkpaw protested, lashing his black tail.

"Pfffttt. Not that clan. The secret clan." she whispered under her breath for effect. Her blue eyes darkened mysteriously. Larkpaw got visibly more interested.

"Silverclan." Shadepaw explained in a hushed tone. Silverpaw smiled at her approvingly, she caught on quick.

"Silverclan is our clan and we complete secret missions and stuff. Do you want to join?" She asked nervously, if befriending him didn't work then there was only one other option to stopping him from betraying Ravenclan. And it wasn't a good option.

Larkpaw didn't hesitate before replying with an immediate yes.

They finished the race and came in last to Frogpaw and Birchpaw but they didn't care. They were having too much fun with Silverclan. In her other life she never saw the other side the side where he could be friendly and humorous. The side Silverpaw and Shadepaw had killed. That night she slept soundly in the apprentice den only to be woken by Larkpaw.

"Silverpaw." He whispered. She looked up at him to find Frogpaw and Birchpaw hovering over her.

"I hope you don't mind but I asked them to join Silverclan as well." He explained excitedly.

"Sure, what are their roles?" She asked with a yawn.

"They are both warriors with me." Larkpaw said.

"We need a medicine cat." Silverpaw reasoned.

"I'll be one." Shadepaw volunteered. Another one of Stormstars memories resurfaced, they had just been made warriors. Shadelight had commented about how she had once wanted to be a medicine cat.

"But you're my deputy!" Silverpaw protested, not wanting Shadepaw to leave her.

"I can be deputy!" Larkpaw volunteered. Silverpaw nodded tersely, settling the matter. The rest of the night none of them slept a wink. They enacted all sorts of games and quests. Silverpaw had never had so much fun in her life. And she noticed Larkpaw looking at Shadepaw several times with warmth. She couldn't figure him out.

"Shadepaw, if you can't keep up with the other apprentices you aren't going to be made a warrior!" Lilytail scolded Shadepaw, her gold and violet eyes were wide with shock and embarrassment. Silverpaw's brow furrowed in thought, obviously she couldn't kill Lilytail off like Stormstar had done last time. She looked to her Silverclan friends. They were all glaring at Lilytail as well. Clearly when you pick on a member of the clan it doesn't fly.

"How is she supposed to keep up with us when you never actually train her! You always have her on tic duty or bedding patrol!" Larkpaw shouted. Lilytail seemed taken aback by the outburst and tromped off with a huff.

Always one to avoid an actual confrontation, Silverpaw thought with annoyance. Mentoring wasn't something suited to Lilytail's personality.

"As leader of Silverclan I declare it our mission to train our fellow warrior/medicine cat so she can earn her name with us!" Silverpaw proclaimed. The other apprentices cheered.

For the next few moons they all trained ferociously and finally the day came when they would receive their names. Everyone was confident Shadepaw would receive her name too and everything would go according to plan. However Lilytail never got over their fierce protection of Shadepaw, it irked her somehow. And when Nightstar asked if she was ready, which she was, Lilytail still said she wasn't fit to be a warrior. All of the Silverclan apprentices were frozen speechless. Nightstar cleared his throat, unsure of how to react. Everyone had seen Shadepaw collect three squirrels for her assessment. A heaping amount! But in the end it was the mentor's decision…or was it?

"If Shadepaw won't be a warrior then neither will I!" Silverpaw declared, just like last time. Only this time she wasn't alone. One by one each and every apprentice refused their name in honor of Shadepaw.

"Well that's an issue if we have no warriors." Nightstar began. Silverpaw waited nervously for his speech.

"So I myself declare Shadepaw worthy of the title of warrior. I revoke Lilytail of her mentor status and place Shadepaw, however briefly, under my training. And I say she is indeed fit to be a warrior!" Nightstar shouted. Then he faced the other apprentices.

"The bravery I see in this group of young cats is remarkable, your claws are strong. Your friendship is stronger." Nightstar commended.

"I have two more names to present. Silverpaw refused her title even before she got it. That was very noble." he said, Lilytail was seething in the crowd and promptly exited the camp. No one tried to stop her. However Silverpaw knew she would be back. She wasn't evil, she was just difficult. The path of a mentor wasn't a path well chosen for her, she lacked patience and understanding.

"Shadepaw, please step forward!" Nightstar commanded. Silverpaw's sister bounded forward.

"You have trained hard to learn the noble ways of the warrior code. With Starclan as my witness I commend you to a warrior in your turn. In honor of your one shaded eye and one light eye I name you Shadelight. Never lose your determination and energy." Nightstar announced. Shadelight licked his shoulder and then it was Silverpaws turn.

"Silverpaw, you are a cat of many things and you have many traits. However I have a name that suits you better than any other. From this moment on you will be known as Silverstorm in remembrance of the storm that brought you here." Nightstar declared. He rested his black chin on her muzzle and she licked his shoulder. Before they drew apart she whispered, "I have to see my mother again."

The clan was oblivious to Nightstar's stony expression as they cheered their names.

"Birchleaf! Frogsplash! Larkflight! Shadelight! Silverstorm!" They chorused. Silverstorm smiled at her name. Nightstar was right, it suited her perfectly.

Seeing her mom alive and whole as Seaclans medicine cat was the best moment of her life. And also the worst. Ashbreeze was happier being a medicine cat, and Silverstorm needed to stay in Ravenclanclan to keep an eye on Larkflight. Shadelight and Silverstorm spent the entire night talking with their mother, but when the suns first rays peaked up over the crest of the ocean they tearfully said their goodbye's and never looked back. Ashbreeze chose her path, and they chose theirs.

Despite Silverstorms knowledge of the future due to Stormstar, there were some thing she couldn't change. Honeykits mother still died in a Seaclan raid, and Scarlet and Felicity joined the clan.

But Silverstorm knew she could change the outcome of Scarletpools death. She would change it at all costs. Silverstorm never knew what had caused Shadelight to kill Scarletpool in the first place, but whatever had happened the first time around something changed. Scarletpool remained a loyal Ravenclan warrior and lived to see her daughters grow into proud cats..

Clan life progressed and in the end Shadelight never had to kill Larkflight. Instead she became his mate. Because of the simple act of kindness Silverstorm had shown him in their apprenticeship everything changed. Two kits were born to them. Their names were Ebonykit and Ivorykit, complete opposites of one another. But they did share one trait, their mothers eyes. They both had one light eye and one dark. Shadelight chose not to be a medicine cat and to remain on the course of a warrior for her love for Larkflight. Silverstorm knew when the time came she would have the most loyal deputy the clans had ever seen.

Silverstorm herself never had a mate but she became a mother to the clan. She seemed to have more experience in dealing with 'conflicting emotions' than others and was able to help solve many problems. She worked her way into power through actual accomplishments and when it was time she received her nine lives. The first six remained the same as they were back when she was Stormstar. But the three new ones were a surprise.

"Hi mom." she whispered as Ashbreeze approached her.

"Hi darling." She smiled. "With this life I give you a life of dreams. Without ambitions and hopes and dreams we are nothing. Always strive for something." She said gently and touched her nose to Silverstorms. She could feel a struggle inside of her, like she was trying to accomplish her own dream. The pain was excruciating still, it felt as if a badger was trying to rip her to ribbons. When her mother disappeared she was shocked to find Rock there to deliver her eighth life.

"I thought you said you didn't give lives." Silverstorm sniffed and gave the old cat a half smirk. Rock ignored her jibe and plowed on to delivering her life.

"I give you a life for time. Use it well, most of us don't get second chances." He said ominously. When he touched her nose she felt nothing. It was an absence of time. After Rock left she sat on starclans green grasses, awaiting her ninth life. When no one arrived she began to panic. Then a cat appeared out of thin air. She gasped in terror as Stormstar stood before her. The cat she could have been.

"Don't look so terrified, you are me after all. And I am you." Stormstar laughed, her laughed ended quickly though. And she continued speaking in a much more solemn tone.

"When I give you your ninth life I will disappear forever, all your memories of my past will vanish. You will only have your own experiences to guide you. So with this life I give you loyalty. Always remain true to your sister, our sister. She is our bright light at the end of the dark tunnel and you must never let her burn out. Keep her spark glowing strong. Keep her safe." Stormstar snarled. They never touched noses; instead she walked directly inside of Silverstorm, becoming a very fiber of her being. The cats of Starclan chanted her name.

"Silverstar! Silverstar!" They cheered, it looked like all of Starclan had gathered for her leadership ceremony. Silverstar looked around in confusion, she felt like a part of her mind had just been stripped away. She kept grasping for memories that weren't there anymore. She couldn't figure out what she had lost. A dying echo passed through her and all she said was, "I promise."

The Beginning