"Okay...." mewed Eaglepaw slowly. "Let me get this straight, today will be awesome because we'll prove an expert fisher wrong?"
Etharpaw looked him in the eyes. "Yes." The two siblings had a staring contest. A splash suddenly made them each turn at the same time.
"Ha ha! I caught the fish!" yelled Winterpaw.
"Expert proven false," muttered Eaglepaw.
Etharpaw gleamed with pride. "I told you all the expert was wrong. What expert would give advice like that?" She looked back and forth, with confused eyes.
"What's wrong?" asked Winterpaw.
"Hmm..." Etharpaw mused. "That's very strange."
"What's strange?" asked Eaglepaw.
Etharpaw turned back to her brothers. "I just thought I heard something. And, I don't think the fish is what will be awesome about today. Something big is coming, a huge change."
Eaglepaw and Winterpaw looked at each other and shrugged. "Whatever," they mewed at the same time.
The comment didn't seem to register with Etharpaw. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw the shrubs beside the river clearing shiver and then still. The river was calmly carrying on its journey through its banks. Everything seemed normal. Ah, it's probably my imagination, she thought. She padded toward the river and stood, ready to fish.
"Hey!" called out Eaglepaw. "Winterpaw and I are going downstream to fish. Are you gonna stay here?"
Etharpaw nodded, not wanting to make a sound and disturb the fish in the river. She heard her brothers' paws slightly shaking the ground, but not enough to disturb the fish.
"Etharpaw," came a soft voice.
"I thought you guys were going downstream," replied Etharpaw. "Make up your minds."
"Etharpaw, it's Lionflame." came the voice again.
Etharpaw spun around. "Lionflame! What are you doing sulking around our territory?"
"Huh! I'm not sulking around, I'm here to tell you something about the prophecy."
"What prophecy?" Etharpaw was confused.
"So... Snowstar didn't tell you." he meowed.
"I guess not, since I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Here's all I have to say, you can ask Snowstar about the prophecy later," Lionflame announced. "You are part of the prophecy. You, not your brothers."
"Okay... but I don't care at this point since I have no idea about this prophecy you told my mother. You can be sure I'll ask her about it when I get back to camp, though. Now that my curiosity has been aroused, you can't stop me." mewed Etharpaw, swishing her tail.
Lionflame purred. "I don't want to stop you. I want you to go and tell Snowstar what I told you."
"That's good, because I'm going right now," she meowed, and swept grandly into the bushes.
Lionflame shook his head. "Snowstar has her paws full with that one." Then he too left the clearing.
* A few minutes later *
Eaglepaw bounded into the clearing with Winterpaw following him, each one carrying a fish in their mouth. Eaglepaw set the fish down. "Etharpaw! Where are you!"
"Etharpaw!" called Winterpaw, adding his voice to Eaglepaw's. After a bit he added; "I don't think she's anywhere in the area."
"You're right," admitted Eaglepaw. "Maybe she fell into the river and got swept downstream screaming her head off."
"Nah," Winterpaw shot that idea down right away. "We'd have heard her. We were fishing downstream."
"Oh." mewed Eaglepaw. "Good point. She must have been carried off by an eagle then. I must hunt it down and save her so I can earn my warrior name, Eagleslayer."
Winterpaw rolled his eyes. "Good luck. I think she went back to camp."
"Aww..." sighed Eaglepaw. "Your reasons are oh so boring."
"Yeah, but they're reasonable, unlike yours."
"Mine are funny!" snapped Eaglepaw.
"Sure sure," Winterpaw waved his tail. "I'm heading back to camp to find her."
"Well I'm going to find the eagle and bring it home for dinner." Eaglepaw headed off in the opposite direction.
A cat in the bushes shook with silent laughter as the two parted ways.
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