Dawn (book)/Chapter 7

==Chapter description==
:Squirrelpaw curls up in the small gully beside Shrewpaw and tries not to think about the warm apprentices' den they had slept in before. She thinks that it feels weird to be sleeping away from Brambleclaw after their journey, but that at least Shrewpaw seemed glad to see her. She closes her eyes and at first cannot stop thinking about what happened at Fourtrees, but eventually falls into sleep.
:Squirrelpaw is alone among the trees, and can smell prey-scent on the cold breeze. Squirrelpaw notices a fat mouse among the leaves and licks her lips, knowing that Brambleclaw will be pleased to have his share of this fresh-kill. She creeps silently toward the mouse, thinking that this will be an easy catch. Suddenly, pawsteps sound behind her, and the mouse scuttles away in fear. Squirrelpaw turns around in fury and sees a tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes standing behind her. The tortoiseshell greets Squirrelpaw, saying she has something to show her.
:Squirrelpaw snaps back that she just ruined the best catch she was likely to get all day. She does not recognize the cat, but can smell ThunderClan scent on her. Squirrelpaw tilts her head to one side and asks the she-cat who she is, and the she-cat reveals she is Spottedleaf. Squirrelpaw blinks and wonders why the long-dead ThunderClan medicine cat would come to her. She steps forward to touch the she-cat's nose in greeting, but her image fades. Squirrelpaw stares in bewilderment at the trees, and after detecting no sign of a cat, she turns to resume her hunt, thinking that maybe Spottedleaf just wanted to greet her.
:Squirrelpaw creeps through the trees toward Snakerocks, but as she goes deeper into the woods, the forest seems to change around her. Wondering if she has taken the wrong path, Squirrelpaw quickens her pace until she is racing through the trees. A small voice in her mind reminds her that it is just a dream, and Squirrelpaw blinks, trying to wake up. However, when she opens her eyes, she is still in the strange forest, and her heart pounds against her chest in panic. She runs on, trying to find a landmark, but the forest just grows darker and more silent. She calls Spottedleaf's name for help, but there is no reply.
:The trees grow more thick and the shadows seem to swallow Squirrelpaw. A soft voice seems to echo from everywhere at once, saying to not be frightened. Squirrelpaw spins around and sees Spottedleaf's pale pelt glowing among the trees. Squirrelpaw tells the ThunderClan medicine cat that she is lost, but Spottedleaf reassures her that she is not, and says to follow her. Squirrelpaw, relieved, follows Spottedleaf through the forest. The two run quickly throughout the forest, passing landmarks such as the Great Sycamore and Snakerocks along the way. Spottedleaf and Squirrelpaw stop at a Thunderpath, and the latter sees the damage the Twolegs have caused to the area.
:Spottedleaf tells Squirrelpaw to continue following her, and takes her to a wooden Twoleg nest. The StarClan cat tells her to look inside, and Squirrelpaw is shocked to find caged cats stacked on top of each other, including her own sister, Leafpaw. She asks Spottedleaf how she can help and claws at the cage, but she wakes up and Shrewpaw grumbles for her to stop moving. She blurts out she knows where Leafpaw is and explains to him how. Shrewpaw warns Squirrelpaw she cannot disappear again or wake Firestar up to assemble a search party, and she is convinced by him to sleep. As she rests, Squirrelpaw looks up at Silverpelt and wonders if Spottedleaf is helping her because she still loves Firestar.
:Squirrelpaw wakes up, intent on telling Firestar about Leafpaw, but Shrewpaw reveals to her he went on patrol with Graystripe. Upset, she tells the brown tom this is important, and much to her ire, also learns Shrewpaw did not tell his leader her dream was from StarClan. After calming down, Squirrelpaw tells him she saw the missing cats in her dream, which excites him. She notices Brambleclaw returning to camp with a vole, and glances over at a weak-looking Ferncloud and her kits. She notes they are hardly old enough to leave the nursery, and wonders who will never see their new home. Squirrelpaw bounds over to Brambleclaw and explains where Leafpaw is. Brambleclaw states they should not rescue her until Firestar comes back, but Squirrelpaw snaps back that StarClan told her to rescue her sister now.
:They continue their heated argument until Squirrelpaw cannot take it anymore, and leaves. She encounters Sorreltail, who had overheard the fight, and the tortoiseshell tells her she will help rescue Leafpaw. They quickly run through the forest and reach the Great Sycamore, and Squirrelpaw sees the monsters are still present. The she-cats hastily climb over Snakerocks and head toward the Thunderpath, where the apprentice's fear grows. Sorreltail aks what they should do now, but Squirrelpaw is unsure. The latter looks out at the clearing full of Twolegs, knowing StarClan must have faith in her if they wanted her to come. She points to where Leafpaw is being kept, and notices a Twoleg bringing out a mangy tabby in a cage.
:Seeing her sister, Squirrelpaw makes a run for it, despite Leafpaw warning her it is not safe. The Twoleg sees Squirrelpaw and begins chasing her with the cage, and the apprentice begins to run for her life. Sorreltail comes to her aid and attacks the Twoleg, distracting it and allowing the two cats to escape. The two run all the way to Snakerocks, where they encounter Graystripe, Thornclaw, and Rainwhisker. Squirrelpaw explains to Graystripe that Leafpaw is trapped, and Brambleclaw emerges from the bushes and asks the apprentice if she is all right. Squirrelpaw says they must rescue Leafpaw immediately, and the cats on Graystripe's patrol agree.
:Squirrelpaw's confidence increases as she leads her Clanmates near to where Leafpaw is trapped. As Graystripe explains the plan, she stares at Brambleclaw and wishes he would stop treating her like a kit. The patrol lay in the mud, and after a Twoleg comes out with a cage, Graystripe motions for the rescue to begin. The Twoleg is taken by surprise and drops the cage, smashing it and freeing the cat inside, Mistyfoot, who proceeds to attack her kidnapper. Squirrelpaw, Brambleclaw, and Sorreltail enter a monster, and Squirrelpaw greets Leafpaw. The former pulls the latch on Leafpaw's cage, freeing her. The sisters immediately get to work freeing the other caged cats, some of whom are rogues.
:Squirrelpaw helps Mistyfoot free Sasha; the latter is shaken with fear and she bolts out quickly. Leafpaw tells Squirrelpaw to help Brightheart and Cloudtail while she helps Cody. The ginger tabby runs toward the nest containing the ThunderClan warriors, noticing Thornclaw and Graystripe fighting the Twolegs and a brown rogue running toward her. When she enters the nest, she finds an already freed Cloudtail trying to save Brightheart. The cage latch does not budge, and Graystripe runs in, warning they are heavily outnumbered by the Twolegs. He sends his Clanmates out while he attempts to rescue Brightheart. They run through many Twolegs and the muddy earth, and Squirrelpaw notices Leafpaw and a brown tabby approaching in the distance.
:Squirrelpaw turns around, and relief feels her as she sees that Graystripe successfully rescued Brightheart. As she reunites with Leafpaw and the brown tabby, she notices Brambleclaw's fur on a bramble patch, which she believes is indicating that he escaped. More relief fills her as she realizes everyone has been rescued, but Brightheart suddenly comes by, stating that Graystripe is in trouble. Squirrelpaw looks ahead, and much to her horror, sees Graystripe caged in a monster moving quickly away from the forest territories.
==Characters==
===Major===
===Minor===
===Mentioned===
==Important events==
*The captured cats are rescued by ThunderClan.
*Graystripe gets trapped in a truck and taken away by Twolegs.
==Trivia==
*This chapter aligns with the prologue of The Lost Warrior and Graystripe's Adventure.
==Notes and references==
de:Morgenröte/Kapitel 7es:Aurora/Capítulo 7fr:Aurore/Chapitre 7nl:Dageraad/Hoofdstuk 7
Category:Dawn (book)
Category:Chapter subpages
Category:The New Prophecy arc