The Sun Trail/Chapter 3

==Chapter description==
:Gray Wing wakes up and walks over to Shaded Moss' group, noting that the group had gotten bigger since he'd last seen them. As he goes over to join them, Clear Sky hopefully asks if he had changed his mind. Gray Wing replies that he was thinking about it. Turtle Tail, pleased, sits next to him and purrs. Shaded Moss then announces that all the cats going on the journey would need to rest and eat for the next two days. Dappled Pelt is wary of the idea at first, but Shaded Moss reasons with her that once they leave, the other cats will have plenty of prey to go around. 
:They are interrupted by an angry screech. Dewy Leaf charges across the cavern and demands why Moon Shadow was leaving, as he had fathered her kits. He tries to explain that there would be more food after they left, but all the arguing attracts more cats, Twisted Branch comments that cats with responsibility should remain with the Tribe. Tall Shadow and Shattered Ice argue that they were going into the unknown, to make life better for the cats staying behind. 
:As Sharp Hail joins the argument, Gray Wing notices that Bright Stream was hanging back, not taking a side. Suddenly, Stoneteller's authoritative voice breaks through the fighting, telling the group to stop squabbling. She questions whether her vision was right. Lion's Roar whispers that she must believe in what she saw and suggests that the cats take a vote, like his mother and the other Ancients did. Stoneteller asks if Shaded Moss would accept a vote. He agrees, and Bright Stream and Gray Wing are asked to collect stones. Quiet Rain is against kits voting but Stoneteller explains that every cat in their community had to have a say. 
:Gray Wing and Bright Stream pad out of the cave to collect the stones. Gray Wing confides to her that Quiet Rain wanted him to go, and Bright Stream is surprised that she would want her kits to leave. She asks if he would, and he replies that he wasn't sure yet. After they collect enough stones, the cats vote. Gray Wing decides to put his stone in the staying pile. When Stoneteller counts the stones, more cats want the group to leave than to stay. She wishes them luck, and Shaded Moss takes them out to scout the route again. 
:Quiet Rain come up behind Gray Wing. She tells him he must consider his future and he replies that his future was in the cave. He nods to her and heads out of the cave. He spots Shaded Moss and the others and notes that they were making plans. Sadly, he turns away and bounds down the valley, hoping to spot a hare. Seeing a flicker of movement, he runs towards it. Chasing after the small creature—a mouse or vole he speculates—he almost catches it, but it slips through a small gap. His growls in frustration, asking himself why it was so hard to live in the mountains. 
:Suddenly, he hears something behind him and whirls around. He sees Stoneteller, barely visible in the snow standing in front of him. When asked if she was okay, she jumps up on a rock and tells Gray Wing she just needed some fresh air. Leaping up beside her, he asks his leader if there was really a better place past the mountains. Turning towards him, Stoneteller tells him that she had never before been so certain in her life. He also asks her about leading the Tribe and leaving the lake. Stoneteller answers that they could never be sure of their future, but had to trust what they believed was right, and silences his doubts.
==Characters==
===Major===
 
===Minor===
===Mentioned===
==Notes and references==
de:Der Sonnenpfad/Kapitel 3fr:Le sentier du soleil/Chapitre 3
Category:The Sun Trail
Category:Chapter subpages
Category:Dawn of the Clans arc