The Lost Warrior/Chapter 4

==Chapter description==
:It is night, and Graystripe lies with his head on his paws inside the Twoleg nest, while the Twoleg kits pet him. The female Twoleg comes and tells the kits that it's time for bed, and though they complain, the kits don't protest. Graystripe closes his eyes.
:Graystripe dreams that he is walking beside a stream, and suddenly Silverstream walks up to him. Graystripe exclaims her name, and she answers by calling him her beloved. She says it hurts her to see him so troubled, especially when he knows what he needs to do. Graystripe closes his eyes and lowers his head, admitting that he is so lost, alone, misses her so much, and wishes she could be with him. Silverstream smiles and tells him that he is a warrior of ThunderClan, and his place is with them. Graystripe asks if she really thinks he should find them, and she answers that she thinks he has to. They nuzzle each other's faces, and Silverstream murmurs that she will always be with him, but that if Graystripe looks, he will find that he already has a traveling companion. Graystripe is seen sleeping, and he is smiling.
:It is past dawn and Graystripe sits on the windowsill of an open window. He starts to slip underneath, but the male Twoleg kit picks him up, and says that Graystripe is up early. The kit carries him down the stair and opens the door to the outdoors. He sets Graystripe down and holds the cat's paws, telling him that he shouldn't go out on the roof like that. Graystripe rubs against the kit's legs smiling, but when he walks in the grass, the Twoleg looking after it through the open door, he appears to be sad.
:Graystripe walks on a brick fence, and sees Millie washing by a Twoleg nest door. He thinks that it is perfect timing and calls to her. Millie looks up and cheerfully greets Graystripe, asking how he is doing. Graystripe meets her in the garden and stammers that he thought about what she said and that he had a dream. He summarizes that he has decided to leave and go find his Clan. Millie is pleased and says it's fantastic, but then realizes it means that he's coming to say good bye. Graystripe stammers that that wasn't what he meant, and asks Millie to come with him. Millie is surprised and confused, and asks if he means to go with him to the forest immediately. Graystripe stutters that he thought with the hunting and fighting she wanted to go. Millie responds that she can't just leave, since she has her whole life here. She adds that she can't make the decision on the spot, and can't abandon her Twolegs. Graystripe bows his head and closes his eyes and says that it's all right and he understands; that he can't expect her to leave everything behind like that. He stammers that he thought, but cuts himself off, saying that it's okay but he must go. He looks at Millie and gives her a sad smile, saying that he'll miss her, and telling her to take care of herself.
:Millie watches Graystripe then goes into her Twoleg nest through the cat flap, and she sadly walks into the kitchen. Her Twoleg, an elderly female, notes that she is back in so soon, and hopes that she is feeling all right. The Twoleg says she will get her a treat and asks Millie if she would it in her favorite spot. The Twoleg carries Millie to a cat tree and sets a bowl of cat food onto it, commenting on the fine dining for her 'little dearie'. The Twoleg leaves the room, telling Millie behind her to let her know if she needs anything else. Millie, disenchanted, looks at her food. She hops down the cat tree and goes into the room beside the one she was in, and looks around at the room, which has a birdcage with a bird in it. She says that she doesn't know what to do anymore and stands beside the birdcage with her eyes closed, and asks the bird if he would fly away if he could.
:Graystripe walks alone at night on a sidewalk, and notes that he is a wreck. He reflects of how in just the first day, he got extremely lost. The gray tom sharply looks around, and a dog chases him. He runs up to a low branch of a tree, and the dog places its front paws on the trunk and barks at him. Graystripe thinks that this place is nothing like the forest, and he wants to get out very badly.
:Graystripe contemplates that, unfortunately, as the days go by, just getting out of the Twolegplace is not easy. His coat is ungroomed and his face is in anguish as he looks at the other side of a Thunderpath, but there is a river filled with trash. He goes back to the Thunderpath and places his paw on it, but a monster almost hits him. Graystripe yowls and jumps into the river, fur drenched against his skin.
:Six days later, Graystripe is extremely hungry, and reflects how he is even begging from Twolegs. He is in a Twoleg's garden, standing beside some growing tomatoes, and watches a female Twoleg water her plants. He is bedraggled, but looks up pleadingly at her and mews. She yells at him to leave and calls him a filthy beast.
:Later, Graystripe is walking in a dump, and thinks that all his life, he tried to never doubt the wisdom of StarClan. He admits to himself that after ten days, he thinks he is done, and wearily pads into a sewage pipe and collapses inside, falling unconscious.
:Outside of the sewage pipe, a cat stands, fire behind him, and calls to Graystripe, who looks up, tired. He is suddenly seen wide awake, standing, surrounded by a ring of fire. He calls for Firestar, asking where he went, but before he can finish, he suddenly hears voices all around him. He sees the faces of cats, their eyes whitened; including Sandstorm, Cloudtail, and Bluestar. One voice gets louder than the rest and Graystripe hears a voice call his name.
:Millie is standing behind Graystripe, poking him and telling him to get up as he lies in the sewage pipe, only half-conscious. Millie asks if he is all right, and what is wrong, but Graystripe just groans. Steam comes from his body, and he hardly manages to say Silverstream's name. Millie is surprised and exclaims that he is burning up, and Graystripe pleads someone not to go. Millie interprets this as Graystripe asking her not to go, but stammers that she can help and will get water. She tells Graystripe to stay there and be okay until she returns. Millie dashes away from the sewer pipe, leaving Graystripe lying there, still saying Silverstream's name.
:Millie returns with a rag soaked in water, and squeezes the water into Graystripe's open mouth. Graystripe regains full consciousness, and asks the tabby how she found him. She answers that it wasn't easy, but tells Graystripe that he's been so lost that he's been going in circles for days. Millie asks how she can help and Graystripe requests more water, though in moss, and maybe a mouse. The former kittypet pads away from the pipe unhappily, and Graystripe thinks that the rag tastes awful.
:Millie comes to the entrance of the sewage pipe with a mouse in her jaws, and Graystripe compliments that she is becoming quite a hunter. She says that she'll need to be when she goes with him, and Graystripe is surprised that she changed her mind, asking if she is positive. Millie inquires if he doesn't want her coming along, but Graystripe tells the she-cat that he obviously does. Millie wonders out loud if his Clanmates will like her, and Graystripe answers that they will love her, as they are his family, and will welcome her as warmly as he did. Millie says that part of the reason she tracked him down was because she wanted to be as loyal to him as he is to his Clan. She says that she knows she can't miss a life she's never known, but that sharing Graystripe's life and path is the best journey she could imagine.
:While Graystripe rests, Millie recounts to him what she went through to find him. Graystripe pictures her with a tabby cat and notes to himself that Millie left the area she knew and used every bit of tracking and fighting skills she learned in the woods. He visions her sniffing a trail and fighting off three rats. He tells the reader that he is amazed and very appreciative at all she's done, but she then surprises him again.
:Millie crouches down next to Graystripe and asks who Silverstream is. Graystripe is confused, and his friend explains that he called out her name when he was sort of delirious. Graystripe tells her that Silverstream was his first mate, and they fell in love even though she was from a different Clan. He continues that she died giving birth to his kits. Graystripe confesses that he'll never stop loving Silverstream but she's with StarClan now, and he isn't so lonely since he met Millie. She rubs her head against his chin and says that everything will be better after they find his Clanmates. She adds that she can get them to the edge of the Twoleg nests, but after that is up to him. Graystripe says that they should get going, and Millie asks if he is strong enough. The two leave the sewer pipe and jump onto the fence surrounding the dump yard, and Graystripe answers that he thinks so, and that if he needs any help, he has her. The two walk toward the setting sun on a grassy field, and Millie agrees that he does.
==Characters==
===Major===
===Minor===
===Mentioned===
==Errors==
*When Graystripe is begging for food, he says to the reader, "I'm stooping pretty low to try begging from a Twolegs". It should be, "I'm stooping pretty low to try begging from Twolegs."
==Notes and references==
fr:Le guerrier perdu/Chapitre 4
Category:The Lost Warrior
Category:Graphic novel arc
Category:Chapter subpages
Category:Graystripe's Adventure