Hey guys! I'm sorry for promising the next enstallment "soon" and then dropping the ball again DX College and work has been kicking my butt

But here we are! New story, new book, new POV!

I hope yall enjoy! 3

For new readers, this is the third installment in my series, Greyleaf's Trilogy. A TLDR for books one and two may be coming at some point, but for now, please read Greyleaf's Choice and Greyleaf's Journey to fully understand the events of Greyleaf's Clan

Chapter 1: Shade

This was all happening so fast.

The battle, the deaths, the escape…

And now this.

Shade felt her own breath catch in her throat, and she resisted the urge to rush to Nightpaw's side and do something—anything—to help. She would be no help here. She was a killer, a fighter—not a healer.

And today felt much too similar to that day in the tunnels….

"Get me some water!" Sparrowpaw's voice cut through her thoughts, and Shade winced at the sharpness in it.

"Of course!" she yipped, whirling around and scanning the area around them for any source of water. Her heart began to clench as her eyes found nothing, but by StarClan's grace a puddle was just a short run away. She started to head towards it when—

"—I've got it," Goldenfur mewed, brushing past her with Death on his heels.

The two didn't even so much as hiss at each other as the darker tabby gave the bright one a large, dilapidated leaf to scoop the liquid with. They were back at the tiny medicine cat's side within moments.

Sparrowpaw glanced up from her work, panting. "That's… a lot."

Death just grimaced and held his tip of the leaf lower so that his daughter could get a drink, Goldenfur dipping in suit. As soon as she lapped it up, she paused in her beating of Nightpaw's chest to breathe two puffs of air into his open mouth, then went right back to her rhythmic drumming.

Shade suppressed rising emotion, sitting down and busying herself with licking the blood out of her paws and legs; she needed something else to focus on. If she thought too hard….

A kick pressed against her belly, and the she-cat grimaced in both pain and fear. What if her beloved Nightpaw never got to see his kits? She tried not to dwell on it. Life and death were part of living… and she would go on without him by her side if she had to.

She could only hope that their kits would be okay in her care without him… Greyleaf and her family were still strangers to her, and she didn't know what she would do without her mate's protection.

"Isn't there something we can do?!"

Shade jerked her head up, eyes unmisting, to see Goldenpaw's tail lashing as she paced.

"Hush!" Sparrowpaw snapped before bending down to breathe into Nightpaw once again.

Goldenpaw bit her lip, still pacing, and turned to bury her bloodied head into her mother's equally-bloodied shoulder.

The crystalline shine of tears graced the grey fur, and Shade looked away.

The sitting and waiting was weighing on her, as well, and she struggled to get herself back on her paws and drag herself closer to the scene.

"No. Sit," Sparrowpaw ordered, not looking up from her work. "Wounds."

Shade blinked, her face tensing. She hadn't realized the extent of the lacerations slashing across her coat, nor had she realized the dizzying white dots spotting her vision. She laid down, dragging her face close to Nightpaw's, and placed her muzzle into his ruff, praying.

It felt like seasons before a ragged breath finally coursed through his mouth, and Shade let a single tear slip.

"Nightpaw," she breathed, eyes brimming as she butted his head. "Thank StarClan."

He shakily licked her cheek and laid his head back down, his breaths as ragged as his exhausted sister's.

"What… what happened?"

"Your heart stopped," Death answered, cringing. "We don't know why… but Sparrowpaw saved you." Though he flicked an ear towards the she-cat, Shade saw his eyes never left Nightpaw's face.

The younger tom turned his face to look gratefully at his sister. "Thank you," he said, shaking. "I would be dead right now if not for you."

That's for sure, Shade thought as she curled closer to him and let his family ask him their questions and calm their concerns. Her heart was at peace once again. She could only hope his was, as well.

A kick once again pushed against her stomach, and Nightpaw craned his neck backwards to press his fur into her face. "They aren't even born yet, and already they're beating me up."

"Oh; sorry." Shade moved a bit away, so that there was space between her belly and his back.

"You both need to be moved," Death said, cutting into their moment, and reached down to grab Nightpaw by his scruff.

Without asking anyone else, the dark tom dragged his son across the packed earth and towards a dark shadow in the nearby stone wall. For a moment, Shade blinked, confused as to if a Tribe tunnel had somehow manifested itself so far away from their territory, but a second look dismissed that evaluation. She struggled to her paws and began trundling after them, remembering her own most-recent time in the Tunnels.

She'd always been curious as to what happened when a cat who had already passed the Tribe's test went back inside. Now, she regretted that curiosity. It really killed the cat—several. The she-cat almost wished she hadn't had to witness the insanity the Tribe created in Death.

Inside this cave it was cold, and not much adorned the small space but a few strangled spiderwebs. She snapped up a spider and quickly crunched it in her mouth; she'd need the sustenance, even if it was small. The increasing amount of white dots in her vision were starting to worry her, and she quickly laid herself up inside the crook of her mate's soft stomach.

He licked her between the ears and began cleaning out her coat, and the dark she-cat purred.

"Thank you, love," she said, smiling at the gentle caress.

"Of course, Shade," he answered, traveling down her back to clean out the many wounds there. "Sparrowpaw," he said, catching the small she-cat's ears quickly. "Shade needs a lot of cobwebs for these wounds. She's shaking."

Shade almost denied his last words, but a quick glance at her paws proved him right. She was shaking. With a sigh, she laid her head back at her paws in defeat and let the spotted grey cat patch her up with some of the blessedly-abundant cobwebs from the cave. Nightpaw chuckled at her, but he allowed himself to be patched up as well before the she-cat moved on to the others. As he settled back up against her, patting her side to calm her squeamishness at the foreign sensation of the cobwebs against her skin, Shade opened her eyes. Half of Goldenpaw's face was practically covered in the mesh, and Goldenfur had nearly refused care from the look of things. Sparrowpaw was tentatively patching Death up as neither met the other's eye.

Nightpaw cleared his throat and tipped Shade's wearied head up as another cat approached them.

The black cat had to blink twice to make sure she could believe her eyes, but it was, in fact, Greyleaf standing above her with the ginger kitten they had saved in her jaws. The long-furred she-cat gingerly laid her on the floor and said, "Shade, would you mind watching and feeding Cherrykit tonight? I don't have milk to give her, and Sparrowpaw has run dry."

A kindle of warmth smoldered in Shade's heart, and she gave the older cat a small smile and a nod, pulling the squirming kitten closer. The fresh wounds lining the older cat's face were barely noticed as Shade sank into her green gaze, the warmth spreading.

"Thank you," she whispered, eyes moving to the bicolor kit as she tried not to wince from the tugging on her teat.

"Thank you?" Greyleaf's eyes were confused. "No, thank you."

Shade blinked at her again, cocking her head slightly to the side, before returning her gaze to the kit. The sound of Greyleaf's paws heading away soon graced her ears, and Shade laid her head back on her paws to ponder. Her tail wrapped around Cherrykit.

She'd thought that Greyleaf would never trust her with a kit after what happened in the tunnels….

Maybe things would be different, better, after all?