A/N: Alright, so. Just a few words before this starts. This story is a sequel to Catching Doves, the oneshot that I wrote and posted some time ago. As for how this happened, well… I've been intending to follow up on that oneshot with two more oneshots, one each from Cloudpaw and Dovepaw's perspectives. Eventually, I realized that Nanowrimo was coming up, so I got the idea to do a multi-chapter story. Then I learned that the official Nanowrimo challenge does not accept fanfiction, but I decided to write this anyway, and, well… here we are.

I can't give a timeframe on when to expect those two oneshots. I have no clue how often I will be able to update this, or if I will be able to keep going at all, but I will try. I'm not going to ask for feedback, but it would be appreciated.

As a heads-up, while I will change the allegiances to include any cats that I may put in that aren't already there, I will not be updating them to match the current chapter. Those of you on FFN, please note that this story has a warning for Graphic Depictions of Violence on AO3.

That being said… Enjoy!

Allegiances

ThunderClan

Leader: Mossystar – regal tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with dark green eyes

Deputy: Poolfern – tall black and white she-cat

Medicine Cat(s): Larchnose – small, very pale gray tabby tom

Warriors:

Hollybriar – fluffy black she-cat with green eyes

Apprentice, Sootpaw

Snaketail – brown tabby tom with hazel eyes

Apprentice, Dovepaw

Jumptail – large yellow tabby tom with a white tail tip

Brackenbelly – ginger tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Apprentice, Cloudpaw

Flamefall – skinny ginger tomcat with amber eyes

Pounceheart – small white tomcat

Iceblossom – pretty white she-cat

Cinderspot – dark gray she-cat with black spots

Darkfur – skinny black tomcat with yellow eyes

Dapplemouse – small, fluffy tortoiseshell she-cat

Apprentices:

Sootpaw – dark gray tom with amber eyes

Dovepaw – gray she-cat with green eyes

Cloudpaw – pale gray she-cat with blue eyes

Queens:

Hazelblaze – light brown tabby she-cat (mother of Jumptail's kits; Cherrykit, a brown and ginger she-kit, Shellkit, a beige she-kit, Adderkit, a yellow tabby tom-kit, and Waspkit, a brown tom-kit with broad stripes)

Mistyshade – fluffy gray tabby she-cat

Elders:

Beetlewing – white she-cat with a fluffy gray tail and spots on her back

Woollytuft – fluffy brown tomcat

ShadowClan

Leader: Sparrowstar – skinny brown tabby tom

Deputy: Ivytuft – huge calico she-cat

Medicine Cat(s): Shadebranch – large, very dark gray tomcat

SkyClan

Leader: Snowstar – dark gray she-cat with many large white spots

Deputy: Tanglenose – dark brown tabby tomcat

Medicine Cat(s): Softeyes – small silver tabby she-cat with green eyes

WindClan

Leader: Echostar – small yellow and white she-cat

Deputy: Badgerleap – huge, scarred black and white tom

Medicine Cat(s): Petalgorse – tortoiseshell she-cat with petal-shaped white spots

Warriors:

Miststream – gray and white she-cat

Apprentice, Wildpaw

Nightpond – dark tabby tom with bright blue eyes

Apprentice, Songpaw

Apprentices:

Wildpaw – brown tabby tom

Songpaw – small silver tabby she-cat

RiverClan

Leader: Splashstar – large white tomcat with ginger patches on his ears and tail

Deputy: Stormdapple – small, mottled dark gray she-cat

Medicine Cat(s): Webmouse – gray tabby tom

Rogues:

Quiver – lean black tomcat with a gray spot on his forehead

Rubble – huge dark gray tabby tomcat

Squeaker – skinny brown tabby tom with yellow eyes

Buttercup – fluffy, pale yellow tabby she-cat

Buckeye – skinny, mottled dark brown tom

Midnight – large black she-cat

Ginger – white she-cat with ginger spots

Herbert – young black tom with white markings

Serenity – young white she-cat with black spots

Willow – fluffy, pretty gray she-cat (mother of Squeaker's kits; Speckle, a gray she-kit with darker spots, Arch, a dark gray tabby tom-kit with yellow eyes, and Hazel, a brown tabby and white she-kit)

Patch – very old, skinny black and white tom

Boadicea – tiny, fluffy gray and white she-cat with purple-blue eyes

Panache – ginger tabby tom with amber eyes and a white patch on his chest

Mossystar found herself waking from an intriguing dream. She yawned and stretched, then, settling back down, tried to remember some of its details. Nothing came back to her, except a vaguely unnerved feeling. She thought for a few moments, then sighed, closed her green eyes, and attempted to go back to sleep. Unfortunately, the feeling of disquiet did not go away. Mossystar turned over in her nest, then got up and circled three times before curling up again, and yet, it was still there.

Eventually, she gave up on sleep, and rose from the depths of her mossy nest. She yawned and stretched again, all the way from her white front paws to the tip of her fluffy tortoiseshell tail. Then she turned and began to groom the scraps of moss and bracken from her pelt, and once that was done, she padded gently out of the ThunderClan Leader's Den and onto Highledge.

As she sat down on Highledge, she took a moment to feel the cold air of leaf-fall, and swept her eyes over the camp, taking note of where her Clan was at that precise moment. Her gaze roamed across the hollow's rocky walls, along the ancient, rotting beech tree and the two dens woven into the bushes alongside it, and then at the medicine cat's den and the nursery's bramble bush, where four five-moon-old kits slept soundly for the first night in a long time. That was quite a long game of moss-ball that they had with Dovepaw and Cloudpaw earlier, Mossystar mused to herself.

She then took in the bramble-obscured cave in the rock where the two apprentices and their brother, Sootpaw, slept. The three of them were now just two moons away from being made warriors. If they pass their assessments, that is, she thought to herself. Hollybriar and Snaketail had informed her of their apprentices' inattentiveness and excitability. While Mossystar did not doubt that Sootpaw and Dovepaw would pass their assessments, the thought still crept into her head at annoyingly often intervals.

Shaking her head, she paused for a moment, the strained her ears, creeping slightly down one side of Highledge. Sure enough, she heard the faint sounds of raised, bickering voices. She let out the tiniest mrrow of amusement, and felt a slight prickle of dread as she recalled that Sootpaw was supposed to be on the morning's dawn patrol.

After looking down on the silence of the ThunderClan camp, Mossystar still found herself feeling disquieted. She sighed, then looked upwards at the sky and the claw-scratch of moon that graced it, recalling her earlier dream. StarClan? Are you trying to tell me something? she wondered, then dismissed the thought. The dream was too easily fading from her memory, and ThunderClan too tranquil, for that to be the case. There were not even any ominous winds or clouds on the horizon for her to blame.

Feeling frustrated, she lashed her tail, then jumped down the rocky slope leading down from Highledge, and padded towards the thorn barrier. As she slipped through it, she sniffed the air; the scents of Darkfur and Larchnose reached her nose, along with the scent of Flamefall. She found that slightly unusual, but dismissed it, and emerged from the other side of the barrier into the forest.

"Who's there?" Mossystar, peering out into the forest's darkened leaves, turned at the sound of the nervous but bold mew, to meet the eyes of Darkfur, who was on watch that night. "Oh! It's you, Mossystar… sorry, I couldn't see at first…" the young tom continued sheepishly.

Mossystar silenced him with a flick of her tail. "It's not a problem, Darkfur. Rather, I'm glad to see you taking watch duty so seriously," she replied evenly.

"Oh, why, thank you!" he meowed, looking relieved. Then he nervously licked his shoulder, and cast a glance at the surrounding forest, before looking back towards Mossystar. "What brings you out here tonight, if you don't mind me asking, of course?"

"Well…" Mossystar looked up at the starry sky before continuing, debating what to tell him. While he was certainly a trusted member of her Clan, she was not as close to him as certain other members of her Clan, and she did not want to burden him with the concerns of a Clan Leader. Making up her mind, she mewed, "I can't sleep. I don't remember what I was dreaming about, but it left me with a bad feeling that won't go away."

Darkfur's face fell for just a moment, then curiously asked, "So… do you think it's sent from StarClan?" His eyes opened slightly wider.

"No, I don't think so," Mossystar answered. "This seems like just a normal feeling. Hopefully, it will be gone by morning." She started walking slowly past Darkfur, heading for the path around the edge of the stone hollow.

The young cat followed her, and nodded at her explanation. "Hopefully… why come talk to me, though?" he asked. Mossystar paused for a heartbeat. "Larchnose is out doing whatever it is he does with his herb garden at night. Why talk to me instead?"

She studied Darkfur's face, then responded, "Because, aside from your two kits, you're the first cat I've encountered who's awake." Mossystar had been intending to talk to Larchnose instead, but the black tom had intercepted her before she could go search for him. She continued walking.

"Oh… right, then," Darkfur mewed steadily. The two of them were now walking along the rim of the stone hollow, climbing upwards. The tom looked down upon the apprentices' den. "What are my kits up to, by the way?"

"Listen," Mossystar responded, pointing at the den with her tail.

Darkfur pricked his ears, then after a moment, a look of amusement crossed his face. "I see someone is going to have trouble with the dawn patrol," he meowed. "I'm beginning to wonder if those two will ever stop bickering."

"I've wondered the same thing," Mossystar agreed. "I had thought that they would stop once they were apprentices for a couple of moons, but it seems that that is not the case."

Darkfur nodded. "I'm not too concerned about it. Dovepaw and Sootpaw do seem to like each other when you look past the bickering, and they have Cloudpaw to look after them," he stated. "I just hope that they don't bicker like this when they're in the warriors' den. What do you suppose started it this time?"

"Dovepaw probably woke up Sootpaw somehow, when he did not want to be woken up," Mossystar theorized. "One of them is likely to talk about it later; we'll find out then."

"I guess," Darkfur mewed. "You know, Mistyshade told me once that those two seemed to bicker with each other even before they opened their eyes. This might just be a constant thing between them."

Mossystar nodded, and the two of them resumed their walk around the hollow. There were several heartbeats of silence before she spoke. "Well," she started, "they will have new denmates in another moon. They might be too busy getting annoyed at them to argue then."

"Don't you mean Sootpaw will be too busy getting annoyed at them?" Darkfur inquired, with a hint of shyness creeping into his voice. Mossystar flicked an ear at his correction as he continued. "You've seen how Dovepaw behaves around them. She adores them, and will probably be ecstatic when they become apprentices."

Mossystar nodded. The apprentice in question had always seemed enamored by the four kits. Then a thought crept into her head. "Speaking of which," she meowed, pausing for a heartbeat before she continued. "I still need to decide on mentors for them."

Darkfur's eyes widened. "Oh? Um…" he said, then gave his chest fur an embarrassed lick. "Shouldn't you discuss that with Poolfern?"

Mossystar dipped her head. "Probably. But, well…" She looked at the young tomcat, meeting his yellow eyes. "You are next in line for an apprentice."

Darkfur's tail and ears stuck straight up, and he made a small leap of surprise. "Really?" he asked, eyes wide. "Me? Are you sure? I'm finding it difficult enough to be a father," he continued nervously.

Mossystar nodded. "You, Cinderspot, and Dapplemouse, actually," she meowed. "And you've done a great job at being a father, as far as I can see. Mistyshade never has any complaints about you."

"R-Really?" he stammered out, clearly feeling very flattered. "Well then, I'll be honored to mentor one of Hazelblaze's kits," he mewed, sounding delighted. He then paused briefly and looked down into the hollow; they were now at the very top of its rim. Mossystar followed his gaze and saw that he was studying the nursery.

She looked back at the young tom, feeling pleased. "Then I'm glad," she mewed. "I haven't decided who I want to mentor each of them yet. If there's one in particular that you'd prefer…"

Darkfur shook his head. "Oh, no! I'd be honored to mentor any one of them!" he meowed. Then a look of contemplation crossed his face. "Wait. You said that Cinderspot, Dapplemouse, and I would be mentors. What about…?"

"The fourth mentor? I don't know," Mossystar confessed. "I would've considered your mate if she hadn't decided to stay in the nursery." She sighed. "Now, I don't know who to pick."

Darkfur tilted his head, as if wondering whether Mossystar was insulting Mistyshade and if he should be offended, then meowed, "Um… who did you have in mind?"

Mossystar thought for a moment. "Probably Poolfern or Flamefall," she answered. "Or maybe Pounceheart or Iceblossom. I'm not sure." She looked back up at the sky. "There really is no easy choice on that one."

Darkfur narrowed his eyes in concentration, then looked up to the sky as well. "I can't think of anyone in particular, either," he mewed softly. Then he blinked. "Perhaps StarClan will help you decide on this one?"

"Perhaps," she replied. There was silence for several heartbeats as the pair made their way down the rim of the hollow, approaching the thorn barrier. "So, I assume it's been an uneventful watch?" she asked, looking to dispel the disquieting feeling that had so far refused to leave her.

Darkfur nodded. "Y-yes," he meowed. "Larchnose left for his herb garden, and Flamefall left for a walk earlier. Aside from that, it's been completely quiet," he finished, looking shyly down at his paws.

Mossystar nodded. "That's good. Quiet means that nothing bad is happening," she mewed delicately. Looking in front of her, she realized that they had returned to the thorn barrier. She dipped her head to Darkfur. "Well," she began, "thank you for the talk."

"Oh! I-if you say so," said Darkfur. "It can get awfully lonely on watch sometimes." He paused, then asked, "Are you feeling any better, Mossystar?"

She shook her head. "Not really. But well enough to sleep, I think." She looked around at the shadows on the forest floor, and down the old thunderpath that stretched into the distance, and said, "It doesn't seem like there's any reason for me to be feeling this way. However…" she paused briefly as a thought struck her, "could you let me know if Flamefall or Larchnose take an exceptionally long time to come back?"

Darkfur's eyes widened. "D-do you think that they…?"

"Possibly. I'm not sure. They should be fine; no one has reported anything out of the ordinary for at least a moon now," Mossystar responded. "But, just in case something does happen…"

Darkfur nodded. "You need to be informed. Understood." He padded over to a spot where the grass was flattened, and sat down, tucking his black tail around his paws.

"Good," she replied. "Either way, I hope that nothing does happen. I've seen too many cats die during the time of my leadership; I'd rather if I didn't have to see very many more." It was true. The only cat older than her in ThunderClan was Woollytuft, a fact which she still found rather jarring.

Darkfur took on a nervous expression. "Y-yes, of course…" he stammered. "…does it feel lonely to be Clan Leader?" he asked.

Mossystar blinked in surprise. It's been a while since anyone besides Larchnose asked me what it feels like to be Clan Leader, she recalled. "It does," she responded. "I don't know if, say, Splashstar or Snowstar do the same thing, but it helps to become close with every new member of this Clan. It might hurt to lose them, but as long as I know that I've done my best, well…" she meowed, trailing off.

"I… I think I understand," said Darkfur. "I hope you didn't mind me asking…"

"Oh, no worries," Mossystar said, touching his shoulder with her tail. "In fact, thank you for understanding. Even if it's brief, it can be nice to discuss this with someone besides our dear medicine cat."

Darkfur's eyes brightened. "Yes, he's certainly something, alright." He lifted a paw and began to groom his face. "Anyways, it was nice talking to you," he mewed, looking at Mossystar. "I suppose I shall hear from someone about how Sootpaw performs on his dawn patrol tomorrow."

She nodded. "And the same to you," she responded. With a final twitch of her tail, she turned and padded back inside the camp, pushing her way through the thorn barrier. She paused for a moment to take a deep breath, and glance around camp, finding nothing out of place.

An idea entered her mind, and began to walk towards Highledge, setting a course to walk by the apprentices' den. She angled her ears toward it, and heard the sound of Cloudpaw's meow, too indistinct for her to make out, followed by some grumbles from the other two inhabitants of the den. Mossystar resisted the urge to let out a mrrow of amusement, and ascended the rocky slope up to her den. Looks like Cloudpaw's gotten that argument under control, she noted.

With one last look back at ThunderClan's camp, she entered her den, padded over to her nest, circled three times, and then curled up in it, burying her nose underneath her tail. She still had not managed to get rid of the unsettled feeling, even after the pleasant conversation with Darkfur. She narrowed her eyes, trying to recall her dream, but it seemed even fuzzier than it had before. I know this just has to be an ordinary feeling, she realized, but I can't shake the feeling that it isn't. Why? Am I just clinging onto hope and insisting that it has to be ordinary?

Mossystar thought on it for another few seconds, evaluating all of the existing reassurances that everything was alright. Then, not finding an answer, she yawned and resolved to hope for its absence in the morning. If it's not gone by then, I'm talking to Larchnose, she thought, and then closed her eyes, slipping into an uneasy rest.