The night was filled with shadows and monsters, trees groaning in the wind. Mossclaw was relieved when it was finally dawn. She padded out of the den, nearly dragging her paws from tiredness.

"What happened to you? You look like you didn't sleep at all last night!" Rainfall said. Her former mentor had always woken up early, so it was no surprize to Mossclaw that the brown and white she-cat was awake.

I didn't sleep last night, you mouse-brain, Mossclaw wanted to tell her. She didn't respond to Rainfall and kept walking, although she didn't know where she was going.

"Some way to treat you mentor…" she heard Rainfall mumble.

Mossclaw stopped and spun around. "You're not my mentor anymore, remember?" Her voice came out harsher than she had expected, making Rainfall's eyes widen in surprize.

Rainfall collected herself and turned her back. "Hm. I guess some cats had thorns in their nest last night."

Mossclaw opened her jaws to reply, but closed them. She turned and hurried out of the camp.

Once Mossclaw was outside the camp, she walked to the only place she knew she would be alone. She crawled under bushes, over beds of fallen leaves, and finally, through a thick barrier of brambles. In front of her was a small clearing with a single oak tree in the center. She had discovered this place when she was an apprentice, and Mossclaw had come back every time she needed to be alone.

Mossclaw sat down at the base of the tree. What's happening to me? She asked herself. First the kits, now Rainfall. I would never attack kits, or yell at my mentor-

"But you did them, didn't you?" Tigerstar appeared in the shadows of the brambles and walked over to stand in front of Mossclaw. Hawkfrost followed.

"Why are you doing this?" Mossclaw choked out, standing up defensively.

"You mean why are you doing this? You attacked those kits, and you yelled at your mentor. Don't hide from it, Mossclaw. You're one of us," The way Hawkfrost said it made Mossclaw's fur stand on end.

"That's not true!" Mossclaw was desperate now. She didn't want to be evil! She didn't want to become a cold-blooded killer like these cats! "You- you're making me do this! You get in my head! Get out of my head!"

"Be careful what you say, Mossclaw," Tigerstar warned her.

Mossclaw unsheathed her claws. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Cats are forgetting how to use their claws. It has been so long since the original Clans, ThunderClan, RiverClan, WindClan, and Shadowclan, that cats have forgotten all the great battles of the Clans, the blood spilled onto the forest floor, all the heroes of war," Tigerstar began. "I was once one of the most feared cats in all the Clans. Why? I had strength. I wasn't afraid to spill the blood of my enemies to teach them a lesson. My followers were loyal, willing to go into battle at my call. We were merciless to our enemies, and anyone who didn't join us could consider themselves dead. The new Clans need to remember who we are, before our memory fades away completely."

"You're despicable," Mossclaw spat.

"No, I'm Tigerstar," Tigerstar gave her one last sickening smile before disappearing with Hawkfrost.

It doesn't make any sense, Mossclaw thought, pacing at the foot of the tree. Hawkfrost said that I didn't have to be evil, but am I turning into one of them? Just the thought of it made the hair on the back of her neck bristle. Mossclaw jumped at the slightest of sounds, thinking it was Tigerstar and Hawkfrost coming back.

Mossclaw paced back and forth until her paws were sore. She walked back to camp, tail dragging behind her and ears flattened against her head.

"Mossclaw?" the deputy, Snowstorm, called.

Mossclaw grudgingly padded over. "What is it?" she snapped.

Snowstorm paused, surprised by her tone. "Well, the kits are saying that you scared them last time you showed them battle moves. Could you, you know, try again? They keep begging me to show them, but I thought if you did it again, they wouldn't be scared anymore."

Mossclaw sighed and flicked her tail in annoyance. "Fine."

"Thanks, Mossclaw. By the way, what did you do that scared them?" Snowstorm asked.

Mossclaw just turned away and headed to where Mistkit, Silverkit, and Badgerkit were playing.

Silverkit saw her first and ran to cower behind Badgerkit. Mistkit fluffed up her fur and growled, and Badgerkit just shrunk down onto the floor.

"It's alright, kits. I was just going to ask if you want me to show you some more battle moves," Mossclaw softened her voice. Just like Snowstorm, the last thing she wanted was for the kits to be afraid of her. Not just for future training purposes, but so that she could prove to Tigerstar who she really was.

Badgerkit was the first to respond. The tiny tom stood up and stared at Mossclaw. "You won't try them on us this time?"

"Yeah, last time you nearly clawed our eyes out!" Mistkit said, going to stand beside her brother. Silverkit got up and sat beside her siblings.

"I promise I won't get mad this time. Wait here." The kits all stared intently as Mossclaw grabbed a large clump of moss and set it in front of them.

"What are you going to do with that?" Silverkit prodded the moss with one paw.

"It's going to be my enemy," Mossclaw told the kits. She turned around and set the moss in a position where it would be easy to pounce on.

"Well I sure do feel sorry for that piece of moss," Mossclaw heard Mistkit whisper to Badgerkit, receiving a cuff on the back of the head from her brother.

"Be quiet! Mossclaw can probably hear you!" Badgerkit whispered back.

Mossclaw smiled and turned back around. "Ok, kits. Watch." Mossclaw backed away from the moss and got into a hunter's crouch. She pictured the moss was Tigerstar, and she could finally get your revenge. She crept forward, and pounced, landing squarely on top of the moss and earning the surprised gasps of the kits. Mossclaw unsheathed her claws and began to shred the moss with all her power.

Take that, you worthless piece of fox-dung! She thought as she ripped the moss to shreds. She could see the kits becoming scared in the corner of her eye, but she did not stop. Get out of my head, you retched, flea-ridden monster! Mossclaw continued to claw the moss, and she could almost feel Tigerstar's fur beneath her claws.

"Mossclaw! Please stop! You're scaring me!"

"Mossclaw, you've torn the moss to shreds! Please stop!"

"Please, Mossclaw! You're scaring us!"

Mossclaw stopped and stood up. She looked at the moss, which was now barely recognizable. It was tangled in a heap, ripped and shredded by her claws. Mossclaw turned and looked at the kits. They were again cowering on the ground.

Mossclaw took a step toward them, but they just scurried farther away. She stepped back and retreated to the warrior's den. As she walked, she caught a glimpse of Snakestar glaring at her from his den, but she pretended not to have seen him.

Mossclaw dropped into her nest and began sobbing. Tigerstar had gotten into her head. Those kits used to love when she showed them battle moves or played moss-ball with them, and now they were afraid of her, and it was all Tigerstar's fault.

The den soon grew dark, and the other warriors came to rest in their nests. Shadows loomed through the den, but one peaked Mossclaw's interest. It was Stormheart's shadow. It would flicker around, creating stripes, then when it touched her shadow, it would flicker back to normal and disappear. It would appear, flicker, touch her shadow and disappear. Soon, Mossclaw's eyes began to droop, and eventually fell asleep, still wondering about her brother's shadow.