Mouseheart let out a squeak of surprise. "T-Tonight?!" He could hardly believe his ears. "But why tonight?"

"You have a point." Molestar sat down, his tail thumping on the ground. "She could possibly be connected to them."

"And if she's dead…"

"…They might just leave us alone." The leader's face relaxed. "I think everyone would like it if they were gone as soon as possible."

A feeling of dread hung over Mouseheart like a storm cloud; all he let out was a single meow, "…Okay." With a single tail flick, the deputy of ThunderClan was dismissed. As he climbed back down to the familiar floor of the camp, his mind raced with thoughts on what to do next. He was conflicted between two choices – kill Beesong or not. Whatever the case was, she had to leave ThunderClan.

And there was nothing he could do to stop it. The warrior code states that the word of the leader is the warrior code. Disobeying Molestar would be breaking the warrior code. Still, there must be something he could do.

The night sky stretched above the trees, the pale moon shining dimly. It was hard to believe a peaceful night like today could be so eventful. The deputy scanned the camp, looking for the pale gray warrior. She had to be somewhere, right? Soon enough, she entered the camp with Icefoot, who had a decaying rabbit in his mouth. Mouseheart's nose crinkled at the pungent smell of it, but nonetheless, he started to pad up to them.

"Hey," he meowed. Beesong's ears perked up, while Icefoot dropped the rabbit he was carrying. He glanced between the two cats. "I see you went hunting."

The gray tabby nodded. "All we could find was this rabbit." He prodded it closer to the center of the fresh-kill pile. "It's probably crowfood, but it's better than nothing."

The mangy tom gulped. "…I see. Anyways." His green eyes met Beesong's yellow eyes. "I need to talk to you."

The warrior's eyes widened. "Me?!"

"Yeah, y-"

"About what?"

The deputy paused. "…Follow me." He passed her and started to exit the hollow, and turned his head to face her a tail-lengths away from the tunnel. "We must talk in private."

"Okay!"

Without any objection from the younger cat, the two left the ThunderClan camp and started to head deeper into the frostbitten forest. The grass felt crunchy underneath Mouseheart's paws. It has not seen sunlight for moons, and while snow still dotted the trees and ground white, it has mostly melted since then. It was a sign newleaf was coming soon, but the harsh leafbare was not over just yet. He did not reveal where he was taking Beesong just yet, but he had an idea.

As they neared the abandoned twoleg nest, the tabby kept his eyes open for the place where he had first met his current companion – and where her real mother died. They passed it, and his pelt tingled with anticipation. How would she react? Was he doing the right thing? It was something only StarClan knew.

At last, he noticed something. A scratch in the bark of one of the trees. Something had put it there seasons ago, and he had seen it while he was talking to the silver loner. The deputy stopped.

"We're here," he announced.

"Huh?" Beesong stopped as well, halting a few pawsteps in front of him. "What about here?"

Mouseheart held his breath. I can't just tell her this is where her mother died. He shuffled his paws. I have to lead into it.

"Well, this place is a little special to me," he began. The warrior swung around to face her smaller friend, curiosity burning in her eyes. She sat down, waiting for him to continue his story. "I made a promise here, one that I have not broken quite yet." He lowered his head. "But it is about to be broken."

"What was the promise?" the she-cat asked.

"Let me finish," he meowed. "Anyways, it was given to me by a loner. A silver one, with thick black stripes." The tom frowned. "She died in this exact spot moons ago."

Beesong's previous question seemed to have been forgotten, as she now asked, "Who was she?"

Silence settled into the forest, with only the wind howling in the distance. The tabby clenched his teeth, preparing for the she-cat who sits in front of him's reaction. Thoughts raced through his head as he slid his claws out, trying to dig them into the hard, hard ground. He was prepared to kill, and whatever the case may be, he must do it sooner or later.

At last, he lifted his head, and with a somber mew, said, "…She was your mother."

The gray warrior's jaw dropped slightly. "My mother…" Her ears flattened at her self-revelation. "It's almost like… I can smell her scent now."

He was relieved she did not bring up the promise once more, but now, he had to kill her at her weakest moment, while she was lost in a fantasy. He could end it right now. He could put everything behind him, and move forward in the world. He could forget about his past, forget about how he watched his own father fall in front of his very eyes. He lifted a paw, claws glistening in the moonlight, and then he took a step, trembling. He could almost feel them digging into a cat's pelt, ripping through flesh and causing a warrior to fall. It is dishonorable, is it not? Yet, this is what Molestar commanded him to do, no matter how much it went against his personal morals. He must do this.

But… he couldn't do it. As much as Beesong annoyed him, she was still his friend. A friend he has helped raise since she was a weak kit. Now, she was strong, well-muscled warrior, indistinguishable from a rogue cat, compared to himself, a small, lithe warrior who did not deserve his current position. In a sense, Speckfeather was right. Molestar was out of sorts lately, and that included making a coward ThunderClan's deputy.

I really am a mouse-heart. His claws slid back into his paws, and he relaxed his muscles. Beesong still seemed to be lost in thought, and now he had to think of a new plan quickly, one that did not involve death. He straightened, and focused his eyes on the she-cat.

"Beesong," Mouseheart meowed, trying to get her attention. "Are you okay?" No answer came. "Beesong? Beesong!"

Her head snapped back up, and she looked around frantically before realizing who was speaking to her. "Oh, I'm so sorry! So, so sorry!"

"It's fine, it's fine!" the deputy reassured. "I… was going to ask you something." This was something he thought of quickly, no plan had formed yet. Now, he must comprise a question, and fast.

"What?" she asked, tilting her head in curiosity as her tail twitched ever-so-slightly.

"Could…" Mouseheart paused, thinking of how to complete his statement. "…you tell me about those rogues?" He had to admit, he wanted to learn more about White and Twist. It was dangerous to go stalk them to gather information, so the best thing he could do is to ask those who know them personally. Beesong is the only cat he knew of so far seen with them.

"…Which ones?"

"The two rogues that won't leave ThunderClan alone!" he pressed. "That patrol that returned you to the forest said you were with them that one day!"

"Ohh, them," she mewed in realization. "I can take you to them."

The tabby glanced down at the bundle of cobwebs on his shoulder. "Well… that's not a good idea."

"It'll be okay!" Beesong reassured. "I'll tell White you're with me! They trust me!"

"I-I don't know if I can trust you," he blurted out, coming across as stuttering.

Taken aback, the warrior then hissed, "You had to trust me enough to bring me to the Clans!"

"I…" He shouldn't have said that. "I know… But you've grown! You aren't the same cat you were as a kit!"

"There's a difference between a kit and a full-grown warrior," she snapped, and then let out a huff.

Mouseheart frowned. He had made a mistake, and now he must fix it. "Look, let's just forget this conversation ever happened, and now we can go to wherever White and Twist live."

"Oh, do you trust me now?" Beesong taunted.

"Yes, yes I do! Just please, take me to the rogues!" the tabby begged. The quick plan he thought of was now falling apart. Now, he was losing the cat that was supposed to die's trust.

"Okay, then." The change of her tone was so sudden, leaving the tom dumbfounded. With a flick of her tail, she turned around and started to walk towards the border, and he followed. The trees started to thin, and more snow became apparent. Tree stumps were apparent in the area… had twolegs been here?

Soon enough, a large, dark shape was apparent in the distance. It was if Beesong's eyes lit up in excitement when she saw the structure.

"We're almost there," the gray warrior informed Mouseheart. "I don't know if they're asleep or not. If either of them is awake, it's probably my brother."

The mangy deputy grew nervous. "Your… brother? You have a brother?"

She nodded. "Older brother. A little bit after I met the rogues, White told me his littermates died young, but he survived."

"…I see," he replied. "What's his name?"

"You already know," Beesong simply stated.

"Is it…" He gulped. Mouseheart was not prepared for this revelation, the fact that she was related to one of these rogues in any way, shape, or form. "…Twist?"

All she could give was a regretful nod, and her tail now dragged on the ground below them. Revealing to the deputy that her brother was a huge threat to ThunderClan at the moment seemed to have taken a great toll on her. The tom could not find the right words to express his thoughts, like a fox was clamping down on his neck. Not a single sound came out of either of them for the rest of the journey, with only the howling of the wind surrounding them.

At last, when the clouds had covered the moon, the two cats arrived at a twoleg nest. It seemed run-down, almost abandoned. It was different from the one back in ThunderClan's territory, being in a neater state. Two scents hit Mouseheart's nose, both familiar. He assumed this was the scent of the rogues.

"Hello?" Beesong mewed. "Anyone awake?"

A single amber eye appeared within the darkness. Soon enough, a white shape emerged from the shadows. His eyes narrowed at the sight of the small tabby, a certain look of disgust apparent.

White! he thought in alarm. Beesong was hoping her brother was awake, but instead, it was the one-eyed tom.

"Why him?" White asked, his meow sharp and curt. The rogue flexed his unsheathed, gnarled claws, as if ready to pounce on him like prey. "He's just a loyal piece of fox-dung."

The insult stinging, the deputy's ears flattened. "I'm right here," he muttered.

"I don't really care," he snapped. "I am just a little surprised you're alive, that's all." His attention then turned to the larger cat next to Mouseheart. "What, did you save him?"

"He's my friend! He just wanted to meet you and Twist!" Beesong fired back, dodging the question as her tail lashed.

"Really?" The cat raised an eyebrow. "Is that really the only reason you traveled with Bee today?" White took a few steps towards the brown tabby, his shadow looming over him. He could even feel his hot, stinky breath washing over him.

"Her name's Beesong," the deputy clarified.

He dug his claws into the ground. "She was always Bee to me. Trust me, she won't be singing longer. If Ebere didn't take her away from me, then perhaps everything would be different."

Ebere? Mouseheart's fright now turned into confusion. "W-Who's Ebere?"

"Bee's mother. That good-for-nothing kittypet thought she could live with me for moons upon moons." His shoulders relaxed, and the rogue shook his head. "She did, but soon enough, she reverted to that instinct to flee from a wild cat."

The confusion cleared up, now replaced with anger. It was as if a thousand different emotions tried to claw their way into him. "Did you kill her?" he snapped. "She was innocent! Beesong would have died if I hadn't found her!"

The rogue was taken aback. "Innocent?! She betrayed the two of us!" he roared. "She made a pact to stay with us until her very last breath, yet she begged and begged to those good-for-nothing twolegs to kick us out of our old home. She succeeded, and now we have to live in this poor excuse for a nest!" Then, his meow turned cold. "Once that happened, she fled. Like you, you little mouse-heart."

"You still didn't answer my question," the tabby hissed. "Did you kill her?"

"Of course not; she left on her own accord." White looked behind him to no one in particular, and then his attention returned to the small tom. "It was Twist that chased after her and finished her off once and for all." His demeanor completely changed as he boasted, "He really took after his father." He smirked. "And that father would be me."

Mouseheart, to his own surprise, was not even surprised that Twist's, and by extension, Beesong's, father was White. He was expecting her to be related to a horrible cat. Yet, out of the two rogues, White was much more stable than the gray tom could ever be. He was just cocky at best.

"You must be doing something wrong in parenthood, then," he snapped. "Yo-"

"Stop!" Beesong finally yowled. She put herself between the two arguing cats, taking neither side. "This is pointless! I know my mother's dead, but that's in the past! Why can't we be friends?"

"This is a Clan cat, Bee," her father growled. "They can't be trusted."

"Says the cat whose daughter is a Clan cat," ThunderClan's deputy grumbled.

"That's a different case," he snapped. "She has my blood." He lowered his head and whispered something barely audible, directed towards the she-cat. Yet he could just barely here it. "We're more similar than you think."

The gray she-cat's eyes widened at his remark, and stumbled backwards. She flattened her ears, and gave a sorrowful look at Mouseheart. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. The one-eyed tom gave a glance down at the warrior, and then back to him. Neither of them said a word. He half-expected Twist to emerge from the shadows and leap out at him, but it did not come. Their argument was done here. Nothing more could be said.

The tabby did not know what to do. He could just straight-out admit that Molestar wants her dead, or he could kill her in the middle of the night. The former would save a life, but he would be going behind his own leader's back. What would StarClan think of that? The latter would do the opposite, along with the side effect of making the rogues even angrier. Images of his father's blood spilling on the forest floor flashed through his mind. He felt sick to his stomach just thinking about it.

Killing her would make him just like his father's killer.

"Molestar wants you dead," he suddenly blurted out, and both cats perked up in alarm. They exchanged worried glances before returning their attention to him. Realizing his mistake, he noticed his paws started to shake. Not again…

"Molestar what?" Beesong reiterated, not grasping the concept.

"H-He wants you dead." His tail pointed towards the she-cat. "You, specifically."

"Why?!" both of them cried at the same time.

"He thinks you killed Snowface," Mouseheart replied, confidence building. I wouldn't be surprised if she actually did.

"Why would I, out of all the cats in the forest, kill Snowface?" she perplexed. "Besides, killing me is such a mouse-brained idea," she uttered shortly after.

"I hate to say it, but…" he trailed off, not sure how to word it to her. "There's a lot of evidence against you."

"Like what?" It was White who spoke this time, his tone hostile.

"One, Beesong's the kit of a loner," he started. "Two, she was the only warrior who left camp after his last appearance."

"I was hunting!" she interrupted in protest. "Besides, why does it matter that I'm the kit of a loner? I've proven my loyalty over and over again!"

"Well, the cats on that patrol said they saw you with White and Twist," Mouseheart continued, disregarding her statement. "Loyalties can change."

"Do you really expect me to follow the path of a rogue?" the gray she-cat cried, her eyes filled with dismay. "I would never turn my back on my Clan! Ever!"

"I'm just stating facts," the tabby meowed bluntly, trying to maintain a professional manner. "My point still stands; there's a lot of evidence pointing towards you."

"She does not seem like the kind of cat to just kill others on whim," White defended, his amber eye narrowing. "I have not known her for long, but it seems I can tell more than a mouse-brain could."

"How dare you!" he snapped. His claws slid out, ready to lash out against the rogue. "I saved her from death!"

"How close-minded can you be," the white tom growled. "She's innocent, get over it."

"Fine." He lashed his tail, upset. "But Beesong cannot return to ThunderClan."

"Why not?" the warrior asked, tilting her head.

"M-Molestar…" He gulped. "…might banish me if I don't follow his orders."

"It sounds like this 'Molestar' cat has bees in his brain," White remarked. "Can't you overthrow him or something?"

"I can't," Mouseheart admitted. He never really thought of it before. "He was chosen by StarClan to be the leader of ThunderClan."

"I don't believe in this 'StarClan' nonsense."

"They're our ancestors! They are much, much wiser than anyone can be."

"They're not my ancestors. If they chose him, then they must be doing something wrong."

"Back on topic, I won't kill Beesong on one condition." The aforementioned cat's yellow eyes grew wide with fear. Determined, he stared up at her father with his green eyes. "You and Twist are to never cross ThunderClan territory and hunt there ever again. Or any of the Clans, for that matter."

"It's hard to find prey these days," White meowed. "Even in leafbare, the forest is so rich with them."

"I'm sorry, but it's our territory. The Clans have been living alongside the lake for moons," Mouseheart argued. "You're just going to have to find somewhere else."

Silence settled around them, and the deputy held his breath. What would the rogue say? It could end badly.

"…Fine," he surrendered. "If it means that Bee won't be hard, then I'll accept." The rogue looked behind him, then back to the mangy tom. "I doubt Twist will be happy, though."

Of course. "Maybe I can talk to him in the morning?"

"I suppose," he replied. "It might help him understand if you tell him directly." He got up, and started to head inside the twoleg nest, gesturing to follow.

The three cats poked their heads inside. The nests the rogues made were sloppy, thrown together without much thought. The long-legged gray tom slept peacefully in one of them, his chest rising up and down. One of his torn ears twitched, startling the tabby a little bit. But he should not ponder on it now, should he? The other rogue padded over to the extra nests.

"You two can sleep here," he uttered quietly. "If Twist wakes up, I'll tell him why you two are here."

"Thank you." With a respectful nod, the two ThunderClan cats scrambled to the nest, and laid down in it. It was cramped, and Mouseheart was feeling uncomfortable with Beesong's soft fur up against his. Unfortunately, this was all the space they had.

"…Molestar won't find out, right?" she whispered in his ear, wary.

"He won't," he assured her. "I'll make sure of it."


A/N: Hello! I apologize for the long wait again. School came along, and I just kind of... forgot about it. However, tonight, I got a surge of motivation to finish this chapter at last. I feel like it got rushed a little bit towards the end, but oh well. How long will you have to wait for the next one? I don't know, but hopefully it won't be over four months this time. I'd like to point out that recently, Faded Stars passed it's one-year anniversary! So, happy birthday to this story, I suppose.

Back to the story in regards to this chapter. Who do you think killed Snowface now? What are your predictions on what is going to happen next? I tried to sneak a little foreshadowing into there, so that might give you an idea. Anyways, I hoped you liked this chapter, and once again, I apologize for the wait. Branchwing, out!