Beside me, I felt Phoenixflame stiffened, and she slowly disappeared from sight next to me. "Phoenixflame?" I hissed.
"I'm here," I heard here murmur in the back of my mind.
"What's wrong?"
"Pantherpelt...I..."
"What's wrong?" I repeated.
"In fact," Smokey was saying. "You kind of look like her."
"Like who?" I asked shakily.
"Phoenixpaw," he snarled, his eyes flashing. "The coward who ran away after killing my mother."
A painful burst of memory appeared before my vision, making me almost fall over. Of a starlit tortoiseshell she-cat, of a pair of glowing amber eyes, but the cat behind them remaining unseen, of blood spreading in a puddle around unsheathed claws, of the fierce satisfaction of killing. Phoenixflame! You're a murderer!
"Phoenixkit... I'm sorry. I didn't want to break it to you like this."
Why? I demanded.
"I... I did what I thought was right."
Tell me, right now, what made you think killing another cat was right.
"I was on patrol with two cats from our clan, Fluffstorm and Orangestripe. They... I... they were killed by a fox. I nearly died, but Starclan sent me back. Li- Pantherpelt's mother and Mapleshade were there... Mapleshade convinced me to k-kill her. And n-now-"
"Oh, sweety, your not telling it right," Purred a voice behind my ear.
"Oh, Starclan no! Mapleshade, what are you doing here!?"
"Hush now,"she cooed, followed by a dreadful snarling.
"Phoenixkit! Don't worry about this! I'll take care of her!"
But, Phoenixflame!
She didn't reply, and before I knew it, I was pushing past Smokey and out of the cave, fleeing as fast as my paws would take me. There was another bout of growling and the sound of muscles against ground, and then silence. Phoenixflame?
"...I...I'm here, Phoenixkit," I heard a faint coughing.
Are you okay?
"I've been better."
I heard paws behind me. "Wait! You haven't tried cheesecake!" Tigger's yowled.
"Don't stop!" Phoenixflame begged.
I wasn't going to, I replied simply.
Finally, the footsteps faded into the distance, and I tripped over my own paws into a tree, forcing me to stop. Phoenixflame, are you sure you're okay?
"Huh? Oh, I'm fine, Phoenixkit. Just keep going."
Then show yourself already.
"I... I can't..."
What do you mean?
"Is this who I've been in the mind of? Adorable now."
"I just can't, alright, Phoenixkit?"
Exhausted, I sat down with a thump. I'm hungry! I complained.
"Tough," Phoenixflame growled.
Growling, I fell into the dust, tiredly licking at my fur. After I was finished, I opened my mouth. Even though I didn't know much, I might get lucky and find something to eat. Afterall, I had seen Phoenixflame hunt for me enough times.
Finally, I found the trail of a mouse. With my nose to the ground, I tracked it under a bramble bush. Nose twitching, I crouched, took a few paces forward, waggled my haunches and sprang. Unfortunately, I landed face-first in the brambles and was caught in the thorns. Huh? Wha'? I wiggled, and noticed I was stuck. Phoenixflame! A little help here?
"For crying out loud, Phoenixflame, will you please fix this?"
There was an audible sigh of relief from the flame-pelted warrior and I felt myself being tugged from the brambles by invisible paws. Before I even knew it, I was out, not a pricker in my fur, and the mouse dead by my paws. "Phoenixflame?"
Silence.
Phoenixflame?
"I'm here."
"So am I," Mapleshade purred.
"Okay," I said aloud, sniffing the dead mouse. It smelled like the night sky, not any more like the flavors of the forest. I bent down and nibbled at it, but surprising me, it tasted better than a normal mouse, and I gulped it down. Thank you, Phoenixflame.
Afterward, I settled down and decided to finally rest my exhausted eyes and paws and sleep a bit. I didn't dream, luckily, and woke the next morning to find the bones of the mouse gone. Sniffing curiously at the spot they were, I licked my lips.
The sun was high in the sky, and I decided to set off back towards Thunderclan. After all, it can't be that far to Thunderclan. In the distant, I spotted Highstones and set my mind towards there. Right?
"Sorry, busy right now," she apologized.
Growling, I set off towards Highstones anyways. Suddenly, as though echoing through my mind, I heard a third voice. "Mapleshade! End this at once!" The voice demanded.
Who are you?
"My name is Lickingflame," The voice replied. "Mapleshade! Leave this kit alone!"
"Lickingflame?" Phoenixflame asked, her voice shocked. "Y-you're still alive!"
"Mapleshade isn't the only one who can fake death," She replied simply.
"Ooh, now we have two against one. Little kit, who do you think you can believe? The enemy of an old enemy? The friend of an old friend? Come now, answer me. Don't be shy."
Phoenixflame? I whimpered.
"You just focus on getting home," the orange spirit she-cat answered. "Lickingflame and I got this. Right, Lickingflame?"
"You all are so foolish! Do you really think I can be defeated by you two? The Dark Forest is many, but Starclan is weak. That pathetic kit was able to kill you, Lickingflame, was she not?"
"She didn't kill me! She killed me as much as she killed you. You and I both know what we did."
Suddenly, I could make out the orange pelt of Phoenixflame next to me. Her shoulder fur was parted by a deep red gash than ran from her shoulder blade to the bottom of her paw. "Phoenixflame! You're hurt!"
"It's nothing, Phoenixkit," she coughed again, bending down to pick me up by the scruff. "Come on, let's get to Highstones. Thunderclan will be waiting for us."
"Is that what you think? Oh dearie, you poor, poor kit. Thunderclan was waiting for me too!" Slowly, a ginger tortoiseshell she-cat solidified beside me.
Phoenixflame's fur bushed up, and she took a threatening step towards the she-cat. "Mapleshade," she hissed. "Get back if you know what's good for you."
However much I expected to see her slice her other leg opened, Mapleshade simply fixed the starry warrior with a glare of pure hatred and disappeared from view. Phoenixflame sighed. "Come on, Phoenixkit. Let's get home."
