The dawn patrol scouted the Marsh Ponds, nostrils flared. There were stale WindClan scents, the same ones as were found a half moon past, but none that indicated more recent trespassing. Owlscream's head was swirling with distressing thoughts. So much conflict, so much hatred. She glanced ahead at Emeraldfur who was teaching Sprucepaw to place scent markers along the ShadowClan border. A tiny glimmer of hope, but is it enough? Shaking herself, Owlscream rejoined Hemlockfur, the ShadowClan deputy, at the very edge of the border.

"Any sign of WindClan?" she asked nervously. "They don't seem to have been by here for a while but…"

The richly brown-colored tom shook his head. "Nothing so far," he replied. "And that worries me." Hemlockfur shook his head again, unhappily. "After the last Gathering the silence has begun to scare me. StarClan only knows what WindClan is planning. An ambush perhaps, like before?"

Owlscream sighed. "Well, whatever happens, cats are going to die," she murmured sadly. "That is unavoidable." Looking ahead to the rest of the patrol, she couldn't help but be filled with misery. Who will be next to die like my father and half of ShadowClan? Tears stung her blue eyes. Owlscream called to Emeraldfur and Sprucepaw and the four ShadowClan cats began to make their way back to camp.

Lynxpaw was dazed, half asleep and delirious, when her grey and black friend entered the medicine den. Her vision was shadowed and hazy and she could barely make out the outline of Owlscream's body.

"Are you okay?" Owlscream asked, nudging Lynxpaw's side with her nose. The medicine cat apprentice barely stirred. Concerned, Owlscream swung her head back and forth in a search for Skywhisker, but the medicine cat was nowhere to be found. "Where is Skywhisker?" Owlscream asked her friend, panic rising in her throat.

Lynxpaw let out a lazy purr. "Herrrrbs…" she breathed. The young she-cat rested her head on her paws, eyes half open, seeing nothing. "Whrrre didjyou come frrrm…? Arrre you…sicccghh?"

Pelt rising in fear, Owlscream didn't answer. I need Skywhisker! "What happened to you, Lynxpaw? What's going on?" she asked, voice shrill and anxious. She licked her friend's forehead like a mother licking her kit.

Another gargled purr emanated from the disturbed tortoiseshell. "Couldnnn sleep," she muttered. "Poppyseeds…poppy, poppy, poppy..." Wanting to cry out in dismay, Owlscream squinted and saw a mess of poppyseeds littering the earthy floor around Lynxpaw.

"H-how many have you had?" Owlscream wondered nervously.

Seemingly from far away, Lynxpaw asked, "Seeds orrr…pods?"

Horrified, Owlscream began to lick Lynxpaw's ears furiously as though trying to coax her back into clarity. Pods? Whole pods of poppyseeds? She could die! A soft shimmering in the back of the medicine den drew her attention away from her quivering friend. Somehow, a black tom had appeared and was looking sadly at the heap of a she-cat on the floor.

"W-who are you?" Owlscream stammered. The black cat looked at her intently for a moment then turned his gaze back to Lynxpaw's prostrate form. He glided toward her and nudged the medicine cat apprentice's head up.

"Look at me," he commanded. Lynxpaw's glazed eyes lifted to his face and she blinked slowly. "What have you done, Lynxpaw?"

"Mmmm…hm?" Lynxpaw mumbled, confused. "Who'rrre yyyou?"

The shining black cat's eyes bored into hers. "I am Crowstep, ShadowClan's medicine cat before SkyWhisker. I come to you now with a message from StarClan, and a warning. We have been watching you, Lynxpaw, we know what you have been doing. Our warning is this: if you do not stop abusing the effects of the poppyseeds, you will never be allowed to become a full medicine cat. Worse, your Clan may not have enough if a great need for them arises." Crowstep paused and glanced at Owlscream. "In light of the circumstances, that need swiftly approaches."

Owlscream was choked with a hard lump of dread in her throat. StarClan foresees much bloodshed, then. It seems there may be no hope after all. As though sensing her thoughts, Crowstep's expression softened.

"All is not yet lost, young one," he murmured. "You have not heard all that I have to say." The medicine den seemed to darken, though dawn had passed, and the air was eerily still. "The day will come when the sun shall not rise and the predator's screams will echo through the trees. Many lights will go out, but only to make the shadows lengthen. Remember, my dears, to trust one another. Only you can save your Clan."

Sunlight streamed through gaps in the den walls. The StarClan cat was gone. Lynxpaw shook her head, lucid once more. Her pelt prickled and she realized Owlscream was staring at her.

"What's going on, Lynxpaw?" the thin she-cat whispered. "What are you doing to yourself?" Her body shook as she slowly sank to the floor, overwhelmed with emotion.

"I…" Lynxpaw stopped, unsure of what to say. What was she doing to herself? It started with sleeping troubles but eventually the self-medication became mechanical. She was consuming poppyseeds without thinking, whether she needed them or not. When they stopped working, she simply took more to compensate for the diminished effects. Suddenly, Lynxpaw burst into tears. "P-please," she blubbered. "Please don't tell Skywhisker! You heard Crowstep, StarClan might prevent me from becoming a medicine cat. Please, Owlscream, I promise I'll stop. I promise!"

Distressed, Owlscream looked sadly at her friend. At length she replied, "Alright. I won't tell Skywhisker. But if I ever catch you doing this again, I'll tell her immediately. It's for your own good, Lynxpaw. I don't want to see you fail, not after all your hard work. Besides, there's StarClan's message to worry about."

Lynxpaw sniffed and stifled her crying. "You're right," she said in a small voice. "What do you think it means?"

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Owlscream shrugged tiredly. "I have no idea," she admitted. "It just seems like problem after problem keeps getting mounted on this Clan's shoulders and StarClan has the mouse-brained notion that we, of all cats, are meant to solve them."

Lynxpaw settled herself on the floor of the medicine den, pressing her body against her friend's side. Exchanging a weary glance, the two she-cats fell into an uneasy sleep.