A/N: I can neither confirm nor deny any theories :D

And taking in Akitsune Lune's comments and trying to differentiate Thornpaw's and Valleypaw – whoops, Valleyflight's voices!

Chapter 10: Foundlings

"Thornpaw, Leafstorm, Risingsun? A word."

I prick my ears. Me? I glance at Larkeye, who catches my eye and gives me a tiny nod: Go on.

I gulp before letting my paws move forward. Risingsun drags himself from the elder's den to the base of the Central Tree, and Leafstorm trots beside me.

"It has to be about Owlkit," I mumble.

"Will he even be a warrior?" Leafstorm whispers back. "He wants to be a warrior. And I'd hate to see you being kicked off your position."

"I have no idea," I reply before ducking my head into the den. It's not very spacious, and it becomes crowded when Leafstorm squishes herself in the den. Flamepool watches us all try to get ourselves comfortable with unblinking green eyes.

"Good, you're all here," she mews at last. "I'm sure you all know that the reason I called you is because of Owlkit and his… condition." Her gaze lands on me. "Larkeye has informed me that you have been keeping track of how he's been faring in terms of his quickness. Is that correct?"

I nod quickly. Leafstorm places her tail on my paws. "It's true, Flamepool," she meows. "Thornpaw has been taking care of my son, beginning a few days ago."

"In that case… I propose a solution for all this." Flamepool's eyes gleam meaningfully in the darkness. "I'm putting Meadowbush as Rabbitkit's mentor and Brindleshade as Owlkit's," she says. "Havenpelt and I have chosen the mentors, so there should be no objections. Thornpaw, you will be overseeing Owlkit's training and coaching with Brindleshade."

"And where do I – hacck - come in, may I ask?" Risingsun coughs. I turn my head to look at my grandfather. Even with his state of health, he somehow manages to maintain an expression of disdain and contempt. "I find that unless I have a role here, I do not have any reason stay, considering that we're talking about an event that concerns only Leafstorm and Thornpaw."

"Ah, you are correct," Flamepool responds, twitching her whiskers.

Risingsun sniffs. "I should hope so!" he meows impertinently. "If you had, I would say that you're completely wasting my nap time – "

"Leafstorm, Thornpaw, you are dismissed," Flamepool interrupts Risingsun, turning to us. "Go back to your daily duties – and maybe congratulate Valleyflight while you're at it."

Leafstorm heads out, vaguely muttering that Valleyflight is a horrible name for a cat. Internally, I do agree. I duck my head as I return to the bright light of the sun, searching for Larkeye. The crowd has dissipated into smaller groups, muttering about one thing or the other – a slightly larger throng of felines circle Havenpelt. The black and white she-cat struggles to throw out answers as the cats shoot questions at her.

"Did you know about this?"

"Why would Flamepool give him his warrior name when he hasn't passed his assessment?"

"That's just unfair! It's because he's her son, isn't it? I had to retake my assessment three times because I failed the first two!"

"No, I don't know, and Stars' sake Creekwater, that's none of my concern!" Havenpelt snaps. "Now, would you all kindly go on patrol, or quiet down! The leader's word is law, and the way that you are acting is certainly against Flamepool's orders!"

That definitely doesn't discourage the crowd, I think, a stifled laugh threatening to overwhelm me. If anything, the crowd is louder now, screeching out all sorts of words at the deputy. Havenpelt herself definitely looks like she's about to throw a cat, her fur bristling and her pupils getting narrower. The clamor persists, however. Above all, a very familiar whine rises above the rest.

"It's not fair! I beat Valleypaw in that assessment! He yielded moments too late! He should still be an apprentice!" Feathernose screeches.

"Babyish, isn't she?" Larkeye whispers into my ear.

I twist my head to look at my mentor. Ignoring her inquiry, I reply with my own question. "You told Flamepool about how I was training Owlkit to overcome his blindness. Why?"

Larkeye tips her head. "Does there have to be a reason?" she mews. "But if you insist, I simply don't want an unwilling cat as my apprentice." She nods towards the nursery. "Look at him. Does he even look like he'll be able to be cooped up in the medicine den all day?"

Owlkit and Rabbitkit's squeaks of excitement can be heard all the way from the other side of camp. Admittedly, Owlkit would definitely not be the type to stay in the medicine den, or have the patience to… say, take out a thorn from someone's paw.

"Exactly!" Larkeye's exclamation shocks me out of my thoughts.

Wait, did I say that out loud?

"That's that, anyhow. You'll have to be able to schedule your time between your own training and his." Larkeye nods to Owlkit again. "Other than that, spit-spot into the medicine den. I'll have you cleaning out all of the dusty old herbs in there as a ceremony."

I hunch a bit – the most dreadful chore of all time! Larkeye's face holds the smallest trace of a self-satisfied smirk as she turns away. "Augh, Larkeye, can I do something else?" I plead. "I'll do anything if you just let me do something other than cleaning out the stores!"

Larkeye stops for a moment, and the small smile becomes a fully-fledged grin of malice. "Anything, you say?" she asks, slowly dragging out the words like it's some kind of death sentence.

I nod. What have I got to lose?

"Well then! We've got…" Larkeye ponders for a moment before listing, "moss-gathering, checking up on Risingsun's cough, collecting fresher herbs…" The medicine cat sinks back into thought – probably thinking of something worse than that. Better or not, I'm not taking my chances.

"Uh," I say before Larkeye can cook up anything merciless, "you won't mind if I go find some more chrysanthemums to scent up the medicine den, right? For green-leaf. You don't like it when the insects get in the herbs."

"Hum?" Larkeye blinks. "Yeah, do that. Also, get some spring flowers if you find any. Leaf-bare is going soon and we're approaching the green-leaf season. Find anything… bright. Yellow or red… a few pale violet colors won't hurt, either."

"Violet hurts the eyes," I complain.

"I said pale," Larkeye hums in annoyance. "Hurry along before Mr. I-Know-More comes."

"Says Miss I-Know-More," I mumble to myself, my paws making their way to the entrance. I gotta say, sometimes I wonder a lot about Risingsun and Larkeye's relationship. For someone who's both her father and her former mentor, the two argue like a cat and mouse would. And they disagree on so many things. I didn't think that it was possible for a cat to disagree on where the moss beds are supposed to be. How do you even make it last for over a moon?! That was resolved when Risingsun moved into the elders' den, though. That was really thankful. I hadn't been able to sleep a wink during that time.

Come to think of it, there wasn't anything major that they disagreed on. Actually, they didn't argue about those things at all. I think I can recall Flamepool saying that we wouldn't be attacking or provoking the Outsiders, and they won't be doing the same things to us. I half expected Risingsun and Larkeye to bicker about that. But they didn't. They seemed to not voice their opinions about that altogether.

Wonder what that was all about…

During all of these ponderings, I somehow manage to make it out of the maze.

It's worth noting that while the maze itself is pretty good, the outside view? …I thought that it was a vision from those 'StarClan cats' Risingsun rambles about when I was a kit. And I may or may not have attempted to try and 'touch the sun'. Larkeye managed to snap me out of those stupid fantasies, though.

I head straight for the forest. It's normal for me to find neat flowers in the forest, really. I find them better than Larkeye does! Ha! Shows what Miss I-Know-More knows! …That's not bragging. I think.

I set to sniffing around for chrysanthemums, as I want, and… violets too, per Miss – I mean, Larkeye's request. I pad around the semi-snowy forest, my pads getting a bit numb due to the last cold snowdrifts. They're freezing, goodness. I sniff around further, but with no good results. The sun is going down – rapidly. By the time I raise my head again, my neck is stiff and the sunset is nearly over – just a thin slice of the blazing sun is visible.

Confused, I paw at the melting white frost. Why would I be unable to find…? Fox dung! I try and fail to hit my head against a tree, instead smacking my muzzle into a pile of snow.

Chrysanthemums bloom in eary leaf-fall and early leaf-bare! Mouse-brain, mouse-brain, mouse-brain… I grumble to myself in irritation. Ugh. Larkeye will be mad if I head home late! And she'd be madder if she finds that I go back empty-pawed! Augh, I'm going to have to go for petunias and rosemary… and… I'll have to wait for green-leaf.

What a day.

Frost is hanging from my whiskers when I'm done at last, bundled with the flowers in my mouth. Their stalks are chafing my tongue, and some smushed petals are plastered on my nose and muzzle. Larkeye better be satisfied with this.

Inhaling deeply, I smell the scents… of flower juice, melting snow… uhh, I think that's fresh leaves? And unfamiliar cats… wait, unfamiliar cats? On our territory?

"He-hey!" I yowl. "Who's the – Who's there?" Stop stuttering! It's bad enough that you're just a medicine cat!

"Hi!" I stop in my tracks. Is it normal for an intruder to greet other cats? Pawsteps thrumming send some leaves fluttering up and down… much like my heartbeat. It's as fast as a mouse's running. A warning cry of a bird announces the arrival of the intruders. Two thin shapes burst into the open, spraying snow and dry leaves. The tomcat blinks at me, amber eyes sparking with excitement. "You're MazeClan, right?" he chirps.

I try to reply but… uh, my tongue is stuck. I think.

"Of course she's MazeClan, bee-brain!" his companion, a she-cat, pushes the tomcat. "We've been following their scent for moons!" She grins, a little sheepish. "Sorry about Drift, here. We're just a little excited."

"Is this some kind of joke?" I mew weakly.

"Not at all!" the newly-named Drift mews. His black and white patched pelt gleams in the last rays of the sun. "We're here to join your clan!"

I stare at them. I probably look ridiculous, with half-crushed flowers in my mouth and half of the petals and juice crusted around my muzzle. And goodness, they look strange, too. Now that I get the chance to look at them properly, Drift's tail is a bare stub of a thing. The she-cat's fur is frizzy like Risingsun's whiskers. They're both incredibly black. Goodness, I never realized cats could be this black. Irregular white spots here and there, too…

"Oh!" the she-cat exclaims. "We did come out of the blue, didn't we? And we haven't even introduced ourselves yet!" She steps forward and gives a friendly purr. I instinctively step back.

Where's Larkeye when you need her?

"I'm Soar and this is Drift," the she-cat mews, not taking notice of my discomfort. "We're loners, in your clan-speak!" She pauses for a long while. "I guess we've been… uh, stalking you for a while. No offense or anything."

I think my mind has blown. I spin around and race to camp without reply. The cries of the rogues vaguely echo in my ears as I barge all the way to the maze, into it. Don't follow me, don't follow me – I pray desperately in my mind. Oh Skies, I shouldn't have gone outside today! What a mess!

I figure I look like an actual thorn bush by the time I crash into camp. Several cats stare at me with shock – some with amusement and others still with slight contempt. I chance a look behind me.

No rogues.

I breathe a sigh of relief, dropping my bundle of flowers to the ground.

"Thornpaw!" Larkeye storms towards me, her eyes aflame. "You were supposed to come in before the sun set! Now it's nearly evening!"

"At least I came back before nightfall," I shoot back. Irritation prickles up my throat and barbs my tongue. "And I came back with the flowers – "

"Half-crushed flowers," Larkeye retorts. "Goodness, what made you come back in such a hurry? You're a complete mess."

"Uh – "

"Sorry, I think we spooked her!"

My heart freezes over. I slowly turn my head to stare at two black figures, like shadows under the rising moon. They slink in, like snakes would do. One – I think that's the tomcat – is gripping a limp rosemary stalk.

"You dropped this," he mews helpfully.

I can tell the clan is frozen behind me. I clench my eyes shut. Oh Skies, couldn't you just let me have a peaceful day for once?!