"Excuse me, Bluestar," Whitestorm rose. "I'll just tell the patrol to keep a look out for RiverClan cats."

His aunt's confused stare followed him as he backed out of the den and ran to catch up with the patrol. They hadn't left yet, and he beckoned to Fireheart with his tail.

The ginger warrior padded over, his green eyes dull as though he hadn't got much sleep the night before. Whitestorm called an apology over to the dawn patrol and then leaned forward towards the warrior.

"Where is Greystripe going, Fireheart?" He asked sternly.

There was a nervous flicker of the warrior's tail. "I don't know."

He towered over the still young tom, his muscles tense and claws digging into the ground. "He's your best friend, Fireheart, and you've been training his apprentice. You ought to know what he's up to."

"He's just been going out for walks," Fireheart explained.

There was a nervous skip in the ginger tom's heartbeat. "Don't lie to me!" Growled the white tom. "If something's going on, Fireheart, I need to know about it. I don't think you'd take over his training if he were just going for walks." Lowering his voice, he added, "Is he asking RiverClan about Oakheart's death?"

Fireheart's eyes were alight with alarm. "What makes you think he's going to RiverClan?"

"You told me you'd try asking about his death," Whitestorm reminded carefully. "That, and when he came back to put some prey on the fresh kill pile, I caught RiverClan scent on his pelt."

There was a brief pause, and then Fireheart looked away. "I can't say for certain what's going on. All I can tell you is that we're still looking into Oakheart's death."

"Fireheart!" Mousefur yowled. "Hurry up!"

There was something else that Whitestorm wanted to ask the smaller flame-coloured cat, but he couldn't delay the patrol any longer. Fireheart dipped his head and trotted away to rejoin his patrol, but Whitestorm called out, "We'll talk about this later!"

Fireheart flicked his tail to show that he'd heard and left.

Shaking his head, Whitestorm padded back into Bluestar's den and crouched beside her, his belly growling with hunger. Her eyes were carefully guarded as she gazed at him, but he didn't acknowledge her. Instead he respectfully waited until she had taken a bite before he did so.

After a few moments of silence, Bluestar asked, "Is everything alright, Whitestorm?"

Whitestorm chewed on the rabbit carefully. 'Oh Bluestar, everything's going wrong. Brackenpaw's not being trained properly, Tigerclaw's being accused of treason and Greystripe's doing something that I know he'll regret.' There wasn't enough to charge Tigerclaw with murdering Redtail, even if he hadn't done it. Greystripe was walking around with RiverClan's scent all over him and Brokenstar's allies were walking through the forest like a disease waiting to attack the Clans. What's worse was that no cat had even caught wind of them since they'd been chased out a few moons ago. Whitestorm had met a WindClan patrol a half-moon ago but they'd not reported seeing any sign of Brokenstar.

But the way he was acting, he knew that Bluestar wouldn't believe him if he told her that nothing was wrong.

"I'm just a bit tired and concerned, Bluestar," he meowed instead, letting his head droop. "Brackenpaw came to me yesterday."

His blue-grey aunt lifted her head in confusion. "Brackenpaw? Is something the matter?"

Whitestorm stared down at the half-eaten rabbit as Bluestar craned her neck and took another bite. How could he phrase it in a way that wouldn't implicate him in anything? Taking another mouthful of the food, he swallowed and paused.

"Greystripe's been taking a few too many walks recently," he reported. "Walking around the territory late at night when he should be resting, missing patrols or being too tired to think straight, coming back at dawn with either no prey or one piece of prey... He's not an apprentice, Bluestar. Both he and Fireheart caught a lot when they were apprentices. When I took Brackenpaw out of the camp and hunted with him, we both caught a lot of prey."

Bluestar wiped her tongue over her lips. "It doesn't sound like he's neglecting Brackenpaw's training then. I don't understand, Whitestorm."

Whitestorm shook his head and stared steadily at his aunt. "Brackenpaw and Cinderpaw have been training for almost a full moon. When I took him to Owl Tree, he had no idea where he was. Greystripe hasn't been teaching him the territory, and I had to teach him myself how to hunt rabbits and mice, or how we follow owls to stalk prey."

Bluestar's ears pricked. "Perhaps Greystripe is teaching him, but Brackenpaw is just forgetting."

Whitestorm sighed. Of course Bluestar wouldn't want to believe her warriors incapable of training an apprentice. "You're accusing him for his youth, Bluestar. Fireheart's been taking over his training. They can't both be useless mentors, especially not since Fireheart is a skilled warrior, and he's managed to keep up with Cinderpaw. I've been guiding Fireheart on mentoring, giving him advice when he comes to me with questions or concerns." He meowed. "Brackenpaw came to me yesterday and shared his concerns with me."

Bluestar's expression was unreadable for a moment. "Are you sure? I've noticed something strange going on with Greystripe myself, but I haven't thought it could affect Brackenpaw as well."

A wave of impatience and tiredness made Whitestorm's temper flicker like a blinking star in the sky. "Bluestar, Greystripe hasn't been training Brackenpaw."

"At all?"

"At all," Whitestorm confirmed. "Brackenpaw says he's been distracted. When he asks Greystripe a question, he receives an answer, but what he hears is wrong. He can't trust what Greystripe says, and Tigerclaw's noticed these disappearances as well."

Bluestar stared ahead of her at the den wall. Once more her gaze was unreadable, almost as if she was thinking back to something. "Should I warn Greystripe, or should I appoint another mentor for Brackenpaw?" She asked herself quietly after a while. "Fireheart cannot train both Cinderpaw and Brackenpaw."

Being in her council, Whitestorm knew his voice would be heard, and even much more considering he was respected, wise and strong. "There are several cats in ThunderClan that have no apprentice. I think that any would be a better suitor for Brackenpaw. But... I think you should wait. I would like to see how far along Brackenpaw is in his training."

There was an understanding nod and then the two finished off their meals in silence "You've been up all night," Bluestar meowed. "You can sleep here if you'd like. I'm not going on any patrols today. It'd be nice to share a den with a friend for once."

Whitestorm was mildly surprised with her offer, but didn't refuse. It had been a long time since he'd settled down to sleep beside his aunt, and a while since she'd offered her den to any of her warriors. A fleeting exhaustion flowed over his bones as they shared tongues, and Whitestorm drifted off into a peaceful sleep, curled up with his jaw resting on Bluestar's back. Bluestar was curled around him the other way, her head rested upon him and blue eyes drifting shut once more...