Fawndapple hissed at a fox and slashed her claws across the muzzle. Littlecloud stayed in the corner of the medicine den protecting Duckpaw and Owlkit who managed to get separated from their siblings.

This is suicide, she thought while ducking her head to avoid the fox's claws trying to slap down onto her body.

Then the fox was tilted over. She gasped and saw it was Flamebranch screaming as loud as he could, "Stay away from my sister!" Then he turned to shout over at Pineleaf, "Get to the nursery, now!"

Then Pineleaf nodded grimly and helped Stoatleap attack the other fox as Mistfall lay in the nursery panting and covered in bloody scratches.

Suddenly, a scream filled the air. Fawndapple perked her ears. Then her eyes got wide and saw Fallenstar bleeding out her life in the entrance of the camp with a fox looming over her.

"S-Save Jaykit…" she coughed out feebly before flopping over and breathing raggedly.

Fawndapple narrowed her eyes. "Flamebranch, keep that fox away from the medicine den, I'm going to get Fallenstar." Then she darted over to her mother. Fallenstar cried out in pain as the fox stepped on her tail in escape. Then it yelped loudly and escaped the camp.

"JAYKIT!" Screamed Emberkit from the nursery, watching miserably as his brother was carried off by a fox. Fawndapple felt torn as Pineleaf and Sparrowfang raced after it together. Flamebranch was covered in scars and dripping in blood. A trickle came out from his mouth. Then Flamebranch smiled and flopped down onto the ground.

Cats all came up painfully from the ground and began to walk on shaky legs.

Fallenstar's eyes were shut and her tail unmoving. Fawndapple took a deep breath and took her scruff and carried her to the medicine den. Once inside, she heard Littlecloud say to Duckpaw and Owlkit, "Don't worry, the foxes are gone now."

"Is Plumpaw all right?" Duckpaw asked anxiously. "She wasn't chewed up by a fox, was she?"

Littlecloud was quiet for a moment as Fawndapple set down Fallenstar on a nest. Fawndapple set her ears down her mother's chest. Her heart was still beating, thank StarClan.

"You aren't going to lose a life today," Fawndapple muttered as she turned away to grab some leaves. Fawndapple picked up raspberry leaves, cobwebs, and marigold. She immediately began to chew on the marigold while she applied the cobwebs to Fallenstar's wounded head.

Littlecloud gently pushed over the raspberry leaves to Fallenstar's mouth to eat as Fawndapple plastered the marigold onto the wounds for extra measure.

Fallenstar moaned quietly and opened her eyes painfully. "W-What happened? Is Stoatleap and the kits okay?"

Fawndapple didn't say a word. She simply continued to plaster plants onto her wounds.

"Answer me, please." Fallenstar said almost desperately. Then she hung her head, "Littlecloud, please look around the camp and get the injured cats into the den."

Fawndapple glanced at the herb storage and she breathed out a sigh of relief seeing that there's plenty to spare and none of it has gone rotten yet.

Littlecloud nodded and guided Duckpaw and Owlkit out of the medicine den first. Fawndapple then asked Fallenstar in a serious voice, "Did you lose a life?"

Fallenstar shook her head. "I have not seen StarClan. Only darkness."

Fawndapple smiled with relief. Then she laid down next to her mother. She set her head on her shoulder and purred, "That takes a huge load off of my shoulders."

Suddenly, three cats were limping into the den. Standing next to Littlecloud was Flamebranch, Mistfall, and Crowfrost. Mistfall gulped and looked back to the nursery for her kits being protected by Stoatleap and Olivenose.

Littlecloud and Fawndapple guided the three cats into designated nests. Then Fawndapple nodded over to Fallenstar saying, "You should be fine for a while. Just be careful with your head; it should be sore for a while before it completely heals."

Fallenstar purred in reply and walked out of the den. While Littlecloud and Fawndapple tended to the cats' wounds, a horrible cry of misery erupted from outside. Fawndapple turned her head to look outside.

"Fawndapple," said Littlecloud, "I got this. You better go check on the cats outside."

Fawndapple stood up and trampled her way up to the entrance and flicked her ear and gasped to see Dewdrop crying over the body of a golden brown tom. Pineleaf's head was hung guiltily.

"What's going on…?" Asked Fawndapple knowingly. She didn't want it to be true. It couldn't be true.

"I-It's Sparrowfang!" Dewdrop sobbed, "My brother is dead!"

Pineleaf shut his eyes and laid back his ears. "It was my fault. I…" he shook his head and looked away, "I ran away as the fox came back for us. I left Sparrowfang. But when I realized he wasn't running behind me, I went back to get him only to find…"

"It's your fault!" Dewdrop snapped as tears rolled down her cheeks. Her eyes were now blazing with fury and blame for Fawndapple's brother, "If you realized that he wasn't behind you earlier, he could have been saved! You could have went back for him faster to spare his life."

Fawndapple pawed at the golden brown tabby's pelt. She looked up at Pineleaf, "At least did you find Jaykit?"

Pineleaf took a long time to respond. Then he grimly replied, "I we found him torn up. I wish I could say his death was quick and painless. He was too torn up to bring back to the camp."

Fawndapple lashed her tail. Then she took Sparrowfang's scruff, "I'll get his body prepared."

"How will we mourn for my son?" Asked Stoatleap coming up from behind Dewdrop. The three cats turned over to him. "How am I supposed to tell Owlkit, Nettlekit, and Emberkit that their brother isn't here anymore?"

Fawndapple dropped the body for a second. "Tell them as simply as you can. They're too young to understand what's going on."

Stoatleap didn't reply. In return, he turned around and went to the medicine den to see his wounded mate.

"This morning is full of pain." Hissed Dewdrop, "I can't stand it."

Fawndapple was quiet as she dragged Sparrowfang's body to the medicine den. His body was beginning to become colder with every heave. Once he was dragged in, all the cats in the den stared at her in horror. She dipped her head and said quietly, "Sparrowfang is dead."

Crowfrost lowered his head and Mistfall bursted into tears. Flamebranch's ears laid back. Littlecloud came over to her and said in a hushed voice, "As usual, you can prepare the body."

Fallenstar stood high atop the High Branch as the stars gleamed above her. "Tonight, I was originally planning to hold assessments for two specific apprentices."

Plumpaw and Duckpaw stayed close together, knowing it was each other. Fawndapple looked over at them sympathetically.

Fallenstar cleared her throat and continued, "However, it turns out to be quite the opposite. Tonight, instead we will mourn the loss of Jaykit and Sparrowfang. Jaykit's body was too torn up to hold a proper vigil for him. So instead…" she nodded at her son at the back of the crowd. Pineleaf stepped up in the front of the crowd. In his mouth was a small blue flower. Delicately as if it were actually Jaykit, Pineleaf gently set down the flower next to Sparrowfang's body. Fallenstar choked on her own words, "Instead, we have decided to use a flower in his place."

"Can we come out of the nursery now?" Asked Emberkit loudly. Mistfall turned on her kits and hushed them rather loudly. Then she told them now wasn't the time.

Fawndapple didn't like Mistfall handled telling her kits one of their littermates are dead. She simply said that their brother is going to leave for a little bit, and they will see him again one day.

Fawndapple felt thorns stabbed into her heart. Jaykit had potential to be a great warrior judging from the way he played moss ball with his siblings and Sparrowfang was truly loyal to the Clan at heart, even though he has mated with Troutstream of RiverClan.

Now Swallowdrift has no father to look across the border for.

Fallenstar came down the tree and let the cat's Clanmates groom Sparrowfang for the final time.

Fawndapple watched sadly as Stoatleap came over to his mate in the nursery and said to Mistfall in a quiet voice, "You can't avoid the fact that Jaykit is dead. You have to let his siblings know that he isn't coming back."

Mistfall was quiet for a long time until she gently nuzzled her mate then went back into the nursery. A moment after some speaking, it went quiet, then Fawndapple heard Emberkit cry out, "Why haven't you told us earlier?"

With Nettlekit following in an angry tone, "We aren't stupid enough to not understand death and StarClan."

"I want to see Jaykit!" Shout Owlkit as she stomped her brown paw onto the ground.

Mistfall didn't reply to any of her kits. She only lead them outside and to the flower of Jaykit. Mistfall didn't explain why there was a flower instead of Jaykit there. She sat there and watched as the kits surrounded the flower.

One by one, each kit sniffed the flower. But by now, the flower was stale in its scent, but no one cared. All was silent as shoulders heaved and tears dripped down faces.

Was StarClan trying to say something to us? Fawndapple thought in silence while holding back tears, Does StarClan really think I'm too dangerous to be alive?