Frostmask's ears twitched at the sounds of muttering in the den. She flattened them against her head, trying to block out the noises of the voices and drift back into sleep. But, the quiet buzzing in her ears still nagged at her, keeping her awake. Frostmask sighed, her eyes flickering open. She still wasn't used to sleeping in the noisy warriors den. There were so many cats under the large bramble bush that any time of night or day, there was bound to be someone whispering.

Frostmask raised her head from the mossy nest, yawning. Judging by the number of cats still sleeping and from how little light she could make out from den's entrance, it appeared to be before dawn.

Frostmask shook her ears irritably. She had held her vigil the previous night, then stayed up most of the day afterwards hunting. She had only finally made it to her nest early last evening, but she still wasn't caught up on sleep. And, she was certainly not in the mood to be awoken before dawn by some noisy clan-mates. Frostmask glared at the culprits— Hootflight and Leafbreeze to be exact. But, they were too absorbed in their own conversation to notice the irritation Frostmask was attempting to radiate in their direction.

It was a futile task anyway, since it seemed like Frostmask was the only cat bothered by it. Even Pineshade and Poolcloud were still sleeping soundly in their nests next to hers. Frostmask sighed again, lowering her chin to rest on her paws and shutting her eyes, but fickle sleep had been scared off like a flighty rabbit.

Frostmask's eyes flickered back open again, her gaze drifting to an empty nest beside hers. It was the nest she, Pineshade, and Poolcloud had made for Autumnleap, when he was able to leave the medicine cats' den and sleep in the warriors' den.

Frostmask felt a surge of relief, not for the first time, that he had made it through the night after the battle. He had spent most of yesterday sleeping, recovering from the blood loss Clearstream said, so she had yet to have an actual conversation with him. But, just knowing that he was alive was enough.

Frostmask rose from her nest. If she couldn't sleep, the next best thing would be to go see Autumnleap before she had to start her duties for the day. Maybe he would even be able to talk to her now.

Frostmask padded out of the warriors den and walked over to the fresh-kill pile. It was still dark out, and no day-time patrols had begun, but the pile still had very choice pieces brought in from cats that had chosen to go out on night-hunts. She picked a plump vole for Autumnleap from the pile, and she carried to over to the medicine cat's den. At the den's entrance, she stuck her head through the lichen covering, meowing a quiet greeting. Clearstream was in her nest near the entrance of the dark, cozy cave, but she raised her head at Frostmask's arrival.

"Hello Frostmask. Come to see Autumnleap?" Clearstream said in a quiet voice as Frostmask padded inside.

Frostmask nodded. She saw that Autumnleap was lying in a nest at the back of the cave, away from Clearstream, but Elmclaw was nowhere to be seen in the den. Frostmask's brow furrowed.

"Where's Elmclaw?" Frostmask asked curiously.

Clearstream purred, seemingly amused by Frostmask's confusion at Elmclaw's absence.

"He went out for a hunt and to gather herbs a little while ago," Clearstream said. "We may be medicine cats, but we're still ShadowClan cats. And, the urge to be out in the darkness is just as strong for us as it is for you warriors."

Frostmask blinked, feeling a tad embarrassed that she hadn't guessed that.

"Oh, that makes sense. I didn't realize you or he did much hunting," Frostmask said.

Clearstream chuckled lightly.

"Well I don't," she meowed. "Not unless I get hungry while gathering herbs that is. But, Elmclaw was a warrior before he trained to be a medicine cat, and I think he misses the thrill of hunting quarry that moves. Plants can be a bit boring that way."

Frostmask purred, and Clearstream flicked her ears.

"Well enough about that. I know you didn't come here to chat with me," Clearstream said lightly. "You can go check on Autumnleap and leave him that vole. But, please don't wake him if he's sleeping."

Frostmask nodded.

"I won't. Thanks Clearstream," she said.

She turned and padded deeper into the den, walking over to Autumnleap's dark form in the back of the cave. Frostmask lowered the vole to place it beside his nest. His eyes were shut, and he appeared to be sleeping.

Even though that meant that Frostmask couldn't talk to him because she wasn't supposed to wake him, she still felt her heart soften as she watched his flanks rise and fall as he breathed steadily. She lowered her head to lightly touch her muzzle to his forehead for a moment.

"I'm glad you're okay," she whispered as she lifted her head back up.

She turned to leave.

"…Frostpaw?" Autumnleap rasped, his eyes flicking open.

Frostmask's ears pricked, and she glanced down at him, purring quietly at the sight of her friend's amber eyes. He was gazing up at her, although he seemed too tired to lift his head from his nest.

"It's Frostmask now, remember?" she said gently, sitting down next to him.

"Right, of course," he murmured, blinking. "Clearstream told me about the ceremony at some point yesterday… it sort of felt like a dream though."

"Well you've been through a lot," she murmured.

Frostmask ran her gaze down his body, trying to see how Autumnleap was doing. His wound was still covered in cobwebs and herbs, and he winced as he slowly lifted his chin up off of the nest.

"I brought you a vole if you're hungry," Frostmask said, pushing it closer to him with a paw. "How are you doing?"

Autumnleap sniffed the food, taking a small bite, which he chewed slowly.

"I'm doing okay. Or, as best that can be expected really," he said, glancing down at the long bandage on his belly.

Frostmask nodded sympathetically.

"At least you woke up as a warrior, right? That's a silver-lining I guess," Frostmask said.

"Yeah, 'Autumnleap,'" he meowed, tilting his head at her. "I'm still not used to either of our new names."

"Well, I think it suits you," Frostmask said.

Autumnleap purred lightly.

"Maybe, but I'm definitely not in the mood to leap around right now," he joked.

Frostmask purred back in response.

"Maybe it's an aspirational name," she meowed playfully.

Autumnleap widened his eyes in mock offense.

"I just think it's a bit cruel of Sedgestar to give me a name about something that I can't even do right now. I mean, really, if I had been blinded, would he have named me Autumnsight?" Autumnleap asked.

Frostmask purred louder, and her heart warming with pleasure to see him acting like his old self. She lightly flicked his shoulder with her tail, being careful not to hurt him.

"I think you're being dramatic. You'll be back to leaping around in no time," Frostmask said.

"Well, what about you?" Autumnleap asked. "What do you think of your name?"

"I like it," Frostmask said.

She shuffled her paws, suddenly feeling a bit shy.

"I, uh, asked Sedgestar for it actually," she murmured.

Autumnleap blinked gently up at her for a moment.

"It's cute," Autumnleap said, and his gaze became playful again. "Although… you don't think that it seems a little bit on the nose?"

Autumnleap reached a paw out in an attempt to bat her muzzle, but he was slowed down by his injury. Frostmask ducked his paw easily, groaning loudly in exasperation.

"Do you get it?" Autumnleap said, his gaze twinkling. "Because 'mask,' and your muzzle is grey—"

"Yes of course I get it!" Frostmask huffed, rolling her eyes, but still, she couldn't stop a purr from rising in her throat.

Autumnleap purred, his eyes shining as he gazed up at her, and his expression one that she somehow found both obnoxious and endearing at the same time. She playfully swatted at his ear with her paw.

"Really? You've been awake for like what, ten heartbeats? And, you're already making bad puns?" Frostmask said through a purr.

Autumnleap widened her eyes at her.

"Well I've been asleep for a whole day! That's a lot of lost time to make up," he said, purring.

"At least you'll have plenty of time to think up all those bad jokes while you're recuperating," Frostmask said, her tail flicking playfully.

"I'll be sure to save them all up for you and share them every time you visit me between warrior's duties," Autumnleap said with a smug purr.

Autumnleap swept his tail across the part of the moss nest next to him.

"Speaking of warrior's duties though… do you have somewhere to be soon, or do you want to hang out with me longer? I'd love some company while I eat this vole," he said.

Frostmask glanced back outside of the cave. She could see the sky was getting a bit brighter.

"Grovepelt will be assigning patrols soon. But, I don't think he expects me there bright and early since I spent all yesterday hunting after the vigil," Frostmask said. "So, sure. I'll hang out for a while."

Autumnleap purred happily as she took his wordless invitation and stepped into the nest beside him. Once Frostmask had settled into the soft moss, Autumnleap gently touched his tail to her side, and their gazes met.

"You asked me how I was doing, but I didn't get a chance to ask you," he meowed. "How are you doing? And, Pineshade? Poolcloud?"

"They're doing fine," Frostmask said. "They even helped me make a nest in the warrior's den for you, once you're ready to sleep there. It's right next to ours. Although Poolcloud and Dewleaf keep making doe-eyes at each other from across the camp, so I wouldn't be surprised if he moves his nest next to hers soon. I think maybe the battle was the push they needed to realize how short and precious life can be or something? I bet they'll officially get together soon. Oh! Speaking of 'romance' though, you should've seen the lashing Pineshade gave Dampfang after the battle. He was being callous and obnoxious, and she completely decimated him. You would've loved it."

"And, you?" he interrupted softly, pulling her out of speculation about her den-mates.

His amber eyes were serious as they searched hers.

"…I know about Swoopstrike," he murmured.

Frostmask's ears went flat against her head as she sighed heavily. She had managed to keep her mind from wandering to her mentor so far this morning. But, it made sense that Autumnleap wanted to talk about him. He hadn't even been there for the death ceremony, or had gotten to speak to Frostmask after the battle at all.

"I'm sorry, we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Autumnleap murmured, glancing away from her. "I just wanted to make sure that you're okay."

"No, no. It's okay," Frostmask murmured, looking down at her paws. "We can talk about him. It just… hurts, you know?"

"Of course," Autumnleap said, reassuringly brushing his dark ginger tail down her side again.

She shot him a grateful look. He returned the glance, but then his gaze darkened, and he gave a sad sigh, his eyes becoming downcast.

"He saved my life, you know," he muttered. "If Swoopstrike hadn't shown up when he did… Paledusk would've killed me, I'm sure of it."

A black haze of fury and grief filled Frostmask's mind, and she dug her claws into the ground, imagining instead of moss, she was sinking them into Paledusk's white pelt.

"Paledusk will pay for his death," Frostmask whispered, the words hissing out between her clenched fangs. "And, for what he did to you."

"I just…" Autumnleap began.

Autumnleap sighed, screwing his eyes shut for a moment. At the look of anguish on his face, Frostmask was pulled from the dark haze of anger in her mind. She peered at his troubled face in concern.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

"I feel like it's my fault. Swoopstrike died saving me," Autumnleap muttered quietly, his eyes flicking back open. "I owe him my life, and I never even got to thank him for it."

Frostmask gently laid her tail on his flank.

"First of all, he wouldn't've wanted your thanks," Frostmask said quietly. "That wasn't his way. And, secondly, it's not your fault Autumnleap."

She gave a quiet, melancholy purr as she leaned over to gently nudge his shoulder with her muzzle.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you're not that special," she said, a hint of playfulness entering into her voice. "Swoopstrike cared about everyone in ShadowClan, Paledusk could've been attacking any of our clan-mates, and Swoopstrike would've done the same thing to save them."

Autumnleap glanced at her, and Frostmask's gaze darkened.

"So, it wasn't you that got Swoopstrike killed. It was Paledusk," she said with another quiet growl.

Autumnleap gently lay one of his paws on hers.

"And, I'm sure Sedgestar won't let SkyClan get away with it so easily," he said. "Tonight's a full moon, right? He's bound to say something at the Gathering."

The Gathering!

Frostmask felt a cold rush surge through her. She had forgotten that it was so close to the night of the full moon. What was Sedgestar's plan?

Frostmask's claws slid out.

And, if she went to the Gathering… would she see Paledusk there? …What would she do if she did?

Frostmask shook her head sharply, like she was trying to shake the dark thoughts out of her mind. She glanced back outside again. The sun had made it over the horizon and the morning was in full effect now. The camp was busy; cats were out greeting each other and bustling out on patrols.

"I forgot about the Gathering," she murmured. "I hope Sedgestar takes me."

Frostmask got to her paws, giving her pelt a brisk shake.

"I better go," Frostmask said. "I don't want to make a bad impression on Grovepelt and Sedgestar on my very first days as a warrior. Especially if I want Sedgestar to pick me for the Gathering!"

Autumnleap shot her a rueful look.

"I wish I could come. I hate that I have to spend my first sunrises as a warrior, stuck in the medicine cat den. I should be out there with you, taking care of the clan!" he meowed.

Frostmask dipped her head to touch her nose to his ear briefly in farewell.

"Don't feel bad about being in the medicine cat's den! You're recovering," she meowed, pulling her head back. "I promise, I'll come visit again soon."

"You better," Autumnleap said with a purr.

Frostmask waved her tail in goodbye to him and Clearstream as she padded out of the den.

When Frostmask emerged from the medicine cat's den, she spotted Poolcloud and Pineshade grooming themselves in a pool of sunshine outside of the warriors' den. She padded over to them, purring in greeting.

"Autumnleap's awake!" she meowed happily as she approached them.

Poolcloud paused mid-wash, his paw still lifted to rub against his face and a tuft of long fur sticking up on the top of his head.

"That's great!" Poolcloud purred, lowering his paw. "How's he doing?"

"He still seems to be in some pain, but his mood is good," Frostmask said, sitting next to them. "He's already impatient to get out of the medicine cat's den."

Pineshade snorted, carefully finishing her grooming and lifting her head.

"Now that he's properly awake, I bet before tomorrow's sunrise, Autumnleap will already be annoying the whiskers off Elmclaw and Clearstream by begging them to allow him out of his nest," Pineshade said.

Poolcloud purred.

"I'll take that bet," Poolcloud meowed. "But, I'm placing my guess on before the Gathering patrol leaves tonight. Loser has to catch the winner the fattest piece of prey they can find."

"Deal," Pineshade said, nodding seriously at him. "Grovepelt told us to go on a hunting patrol anyway. We can scout out the best prey spots."

Poolcloud inclined his head at Frostmask.

"Want to get in on this?" he asked. "Then the winner can have two fat pieces of prey."

Frostmask purred.

"I don't think I could eat two fat pieces of prey in one sitting," Frostmask said.

"Well I can!" Poolcloud said, widening his eyes at her.

"And, then make yourself sick," Pineshade muttered, giving an eye-roll. "Remember when we were four moons old, and you tried to eat an entire squirrel by yourself? It was almost the same size as you!"

"Autumnleap dare me to, so if I hadn't tried, I'd have been dishonored by backing out of it!" Poolcloud protested, grabbing his chest with his paw in mock offense.

Pineshade snickered.

"That would've dishonored you? Right, because you looked so dignified when you spent all night vomiting," she said, her amber eyes gleaming wickedly.

Frostmask shook her head, half amused and half exasperated by their teasing.

"I'll at least join you two on your hunting patrol," Frostmask interjected, hoping to steer the conversation back on topic.

"Sounds good," Poolcloud meowed cheerily, while Pineshade nodded in agreement.

Frostmask purred. So far, she thought that one of the best parts of being a warrior was being able to pick who you got to patrol with. She'd get to spend everyday with her friends.

And, hopefully never have to see Dampfang's dumb face on patrol again…

Poolcloud's gaze brightened.

"And, I'll see if Dewleaf might want to join us too!" he said, springing to his paws. "I think she was still sleeping in the den."

Frostmask purred while Pineshade rolled her eyes at her brother's obvious enthusiasm to find the grey she-cat.

"Uh, Poolcloud, you might want to flatten that big piece of fur sticking up on your head first," Frostmask purred, pointing her paw at it.

"Yeah. Or, else she might mistake you for a very big, ugly hedgehog," Pineshade said sarcastically.

Poolcloud flattened the fur with a quick few swipes of his paw.

"That was a close one! Thanks guys!" he meowed cheerfully, ducking into the entrance of the warrior's den.

Pineshade glared after him as Poolcloud vanished into the warrior's den.

"Great, now we have to spend the whole patrol watching Poolcloud mooning over Dewleaf," Pineshade muttered bitterly to Frostmask.

Frostmask's brow furrowed at her tone.

"I don't know… I think they're kinda cute together," Frostmask said, pushing back gently.

Pineshade just gave a huff of disagreement. Frostmask studied Pineshade's face. Her ears were back, and she was scowling irritably now, even though she had been in a good mood, making bets with Poolcloud, only moments earlier. Frostmask's tail twitched.

Why did Poolcloud and Dewleaf together bother her so much? Poolcloud had a crush on Dewleaf ever since he was a young apprentice, and Pineshade never seemed so opposed to it then.

But, maybe it's not really about Poolcloud or Dewleaf…

Before Frostmask could say anything else, Poolcloud and Dewleaf emerged from the den.

"Let's get going!" Poolcloud said.

The four of them padded through the forest in the direction of the marsh. It was a warm day for leaf-fall, and they were hopeful they would be able to find prey hanging out near the river bank.

Frostmask kept an eye on Pineshade as the group padded along. Frostmask was walking alongside Dewleaf and Poolcloud, but the two of them were wrapped up in their own little bubble, chatting with each other and laughing at their own inside jokes. Pineshade trailed behind the three of them, her head hung low, and her tail twitching in annoyance. Once they made it to the tall marsh grasses, Frostmask paused, clearing her throat.

"Why don't we split up to cover more ground?" she said. "Some of us can go upstream and the others downstream? If prey's not running well here today, we can meet back here in a bit and try somewhere else."

"Good idea," Dewleaf meowed, nodding in agreement.

"Cool. Pineshade and I will go downstream then," Frostmask said, shooting Pineshade a look.

"Sure!" Poolcloud said. "See you guys in a bit!"

Frostmask nodded in goodbye, turning with Pineshade to head in the opposite direction as them. Pineshade seemed to perk up as they padded off, her tail lifting.

"Thanks for the save, Frostmask," Pineshade meowed. "I don't think I'd have lasted a whole hunt stuck with those love-struck doves."

Frostmask made herself purred lightly in amusement, but she also felt a pin-prick of nervousness in her paws.

She really had wanted to get Pineshade alone to talk about what was wrong with her, but cornering Pineshade about her feelings was like cornering a snake— she was quite liable to strike back at any moment.

Frostmask decided to proceed with caution.

"Dewleaf and Poolcloud together really bother you, huh?" Frostmask meowed quietly.

Pineshade snorted.

"That's an understatement," she meowed. "But, yeah. I mean, nothing against Dewleaf; she's actually pretty cool when she's not being all gross with Poolcloud."

Frostmask nodded, weaving around a thick patch of reeds.

"But, aren't you happy that Poolcloud is so happy? And, Dewleaf is too?" Frostmask said mildly, her eyes flickering over to her.

Pineshade's eyes narrowed, and she shot Frostmask a look. Frostmask tensed in preparation of a verbal lashing if she had pushed too hard, but Pineshade just let out a sharp sigh.

"Well, I guess," Pineshade muttered, kicking a pebble as they walked. "You know I care about that oaf. And, I'm also glad Dewleaf is happy, even if she's happy with my dumb brother."

"Then why does it make you so upset?" Frostmask prompted gently.

Pineshade's ears flattened, and she scowled.

"Look, I don't know. Why are you asking me these things?" Pineshade said defensively, a soft growl in her voice.

Frostmask's ears flickered uneasily, unable to keep eye contact with her any longer.

"I don't know…" Frostmask meowed hesitantly. "I guess, I thought, it maybe actually had something to do with Dampfang…"

Pineshade froze at the sound of his name, coming to a sudden stop. Frostmask stopped walking too, wincing as she glanced over at Pineshade and took in her expression. Pineshade looked equal parts shocked and furious. She was staring at Frostmask with wide amber eyes, her black fur bristling slightly, and she was digging her claws into the peaty ground. She looked like she was a heartbeat away from launching herself at Frostmask. Frostmask shied back from her.

"Uh, please don't hit me," Frostmask meowed, already tensing in preparation.

"I'm not going to hit you," Pineshade snapped angrily, although she was still tense and bristling like she was preparing to leap into battle.

"I— oh. You're not?" Frostmask said, blinking a bit in surprise.

Pineshade rolled her eyes, giving a frustrated growl, but she forced the fur on her back to lie flat.

"No, frog-brain," Pineshade meowed irritably. "You're my friend."

Frostmask's eyes widened, but then she felt a rush of warmth in her chest.

She thinks I'm her friend!

Frostmask raised her tail happily, but it began to droop again as she saw how angry Pineshade still looked.

"I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't've brought it up…" Frostmask meowed apologetically.

Pineshade shook her head sharply.

"I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at him," Pineshade growled.

"…Dampfang?" Frostmask meowed softly.

"Yes, of course Dampfang!" Pineshade exploded, scoring her claws through the peat, before she composed herself again.

Pineshade shook her head, glaring down at the ground.

"You're right. I hate seeing Poolcloud and Dewleaf so happy together because all it does is remind me of how terrible Dampfang was to me. In the beginning, I thought he liked me too. My whole life, I've been nothing but nice and helpful to him," Pineshade growled. "But, then after he became a warrior, how does he treat me in response? By ignoring me for moons, just because he thinks I'm not as important as him because I was an apprentice."

Frostmask took a step closer to Pineshade.

"Dampfang's a fox-heart," Frostmask said. "And, I think you're way more important than he is."

Pineshade glanced up at her. A rare vulnerability shown in her amber eyes.

"The way he treated you wasn't your fault," Frostmask continued gently, sitting down next to her. "You know I've never liked Dampfang since he's always been mean to me. But, the way he treated you, when you were always nice to him, proves how bad he is. He's just a rotten cat."

Pineshade shifted her weight from paw to paw uncertainly.

"I mean, he hasn't always been so terrible," she muttered. "Since I yelled at him, I've been trying to avoid him, but he's actually been being really sweet to me. It's just so confusing because I'm still really upset about everything. He was so cold and distant to me before when I was being nice to him, and now he's not… even though now I'm angry at him…"

Frostmask's brow furrowed, anger building in her chest. Dampfang didn't deserve to be back with Pineshade after being so horrible to her.

"I think you should stay away from him. He's a disgusting piece of snake-dung!" Frostmask spat, lashing her tail.

Frostmask blinked in surprise as Pineshade suddenly burst into laughter, her loud purrs ringing out through the marsh.

"Whoa! Fierce Frostmask! I don't think I've ever seen you speak about someone so harshly," Pineshade purred, playfully flicking Frostmask's side with her tail.

One of Frostmask's ears flattened lopsidedly as her pelt heated in embarrassment from her teasing, but she still gave a purr back in response.

But, as Pineshade's purrs quieted down, the black she-cat suddenly shifted uncomfortably, glancing away from Frostmask and to the ground.

"What's wrong?" Frostmask meowed, her ears pricking in concern.

Pineshade sighed quietly.

"Well, what you said… I know Dampfang was always mean to you. And, I know I used to be mean to you too," Pineshade muttered. "I was doing it partly to try to impress him…"

Frostmask's ears flicked back.

"I know," Frostmask muttered, looking away from her. "Or, I figured, at least… You started being much more nice to me, the less time you spent with him."

Pineshade swallowed, her face nervous as her tail tip twitched.

"Also, when you first showed up here, and Redclaw took you in…" Pineshade muttered, continuing. "I was also kinda afraid that you'd… replace me. You were always so much nicer than me, even when I was being horrible to you…"

Pineshade anxiously tore up the peat under her with her claws.

"I thought Redclaw liked you better than me," Pineshade confessed, her ears flattening. "That she wished you were her daughter instead of me."

Frostmask glanced over at her.

"Redclaw raised me like she was my mom, but she loves you too and would never want to replace you," Frostmask meowed softly.

Pineshade gave a forced purr.

"Well I know that now…" she meowed, and she glanced back over at Frostmask. "But, I'm sorry for being such dumb, frog-brained kit before. And, I understand if you still hate me a bit because of it…"

Frostmask paused, hesitantly moving her tail over to touch Pineshade's side with it.

"It's okay," she murmured, looking down at the ground. "I'm not mad. The truth is, I used to be so lonely in ShadowClan that all I wanted was some friends. I never hated you. Even when you were being mean to me, all I wanted was for you to like me…"

Frostmask felt Pineshade's eyes on her, and she lifted her gaze back from the ground to meet hers.

"Why don't we put that all behind us now and just start over?" Frostmask meowed, her blue gaze searching Pineshade's amber one. "As friends?"

Pineshade's ears perked up, her eyes brightening with happiness and relief. She nodded hard.

"Yeah. Friends," she agreed with a purr.

It was evening by the time that Frostmask, Pineshade, Poolcloud and Dewleaf made it back to the camp, each of them loaded down with prey. After hunting separately in the marsh for a while, the four of them had met back up and headed into the pine forest to hunt together. Frostmask had noticed Pineshade seemed a bit less irritated with Poolcloud and Dewleaf when they rejoined them.

As they dropped of their prey, Frostmask noticed that a lot of cats were milling about the camp.

"It looks like Sedgestar's going to announce who's attending the Gathering soon," Poolcloud meowed, following her gaze.

"I'm starving," Dewleaf meowed. "Let's get something to eat while we wait for him."

The four of them each grabbed a piece of prey and headed over to the crowd to sit together and chat and eat. It wasn't long until Sedgestar bounded up the Clanrock.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather under Clanrock for a clan meeting," Sedgestar meowed.

The few cats that remained in their dens came padding out, and quiet fell over the camp as everyone turned to look up at their leader.

"First, I would like to announce what warriors and apprentices will be joining us at the Gathering tonight," Sedgestar said. "Emberflower, Darkpelt, Fogfur, Dappledpelt, Leafbreeze, Dustleap, Hootflight, Thornheart, Dewleaf, Frostmask, Mosspaw and Murmurpaw."

"Aw, no fair," Poolcloud whispered when his name wasn't called.

Dewleaf gave him a light shove.

"Frostmask and I are going to have so much fun without you," she said teasingly.

But, Frostmask didn't feel excited, instead a chill ran through her.

She would get to see Paledusk tonight. Frostmask narrowed her eyes, just able to keep her claws from curling out.

Sedgestar hadn't yet finished his announcements though, and he sat with his tail wrapped around his paws from his perch on Clanrock, looking very cool and collected.

"I know many of you must be wondering what I plan to say at the Gathering, following the death of Swoopstrike and the battle of the SkyClan camp," Sedgestar said measuredly. "After much consideration and deliberation with Grovepelt I have decided to refrain from declaring war on SkyClan… At least for now."

Sedgestar paused, clearly anticipating the few yowls of protest that rang out through the camp following his words. Frostmask, however, just glared up at him in silence, her jaw clenched.

So there will be no justice for Swoopstrike's murder?! Paledusk deserves to pay for what he did!

Frostmask glanced around the camp to study the other warriors' faces, trying to take stock of their feelings on the matter. She noticed Dampfang was on his feet, one of the cats who had yowled out in protest.

This is the one time in my life when I actually agree with him…

Sedgestar sat there silently, his face expressionless like a statue as he waited for the protests to quiet.

"Let me continue," he meowed after the last of the yowls died out. "We all know that these battles we've been fighting against SkyClan have been for ThunderClan's war. Not for ours."

"Then ThunderClan should pay!" Marshnose snarled, loudly interrupting the leader.

"ThunderClan has," Sedgestar said, his amber eyes flashing in a hint of anger at the interruption before he collected himself again. "ThunderClan owes us a debt that they will pay us back for."

"How do you know that," Marshnose grumbled, much quieter this time but still looking a bit mutinous. "I don't trust those mice-munchers."

Sedgestar inclined his head at him.

"You don't have to trust them. Trust me when I'm telling you that they will give us our due when we need it," Sedgestar said, before lifting his gaze from Marshnose to address the whole clan again. "It was a horrible tragedy that Swoopstrike lost his life in one of these battles. But, more lives will surely be lost if we wage a war of vengeance against SkyClan. I will wait to read Fennelstar's actions and words at the Gathering, because if he is aggressive towards us then we will have no choice but to fight back. However, I do not anticipate declaring a war tonight."

There were no protests to this, although some warriors still glared up at Sedgestar stonily. Sedgestar slowly nodded his head as he took in their expressions.

"I understand that many of you are angry at SkyClan and want justice for Swoopstrike's death. I do too. But, I don't think a war would be the right thing move for us at this moment," Sedgestar said, pausing for a heartbeat before he flattened his ears in a somewhat roguish expression. "However… that doesn't mean that we can't get some revenge in a different way."

Frostmask blinked, a wave of curiosity washing over her. What could Sedgestar mean? The rest of the clan seemed to almost eagerly lean forward towards their leader, looking equally as intrigued.

Sedgestar unwrapped his tail from around his paws to flick it behind him.

"I am allowing indefinite use of the thunderpath tunnel beneath ThunderClan territory as a means to get into SkyClan territory," Sedgestar announced, lifting his chin. "Patrols may go there to hunt on SkyClan land. It is up to any cat's discretion to choose to hunt there, although you must clear it with me or Grovepelt first before departing."

Frostmask felt a shiver of anticipation run up her spine. Was Sedgestar really allowing them to hunt on another Clan's territory?! Frostmask dug her claws into the ground, feeling a swirling mixture of trepidation and excitement.

"A few rules," Sedgestar said, continuing. "I will only allow hunts under the cover of darkness. If you are not back by dawn, I will assume you have been injured or captured and respond accordingly. So, don't be late. No solo hunts; you must go in patrols of three warriors or more in case you run into trouble. And, speaking of running into trouble, these are hunting missions, not battle patrols. You are absolutely not to seek out and engage any SkyClan warriors that you come across. Or, ThunderClan for that matter. Spend as little time as possible in ThunderClan territory. After you emerge from the tunnel, head from there to Fourtrees, then turn into SkyClan land. Do not hunt on ThunderClan land. And, try not to be seen by anyone, ThunderClan, SkyClan, or otherwise. It goes without saying to disguise your scents. Be like ghosts in the night."

As soon as Sedgestar finished, eager snarls of support echoed through the camp. Sedgestar reclined a bit, his expression pleased as he watched his warriors gaze up at him with bright eyes and pelts that bristled in excitement.

"SkyClan will not bleed from our claws this time, but they will still feel the sting of our revenge in their empty bellies," Sedgestar said coolly before flicking his tail to indicate dismissal from the meeting and bounding down from the Clanrock.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading and reviewing! I hope everyone is still doing well and staying safe!

What do you think about Sedgestar allowing hunting in SkyClan territory? I think it's kinda funny how the canon books make hunting in another clan's territory seem like a really shady, dishonorable thing to do, yet fighting another clan in battle isn't. Like you're really trying to say that it's more honorable to physically injure someone, perhaps fatally, than it is to steal from them? Anyway, that's the end of my tangental rant.

(Also extremely minor note that nobody will even probably even notice or even care about at all lol. But, a few chapters ago, when Sedgestar was talking before the SkyClan battle, I had written that Dawntail had just moved to the nursery, expecting kits. But, I realized that I had screwed up my timeline and needed her kits to be born earlier than that, so I edited some of the previous chapters so mention that she had given birth a couple moons earlier than what I had originally.)

Reviews:

Simitria: Sadly, Dampfang's ego is not completely curbed, only bruised. And, now it looks like he's determined to win Pineshade back, if only to prove that he is still as capable and great as he thinks he is lol. And, thanks! I'm glad you like her name :)

SavvySpirit: Thank you! I'm glad you like it! Yes, now that Pineshade has both rejected Dampfang, and her and Frostmask have had a heart to heart and finally worked out that they're friends, I think we should have a party lol.

And, although I might change my mind, as of right now, I think there's a pretty low chance that Swoopstrike will make a reappearance as a spirit. One issue I have with the warrior's canon is that death seems to have very little importance, because like if your friend dies, it seems very easy to visit their spirit, either at the Moonstone/pool, or they can just come to you in your dreams. I want death to feel more permanent and have more weight in this story, so I'm planning on there being is very little StarClan/spirit interference.

Pandere: Thank you! It was pretty difficult to do, like a part of me was definitely trying to wiggle out of it haha, but I didn't want to sacrifice the story's integrity just because I was attached to this character. Also thank you for your comment about the world building!

Avalanche: I don't want to give anything away yet, but Lizardkit is very close to 6 moons old, so you'll get to see who his mentor will be soon!

Shimmerbreeze: Haha don't worry, Autumnleap isn't suffering from any amnesia. (Tbh, I've already written a fic that goes that route, so I'm not interested in repeating it. I don't want to write the same sort of story over again!) And, I'd be happy to share some writing tips. Feel free to send me a PM if you want, so we can talk back and forth about it more easily.