She carefully plucked the feathers of the pigeon away before biting into its chest. She savored the warmth its flesh still held, letting it linger in her mouth for a while before swallowing. The feathers were carefully aligned in a pile, next to a shallow hole she had buried in the snow. Rye brushed away whatever she could from the quills before adding more. The others were already gnawing at the bones of the rabbits they ate. One of the dogs tossed their bones down the hole to their den. Another growled.

"Dona, come on!" Juta shook her head and entered the den. "It takes so long for blood to air out of there."

"But we always eat in there," Dona whimpered. "There's blood stains everywhere."

Karin pushed her carcass behind her. "We don't eat inside until Heidi comes back."

The five sat just outside of the collapsed thunderpath that made up their den. Dona was still whimpering, sitting closest to the den's entrance and sniffing the inside occasionally. Juta emerged from it and tossed the carcass. Dona watched it fly over her head and behind her; she pounced it moments later. Wolfgang was sitting on the intact thunderpath, what made up the den's ceiling. After briefly glancing at Juta, he looked at the sky. The overcast threatened snow, again. The daylight was gently diffused across the snow and kept it a calm shade of white. Far above the clouds, the hissing of sky-monsters echoed through his ears. They traveled the same path each time they flew overhead. Karin was walking over to Dona, who picked up the rabbit carcass she was approaching and tossed it to her own.

"Hey, why do you eat so slow?" Dona said.

"Because she has a smaller mouth, idiot," Juta growled.

"Aww, are you still mad about the rabbit thing?"

"What – you just threw it in there a minute ago! You're giving Heidi something more to be upset about."

"You where there, cat. What did Heidi see?"

Rye swallowed her food. "I was there to try and signal to any onlooking warrior-rah. I did not see a dog."

"You also tried that yesterday morning," Karin said. "Did you see it then?"

"I was also trying to alert my branch then, and walked as close as I dared to the river. Shadow patrols were unusually absent. I saw no Covenant cats and no dog."

The group was quiet for a while, listening to the constant droll of the breeze and snow. One by one, the dogs glanced between each other and towards the river. Dona began shaking a little; Karin's glare stopped her.

"Well, Shadow territory is vast," said Juta. "If it were me, I would stay away from the river. Too much activity."

The others ignored her. Rye watched each of them occupy themselves before Dona's pep returned.

"I hear something coming," she said.

"You mean you smell something coming?" Juta said. "It's a disgusting cat."

"Hey," Rye mewed.

"No, I mean he really smells. All deep patrols do. Damn UnderClan, sculking around in mud and God-knows-whatever else is down there."

Rye turned around; the scent of the dirty tom hit her. She did not recoil like the others, but rolled her tongue. He was covered in mud so thick his fur was hidden. He stopped far from the group, keeping his eyes low to hide their color. His tail whirled around in a slow circle, pointing to all of them at one point, and then at himself.

"Why should we?" Juta barked.

"Heidi calls you. As does Clementstar." He muffled his voice.

"Finally!" Karin perked up and started following. "The usual spot?"

The tom nodded, and ran back the way he came. Rye tried spotting a hint of his color beneath the cover, but was too distracted with his scent.

"Slow down there," Juta said. "I'm not following right behind him."

"Heidi's calling us," Karin barked. "We have to go."

"I think he smelled kind of good," Dona whispered.

"How about you just worry about Heidi instead, okay?" Karin waited for the tom to leave eyeshot, squeezing through a small hole under the snow. "There. He's gone. Happy now?"

"No, because his scent is still around." Juta followed, curling her nose. "Seriously. Everything down there's supposed to be dead. Where does he find the scent of rat carcass' tunnel scum?"

Dona, Wolfgang, and Rye fell in behind Juta and Karin. Wolfgang tossed his carcass with the others, and was careful not to kick snow into the den's entrance. His eyes were fixed ahead. Rye kept to his side, watching the others instead. She saw Dona's legs shake again.

x

xxx

x

A gentle snow began falling as the group approached the twoleg structures. Rye listened to the wind flow right through the holes in their teal walls and out the other sides, ringing hollow the whole way through. They were in rows of two, evenly spaced from each other and as long as a tree. They were not much taller than a large twoleg, but it was enough to block some of the diffused sunlight. The snow was thinner, cleared by the heat from the twoleg pipes and mechanisms lining the nests. The trickle of water from the gutters evenly spaced out against their bases echoed above the wind, and took her mind off the sky-monster still circling overhead. They wandered between them, keeping themselves low when they passed by direct line of sight of the bridge. Once they were hidden, they took positions close to the warm pipes. Dona began panting, ruffling her fur and letting her tongue flop about. Wolfgang slid away from her. Juta and Dona sat beside Rye, watching Karin pace about.

"Stop pacing," Juta growled. "You're making me nervous."

"I am nervous," Karin whimpered.

A pair of warriors stepped from behind a pile of rubble and quickly ran the length of the nest, hardly even glancing at the group. Once they reached the end, they peered around the corners of the nests they stood between and nodded. One of them banged once on a loose piece of silverwood and ran off. Out from that same pile of rubble stepped a third. Rye recognized the cat's limp as he slowly approached the dogs. His fur was on edge, and his tail was parallel with his body. It was cleaner, the tan easier to distinguish from his black face. She looked at the charm above his ankle. It was shiny, the tuft of fake-fur on the end white again. He stopped out of pouncing range of the dogs.

"I trust you not to lop my head off just because I'm alone this time." The shaking in his voice irgnored the calm swagger Rye remembered.

"Of course not." Dona said. "This pack loves Clement!"

"That's debatable." Clementstar looked back. Heidi showed herself.

"Heidi!" Karin barked.

"Keep your voice down," Clementstar hissed. "We don't know who's listening."

"You're too young to be this paranoid," Heidi growled.

Rye watched each exhausted step the pack leader took towards them. Her face gave nothing away, but her body sagged from its usual intimidating posture. Karin sniffed in her direction. A quick snap from Heidi's jaw made her stop.

"I brought them, like you asked." Heidi sat next to Karin. "Now talk."

Clementstar shook his head. "Heidi asked me about a dog. Ran up and down my territory all night trying to find it. I told her what I knew, if she agreed to stop giving my patrols away and assemble you the next day."

"What did you know?" Karin said.

"Neither deep nor surface patrols noticed any dogs in Shadow territory. But there's a lot of ground we can't cover. I have to take Heidi's word for it."

The pack leader growled, taking a step towards him.

"I did what you asked. Now hear me out. This is just as important, and you might not like what you're going to hear."

Heidi snapped at him and sat back in her position.

"Somewhere in your announcement, I better hear why you snubbed me," Rye said.

"I apologize for that ahead of time," Clementstar said. "Matters of the war were weighing on me, and have gotten heavier… It's almost over."

Dona's ears perked up. "Really!?"

"And we're going to be the losers if I don't make a move soon."

Her ears dropped right back down. Rye glanced at Heidi in time to see her shake the shock from her face. She noticed her breathing getting slightly faster. Clementstar slid closer to the group.

"Nothing said here—"

"Leaves this space," Juta said. "We know."

"The only reason I'm even telling you this is because it affects you." Clementstar took a deep breath, glancing around before speaking. "A few nights ago, we fought the Shadows on the bridge. It was a distraction for some of our senior warriors to infiltrate Shadow territory not far from it. The raid was discovered, and failed. It blew our last known crossing to them, and they pushed rocks onto it to break it up. The only way to their clan now is through the tunnels. They've been careful to seal them up."

Heidi's eyes widened. "You revealed it? Clement, that was—"

"I know!" he hissed. "It's what you were promised in exchange for staying out of our tunnels. But Dovewhisker was worth it. I couldn't leave her for dead."

"Dovewhisker?" Karin's ears fell. "She was captured?"

"It doesn't matter," Juta said. "You risked several senior warriors for one?"

Clementstar's claws scraped the snow. "She's our last medicine cat. We need her."

Even Wolfgang sat more attentive on hearing it. The dogs glanced at each other. Heidi's eyes were firmly on the UnderClan leader.

"We have seen her before," Rye said. "We had no idea she was a medicine cat. But why is she over there in the first place?"

"It wasn't my call!" Clementstar took a moment to settle his claws. "It wasn't my call. She disobeyed orders and followed a group of spies – it's my fault, really. Even I don't know the location of all our ranking members. My own rules. I just assumed she wouldn't disobey me."

"A medicine cat would never just abandon their post. What could be worth that?"

"Dovewhisker wanted answers. She sought council from the Stars. Said she wanted to visit the Shadow's sacred spot and return from the now-destroyed western path. I said it was too dangerous. She wanted to fulfil her role, the way she felt she had to. And keep a promise to her littermate… I should stop seeing the Axin Mess as just some story. A medicine cat leader named Yellowstar did the same thing in hamburg."

"Surely you have pupils," Karin whimpered. "And Dovewhisker can't be the only one."

Clementstar looked around again. "Her littermate drowned himself a few moons ago. Far west of the bridge, so the Shadows never noticed. He was our other medicine cat. And there were no apprentices. Another failing of mine… We tried negotiating for Dovewhisker and the rest of the spies, but that failed. The arguing at the bridge indirectly lead to the death of Windstripe, as well. The senior warriors that tried to rescue her a few nights ago saw her with one of their medicine cats, Blackleaf. The failed attempt definitely revealed her as important. Solestar has to believe she is a medicine cat or a deputy. Blueclaw refuses to help, but she knows too little about twoleg or herbal medicine to be a replacement. We're out of options and running out of time. I pray for Dovewhisker and the others, if they aren't already dead. But need a replacement now. I need you, Rye."

"You what!?" Rye took a few steps back.

"In your five or so moons of life, you've learned anti-canid techniques, wolf-speak, and how to use your supposed 'powers' to perfection. I'm sure you know more than me about fighting and medicine. You can't replace Dovewhisker, but UnderClan will collapse by newleaf with no one. And I'm not giving you a choice."

"What do you mean by that?" Heidi growled.

"I'll raid your Covenant branch if you refuse. You would be attacking them, not me."

The dogs' eyes widened as Clementstar took a few steps back, watching Heidi's paws twitch. Rye's fur stood on end, growling as she slowly approached.

"Our enclave is within Shadow territory with no paths to the underground," she growled. "Unless you plan on tempting fate with the river, you have no way of—"

"You fell down a particular hole coming here." Clementstar's anxiousness scattered his voice. "There is another one, buried under the snow you fell atop. Dig that away, and there is a narrow tube that leads to an underground twoleg shelter. The stairs are still intact. The entrance the twolegs would've used is blocked by wood planks that look solid on the outside. But there is a crack down the middle facing inward that a heavy warrior could break through. On the other side, there should be a clean den with a large circle in the middle. At nights, the moonlight shines on an elevated—"

"No way." Rye's paws shook. "That is where I address the elite warrior-rah. Even the Shadows do not know what happens in there… By the Stars, you have had a way in this whole time! My herald could only speculate."

"Hey, Clement, what is this?" Juta growled. "You never resort to threats and ultimatums. Not even when we arrived."

"I won't let my clan down again," Clementstar growled. "They don't like the Star Covenant, but they hate the Clan of False Shadows. If you were forced, it might make it easier for the clan to accept outside help. I don't want to do this, but we didn't fight for this long, only to lose because I ignored two of the most important members of the clan."

Rye's paws stopped shaking. She shook loose snow from her back and took a deep breath. Looking past him, she could barely make out the mass of gray lines that made up the bridge. Small blurs were running on and off it periodically. She lingered on one until it vanished from her narrow field of view. Heidi's ears perked up at the faint whistle of the sky-monster. Her teeth were bore, and her legs were stiff. The others had backed away a bit.

"I do not like this," Rye said. "I want something in return. You have to let me contact my branch—"

"You didn't tell me about this, Clement." The two looked at Heidi; her growl made their fur stand on end.

"It's a decision that involves the clans," Clementstar said. "As per your request, I try to keep your pack out of our problems."

"This goes beyond that," Heidi growled. "You're talking about forcing a kitten to your side on the threat of killing bystanders who have no knowledge or say."

Rye faced the pack leader. "The war affects our branch, too. And my word is—"

"Don't give me that horseshit! Your whole branch could be ambushed and killed because of something they had no say in. And you're willing to go along with it!?"

"I believe the decision is hers to make," Clementstar said.

"The moment you resorted to tactics like theirs, and like hers, I became part of that decision. And I say no."

"She accepted the request. I don't see—"

"I said no!"

Heidi barked at Clementstar, who jumped back with his fur on edge. He took a step back for each she took forward.

"You don't get to threaten others into fixing your mistakes. The masters make threats. Solestar makes threats. As long as I'm pack leader, I will not let her submit to the corrupted morals of the clans. Wolfgang, grab the kitten."

He stepped forward, looking into Heidi's angry glare before snatching up Rye in his jaws.

Rye flailed about. "Put me down! I said I would go."

"Heidi, please." Clementstar kept his distance. "If we let her into the tunnels without leverage, she might find a way to escape back to her branch with crippling knowledge of our clan. Imagine if our situation leaked to the Shadows. Solestar wouldn't hesitate to—"

Heidi kicked loose snow in his face. He kicked a loose sheet of silverwood three times. After a few moments, several warriors took positions behind him, and two in front. Heidi backed away, motioning the others to follow. The pack shared glances, but fell into formation next to their leader. Rye stopped struggling and arced her head towards the warriors.

"You have to get a message to my herald," she shouted. "It has been almost a moon without contact. He will do something drastic if he believes me dead or captured."

Clementstar pushed ahead of his warriors as the pack backed away with Rye. They passed by the edge of the paired structures and turned to their right around the corner. The warriors followed and kept their distance. Their leader turned the corner in time to witness Heidi ordering Wolfgang away. He was already padding out of earshot. The others held their ground, constantly glancing at Heidi.

"You're all just going to let this happen?" Clementstar shouted. "I know none of you agree with her."

"I should've known better than to trust clan cats at war," Heidi said. "I know it messes with your mind. Clan cats aren't intelligent enough to be in one this long. I should've known!"

"Heidi, you know me. There's too much at stake to—"

"It doesn't matter anymore. It just doesn't matter. Only that dog matters…"

The others were silent, lingering on the UnderClan warriors until Heidi waved them all away. Hesitating still, they eventually ran to catch up to Wolfgang.

Clementstar and Heidi locked eyes.

"You're condemning UnderClan to Solestar. We need something to give us an advantage. Anything."

Heidi glanced at the charm on Clementstar's leg. Her fur relaxed, and her jaw clenched up. She held her tongue, even when the warriors stopped approaching. Her attention was taken for a moment by the sound of the passing sky-monster. Glancing back at the rest of her pack, she left the group and headed towards the river.