"Oh, Manglethorn! Where have you been?"

Manglethorn turned, the mud-streaked mouse dangling from his jaws. Applewing was at the nursery entrance, her eyes sharp with worry. When she spotted the mouse, she sighed in relief. Manglethorn's heart warmed immediately at the sight of his mate, safe and sound in the nursery.

However, Applewing's gaze quickly became stern. "You're the Clan deputy!" She meowed. "You're not supposed to leave camp for the entire morning just to catch prey that was jumping around in mud. You are supposed to organize patrols!"

Manglethorn dropped his mouse. "I caught more," he said. "Which… is a great addition for the Clan, especially in late leaf-fall, isn't it?"

He hoped he sounded like he meant it, because nobody knew where he actually went.

Applewing lashed her tail. "Hey," she said. "Oakstar had to organize the patrols for you. You were seriously gone the entire morning!"

"Manglethorn?" Oakstar's call echoed from the leader's den. His brown pelt seemed ruffled when he raced out into the sun. "You are finally back!"

Nobody knows what I have been doing throughout the night, Manglethorn thought, his tail drooping. He realized he wanted to sleep more than anything else. All the running have tired him out so much, and he had woken up so late in the night to go on with the mission. He wanted to rest without a dream, a good rest where he could sleep well and breathe in the rich scents of his Clanmates and be like everybody else. He wanted, at least, a more regular destiny, because he was sure no Clan leader have to experience through so much just to achieve their position. He was forced to agree in following Maggottail in the first place anyways, but every second he does something the pale old cat tells him, it seemed to shoot guilt, regret, and horror into him.

Do Clan leaders really have to experience through this? Manglethorn thought, his heart weighing down. He was exhausted, and as he looked at Oakstar he thought if Oakstar had to risk his life in missions to become leader too. He was pretty sure no. But maybe he just got unlucky that he met Maggottail, who was making him feel like a horrible cat.

Am I?

"The entire Clan was looking for you!" Oakstar scolded, flicking his tail. "And what was your excuse? A mud mouse?"

"I was really just hunting for the Clan," Manglethorn replied desperately and stepped forward to face Oakstar. "I wasn't doing anything else. All this mud on my pelt came from when the mouse jumped into the mud. I was only trying to catch prey for ThunderClan!"

Oakstar narrowed his eyes when Manglethorn finished and nodded, but suspicion still shone in his eyes. "Okay," he meowed cautiously. "Start doing your deputy jobs, then."

—.—

Manglethorn snapped his eyes open. He was in a damaged clearing, with broken trees and stinking mushrooms surrounding him. The sky was dark red like blood; the air smelled of crow-food and rotten corpses. Manglethorn rose to sore paws and perked his ears. "Maggottail?" He called. He was so used to meeting the elder in his dreams that calling out to him was an instinct now. His paws crushed mushrooms on his way as he trotted forward to sniff the air. Maggottail's familiar scent was nowhere to be scented. Bubbling mud gurgled beside him. The bushes seemed withered, and wind billowed through the bare trees. The dank air seemed to carry a spirit within it, and Manglethorn braced himself.

Then a cat materialized from the wind.

Orange-and white, tortoiseshell pelt... "Mapleshade?" Manglethorn burst out. His mentor slowly walked in front of him, her orange paws etching marks in the ground. One of her paws bled, and the claws on it were snapped in half. However, blood gleamed on the sharp edges of the broken claw, and it gleamed in the faint light and casted a deadly-looking feeling into Laurelleaf. "It's me," she mewed and touched her nose to Manglethorn's.

Manglethorn nearly mewled like a kit. It was Mapleshade! His lost mentor, his long-lost teacher! The cat who first took him out into the familiar ThunderClan forest, and told him about RiverClan and Sunningrocks, then taught him many hunting skills that helped the Clan so much, and blessed him with battle skills that even Maggottail would fear… he dipped his head immediately, longing for Mapleshade to stay and talk to him. Mapleshade watched him, her amber eyes expressionless. Her tail tip brushed the floor as she spoke. "Good job, my apprentice. you have done much," she mewed. "It's time for some rest."

Silence filled the air for a small moment, because Manglethorn didn't quite know what to say.

"You... you approved my actions?" Manglethorn asked, astonished. He himself thought multiple times that Maggottail's missions weren't a good idea; he only completed them so he could achieve his goals and become a better cat (or maybe…he was forced to).

He didn't quite expect Mapleshade to say that. In his memories, she was a good-hearted cat. Maybe a bit over-caring, but still a great cat. He also dared to admit that the Mapleshade standing in front of him looked nothing like the Mapleshade he knew as an apprentice, who looked much more peaceful. This Mapleshade had dried blood splattered on her fur, broken claws, and long yellow fangs that seemed to be able to tear through layers of fur and skin. Her eyes could almost kill him with one hard glare, and her voice sounded like dead leaves against dry rock.

Mapleshade lashed her tail and, to Manglethorn's surprise, bared her fangs. "Yes, of course!" She hissed. "Keep doing it! Shed blood! Listen to Maggottail!"

Manglethorn dipped his head, unable to do anything but obey. "Yes, Mapleshade," he said. Mapleshade seemed to back a step, then she raised her head. She seemed to radiate her old, mighty aura again. "I am proud of you," she meowed. "You are going to make a great leader. But beware of your darkest enemy, my apprentice. The laurel will collide with the thorn—and that's you."

"What do you mean?" Manglethorn asked. "What will Laurelleaf do to me?"

"Oh, you sure did guess who the laurel was," Mapleshade laughed, crunching dead leaves beneath her white paws. "He wasn't going to harm you. He was going to demolish you."

"What?" Manglethorn asked, but dead maple leaves were rising from the ground and swirling around Mapleshade, blocking her from Manglethorn her. "I have to go," Mapleshade mewed.

Manglethorn's white pelt bristled in alarm. "No!" He screeched and pounced on the swirling tornado of maple leaves. He landed on something soft and awoke to see his claws grasping Nettlebreeze's tail.

—.—

One normal sunrise for once. Manglethorn stood on the Highrock, the sun shining on his pelt while he assigned patrols and nodded to passing warriors.

Yarrowpaw emerged from the medicine cat den. "Manglethorn!" He called. "We're running low on the marigold and sweet-sedge supply!"

A flicker of brown flashed at the edge of Manglethorn's vision, and Oakstar appeared next to him, his aged dignity shining on every hair on his pelt. His tail was raised high and his eyes were gleaming. "Let me handle this," he meowed to Manglethorn, who was gazing down at the assembling cats. Manglethorn didn't budge as Oakstar leaped down from the Highrock.

ThunderClan have left Sunningrocks for quite a few sunrises. Soft breeze blew through the trees as Manglethorn, on patrol with some of his cats, saw the thick-furred warriors who carried the stench of fish sprawled out on the warm rocks. Sunlight dappled on the rocks and shone on the fishy warriors' pelts. He curled his claws in.

RiverClan will pay for what happened to Beetail. A small voice in his head told him that Beetail's death was all part of the mission, and it was really his fault that Beetail died because he's the cat who provoked the attack, but he tried hard to shrug it off. No. It was RiverClan who killed Beetail.

Earth spread out around his paws as he padded on along Sunningrocks. The leaves were quiet today under the cold sunlight. Leaf-bare was only seconds away, and ThunderClan still have not found their medicine cat. He wondered how would cope with the incoming leaf-bare, which could bring deadly diseases like greencough.

His tail left a trail in the soil as he left the Sunningrocks border, and Pinetail stopped to say, "I scented mouse."

"Go on," Manglethorn replied. Pinetail instantly pressed her nose to the ground, trying her best to locate the mouse. The rest of the patrol spread out around Pinetail, their ears perked and nose high to smell.

"Some cat go that way," Manglethorn ordered in a hushed voice, careful not to alert the mouse of their presence. He turned his green gaze around to search for any signs of mouse, and sure did spot the plump little gray-furred creature at the edge of a tree, nibbling on a seed.

The cats tensed as the mouse lifted its nose into the air, but flattened their fur again as the mouse relaxed. Manglethorn relished the fact that there were no wind today, or else the mouse could've scented them. He thumped his tail onto the ground as a loud signal when the patrol were ready and leaped at the mouse. It darted away quickly, only to be cornered by a waiting Bloomheart. The gray tabby tom swiped a pawful of dirt as the mouse darted away again. Manglethorn hissed at the direction the mouse was heading to, which successfully intimidated the mouse and left it scuttling to Deerdapple's direction. The bushes moved violently, and soon all was quiet. Deerdapple emerged with the mouse in her jaws. "Amazing catch," Manglethorn praised. Deerdapple's eyes glimmered and she set the mouse down to dig a hole and keep it for later.

Manglethorn was immediately sent on a second patrol to search for herbs for Yarrowpaw. Oakstar have been pretty immediate to decide about that, appointing Manglethorn as part of the patrol almost straight after he sent Thrushtalon and Seedpelt out. Yarrowpaw followed up last, his yellow fur messy from the lack of grooming. His tail was drooping, and Manglethorn felt bad for the hardworking young apprentice.

Maggottail? The elder haven't appeared for very long since before Mapleshade came, and Manglethorn begun feeling weird now that Maggottail wasn't here. He was used to the hisses and snorts of the pale tom, and the faint feeling of wind against his fur when Maggottail floats around him on a patrol or battle.

Maggottail! He called again.

No response.

Maybe he just wanted me to have one normal day for once, Manglethorn thought, and his burdened heart softened in relief. I wanted a normal life and maybe he knew that.

He realized himself thinking, again and again, I wanted to look after my Clanmates just like any other normal cat. To be loyal to ThunderClan and care after Applewing. To try to find a medicine cat and help my Clan.

"There are some marigold by the Ancient Oak, and a patch of sweet-sedge by the river," Yarrowpaw meowed. The sun made his golden pelt shimmer, but Yarrowpaw's tired aura seemed to extinguish the sunlight. The edge of his eyes were wet with stress, and Manglethorn nodded. He needs rest. He have been trying harder than all of us to learn about medicine cat information all by himself. "We'll help you find them," Seedpelt said reassuringly, as if sensing Manglethorn's sympathy towards the young cat.

Yarrowpaw looked up with dull eyes. "I can help with my own herb problems, too," he snapped. Then he headed off to the RiverClan border.

—.—

The wind seemed to get colder as time went on. What was the most chilling was that some sort of familiar scent clung to the air, but Manglethorn couldn't recognize it. He should, but he couldn't, and he kept feeling as if somebody was watching him. While his Clanmates leaped at the patch of marigold in sight, ruffling the silent grass with their paws, Manglethorn stayed in the back. He found himself standing next to Yarrowpaw, who was watching the older cats gather the precious marigold. The orange flowers were like flames in the sunlight; their soft amber petals stood out like the sun among the sky.

Manglethorn was a little absorbed until Yarrowpaw whisked his tail over Manglethorn's leg. "Well?" He asked. Manglethorn looked over, a bit startled, into Yarrowpaw's amber gaze. He seemed to be telling Manglethorn, Why aren't you collecting marigold with your Clanmates? But Yarrowpaw didn't seem to look angry. He only looked tired, as usual.

Stems lifted off the ground as ThunderClan cats tore the plants from the rich soil. Yarrowpaw stared at them. "I haven't been receiving dreams from StarClan," he mewed. Manglethorn perked his ears from the sudden change of the topic. Dreams from StarClan… that only reminded him of Maggottail and his "big destiny" again, which seemed to be linked to some prophecy that may or may not have come from StarClan. But if it really came from StarClan, why is it so horrible? And out of all cats, Maggottail looked the complete least like a StarClan spirit.

"Why?" He turned around. "You tried your best and helped all of us more than anybody in the Clan. You deserve StarClan's praise." "Face the truth," Yarrowpaw said. "I am not the medicine cat. I don't receive sacred dreams. I didn't even go to the Moonstone yet. I did much for the Clan, but StarClan does not approve. They never said a thing about me becoming a medicine cat and only watched as I lived on, trying to be a medicine cat even though I know I'm not."

"Yarrowpaw," Manglethorn pressed. "You have done enough. Any cat wouldn't have been able to go through what you have been through. You figured out a lot of things by yourself and listened to Ravenwing when he used the herbs to heal cats. You are a very good cat already." For a moment Manglethorn thought, a little bit like me. Can any cat risk what I've been through? But he shook that thought off. How dare he be selfish enough to think that? Yarrowpaw clearly went through much more, taking care of the whole Clan through information he learned himself. Burdened by so many thoughts of failing his Clan, Yarrowpaw took a burden normal cats would never be able to experience.

"I haven't, and I'm not," Yarrowpaw looked down. For a moment both cats were silent. Manglethorn touched Yarrowpaw's shoulder with his tail-tip, but the small yellow tom shook his sympathetic sign away. He turned to Manglethorn with dull amber eyes. "Stay determined, Manglethorn," he advised. "You'll need your determination in your hardest times."

Manglethorn was slightly confused in why a medicine cat apprentice with no experience with StarClan was telling him that, but he nodded. "Why did you tell me all this?" He asked. "You should be telling Oakstar all that stuff."

"You have a destiny in front of you," Yarrowpaw replied calmly, his eyes betraying nothing. "And I know that."