With anxious anticipation, Sunflowerstep stood by the entrance of the camp, her tail flicking slowly back and forth. She tried to calm herself down, letting a relaxing feeling fill her body. Stay calm, Sunflowstep. It's not very hard. She told herself. Cats whisked in and out of the camp, busily doing their jobs.

A rustle shook the thorn entrance of ShadowClan's camp, and Sunflowerstep looked up hopefully. Snowfoot entered first, followed by Fallenpaw, Swiftbird, and finally Midnightfeather. Sunflowerstep perked up, padding quickly over to the black colored she-cat.

As she approached, Midnightfeather gave her a confused look, "Hello." Thoughts seemed to race behind her silky silver eyes.

"Hi." Sunflowerstep meowed nervously, and a silence drew out before them like a gaping, empty chasm. "I just wanted to thank you for the prey-" The golden-and-white she-cat continued hurriedly before getting cut off by Midnightfeather.

"Not here." Her eyes darted to both sides, pools of suspicion. She had a worried energy, and her pelt fluffed up slightly.

Sunflowerstep flattened her ears against her head and nodded. Why was she so mouse-brained all the time? Couldn't she learn when to keep her mouth shut? Midnightfeather gestured with her tail, and Sunflowerstep followed her to the shadiest part of the camp. Midnightfeather then turned to face the other slim she-cat with a look of curiousity.

"Now, what was it you were saying?"

Sunflowerstep shifted her paws, "I wanted to thank you for the prey you brought me last night. I was just so.. tongue tied, I forgot to thank you- and I just-"

"It's okay. You're welcome." Midnightfeather broke in with a small smile and a wave of her tail.

Sunflowerstep smiled back. She was truly grateful to the black, speckled she-cat. Midnightfeather looked troubled for a moment, and Sunflowerstep tilted her head. It was always the eyes.

"Are you sure that's the only reason Adderstar punished you? Do you really think she'd get that mad- or that some cat would snitch?" Midnightfeather seemed to have chosen her words carefully, but Sunflowerstep still felt a pang of hurt. Did she really not believe her? "It's really hard to believe Adderstar could get that upset over a few spoken words no cat seemed to notice." With every word, Sunflowerstep lowered her head.

"What else could it be? I've done nothing wrong." Her voice was quiet and broken as she spoke. She remembered the way the small leader had looked at her; it wasn't that long ago. Her penetrating, angry, gaze that had made fear spring into Sunflowerstep's chest like a scared rabbit despite her clear size advantage. Why did everyone have to have eyes that could pierce holes into a cat's chest? Sunflowerstep would have liked it if nobody had eyes. Then, no one could see how much of a cloud-brain she was, how big of a coward she was, how easily she could be crushed, snuffed out like a small, burning flame left over from the huge fire that was those who came before her. All the cats with legacies she could never live up to. Strong warriors. How could she ever be like her sister, or her mother and father. They were all so brave, and she was, well, her. Maybe Adderstar was trying to test her. And the cold leader would find out that Sunflowerstep was as worthless as a slug, and she would die.

"I'm going to die." Sunflowerstep croaked, "And no cat will care."

"I care." The soothing voice of Midnightfeather rang in her ears. Oh, how she clung to that sound like a light in the everlasting darkness that was swallowing her, little by little. Sunflowerstep looked up to see Midnightfeather's fierce gaze. She had never seen such a look on the she-cat's face, at least not when she was around.

"You will not die." She spoke, the words weaving into Sunflowerstep's ears and taking root, honey to a sour herb.

"Thank you." Sunflowerstep whispered, "You have no idea how much that means to me."

"Would you like to take a walk with me? I'm sure Adderstar will allow it if I ask." Midnightfeather offered, "You must be desperate for some fresh air."

Sunflowerstep smiled, "I would like that very much."

Midnightfeather nodded and padded away towards Adderstar's den. After Midnightfeather had gone, Sunflowerstep couldn't help but feel that darkness, still gnawing at her, waiting for the right time to devour her, ruin her life. Oh, how she clung to the the sound of Midnightfeather's soothing voice. A light in the darkness. A hope.

Soooooo, I may or may not have forgotten to work on this chapter last week, but Fizz graciously suggested we do a double post, so that's the plan!

Answering Reviews: Potato's Redemption

Fastbreeze37 - Thanks! We've worked hard trying to build a world that's believable. Originally, it was to make ShadowClan stronger than the other four Clans, and eventually take them over, but they got driven out before they could. Now, it's used as a way to have full control over the Clan. Thank you for taking time to read our story, and I hope you enjoy the rest of it!

Puppydogs68 - Hehehehehehehehehe!

Hissing Mist - You'll just have to wait to find out... *cue evil laughter*. Precisely! We thought it was a creative was of doing a collab. We will, for all of our readers sakes, as well as our own!