Bristlefrost didn't reply for a moment, instead bending her head to give her chest fur a few embarrassed licks. "Yes . . . yes, I do have feelings for you," she admitted at last.

It was a lie, of course. But what else was she supposed to say? They were about to go to war. Regardless of her feelings (or lack thereof), Rootspring was a sweet kid. She didn't want him to go into a fight with the intention of getting himself killed because his crush wouldn't like him back.

Besides, she wouldn't be surprised if one (or, StarClan forbid, both) of them didn't make it to the other side.

"But what can we do about it? Nothing." She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed that Rootspring would interpret any hesitation on her part as a reluctance to stray from the path of a warrior, and not for the truth. "There's no way it can go anywhere."

Rootspring mentioned something about hope and a better future. Bristlefrost nodded, because she did want a better future, though she suspected their ideas of such a future weren't look the same. "Maybe if we both survive," she said.

She didn't think that was likely.

And the battle is over, and she's covered in blood – her own, and Bramblestar's, and the blood of the cats she fought off to protect his body – and she's alive she's alive she's alive.

It was all over. Squirrelflight had returned, Bristlefrost stripped of her deputyship (thank the stars for that), and the imposter locked away in ShadowClan to be dealt with later.

Bristlefrost couldn't help but sigh in relief. Maybe now things could go back to normal.

Except, in the aftermath of the battle, she caught Rootspring's eye.

And he smiled.

Oh, no.

Look, it's not that she wanted Rootspring to die. Far from it! She'd never ask for a warrior to be killed if they hadn't done anything to deserve it - that would make her as bad as the imposter. And she just wanted to be a good warrior! Really!

But. Well. Look at him! Rootspring isn't exactly the most skilled fighter. It's a wonder how he got his warrior name at all, what with the whole seeing ghosts thing cutting into his training.

She had done the math, and made peace with the most reasonable outcome.

But here he was, very much alive and most certainly not dead.

And she would have cursed StarClan, but then she remembered they couldn't hear her anyways, so what good would that do?

"I need you to go on an important mission," Squirrelflight told her.

"Okay," said Bristlefrost, not sure she was liking where this conversation was headed. She wasn't sure what she had expected when Squirrelflight had called her into the leader's den, but it wasn't this.

"You're going to help Rootspring and Needleclaw to find the Sisters," Squirrelflight continued. "We hope that they'll be able to help us contact StarClan again. I want you to take Spotfur with you, too."

"What?" Bristlefrost couldn't prevent the fur from lifting on her spine. She had nothing against Needleclaw, really, but Spotfur? She didn't miss the way that cat glared ice shards at her when she thought Bristlefrost wasn't looking. And Rootspring? He was, well, Rootspring. AKA the last cat she wanted to be around right now. Because he was the cat she was supposed to always want to be around right now.

"Can't you ask anyone else?" she asked. "I- I just mean- with Rosepetal and Stemleaf gone, I just—" it wasn't a lie; just saying their names made the wounds in her gut rip open anew. Right now, she wanted to be as close to their bodies – and their ghosts, prevented from entering StarClan as they deserved – as she could.

Squirrelflight sighed. "I know I'm asking a lot of you. You're not exactly popular among your Clanmates right now, and I think some time away will do you good. And if you're able to bring back help for your fallen Clanmates… well, it might put you back in their good graces."

"They really think I sided with the imposter." Bristlefrost's bushy gray tail twitched.

Squirrelflight nodded. "I know you only did what you did because I asked you to, and I will always be grateful for that. But frankly I'm not the most popular cat in this Clan right now either, so your alliance with me isn't going to help you much."

Bristlefrost's fur itched, but she nodded. "And Spotfur?"

"Spotfur is a strong, capable warrior," Squirrelflight said. "I just hope that this mission will remind her of that."

"Let's walk together, Bristlefrost!" Rootspring said, bounding over to her. His eyes glistened in the morning light.

Doesn't he care that his Clanmates died? Bristlefrost thought crossly, her paws dragging through the grass.

Outwardly, she shook her head. "I want to stay with Spotfur for now," she told him, flicking her tail in what she hoped was an apologetic manner. "It's been hard for her, lately. For both of us. Ever since Stemleaf and our other Clanmates…"

"Oh." Rootspring blinked, as if the thought hadn't occurred to him. "Sure. Okay."

Bristlefrost turned her gaze towards Spotfur so she wouldn't have to look at him.

Spotfut glared back. "I don't need your help, traitor."

Bristlefrost flattened her ears against her head. "It's been hard, these last few days," she said, glancing back at Rootspring.

"I'll scout ahead with you, Root," Needleclaw offered, and Bristlefrost's heart welled with gratitude as the black-and-white molly rolled her shoulders before bouncing forward. She flicked her tail playfully under Rootspring's chin as she passed by.

"Okay," Rootspring allowed. He glanced one last time at Bristlefrost with a look that made her wince before turning away and following his sister.

"Let's hunt together, Bristlefrost!"

And this time she didn't have an excuse, because when Needleclaw had announced they were making camp for the night, Spotfur had promptly curled up and fell asleep almost immediately.

Rootspring bumped their hips together as they walked.

"I think I smell a rabbit over here," Bristlefrost said, ignoring his antics.

He padded happily after her, and it was quick work for the two of them to corner and kill it.

"We make a good team," Rootspring said, admiration glowing in his eyes.

Bristlefrost swallowed. "There's something I have to tell you."

"Oh?"

But the words stuck in her throat. "You have some fur stuck in your teeth," she found herself saying instead.

I wish Rosepetal was here, Bristlefrost thought more than once. She would know I wasn't a traitor to the Clans, and why I lied to Rootspring. She would know what I should do.

She imagined summoning Rosepetal's ghost on more than one occasion. Stemleaf's ghost, too, because she would take any help she could get. Once or twice she thought she saw a glimpse of pink fur, or smelled her familiar warm scent, but then just as quickly it was gone and she knew the only Rosepetal she could talk to was the one in her memories.

"So, you and Rootspring, huh?" Needleclaw asked one day, when the two of them had gone out hunting together. They had found the Sisters and were on their way home. Rootspring had finally unstuck himself from Bristlefrost's fur for once, fascinated in learning as much about his kin as he could. Spotfur, as a newly-announced queen-to-be, had also stayed back with the Sisters, leaving just the two of them to hunt tonight.

Bristlefrost met Needleclaw's eyes evenly. "Me and Rootspring."

The lie got a little bit easier every time.

That didn't mean it didn't hurt like stabbing thorns into her gut to say it.

But dammit, Rootspring liked her, and she wasn't exactly flourishing in the friends department right now.

"Uh huh." Needleclaw glanced over her, assessing her. "You know, I wasn't sure how I felt about this. It's a stupid rule, but a rule's a rule, you know, but then I saw how he looks at you. Anything that makes my brother look like that can't be bad, right?" she looked at her, an unspoken question in her eyes. Asking for reassurance.

"Sure," she agreed.