The sun stood over the forest, its golden light glimmering over the trees. The pine leaves swayed in the soft breeze, their shadows dancing across the murky ground. A tortoiseshell she-cat padded out into the forest, her short fur standing on end, her long whiskers quivered as she continuously glanced around, making sure no cat followed her. Behind her was a young she-kit, about three moons old, skipping behind her. The kits short pale fur was dappled in darker patches, her short tail raised high in the air, her golden eyes shimmering in the shadows. Finally, the tortoiseshell spoke, her voice calm, "Lightkit, do you know where we are going?" The she-cat's eyes were filled with dread as she turned to the kitten, "no mama." They continued to walk, silence filling the air, until Lightkit mewed again, "where are we going anyway mama?" The tortoiseshell stopped, then softly spoke, "we're going on a fun adventure, where you can see the water."
"But my paws are tired, can this fun adventure be later?" The kit's body was trembling as she spoke, most likely from the cold breeze. "I'll carry you then." She picked Lightkit up by the scruff, then continued their trek to the lake. Everything was silent when the pine trees broke away to show a large, crystal blue lake, with a small island in it. "Wow, it's so big." The pale kitten in her mouth gasped as she placed her beside the water. "Why don't you go for a little swim Lightkit." The kitten nodded, then skipped into the water, before turning back to her mother, "it's cold."
"It'll get warmer soon. You just have a great time, I'd recommend going deeper, to strengthen your legs." Lightkit nodded, leaping high into the air and then down into a deeper part of the lake, her neck covered water, "like this?"
"Further." The kit leaped again, into an extremely deep part, her paws frantically flailing as she tried to stay on the surface. The tortoiseshell saw a Thunderclan patrol out of corner of her eye, her body shuddered, she didn't want them to know that was trying to kill her own daughter, she turned and ran back into the pine forest, the cries of her daughter fading as the small kit continued to flail. It wasn't the right thing, but it had to be done, Lightkit had seen to much, she had seen the truth, and this was fatal to the clan.
The night sky, it shimmered over Shadowclan camp. The stars dappled Silverpelt, and the dens were silent. A dark grey tom sat at the entrance, keeping watch for any stray cats wandering around. He turned his head to see the tortoiseshell she-cat pad up to him, "it is time." She simply mewed, flicking her tail, "what about Lightkit, what if she finds out we both have left her alone in camp?" The tortoiseshell shook her head, "she'll never know." The tom nodded, then lead her out of camp, making sure to stay clear of any leaves, branches or stones that littered their path. Soon they were beside a murky green pool, with lily pads bobbing on top of it. "Alright, how must I say this?" The tortoiseshell shook her head, "you can take your time Maplesnow." The tom nodded. A few moments passed, Maplesnow stared at the ground, mumbling to herself, then looked back to the tom, "okay, I think I have the words, but don't tell any single soul, Cinderscar, or else." The she-cat's ice-blue eyes gleamed, "I wouldn't, as your mate and best friend." Cinderscar simply replied, a small grin growing on his face, "good, good," the tortoiseshell stepped closer to him, "I've seen it. I've seen them. I've seen him."
"Who is him?" Worry filled Cinderscar's mew, "you wouldn't know him, but he's a close friend. He's been my secondary mentor ever since I was a young kit, he would visit me in my dreams. He was the father I never had. And then, he told me to, help him…" She trailed off, shaking her head, "I helped him kill my own father's ghost, I heard his cries of terror and then the silence, I saw his spirit fade." The dark grey tom just sat there, shaking his head, "that's horrible." He mumbled, his eyes staring at the water. Then the sounds of Lightkit filled the air, "mama, where are you?" The she-kit kept calling as she stumbled through the forest. Maplesnow looked up, staring at where the kit was, then whispered, "I'll make sure she won't tell anyone about this." She then padded towards the kit, "mama, there you are! I woke up and you weren't there." Cinderscar padded over to the she-cats, "shouldn't you still be in camp though?"
"I was scared that mama wasn't okay."
"Well, I'm fine, come on, let's get you back to camp." She swiftly grabbed the kit by the scruff, bounding in the direction of camp, the dark grey tom followed, making sure to occasionally check their hinds.
As they made it back to camp, Cinderscar sat down at the entrance, carefully watching as his mate entered the nursery, she didn't return his stare, her blue eyes shimmering in the darkness. He sighed, sitting down. As he did so, a dark, golden-brown speckled tom stalked over to him, "Cinderscar, I was told if I woke up, I would take your shift." The warrior smiled at him, his dull, dark green eyes full of light, "thank you Brackenshade, I was getting tired. But are you sure? You are a senior warrior, and I don't want you to fall asleep tomorrow."
"Pfft, you think I'm that old? I've got more energy than some of you younger warriors, I'll survive it." He sat down beside the dark grey warrior, "go on kid, have some rest. You need it." Cinderscar nodded, standing up, he smiled at the tom, before entering the warriors' den, leaving the senior warrior to guard the camp. He sat down in a pile of moss beside the deputy, Sweetbee, a cream tabby she-cat, as old as Brackenshade himself. He could hear her purring in her sleep, a smile plastered on her face. He laid down beside the deputy, silently staring at her before looking at his own paws. All he could feel was betrayal, Maplesnow had lied to him, all those scars, all those lies, all for something that she wanted to hide from the clan. He wanted to scream, his throat felt like it could burst, but he held the urge down, if he did so, he would lose everything, his mate was liked by the clan, if they heard him, they'd think he'd be lying, and she might even kill him. He gulped at the realization, nothing would matter now, if he spoke out, he would be struck down. He shook this from his skin, placing his head between his paws, slowly closing his eyes.