Eelstar's ears twitched when he heard paw steps enter his den.

He raised his gaze towards the cat that had come in, half expecting it to be Cindercall to demand him to help MountainClan once more. Despite having her father's kindness, she truly had received her mother's stubborn streak after all.

But, to his surprise, it was Hollypetal.

The she cat sat down, her ears twitching.

"The stocks are full," she mewed. "And I've made sure that the boundaries of MountainClan have been kept a close eye on. I've personally been watching in case any of those rats decide to try and trespass."

Eelstar sighed, nodding.

"Good," he mewed. "Your work is pleasing, Hollypetal."

"No problem, Eelmask." She replied.

"Uh, Hollypetal..." Eelstar began, annoyance digging into him.

"Oh, sorry," she cleared her throat. "Eelstar. It's difficult to remember. I mean, you became a Warrior just a moon after I was born, right?"

"Uh, no," Eelstar purred, shaking his head at her faulty memory. "We were den-mates for at least a moon in the nursery, and then you joined the apprentice den a moon before I became a warrior."

"Huh," Hollypetal's ears twitched. "I guess I never noticed. Weird. Anyway, I should return to sorting out warrior duties for tomorrow. I want them finished and sent out by tonight so I have tomorrow to recheck the border. I'm determined not to leave it alone..."

Eelstar rose to his paws.

"What happened with Oddbird wasn't your fault, Hollypetal," he murmured gently.

"Uh, yeah, I guess," she sniffed, turning away from him, her voice bland. "I just don't want it happening to another cat or whatever."

"I understand," he replied, his gaze soft.

"Anyway, like I said, stocks're full, feel free to eat." She turned to leave, her tail swishing with annoyance. Eelstar watched her go, settling in his nest. He knew that the she-cat didn't handle loss well, especially after Hazelpaw had passed.

He pulled himself out of his nest, stretching his back legs before exiting his den to retrieve some prey.

His gaze turned to the sky as he moved towards the fresh-kill pile, where the sun began to slowly set.

We'll need to go on another expedition to the secondary camp. He thought to himself quietly. We may need to shelter the queens and kits there during this... Though I'm not sure I can spread my warriors so thin. He turned towards the den, where Andy and Silver had remained inside for quite some time. The two cats rarely left, avoiding the Clan cats quite a bit, only leaving to make dirt and to take prey.

He should offer them a place in the Clan. More warriors would help them in this time, and they'd be able to watch Leila carefully.

Which means I may want to make Leila a warrior as well.

He turned to the sky again, his eyes dark as his and Cindercall's argument arose in his mind again.

Ashwater, he pondered softly, wondering if his friend was watching him. What would you have done?

No answer came, and Eelstar exhaled slowly, turning towards the prey.

He could figure this out. He had to.

He was MoonClan's leader, after all.


Cindercall raise her gaze to the sky, where the moon had begun to rise high in the sky.

Panting with exhaustion, Fleetpaw and Weedpaw stopped in their training when they saw her attention misdirect, flopping down to stretch and rest their sore legs.

"Should we head back?" Vinedust mewed. "It's getting late."

Cindercall glanced at him, and then to the apprentices, before nodding.

"Yes," she mewed. "Why don't you all go on ahead? I'll be behind you, I just..." Her whiskers twitched. "Wanted to speak to someone."

"Feather," Vinedust mused. "Alright. C'mon Fleetpaw, Weedpaw. Let's get you to camp so you can get some sleep."

The apprentices, too tired to express the joy that brightened their gaze, got to their paws and stumbled after Vinedust, disappearing into the undergrowth beyond the training meadow.

Once they were gone, she moved towards the rock wall they'd been training at.

But, instead of entering Feather's den like she had said she would, she instead entered the smaller cave beside it.

It still smelled heavily of Oddbird, the small warrior's scent clinging to the stones and walls of the cave.

She slowly moved to the cracks in the wall that the small tom had shown her, her ears lowering.

She could still recall the tom showing her and Fleetpaw his collection of items.

She wondered if he had collected anymore before he had died.

Cindercall gently scooped out the contents of one of the little cracks in the wall, watching little cats and dogs drop to the ground.

Her eyes widened at the amount of items that were there now, and she sifted through each of the cats.

She saw the one for Eelstar, and the one that looks like Nettlepelt.

But then she saw another fluffy tabby, one that resembled more of Kestrelpaw than anything else. Following that, was a little figure of Eaglewhisker, and Lighteye, his sisters.

Her heart squeezed in pain when she saw a cat that looked like Skyfleet, and a cat that looked like Shiningdawn. She hadn't thought of the two queens in some time, but had remembered their affection for their kits and their close friendship.

As she looked closer, many of the figures resembled cats that had passed. There was Milkthroat, Greysong, Jaggedstar even. A Quietsong...

Her gaze fell shut, and she gently stepped back from the pile of creatures.

Under her paw, however, she felt something hard and stiff press into her pad, and she turned to see what she'd stepped on.

It was another figure. One that had drifted from the group.

It looked like Hollypetal, but it was posed in a hissing manner, it's pelt bristling and it's eyes narrowed with rage.

Cindercall turned to it, slowly picking up the small figure and staring into it.

Her gaze darkened, and a cold stone settled in her stomach.

She killed him. A voice seemed to whisper. One that wasn't her own.

Cindercall curled her claws over the figure, before slamming it into the ground and grinding it into the dirt.

I won't let her kill anyone else. She swore to the voice. I'll save the cats in MountainClan... And I'll reveal her for what she's done...

Her eyes turned to slits, and she glared out to the meadow beyond.

But first... I'll make her tell me why...


Cindercall's paws felt sore when she woke the next morning, and her leg still ached from her slight tumble yesterday. She must've sprained it or something, as it ached like crazy, and all that training likely didn't help.

She wanted to push herself past it. It would heal itself, after all, but...

She remembered the promise to Nettlepelt, and sighed.

I can't have him worry... Her gaze fell to the ground as she pulled herself out of the warrior's den, moving towards Mumblebee's den slowly, limping slightly from the cursed injury.

When she entered the den, she was surprised to see Eelstar speaking with Nettlepelt, Mumblebee, Pearlight, and Hollypetal. The small tom turned to look at her as she entered, his gaze glittering.

"Oh, Cindercall," he mewed. "I was just about to have Nettlepelt retrieve you. Come, we must speak."

Cindercall strode forward, her ears twitching as she moved forward, forcing herself to hide her limp.

She sat down beside her mate, turning her gaze to Eelstar and not speaking.

She couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt when she saw the flash of pain on the tom's face, but she refused to back down.

What he had told her had stung worse than anything...

"Now that you're here," he mewed. "I wanted to discuss future plans with the war between MountainClan and MoonClan."

Cindercall's ears perked up.

Was he going to allow the help of the MountainClan cats?

Eelstar turned towards Hollypetal.

"I want you all to repeat your last expedition. Same amount of time, same thoroughness as before, but this time with Hollypetal. I want her to see the new camp before we begin to send over warriors to start setting borders. I want that camp ready as soon as possible so we can move the queens there for safety."

Cindercall's ears lowered.

Oh. Great. Another expedition.

"When will this be occurring?" Pearlight mewed, cocking his head. "In a week? Two?"

"Two days from now," Eelstar replied.

Cindercall forced herself not to freeze up, seeing the flash of surprise pass over Mumblebee and Nettlepelt's gaze.

No! We need more time!

"Please get yourselves prepared. Mumblebee, please prepare some travelling herbs as soon as possible."

Mumblebee glanced to Cindercall and Nettlepelt, before clearing his throat.

"We're currently all out of those herb stores. We may need another day before that'll be ready."

"Another day?" Eelstar scowled, his ears lowering. But he sighed, and nodded. "Alright, then. Three days away. Make sure there's plenty for all the cats going. And, since it will be the four of you, I will ask that you refrain from bringing your apprentices along." He turned to Cindercall and Pearlight. "I'm tasking Sweethawk and Vinedust with training your apprentices while you all are gone. I want them to be battle ready in case an attack occurs while you're gone. We'll need all the strength we can get."

Cindercall opened her jaws to protest, only to feel Nettlepelt nudge her ever so carefully.

"Of course, Eelstar," he mewed, dipping his head. Cindercall clamped her mouth shut and nodded.

"Good. Hollypetal, come, I want to work with you on setting up patrols while you're gone, as I'll be overseeing the apprentice training."

"Yes sir," Hollypetal mewed, following Eelstar out of the den.

Pearlight rose to his paws, stretching.

"Well, I'll be off to ask Sweethawk which apprentice she'll be nabbing. Hopefully it's Kestrelpaw, since I know Fleetpaw can be a pawful."

Cindercall nodded, watching him go and waiting until he was out of earshot before turning to Mumblebee.

"What are we going to do?!" She hissed softly, her fur bristling.

"I don't know," Mumblebee breathed. "I thought about trying to buy you two more time, but a day is all I can do. You'll have to reorganize everyone..." His ears lower. "I can work on the plan with Redear when he brings information to me."

"Vinedust needs to work with Fleetpaw then," Nettlepelt mewed. "So that he can train Fleetpaw and Weedpaw at night to do more stealth training. Junipersky and Volenose should continue with their border checks. We'll be relying on you for a successful plan, Mumblebee," he turned to the medicine cat, who's ears lower.

"Right. I'll do what I can." He sighed. "StarClan knows if we'll succeed."

"We have to," Cindercall replied stiffly. "There are cats in need."

Mumblebee nodded, before pausing.

"Uh... Speaking of cats in need," he turned to Cindercall. "Why were you coming to my den so early in the morning?"

The grey warrior paused, as Nettlepelt and Mumblebee turned to her.

She shuffled on her paws, wincing a little in pain as the sore leg ached heavily. She slid the leg towards Mumblebee, who sighed, shaking his head.

"I should've figured it'd be acting up." He mumbled, checking over it. "You hardly gave it a chance to rest yesterday."

"Well, I did try at first," she muttered. "But then everything happened with MountainClan..."

"Then it's a good thing you'll be on an expedition. You can't fight with this." He replied, testing her paw. "You've gone and sprained it badly. You can still go on the expedition, but you'll have to take it slow and steady."

"Which will most likely add another day or two to our trip," Nettlepelt murmured softly.

Cindercall grit her teeth with frustration, flexing her claws only to wince again as pain seared up her leg.

"I hate this," she growled. "I let my emotions get to me again... And now I'm pretty much useless."

"No," Mumblebee shook his head. "You're not useless. You could still hunt if you're careful to not put weight on it. You just can't fight."

She sighed.

"Alright. I'll try to give it some rest... But I can't make promises."

"The less you let it rest, the more time you'll be unable to fight." He pointed out.

She didn't reply, instead pulling her paw back and huffing with annoyance. Nettlepelt sighed, before gently nudging her.

"C'mon," he murmured. "We should go find everyone and speak to them."

"Right," she agreed softly.

Mumblebee watched as the two warriors rose to their paws and drifted out of his den.

With a heavy sigh, he turned back to his herb stores.

StarClan, he begged quietly. Please give me the strength to guide these cats without harm or mishap...