The sun rose as it always did, and Rabbitleap rose with it as he always did. Even after the bad fights and the long nights, Rabbitleap was nothing if not consistent.

He didn't mean to wake anyone up with him but Mintfur's voice, still soft with sleep, said, "It's too early for the dawn patrols."

"I'm not joining a patrol."

That certainly was not meant to be an invitation, but Mintfur crawled out of her nest anyway and followed him out of the den. When he shot her a look she snorted and said, "I'm not going to sleep in and let you impress Leafstar with your work ethic."

For the deputyship, Rabbitleap realized and nearly rolled his eyes. Everything is always for the deputyship.

"Suit yourself," Rabbitleap responded, heading out towards the forest. "Just don't sneeze and scare off my prey."

Hunting with Mintfur was not at all how Rabbitleap thought he would spend his day off from training the girls. Still, after a moon of begrudgingly working together, they made good partners; Mintfur caught a bluebird and Rabbitleap caught a shrew. Rabbitleap considered pointing out their teamwork but he was enjoying the silence. And besides, she would probably take it as an insult.

They were passing by the Whispering Cave when Mintfur stopped suddenly; she swiveled her ears and Rabbitleap followed their direction until his eyes fell on a mouse. He shot Minfur a curious look, to which she responded by jerking her head in the mouse's direction.

She wants me to catch it.

It was an extremely kind gesture considering who it was coming from. Feeling warmer than he'd felt since his fight with Creekfeather, Rabbitleap quietly set down his shrew, fell into a ground crouch, and began creeping up on the mouse. He was less than a tail-length away when suddenly-

"ACHOO!"

Rabbitleap pounced but it was too late; the mouse scurried into a hole in the ground while Mintfur laughed. Rabbitleap whirled to face her, not bothering to hide his betrayal. "Why did you do that?!"

"I'm sorry," Mintfur laughed. "I swear, it wasn't on purpose."

"And my name is Sharpclaw," Rabbitleap spat. "I can't believe- you really haven't changed since we were apprentices, have you?"

Mintfur rolled her eyes, still smirking. "Calm down, Rabbitleap. I told you it was an accident."

"Was it an accident when we were apprentices?"

"Oh, no, those were all on purpose. You and your littermates were so annoying-"

"Why do you hate me?!" Rabbitleap burst. "What have I - or my littermates, for that matter - ever done to you other than try to be your friend?!"

Mintfur sobered up quickly. She glared at Rabbitleap and said, "You're so full of fox-dung. None of you ever tried to be my friend, least of all you."

"You're not serious, you can't be- all those times I asked to train with you, all those times I wanted to go hunting with you-"

"And Waspwhisker," Mintfur interrupted. Her glare hardened. "You couldn't give two bird-beaks about me, you wanted to show off for your father."

"That's not- okay, that's a little bit true, but I'd wanted to show off for you, too! Did you know," Rabbitleap stopped, then gathered his nerve and decided it didn't matter now anyway, and he asked, "Did you know I had, like, the biggest crush on you?"

The glare fell right off Mintfur's face and was replaced by shock and a little bit of disgust.

"Yes, weird and gross, I know and believe me I hate myself for even admitting it out loud, but I did. You were older and more experienced and you could hunt circles around everyone else, and I was so impressed by you, and I wanted you to think that I was impressive, too. I was never trying to outshine you."

Mintfur was staring at him as if he'd grown a second head. "I always thought you wanted to tag along because you wanted Waspwhisker's attention."

"Waspwhisker and Fallowfern would take us out all the time, I always got to see them. If anything, I wanted less of Waspwhisker's attention." Rabbitleap rolled his eyes so that he had an excuse to avert Mintfur's gaze. "There's nothing more embarrassing than your father dropping everything he's doing to come over and coach you because you can't do a move right, or you can't do a crouch right, or you can't climb a tree because you're afraid of heights."

Waspwhisker never meant to embarrass him and Rabbitleap knew that, but it didn't much ease the sting of Why can't I get it right.

Rabbitleap was glad he couldn't see Mintfur's face anymore. She was probably still staring at him weird, or maybe now she was smirking because she had something to blackmail him with. He regretted opening his dumb mouth in the first place-

Mintfur mumbled something underneath her breath. Rabbitleap looked up at her but she was staring down at her paws.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that."

For a moment he thought Mintfur would ignore him, lost in her own thoughts. Then she murmured, "I would kill to have my father's attention."

She almost sounded like she was going to cry, but when she raised her gaze to meet his, her eyes were dry as a bone.

"I'm going back to camp," She grumbled, picking her bluebird up again. She walked past Rabbitleap without waiting to see if he would follow her.

The camp was eerily quiet, but Plumwillow knew it would stay that way until the next morning. Sharpclaw sent out patrols and the queens sunned themselves by the river, but there was no sign of Leafstar or Billystorm. Even though Stormpaw and Firepaw had the rare day off from training and would usually be bouncing off the cliffside-

Poor choice of words, Plumwillow cringed. The apprentices lay outside their den, eyes downcast.

Finally the silence became too much for Plumwillow. She jumped off the Sunningstones and made her way hopefully to the Medicine Cat Den. Lucky for her, Sagefoot and Sparrowpelt were sharing a sparrow right outside the entrance.

"Hi," she said, announcing her presence. Sagefoot's head shot up. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Nope!" Sagefoot chirped before Sparrowpelt could answer. "Just sharing a sparrow. Want a bite?"

"Not really, I just… I don't like how silent the camp is today."

"It's unnerving," Sparrowpelt agreed. He sighed. "I was hoping everyone would forget, but I guess not."

Plumwillow laid down beside Sagefoot, who shot her a blinding smile. She returned hers with less force, then looked at the sparrow they were sharing. "Silly question, maybe, but isn't it weird to eat sparrows when your name is Sparrowpelt?"

"Not really." Sparrowpelt shot Sagefoot a look. "What is weird is when cats think that's all I ever want to eat."

Sagefoot shrugged. "You ask me to grab you something off the prey pile, and I grab what I think makes the most sense. Saying 'thank you for the sparrow' goes a long way, you know."

The look Sparrowpelt flashed was so dry that Plumwillow had to laugh. She was surprised by how nice it felt.

The gorge was coming into view now. Mintfur walked a few lengths ahead of him, and once she stepped into camp she would probably glue herself to Firepaw's side and pretend like nothing was wrong.

This is a dumb idea, Rabbitleap thought, and then he called, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Mintfur stopped and turned her head, brows furrowed. "What, my daddy issues?"

"Why not?" Rabbitleap shifted his gaze to the gorge. "Camp is going to be depressing, the girls have the day off. What else are you going to do?"

Mintfur narrowed her eyes, suspicious. "Are you flirting with me?"

Rabbitleap groaned. "Absolutely not. Stars, I was six moons old!"

Mintfur studied him a moment longer, and then she said, "Wait here." She didn't wait for Rabbitleap to ask why before trotting into camp. He stood outside with his shrew tucked underneath his chin, shuffling his paws.

Mintfur reappeared sans bluebird. "Camp is dead silent even with half the Clan inside."

"Did you see the girls?" Rabbitleap started walking along one of the worn paths, and Mintfur followed him.

"They're laying outside their den. They waved their tails when they saw me but didn't say anything."

Rabbitleap spotted a patch of sunlight and veered towards it. "What do they know about Harrykit?"

"That he died." Rabbitleap looked at her, and she shook her head. "I'm not being sarcastic, that's literally all they know. Firepaw told me yesterday that they were hoping Leafstar and Billystorm would tell them more about it today, but seeing as they're doing what they've done every other crescent moon…" Disappearing all day to grieve for Harrykit.

"What was even the point of asking us to give them the day off," Rabbitleap murmured, settling down in the grass. "At least if they were training they could focus on something else."

"It's not quite sun-high. Maybe something will change by tonight." Judging by Mintfur's tone she didn't believe it, and neither did he.

Silence fell as Rabbitleap began shedding the shrew. Mintfur laid her head on her paws and watched him. He waited for her to open up.

Finally, as he discarded the shrew's pelt, Mintfur spoke up. "I don't miss him."

Him… "Rainfur?"

"Yeah. I don't even remember him, really. Sometimes I think I catch his scent on the wind but I don't remember it well enough to tell."

"I'm surprised you remember it at all. How old were you when he, y'know?"

"Died?" Mintfur filled in. "Like, not even a full moon. But Petalnose kept clumps of his fur in our nest until they lost his smell, so." She was staring at the shrew. "You're lucky to have Waspwhisker."

Rabbitleap pushed the shrew a little closer to her. "He's a good father."

"So is Patchfoot, so is Billystorm. Sharpclaw will be too, someday."

She wasn't even trying to hide how bitter she felt. It dripped from her words like acid and she chewed her bite of shrew with more force than necessary. Rabbitleap wondered how he had never noticed how much this bothered her before.

We've never been friends before. I was always thinking about how to impress her, and then how to best her.

Then he corrected, We're still not friends. I just don't want to be miserable in camp.

"I was really excited when Leafstar apprenticed me to Waspwhisker," Mintfur said quietly, and Rabbitleap had almost forgotten that she was right there next to him. "He hadn't been a part of the Clan for very long but he was already such a good warrior, and I watched how he played with you all, and I thought he looked like such a fun father. I was so determined to make him proud of me. Looking back at it now, I don't know, it's dumb, but I really just wanted a father."

"Which is why you hated it when Waspwhisker paid us - me - any sort of attention."

"No. I mean, kinda. I didn't care when we were in camp or something, but it stung when he was supposed to be focused on me but he wanted to train you instead."

None of this was Rabbitleap's fault, not really. He never asked for Waspwhisker's attention. But still he blurted out, "I'm sorry."

He didn't know why he said it. Obviously neither did Mintfur, judging from the way she looked up at him in surprise. Maybe it was the way she was talking about it, how small her voice sounded, how uneasy and quiet it was compared to her usual rough way of speaking. Maybe it was her expression, her posture, slouched instead of proud.

Maybe it was because, despite their rivalry and everything else, Rabbitleap hated to hear her sound so, so sad.

Mintfur looked away. "It's not your fault."

"Still."

"You didn't- ugh, whatever. You don't have to apologize."

"I know." Rabbitleap studied her. "Do you still feel that way about Waspwhisker?"

"No. He was a good mentor, but I'm not an apprentice anymore. I'm not looking everywhere for a father figure. But I do-" she stopped, abruptly.

"'You do' what?"
For a moment he thought she might not answer him, but then she said, "When I have kits someday, I do want my mate to be an involved father. It would be important for my kits to have that."

Whatever he was expecting Mintfur to say, it certainly was not that. Rabbitleap stared at her and tried to imagine her sunning herself outside the Nursery with a couple of kits tussling by her side.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Mintfur asked, breaking his trance.

"Just… I didn't know you thought about having kits."

Mintfur snorted and averted her gaze. "You probably think I would be a terrible mother."

"I never said that!"

"I bet you think no cat would ever want to be my mate."

"Why- you're putting words in my mouth!"

Rabbitleap was on the verge of reminding her about his own crush when he realized she was purring. "You're so easy, Rabbitleap."

What?

"I wish you could see the look on your face." She was facing him again, and there was no trace of sadness to be found. "Thank you."

I am so confused. "For what, exactly?"

She shrugged. "For listening, I guess. I've never really talked about Rainfur with anybody before."

Rabbitleap thought about that. Then he thought, It's a really nice day, all things considered. Outside of camp, he could almost forget that it had officially been four moons since Harrykit was found broken at the bottom of the gorge.

Then he asked, "Do you want to keep talking about him?"

Mintfur looked at him for a moment, and then she smiled softly.

It felt almost inappropriate to be laughing so much on such a dreary anniversary but Plumwillow couldn't help it, and she couldn't feel guilty about it either. She couldn't remember the last time she laughed so much.

"I can't believe you and Cherrytail used to be such troublemakers!" Plumwillow exclaimed. "You're so respectable now."

"Because Firestar nearly knocked our heads off," Sparrowpelt retorted. "I think we hid it well, but Cherrytail and I were terrified of him after he first got onto us for pranking Skywatcher; back then we called him Mooney."

"That is so messed up." Sagefoot shook his head. "That would be like calling Tangle, like, Smelly."

"Or Grouchy," Plumwillow added. "Or Ugly."

"I'm going to tell Tangle that you both just said he was smelly, grouchy, and ugly."

"I only called him smelly!" Sagefoot protested. "Sparrowpelt, after all those sparrows I've brought you I thought we were friends!"
They all laughed, and it felt so good.

"Ahem." Plumwillow craned her neck and suddenly that easy, relaxed atmosphere was sucked out of the air. Tinycloud looked uncomfortable yet determined. "Sparrowpelt, can I talk to you alone?"

Suddenly Sparrowpelt was very interested in an old feather. "I think we've already said everything that needs to be said, Tinycloud."

Tinycloud just stood there, staring at Sparrowpelt helplessly. Plumwillow and Sagefoot looked at each other and then they both lowered their gazes, the tension in the air making her skin crawl.

Tinycloud took a breath, then said, "Sparrowpelt, I just want us to-"

"Please," Sparrowpelt interrupted, and that one word held so much emotion that Plumwillow was shocked. "I'm so tired of talking about it, Tinycloud. Can we just, not tonight?"

Plumwillow made the mistake of looking up from her paws; Tinycloud's eyes shined with tears and the look on her face-

Plumwillow remembered finding Honeyflower and Swiftleap in the woods, wrapped up in each other's worlds. The look on Tinycloud's face was how it felt.

Before Plumwillow could do something dumb like brush up against Tinycloud or try to comfort her, Tinycloud whirled around and raced across camp, kicking up clouds of dust as she ran. Plumwillow had to resist the temptation to chase after her.

"Uh, Sparrowpelt-?" Plumwillow turned around in time to see Sparrowpelt's tail disappear into the Medicine Cat Den. Sagefoot stared after him for a moment, then turned to Plumwillow.

"Why don't you talk to him? Maybe you can patch things up between him and Tinycloud-"

"Me?" Plumwillow squeaked. Then, more indignant, "Why would I do that for Tinycloud?"

Sagefoot looked worried this might be a trick question. "Uh, why wouldn't you do that for Tinycloud?"

"Because when did Tinycloud ever try to fix my relationship?" Plumwillow retorted, feeling that familiar righteous anger. "When was she even honest with me about it?"

"So it's Tinycloud's fault that Swiftleap started courting your best friend?"

"No, but that's not the point!"

"Is it Tinycloud's fault that Swiftleap couldn't love you?"

"Shut-up!" Plumwillow hissed, her hackles raising, and it was so weird to see anything other than a warm smile on Sagefoot's face.

"I don't get it," he said, slowly shaking his head. "How- I mean, I understand he's an objectively attractive cat, but after everything that happened, how are you still in love with Swiftleap?"

Plumwillow stiffened. "You don't know what you're talking about. I am not still in love with Swiftleap. I don't care about him, or Honeyflower, or Tinycloud or Frecklewish for that matter. They made it abundantly clear where I stood with them."

For a long moment Sagefoot didn't say anything, and it took everything in Plumwillow to not snap as she waited for him to speak. Finally a slow, sad smile played across his face. "You wish you meant that, but you don't. That's not the kind of cat you are, Plumwillow."

"How would you know?" she snapped. "We've been friends for only a moon, you can't pretend to know me!"

He shrugged. "Call it pretending if you want to, but you aren't fooling me. I know you still care about your old friends no matter how much you protest it; you're still hurting. But one day that'll pass. I only hope it isn't too late for you to makes things right then."

The nerve, Plumwillow wanted to hiss, but Sagefoot had already turn away from her and was slipping into the Medicine Den after Sparrowpelt. Plumwillow stayed right where she was, rooted to the stone, torn between screaming in frustration and collapsing into a heap of tears.

"I used to want to fight every rat alive. I had dreams about it, of going on some big quest and not returning until they were wiped out."

Rabbitleap, spread out on his back and admiring the sunset, said, "Good to know you dream of genocide."

"I haven't in a long time if that makes you feel better."

"It does, actually. Thank you for clarifying. Do you think you would name a kit after Rainfur?"

Mintfur craned her neck to look at him. "Why do you keep going back to the kit thing?"

"It's just hard to imagine you with kits, is all. I have an easier time imagining you going on a genocide quest."

Mintfur snorted and returned her attention to the sunset. "I've thought about it before. Rainkit has an easy ring to it, and I know Petalnose would appreciate it."

"What about Sagefoot?"

"Sagefoot… he's weird about Rainfur. It's the one thing he never wants to talk about. I mean, I have mentioned it to him before and he didn't seem to mind, but I don't think Sagefoot would ever name a kit in honor of Rainfur. Hey," she was looking at him again. "What about you? Ever think of having kits someday?"

Rabbitleap shifted against the grass, eyes trained firmly on the sky above. "Not really. It's always been about, you know, the deputyship. Hopefully becoming Clan leader eventually, but I know that would only happen if I serve under Leafstar. Realistically if I serve under a younger leader, their nine lives will likely outlast my one life."

"That's a morbid thought."

"No more morbid than rat genocide."

"Okay, stop. I was an apprentice with daddy issues."

Rabbitleap laughed a little. The sunset really was something; the sky exploded with pink and purple and gold hues, and the first StarClan warriors were beginning to appear. Rabbitleap didn't usually pay attention to things like the sunset, but he didn't think they were usually this awe-inspiring. Maybe there was something in the air today.

"Is that why you're fighting with your littermates?"

Rabbitleap blinked. "What?"

"Because you're so focused on becoming deputy, I mean."

"Oh." A pause. "I don't really think we're fighting-"

"I overheard your showdown with Creekfeather yesterday."

"That was- sure, that was a fight, but for the most part they've all just been giving me the cold shoulder. And it's because I gave Leafstar the idea for Creekfeather's punishment and then I suggested that Nettlesplash shadow Birdflight, and Plumwillow is all about littermate solidary or whatever, and she thinks I've gone too far."

Mintfur didn't respond to that, and Rabbitleap got the sense that she was waiting for him to continue. He thought, I don't really have anything else to say, and then he said, "But maybe it goes back to wanting to be deputy, or just ambition in general. They've never understood why I have goals, and why I'm constantly working hard for them. But they've never had to work hard for anything before; it's always come naturally to them."

Especially as apprentices; Plumwillow was the strategist whose team always won the Clans' games; Nettlesplash was the tracker with his sharp senses; and Creekfeather had all the athletic ability in the world. Even Mintfur was a gifted hunter and Sagefoot could outclimb just about anyone.

And then there was lucky little Rabbitleap.

"Plumwillow could become deputy if she wanted to," Rabbitleap said, suddenly. "But all she's ever wanted is to call Swiftleap her mate. Nettlesplash has tracked down Harrykit and Birdflight, Leafstar would give him so much more responsibility if he actually wanted it.

Creekfeather is so charming and good at everything, he could be like our father; all the same respect as Sharpclaw, but a less demanding life."
My lucky little Rabbitpaw.

"They don't get it," he murmured. "They could all do whatever they want to, if they only wanted to. I have to actually work for the things that I want, and somehow I'm the 'worst littermate in the world' for actually putting in the effort, and for wanting them to reach their full potential."

They don't get it. No one gets-

"I get it," Mintfur said, and Rabbitleap suddenly remembered that she was even there. "My ambition has never wedged between Sagefoot and I, but I think it's why we've never been very close. Petalnose has never really understood it either. But I get it."

She tilted her head towards him the same moment that he looked towards her, and their eyes locked. Mintfur's eyes reflected the sunset, all pink and purple and gold and underneath it all, emerald green.

"I'm glad someone does," Rabbitleap replied, and he didn't mean for his voice to go all soft, but he chalked it up to something in the air.

The evening didn't get any better, but it did get a little bit weirder. Plumwillow overheard Rabbitleap and Mintfur walking in to camp together, sharing a laugh about something or another-

("Hey, I have to tell you something. You remember that from sneeze earlier?"

"I knew you did it on purpose! I knew it!")

And it wasn't until Nettlesplash walked into the Warriors Den with Birdflight that Plumwillow realized it was the first time she had seen him all day. She wanted to catch his eye and silently ask how he was feeling, what with it being Harrykit's anniversary, but Nettlesplash knowingly refused to glance at her. Well, she figured, at least he has Birdflight. Maybe she was able to drag some emotions out of him.

And then there was the fact that the den seemed less crowded; of course it hadn't been very crowded at all after Leafstar ordered a separate den for the senior warriors, but someone was missing-

Honeyflower, she realized, when Swiftleap walked into the den by himself. She must have finally moved into the Nursery. That realization kicked off a cluster of emotions that she didn't want to deal with.

Finally Sagefoot, the last warrior to settle down for the night, appeared in the entrance. Plumwillow didn't realize that she had been waiting for him to arrive until he did, and then Sagefoot didn't even glance her way. He walked right past her nest and settled down into his, and Plumwillow stared at the moss lining of her nest and hated the heat that welled behind her eyes.

It probably didn't have anything to do with Sagefoot, probably not, but it… it had been a sad day, and then a really nice, fun day, and now it was a sad day again. Plumwillow thought about how she was laughing breathlessly just hours ago with Sagefoot and Sparrowpelt, and now she was holding back tears.

All because I don't want to fix Tinycloud's relationship.

But that didn't feel quite right. Plumwillow remembered the look that had flashed across Tinycloud's face when Sparrowpelt rejected her earlier efforts. I don't want Tinycloud to be miserable. I don't want her to lose out on the love of her life. I just don't want… I just don't feel like I owe her anything.

She didn't feel like she owed me anything when Swiftleap and Honeyflower were courting behind my back. But she felt like she owed Honeyflower her loyalty.

In the back of her traitorous mind, Plumwillow remembered something: that she didn't know she was in love with Swiftleap until Tinycloud explained how it felt to be in love with Sparrowpelt. She hadn't even been trying to help Plumwillow piece her feelings together, she had just started talking about Sparrowpelt and how much she liked him, and how she thought he might like her too, but she was too scared of saying something to him and being wrong and ruining their close bond. But the way Tinycloud's voice went all quiet when she talked about him, the way her eyes softened; Plumwillow thought it must be so lovely to be so in love with somebody.

She always thought that Tinycloud and Sparrowpelt were perfect for each other, the same way that her own parents were perfect for each other. She remembered thinking, It would be such a shame if they didn't spend the rest of their lives together.

Plumwillow sighed. Great StarClan. Fine.

She tiptoed out of her nest and prayed that Sparrowpelt was still awake.

What felt like hours later, Plumwillow trusted her instincts to guide her back to the Warriors Den; her eyelids were so heavy that keeping them open felt like the fight of her life.

But, she thought, and her pawsteps felt a little bit lighter, it might be worth it. Plumwillow was relentless when she set her mind to a goal and finally Sparrowpelt broke down and agreed to hear Tinycloud's side of the story. Whether or not they reconciled and lived happily ever after was up to them, but Plumwillow had done her best.

The camp was dead silent save for the bubbling of the river. Plumwillow assumed she was the only cat awake until she scented Sagefoot. A moment later his blurry figure came into shape.

She stopped and stared at him. "What are you doing awake?"

"Waiting for you. I wanted to apologize about earlier. I shouldn't have pressed you like I did."

"Oh." Plumwillow thought that was nice of him. "Thank you. But you were… well, I went and talked to Sparrowpelt. I think he's going to talk to Tinycloud tomorrow."

"Really? That's great-" Someone inside the den shushed him, and Sagefoot winced. Quieter, he repeated, "That's great, Plumwillow!"

Plumwillow purred. Sagefoot was such a bird-brain but at least he was a sweet bird-brain who knew when to apologize, unlike Swiftleap or Creekfeather, or any of her brothers, really. She appreciated their friendship.

"Thanks. But I really wouldn't have talked to him if you hadn't put the pressure on me."

"Yes, you would have," Sagefoot said it so quickly and with such certainty that it caught her off guard. "I know you would have because it was a good thing to do and you're a good cat."

No, I wouldn't have, Plumwillow thought. I'm not that good of a cat. But the way Sagefoot was looking at her now, as if she were something awe-inspiring like, like the most perfect sunset or something else pretty and romantic, Plumwillow suddenly wanted to be that kind of cat. She wanted to believe that even after only a moon of friendship, he really did know her as well as he claimed to.

"Thank you, Sagefoot," Plumwillow said, in a voice so tiny that she was worried he might not hear her. But Sagefoot smiled at her so warm and bright like the sun, and as she stepped past him into the den, she knew that he did.

I think the title of this chapter captures the idea that Rabbitleap and Plumwillow are, at the very least, softening towards Mintfur and Sagefoot. Falling in love, though? We'll see...

Find me on Tumblr under the same user for chapter trivia and other content! Cross posted to ao3 if you prefer the format.