'Should I continue?'

'What if Spiderpaw and I get killed - or get someone else killed?'

'I know I have to do it, though. I can't let this crime go.'

The sun shined brightly into the apprentices' den, but the air was frosty. Lightningpaw pressed harder into her nest, hoping to glean whatever warmth she could from the feathers and moss, but continued to shiver. Even though she was centered in the middle of the apprentices, and thus surrounded by the bodies of her fellow Clanmates, she felt cold. Cold and alone.

A soft, frustrated growl escaped the molly as sleep slipped from her grasp for the umpteenth time. She was restless; how could any cat expect her to just lie down and sleep? She sighed and lifted her chin off of her paws and stare at the entrance of the den. Today was an especially cold and windy day - how was Brambleflower holding out? Oh, she was due any day now, and with every passing day Lightningpaw's anxiety grew.

Finally giving up on sleep, Lightningpaw stood up and carefully padded outside. A strong gust of wind immediately assaulted her, and she shivered. The camp was empty for now, and understandably so. Cold days like this usually meant that every day activities would be delayed. Lightningpaw walked to the fresh-kill log and fished out a small, stiff shrew. Brambleflower would be hungry, right?

She turned and headed towards the nursery with the prey hanging from her maw. When she reached the den, which was safely nestled underneath a protective bramble bush, she poked her head in. "Brambleflower?"

A brown tabby shifted awkwardly in her nest. She lifted her head and blinked her golden eyes. "Oh, Lightningpaw!" she said with a pleasant voice that Lightningpaw loved so much. Brambleflower waved her tail to the small space in her nest. "Come sit, dear."

Lightningpaw slipped in and quickly settled down next to her mother. She set the shrew in front of her. "This is for you. You need to eat as much as you can."

"Please, with the amount of food you are feeding me, you'll starve the Clan," the queen mused, nosing the rabbit to Lightningpaw. "Share with me; it's been a while since we've had a good talk."

She nodded and reached down to take the first bite. When she looked back up, Brambleflower had also taken a generous bite.

"How is Loonclaw?"

Lightningpaw blinked as she thought about the black-and-white tom. "He's doing fine - just a bit anxious about you."

"Ah, I wish he were allowed here."

"You know he's not until the kits can walk."

Brambleflower twitched her whiskers in disappointment. "It's such an outdated practice. We are hardly wild rogues anymore!"

"Call it tradition, if you will," Lightningpaw said with a tone of amusement. "It's for the kits' safety. And yours."

Brambleflower purred and pushed the finished rabbit out of the nest. "That aside, how are you?"

She considered this for a moment. "Honestly, not too well," she said quietly, pressing against her mother for comfort as if she were a kit again.

"What's wrong?" Brambleflower curled against her daughter, although her movements were a bit awkward due to her swollen belly. "You can tell me."

The apprentice looked around the den warily. The other two queens, Gannetfoot and Juniperclaw, were sound asleep, as were their kits. Still, she lowered her voice and said, "I know a secret that I'm not supposed to know." 'Be as vague as possible,' she guided herself, 'don't let Brambleflower become involved.' "It's a bad secret, and I want to do something about it. But I'm afraid that if I do, a lot of feelings might be hurt. And I'm afraid that if I don't, something worse will happen. But the cat who this secret concerns - they don't want anyone to find out, but they're hurting a lot of feelings." She watched her mother carefully, attempting to gauge her reactions. Brambleflower always knew what to say, so hopefully she could provide some helpful advice.

There was a bit of silence for Brambleflower said, "The secret you talk about may hurt a lot of cats if revealed, but I believe that it is for the best. Secrets, when kept secret, are powerful and deadly weapons. They can put a cat into one's mercy at any point. If the secret is revealed, then only the wrongdoers will be punished. In life, you will always hurt cats. But perhaps that is the price you pay for being a good Clan member."

Lightningpaw listened to every one of Brambleflower's words. 'She thinks Spiderpaw and I should chase after Owlfoot!' That was a surprise; usually, Brambleflower was all for peace and fairness. "But what if I hurt someone?" she asked, looking down at her paws. "I don't want to hurt anybody."

"I know you don't; you are a good cat," she murmured, licking Lightningpaw between the ears. "If you hurt someone, then you must know that you can't always keep everyone safe in life. We always do what we can, but sometimes it's not enough. That is life."

"So...I follow my heart?"

"Yes. You have always had good intentions; I believe that you will do the right thing in the end."

Lightningpaw just about beamed. She licked her mother's chin and rubbed her head against hers. "Thank you, Brambleflower. You're the best."

"Thank you for trusting me with your issues," she purred. Suddenly, her expression turned worrisome. "But I have to ask - is everything alright?"

"Just silly drama, I suppose," Lightningpaw lied.

Brambleflower nodded in understanding. "Ah, I see then. That's quite understandable."

The apprentice's ears flicked when she heard the pawsteps of her Clanmates resound from the camp's clearing. They were waking now. She rubbed her face against Brambleflower's one last time. "See you later." With that, she picked up the finished rabbit and padded out of the den.

"Hey, you!" Spiderpaw called from the apprentice dens' entrance.

Ears swiveling, Lightningpaw looked behind her shoulder as Spiderpaw approached. "Hey," she welcomed him.

"I was concerned when I didn't see you in your nest earlier," he said. "I thought you went after Owlfoot!"

"Hush!" she hissed through the rabbit, eyes darting around to see if any cat had noticed. "I have to talk to you about that after I bury this."

"She really said that to you?!" he gasped, eyes widened in shock.

She nodded solemnly.

"Well, what should we do? Should we stop?" Spiderpaw continued with a worried expression: "We've only scratched the surface of this, too!"

"We're not going to stop," Lightningpaw said with determination. "We'll continue to do this for our Clan - without inciting war."

"But how? We're just two apprentices; I doubt BarnClan will be scared of us."

"I don't know how," she admitted sheepishly. Shaking her head, she continued, "But we'll do whatever it takes to keep our Clan safe, right?"

"Right. But...shouldn't we tell Beetlestar? Maybe if we explain the whole situation to him…"

"And then what?" A growl started deep in her throat. "Have Owlfoot convince him otherwise? Like what she's been doing this whole time?" She shook her head. "Beetlestar is useless at this point; he just listens to his deputy."

Spiderpaw appeared stunned by the fact that Lightningpaw had shamelessly insulted their leader. After he gathered his wits, he said, "Okay, I trust you Lightningpaw. We'll do this together."

"I'll figure this whole thing out soon. Before our warrior ceremonies, hopefully. By the time we are warriors, BarnClan will keep their thieving paws off of our land and we will be able to walk without fear."