In the middle of the boggy clearing, a light brown tom had his nose resting in the fur of a motionless tortoiseshell she-cat. Across from him was another tortoiseshell she-cat and a brown tabby that was much darker.

Dawn was near approaching, the sun on the horizon, and slowly the darker tabby tom rose to his paws. He walked over and nudged the lighter tom softly.

"Adderstrike, it is dawn. The vigil is over." The tom's voice cracked. Adderstrike looked up, grief written on his face. He slowly rose to his paws.

"Thank you, Mudstar." He replied, his voice kept low and soft. Mudstar turned his head to the living tortoiseshell and motioned for her to follow him.

"Come, Poppyspring." He said softly. Adderstrike watched the two cats leave. He knew it was hard for Mudstar to lose his last remaining daughter, and Adderstrike felt the pain. The tortoiseshell sitting at his feet, Spottedwing, was his mate. He only thanked StarClan she wasn't expecting kits. He would not have been able to bear the loss of them as well.

Still, with Mudstar grieving, Adderstrike would have to take on more responsibilities. He rose to his paws and took a deep breath as warriors began shuffling out of their dens. They all gazed at him with sympathy. Although he was grateful, he knew there was still work to be done.

He walked over to one of the many fallen trees and poked his head inside. The apprentices, Amberpaw, Lionpaw, and Sandpaw were still sleeping. He would let their mentors wake them up. He removed his head from the apprentices' den, minding the mushrooms, and moved over to the moss-covered oak, where his friends Quailfeather and Brightfang were already emerging.

"Good morning, the both of you." He nodded his head slowly.

"Good morning, Adderstrike. Brightfang mewed, yawning and stretching. Adderstrike appreciated the lack of emotion from his oldest friend.

"How about you and Quailfeather take the morning patrol? I will send Blackwhisker and Dawnfoot out to hunt." Adderstrike told them. They both nodded and headed out. He walked into the warrior's den and found the sleeping black tom he was looking for. He carefully poked said tom in the side.

"Blackwhisker. Wake up." He said gently. The sleeping cat slowly stirred and opened his green eyes before looking up at Adderstrike.

"Yeah?" He yawned.

"Take Dawnfoot, as well as both of your apprentices, out for the hunting patrol." He ordered gently. Blackwhisker rose to his feet and stretched, making sure to kick Dawnfoot with his paw. Dawnfoot awoke with a grumble. Adderstrike shook his head at the two cats and moved on to check on their medicine cat.

The golden tabby she-cat was rummaging through what few herbs she had left. Adderstrike quietly padded into her den and cleared his throat.

"How is your stock, Embercloud?" Adderstrike asked softly. Embercloud quickly turned around to look at him.

"It's poor. There's hardly enough left to heal any cat." She sighed, looking down at the sleeping tan tom in a makeshift nest. Adderstrike nodded.

"Do you need help gathering some more? I'm taking Sandpaw for the day while Poppyspring mourns." Adderstrike said.

"And how are you doing?" Embercloud ignored his offer and walked over, her green eyes shining with sympathy. Adderstrike averted his gaze from her, despite her being so close to him.

"I'm coping." He responded, moving slightly away.

"Nonsense. You can barely look me in the eye and say that." She said. "Losing your mate would be hard..." She continued softly. She then looked away quickly and went back to her herbs. "Not that I would know, of course." She quickly added. Adderstrike coughed.

"And what of my offer?" He asked. Embercloud perked up.

"Right, right..." She sighed and nodded. "That sounds just fine. Just, give me a few moments to tend to Hareleap, alright?" She said. Adderstrike nodded and went to go wake Sandpaw. He had already been awoken by Blackwhisker and Dawnfoot when they went to retrieve their own apprentices. The tan tom was cleaning himself and eyeing the low fresh kill pile.

"Good morning, Sandpaw. You can eat when you're done helping myself and Embercloud." Adderstrike said quickly. Sandpaw sighed and stood up, smoothing his fur down.

"Really? I was hoping we could do some battle training today." Sandpaw explained. Adderstrike shook his head.

"Sorry, Sandpaw, but the Clan needs medicine first and foremost." Adderstrike chided him gently. Sandpaw sighed, disappointed, and gave a small nod. Adderstrike smiled. "Good. If we have time today, I will show you some moves." He promised. The tan apprentice perked up and his green eyes shone.

"Great!" The apprentice happily bounded back to the medicine den to help Embercloud. Adderstrike followed with a knowing chuckle.

"Do we have everything?" Adderstrike asked, his mouth full of herbs. The words came out a bit muffled, but Embercloud seemed to hear him just fine.

"Yes, we do. Come along, Sandpaw. It's nearly sunhigh." Embercloud instructed. Sandpaw nodded and picked up his own bundle of herbs, trotting ahead of them. Embercloud dropped a little in pace, and Adderstrike adjusted so he wouldn't leave the ginger medicine cat behind.

"Adderstrike, can I...get you anything?" Embercloud asked him softly. Adderstrike felt his fur prickle.

"I am afraid I don't know what you mean, Embercloud," He responded calmly.

"I mean, about Spottedwing. Your mate. Are there any herbs I can give you, to help with the grieving process?" Embercloud ventured. Adderstrike shook his head.

"I'm fine, I assure you. With Mudstar grieving, it is my job to do what is best for the Clan. I don't need to take up any more resources." He responded. Embercloud sighed.

"I just...I know how much you meant to her, how much she meant to you..." She trailed off. Adderstrike fixed her with a stare.

"Like I said, I'm fine. These times don't allow me the luxury of grieving." Of course, he was only partially telling the truth. He didn't want to think about the truth. Not after...not after what he saw a few moons ago. Embercloud must have sensed his distress, as she perked up her tail and touched his shoulder gently.

"Come on," She said softly. "I want to get back to camp. Hareleap will be waiting." Adderstrike nodded, and dashed after her.

Adderstrike sat in the clearing by himself, a half-eaten thrush at his paws. He had told Sandpaw to eat lunch with the other apprentices and relax before returning to Adderstrike. He was surveying the camp. Many of the warriors were out sharing tongues. His gaze settled on Hawkflight, a brown tabby tom with yellow eyes. He was talking amongst Splashnose and Ravenfrost. His ears twitched a little as a memory flooded back to him.

"Hawkflight! It's so good to see you again." The tortoiseshell she-cat looked stunning in the moonlight. Adderstrike held his breath and watched the two cats from afar. "Spottedwing! I thought you weren't going to visit me anymore." The tabby tom curled his tail as he met muzzles with the she-cat.

"I could never stop visiting you." Spottedwing murmured.

Hawkflight licked her cheek affectionately. "What about...Adderstrike?"

Adderstrike was broken out of the memory by Sandpaw coming over. "Hey, Adderstrike, are we training now?" Sandpaw asked. Adderstrike blinked and looked down.

"Yes, of course. I'm a cat of my word. Let's head to the training hollow now." He shook his head of the remaining thoughts and headed off to train with Sandpaw.


Hello! Another somewhat boring chapter, I know! One more like it, I promise, and then less introductions, more plot. Please leave a review to let me know what you think! See you next chapter.