Echostar sighed as he walked next to Blacktail and his apprentice, Sunpaw through forest. Despite the fact that he and Blacktail weren't exactly friends, but he had an apprentice that was old enough to be a warrior and needed to be assessed.

"Alright," Blacktail mewed. "Sunpaw, what do you smell?"

The ginger tom drank in the air. "I smell a mouse and...fox, but the fox scent is stale."

Echostar nodded. "Very good, but can you tell in which direction the fox was going?"

He looked downcast as he shook his ginger head. "No...Bu-

Sunpaw was cut off as Blacktail stepped in front of him. "Who cares if he doesn't know where the blasted creature went?" he growled. "You should be proud enough that he scented the thing in the first place."

"If we knew which way the fox went, then we could warn LeafClan if we had to." Echostar replied.

"Why should you care about LeafClan having to deal with the fox?"

The three cats stood there silently for a moment before Sunpaw ran off, mumbling something about going hunting. Once the young tom was out of earshot, Echostar relaxed. "Blacktail," he mewed. "We shouldn't be fighting like this. We've been Clan mates for our whole lives. Besides, we're alike in very many ways."

He snorted. "How so?"

"Think about it. We both come from TreeClan. We had to make this long journey, just to see Amberstorm and Mistpelt die." He paused and looked at his paws before adding, "We were both forced to leave our sisters behind."

When Echostar looked up, he was surprised to see Blacktail staring at him, teeth bared and his eyes like green fire. "You could have saved Crystalheart," he snarled and began walking closer. "I would have died just to be allowed to bring Gentlepaw with us. StarClan practically laid that choice at your paws and you chose Mistpelt." At this point their noses were almost touching. "Don't you ever tell me that you were forced to leave her behind."

Echostar stared at his warrior, ready for the moment when Blacktail sprang. Instead, the tom gave him one last growl before turning around and running deeper into the forest. Echostar let his shoulders droop. Had he just made this argument worse? What would Blacktail do now?

-

Brambles scraped against his fur, but Blacktail barely felt them. How dare he! he thought angrily. How dare he drag her into this!

Panting, he stopped when he reached the small creek that marked the LeafClan border. By the time he had calmed down, the sun had set and the sky was a starless black. Looking up, he scanned it for at least one star. Was it true that StarClan had been banished? Are you okay, little sister? A small breeze blew, but he recieved no answer.

"StarClan have been silent for far too long, haven't they?" He looked back down to see Elmstar staring at him from across the border. He opened his mouth to warn her not to take a step closer, but then shut it again. After all, she seemed so small, he half feared that she would be carried away by the wind.

"I wonder why they refuse to help my Clan," she murmured when he did not reply. "Can they truly be cruel enough to let us die?"

"It's not that they don't want to help, it's that they can't," Blacktail blurted out. His sympathy for the leader had taken over his conscience.

The brown she-cat closed her eyes. "So WillowClan received the same sign from that Tigerstar, eh? StarClan have lost their war, which is making us lose ours."

"I'm sorry," Blacktail whispered. He wanted to help, but knew that Echostar would punish him, and the said punishment would be more severe for him than any other cat.

Elmstar shook her head. "Don't be, young Blacktail. I won't blame the branches because the trunk is in my way."

He nodded, although in truth, he didn't understand what the she-cat was saying. Suddenly, Elmstar slowly turned around. "Blackstar," she meowed. "It saddens me to say this, for my quarrel is not with you, but if your leader continues to deny my Clan the right to eat, then we may see each other in battle."

"I understand," he replied solemnly.

She flicked her ears to say that she had heard him and then disappeared into the bracken, the only proof that she had been there being the small paw prints that she had left in the mud.

Blacktail returned his gaze once again to the sky, but this time, he wasn't wondering about Gentlepaw. "Amberstorm," he whispered. "I know you're alive. You're the only one who can change Echostar's mind. Please come home."

-

Amberstorm sneezed as she padded beside Jasper. They had crossed the bridge without any problems and now were at the Gathering area.

"We're almost there," Squirrelflight said. "Are you ready Amberstorm?"

She nodded. "I'll be fine." As long as I have someone by my side, she silently added.

Jasper gently nudged her. "Are you okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"You just seem a bit quiet, that's all."

She shrugged. "I guess I'm just a bit nervous about what my friends' reactions are going to be. They all think I'm dead after all."

He purred. "Well, if I were them, I would be overjoyed to get you back."

She smirked and padded a bit ahead of Jasper and right beside Bramblestar. "So do we have a clear path back to WillowClan?"

As if to answer her question, a large gust of wind blew, causing her to close her eyes and put her ears back. Once it had died down, she opened her eyes just have them grow wider.

There, standing in front of the group were Tigerstar, looking strangely calm. This time, though, he wasn't alone. Sitting next to him with her teeth bared was the ghostly shape of Mistpelt.

"Mistpelt?" Amberstorm whimpered. "W-What...?"

"Tigerstar said he needed help getting rid of a pest," she snarled. "I didn't know it was you, though."

"Listen, Mistpelt. What happened was purely an accident. I didn't mean to-

"Oh trust me, dear Amberstorm," she interrupted. "I've hated you many seasons before that."

"But, why?"

Bramblestar unsheathed his claws. "Mistpelt, say nothing!" he hissed.

"It's about time she knew," Mistpelt snapped and then returned her gaze onto Amberstorm. "I've wanted to kill you ever since you took my life as a kit."

At this point, Amberstorm's head was swimming in confusion. "How could I have killed you as a kit? You died when we fought on the cliffs!"

The silver she-cat let out a harsh laugh. "You really have succeeded in keeping her ignorant, haven't you Bramblestar? Don't worry, though. All will be explained, my dear daughter."