Echostar barely held back a yowl of grief as he stared down at the lifeless body of his new apprentice. He was far too young, he thought. Should I have done something different? Should I have held him back until he grew more?

But the leader new that even when he grew, Littlepaw would have only grown to the size of an older apprentice when he was done growing. And if he did wait, StarClan only knew what a fuss that would have caused... Shaking his head slightly, he dared to look at Birdsong and Tallwhisker.

Birdsong was hunched over Littlepaw, her body trembling. Her mate was staring at her as if he wanted to comfort her, but didn't know how. Echostar padded closer to the two and looked down.

"I'm sorry," he meowed. "This shouldn't have happened. I assure you, though; his death will not be in vain."

The glare he received from Birdsong shocked him to the point that he thought she could see him. "This is your entire fault!" she snapped. "If you didn't deny LeafClan hunting rights, then there would have never been a battle and Littlepaw would still be alive!" Before he could reply, she stalked off to the warriors' den.

"I'm sorry Echostar," Tallwhisker murmured. "She's in a lot of pain. We were hoping that all our children would become full grown cats."

Echostar blinked at his old friend. "I understand."

"It's nobody's fault." Both toms turned around to see Amberstorm pad up. She touched her nose to Littlepaw's fur for a moment before looking up again. "These things just happen sometimes."

I thought you were angry at me for killing Elmstar! Echostar felt his lips curl up in a snarl, but Tallwhisker quickly placed his tail tip on his shoulder as a warning.

Amberstorm flicked her tail. "We'll have to watch Nightfang- er...Nightstar. He may want to launch another attack for revenge."

Crookedtail, who had been listening from a distance, approached. "She's right," he agreed. "We should increase patrols."

Echostar nodded slightly, but narrowed his eyes. Why was Amberstorm acting so superior all of a sudden? She had only been back for a day and a half! "Alright, tomorrow we'll start boosting patrols. I want a pre-dawn patrol."

"A pre-dawn patrol?" the tabby echoed. "How about we wait until all the cats are healed so they have the strength to do that. We could just have two patrols; one scouting one half and another scouting the other. That will make them shorter so they have time to heal and the border will still be marked."

"That's a good plan," Crookedtail rumbled.

Echostar let out a growl. "I am the leader, not her. I said I wanted a pre-dawn patrol and that's final." He then left the two cats looking after him, bewildered.

When he had scrambled up the tree and got onto the Skybranch, he almost collided with Shadowclaw, who was padding out of his den. Blinking in surprise, he meowed, "Why were you in there?"

"I left you some prey," she replied. Her voice hardened and she added: "I'm your mate. Why can't I be in your den?"

Echostar shrugged. "Well, it's the leader's den and..."

"So? That doesn't mean StarClan will shoot lightning at me for going into it." Shadowclaw turned away. "I think you love your position more than you love me."

"That's not true!" he protested. "I love you more than anything!"

"Then why don't you ever talk to me? It seems like you don't even care!"

Echostar took a step forward. "Shadowclaw, I do, I promise. Things have just been stressful for me. You understand, don't you?"

"I don't know," she muttered. "After all, you live in a completely different world than I do." With that, she climbed down the tree and padded to the warriors' den, her tail drooping.

Echostar sighed. It seemed as though he and his mate were exact opposites, just like their pelts. When he walked into the den, he saw a large rabbit in the center, too large for him to finish by himself. His heart sank; Shadowclaw was probably going to ask him if he wanted to share.

"I'm such a mouse-brain," he muttered. Padding up to his nest, he quickly laid down and fell into a deep sleep.

"Echostar!" a familiar yowl hit his ears. Blinking open his blue eyes, he let out a startled gasp.

"Crystalheart?" His sister was alright!

She nodded, the usual playful glint in her eyes gone. "Yes, it's me, but there's no time to chat. StarClan needs you, Echostar."

He tipped his head to one side. "What do you mean? Where is StarClan, anyway?"

"We were banished," Crystalheart explained quickly and looked over her shoulder. "I can't be here long; Tigerstar will find me." Her gaze turned back to Echostar. "You're failing, Echostar. You've been so caught up in what happened to Mistpelt that your Clan is starting to doubt you, and accusing Amberstorm of being a murderer and then killing Elmstar didn't help you at all."

He put his ears back defensively. "How was I to know that Amberstorm wasn't the one who started the fight? Besides, Elmstar's death was an accident. If you ask me, I'm doing fine as a leader."

"Well I didn't ask you!" she spat. "Can't you see? Amberstorm and Blacktail aren't the only cats that you're pushing away! You're losing Shadowclaw, Crookedtail doubts your judgement, and your warriors don't agree with anything you say!"

Echostar narrowed his eyes. "What are you saying?"

"StarClan chose you as the leader because we thought that you would be perfect for the job. You're not fulfilling our expectations at all."

His lip curled up. "So how do I fufill the needs of StarClan, Crystalheart?"

Crystalheart's hackles went down. "Listen to Squirrelflight and Bramblestar," she explained. "Help them defeat Tigerstar and his lot. Then they will lead you to the skies that StarClan is hiding out in."

"How do I do that?"

"You must choose warriors to go with you. Then, you and those cats must die."