A/N: Thank for reviews! To Flametail: in response to your comment about Morningcloud saying Nero's name meant "locked," I originally intended for Nero's name to translate into "Ice," (which would be locked-up water) not "Fang," and I was going to have Shadowfur change his name to Shadowfang, because he would think that sounds more sinister than his real name. But then the prophecy would have been off slightly, and too obvious too soon, so I changed stuff. I need to go back and edit this thing for stuff like that... And sorry for the delay, but I had SO much bloody trouble uploading this thing.

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Nightwhisker, Sunfire supposed, was still pacing in frantic circles back at camp, her tail fluffed out hugely, terrified mewls slipping out her mouth. She also supposed Waterdrip and Sorrelflower would be trying to calm her still. Treeshadow would be attempting to feed her chamomile.

After more than an entire day spent without any food, padding swiftly through a forest carpeted with fallen leaves that were slick and glacial-cold was hardly Sunfire's first choice of activity. But right now it was Granitekit's well-being that mattered, not hers.

Badgerclaw led the patrol Sunfire was in, his nose almost flat to the ground in a desperate attempt to catch his son's scent. He was showing more emotion now than Sunfire had ever seen from him, and she had to admire his determination to find his kit.

But admiration could quickly wear thin and turn to exasperation, especially when one was weary, cold, and fiercely hungry. Lightningstar had ordered out three patrols, and he had made a massive mistake by allowing Badgerclaw to lead one of them. Better to have forced the tom to remain in camp, where he would at least have his mate.

"Badgerclaw," she eventually said in a voice that was empathetic yet firm, "it's almost dawn. We've turned every twig upside down. Granitekit is simply not here. I'm sorry, but–"

He whipped around to face her, his black lips curled in a menacing snarl. "You're not sorry, you want to get back to your nest. You don't care that my son is missing, possibly dead!" He stalked forward until he was nose-to-nose with her.

Sunfire hissed, enraged and insulted. "I care when any kit goes missing!" she spat. Quickriver tried to step between them, but Sunfire shouldered her away. "I want to go back to my nest, Badgerclaw, I do. But you can hardly say that if I had a kit that went missing and you were forced to follow me all night through a frozen forest that you wouldn't long for your nest as well!"

Badgerclaw looked as if a rock had struck him in the head. He gaped at her, green eyes a mixture of fury and desperation. He gathered himself and said, "Fine. All of you–" here he cast his gaze over Sunfire, Quickriver, Dewpaw, and Fogpaw, "can return to camp. I won't come back unless I have Granitekit with me, whether he's dead or alive!"

Sunfire could think of nothing to say, and she was thankful when little Dewpaw mewed gently, "Badgerclaw, you'll run yourself to exhaustion. Nightwhisker needs to be with you. You can't be serious about running off and dying on her!"

Badgerclaw looked helpless, and did not move until his apprentice, Fogpaw, nudged him. "Come on," the thickset, dark gray tom said softly. "Let's get you back to Nightwhisker. It's been a long night. Who knows? Maybe another patrol found Granitekit by now." Sunfire, despite her tiredness, was touched by the young tom's mature words, and deeply impressed with the strength that was required of him to keep calm when his mentor was more or less going mad before his eyes.

Sunfire led the way back to camp, her lungs aching from the cold air. Fogpaw urged Badgerclaw along with encouraging words that Granitekit had surely been found. Grateful though she was to Fogpaw for finding a way to get Badgerclaw back to camp, Sunfire dreaded what would happen if the gruff warrior's son was still missing.

StarClan, though Granitekit is not mine, keep him safe from harm, she prayed silently. Because all fury will break loose if he's injured, she added as a mildly amused afterthought, and I really don't need to witness that.

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Dawn was tinting the sky pink and gray when they returned to camp. A dull ache had manifested all through Sunfire's legs, and a paw pad had split from the dry cold.. Jumping down the slope and landing with a thud, she began to look for Granitekit, but Raintail came up with such a sad look in her blue eyes that told Sunfire the kit was still missing.

"He's really gone," mewed Raintail sadly. Her white pelt was stained with mud and studded with bits of twig and leaves. "I led my patrol north towards the mountains. His scent was on the ground for a very small part of the way, but then we smelled Tribe. There were at least five cats, and then their scents doubled back out of our territory. They must have taken Granitekit."

Sunfire was barely awake enough to do anything but growl. "Well, a moon-old kit crawling around without his mother...when an opportunity presents itself, they certainly take it." She paused to yawn, then added, "Where's Nightwhisker?"

"Treeshadow drugged her with poppy seeds when I brought my patrol back," said Raintail in a hushed voice. "She nothing could settle her down. Granitekit was missing, and she didn't know where Badgerclaw had gone...she was so frightened." Even now, Rootpaw was shaking more seeds out of a poppy head to give to Badgerclaw.

"I thought Badgerclaw was going to run us to death," muttered Sunfire. "He went through every kit-step of the territory. I wouldn't've been surprised if he'd started digging holes in case Granitekit had buried himself."

"I bet. Lightningstar shouldn't have–"

"I don't want poppy seeds!" Badgerclaw snarled, suddenly realizing what Rootpaw intended to feed him. "I want my son back!" He stared furiously around camp, clearly uncaring that every cat in camp was staring at him, some with fear in their eyes. "Where's Lightningstar?" he demanded, asking no one in particular.

"I'm here."

Sunfire, and many other cats, turned to see Lightningstar emerging from his den. Sunfire flinched inwardly when she saw how bleary and dull Lightningstar's eyes were, and that it was plain that simply coming out of his den had tired him. Nonetheless, he stepped up to Badgerclaw and regarded the younger tom with a steady gaze.

"I want a patrol to go to the mountains," growled Badgerclaw. "Find Granitekit. Bring him back. We cannot let the Tribe get away with this!"

Lightningstar's body convulsed oddly; it looked like he had stifled a coughing fit. He raised his head high. "No. This is how Nero–or Shadowfur–wants us to react. If I send a patrol into the mountains to bring your son back, I am sentencing that patrol to death." His gaze, though bleary with illness, drilled into Badgerclaw. "I'm sorry, Badgerclaw. Truly I am. But if cats go to the mountains, they will die, assuredly. Such a thing will only hinder us: ThunderClan will lose warriors, and Granitekit will still be among the Tribe." He sighed, then swept his gaze all around camp, his eyes landing on every cat before resting again on Badgerclaw. "Hate me forever if you want, Badgerclaw. Wish a painful death upon me. But you must realize that if we are to survive, defeat the Tribe, then we need to sacrifice Granitekit."

"Excuse me," called a hesitant voice from the top of slope, after Lightningstar finished speaking, "but is this yours?"

Moving as one, the Clan turned to see Pinefur standing self-consciously at the top of the slope, a brindled gray kit huddled beneath her belly, mewling pathetically.

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I anticipate the unexpected. That way, I'm not surprised when something supposedly unexpected happens. –B.E.M.