Lionblaze thought he was alone. He believed that he would be able to calm himself down if he stayed out of his Clanmates' sight for a while. Some young warriors, like Mousewhisker besides, were rather nosy. He didn't want those cats in the way, so avoiding them seemed like the safest choice so far. Now, the golden tabby sat in the empty warriors den, looking rather gloomily at the entrance. What if some cat came back from the latest patrol? They probably wouldn't understand the tension between him and the kin he was unhappy to call his own.

Hours passed, and the sun rose higher into the sky. There was no sign of Mousewhisker, or his pesky brother Berrynose. Lionblaze guessed that Mousewhisker was too busy talking to his close friend Poppyfrost. As for the cream tom, he was probably strutting around Clan territory, head held high. Whatever the reason for their absense was, Lionblaze was happy. Here, he could not be disturbed.

Lionblaze wasn't sure on what to do. He refused, however, to let Breezepelt's hateful comments hurt more than they already did. It was hard, true, but Lionblaze was determined to ignore that pain in the neck. Breezepelt was his half brother, but he could not stop him. The gray tom was out of his mind, after Crowfeather's treachery to his family was revealed. And besides, ThunderClan's youngest warrior was given the power of the stars in his paws, or so they said. Did Breezepelt really have the potential to destroy StarClan itself?

Maybe Breezepelt was working with Tigerstar, Lionblaze would never know for sure. It was only Jayfeather who could possibly do that. His brother, although blind, appeared to see into people's minds. Lionblaze wondered what his thoughts looked like, and what they felt like if another cat knew what they were. The golden tabby realized that he was probably taking things too seriously. Surely Breezepelt wouldn't be so mouse brained.

The web of lies spun had taken a toll many cats. The dark gray warrior, however, was not an exception. Lionblaze, at a Gathering, had overheard a conversation featuring Harespring. The brown WindClan cat loved to talk about others' problems, as if he didn't have any himself. His best friend was Weaselfur, a talkative tom who wasn't afraid to express his growing dislike of ThunderClan. Every battle fought, Weaselfur would complain about it in front of the other three Clans.

One day, Harespring, for once, thought before he said something. Weaselfur waited a while for his answer, but he never gave it.

"Harespring," Weaselfur snapped,"are you mute?"

The brown and white tom shook his head, unusually quiet.

"Well, Harespring? Anything you would like to tell me?"

Harespring sighed. "I'm really wondering how Breezepelt's getting on. Rumor has it that the poor tom seemed to pay a lot of attention to a certain ThunderClan she-cat. He could not console himself when she turned out to be his half sister, and he swore to hate her forever."

The WindClan cat really looked concerned, but his friend didn't seem to care much about his Clanmate. Weaselfur laughed a harsh cold laugh. He didn't seem so sympathetic at all.

"I think I would feel the same way if my father ran off with one of those ThunderClan she-cats," he replied. The comment was probably meant to be snide, as if ThunderClan cats really weren't worth it. It really stung, as one of those she-cats was the golden tabby's true mother. Lionblaze supposed that he could say the same about WindClan cats.

He came back to the real world when he heard pawsteps. The young warrior tried his best to look normal, like nothing was wrong and he had never seen his half brother before.

There came Cinderheart, dragging her tail behind her angrily, limping slightly, face a little shocked to see who was in the den.

"Hello..." Lionblaze meant to sound friendly, but he trailed off sadly.

"Greetings," Cinderheart answered, calm and mature for her age.

Lionblaze realized. He had spent too much time thinking about what he couldn't have, when what he needed was right in front of him. The tom sighed, thinking about what to tell Cinderheart.

Russetflower went to see Hollyleaf one day. The black she-cat had dozed off, curled up in a nest. The nest was rather cozy, but the young warrior missed her old moss and bracken. But in sleep, Hollyleaf didn't seem to mind and she certainly didn't complain to Jaypelt. Her sleep was dreamless, reminding Hollyleaf even more of who she was when she was awake. Was StarClan real? Or are these rogues right? Hollyleaf didn't want to think about it, but she wanted to know. Was StarClan watching over her, or did they not walk in skies like this?

The ginger queen's voice snapped Hollyleaf out of her thoughts.

"Would you like to join our group?" she asked,"it's pretty lively, I think."

"I don't know," the ThunderClan cat answered,"but let me tell you a story."

Hollyleaf wouldn't usually stoop to the level of such a cat, she would rather be helping her Clan. But her Clan was gone, she reminded herself. Gone without her. She hesitated slightly, she had always left storytelling for the elders.

Russetflower didn't seem to notice Hollyleaf's hesitation. She moved a little closer, moving her head so she could hear a little better.

"I was born a Clan cat, and I grew up to be a Clan cat. I hunted and fought for my Clan." Hollyleaf began, in such a way she thought that even a kit would not be entertained by her story. Russetflower didn't seem to mind, but she could have just been acting politely.

"But one day, I discovered something I should have never known. Perhaps it was instinct, or perhaps not, but I had the sudden urge to reveal this secret. And now, because of this... the Clan's world is as good as inaccessible to me. I ran through tunnels, hoping to escape from my life. In a way I'm not even sure of, I got away when the tunnels collapsed on me. I found myself here that morning. Thank you for all you've done for me, and I'd stay if I had to."

"So you can't stay?" Russetflower asked, a little confused.

"Well, I can," the black warrior replied,"but I have very important things to do."

"I'm sorry, but those would be?" the ginger she-cat meowed.

"I've always had many questions about the world around me, and I'll be off sometime to find the answers to them."

There was a sad expression on Russetflower's face. In the past moons, Hollyleaf had grown to become close friends with the she-cat. Russetflower had given birth to three healthy kits, and she had even named the most adventurous one Hollykit.

"Will you stay, since you probably still can?"

"I'm not sure, Russetflower," murmured Hollyleaf, "I don't think I'm even sure about anything anymore."