Sorry for the wait! Bad news: You're not gonna like this chapter. Good news: I have another one written so I'll update very soon!

Chapter 5

Hope is a dangerous thing.

Mountainkit had another strange dream of blackness and crushed herbs. The night before Dewkit had started shaking again and Sanddune had commanded him to lie down next to her. It was a fairly comfortable heat she was giving off this time, so he had quickly fallen asleep after a satisfying meal. He hadn't worried. If she pushed through it the first time, she could easily do it again. It didn't seem as strong anyways.

Then that same dream had come. It scared him to death, hearing Dewkit's cries and the crash of the rock smashing the life-saving plant.

When he woke, Dewkit wasn't shaking anymore. His left side wasn't burning from heat waves. "She's fine," he murmured to himself.

Sanddune was sleeping for the first time in a while, so Mountainkit didn't feel the need to wake him, but he did want to make sure Dewkit didn't need water or anything. He prodded her side, but she didn't stir. He tried again with the same result. Panic rose inside of him. His dream, why she wasn't shaking or giving off heat, why she wasn't responding: it all pointed to…

No, he wouldn't believe it. He poked her harder, hard enough that it gave the slight illusion that her paws had moved. He sighed with relief. "Gosh, Dewkit. Don't scare me like that."

She didn't respond.

Panic rose again. This time it clawed desperately at his throat and hardly allowed him to breath. He jabbed his paw into her side. "Dewkit!" he cried. He thrust his paw again with no response. Images flashed through his mind.

Sanddune was so good with words. He always weaved together the perfect things to say. But he never could seem to stay on his feet. He had just stumbled over small stone and, in trying to right himself, he tipped too much to the left, right into the creek they had been following. As droplets of water spattered on the kits' faces, Mountainkit remembered looking over at Dewkit and seeing that innocent, free-flowing laugh where her blue eyes sparkled like the night sky.

Dewkit was all he had ever known. She was his sister! His playmate! His best friend! She couldn't be gone!

Mountainkit felt an impact on his side and he tumbled over, barely keeping from slipping into the creek. He landed on his back and looked up in surprise, instantly finding those bright blue eyes looking playfully back at him. "Dewkit!" he squeaked, although it sounded more like "Duked!"

He jabbed and jabbed, over and over again.

Mountainkit and Dewkit huddled together in the cold, night wind where Sanddune told them to stay as he went off hunting. They pressed into each other in perfect silence and felt each other's heat warm them to the core.

Tears formed and spilled, formed and spilled.

Dewkit's forelegs were the only thing to reach the cliff's edge and Mountainkit grabbed for them, digging his claws into his sister's skin to get a good hold. There was a moment that time seemed to slow down. Dewkit's back claws scrabbled at the stone and the scratching sound echoed in Mountainkit's ears. Sanddune was shouting. He felt his grip loosen and he dug it deeper. Warm, red drops of liquid oozed around his claws. He and Dewkit locked gazes. Both were completely filled with fear. But not just one knew that their life depended on the other… They both needed each other. Whatever life sent their way, they would go through it… together.

"Dewkit! Wake up! Wake up!" But through his desperate prodding and calling and crying, all he got was…

Silence.

.

Sanddune could barely think past the throbbing in his head. He remembered the screaming, a MapleClan cat backing away, an unmoving body…

"Cherrystem!" he cried, sitting straight up. His head gave him such a rush that he fell back to the floor, blackness taking over once more.

When Sanddune woke again, a warm body was pressed next to him. He inhaled and the sweet scent of his sister washed over him, although it was mixed was something else. He opened his eyes but found no other cat with him in the dark den.

"Sanddune? You awake?" Riverbend inquired, feeling him stir.

"What happened?" Sanddune asked breathlessly, "Where are we?"

"We're in the medicine cat den, Sanddune. You've been out for a couple of sunrises. Are you feeling okay?" Her voice was soft and warm, but he could tell that she was holding something back.

"What happened?" he repeated a little more firmly before clenching his jaw at the pain that began to throb in his head.

"Your side wound is healing nicely. You'll have to be in the medicine cat den for a while until the headache goes away. Are you sure you're alright? Do you want me to leave? Maybe you should-"

"What happened, Riverbend? I saw…" He couldn't finish.

Riverbend couldn't avoid it anymore. "Cherrystem's dead. You were so strong getting up after that wound and taking on one of the warriors, but they had already given enough blows that… She was too weak already to fight that warrior… He's been exiled, Sanddune. The tom that killed her was exiled. He tried to attack me even after that but Autumnleaf stepped in the way. He was such a mess- He was Cavestar's brother and Fogstar's closest friend… He was such a mess that he ended up attacking his own deputy. Autumnleaf's fine, though," she added. "The apprentices that attacked me were hardly experienced. I'm fine. They've been held back from everything except hunting training and taking care of elders. The warrior that knocked you out also has apprentice duties." She paused. "MapleClan's worse than we thought. No one trusts each other. They all want a scapegoat. That's the only reason they blamed you, Sanddune. They just needed something to take their anger out on… but they've paid for it."

Sanddune's head hurt from the flow of information. "You've talked to Autumnleaf then?" he asked quietly.

"We had never set up a time to meet after the last Gathering. He had been too busy with deputy duties anyway. It was great to talk to him again."

"How's Tidepool?"

Riverbend hesitated. "I think he realized a long time ago that she had stopped loving him. He's more furious for the sake of being furious and wanting to start a war with MapleClan to put them in their place. If we had more warriors he would've attacked as soon as the patrol brought her body back to camp."

Sanddune's head hurt too much and his heart was too weighed down to praise Riverbend on reading Tidepool like he would have. "What about Waterpaw?" he asked instead.

"I think he's genuinely angry. He left camp the moment he saw her body."

Sanddune paused. "Have you ever asked Autumnleaf what started the border battle?"

Riverbend was unprepared for that question. "Um… We never really wanted to talk about what separated us. Why?"

A yawn temporarily stopped Sanddune from speaking.

Riverbend quickly cut in. "Nevermind. You should get more rest. We'll talk later."

Sanddune nodded, his eyes closing before she even finished. A nagging feeling tugged at him, but its grip was loosened by drowsiness and sleep soon took the thought away.

.

Mountainkit was numb. Wet ringed his blue eyes and carved tracks through the sandy brown fur on his cheeks. He could hardly remember where he was. All he could do was feel… feel complete emptiness. His stomach was empty, its contents heaved out earlier. His heart was empty, a gaping hole torn and hollowed out. His eyes were empty, as if he were the one who had died.

Death.

Death was all around him. The smell of death clogged his nostrils. The sight of death made the tears come faster. The sound of death was a horrible combination of silence from one and wailing from another.

Mountainkit could remember all the times that he had listened so intently and in awe to his father as he explained the wonders of the forest. He could also remember those awful times when his father broke down after waking up from a horrible nightmare or when he screamed at the sky when Dewkit lay trembling at the top of the cliff.

This was worse.

If Sanddune hadn't been a broken cat before, he was now. He alternated between tearing the grass to shreds, sobbing into Dewkit's fur, and screeching to the stars.

"You killed her! You didn't tell me anything! You let her die! You didn't even try to save her! How could you do this to her? How could you do this to me? How could you do this to him? His Clan died! His mother died! Take his sister too? YOU HEARTLESS COWARDS!"

He broke down and wept into her cold, gray fur.

Mountainkit wished his father would at least attempt to be strong… for his son… And for the first time, that relentless respect for and devotion to his father was jarred loose. He had laughed at his clumsiness. He had been proud of his father's love to whoever he had lost. He had thought it a kind of fun game to try to figure out why he had mysterious breakdowns at random times.

Now he just saw a coward… who was afraid of the past, could barely stay on his feet for the future, and couldn't even hold it together for his own son in the present.

.

Another week had passed, and Sanddune was growing stronger again. He still had murderous headaches, but at least now he could get out to take walks and not feel so cooped up in the medicine cat den.

He had missed Cherrystem's vigil though and felt horrible about it. He didn't know how much it would have helped but… Actually he didn't think it would have helped at all. His headaches were nothing compared to that throbbing guilt that glared at him wherever he went. He was sure that Riverbend had given them the full story of what had happened and had put it more towards his favor, but he knew that others had seen it for what it really was. If one of the better fighters had been there, Cherrystem wouldn't be dead. It was because of Sanddune that Cherrystem was dead.

Riverbend had seen the guilt in his eyes and continually told him that there was nothing he could have done. "Two cats attacked you! What were you supposed to do?" she insisted, "I couldn't see any of the others getting back up after that nasty scratch on your side! You did everything you could."

Sanddune just pretended like what she said helped and bit back what he really wanted to say.

"But it wasn't enough."

As Sanddune thought of this while taking a walk around camp to stretch his legs, he looked for his sister and was surprised to find her entering camp with Tidepool… just Tidepool. Sanddune's tail flicked with anger when he saw that the gray deputy was not weighed down by grief at all. His blue eyes were bright and more cheerful than he had seen them in moons. His silky white-tipped tail was high in the air as he chattered away with Riverbend.

Riverbend's own happy expression dulled when she met Sanddune's bitter gaze. She said something to Tidepool and padded over. Sanddune turned away before she reached him and headed towards the medicine cat den. She hurried to catch up with him.

"Why were you talking to Tidepool?" Sanddune growled.

"I wanted to make sure he was alright."

Sanddune shot her a disbelieving glance, his surprise more at her even trying that one on him.

"Just wait," she murmured, refusing to speak until they were in the quiet of the den. The medicine cat was out collecting herbs.

"So… what are you up to?" the sandy brown tom asked suspiciously when they had settled down on the mossy bedding that no longer felt different and uncomfortable to Sanddune. He had gotten used to staying there.

"He's just a back-up plan!" Riverbend meowed quickly.

"What are you talking about?"

Riverbend looked down at the ground shamefully. "When I met with Autumnleaf we didn't… we didn't just talk… We… We're really mates now. Officially mates." She looked up at her brother to see if he had understood.

His pale blue eyes widened. That would explain the other scent he had smelled on her the day he woke after the attack. "Are you mad? You're in different Clans! What if…?" He couldn't finish.

"That's why I had to befriend Tidepool!" Riverbend protested. "He's desperate for a cat to actually love him and Cherrystem hadn't given him that for a long time! I thought if… you know, a… a back-up plan," she finished awkwardly.

Sanddune glared at her. "You thought if you got pregnant you could just pretend that Tidepool was the father. How long would that last, Riverbend? Did you ever think of that?"

"I-"

"Tidepool's going to find his kits brown-furred like their father and he's going to kill you. No, he's going to kill Autumnleaf and then you. Then…" The images of the possibilities swirled in his head at once, so horrible that words ceased to spill from his mouth.

Crimson-stained water filling every pawprint that covered the clearing…

Snarling rising above pounding rain as cats hurled themselves through the gray mist, continuing a losing battle against their own species….

He had no idea that the things he was imagining would some day come true.

"No!" Riverbend exclaimed, cutting into his thoughts. "If any of them come out looking like Autumnleaf, then they'll look just like you. That's happened before: kits looking like kin rather than their mother or father."

"And what if any of them develop green eyes?"

Riverbend had no reply to that. Everything would be fine until their blue eyes developed their adult color at two moons or so. Unless…

The two cats exchanged glances, both thinking the same thing.

Unless the Clan war started earlier…

Fogstar may have delayed it but, as Riverbend and Sanddune had experienced firsthand, MapleClan was dysfunctional and hardly even listened to their leaders anymore. There was only so much bending they could handle before they broke.