"Good job you two," Frostpelt said as the apprentices arrived, out of breath. Neither cat answered, but Dapplepaw dropped the glowing stone at the older cat's feet.
"Good job, that's all I'll need you to do-"
"Hey!"
A cat leaped out of the forest, her fur puffed up. "Who are you?" she hissed, standing face to face with Frostpelt.
"Tanglestar?" Duskpaw whispered.
The leader didn't respond.
"I'm Frostpelt. And don't worry; I'm not invading your territory. In fact, I live here, in the river," Frostpelt explained without a hint of fear.
"You live… in the river?" Tanglestar asked, stepping back and allowing her fur to flatten.
"Yes. StarClan sent us here. We are supposed to watch over the clan cats, except this job has turned into torture. There's no kits, no elders, we never age. That's why you need to help us."
"How?" Tanglestar asked.
"By finding these," Frostpelt nudged the glowing stone with his foot.
"That's… that's what will set you free? The stones?" Tanglestar said, connecting the pieces.
"Yes," Frostpelt paused, "are you willing to help?"
Without thinking, Tanglestar nodded.
"Good," the white cat meowed, "I'm glad you picked that choice."
Thank you for reading, sorry for posting a day late, I was loaded down with homework! I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Cheating the Stars!