Hi :)

Recap: Cedarpaw wakes up in the middle of the nigh to find his brother, Waterkit. He follows him into the woods and is led into a clearing, where he realizes that something's wrong. The Waterkit he knew had green eyes, but this one had amber eyes. Meanwhile, Olivepaw leaves in search of Cedarpaw, mulling over her feelings for him. She finds a set of tracks and follows them, leading her to the clearing. She finds Cedarpaw covered in wounds, all alone. The tom tells her that he killed his father before falling unconscious.

Chapter 26

Spirits and Secrets Revealed

[Ratpaw]

"Everyone, get out of the way!" Minnowstar called out to her Clan as they all gathered around the approaching cats, lifting themselves up and trying to get a view of what exactly was going on, their eyes shining in the darkness.

At the top of the clearing came several cats. There was the search party that had been sent out, which consisted of Furzetail, Icewhisker, Bumbleclaw, and Cinderblaze. They all looked quite shocked, none of them saying a word. Behind them came four others- Willowfall, Onespot, Frostpaw, and Olivepaw. Onespot was talking quickly with Willowfall, whose back Cedarpaw was slung over. Frostpaw watched them with worry.

Cedarpaw seemed to be covered in deep gashes all over his body, and he appeared to be unconscious. Some blood was still dripping from his wounds and into the snow. Olivepaw was at Willowfall's side, eyes wide, a look of pure shock on her face.

"Oh, StarClan," murmured a voice. Ratpaw glanced to his left, where Snowcloud was standing. She met his gaze and lowered her voice into a whisper. "What do you think happened?" she asked.

Ratpaw shook his head, at a loss for words. His sister looked like she was about to pass out, too. Just what had happened out there?

The cats made their way down the slope, leaving a trail of blood behind them.

"Let's get him to the medicine den," Willowfall breathed, quickly padding across the clearing, being careful not to let Cedarpaw slip from her back, Onespot right behind her. Frostpaw followed behind them, but paused and turned around when Olivepaw hadn't moved. She just stood there in shock, mouth open, shaking slightly.

"Olivepaw, we need you to come with us," the medicine cat apprentice murmured softly. "We need to ask you about what happened." The white cat then turned and caught Ratpaw's gaze. "Ratpaw, will you come, too? I think she'll feel better if you were there."

The tom nodded, glancing quickly at Snowcloud, who was staring at her sister with a look of contempt. Ratpaw sighed and padded up to Olivepaw, placing his tail on her back and slowly guiding her into the medicine den.

Inside, Cedarpaw already lay spread out over a bed of dead moss, his sides heaving just slightly as he occasionally gasped for air. When Ratpaw had a closer look, he recoiled, slightly, ears flattened. His wounds looked terrible; how could this have happened? They barely even looked like a cat could have been capable of causing them.

Willowfall and Onespot were already at work, pressing cobwebs to the gashes in the apprentice's skin, trying to soak up the blood that was still dripping onto the ground. Frostpaw was chewing up some dried marigold, eyes glittering with worry. Olivepaw was just standing there, staring at Cedarpaw, shaking her head quietly.

"Olivepaw?" mewed Willowfall, raising her head. "Olivepaw, listen to me. I need you to tell us what happened."

But Olivepaw wouldn't speak. She just stood there, her legs shaking. Ratpaw frowned and pressed himself against her, giving her a comforting lick on her shoulder.

Willowfall turned to Ratpaw. "Ratpaw, go to the back and get some poppy seeds. They're right next to the cobwebs."

The tom blinked, surprised. "Wh- Me?"

"Yes, you!" snapped the medicine cat. "Bring me a pawful, and give one to your sister. It'll help her calm down."

Ratpaw nodded and leaped to his paws, heading over to the back of the den. He glanced around through the different herbs until he spotted them- a few dozen poppy seeds, piled onto a dead leaf. Carefully, he grasped the leaf in his jaws and brought it over to Willowfall, placing it at her paws.

Willowfall flicked an ear in thanks and set some to the side. Ratpaw took one and pushed it with his paw towards Olivepaw.

"Olivepaw, eat this," he murmured. "Please. It'll make you feel better."

Though she didn't move for a few moments, she finally bent over and ate the poppy seed, still trembling.

"Now, Olivepaw," said Willowfall again as Frostpaw hastily rubbed marigold onto Cedarpaw's wounds, "I need you to tell me what happened. It's important that you tell us everything you remember so that we can help Cedarpaw. Can you do that for me?"

Ratpaw frowned and glanced at his sister. She looked overwhelmed, and for a moment he thought that she still wouldn't be able to speak. But after a moment, she gave a small nod and began to talk.

"I-I... I went looking for him... I wanted to find him..."

"You went by yourself?" Willowfall mewed as she began to chew up another poultice. Olivepaw looked at her, a frown on her face. For some reason, Ratpaw thought he could sense a flare of dislike in her gaze, and he wondered why. But Olivepaw gave a brief nod.

"He... He was far away from camp," Olivepaw continued in a whisper as she looked at her paws. "...I followed his tracks, there was only one set... I found him... i-in a clearing. He was alone. I-I thought he was..." She broke off, lifting her head as she stared at Cedarpaw in horror, eyes shining brightly with worry.

"Was he awake when you found him?" Willowfall asked quietly.

Olivepaw hesitated before muttering, "No. But he opened his eyes and looked at me... Just for a moment... I tried asking him what was wrong..."

"And did he say anything?" pressed the medicine cat.

Ratpaw thought he saw his sister flinch, but after a moment, she shook her head softly, avoiding everyone's gazes.

"No," she muttered. "He didn't say anything."

"I see," Willowfall mewed quietly, giving Olivepaw a calculating look. "Well, there's one thing I'm certain of; these aren't normal wounds."

All of the apprentices looked at her in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Ratpaw asked.

Willowfall looked at him with a frown before turning to Onespot, giving him a small nod. The black tom straightened up, blue eyes glowing and a deep frown on his face, and spoke up for the first time.

"Wounds like these," he said quietly, "...could not have been given by a living cat. It's almost impossible."

There was silence for a few moments before Frostpaw spoke up.

"Y-You mean," she stammered quietly, "that whoever did this to him... is dead...?"

Ratpaw shared a glance with Frostpaw, and the tom saw his own confusion and shock reflected in her blue eyes.

"I can't be sure," Onespot said quietly. "But I don't think that a living cat is capable of giving such injuries. There's something evil about these wounds." Ratpaw exchanged another glance with Frostpaw. "Furthermore," the medicine cat continued, "Olivepaw said that she found Cedarpaw alone, and that there had only been one pair of tracks." The tom lowered his voice, his eyes darkening. "Spirits aren't known to leave behind tracks in the living world."

There was another silence, longer this time. Frostpaw and Ratpaw were staring at each other, eyes wide. The tom glanced over at Olivepaw; something was sparking in her eyes, as if she understood something.

"W-Well," Ratpaw finally said, flattening his ears, "he'll be alright, won't he?"

When Willowfall and Onespot exchanged glances and frowns, Ratpaw felt a twinge of anxiety.

Willowfall let out a long sigh and closed her eyes, waiting a few moments before saying quietly, "I don't think that we'll be able to heal these wounds. They're too powerful."

"What?" Olivepaw hissed, suddenly narrowing her eyes to slits, ears flattened. "You're just giving up? You're going to let him die, is that it?"

"Olivepaw-" Ratpaw began.

"Don't touch me!" she growled, taking a step away from her brother, still glaring at Willowfall. "You're the medicine cat, you should know what to do!"

"Stop!" Onespot cried, tail lifted. "Just because we can't heal him doesn't mean that nobody can."

Olivepaw blinked, relaxing just slightly.

"What do you mean by that?" she growled. "That we let StarClan heal him?"

"That," Onespot said with a flick of his tail, "is exactly what I mean."

All three apprentices stared at him. Willowfall had closed her eyes and was muttering something beneath her breath.

"And how do we do that?" Frostpaw breathed, shaking her head. "Bring him to the Moonpool?"

Onespot turned to Frostpaw, smiling slightly. "You're a smart cat. That's exactly what we're going to do. We have to take Cedarpaw to the Moonpool and speak to StarClan ourselves, asking them to heal him. Usually StarClan won't intervene with the living if it has to do with a life or death situation, but this time is different. I don't know how Cedarpaw could have gotten in contact with a spirit, but it's something that StarClan needs to know about if they don't already." He flicked his tail, looking around at everyone with a nod. "Right, then. Shall we all be off?"

Ratpaw blinked, looking at him. "I'm allowed to come?"

"Of course," the black tom said, looking somewhat surprised. "I think you have the right. Don't you, Willowfall?" The she-cat glanced at Ratpaw; they held each other's gazes for a moment before the medicine cat nodded and looked away.

"Right," Onespot mewed. "I'll take Cedarpaw on my back. Let's go."

"Wait," Willowfall said quickly. All heads turned to her; she flattened her ears. "I... I told Lightstream that I would check on her kits when I got back from the Moonpool tonight. She says that Darkkit has been coughing. I... I think I'd better stay here and make sure that everything's alright."

Ratpaw stared at her, almost positive that that wasn't the real reason for wanting to stay behind. He knew that Willowfall had killed Graystar; perhaps the medicine cat was worried that everyone would find out about it if they were to all go and see StarClan together.

"...Alright," Onespot said after a moment of hesitation. "I suppose we'll be able to get him there and back in one piece by ourselves." He straightened up. "Right. I'll take Cedarpaw on my back. Let's go."

After being surrounded by a crowd of questioning cats upon leaving the medicine den, and after explaining to Minnowstar what was going on, the four cats departed into the dark forest, Cedarpaw hung limply over Onespot's back.

Onespot took the lead; Ratpaw and Frostpaw walked close together, and Olivepaw followed along a bit further back. Ratpaw kept glancing over his shoulder at his sister, whose ears were flattened, eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at the ground.

"It must have been a real shock for her," Frostpaw murmured quietly to the tom. "Finding her best friend nearly dead... It's horrible. I don't understand how this could have happened."

"Yeah," Ratpaw muttered, frowning. Glancing up at the she-cat, he whispered, "Frostpaw, do you think it's true?"

She blinked. "Think what's true?"

"What Onespot said," he murmured. "About some sort of spirit doing this to Cedarpaw. That it couldn't have been a living cat."

Frostpaw frowned, looking out into the distance as they walked. "It seems unlikely," she meowed quietly. "Spirits aren't supposed to be able to harm the living in any way. But think about what Olivepaw said- there was only one set of tracks..."

"Maybe she was mistaken," Ratpaw reasoned. "Maybe it was a rogue who came from the opposite direction of Cedarpaw."

"But do you remember what else Onespot said?" Frostpaw whispered. "That he had never seen wounds like that dealt by a living cat. That there was something evil about them. That's why he and Willowfall decided that they couldn't heal him themselves, that we had to go to the Moonpool and get StarClan's help."

Ratpaw frowned, saying nothing. He didn't want to believe what she was saying. The ghost of a dead cat, returning to earth and nearly killing a living cat? How was that possible?

"I'm gonna check on Olivepaw," he whispered after a moment. Frostpaw looked at him, worry in her eyes, but she nodded, flicking her tail over his shoulder. Smiling weakly, he turned and padded over to where his sister was walking.

"Hey," he said as they walked side by side. Olivepaw didn't even look at him. Ratpaw sighed, nudging her lightly. "Olivepaw, he's gonna be alright. StarClan will heal him." Again, no response. Ratpaw tried again. "Olivepaw, is what you said really all that happened? Did you see anything else that you didn't tell the others ab-"

"No!" hissed Olivepaw with such a sudden fierceness that Ratpaw jumped. Olivepaw let out a long sigh. "Sorry," she muttered, turning away.

"It's fine."

"But I told Willowfall and Onespot everything."

Ratpaw narrowed his eyes slightly, something in her voice hinting to him that she wasn't telling the truth.

"Olivepaw-"

"I'm fine," she said bluntly, and Ratpaw could tell that trying to get through to her would be a lost cause. He sighed; giving her a quick lick on the ear, he broke into a trot and caught up to Frostpaw.

"How is she?" the medicine apprentice asked quietly.

Ratpaw sighed and shrugged. "Not great, as you could expect." Frostpaw frowned.

"Cedarpaw will be alright. I know it."

Ratpaw hoped she was right.

It wasn't long before the four cats broke out of the forest and stepped out onto the moors, the halfmoon glowing brightly. As they made their way through the snowy grass and towards the Moonpool, the tom turned to Frostpaw.

"Hey, I forgot, how was the Moonpool?" He was surprised to see the she-cat visibly flinch at the question and turn to stare at him with wide blue eyes. He blinked. "Frostpaw?"

"O-Oh," she stammered, ears flattened. "It... Yeah. It was fine."

Ratpaw stared at her and raised an eyebrow. Frostpaw sighed.

"Ratpaw," she murmured, her voice suddenly low and serious, "I saw something tonight. When I was there. I... I don't know what it means. Ratpaw, if I tell you what I saw, do you promise to keep it a secret?"

He blinked again, staring at her, but nodded.

"Of course."

Frostpaw smiled faintly before glancing nervously at Onespot; he appeared to be struggling a bit with Cedarpaw but he kept leading the way. The she-cat turned back to Ratpaw.

"I don't know what exactly any of it means," she whispered; there was enough worry in her expression to concern Ratpaw. "But there was a fire. And cats... were dying, and fighting. Everywhere. I felt this wind, then suddenly I was underwater- and I saw a cat. It was a gray tabby, sinking... And then Snowcloud was there, I think she was attacking me... And I saw Willowfall before I woke up... Ratpaw?"

Ratpaw was now staring at her, amber eyes wide. A gray tabby, sinking... Graystar had been found washed up on shore... So that's how Willowfall had killed her.

He shook his head quickly, trying to clear that revelation out of his mind. Frostpaw was looking at him worriedly.

"Snowcloud was attacking you?" he echoed. "And there was a fire? Do you think it's a sign?"

"That's the thing," Frostpaw said quietly. "I can't tell if it was a sign... or if it was telling the future."

"Well, maybe it was just a normal dream," Ratpaw said quickly, eager to ease her anxiety.

But Frostpaw shook her head. "I had just drunk water from the Moonpool," she mumbled. "That dream was sent by StarClan, I know it." She sighed, shaking her head again. "Maybe Willowfall had the same dream. She wanted me to tell her about mine, but I haven't had the chance yet." Ratpaw nodded stiffly, knowing it was more than likely that Willowfall hadn't received any dreams from StarClan for moons.

Making their way up the stream that gurgled softly beside them, they soon caught sight of the Moonpool, which still glowed silver. Ratpaw looked at it in wonder, having never been here before. As he followed after Frostpaw and Onespot, he found that his paws fit into imprints that must have been left there ages ago.

The cats gathered around the water; Ratpaw bent over and saw his own reflection in the bright glow.

"What do we do now, Onespot?" whispered Frostpaw. The black tom turned to her, blinking slowly.

"I've seen this happen one other time," he said quietly, looking out into the distance as if lost in memories. "When I had just become an apprentice. One of our warriors, who would have been an elder before long, was found with similar wounds to Cedarpaw's. We- my old mentor and I- took him here."

"And was he okay?" Ratpaw mewed, tail twitching. Onespot looked at him for a few moments before answering.

"StarClan healed him," he said. "But a few days later, he became insane. We found him by a tree with a broken neck. We think he jumped off."

There was an uncomfortable silence; Ratpaw looked nervously over at Olivepaw, but she appeared not to have heard. She was looking in the starry water, a look of sullen contemplation on her face.

"That... That isn't going to happen to Cedarpaw, is it?" Frostpaw asked, lowering her voice and glancing over at Olivepaw. Onespot flicked an ear.

"We can only hope not. Now, help me place him into the water."

Ratpaw and Frostpaw eased Cedarpaw off of the medicine cat's back, placing him on his side in the pool so that only his head lay above water, resting against the stone. Through the water, Ratpaw could see that his sides were heaving faintly, and though Willowfall and Onespot had tried to clean them, a few of his wounds still appeared to be bleeding. A shiver ran through Ratpaw's spine as a cold wind swept by.

"Step back," whispered Onespot, and he and the apprentices stepped back, standing at the edge of the water.

They waited a moment, and just as Ratpaw was considering asking what was supposed to be happening, the water began to... change. Narrowing his eyes, the apprentice saw, to his astonishment, that the glow of the water was growing brighter and brighter. Specks of what seemed like starlight appeared in the air and fell softly down into the water as the color went from silver to a bright yellowish-gold. Ratpaw watched, mouth open, unable to take his eyes off of whatever it was he was seeing.

And if that wasn't enough, the next moment Ratpaw could have sworn he'd heard the faintest of voices. He saw a faint silver shape blur around the pool, followed by another, and another, until there were so many that they all seemed to merge together. Though at first indistinct, they slowly began to form the unmistakable shapes of cats. Soon, their features grew more and more defined, and a second later, they abruptly stopped circling the Moonpool and stood all around them.

In awe and feeling as if he were in a dream, he looked around at the spirits surrounding them. There was a large, black she-cat with glowing green eyes that he had never seen before, but he had an inkling as to who this was. Bramblestripe had told him about Shadowstar, the founder of ShadowClan, and this cat seemed to fit the description. Beside her stood an equally large orange tom with amber eyes and white paws.

Looking around, he saw a few other cats he didn't recognize; he thought some of them must have been former leaders and medicine cats. He was somewhat surprised not to see Reedfur, Cedarpaw's father. But his ears pricked when he saw Owlwing standing among the spirits; when they locked gazes, the she-cat smiled kindly at him.

"Greetings, Onespot," the large ginger tabby said in a deep voice, a serious frown creased on his face.

Onespot bowed his head so low it touched the ground. "Hello, Thunderstar."

"Nice to see you again, Onespot," said a skinny old tom with brown and white fur and a crooked smile. He had been ThunderClan's leader before Honeystar. Who, Ratpaw noticed, wasn't here, either. She must have been busy.

"You as well, Brackenstar," the medicine cat mewed, bowing again.

"I see you brought a guest," chimed a mousy little black she-cat, inspecting Cedarpaw from where she stood. "This is just like when I took you here when you were an apprentice to cure Birchstep, isn't it? Shame what happened to him, though."

"Olivepaw here found him like this," Onespot explained, glancing over at the tabby she-cat who kept her eyes on Cedarpaw. "We knew that they weren't normal wounds.

"We brought him here to ask you to heal him," Onespot continued, looking around at all the StarClan cats. "And to ask you if my theory was right. That these wounds didn't come from a living cat."

"Unfortunately, you are right," squeaked Brackenstar, peering forward and shaking his head. "Somehow, a cat must have gone from the spirit world into the living world, and had so much power there that they were able to harm this apprentice."

"But who could it have been?" breathed Frostpaw for the first time since the spirits had appeared. "Who would have done this to him...?"

Judging from the way the StarClan cats began to exchange glances, Ratpaw had a pretty good feeling that they knew just who it was who had done this.

Then, a cat that seemed to have been lurking further back spoke up in a loud, scratchy voice. "I see you didn't bring Willowfall with you. Why's that, I wonder?"

Ratpaw and the others shifted their gazes to see a scrawny gray tabby she-cat with cold blue eyes, looking at them with disdain.

The tom heard a small squeal beside him; he looked over to see Frostpaw staring at the cat with wide eyes.

"That's her!" she squeaked, probably louder than she'd meant to. "That's the cat I saw drown in my dream!"

"Frostpaw, what are you talking about?" whispered Onespot quickly, ears flattened and clearly worried that they would upset the spirits.

"Ah, yes," the old gray tabby croaked, her old eyes twinkling, a sneer on her face. "That was me the night I died."

"Then... Then you're Graystar," mewed Ratpaw, blinking. "Minnowstar's mother."

"Graystar, settle down!" hissed Shadowstar suddenly, lashing her tail impatiently. "Now is not the time!"

Graystar ignored her. "So, Onespot," she continued, seemingly gasping for air, "what is the reason that Willowfall isn't here...?"

Onespot looked more puzzled than anything. "She stayed behind to check up on Lightstream's-"

"Really?" Graystar sneered in mock surprise. "I rather think that it's because she didn't want to see me-"

"Graystar!" snarled Shadowstar, louder this time. "Later!"

"What, you don't think that these cats should know the truth about their beloved medicine cat?" Graystar shot back, her fur fluffing up. The other StarClan cats shifted uncomfortably, clearly not sure if they should step in or not.

"What are you talking about?" breathed Frostpaw, shaking her head. "What's Willowfall got to do with any of this?"

Graystar turned her narrowed eyes onto Frostpaw. She looked so much like she was about to attack that Ratpaw took a step closer to Frostpaw, their pelts now brushing against the other's. The two she-cats stared at each other for a long time.

But for some reason, something must have changed Graystar's mind. After a long silence, she finally took a step back, lowering her head.

"You'll find out soon enough, anyway," she muttered. "You all will."

"Anyway," Brackenstar quickly croaked to cover up what would have been an awkward pause, "your request has been fulfilled, Onespot."

"So you cured him?" the medicine cat mewed, a smile breaking from his lips, the first time he must have smiled all night.

Brackenstar dipped his head. "Look."

Onespot, Ratpaw, and Frostpaw all turned their heads- Olivepaw had already been looking- to where Cedarpaw lay in the water. Somehow, the bleeding had miraculously stopped, and his deepest wounds had closed up. Now there remained only a few faint scars.

"And he'll be alright, won't he?" Olivepaw asked, the first time she'd spoken up since they'd got here. Her ears were flattened against her skull. "He won't be like Birchstep and go insane...?"

"He shouldn't, no," squeaked the black she-cat who had been Onespot's mentor. "But Onespot will keep an eye on him, won't you, Onespot? He should be waking up soon."

"Thank you," murmured Onespot, bowing his head again. "All of you."

"May the stars light your path," croaked Brackenstar, and with that, the glowing spirits slowly began to fade, their features blurring away until they had disappeared.

There was a silence for a moment. Olivepaw hesitantly crept forward to where Cedarpaw still lay in the pool. His breathing looked as if it had returned to normal, but he was still unconscious.

"Cedarpaw?" she whispered, and Ratpaw thought he could see a very faint twitch of his tail.

"Let's get him back to camp," Onespot mewed, and Frostpaw and Ratpaw helped the apprentice onto his back.

They traveled back through the moors, mostly silent. This time, Olivepaw was at Onespot's side, periodically glancing over at Cedarpaw who lay slumped over the larger tom's back. Frostpaw and Ratpaw trailed behind, side by side. The she-cat was looking worriedly at the ground, ears flattened.

"What's wrong?" Ratpaw asked quietly, nudging her lightly. "Cedarpaw's going to be okay."

"I know," she muttered. "It's just... What was Graystar saying? About Willowfall?" Ratpaw fell silent, whiskers twitching. How could he tell her what Willowfall had done without crushing her admiration for her mentor? And what if Willowfall found out that he'd told her secret? He blinked a few times. "I won't speak to anyone of you and the ThunderClan she-cat. In return, I expect that you won't tell anyone anything I just told you." That's what Willowfall had said. But Ratpaw's relationship with Russetpaw had ended, and he realized with a jolt that nothing was stopping him from revealing to the entire Clan just what it was that Willowfall had done.

"Ratpaw?" Frostpaw meowed, jerking the tom from his thoughts. "What is it?"

"...Nothing," he muttered quietly. "I'm... I'm just tired."

When they finally got back to camp, the cats who were still awake bombarded them with questions, asking what happened at the Moonpool and if Cedarpaw would be okay. Snowcloud begged Ratpaw to give him every detail, but he promised her that he'd tell her in the morning. Though disappointed, she told him she would hold him to that promise.

When Onespot, Frostpaw, Ratpaw and Olivepaw returned to the medicine den, Willowfall was sorting through herbs. She lifted her head and waved her tail in greeting.

"So?" she asked as Onespot placed Cedarpaw down in a bed of moss. "How did it go?"

"He should be alright," Onespot mewed, sitting down and putting no effort into stifling a yawn. But he looked at her in an odd way that Ratpaw had never seen before; maybe he had thought about what Graystar had said and wondered what she'd meant.

"...Ratpaw?" came a voice. The tom turned around, seeing Olivepaw look at him with a serious expression on her face. "Can I talk to you?"

The tom nodded, seeing that Frostpaw had gone to talk with Willowfall and Onespot. The two siblings slipped out of the den; though it was still dark, the very first traces of sunrise were beginning to show.

They sat down at the edge of camp, away from anyone else. Olivepaw sat down and stared darkly at her paws, ears flattened.

"Olivepaw, what's wrong?" Ratpaw pressed, growing concerned.

The she-cat closed her eyes for a moment, letting out a long sigh.

"I-I... I've kept it a secret for so long," she murmured, opening her eyes to look at him. "But... I feel like I need to tell someone. I need to tell you."

Ratpaw stared at her, now almost scared.

"You can tell me anything, Olivepaw."

She nodded stiffly before quickly glancing around to make sure no one was listening. She lowered her voice.

"You know how Graystar was talking about Willowfall? I... I know what she was talking about."

Ratpaw stared at her, mouth falling open. This wasn't what he'd expected to hear. But how did she find out? How many other cats knew?

"Olivepaw, I already know," Ratpaw breathed, shaking his head. "I've been wanting to tell you for days. But she... She told me that if I told anyone, she'd tell me about me and... a she-cat I'd been meeting with."

"Russetpaw," Olivepaw muttered. "I know. Frostpaw told me." She shook her head quickly. "But that isn't important. Ratpaw, you know? About what Willowfall did?"

"Yes," Ratpaw rasped, heart beating faster for some reason. "Olivepaw, how did you find out?"

"I saw it," his sister mumbled darkly, glaring at the ground. "I was there when it happened."

There was a long pause.

"...Olivepaw," Ratpaw said slowly, "we weren't alive when this happened."

She looked at him, nonplussed.

"It happened a little over a moon ago. What do you mean, we weren't alive?"

There was a longer pause, and Ratpaw's eyes widened, having just come to another shocking revelation.

"Olivepaw," he said slowly and quietly, "I think we're talking about two different things."

They stared at each other for a few moments.

"I'm talking about when Willowfall killed Emberheart," Olivepaw said.

Ratpaw gaped at her, his theory having been confirmed.

"So that's what happened," he whispered, looking up at the brightening sky and shaking his head. "She didn't really drown? Willowfall was the one who killed her?"

"Yes," Olivepaw said in a low voice. "I was there. I saw it happen. They were arguing, they started yelling, and all of a sudden they were fighting... When I looked over, Emberheart was dead. I... I don't know if Willowfall saw me or not, but on my way back, I slipped in the stream and woke up in the medicine den. Willowfall said she'd found me there while she was collecting roots. But I know what I saw, Ratpaw. Willowfall killed Emberheart."

Ratpaw clenched his teeth together, unable to speak for a moment. Were he and his sister the only ones in the whole Clan who knew what their own medicine cat had done? She'd already killed two cats, what if she was going to kill more?

"That isn't what Graystar was talking about tonight," Ratpaw muttered. "She was talking about her own death. She didn't just fall in the lake by accident, Olivepaw."

The she-cat stared at him, looking bewildered.

"You're saying that Willowfall killed Graystar, too?"

"And everyone thought she'd slipped off the dock by mistake," Ratpaw whispered, nodding.

Neither of them spoke for a few moments. Then, Olivepaw hesitantly mewed, "Ratpaw... Should we tell anyone...?"

"Not yet," the tom replied quietly. "Who would believe two apprentices? Graystar... Graystar said that everyone would find out soon enough. Let's keep this a secret for now and see how everything plays out."

"Alright," Olivepaw mumbled, getting to her paws. "I'm... I'm glad I got to tell you, Ratpaw. It's been hard, keeping it in like this."

"Same here," said the tom, still shaking his head in shock.

Olivepaw returned to the medicine den, leaving Ratpaw sitting outside by himself, lost in his own thoughts. Finally, when the sun was just starting to rise, he silently made his way to the apprentices' den where he would try, and fail, to sleep.

Thanks for reading, everyone :D

TNT

Pearly!