Alright! Last of the first three chapters! Here we go!

It has been about a moon since the attack. SnowClan, I think it was, were the cats responsible for the attack on Spottedfur. Speaking of, the calico was favoring well. Some cats said that she fought too hard for StarClan to contain, hence why she was still with them. She still rested in the medicine den, though, and was rarely seen outside of it. Until today, that is.

I had just returned from a hunting trip, my tail lashing as I had to put up with Icywind once more. The white she-cat had been on my rump ever since I came with her birth children. I deposited my kills on the pile, hearing cheers coming from further into the camp. I spotted Coalpaw's black pelt next to a Spottedfur's, then Applewhisker's on the other side.

"C'mon, Momma!" Silverkit squealed, walking in front of the queen. Her paws and legs had been mangled, to the point where they caused more pain if they were used. So, as Coalpaw said, they atrophied. I assume that this is what the treatment is.

"You're almost to the stick, Spottedfur." Coalpaw urged, taking another step. The queen heaved her paws forward, strain easily seen on her face. Yet, she kept going, in fear of never being able to walk again. Soon enough, she reached the marker, and was allowed to rest. Tigerkit and Silverkit's purrs could be heard from around the camp as they curled up near their mother. I grinned and trotted over, a vole hanging from my teeth.

"You look beat, Spottedfur." I commented, dropping the fresh-kill next to her. "Here, its all yours." I felt Coalpaw brush beside me, and even saw some pride glint in his eyes. Dreamingsnow made the injured queen his charge. Her feeding schedule, her stretches, her herbs, everything was on him. His mentor gave little input, only when something was dangerously wrong. Which, I might add, was only once. I have no idea what it was, but it was easily fixed, and Spottedfur seemed to be on the right track now.

"Thank you, Thrushtail." she purred thankfully, eating the vole rather quickly. Her mate hummed a purr as well, gaze turning up towards me.

"Acornpelt wants us to patrol the SnowClan border, Thrushtail. Do you think you could gather a few others, just in case we get ambushed?" he asked, head tilted. I could see that he didn't want to leave his mate's side.

"I can get a few others, and lead the patrol myself, if you want. You can stay here with your family." I offered. I didn't want to offend him, but after a scare like Spottedfur's, families tend to understand that life is short. Applewhisker's fur bristled.

"No, I need to go. Any chance to sink my claws into a SnowClan pelt, I'll take it." he had a faint growl in his voice. I was taken aback, but still slowly nodded.

"Yes, of course." I agreed, tail swishing. "I can get Mudshadow and Timberpaw, perhaps?" I offered. He nodded, tail swishing still.

"I'll find Smokepelt and Nightfur, as well." and with that, we were off to find our charges. We met up at the camp's entrance, and before long, we were off heading towards SnowClan's border. We met up with a hunting patrol on the way there, consisting of Acornpelt, Stormpaw, Icywind, and Reedclaw. After a bit of talking, the hunting patrol agreed to serve as back up, despite the already large group. Before long, we split ways, Acornpelt's group staying nearby.

"Maybe we should split up, too." I suggested, tail swishing.

"What do you mean?" Applewhisker flicked his ear, turning a bit towards her, matching each of her strides.

"We're a pretty big group. I could start at the other end of the border with Timberpaw and Nightfur, and you can start here with Smokepelt and Mudshadow. It'll look like we're smaller, and if they're planning an attack, they'll more likely do it then." I explained, eyes darting around. Green-leaf brought lots of prey out, but it couldn't distract her now. Applewhisker ended up nodding, and again, the group split up.

"Spottedfur only just joined the nursery when I was made an apprentice. But I still went back and played with her kits." Timberpaw started, gazing across the border. Despite her calm demeanor, her fur was ruffled and her amber eyes were ablaze. "She was the sweetest thing, even when I played too rough. How could they do this to her?" She huffed, tail swishing to prove her anger was real. Nightfur looked up to me, then followed the apprentices' gaze across the border.

"When I was a kittypet, Timberpaw, disputes like this never happened. Everyone was happy and fat. Only rarely would a fight occur, and even then, no one would get hurt. No one knew how to fight." she looked over her shoulder at Timberpaw. "Why are you guys so avid about it?"

"Its the adrenaline, I think." Timberpaw shrugged, looking at the black tortoiseshell she-cat. "We were born and raised wild, so a good dispute gets our hearts pumping. But this isn't just a dispute, Nightfur. This is war. They attacked a queen, a mother, a friend. She almost died because of their claws." she spat in disgust. "Its only fair we treat them the same way."

Nightfur opened her mouth to speak, only to hear a loud battle call. The she-cats didn't even take the time to process what was going on, and booked it towards the fighting. It didn't take long to find the throng of cats, SnowClan easily outnumbering Applewhisker's patrol. Yet, even with her and Acornpelt's patrol, they couldn't get a grip on the fight. They were being pushed further and further into their own territory, as if SnowClan was trying to move the borders.

"Stormpaw!" I heard Acornpelt call. My grey kitten turned and looked for her mentor, and soon enough she was sent off for reinforcements. I wished her the best of luck as I battled with a dark brown she-cat. My claws raked down her sides as she tried to pin me. I wasn't the biggest, nor the strongest, so this wasn't a surprise for me. Yet, when Timberpaw bowled over the enemy, I was stunned. I scrambled to my paws and helped the apprentice chase off out mutual opponent.

The fighting went for ages. I clawed a tom's ear, rammed into a she-cat's shoulder. I was beginning to lose sense as to who I was fighting, especially when a white and grey she-cat bowled me over. I fought blindly, tearing at her fur. Before long, I heard a "SnowClan, retreat" call, and the cat moved. Everyone yowled in victory, even the cats who came in late. I heaved and plucked the fur out of my claws, gazing across the way towards Icywind, who was licking at some wounds.

"Everyone did great today. Those of you with heavier injuries, go straight to Coalpaw and Dreamingsnow. Everyone else, mark the border. I don't even want to smell their side." Foxstar beamed with pride of the work of his Clanmates, his own pelt littered with new scars. I obeyed, limping home beside a few other cats. I would've stayed to mark the border, yet even I, in my dulled pain, could feel the steady trickle of blood from my shoulder.

Coalpaw was already busy with Mudshadow, who was fussing over Timberpaw. Dreamingsnow was tending to Skywhisker, the grey tom's eyes narrowed at the camp's entrance. He had claw marks over them, and he winced when the medicine cat checked them.

"I'm sorry, Skywhisker, but if your sight doesn't come back with the treatments I give you, then you'll have to step down and settle into the elders den." The quiet medicine cat sighed, pushing herbs towards the tom. She nudged his paw to show him where they were, and he grumpily ate them. I got caught up in watching their interaction, that I didn't even notice the black tom who was checking over me.

"Momma, you should get some rest." Coalpaw suggested, pressing a poultice to my shoulder. I didn't have much fight left in me, and nodded slowly.

"Just lead me to a nest, honey. I'll be fine." he breathed a sigh of relief and obeyed, leading me towards a nest in the medicine den.

"I'll wake you if Foxstar makes an announcement." he promised, touching his nose to my ear before going back out and attending to the Clan once more. Despite the pain, I found myself slipping into sleep much faster than I should have.

"You said it was nothing, Dreamingsnow." I heard in the medicine den. I didn't move, afraid that I would be ruining something.

"Now, are we talking about your sight, or-"

"Don't act like this now. You know what I'm talking about." I recognized the male voice as Skywhisker, and the other as Dreamingsnow. I kept my breathing even, my eyes closed, and made an effort to go back to sleep. I couldn't.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I can't control things like this. I'm not magical. I'm barely a medicine cat at this point." Dreamingsnow's voice shook. By the chill in the air, I could feel that it was night time. Their whispers only told me that I was right.

"No, you are one of the best medicine cats the Clan ever had-" Skywhisker, this time, was cut off by the she-cat.

"And then I followed in the steps of my mentor. Something everyone prayed wouldn't happen. I'm a mistake." She growled, her voice cracking again. Her tail swept the ground and tickled my nose. I fought the urge to sneeze, finding it harder and harder to act like I was asleep. The den was silent, and I could hear Coalpaw snoring not to far off from me.

"Dreamingsnow, that's not what I meant." Skywhisker's tone was quiet, relaxed. I heard shuffling. I assume that the tom was embracing Dreamingsnow. "I'm just in shock. Its not everyday that you go blind, and then find out your medicine cat is pregnant, much less with your kits."

"No, that's the problem, Skywhisker." the she-cat whispered back, her voice muffled. "What if the kits caused your blindness? StarClan is angry, and projected it on you."

"Dreamingsnow, the dirty claws of a SnowClanner did this to me, not our ancestors." I heard him rasp his tongue over her ear, and she fought to giggle. "We'll be okay, I promise. Coalpaw is a promising apprentice, right? He can take your place when you move to the nursery. You can be a warrior with me."

"I don't want to be a warrior. I wanted to be a medicine cat the day I walked in here. I don't want to give this up now." Dreamingsnow choked out.

"Then... I don't know. We'll find someone else to raise them." he suggested. Again, the den was silent. It stayed silent for longer now, and I took the moment to act as if I was just waking up. The two scrambled to get apart, and I hazily opened my eyes. I took a moment to yawn, and Dreamingsnow began stammering.

"Its dark out because you're blind, Skywhisker. Stop arguing with me, and eat your herbs." Dreamingsnow pawed a pile of leaves towards the tom, with which he ate quickly.

"I'm sorry for worrying." he huffed before taking his leave. Dreamingsnow turned to me, not letting her gaze on the tom linger for too long.

"How are you, Thrushtail?" she asked, voice level and calm.

"Oh, I'm peachy. Mostly sore, anyways." I admitted, tail swishing. I found that Coalpaw was actually curled up at my stomach, and let out a calm purr.

"You're actually sleeping in his nest." Dreamingsnow hummed, looking down at her apprentice. I looked up, worry in my eyes, and she shook her head. "He's fine with it, don't worry. Actually, I think this is the best he's slept in the past moon. He's usually fitful and easy to wake by now." she explained. "Are you hungry? I can run and get you a mouse. It might be a little cold, though."

"It'll be just fine, Dreamingsnow. Thank you." I dipped my head to the she-cat as she slipped out of the den. Once she was gone, I found myself fretting over her. I knew the warrior code faintly enough that their ancestors would damn them for this, and knew that she deserved much more than ridicule of her Clanmates. I wanted to help. I would help. I had to.