It was already late in the morning, but Sunstar remained in his nest, eyes bloodshot from a lack of sleep. He had been tossing and turning all night, unable to rid himself of the thoughts of Shadestar, Ivyfoot, Neoseeker, Cherrynose, and his brother.

Why hadn't StarClan contacted them?! Were they so doomed that even their ancestors had given up and left them to waste away into nothing?! Sunstar shook his head in frustration and rose from his nest, stumbling forward and shaking bits of grass from his pelt.

He had long mulled over what to do about Willowstar. The tom had vowed to destroy their clan, it seemed as if the prophecy was becoming more real by the days. However, Sunstar still didn't understand how Willowstar could do what he did. Was it by some divine mistake made by StarClan? The TreeClan leader's ability went against nature and the warrior code itself.

It wasn't surprising that TreeClan was so supportive of him, they must believe that he was a gift from StarClan, and that TreeClan will achieve glory with his ability. Surely such a clan would be undefeatable.

He growled irritably as the dim sunlight from outside blinded him as he stepped out of his den. After being in the dark for so long, he was unaccustomed to the light, or what little of it there was anyway. The camp was completely dead, no cats were in sight and an eerie silence hung over the forest.

Most of the warriors had been sent to construct the new thorn barrier around their camp after he ordered Darkpelt to make sure it was done. However right now he had other matters to deal with. Sunstar strode purposefully across the camp towards the tree tunnel where the medicine cat den sat in the corner of the camp.

The second the golden tom stuck his head into the den, Mintpaw; who was making what looked like small bundles of leaves; looked up in shock. Her large, jade eyes widened and a large smile stretched across her face.

"Sunstar!" she exclaimed, padding quickly forward in excitement. From deeper inside the stone den, Roseclaw's head stuck out from the herb stores and the she-cat blinked in surprise. After setting down what she was doing, Roseclaw stepped out to join Mintpaw in front of Sunstar.

"Sunstar, what can I do for you?" Roseclaw meowed curiously. The she-cat was shocked to see Sunstar out of his den, and visiting the medicine cat den no less. The tom looked very tired and worn out, Roseclaw felt sympathetic towards her foster father. She knew he must be having a tough time, perhaps that was why he came to see her, to get some herbs.

"I wanted to speak with you." he meowed impassively without any trace of emotion. From beside her, Roseclaw could see Mintpaw's face fall in disappointment.

Roseclaw nodded, "Come on in." and stepped aside so Sunstar could fully enter the medicine cat den. When the tom had sat down, Roseclaw decided to ask him what was troubling him.

"What is it?" she asked bluntly, although unintentionally. Roseclaw had a very outward personality, but the she-cat meant well, despite her occasional rudeness.

Sunstar's eyes narrowed slightly at her lack of respect, but chose to keep his thoughts to himself. "I need to know if StarClan has spoken to you, about anything. It is of the utmost importance." he meowed gravely.

His words seemed to catch the medicine cat's attention, and her bushy tail twitched uncomfortably. "No, StarClan has not spoken to me lately."

"Nothing? Are you sure, not even a sign?"

Roseclaw shook her head, causing her fur to bounce slightly. "No."

Sunstar's brow furrowed, and his tail twitched in frustration. "You and Mintpaw will go to the Moonstool to share dreams with StarClan. Leave as soon as possible, come report to me when you return. "

His mouth formed a thin line before he brushed by Mintpaw and out of the medicine cat den. Mintpaw's eyes followed Sunstar until he had vanished from their view completely. Roseclaw frowned, it was a long trip to the Moonstool, she knew Sunstar was anxious, but she also knew that even if she did go, nothing would happen.

Mintpaw turned toward her mentor with a crestfallen expression. Roseclaw smiled and tapped her lightly on the shoulder with the tip of her tail, catching the young apprentice's attention. Mintpaw brightened up easily and returned her smile.

She turned back towards the entrance, looking off into the direction Sunstar had gone. "Why did he want to know about your dreams? Is it because of TreeClan?"

Roseclaw shrugged and padded back to the herb store with Mintpaw at her heels. "Probably."

"Why hasn't StarClan said anything? Aren't they supposed to help us?" Mintpaw questioned in an accusing tone.

Roseclaw shook her head, "StarClan will always be there to guide us, but we can't rely on them to solve our problems. Their time has passed, it is the responsibility of the new cats of DarkClan to take care of things now." Despite her words, Roseclaw couldn't help feeling guilty. She felt completely useless.

"Maybe I'll get a dream! I have before, remember? When I became an apprentice!" Mintpaw exclaimed excitedly. Roseclaw purred in amusement and flicked Mintpaw with her tail, "Maybe. We'll see when we go to the Moonstool."

'I wish you would. Now is the time we need their guidance the most.'

Greysight lightly touched noses with Mintpaw before turning to Roseclaw and giving her a gentle shove on the shoulder.

"Stay out of trouble, fuzzbutt."

Lostheart, Darkpelt, Browneyes, and Moonfur stood with them as well while Roseclaw and Mintpaw prepared to depart for the Moonstool. It was clear that Darkpelt wasn't too happy with the decision, but it was an order from Sunstar.

Lostheart watched the exchange silently from behind. 'Is it really a good idea to send both our medicine cats out of camp? They're not even taking a warrior to escort them...'

Lostheart was broken from her musings when Roseclaw made it a point to smile at her before turning with Mintpaw and padding out into the darkness of the tree tunnel. Sunstar had sprung the journey on them rather quickly, and refused to let any of the warriors accompany them.

It was unlikely LightClan would do anything to them, but there was still the chance of a fox attack. 'Maybe I'm worrying too much.'

After Roseclaw and Mintpaw had gone, Greysight turned to face the cats with a grin that deeply contrasted with her blank eyes. "I hope everyone already took care of any thorns in their pads."

Moonfur rolled her eyes at the comment, all the warriors had spent the day constructing Sunstar's new thorn barrier. After much difficulty and several cuts, they had successfully surrounded their camp with thick walls of thorny vines. They were lucky that thorns were so easy to come by in their territory.

By now, the sun was slowly beginning to disappear behind the trees of the forest, and the cats were beginning to make their way towards their dens. Greysight was stopped when Darkpelt stopped in front of her, blocking her entrance into the warriors den.

She immediately growled at the sudden action, "Hey, what's your problem?!"

Darkpelt narrowed his eyes, but otherwise remained calm as he replied. "It's your turn to do the moonlight patrol tonight, or did you forget?"

Greysight snorted in an attempt to hide her embarrassment, "Yeah yeah, I know. I was just going to bring Browneyes with me." she lied.

Darkpelt remained unfazed, "No, you can handle it by yourself. Stop wasting time."

"Alright! I'm going, geeze."

Greysight let out an aggravated breath as she stalked away from the flecked tom and towards the tree tunnel. She didn't have any problem doing moonlight patrols, she just didn't like giving Darkpelt the satisfaction of bullying her around.

The forest was eerily quiet during the night, save for the light sound of crickets chirping amongst the brush. Their territory was naturally very dark because of the trees' thick canopies, but at night it was even more so. It was enough to put any cat on edge.

However, it had never bothered Greysight, darkness was all she had ever known. Padding through the forest, she allowed herself to focus on the world around her. The area was completely still, not a single movement was felt beyond her own pawsteps as they rebounded off the trees and objects around her.

The TreeClan border was always the first to be checked, which was why she was now making her way past Blue Hole and towards the fields. However, something made her stop.

Greysight's ear twitched and she turned slightly, pausing to focus on her surroundings. A small breeze ruffled the trees and bushes around her, causing Greysight to frown slightly. She felt a slight chill ruffle her fur before padding forward.

'Something feels...off.'

Greysight was moving around a large bush when she heard it, a sound too light for any normal cat to hear, but audible to her because of her heightened senses. The slight creak of a branch.

Greysight only had seconds to leap away as an unknown figure leapt down from the trees in attack. Her attacker growled at having missed their target and immediately flashed towards her. Greysight's eyes narrowed, she could tell by their movements that this cat was very well trained.

All of their movements were fluid and precise, and instead of attacking her head on, the cat leapt over her head and attacked from behind. Greysight knew she didn't have time to turn, so she kicked out with her back legs, turning in mid-air as her paws connected with her target.

The cat grunted as they lost their balance. Seeing her opening, Greysight attacked. She leapt onto the figure, slamming them onto the ground and biting furiously into their neck. Sharp claws tore at her sides and face, but she refused to release her attacker. This cat had snuck onto their territory, and now they needed to be taught a lesson!

After struggling for several seconds, the cat suddenly slipped away from her grasp and staggered away from Greysight, breathing heavily as blood dripped from the newly formed scratches on their body. Now that they were at a distance, Greysight tried to identify the cat, but they had masked their scent and she wasn't close enough to figure it out.

Letting out a furious screech, Greysight attacked the intruder in anger. 'Who dares try and attack me!' The cat slipped through her paws, curving and balancing themself with practiced agility. Greysight had never fought a cat like this before.

Hissing furiously at the intruder who had the audacity to try and sneak attack her, Greysight leapt onto them. Her heart beat furiously in her chest and she could the energy from her rage building up inside her.

Underneath her, the lithe cat bit down into one of her hind legs and yanked strongly in an attempt to pull her off. Greysight was able to hang on, and with each pull, she dug her claws in tighter. Letting out a howl of rage the cat suddenly leapt upward and came crashing down backwards onto the earth, crushing Greysight under their weight.

As soon as she was down, the cat stood above her, digging their claws into her chest, but it wasn't for long because Greysight had predicted their movement and kept her back legs ready for attack. She raked at the cat's belly, causing them to flinch and lighten their grip. As they did so, Greysight was able to kick them in the face and slip away from their sharp claws.

The mysterious cat lashed back out at Greysight, missing her neck as she stepped back just in time to avoid their outstretched claws. 'That was a kill move!', this cat was seriously trying to kill her! Greysight retaliated by balancing on her front paws and sweeping her hind legs underneath her opponents.

The cat tried to dodge her maneuver, but fell over in vain as his paws became tangled with her own. Once fallen, Greysight leapt onto the cat in fury, pinning them to the ground and slicing her claws across their neck. Blood spattered the ground and the cat choked out a small growl.

Their body writhed for a moment, but quickly became still. Once she was sure the cat was dead, Greysight allowed herself to step back and take a deep breath in an attempt to calm her pounding heart.

She spat the rancid taste of blood from her mouth, and breathed heavily in an effort to calm herself. Greysight had killed before, but it had never been intentional. The cats she fought with died from their wounds, but she had never tried to take their lives. It was strange though, because although she knew it was a horrible thing, she couldn't find it inside of her to feel bad about it.

'This cat tried to kill me.' Greysight growled to herself. She padded forward without hesitation toward the unknown cat's body. The cat's body lay completely still, and the scent of blood lay accompanied by a strange scent Greysight had never smelled before.

'This must be the scent of whatever it is they used to conceal themself.' Greysight realized.

Now that she was up close to the cat, and they were no longer attacking her, it wasn't hard for her to pin an identity on to her attacker. Although strange, the scent was not altogether unfamiliar. She had scented this cat before, even though at the time it had been from a distance.

The feeling of their lanky form and build was undeniable, and Greysight realized that she had just killed the TreeClan deputy.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I debated on adding the next chapter onto this one, but I decided I'll let you guys have this now. :P I've been thinking of drawing lately, but I'm not sure what. Which reminds me, I got a tumblr question I thought I should adress on here. They asked if they could draw pictures of some of my characters. Feel free, honestly it surprises me that you like the stroy enough to want to do such a thing, but I'd really enjoy seeming them! As long as I get credit of course, same with any other referral you want to make to the story. I think it'd be really cool! So if any of you guys are artsy and want to draw some pics id love to see em'.

Lost Out