The SkyClan and ShadowClan warriors clashed together in a frenzied sea of writhing pelts. As Frostmask gazed into the fray, trying to make sense of the chaotic battle, blood splattered through the air, sending droplets colliding with her face. She winced back, the metallic scent of iron filling her nose.

Frostmask was still swiping blood from her eyes when a sudden screech ripped through the air. Pineshade was pinned to the ground, blood pouring from half her face as a SkyClan warrior closed their jaws around her throat.

Frostmask's heart lurched. Her paws were shooting forward, but not fast enough. With a sickening squelch, the SkyClan cat's jaws clicked shut, slicing open the vital blood vessels that ran through Pineshade's neck. Blood spurted out between the enemy warrior's fangs as Pineshade's one remaining eye rolled back into her skull.

"No!" Frostmask howled, horror and grief clawing at her chest.

She continued to sprint towards them, her feet flying, but somewhere deep, deep down, she knew it was too late.

"No-no-no-no!" she sobbed, her vision blurring.

"Frostmask?"

"Frostmask!"

Frostmask jerked, her eyes snapping open, chest heaving. Autumnleap peered down at her from by her side, his amber eyes dark with concern. He swept his long tail towards her, encircling her flank.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice soft and gentle. "You started twitching and mumbling, and you looked really upset."

Still breathing hard, Frostmask's gaze flickered away from him and over her surroundings, just to reassure herself that it hadn't truly been real.

She was out in camp on a beautiful new-leaf day. The warm sun-high light heated her pelt, and many other warriors were napping serenely, or sharing prey or tongues. The camp looked so peaceful, it was almost impossible to tell that they'd been locked in battle only a pawful of sunrises ago.

Although ShadowClan had failed to raid RiverClan's herbs— through an extremely unlucky chance, they'd been happened upon by a patrol of RiverClan warriors who'd been leaving their camp. Mosspounce had been gravely wounded, and the patrol had been forced to retreat to save her life— Overall, ShadowClan and ThunderClan had still won the battle. The ShadowClan-led fight against SkyClan succeeded, as did the ThunderClan-led fight against RiverClan, teaching RiverClan and SkyClan two vicious lessons.

Although a few worried murmurs about the herb raid being doomed from the start due to Clearstream's, and therefore StarClan's, disapproval rippled through the Clan, most ShadowClan warriors seemed content to rest on their laurels, confident that they'd finally avenged the attack on their camp.

…But how long until SkyClan and RiverClan decide to avenge this attack against them?

It never ends.

Frostmask gave her head a small shake, pulling herself back to reality.

"Oh thank StarClan, it was just a nightmare," Frostmask sighed, resting her chin down on her paws.

"Want to talk about it?" Autumnleap asked, scooting a bit closer to her so the fur on their flanks brushed.

Frostmask closed her eyes for a heartbeat, the bloody vision washing over her again.

"It was about the battle," Frostmask murmured.

When she glanced up at Autumnleap, he was gazing at her sympathetically.

"About Dappledpelt?" he asked in a quiet voice.

Frostmask's stomach twisted in grief.

Dappledpelt had been the only ShadowClan casualty in the battle against SkyClan.

But, as horrible as it sounded, Frostmask supposed they should count themself lucky only she had died, given the amount of severe injuries some of her other clan-mates had sustained: Mosspounce had lost a lot of blood from her wounds, but managed to pull through. Grovepelt had badly injured one of his forelegs, resulting in a dislocated shoulder. And, Pineshade…

"No," Frostmask said. "It was about Pineshade actually."

Autumnleap nudged the side of her face with his muzzle, trying to cheer her up.

"I'm sure she'll be touched to hear that you care so much that you're having nightmares about her injury," he teased gently.

Frostmask rumbled only a brief, half-hearted purr in response, too preoccupied by her worries to really be amused.

"Do you think she's managing okay?" Frostmask fretted. "I mean losing an eye…"

Autumnleap flicked his torn ear, brushing off her concern.

"She'll be fine! You know Pineshade, she's as tough as flint," Autumnleap assured. "Just yesterday she was bragging to me about how scary it makes her look. She sounded weirdly pleased about it, frankly."

Autumnleap purred, but Frostmask just shifted uneasily.

"But, a lot of that could be an act," she protested. "You know as well as I do that Pineshade hates to let anyone see her when she's actually upset. Besides, you didn't see what it was like when she first got injured. This isn't just another 'cool' scar. It's an eye. Her eye, Autumnleap!"

"I know," Autumnleap said, growing serious. "But, what can we do? Eyes aren't going to grow back like fur. We can either tip-toe around the injury and treat Pineshade like a fragile little bird which—if I know anything about her—would drive her mad. Or, help her, and ourselves, accept that this is the new reality."

Autumnleap gave a small shrug.

"She could certainly be more upset than what she's letting on, that's true," he conceded. "But, we should allow her to cope in the way that she feels is best. And, if that's consoling herself with the idea of frightening the fur off of future apprentice generations with her new intimidating looks, then so be it."

Frostmask's brow furrowed as she absorbed his words.

"Yeah… that's a good point actually," Frostmask said, releasing a quiet sigh.

"'Actually?'" Autumnleap echoed, a teasing sparkle appearing in his gaze. "Don't sound so surprised about it!"

Frostmask rolled her eyes but began to purr.

"Well, forgive me for being impressed," she huffed. "It's not often you hear someone else give wisdom on par with Grovepelt."

"Grovepelt? Now you're just flattering me," Autumnleap purred in response, curling closer to her.

Frostmask placed a paw on her chest as if her integrity had just been deeply challenged.

"I would never do such a thing," she said with fake solemness. "It's true. In some sort of miraculous turn of events, you've become very wise."

Autumnleap winked at her mischievously.

"Well you've always been the smart one. So, it's about time that I started pulling my weight in this partnership," he purred.

Frostmask blinked once, growing serious.

"That's not true, you've always contributed," she said. "There've been so many times that I'd have been lost without you."

Autumnleap's gaze softened with affection.

"Aw… Here I was just trying to tease you, but you had to make it all heartfelt," he said, leaning over to nuzzle her neck. "You're far too sweet."

Frostmask purred, twisting her head to brush her cheek against his for a moment.

"Returning to Pineshade though…" Frostmask said, refocusing the conversation as she pulled her face back from his. "I think I want to go see her before sun-high ends and I have to head out on a patrol."

Autumnleap's ears flattened as his expression twisted into a mock pout.

"But, why do you have to go see her right now? Stay with me," he whined.

"You could come with me," Frostmask offered.

"And, let Pineshade find out that I actually care?" Autumnleap asked, arching a brow. "I'd never hear the end of it from her."

"Everyone knows that you both care about each other, frog-brain" Frostmask purred.

"Ah, but it's the illusion of uncaring that matters," Autumnleap purred. "I've got a reputation to uphold."

Frostmask rolled her eyes again.

"Do you know if anyone's brought her a meal yet today?" Frostmask asked, deciding to just ignore him.

Autumnleap shrugged.

"No clue, but leave it to someone else," he said. "I'm sure one of our clan-mates have. Or will. At some point."

"Autumnleap! She's your sister, and she's injured!" Frostmask scolded, but her tail flicked playfully.

"Clearstream and Elmclaw won't let one of their patients starve," Autumnleap pointed out.

"Oh stop it," Frostmask said, rising to her paws. "I'm going to take her some prey and talk to her for a bit."

Autumnleap's teasing expression faded, and he gazed at her meaningfully.

"Don't worry," Frostmask said, reading his look. "I'm not going to make her talk about how she's coping with injury if she doesn't want to."

"Okay, good," he said, serious for a moment before he wrinkled up his nose in disgust, slipping back into his indifferent act. "Have fun with Pineshade, I guess."

Frostmask started to walk away.

"I will," she said from over her shoulder.

He stuck his tongue out at her, and Frostmask swallowed back her purrs as she turned her attention to the fresh-kill pile. The pile was well stocked from the morning hunting patrols, and Frostmask looked over the options carefully before picking out a large skink. Pineshade liked the scaly taste of reptiles, and she should appreciate it even more since they'd been gone all leaf-bare and were now just returning with the warming weather.

Frostmask then turned towards the cave in Clanrock. Grovepelt was sunning himself a little ways from the cave's entrance. Although he was still recovering his injury, it had not been as life-threatening as Mosspounce's or Pineshade's were, so he was allowed access to the camp while the two of them were still confined to their nests in the medicine cats' den.

Frostmask paused by Grovepelt to greet him before she entered into the cave.

"How are you doing?" she asked, placing the skink by her paws and giving the deputy a respectful dip of her head.

"Alright," Grovepelt said good-naturedly, shifting his position. "My leg isn't healing as fast as I'd like it, but I'm not as young as I used to be either."

"It's only been a few sunrises since the battle," Frostmask meowed. "Pineshade and Mosspounce are still recovering too. I bet you all will start feeling better soon."

"True," Grovepelt agreed, inclining his head towards her slightly. "Speaking of Pineshade though, I assume you're on your way to see her now?"

Frostmask nodded, and Grovepelt purred in response.

"I'm sure she appreciates the company," he said. "Her personality isn't one inclined for sitting around."

"I know," Frostmask said with a wry twitch of her whiskers. "How has she been lately?"

"Her spirits seem good," Grovepelt said. "But losing an eye will be a difficult adjustment for any cat to go through."

Frostmask's brow furrowed, and she nodded slowly.

"Will you let me know if she seems… I don't know." Frostmask shifted her paws, glancing away from Grovepelt as her voice trailed off for a moment. "I know Pineshade is tough, but it's a lot for a cat to go through. I don't want her to have to do it alone."

Grovepelt lightly brushed his tail down Frostmask's side.

"I know that just you visiting and being here for her already helps tremendously," Grovepelt said, gentle reassurance in his voice.

"But, you'll let me know if things change?" Frostmask insisted, her gaze flashing back to his. "If she needs me?"

"Of course," Grovepelt said.

"Thank you," Frostmask murmured.

Grovepelt nodded, shifting his position, but then winced sharply as he accidentally put strain on his wounds.

"Are you okay?" Frostmask asked, blinking at him with concern. "I can get Clearstream or Elmclaw."

"I'm fine," Grovepelt said, releasing a soft, hissed breath "Paledusk just left some deep wounds."

Frostmask stiffened in surprise.

"The SkyClan deputy is who did that to you?" she asked, trying to make sure her voice didn't seem suspiciously interested. "I thought it was Suneyes."

"Suneyes only came after me once Paledusk left to attack Morningstar," Grovepelt rasped. "The SkyClan deputy is quite a formidable warrior."

Grovepelt frowned slightly.

"I hope my wound has healed enough by the full moon. The next gathering is only a quarter of a moon away, I'd hate to give Paledusk the satisfaction of me missing it," he said.

"Maybe if you're not healed enough yet, StarClan will bless us by making it a cloudy night and the gathering will be canceled," Frostmask meowed hopefully.

Grovepelt purred.

"Maybe," he agreed. "Although, I must admit, I am quite enjoying not having to organize the daily tasks for the first time in seasons."

Frostmask purred softly, although the thought of Paledusk still nagged at the back of her mind. She pushed it away to deal with later.

"Why is it that Sedgestar is doing all of the organizing himself?" Frostmask asked. "I'm sure someone like Darkpelt would love to help out."

Grovepelt half-shrugged, only using his good shoulder.

"Sedgestar can be stubborn about these sorts of things, but I imagine that he'll get someone to help if I'm recovering for much longer.

Grovepelt dropped his voice and leaned closer to her confidentially.

"Although, between you and me, I think Sedgestar could keep using the practice. It's been a long time since he was deputy, and he hardly remembers how to send out patrols," he whispered, his whiskers twitching with amusement.

"He did try to assign Poolcloud to two different patrols yesterday morning," Frostmask said, a purr rumbling in her chest.

"Exactly," Grovepelt agreed, leaning back and purring.

Frostmask's purr faded as her brow furrowed in serious thought again for a moment.

"About the gathering though… if it does happen, is there anything Sedgestar can do about Suneyes?" Frostmask's claws unsheathed and dug into the ground. "Like how he called out Rabbitstar seasons ago when he tried to attack me as an apprentice. Can he make Fennelstar punish her? The way she struck Dappledpelt down after she'd already been defeated…"

"…Was dishonorable, but not a crime," Grovepelt sighed.

Frostmask's jaw clenched, and Grovepelt swept a perceptive gaze over her, reading her emotions.

"I know," he murmured. "It doesn't sit right with me either, but Dappledpelt still fell in battle. Suneyes didn't sneak into our territory and murder her as she slept. Sedgestar has no grounds to publicly demand retribution against her."

"It still doesn't seem fair," Frostmask muttered, her tail-tip twitching.

"Unfortunately, not much is in life," Grovepelt murmured, his ears twisting back.

Frostmask sighed through her nose, and the both of them were silent for a moment.

"… Well, I should go see Pineshade," Frostmask said, dipping her head to pick the lizard that she'd brought her back up.

Grovepelt nodded.

"Yes, you should," he said. "Thank you for taking the time to visit with me."

Frostmask waved her tail in goodbye, before turning to brush through the ferns that framed the entrance to the medicine cats' den.

"Hello. Pineshade?" she meowed around the skink in her jaws as she poked her head into the dim cave.

The first thing she noticed was that the medicine cats were notably absent from the den. Then her gaze swept over Mosspounce curled up in the back, evidently sleeping, before finally resting on Pineshade's form. She was awake in her nest, and Murmurstep was sitting next to her. Their heads had been leaning close together, both purring as they engaged in some sort of lively, but low-voiced, conversation, but as Frostmask stuck her head into the den, the two she-cats paused and turned to look at her.

"Oh. Hi Murmurstep. I didn't know you were in here," Frostmask said.

"Hi Frostmask," Murmurstep said with a friendly nod.

"Hey," Pineshade said, her uncovered eye brightening. "Is that fresh-kill for me?"

Frostmask's gaze flickered over Pineshade's face. The space where her left eye used to be was now masked in a dressing of herbs and cobwebs.

Frostmask wouldn't ever tell Pineshade this, of course, but it was a bit of a relief to her that the wound was covered. The memory of seeing the mess of blood and gore where a bright amber eye had once been was still enough to turn her stomach, and it felt especially fresh after her nightmare.

"Yeah, if you want it," Frostmask said, stepping properly into the cave. "I wasn't sure if you'd already eaten."

"I had some prey at dawn, but for some reason I'm as starving as a fox again," Pineshade said as Frostmask padded over to her and Murmurstep.

"You deserve to eat as much as you want," Murmurstep declared with a swish of her golden-furred tail. "You're probably so hungry because your body is spending all its energy healing."

"The warm weather is tempting all the prey out too, so there's plenty to go around," Frostmask added. "Right now you practically can't take a step out of camp without trodding on a skink."

Frostmask placed the prey down at Pineshade's paws, and she wasting no time in tucking into the food. As Pineshade ate, Frostmask's gaze flickered from her and to Murmurstep.

"Sorry if I was interrupting anything," she said, recalling how absorbed the two had seemed in their conversation when she'd stepped in.

Pineshade shook her head.

"We were just chatting," she said.

"Yeah," Murmurstep said with a nod. "I should get going anyway. I promised Amberberry that I'd visit her and the kits in the nursery soon."

Pineshade lifted her head from her meal as Murmurstep rose to her paws and briefly stretched.

"Okay," Pineshade said, swiping her tongue around her muzzle to clean up any stray spots of prey-blood. "Are you going to come back later?"

Murmurstep nodded.

"I'll stop by before going to my nest tonight," she said.

"Good," Pineshade said with a sigh. "It's just so boring lying here with nothing to do all day. It even makes me miss border patrols."

Murmurstep's whiskers twitched with amusement.

"And, uneventful border patrols are about as exciting as watching grass grow," she said.

"Exactly," Pineshade growled. "So, you know it's bad."

Pineshade gave her head a small shake as if she was trying dislodge the looming tedium.

"Anyway though, I don't want to waste the time you wanted to spend with your mom and siblings," Pineshade said, waving Murmurstep away with her tail. "Thanks for visiting."

"It's not a waste," Murmurstep assured, a playful glint appearing in her eyes. "You know that if I didn't want talk to you, I just wouldn't do it."

"I believe it," Pineshade said drily. "I don't think Amberberry named you 'Murmur' for your chatty disposition."

Murmurstep nodded, beginning to purr.

"Mosspounce always did enough talking for the both of us," she said, turning towards the exit. "I'll see you later, Pineshade."

"See you," Pineshade responded.

"Bye Murmurstep," Frostmask chimed in.

Murmurstep glanced over at her with a blink like she'd forgotten that she was there. But, her look of surprise shifted to a friendly expression as she nodded farewell to Frostmask before padding out of the cave, her long golden fur billowing around her.

Frostmask watched her go for a moment before glancing over at Pineshade. But, Pineshade wasn't looking at her; rather she'd turned her attention to her fresh-kill, although she was now only picking at it, as if her ravenous appetite had suddenly dissipated. Frostmask settled down in a crouch, taking Murmurstep's spot at Pineshade's side.

"So… Murmurstep sure has been stopping by a lot, huh?" Frostmask commented, watching Pineshade carefully from the corner of her eyes for a reaction.

Pineshade gave a half-shrug before reclining back, taking a break from her meal for the moment.

"Of course she is. Her sister's here," Pineshade said matter-of-factly. "Normally she and Mosspounce are tied together at the tail."

Frostmask shot her a skeptical glance.

"That's funny, because from where I was standing, it'd looked like she was at your side. Not Mosspounce's," Frostmask meowed teasingly.

Pineshade arched a brow.

"Mosspounce's sleeping right now. Duh."

Frostmask's ears angled back slightly. Of course Murmurstep would visit to see her sister, but Frostmask seriously doubted that was the only reason.

"Come on, you know what I mean," Frostmask said, dropping the teasing.

As soon as Frostmask's tone turned more direct, Pineshade's expression shifted to a guarded one, and she glared at Frostmask, her chin jutting out stubbornly.

"No. I don't think I do," she said.

Frostmask angled her ears towards the exit where Murmurstep had been moments before.

"She's is clearly coming here to see you too," she said.

"So?" Pineshade asked, her tail twitching defensively.

Frostmask sighed to herself.

She's really going to make me spell it out then?

"Well, I think that Murmurstep likes you. Like, really likes you!" Frostmask said.

Pineshade's ears twisted back, and her good eye flitted away from Frostmask quickly.

"No… we're just friends," Pineshade said down to her paws.

"Maybe that's how you feel," Frostmask said with a soft huff of amusement. "But, I don't think Murmurstep feels the same way. It took me a while to figure it out, since she's shy, you know. But, I'm pretty sure that she's been padding after you for a while."

"That's rich coming from the cat who didn't realize that Autumnleap liked her, until he was forced to hit her upside the head with the information!" Pineshade hissed suddenly, glaring at her from the corner of her eye.

"I— hey!" Frostmask protested, frowning. "With Autumnleap it was… Well, anyway that's not relevant! You're deflecting!"

"Frostmask," Pineshade said sharply, turning her head to stare directly at her again. "We're just friends. Okay?"

"Is it because she's a she-cat?" Frostmask prodded. "Because I thought you—"

"It's not that," Pineshade interrupted, shaking her head. "It has nothing to do with Murmurstep. It's because I already have a mate, frog-brain! Dampfang!"

Frostmask bit back a groan.

"Yeah, and how is Dampfang doing?" Frostmask asked sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "You must be catching up a lot with him in the whole two times that he's come to visit you while you've been been stuck in this cave for the past quarter moon."

"He's been busy," Pineshade snapped defensively, her shoulder fur bristling.

"We're all busy. But, I'm not your mate, and yet somehow I've still managed to see you more than that," Frostmask argued. "And, Murmurstep practically comes by every morning and evening, as regular as the sun rising and setting!"

"Dampfang shows he cares in different ways," Pineshade hissed, her ears flattening against her head. "He's been training Cricketpaw for me while I've been healing, in addition to Cedarpaw!"

Frostmask sighed but broke eye-contact with Pineshade, hoping it'd diffuse some of the tension and anger that'd started sparking between them like fire at the mention of Dampfang.

"If you need someone to train Cricketpaw, I don't mind taking her out with me and Lizardpaw too. Maybe it'll free Dampfang up so he can stop by to see you more often." Frostmask tried to keep the venom from her voice, but still found herself unable to resist the final barb.

"It's better for Cricketpaw to train with an apprentice on her level," Pineshade grumbled, her tail flipping against the ground with still-obvious irritation. "Lizardpaw is nearly a warrior."

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't come here to make you upset," Frostmask meowed, glancing back over at Pineshade again. "I just don't understand that if you have a choice between Murmurstep and Dampfang, why'd you pick—"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Pineshade growled, cutting her off. "We both know that we'll never agree about Dampfang, so just drop it, okay?"

Frostmask hesitated, glancing back over at Pineshade from out of the corner of her eye. Pineshade scowled at her.

"This is my life, and my choices," Pineshade said firmly. "So keep your muzzle out of it."

"Okay, okay. Fine," Frostmask sighed, conceding. "We don't have to talk about Dampfang anymore."

Pineshade gazed at her hard.

"Or Murmurstep?" she prompted.

"Or Murmurstep," Frostmask reluctantly agreed.

"Good," Pineshade meowed, giving a curt nod of satisfaction, just as the sound of rustling filled the den.

Frostmask glanced over her shoulder to see Mosspounce stirring in her nest, evidently awakened by the sounds of their argument. Mosspounce raised her head, blinking sleep out of her eyes.

"…Murmurstep?" Mosspounce echoed curiously, turning her gaze onto Frostmask and Pineshade. "What about Murmurstep?"

…Uh-oh.

Frostmask's eyes widened slightly, and she glanced over at Pineshade. They exchanged an uncertain look, but Frostmask gave her head a tiny shake, deferring to her.

She did just ask me to stay out of it, after all…

Pineshade's brow furrowed as she tried to come up with some sort of response, but she was either too slow with her excuses or Mosspounce was too good at reading their expressions. As Mosspounce studied the two of them, recognition flitted across her face.

"Oh…" Mosspounce said, giving a knowing nod. "We're talking about Murmurstep's massive crush on Pineshade, aren't we?"

I knew it!

Frostmask stifled a purr of victory and glanced over at Pineshade to see her response. But, instead of answering, Pineshade just groaned and buried her face in her paws.

As sun-high wore on, Frostmask and Mosspounce tried, and failed, to needle any more information about Pineshade's feelings for Murmurstep out of her, and eventually they turned to different topics of conversation. Then Pineshade was spared any additional scrutiny when Sedgestar's call for a clan meeting rung out through camp, ending their conversation completely.

"I wonder what that's about," Frostmask said, gazing out of the den's entrance.

"Let's go find out," Pineshade said, hauling herself to her paws.

Frostmask widened her eyes at her.

"Are you supposed to be out of your nest?" she asked, rising to her feet as well.

Pineshade rolled her eye.

"All I'm doing is walking out of the den. I think I'll survive," she said drily.

Frostmask led the way out with Pineshade and Mosspounce following. The two of them settled right outside the cave's entrance, where Frostmask bid goodbye to the them, padding over to rejoin Autumnleap and sit with him instead.

Frostmask leaned close to Autumnleap's ear.

"Later, I've got to tell you what I just found out about Murmurstep and Pineshade," she muttered.

Autumnleap's ears pricked in interest, but he didn't respond, as the clan meeting was starting. Frostmask turned her attention towards Sedgestar.

He was perched on top of the Clanrock like he always was during meetings, but this time he wasn't alone. Clearstream stood on the boulder next to him, while Elmclaw and Grovepelt sat side-by-side at the foot of it.

Sedgestar cleared his throat as everyone settled down.

"I've called you all here today not for my own announcement, but for Clearstream's," Sedgestar said, not wasting time on pleasantries. "She will speak to you."

Sedgestar turned to the medicine cat and nodded, ceding the floor to her. Clearstream strode to the front of Clanrock, and Frostmask's pelt prickled with nervousness.

Clearstream's never called a clan-meeting before. Is it something bad? Has she received a vision or prophecy? Is there some sort of sickness?

"Clan-mates, friends, I come to you today with a difficult but necessary decision," Clearstream began, her pelt smooth and her expression composed. "I am choosing to step down from my role as medicine cat and retire to the elder's den."

Stunned silence met her words. Clan-mates stared up at Clearstream with blank, shocked expressions as if instead of announcing her retirement, they'd just heard Clearstream announce that she could fly.

Frostmask blinked. The thought of Clearstream no longer being their medicine cat was a strange one even to her, but she knew it must be even more incomprehensible for the older cats, most of who couldn't remember a time when Clearstream was not ShadowClan's head medicine cat.

She's been the senior medicine cat for longer than Sedgestar's been alive! What must he think of this?

Frostmask glanced from Clearstream over to Sedgestar to find his expression a stony mask.

He's not pleased then.

"Healing has always been my biggest passion," Clearstream continued. "But, as the seasons have worn on me, I'm finding it harder to complete my duties."

Clearstream gave a rueful twitch of her whiskers.

"Traveling to the Moonstone has become very difficult for me, and now my joints ache even after just spending the day sorting herbs. It has been an honor to serve ShadowClan as your medicine cat, and I shall greatly miss it. But, I know that I'll be leaving you in Elmclaw's capable paws."

Clearstream glanced down at where Elmclaw was sitting at the base of Clanrock, and her blue gaze filled with affection.

"I could've not asked for a better apprentice than him, and I know he will serve ShadowClan faithfully." An edge of amusement entered her mew, and Clearstream purred. "Perhaps even better than I have."

As Clearstream finished her speech, the clan remained still and silent for a few more heartbeats. The first cat to move, oddly enough, was Marshnose, who rose slowly to his paws.

"This doesn't have anything to do with that argument you and Sedgestar got into, right?" Marshnose growled, shooting an accusatory glance at their leader.

Frostmask blinked in surprise at Marshnose's defense of Clearstream.

Were he and Clearstream close? Marshnose hardly seemed to be a particularly spiritual cat, and he was one of ShadowClan's most aggressive warriors— he'd even participated in Sedgestar's patrol to raid RiverClan's herbs! Why was he so bothered by Clearstream and Sedgestar's argument?

Realization hit Frostmask as she glanced at Clearstream and noticed that she and Marshnose had very similar body types. Both were shorter, stocky cats with very long pelts.

Oh... they must be kin then.

For a moment, Frostmask felt an irrational stab of jealousy towards the two. She almost couldn't believe that two cats as different as Clearstream and Marshnose could be loyal and support each other for no reason other than that they were related. It would be nice if she had a connection like that in ShadowClan, but all of her kin were in SkyClan…

Frostmask was abruptly pulled out of her thoughts as Sedgestar began speaking.

"How dare you imply that I'd force Clearstream to retire!" Sedgestar hissed, a line of fur down his spine bristling. "I'd never—"

Clearstream touched her tail-tip to Sedgestar's shoulder, stilling him.

"Sedgestar did not influence my decision at all," Clearstream meowed. "It's something that I'd been planning since leaf-bare, but I wanted to wait until new-leaf. I couldn't retire when our Clan faced so many threats from both sickness and poison."

Marshnose dipped his head in concession, although Frostmask still spotted a few cats exchanging skeptical glances. Her brow furrowed.

Do cats really think that Sedgestar would make Clearstream retire because she disagreed with his plan to steal RiverClan's herbs?

Sedgestar wouldn't do that… would he? The timing did seem awfully coincidental. But, the vast majority of the time that Frostmask had known Clearstream and Sedgestar, the two appeared to be friends.

"Clearstream warns Sedgestar against raiding the herbs. His patrol fails, and then she steps down?" Frostmask heard Treefur mutter to Greytail from their spot outside the elders' den.

"Does seem like bad timing," Greytail whispered back, her tail-tip twitching. "It may be an omen of disapproval from StarClan against Sedgestar."

"Or, maybe it's just Clearstream punishing Sedgestar for not listening to her," Treefur hissed in a hushed voice. "Why support a clan leader that doesn't listen to her advice? Sedgestar's always been arrogant, but thinking that he's above our medicine cat is too much. Next thing you know he'll be thinking that he's above StarClan themselves!"

Darkpelt's thick tail thumped heavily against the ground, interrupting Treefur and Greytail.

"Enough. Sedgestar wouldn't do that," Darkpelt said in a low rumble, shooting the other elders a sharp glance.

Treefur scoffed but didn't respond.

Frostmask's pelt prickled, and her gaze drifted back up to Sedgestar. Would he disavow the rumors about him that were rippling through the camp? Sedgestar's head and tail hung low, and his tail-tip twitched, but he didn't try to defend himself again as he'd done against Marshnose. Instead, Sedgestar just turned his gaze towards Clearstream.

"ShadowClan honors you and your many seasons of service," he said, his voice even and his expression carefully neutral. "Many StarClan bless you with many more moons of rest."

Clearstream dipped her head to him gratefully, and Sedgestar sprung off of Clanrock without another word, indicating that the meeting was over. Frostmask's eyes tracked Sedgestar as he stalked off towards his den, slipping into the tunnel between the Oak Tree's roots. Emberflower gazed after him worriedly, lifting a paw to follow him, but Grovepelt limped up to her and murmured something in her ear. She nodded and muttered something back in response, and Grovepelt continued on to Sedgestar's den, following the leader inside.

Elmclaw bounded onto the Clanrock to help Clearstream down. They moved slowly and carefully, Clearstream wincing when her paws flexed too far.

Despite whatever cats think about Sedgestar's hidden agendas, Clearstream isn't lying about her painful arthritis.

Even with the meeting dismissed, most of the clan lingered out in camp, breaking into smaller groups for discussion. Dampfang and Dustleap joined Marshnose, with Treefur meandering over to them as well. Frostmask's ears flicked as she caught fragments of their conversation.

"…No matter what they're saying publicly, it seems strange for Clearstream to retire now, right after the battle, if she wasn't trying to make some sort of statement," Marshnose was saying.

"Everyone knows that Elmclaw isn't as pacifistic as her too," Treefur said. "I wouldn't be surprised if Sedgestar thought it would be convenient for him for him to be head medicine cat instead. Cause less friction with his plans."

"Sedgestar's decisions have been questionable lately," Dampfang agreed in a low voice. "For the past season in fact, ever since the attack on our camp. Look, honestly you all know that I don't care about RiverClan or SkyClan, or about stealing their herbs, personally. But, Clearstream is the mouth of our ancestors and their laws, which have governed our clans for generations. And, Sedgestar going against her wishes is just one more mark in a growing pattern of doubtful behavior."

Marshnose, Dustleap, and Treefur all nodded, gazing at Dampfang.

"First Sedgestar waited too long for us to strike back against SkyClan and RiverClan," Dampfang said, continuing. "We lost so many good cats this winter. If we had fought back earlier, perhaps claimed some of their territory as our own hunting grounds, lives could have been saved. Would Hootflight have died if we could've avoided hunting so near the Carrionplace? Would Fogfur, Buzzardpaw, and Flymask have succumbed to greencough if their bodies hadn't already been so weakened by hunger?"

Dustleap growled softly at the mention of his son, his ears pinning back against is head. Marshnose dug his claws into the ground, and Treefur sighed sorrowfully.

"Sedgestar also never did a thorough investigation as to how SkyClan found out about our tunnel, which led to the attack in the first place!" Dampfang said, his voice rising slightly and his tail starting to lash as he grew more worked up. "That and the rotten pine omen… we could still have a traitor in our midst who gave the information to SkyClan! And, now when we finally did strike back against SkyClan and RiverClan, what do we have to show for it? Only Dappledpelt's death. Sedgestar allowed ThunderClan to claim full ownership of the territory that our warriors fought and died to take from SkyClan, in return for not even a measly mouse tail! We took no land, no prey, nothing from SkyClan or RiverClan, or ThunderClan!"

His companions growled in agreement, and Frostmask's fur prickled.

How many other clan-mates thought the same way as Dampfang? Frostmask would be lying if she said she'd never challenged Sedgestar's decisions, but she didn't realize that discontent against their leader was growing so strong in their Clan.

"…Earth to Frostmask!" Autumnleap said, prodding her shoulder with a light poke of his paw.

She blinked and glanced over at him. He was gazing at her with a bemused expression, although his whiskers also twitched with amusement.

"Oh, sorry. Did you say something?" Frostmask asked.

"You didn't hear me at all then?" Autumnleap said, rumbling a brief purr. "What were you thinking about?"

"I— Er… Was eavesdropping actually," Frostmask admitted, angling her ears towards Dampfang and his group.

Autumnleap's amber eyes lit up with curiosity.

"Anything interesting?" he asked.

"They're just talking about the meeting," Frostmask reported. "They don't seem particularly happy with Sedgestar."

"Dampfang's not happy with Sedgestar, what else is new?" Autumnleap said drily with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah… although he seemed particularly vehement about it this time," Frostmask said, her tail flicking.

Autumnleap twitched his ears dismissively.

"But, you know how Dampfang is. He gets his tail in a knot about something Sedgestar does, sulks about it for a bit, and then forgets about it." Autumnleap shrugged. "Half a moon later, the cycle repeats."

Dampfang hasn't forgotten these things though. Frostmask thought, but she didn't try to argue with Autumnleap.

"Anyway," Autumnleap said. "What I had said was, what is it that you wanted to tell me about Pineshade and Murmurstep?"

Frostmask's ears pricked, excitement stirring in her chest as she remembered.

"Oh yeah! They—"

"Frostmask! Autumnleap!" Poolcloud's voice interrupted her as he came running over, his eyes shining. "I have something really important to tell you."

Poolcloud was purring loudly and shifting from paw to paw. In fact, his excitement was so palpable, Frostmask could almost see it crackling off of his black and white pelt like lightning. Autumnleap turned to his brother, studying his agitated state with a curious gaze.

"What's up?" Autumnleap asked.

"Wait. Let's get Pineshade too," Poolcloud said, his eyes darting behind them to where Pineshade still lingered by the entrance to the medicine cats' den at the base of Clanrock. "Come on!"

Poolcloud hared across camp as if he couldn't bare to move at a pace slower than a sprint. Frostmask and Autumnleap exchanged an amused glance before following him. Curiosity stirred in Frostmask's chest as she padded after him. Poocloud was a generally happy and upbeat cat, but this level of excitement was unusual, even for him.

Autumnleap and Frostmask reached Pineshade, who Poolcloud had stopped from reentering the medicine cats' den. The three of them turned to Poolcloud as he planted his paws firmly in front of them, still purring. Pineshade's tail flicked slightly as if she was annoyed at Poolcloud's overly enthusiastic intrusion, but her inquisitively pricked ears betrayed the fact that she was just as curious about what was going on as Autumnleap and Frostmask were.

"Alright Poolcloud," Pineshade said. "Spit it out. What's going on?"

Poolcloud purred louder, puffing out his chest and lifting his chin.

"Dewleaf and I are having kittens!"

For a fraction of a moment, no one spoke or moved. Then Autumnleap released a wordless yowl of joy and sprung at Poolcloud, nearly tackling him to the ground in his eagerness to embrace him.

"There's going to be a bunch of little Poolcloud's running around the camp?!" Autumnleap purred, enthusiastically rubbing his face against his brother's. "What's ShadowClan going to do?"

"Pray to StarClan that the kits actually end up like Dewleaf of course," Pineshade answered drily.

She was far more composed than Autumnleap, and she didn't move towards Poolcloud to rub her pelt against his. But, a loud purr still rumbled in her chest, and her shining amber eye showed her true delight. As the surprise of the announcement faded, Frostmask's heart swelled with joy for Poolcloud and Dewleaf.

"I can't believe it!" Frostmask gasped, her throat closing slightly with emotion. "You and Dewleaf are going to be such wonderful parents. Congratulations!"

Autumnleap's embrace of Poolcloud had turned to playful wrestling, but Poolcloud finally managed to disentangled himself from him. His eyes were still bright, though, as he scrambled back to his paws.
"Thank you, Frostmask, for your kind words," Poolcloud said, purring as he shot a pointed look at Autumnleap and Pineshade. "Unlike these two frog-brains."

"What do you mean? Of course we're happy for you too!" Autumnleap protested, his tail flicking playfully as he shook the dirt from their wrestling out of his pelt.

Pineshade nodded in agreement.

"We're just wishing for what's best for your kits," she said, her purr rumbling louder. "You don't really hope that they'll end up like you, right? You'd doom them to that existence?"

"What?! Why can't they be like me? What's wrong with me?" Poolcloud protested, his brow furrowing in mock indignation.

"'What's wrong with you?'" Autumnleap echoed, his amber eyes shimmering with delighted amusement. "Oh, where to begin!"

"But, why'd you want them to be like you when they could be like Dewleaf?" Pineshade cut in before Poolcloud could respond to Autumnleap, her tail flicking teasingly. "Or, like me for that matter? You're naming one after me, right?"

Poolcloud let out a loud, incredulous huff, tossing his head.

"Ha! As if. I think I'd rather chew off my own tail," he said, his eyes gleaming. "It's already going to be hard enough stopping you from corrupting them. There's no way in StarClan that I'm also naming one after you."

Pineshade screwed her face up in offense.

"But, you're naming one after me, right?" Autumnleap asked, his eyes round and beseeching.

"No! Not a single one of my kits will be named after either of you annoying furballs!"

Frostmask purred, her chest warm with love and joy as her friends bickered on, but she couldn't shake the quiet sense of melancholy that crept over her too, casting a shadow over her happiness.

New-leaf was the season of beginnings and change, and the cats' lives seemed to reflect that. Things were changing so quickly. Conflict between ShadowClan, and SkyClan and RiverClan was escalating again, but the dynamics within ShadowClan were shifting too. Pineshade was going to learn how to live with the loss of an eye. Poolcloud and Dewleaf were becoming parents…

Then there was the state of the clan's leadership. With Clearstream retired and Grovepelt injured, the weight of the clan fell solely on Sedgestar's shoulders now more than ever. But, would he be able to carry it alone? Discontent in ShadowClan's warriors was already growing, and as much as it pained Frostmask to agree with Dampfang, he was right that the rotten pine omen still loomed overhead.

With all this uncertainty… when this season is over, how much of ShadowClan will be changed forever?

End of Book 2

Author's Note: Ah here it it! The end of Book 2!

I know that I just got back to posting chapters, but I think I'm going to take a short hiatus as I work on the next book. I just have other things going on at the moment, and I'm about to move cities soon, which will take a lot of time/energy. I'm still going to be writing, but I think it would be nice to create a buffer of prewritten chapters, so I'm not finishing the chapter right before posting them. So, the next chapter won't be out until August at the soonest.

Also, friendly reminder that when the next chapter comes out, I will be officially changing the name of this fic to "Cold Bloodlines!" So if you're used to searching the fic up by its title, keep that in mind, but I will also have a note in the fic's summary with its former title.

Reviews: Brian.H.H: Thank you! Yes, absolutely about Paledusk. I think while he doesn't necessarily have many qualms about killing, he's not like someone who relishes in it just for the thrill of it. He sees it as more of a means to an end. And, yeah Suneyes does have a reason for her rampage, but since we are seeing things from Frost's PoV, it's not immediately obvious what that is. Also, while killing a defeated enemy is definitely seen as dishonorable, I'm imagining that at this point in the Clan's history the code about honorable warriors not having to kill in battle hasn't been established. So while Suneyes' actions are seen as cowardly, unnecessary, and just generally looked down upon, ShadowClan doesn't really have any grounds for demanding retribution from SkyClan (as Grovepelt mentions in the chapter.) But, I think that it will cast an irrevocable shadow on Suneyes' reputation (which like for example, Paledusk does not have with Swoopstrike, since he killed him in fair/honorable combat) so that will mark her for her whole life more or less, and probably prevent her from becoming deputy one day or anything like that, since I'd doubt Fennelstar would want the bad PR that'd come along with it. And, as always, I appreciate your analysis! Although I can't say much about the potential deputy situation at the moment…

Autumnleap: He was! Not to worry though, he made it out mostly unscathed lol.

FastBreeze37: Thank you so much for your review! It makes me so happy to hear that you enjoy the story, and definitely don't apologize for the length of your review! I enjoyed reading every part of it :) I'm going to try to address the different parts of your review in order as you wrote it: I'm glad you like all the character interactions! Community being such a big theme in this story (and the sometimes lacking aspect of it in the canon books) made me want to give that a big focus. Pineshade is one of my favorites when it comes to character development too, although its hard for me to pick my overall favorite characters (it's like choosing a favorite child. Expect for Dampfang. I also don't like Dampfang haha.)

Yeah, Sedgestar is very complicated, for the reasons that you laid out so well. When I was creating his character, I pretty much wanted him to be the essence of ShadowClan— clever, mysterious, proud. My intentions were to mostly show the good of ShadowClan through him (since ShadowClan is so often assigned the role of the 'villain' Clan) but there is also that darker side to his nature. His biggest flaw in my opinion is that he would watch the world burn to save the ones that he loves. Which is basically why he was so harsh with his betrayal of Frost. Like it was not only because he wasn't totally thinking straight because he was so emotionally and physically frayed at that moment, but he'd also convinced himself that she'd betrayed them and felt like he had to choose between the rest of the Clan and her. So, no matter what kindness or affection he had felt for her prior to that moment, he was totally ruthless when it came to cutting her out. I do think he in genuinely remorseful about his actions now though, and doesn't believe that Frost betrayed ShadowClan, but he is too prideful to have the kind of heart to heart conversation with her (at least not right now.)

Also I think your point about Sedgestar and Paledusk being similar is very insightful! I definitely agree; they are kind of two sides of the same coin. I like to think of Sedgestar as being the leader that Paledusk could have been (if Paledusk cared a bit more about others.)

I love your analysis on Dampfang, but I don't want to say too much about him at the moment and give anything away. Also I'm glad you like the time period that I picked! Yeah, I wanted to set the story in a more "brutal" time of the clans. Like I imagine that at this point the code that "honorable warriors don't have to kill in battle" hasn't even been established yet. Like they still believe in a code of honor, but its not like an explicit rule at this point.

Yes! I will be giving the 'books' their own subtitles! I think I've settled on the names that I want to use (and they are all cold/winter themed like your suggestions haha) but thank you for the suggestions :)

Avalanche: Thank you so much for your well wishes! Also, it makes me really happy to hear that you like the story so much :) Oooo that's a very interesting theory about Paledusk and Suneyes… As for Pineshade and Dampfang, I can't say much on how their relationship changes following her injury, but it is definitely something that's coming up! I know them being together is really annoying though lol. If only Pineshade wasn't so stubborn about changing her mind.