Hey, it's been a while! Sadly, I'm probably going to take a little break after this chapter. Not giving up on the story at all, but I'd like to write something else for some time and come back to it later, because it's the only thing I've been writing for months, and to be honest, I'm getting a bit tired of it...

The end of leaf-fall was fast approaching and MistClan kept on growing. Too big, too fast.

A terrible feeling – a near-debilitating worry even – pulsed in Webhollow. It made her grim and distracted; sooner or later this state of mind would make her a weight, pulling the other warriors down. But she couldn't avoid this dread. It felt a lot like how she did in the old Clan, that need to leave filling her up so much that it overflowed in her dreams.

It had started right before Crookedflight's arrival. Webhollow had spent quarter of moon after quarter of moon trying to decipher what her sudden bad feelings meant – just like she had always done. But lately, Hootpaw seemed worried about her. He had barely hidden it when they had taken the time to groom each other and she was almost sleeping on her paws. To avoid any more well-meaning questions, she had resolved to consult the ones who would know.

So here she was, shifting uncomfortably in the medicine cats' den, waiting for Pricklesong's attention. She was almost considering to leave when the brown and white she cat finally turned towards her, and suddenly there was no way out. The medicine cat's hazel eyes felt heavy and Webhollow could barely stop herself from squirming more.

"Dreams, you've said?"

She nodded stiffly, knowing how it sounded. What were dreams and bad feelings worth? Webhollow wasn't a medicine cat or a Clan leader, only a mere warrior.

"Tell me more."

What to say? What to say?

The panic grew and grew. What would make Pricklesong listen? What could make her understand?

"Come here," the medicine cat said gently, "sit next to me. Good. Take deep breaths. Everything is going to be fine."

It took a while to calm down the erratic beating of her own heart – so fast that she could have been mistaken for a rabbit – even with Pricklesong purring steadily against her flank. The older she-cat was nothing but nice and it helped Webhollow regain her composure. Still, she took a little more time to chose her words carefully.

"The stars disappear and we're all left to our fate in the dark. It closes in on us… There is a light, as cold as it is bright, but it's so far away, I never manage to reach it."

"Do you think that spending time away from the Clan could help you?"

"What?"

"You said that you had the same kind of bad feelings before. Maybe it's just in your character and life in the Clan isn't good for you. Maybe StarClan is really trying to tell you something. In any case, don't you think you should follow your instincts?"

Webhollow had thought about many reactions, but not that one. It seemed so… egregious that a medicine cat could advise her to just leave MistClan behind, that it hadn't even crossed her mind.

"Are you telling me to betray the Clan?"

"No, of course not! You just need some time on your own to think about what you need and what you want. And you do that better on your own, don't you?"

Pricklesong wasn't wrong, but to hear it from someone else highlighted the young warrior's sense of inadequacy. She looked down, shuffling her paws once again, and the brown and white medicine cat brushed her shoulder gently.

"Don't worry. I'll talk to Blossomstar, see if we can find you a task that would leave you time to come to terms with… well, with whatever is bothering you. Your own secret mission! Hootpaw will be so jealous."

Still unsure, Webhollow only nodded. Few things could be worse than ignoring her state of mind. Maybe time away would help her make sense of it all, maybe it wouldn't. In truth, she didn't have high hopes, but with a bit of luck, she might be able to bring back a few fresh kills and a good story.

But would Blossomstar agree to let go of one of her few warriors that far into leaf-fall when there were so many kits to feed?

A few sunrises went by before she got an answer, but it finally turned out that Pricklesong was better at convincing their leader than Webhollow had given her credit for. The discussion was short and left her ready to leave immediately, but the medicine cat sported a worried frown when she mewed her goodbyes. Finally, she decided to leave the following morning. It wouldn't do good to go away for long without telling anyone, especially not with orders as vague as 'explore the nearby territories'.

It was easy to convince Mumblepond that it was nothing. Her friend had a lot on his mind with his mate, their kit and Mudholly's twin daughters. She only told him that she was going to leave, they rubbed shoulders and he bid her good luck. Frienship with the light brown-furred warrior was easy, and she was grateful for it.

It made her dread the goodbye to come. Dragging her paws, she didn't utter a word until sunset, when she couldn't push it back anymore.

Sighing, she stuck her head in the apprentice's den.

"Hootpaw?"

Yellow eyes blinked in the darkness of the den and she heard the moss rustling, like he was trying to get up.

"Stay here," she whispered. "Can I come in?"

"Ye- yeah, alright…"

Webhollow hadn't stepped in this den during the night since her warrior ceremony – only throwing a few quick looks to check in from time to time – but the layout was still the same, so she navigated easily to the apprentice's nest.

Not really knowing where to begin, she bought herself time by laying down against his flank. Pressed together like that, it was suddenly very obvious that Hootpaw wasn't a kit anymore; their heights matched.

After a deep breath, she finally spoke, glad that he had given her time to find her words.

"I'm going to leave for a while…"

"Where are you going?"

"I- I can't really say," she mumbled uneasily. "It's a mission for Blossomstar, I wasn't about to refuse."

"When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow. As early as I can, I think."

"And you're only telling me now because it's too late to talk you – or anyone else – into letting me come too," he sighed.

His presence would rather defeat the point, but she definitely couldn't tell him that.

"How long exactly is 'a while'?"

"I don't know."

"Will you be back for my warrior ceremony?"

"I don't know," she shook her head as her tail twitched. It shouldn't be until next moon but… I don't know. I hope I'll be back."

And she realised she meant it. If anything, she wanted to be there for it. As he stayed silent, she began to get back up, but a tail curling around her back leg stopped her.

"Would you… stay? Here- Tonight, I mean. If you're going to go away tomorrow and maybe miss my naming ceremony or just not come back at all, you can't just… leave like that. Please."

He looked up pleadingly, pupils as round as the full moon in the darkness of the den, and she found herself unable to refuse. Scooting closer, she purposefully pushed her head in his neck and soon, a pleased purr filled the silence. The constant sound made her eyelids heavy and knowing that dawn would come sooner than she liked, she let herself drift off.

The first rays of the morning's greyish light stirred her out of sleep. Hootpaw was still sleeping and she hesitated a while before leaving him be. A short trip to the medicine cats' den allowed her to retrieve a bundle of bitter-smelling herbs from Heatherrump, and after the last bite, she was ready to go. As she entered the tunnel to exit the camp, she was certain that she caught sight of Blossomstar, but when she turned back, the clearing was completely empty.

The outside turned out to be just as overwhelming as the camp when she realised that she would need to pick a direction to start her journey. It took her longer than she would have liked to quell her worries but once it was done, she decided to rely on logic to make her choice.

The tunderpath to the east was immediately ruled out: dangerous to cross, it could easily end badly. Nothing good could come from getting close to the Twolegs and their dogs living on the northern side of the territory. When they had first arrived, it had been from the south. Which left the east still unexplored; a blank slate where Webhollow might find something useful.

Her decision made, she shook herself and stepped away from the camp decidedly. Once she was on her way, she covered ground quickly. Each sunrise came with new discoveries: stepping stones farther along a stream that ended up on MistClan's territory, a den of snakes in a large crevice, a very small and empty thunderpath lost in a pine forest…

At first, it had been almost relaxing, even if she had to be more on guard than usual and had taken to sleep in trees to lessen the risks. But the dreams hadn't stopped. If anything, they had gotten worse. And every time, the light seemed a little closer – until it stopped approaching altogether, barely a whisker-length away. Any closer and Webhollow would have been able to touch it, able to pull all her friends out of the dark.

At least now, she was certain that the weren't merely dreams. Why StarClan would call out to her for something seemingly important was beyond her though. And without help, she was tearing her fur out, trying to make sense of everything. Knowing she probably wasn't far frustrated her so much that it overcame any other negative feeling and, well, that was an improvement. Maybe.

Morning after morning, she roamed the area, picked a new tree to sleep in and waited for night to come, replaying the dreams again and again in her head to find a clue she could have missed, hoping that sleep would grant her answers.

Then, as she was eating a mouse she had hunted to take her mind of things, she realised that she had no idea of the time she had spend there. The weather was getting colder, and it had been a while, that was for sure. Had she missed Hootpaw's warrior ceremony? Her tail twitched unhappily at the thought. Resolving to wait for moonhigh to check its shape, she told herself that it might be time to go back. She hadn't made progress in some time, and stewing so long in her worries definitely couldn't be good. Maybe she could come back later, with Heatherrump or Pricklesong, and investigate some more…

The full moon rose and she came to a stop. Webhollow knew she should have been thinking about the fact that she had been gone for more than a moon or maybe worrying about how long it would take to reach the camp. But she couldn't.

Because her eyes were locked on the tree in front of her. A moment ago, it had been indistinguishable from the others, it's needles greyish in the night.

Now, with the full moon shinning right on it, the tree shimmered, silver and bright. If anything could be a sign, this had to be it.

Without hesitation, she climbed a few branches and curled up in a cavity of the trunk. One last try. One last try and then she would allow herself to go home.

Webhollow closed her eyes.

Ah, yes a cliffhanger...