Author's Note: We're almost through Into the Wild, from Goldenflower's perspective. I've done my best to stick to the timeline laid out in the original book and tried to flesh out the clan and the relationships between the queens more. The story is now drafted out through to the end of The Darkest Hour (~60 or so chapters), with a focus on Goldenflower and her family and her relationship with Tigerclaw, which was glossed over in the books. The epilogue is already written :) but I can't post it yet (clearly).

"What can you smell?" Goldenflower asked the kits. She had hidden a mouse in the stones by Bluestar's den and laid a scent trail for the kits to follow. It would be a good distraction for them.

Her ear twitched as she heard a low groan of pain from the nursery. Brindleface was kitting and she had agreed to watch the kits to keep them out of the nursery. Duskpetal was in the nursery. The she-cat hasn't eaten since the battle and only left her nest to go make dirt. The spark in her blue eyes had gone out and it was the other queens who watched her kits.

Swiftkit wrinkled his nose, concentrating. None of the kits had seen her hide the mouse. She wondered for a moment if they would be able to pick up on the scent of the mouse. It was the only piece of fresh-kill in the camp at the moment. Whitestorm had caught it in the ravine for her, as a favor for her.

Brackenkit parted his jaws slightly, tasting the air. His amber eyes narrowed. "I smell mouse," he meowed cautiously.

"Can the rest of you smell it?" Goldenflower prompted. One by one the kits nodded, except for Deepkit. The black tom looked frustrated.

"I can't smell it!" He protested.

"It's okay. Try parting your jaws just a bit more and breathing in deep. Let the scents fall over you and think about what mice smell like."

Deepkit did as she said, the other kits copying him. Goldenflower purred. It was good practice for them. "I smell it!" Deepkit crowed, leaping to his paws.

"That's great." Goldenflower wrapped her tail over her paws. "Now I want all of you to let me know where you think the scent is coming from. Just move to where it is strongest and I'll let you know if you're on the right track."

The kits scurried about, searching for the mouse.

"Mentoring the kits?" Tigerclaw's rumble startled her. His tail touched her shoulder gently.

"Keeping them busy," she replied. "Brindleface is kitting."

"The nursery is rather full," Tigerclaw commented.

"Indeed. They'll be apprentices before we know it." Goldenflower watched as Longtail stumbled over Swiftkit. The light tabby tom looked annoyed, but then softened, subtly pointing the kit towards Highrock.

A comfortable silence fell between them, broken by Tigerclaw's weary sigh.

"Something on your mind?"

"A lot," Tigerclaw admitted. "A lot I wouldn't say in camp with prying ears around. Brokenstar has to be dealt with. He has to pay for what he's done to the clan."

"Lionheart would say that vengeance isn't everything."

"Your brother was a nobler tom than I."

"I miss him," she whispered. "You went to the Moonstone, right? Was it still the same as when you first saw it as an apprentice?"

The tip of Tigerclaw's tail twitched. "It was strange. As an apprentice, it felt exciting, but distant, like it didn't really matter all that much to warriors. But this last time… it's a sacred spot," he said, after a lengthy pause.

"If only StarClan spoke to warriors like you and I," Goldenflower sighed. "There's so many cats I'd love to see again."

"StarClan prefers to remain distant for reasons I've never understood," Tigerclaw grumbled. His amber eyes narrowed. "Are the kits supposed to be sniffing around Bluestar's den?"

"Not quite." Goldenflower leapt to her paws.

Tigerclaw called her name softly. She shivered at hearing how his voice caressed the syllables and looked back at him. "We should go hunting sometime. Once all this settles down."

"Sometime," Goldenflower promised. Her stomach fluttered. She'd love to hunt with the tabby warrior without worrying about Swiftkit and without the threat of Brokenstar. Brokenstar. She pushed away the snarl of anger that rose in her at the thought of the ShadowClan leader. He and his warriors were responsible for so much death.

"Kits! Not in Bluestar's den!"

—

Brindleface nuzzled her kits, her green eyes glowing with a mixture of joy and sadness. Spottedleaf had just left the den with Elderkit's body. Her other three kits were happy and healthy, squirming against Brindleface's belly. Fernkit looked just like her mother, with the same brindling that would darken as she gets older. Tulipkit and Ashkit were pale gray iterations.

Whitestorm sat behind the she-cat. He and Brindleface were close friends. "They're beautiful," Goldenflower murmured.

"Thank you," Brindleface meowed. "The whole clan has been trooping in here today to see them."

"Really?"

"Even the apprentices," Whitestorm meowed. "Young Firepaw and Graypaw were here earlier."

"I'm glad they're taking an interest in all aspects of clan life," Goldenflower meowed. Frostfur was not in the den, having gone to pick over the fresh-kill pile. Her kits had gone outside to play. Goldenflower wasn't too concerned. There were plenty of cats in camp to keep an eye on them. Her own kit, Swiftkit, was sitting at the edge of the nursery, wide awake. Goldenflower beckoned to him.

He scrambled across the nursery, skidding to a stop in front of her. "Yes?"

"I told you I'd show you the ravine later," she whispered. "Do you want to go now while the others are sleeping?"

"Yes!" Swiftkit bounced on the balls of his feet.

"Congratulations, Brindleface." As she slipped out of the den, she heard Brindleface ask Whitestorm to bring her some prey from the freshkill pile, but her mew was interrupted by a wide yawn.

"Stay with me." Swiftkit stopped and danced impatiently in place as she followed at a more sedate pace. "We'll go through the barrier together."

Swiftkit fidgeted, darting ahead and then stopping. "Come on!"

They stepped through the thorny tunnel together and Goldenflower watched as her son's eyes went wide. Swiftkit looked around, the fur on his spine bristling uneasily. "And you climb this every day as a warrior?"

"Every day to go on patrols."

"How?" Swiftkit reared up and set his paws on the stone wall of the ravine.

"There are easier paths than that one. And when you're bigger, this isn't so daunting." She remembered the first time she stepped into the ravine. She had felt so small and the world seemed so big and full of promise. She wanted Swiftkit to know that the world was full of possibility. "Come on," she meowed. "I'll-"

Her words were cut off by a horrified screech from the camp. Frostfur!

"Stay with me," she snapped at Swiftkit who had frozen with fear. She bounded back into the camp, her son at her side.