Chapter 13
"Focus, Mistyfoot."
Mistyfoot only managed to dodge her mother's swipe by a whisker. She staggered backward, panting with effort. "Maybe if you'd let me sleep a night or two away from this place, I'd be more focused," she retorted, breathing haggardly.
"Threats to your Clan will not wait for you to be well rested," Bluestar shot back, her tone frustratingly mild. "They will strike whether you are awake or not."
The lean she-cat circled Mistyfoot, who adjusted her footing to keep her opponent in sight. Mistyfoot searched for any sign that her mother was about to attack - Bluestar had been a frustratingly opaque foe when she had been alive, but her seasons in these dark woods had made her an even more difficult enemy. Mistyfoot had lost more often than she had ever won.
Quick as a snake, Bluestar darted forward, her forepaws aiming for Mistyfoot's haunches - but when Mistyfoot swept to the side to dodge, Bluestar pivoted, twisting her tail to keep her balance as she raked her claws along Mistyfoot's side.
Hissing, Mistyfoot shot back with a paw, aiming a swipe at her mother's ear. "That just healed over!" she snapped, the stinging pain pulsing in her ears. How would she explain that? "Stop it!"
Bluestar did not. On all fours again, she shot out one of her hind paws, catching Mistyfoot's nearest back leg and unbalancing her. Mistyfoot tumbled ungracefully to the cold, uncomfortably soft earth. Bluestar's shadow loomed over her, and Mistyfoot felt a paw at her throat.
"You lose," Bluestar declared.
Mistyfoot pushed her mother's paw away. "Fine," she hissed. "I lose."
Bluestar stepped back, her tail-tip rattling. "Speak, daughter," she decided. "Something is clearly distracting you."
Mistyfoot groaned, forcing herself up to her paws. She glowered at her mother, longing to deliver a blow even half as stinging as the ones she gave without hesitation. Instead, Mistyfoot turned and licked at her side - no blood, thankfully. Just a few long red welts.
"Well?" Bluestar wondered. She sat a fox-length away, her tail curled neatly over her paws.
Mistyfoot frowned. She was sure Bluestar already knew what was bothering her, so why make her say it? She seems to enjoy making me feel like I have a choice!
"Tinystar thinks we shouldn't help ShadowClan," Mistyfoot explained, "even though there's clearly something wrong in their territory."
Bluestar tilted her head a touch. "And?"
Mistyfoot peered at her mother. It was so hard to gauge what sort of reaction would come from bringing up Tinystar to her. "That's not like him," she pressed. "Even you know that."
"Of course, I know how ridiculous he can be," Bluestar meowed mildly. She bent her chin to lick at her chest fur, which had barely ruffled in their spar. "But here, I think he is right. ShadowClan's business is ShadowClan's, and ThunderClan stands only to lose if you step in."
Mistyfoot's spine prickled. Bluestar and Tinystar, agreeing on something? That was not a good sign. "We can help," she insisted. "We should - if whatever is bothering them decides to bother us next, getting rid of it now would help ThunderClan!"
Bluestar's deep blue gaze rested on Mistyfoot, calm and cold. "I know you seem to think that this Great Journey you went on has united the Clans and changed you, but it hasn't. Think on what has happened since you arrived at the lake - you've no contact with RiverClan, WindClan has violently rejected your meddling, and ShadowClan wants to handle a problem on their own. Is that not answer enough?"
Mistyfoot curled her lip. "Things have changed, but that doesn't mean we should stop helping one another when we need it." She narrowed her eyes at her mother. "None of us would be here now if we ignored when another Clan was suffering."
Bluestar flicked an ear. "The Clans are united by the warrior code, nothing more."
"There is more!" Mistyfoot hissed. She lashed her tail in frustration. "StarClan watches over all of us. The Clans share blood and history! We can't just ignore one another!"
"So what do you intend to do, then," Bluestar wondered, unaffected by Mistyfoot's words. "Do you wish to disobey your leader and take matters into your own paws? Is that not what caused Tinystar's change of heart in the first place?"
Mistyfoot lashed her tail. "Ignoring another Clan in need has disastrous consequences," she growled. "What about SkyClan? Had the other Clans come to their aid so many seasons ago, they might be with us today, not stuck alone in some gorge in the middle of who-knows-where because they had to be rebuilt - by Tinystar, no less!"
"Tch," Bluestar grunted, lifting her chin. "A Clan is responsible for its own survival. A Clan that has to beg and plead for sanctuary is no true Clan." Her eyes flashed. "They can call themselves whatever they like, but SkyClan ceased to be ages ago. What exists now is a pale imitation that is not worth mentioning, and Tinystar put his Clan at risk to create something destined to fall apart."
Bluestar's tail twitched. "It's long past time that he learned that lesson," she meowed matter-of-factly. "Perhaps now he might do ThunderClan some actual good."
Mistyfoot hadn't wanted to claw her mother across the face so badly since she was an apprentice at Fourtrees, many moons ago. She was so angry that words could not form - and then something snapped in her head: Why am I bothering with this? When has she ever actually listened to me? Mistyfoot thought, her fur hot with indignation. A wall of stone has more give than her!
She wanted to screech at her mother, demand to know why she was like this, what had made her this way - but she knew it would be fruitless. After all, their relationship could barely even be called polite, and ultimately, Mistyfoot knew she was arguing with a ghost in a dream. What good would that do?
So she turned about and stalked away. She felt her mother's gaze on her the entire time, and she imagined those cold blue eyes piercing into her fur like claws, trying to drag her back.
"Go wherever you like," Bluestar's voice meowed mildly, echoing off of the trees, "but know that all paths will lead back to me."
Not if I can help it, Mistyfoot told herself.
There had to be a way out of here, one that she could take for herself - but as she wandered through the trees and breathed the stagnant, listless air, Mistyfoot began to doubt this was the case. No matter where she put her paws, the paths were as tangled as her thoughts, and where there weren't openings between the trees, there were thickets of thorny brambles so dense that Mistyfoot knew she'd drown in before she found her way out.
How this place worked was the last thing on her mind. The very fact that Bluestar seemed pleased - well, as pleased as Mistyfoot had ever seen her - that Tinystar was coming around to her isolationist way of thinking was sickening. Tinystar had worked so hard to be Bluestar's opposite - to be warm, emotional, and open where she was cold, cruel, and closed-off. To help others where she would only hurt.
I can't let him become like her, Mistyfoot told herself firmly. Even if I have to show him myself. But how?
She wandered in circles as she wracked her brain for a solution. Perhaps it was the gloom and the haze, but her thoughts couldn't seem to go anywhere. It didn't help that she felt like she was walking in circles - the only consolation was that she didn't seem to be heading back to Bluestar, despite what she had promised.
"Come on," she growled. "Let me out!" She wanted to wake up - if it was the middle of the night, she could at least try and get some actual sleep to clear her head. It didn't help that she couldn't even tell what time it was with how the ceiling of interlaced branches blocked her view of the sky.
Was this what Bluestar wanted? To make her wander around whatever horrible part of StarClan this was until she gave in? Was this even StarClan to begin with?
Mistyfoot's breathing accelerated. She could feel herself being to spiral - her thoughts whirled in her mind, sounding like torrential rain in her ears. She pressed her eyes shut and shook her head to try and clear it. Stop it, stop it!
She felt her paws slip on the sludgy ground, and she fell forward, landing on her chin. Dizzy, Mistyfoot opened her eyes. The gloomy forest was warping and twisting around her, wobbling and pitching in an unnatural way that made her want to hurl. When Mistyfoot tried to close her eyes again, she felt a pang in her head and whisperings, words she couldn't make out.
She opened her eyes again, her heart racing. What was happening to her - and what was that, moving in the wiggling, twisting forest? A smudgy shape was passing between the trees, barely distinguishable from their pale bark. When Mistyfoot blinked, the shape was gone.
But their scent was not.
That... Mistyfoot opened her eyes wide, lifting her head. Her head swam, but she knew that scent. No. No way...
That was Stoneheart!
Stoneheart's scent clogged Mistyfoot's nose from the moment she woke. After nearly a moon of chasing some stranger's scent with no knowledge of who they were, there was some relief in recognizing this one - but that feeling was small compared to the worry that itched at Mistyfoot's pelt. What was Stoneheart doing in that dark forest? Had that really been him?
She had to know.
Mistyfoot got up from her nest and sorted the patrols as quickly as possible. Balancing every cat while so exhausted was beginning to make her mind feel like an ant fried by the sun, but there were no complaints, not until she offered herself up to hunt along the ShadowClan border.
"Alone?" questioned Whitewing, tipping her head. She sniffled. "Wasn't there a strange scent there the other day?"
"There was," Mistyfoot answered, her pelt itching.
"So why go alone?" wondered Cinderpelt. "That's risky."
Mistyfoot fought to keep her tail from lashing. Her Clanmates were staring at her, waiting for her answer, and though she tried to scrape and claw for one, none came that made sense. Eyes were beginning to narrow, and Mistyfoot thought she saw more than one cat looking at her with suspicion. Her heart hammered dully in her ears.
Nightfrost quickly came forward: "I'll go with her." He turned to Spiderfang and mewed, "You and Snowstep can manage without me; it's just hunting in the hills."
"We can go along," Ashfur meowed, shooting Mistyfoot an icy stare. Beside him, Larchpaw nodded along, oblivious.
Mistyfoot's pelt itched. "Fine," she meowed quickly. "Okay." She waved her tail. "You're all free to go, then."
As they split off, Mistyfoot wondered what they were thinking - was it that she was incompetent, too young to be a deputy? Her stomach twisted. They wouldn't be wrong.
"Misty, what is it?" Nightfrost hissed. His blue eyes flashed with worry. "You look like you're about to pass out or explode, and I can't decide which it is."
Mistyfoot swallowed. "I'm fine," she insisted, getting to her paws. She bounced on her toes, ignoring the stinging in her side from Bluestar's claws. "Let's get going."
Nightfrost peered at her, and for a moment, it seemed like he would object. However, he flicked his tail and mewed, "Alright then. Lead the way."
Mistyfoot trotted out of camp, Nightfrost following. She felt a little better once they were out in the forest, and she picked up the pace, following a trail that would lead toward ShadowClan territory.
They didn't make it past the training glade before Nightfrost stopped her, coming round to stand in her way and ask: "Are you going to tell me what's really going on, or did you forget that we said no more secrets?"
Mistyfoot halted, staring him in the eye. Nightfrost's serious expression was lit by the sun shining between the leaves, like sunshine through a sheet of ice. Mistyfoot shivered - he looked so much like Tinystar like that.
But he was right - she had promised no more secrets. He couldn't know about Bluestar, but she could tell him something: "I need to talk to Stoneheart."
"Stoneheart?" he repeated, considering. Then, his ears perked. "Oh, you want to talk to him about ShadowClan?"
Mistyfoot nodded. That was at least half of it. "He might know what's going on and be more willing to share."
"He wasn't very willing at the Gathering," Nightfrost reminded her. "No one in ShadowClan was."
"I know," Mistyfoot said, "but now that we know that something is for sure wrong in their territory, that it might've killed Orre, he has to talk to me."
Nightfrost drew closer. "Just you?"
Mistyfoot twitched her whiskers. "It might be safer if it's just me."
"You want to use the tunnel," Nightfrost determined.
Mistyfoot nodded.
Nightfrost sighed. "Alright," he meowed. He gave himself a shake. "Let's go."
Mistyfoot felt relief wash over her pelt, and there was a rush of warmth and affection for the small black tom in her that not even Stormfur's memory could dampen. Where would she be without him?
"Thank you," she breathed.
Nightfrost's eyes sparkled. "I'm all for figuring out what's happening, especially before someone else gets hurt. Hopefully Stoneheart is willing to give us something we can use."
With their path set, they put their paws on the trail again, moving at a good clip towards the oak tree, their pelts brushing. By sunhigh they had arrived, and everything seemed quiet. Mistyfoot gave their bramble barrier a good sniff - the stranger's scent was incredibly faint, barely even there - whoever they were, they hadn't been by since the other day.
Together, they moved the screen off the tunnel entrance, settling it down in the roots of the oak where it wouldn't tumble away. Mistyfoot checked once more for any company in the tunnel and found nothing but the stale scent of the stranger and the smell of dirt.
She lifted her head. "I'm going in."
Nightfrost nodded. "I'll stay on this side," he told her. His tail flicked against her flank. "One of us needs to do some actual hunting - say hello to Stoneheart for me, and be careful, okay?"
His eyes were so soft and earnest. "I will," Mistyfoot promised.
She licked him around the ear in thanks and then dove into the darkness. Dirt scattered along her spine as she brushed against the entrance, and the earth beneath her paws was cold as ice from the lack of sunshine. She shivered, slinking down the tunnel and into the open den, her eyes adjusting quickly to the dimness.
Light streamed in weakly from the ShadowClan side. It seemed as if they still hadn't noticed the tunnel hidden beneath the dogwood. There was little time to waste - Mistyfoot was sure the sunhigh patrol was coming if it hadn't passed already, and she needed to catch Stoneheart, or perhaps Rowanclaw or Finchsong - anyone who might be convinced to talk to her.
The tunnel was a little narrower on the ShadowClan side, and Mistyfoot felt the roots of the dogwood tickle her back as she pulled herself up and out. She kept herself hidden beneath the bush's leaves, pressed up against its trunk - its strong, heady scent would hide her own easily, especially now that it was in bloom.
Mistyfoot's heart pounded in her ears. She reckoned that she was near the greenleaf Twolegplace, not far from the ThunderClan border. Now that she could get a good look from between the dogwood leaves, she could see the pine woods stretching before her, with little undergrowth to hide in and a floor of needles that would soften her pawsteps.
There was no sign of any ShadowClan cats. Mistyfoot opened her jaws to scent the air and was flooded with the stench of the dogwood. It sent her throat stinging, and Mistyfoot couldn't help but cough at the intense scent. It wasn't the smell of the trespasser that made her sneeze, at least.
A twig snapped nearby.
Mistyfoot pressed herself tight against the trunk of the dogwood. Suddenly, she was very aware that she was alone in enemy territory, which contained a threat that ShadowClan was struggling with. This was a very foolish decision, and Mistyfoot wished she'd had the rest needed to make a better one.
I should've brought Nightfrost with me! she thought, fear prickling at her pelt. I'm such a mouse-brain!
"I know you're there," came the gruff voice. "Mistyfoot, come out."
Mistyfoot's ears pricked. Had StarClan blessed her so? Was that actually Stoneheart?
She crept out from the dogwood, her body low and ready to defend herself, just in case - but there he stood, not two tail-lengths away, his pale blue eyes fixated on her. Stoneheart, her brother.
Whatever relief Mistyfoot felt at seeing him dried up instantly - he didn't look pleased that she was there at all. "What're you doing here?" he growled, curling his lip. "Have you got a squirrel for brains?"
Mistyfoot winced at his harsh tone. "I wanted to talk to you," she meowed, drawing closer. "Are you alone?" She looked around for any other ShadowClan cats, though she knew that was foolish. No cat was better at hiding in their own territory than ShadowClan.
"No," Stoneheart returned, "and I don't have a lot of time before I need to be back to my patrol. I came to investigate your coughing." His eyes narrowed, and he asked, "What is it you want? Make it quick."
Mistyfoot wanted more than anything to ask about seeing him in her dream, but it wasn't as important as what was going on now - and there just wasn't time to get into it. She got to the point: "There's something going on with ShadowClan, and I need to know what it is."
Stoneheart curled his lip. "There's nothing 'going on' with-"
"Oh, shut up!" Mistyfoot hissed back, cutting him off. "I overheard a patrol talking about it." When Stoneheart bristled indignantly, she added, "No real details, but I heard Wolftooth say that it was something that needed dealing with, and someone else mentioned Orre."
She squared her shoulders. "There's a stranger on our territory, too, one that likes hanging out on our border. Something is going on, Stoneheart - why won't you tell me about it?"
Stoneheart's expression was thunderous. "It's not your business, Mistyfoot!" he insisted between bared teeth. He lashed his tail. "StarClan above, can't ThunderClan keep their noses out of something for more than a moon?"
Mistyfoot narrowed her eyes, rankled by his tone. It sounded too much like Bluestar. "I'm not going to ignore that there's something out there that might hurt you!" she snapped back. "I'm your sister, in case you've forgotten! I happen to care about you!"
Stoneheart bared his teeth. "Last I checked, you're a ThunderClan cat, Mistyfoot - this isn't your problem."
"So you admit that there is a problem?"
Stoneheart spat in frustration. Mistyfoot saw his claws flexing in the pine turf, and her heart flurried - was Stoneheart considering attacking her?
"Just talk to me," she insisted. "I want to help, but I can't do that if you don't tell me what's happening!"
Stoneheart dug his claws deep into the earth. "Go home, Mistyfoot," he growled. "This isn't ThunderClan's business."
Mistyfoot lashed her tail. "So that's it, then? You just push me away when I'm offering to help? Did you forget that you were ThunderClan once, too?" It came out before she could catch herself: "Is this what Bluestar told you to do?"
Stoneheart's eyes went wide, flashing dangerously. "What?" he whispered.
"You're seeing her in your dreams, right?" Mistyfoot guessed. Her tail puffed anxiously. "In that forest with no sky?" She had already said it; there was no unsaying it. Her heart thudded in her chest. Every muscle in her body told her to flee, but this was her brother. She was never going to run from him.
"How do you know about that?" Stoneheart demanded, his voice still quiet and soft.
"Because I've been there, too," Mistyfoot meowed back. "I see her there almost every night."
Stoneheart blinked at her as if he were seeing her for the first time - the exhaustion in her eyes, the new scars across her fur, the change in her fighting stance. It was a mirror of himself, the changes Mistyfoot could see in him now that they were together in the daylight.
"Did she tell you to push me away?" Mistyfoot wondered softly. "That ShadowClan should only worry about ShadowClan? That we should just ignore one another?"
Stoneheart didn't answer, which was answer enough.
"She's wrong, Stoneheart," Mistyfoot insisted. She took a step towards him. "You know that better than any cat. The Clans need one another. We can't do it all on our own!" She repeated earnestly, "You know that!"
Stoneheart stiffened. Mistyfoot pressed, "Bluestar is dangerous, Stoneheart. You can't take her words to heart!"
"Then what are you doing there?" Stoneheart snapped, thrusting his muzzle into her face. "If she's so dangerous, why do you see her, too? I thought I was crazy, mixing up scents in my head, but..." He bared his teeth, his breath hot and hostile. "Why have you been there for so long?"
Mistyfoot staggered back, her heart hammering once more. Shame washed over her pelt, cold as ice. Stoneheart loomed over her, bristling and powerful, his claws unsheathed.
"Don't act like you're some high-and-mighty ThunderClan cat, Mistyfoot," Stoneheart snapped. "And don't come here and tell me that I have no idea how dangerous our mother is! I lived with her!"
Mistyfoot crouched low, her mouth dry. "I'm sorry, Stoneheart, I was just-"
"Save it," Stoneheart hissed. "I don't need your worry." He glared down at her, his eyes like chips of ice. "I have to be strong enough to protect ShadowClan. I'm going to do whatever it takes to never lose another Clanmate again."
"Stoneheart..." Mistyfoot murmured. "Please..."
"Get out of here," Stoneheart snapped. He narrowed his eyes. "It's not safe for you here."
Mistyfoot swallowed. Should I be afraid of you, or whatever is hurting your Clan? She wasn't sure of the answer. Stoneheart had always been easy to frustrate, but she had never seen him this angry before. Had Bluestar done this to him? Fear curdled in her belly - the cat glaring at her didn't seem familiar anymore.
"Are ShadowClan's borders closed now?" she dared to ask.
Stoneheart didn't answer. Mistyfoot felt her legs tremble - there was nothing left for her here. She turned her back to him, feeling as if a dark cloud had opened up her head as she rushed away.
She passed the dogwood and made it over the border in a few strides, conscious of his steely gaze on her back - so much like their mother's that, at that moment, Mistyfoot couldn't separate them in her mind.
Mistyfoot's paws and tail dragged against the forest floor. Though the sky was clear above, she felt as if it ought to be pouring ice-cold rain. Each blink brought Stoneheart's angry visage to mind, his back arched and claws unsheathed. Would he have actually attacked her? Her legs felt weak.
She found Nightfrost beside the oak, dozing on one of its roots. There was some prey buried beside him. Nightfrost's ears pricked when she arrived, and he lifted his head.
"So? What'd you learn?" he wondered after a yawn. "Did Stoneheart say any-"
He stopped short as his jaws closed, staring at her with wide eyes. A moment later, he was sliding off of the root and pressing against her side. It was only at that moment that Mistyfoot realized she was trembling from head to toe, so hard that even her teeth were clattering against one another.
"It didn't go well, I take it," he murmured.
Mistyfoot's eyes stung. She dropped to her belly, trembling like a kitten. She tried to keep her breathing steady, but the world felt like it was spinning.
All she could say was, "He was so mad at me."
Nightfrost pressed himself harder into Mistyfoot. "Why?" he wondered. "Is he just being a stubborn ShadowClan cat?"
Mistyfoot couldn't tell him the whole truth. She wouldn't be able to take Tinystar, Stoneheart, and Nightfrost being angry with her - no, that would just about break her spirit, she knew.
"Something is wrong in ShadowClan," Mistyfoot managed to say. "I learned that much, at least." She sniffled. "But I have no idea what it is."
Nightfrost sighed. "Reminds me of the Tribe when they were trying to hide Sharptooth from us."
Mistyfoot nodded in meek agreement. "I don't know what to do. Stoneheart... He's so angry now..."
"Do you want me to try and talk to him?" Nightfrost wondered. "I might be able to-"
"No!" Mistyfoot insisted. She tried to imagine bold, idealistic little Nightfrost trying to stand up to tall, imposing, aggressive Stoneheart, and the only end she could imagine involved claws and Nightfrost's blood. There was no way that Nightfrost would be able to survive a cat trained by Bluestar.
"No," she repeated, softening her voice. "Don't."
Nightfrost blinked down at her. "Don't give up on him," he insisted. "I know I wouldn't." He twined his tail with hers and mewed, "He might be putting up a front for a reason. He still loves you, Misty. Maybe he was just worried about you?"
Mistyfoot wished she knew whether or not he was right. More than ever, she missed the closeness she and her brother had had when they had all lived in the same Clan. When Mosspaw was alive and Oakheart was always there for them. But Mosspaw was dead, and Oakheart had been left behind in a dead forest. Those days were so far gone, and now Bluestar was watching over them both, for better or, more likely, for worse.
Her eyes drooped. She felt Nightfrost lapping at her pelt, the rumble of his purr rippling soothingly throughout her body.
"Relax," he mewed. "I'm right here. It's a nice day out..."
His voice began to fade. Mistyfoot's eyes closed, unbidden. Her body seemed to have decided that enough was finally enough - Stoneheart's anger seemed to be the final straw, resting atop a mountain of improper rest, endless training, and stress from all angles.
Nightfrost's voice murmured in her ear, "I'm always here for you, Misty. Always."
It was the last thing she heard before slipping off to sleep. For the first time in a long time, she dreamed of nothing at all.