Chapter 12

Mistyfoot woke before dawn, having struggled to sleep at all. Thankfully, organizing patrols was becoming second nature, and she did it without betraying her exhaustion, though throughout the process, she was very aware of Nightfrost, whose pale eyes seemed locked on her the whole time. When she didn't assign him anything for the day, he didn't comment, instead heading off to the fresh-kill pile once everything was decided.

Mistyfoot watched him from behind the warrior's den as he ate with Rainwhisker near the thorn tunnel. It didn't seem like they were talking about much. Mistyfoot fidgeted on her paws - she wanted to apologize, she had to - but when Rainwhisker got up to join Mousefur on a hunt, Nightfrost decided to go and help Larchpaw clean out the apprentice's den.

Her tail trembled. Was he going to avoid her all day? She hadn't been sure what to say the night before - she had wanted to spare him worrying about his father! Deep down, she knew that was the wrong answer, but what else could she have done? Cause a scene in the middle of camp while every cat just wanted to go to sleep?

"Misty? You okay?"

Mistyfoot's ear twitched. Shadepool was on her way out of the medicine cat cave, and seeing Mistyfoot crouched behind the warrior's den was probably concerning. Mistyfoot straightened herself up, hoping she didn't look as ridiculous as she felt.

When it came time to reply, though, Mistyfoot couldn't lie to Shadepool: "I'm not, actually."

Shadepool's gaze darkened, and Mistyfoot saw her flash a glance across the clearing at Nightfrost, who was pulling out some old bedding for Larchpaw to roll up. When her orange eyes flicked back to Mistyfoot, the tortoiseshell flicked her tail and mewed, "Come on, let's talk about it."

Together, they headed for the shadow of the Highledge, settling down near the pile of boulders near the fresh-kill pile. It was not the most private place in the camp, but it was far from Nightfrost.

"Not the medicine cave?" Mistyfoot wondered, flicking an ear anxiously.

Shadepool was scooping out a mouse from the fresh-kill pile with her paw. "Brackenfur and Tinystar are talking in there," she explained. She hooked her breakfast by its tail and planted it neatly between her paws. "They've been at it most of the night, and when I woke up, I was asked to make myself useful elsewhere."

Mistyfoot did not miss the annoyance in Shadepool's tone. Brackenfur is still shutting her out. It was no mystery to Mistyfoot what Tinystar and Brackenfur were talking about, though it being an all-night discussion only made her more worried. Were they arguing? What was it that Shadepool couldn't hear?

"So," Shadepool said, her mouth half-full of mouse meat, "Nightfrost seemed upset this morning. Has something gone wrong between you two?"

Mistyfoot reluctantly nodded. She took a deep breath, waiting for Shadepool's infamous temper to rear its head, but when it didn't, Mistyfoot sat down and curled her tail around her paws.

"Can you keep a secret?" she wondered quietly.

Shadepool ran her tongue along her jaws. "Of course," she meowed. "I'm a medicine cat. It's part of my job to give counsel to the Clan." She twitched the tip of her tail. "What you do with it is your decision."

Mistyfoot blinked at her gratefully. It took her a moment to gather her thoughts - she didn't want to reveal everything, not when Tinystar asked her to keep it secret - but she could say this: "I think Tinystar has changed."

Shadepool tilted her head. "Changed how?"

"He's different than he used to be," Mistyfoot explained. "He's more reclusive. More cautious." She paused, uncertain how to say this. It didn't sit right with her, talking in the shadows about her leader. "He doesn't seem interested in anything outside of ThunderClan anymore."

Hesitantly, she added, "You're too young to know, but he's starting to act like Tigerstar did before he died."

Shadepool blinked evenly at Mistyfoot, and for a moment, she worried that she had said too much - she was talking about Shadepool's father, after all. But Shadepool's eyes showed no fire, no hint of her temper. She had been listening carefully.

"I know," Shadepool mewed softly. "Tinystar has... shifted."

Mistyfoot heard the hurt in her voice, and her heart ached.

Shadepool met Mistyfoot's eye. "I wasn't there for Tigerstar, true, but Brackenfur told me much, as did the elders when I was a kit. Tigerstar suffered a mania caused by losing trust in everything he believed in and everyone around him - but I don't think my father has lost faith in his Clan or in StarClan, Mistyfoot."

"You don't?"

Shadepool nodded. Her eyes were soft, sad. "I think he's lost faith in himself."

Mistyfoot's jaw parted. "I see it," she admitted. Since coming to the lake, since losing Sandstorm, Tinystar had placed more and more on her shoulders, withdrawing as if he couldn't make a decision anymore. Mistyfoot's belly clenched.

"Tinystar has lost much and more," Shadepool meowed on, "and he blames himself for each loss." She raised her chin to meet Mistyfoot's gaze. "Part of the reason why you were chosen as deputy was because Tinystar knew you would bolster the Clan and give him the space he needed to heal. He could leave ThunderClan to you and know that you would guide us to safety."

Mistyfoot's eyes widened. "R-Really?" Did Tinystar trust her that much, really?

Shadepool purred. "Of course," she said, "you brought us here, after all!"

"I..."

"I know that's a lot to ask of you and that the path ahead will be long," Shadepool said softly. She leaned forward and touched her nose to Mistyfoot's, wreathing them both in the scent of sweet heather. "That's why I'm here. Please, Mistyfoot, do not hesitate to talk to me if you need to. I'll do everything I can to help you."

Like Tinystar had Brackenfur, Mistyfoot thought as Shadepool pulled back. Her ears rang, and she stared at Shadepool, wondering, worrying if the medicine cat was telling the truth. But Shadepool had no reason to lie - they were friends, bonded by their journey and their love for their Clan. Shadepool knew how important Tinystar's trust was.

"Excuse me," mewed a voice. Ferncloud had come from around the fallen tree, and she stared at Shadepool and Mistyfoot with cautious green eyes. "Am I interrupting?"

"No," Mistyfoot said quickly. "What is it?"

Ferncloud flicked her tail. "I know it's a bit unusual to ask the deputy for something like this, but I was wondering if you might take Daisy's kits for the day? I was going to watch them, but they want you, and they're getting under Sorreltail's paws when she's supposed to be resting. Daisy is busy looking after her so Sun can patrol."

"They want me?" Mistyfoot repeated, confused.

Ferncloud nodded. "Normally, I wouldn't indulge them, but I'm worried they might cause trouble. They're just too big to roughhouse by the nursery, and they're sick of being cooped up in camp. Daisy said it was okay to take them out, but only if they were with you."

Mistyfoot sighed through her teeth. "Very well." There were more important things on her mind, but the last thing she wanted was for Daisy's kits to cause problems or destroy something. She had promised them she would take them out of camp, but she hadn't expected it to be now.

She fought back a yawn. How am I going to keep up with them in the forest?

"Take Nightfrost," Shadepool offered, as if in answer. She licked her chest fur idly, one eye focused on Mistyfoot. "Ferncloud can swap with him and help Larchpaw out."

Mistyfoot flicked her tail in thanks. If Nightfrost was willing, then they could clear the air. To Ferncloud, Mistyfoot mewed, "Tell the kits to meet me just outside the thorn tunnel - and that if they move a pawstep beyond, I'll have their whiskers!"

"Oh, they'll love that," Ferncloud chuckled, twitching her whiskers. She headed around the fallen tree, throwing over her shoulder, "Good luck!"

Mistyfoot sighed. Shadepool purred in amusement. "You'll do fine," she said, bumping her shoulder against Mistyfoot's flank. "You're no stranger to handling rowdy young cats!"

Mistyfoot purred back, bittersweet memories of their first journey floating up in her mind. How far apart they had been and how close they had become - only for most of them to drift apart. How she missed the others!

She got to her paws and left Shadepool with the remainder of her breakfast. Despite the pang of those old memories, Mistyfoot had an odd mixture of hope and worry in her heart now - Shadepool insisted that Tinystar had given her a great deal of his trust, but what was she supposed to do when she felt like he was making the wrong decision?

She couldn't answer that question, not by the time she reached Nightfrost nor, she wagered, anytime soon. But as she watched him tuck and roll a large hunk of old moss with his paws outside of the warrior's den, she knew one thing for certain - she had to apologize to him. The rest of their chosen group might have drifted away, but Nightfrost was right here, right now, and he was her friend first and foremost.

"Do you want to come and train Daisy's kits with me?" Mistyfoot asked. She could hear the kits squealing behind her - they were tumbling over themselves to make it to the thorn tunnel first.

As the three of them crashed through the thorns, Nightfrost raised his muzzle. "I'd like to, but who's going to help Larchpaw?"

"Ferncloud," Mistyfoot answered. She didn't hear any anger in Nightfrost's mew. Had he cooled off overnight? "You're free for the day." She glanced at the thorn tunnel, which was still wavering. "And I think I'm going to need all the help I can get."

Nightfrost's whiskers twitched. He patted his big moss ball, then turned his nose and meowed loudly, "Larchpaw, your mother is going to help you with the rest. Mistyfoot needs me."

Larchpaw poked his head out of the den and nodded in understanding. With a mouth full of moss, he signed, "Understood. Thanks for the help!"

"No problem!" Nightfrost dipped his head to Larchpaw, then turned to Mistyfoot. With a whisk of his tail, he mewed, "Let's get going - have you eaten yet?"

Mistyfoot shook her head. She had been too busy and tired to think of grabbing something even when she was right next to the fresh-kill pile moments ago.

Nightfrost flicked an ear. He chuckled, "Then we'll see if the kits can put what they've learned so far to use..."

Together, they pushed through the thorn tunnel and out into the forest. Goose, Hazel, and Berry were waiting for them, sitting up straight and stiff, each one a bit too determined not to be distracted by the crackle of a leaf in the distance or a butterfly that flitted by. Mistyfoot glanced at Nightfrost, noting that he seemed just as amused as she was.

"Alright, you three," Mistyfoot began. Somehow, they sat even straighter and stiffer, and their eyes locked on her, ears pricked to listen. Mistyfoot meowed, "We'll be heading to the training glade. On the way, I want each of you to show me what you've been learning."

All three nodded. Mistyfoot gestured with her tail for them to follow, and she began to lead the way. The training glade wasn't far, but Mistyfoot made sure to take moments with each of the kits, asking what they saw or smelled:

"What is that?" she wondered to Hazel, gesturing to a shallow burrow in the ground ringed with dried grass.

"A vole nest," Hazel responded immediately. "Empty for a while."

"Correct. And Goose, who took this path this morning?"

Goose pushed his nose into the leaf litter. "Smells like Rainwhisker and Mousefur," he responded. "Was that right?"

Mistyfoot nodded. "Now, Berry, is that tree safe to climb?"

Berry peered up the tall birch and shook his head. "Too young and thin," he decided.

"Correct!"

"Wait," Nightfrost hissed, halting. He crouched low to the ground, and the kits followed suit. Mistyfoot opened her jaws to scent the air - there was a shrew nearby that hadn't seen them yet. She stepped back and let Nightfrost take over.

"Berry, go that way," Nightfrost whispered, "and Hazel, you go there. Goose - right! You're getting the idea..."

The kits moved as he directed, surrounding the shrew. Mistyfoot's heart pounded - this would be their first catch in the forest, and Nightfrost was doing everything he could to make it easy for them.

Nightfrost kept his tail up straight until each kit was in position. The moment they were, he gave the signal with a slight bend to his tail-tip, and all three leaped as one, converging on the shrew and leaving it with no chance to escape.

It was Berry who got the killing blow, and from among the pile of his siblings, he lifted his prize up high and proud, a bit of blood on his muzzle.

"No fair!" Goose grumbled, shaking bracken from his pelt. "I had it!"

Hazel wiped a smear of dirt from her cheek with a paw. "I think he tripped me..."

"Hey, now," Nightfrost meowed, standing up straight. "That's not fair. All three of you got that shrew."

Mistyfoot nodded. "Sometimes, many warriors will work together to take down prey," she said, her gaze flashing to each of them. "The warrior who made the kill wouldn't be able to do it without their Clanmate's help."

Hazel's green gaze flashed with understanding, and she murmured, "Sorry."

"It's okay," Mistyfoot assured. She whisked her tail, gesturing along the path ahead. "Come on, the glade's over that way."

"Are we going to eat this?" Goose asked.

Nightfrost flicked his tail. "That shrew is for Mistyfoot."

Berry dropped the shrew along with his jaw. "But we caught it! Shouldn't we share it?"

"One of the main jobs of an apprentice is to feed those senior to them before themselves," Nightfrost purred cheekily. "Mistyfoot is many moons your senior, and unlike you three, she hasn't eaten yet today." He whisked his tail again. "So be nice."

Mistyfoot rolled her eyes. Berry looked petulant about the idea, while Goose seemed perplexed. Hazel, however, snatched up the shrew while her brothers were busy thinking about it and placed it at Mistyfoot's paws, stepping back respectfully.

"My brothers can be mouse-brains," she mewed gently. "Just ignore 'em."

Mistyfoot felt a prickle of warmth in her chest, and she thanked Hazel with a lick around the ear. "Good thing they have a sister to set them straight," she purred.

Quickly, Mistyfoot took a bite of the shrew, feeling her energy restoring itself slowly - but she took no more than that. She pushed the remains over to Hazel and her brothers, who had stomped through the undergrowth to rejoin them.

"As your senior, I'm deciding to reward your skill and respect," Mistyfoot told them. "You can have the rest."

All three looked up at her with shining eyes, but before they could eat, Nightfrost interjected: "There's something you need to do first, though."

"What now?" Berry complained.

"You need to thank StarClan for the bounty of this forest," Nightfrost meowed patiently, "and for the life it gives us"

"Who's StarClan?" Hazel wondered, tipping her head. "We heard Brackenfur and Shadepool talking about them when Sorreltail's kits were born."

"Yeah," Goose mewed, "they said StarClan needed to know their names or something like that."

Mistyfoot glanced at Nightfrost. "That's something more complicated," she admitted to the kits, "but StarClan are our warrior ancestors who watch over us from the stars in the night sky. When the warriors of the Clans die, our spirits will go and walk among them."

"Is that real?" Berry wondered. He had a skeptical look on his face, his whiskers twitching.

Nightfrost nodded. "Very real. Shadepool and Brackenfur are medicine cats, and part of that job is communicating with StarClan and using their messages to help our Clan grow and stay safe."

"Our warrior ancestors send us signs about dangers ahead," Mistyfoot mewed. She gestured with her tail to the forest around them and added, "We came here from our old territory because StarClan told us we had to leave before the Twolegs destroyed us."

All three kits stared at one another, eyes wide. Mistyfoot wondered what they were thinking - did they believe her?

"Have you seen them?" Hazel asked.

"Yes," Mistyfoot told her honestly. "Before the Twolegs began to destroy our territories, I had a dream of my sister, Mosspaw - she told me to come together with cats from the other Clans to go on a journey. Though we didn't know exactly what we were looking for, we found this place and learned that this was to be our new home."

"Really?" Goose whispered. "That's so weird."

"I think it's cool," Berry mewed, his eyes sparkling. "I wonder if StarClan has any messages for me!"

"StarClan doesn't usually come to warriors," Nightfrost assured. "Usually just medicine cats or Clan leaders. But they'll give their messages to the cats who are the best suited to hear them, and Mistyfoot was one of those cats."

Hazel's eyes were wide as moons. "Wow..."

"Tinystar had dreams of StarClan, too," Nightfrost said. "He followed those dreams and saved ThunderClan so many times - now he's our leader, and StarClan gave him nine lives!"

"Nine lives?" Berry repeated. "Really?!"

Nightfrost nodded. "All Clan leaders have nine lives, gifts from StarClan to guide their Clans for seasons."

Berry hopped on his paws. "I want nine lives!" he decided immediately. "I want to be a Clan leader!"

Goose scoffed, "Y'all can barely find the dirtplace at night, who's gonna follow you anywhere?"

Berry frowned at him. "When I'm leader, you're getting dirty den duty for life."

Goose stuck out his tongue. "As if!"

Berry growled, crouching down low and wiggling his hips playfully. "Then you're a traitor!"

He leaped onto his brother, and the two began to tussle in the undergrowth, slapping one another harmlessly with their paws. The fur along Hazel's spine rose in annoyance, and she hissed at her brothers, but they didn't stop.

Only when Nightfrost stepped in and easily plucked Berry off of Goose did they stop. Mistyfoot sighed and shook her head at the two toms. Hazel did the same, which was amusing.

"Let's take this to the glade," she sighed, waving her tail at the kits. "Clan leaders know better than to neglect their training..."

The sun was setting when they returned to camp, with the kits worn out and dusty. Their eyes were bright, though, and Mistyfoot was pleased with how well they had done. Berry was overeager and a bit of an upstart, but he picked up fighting moves well, and he was sturdy despite missing his tail. Goose was quick and sharp, and Hazel was thoughtful and always seemed willing to try new strategies.

They'd make good warriors, Mistyfoot thought, watching the three kittens head for the thorn tunnel. If they stay.

"Go on and get something to eat for yourself and your mother," Nightfrost told them. "I need to talk to Mistyfoot."

"About what?" Hazel wondered.

"Warrior business," Nightfrost answered, flicking his tail. "Now, go on."

Too tired to protest, the three obeyed, slipping into the thorn tunnel one after the other. When they were gone, the crickets began to sing in the grass, and Mistyfoot wanted nothing more than to curl up in her nest and sleep for a moon - but there was something more important to do, something she hadn't had the chance to all day.

"I'm sorry about last night," she said before Nightfrost could speak. "I didn't mean to brush you off like that."

Nightfrost flicked his tail, drawing her just off the main trail and to a small clump of bracken. They sat there together, and Mistyfoot felt Nightfrost's tongue against her pelt, working on a knot of fur on her flank.

"It's okay," he told her between licks. "What happened? Can you tell me about it?"

Mistyfoot hesitated - could she? Should she? It was an easy decision - she had already told him about the tunnels, after all: "Tinystar scolded me for listening in on ShadowClan. He said that we need to keep out of the other Clan's business now for the sake of our Clan."

Nightfrost's tongue paused. "I get it," he admitted. "He's worried about losing someone else to a problem that wasn't ours to begin with."

"But it's not like him!" Mistyfoot insisted, her tail puffing slightly. "He's always done what he thinks is right." She sighed helplessly. "Shadepool seems to think that he's lost faith in himself. What am I supposed to do with that?"

"You mean 'What are we supposed to do,'" Nightfrost corrected. "It's not just your problem if Tinystar has changed, and he has."

Mistyfoot heard the pain in his voice. "Night..."

"No, it's true," Nightfrost said quietly. "These past seasons have been hard on him. It's no wonder he's lost faith in his ability to make the right choice." Nightfrost sighed, resting his chin on Mistyfoot's haunch. "It hasn't been easy watching my own father change. He needs time."

"What if he doesn't have time, though?" Mistyfoot wondered. What if whatever was happening to ShadowClan began to happen to ThunderClan, too? What if whoever targeted Onewhisker chose Tinystar next?

"Then he has to rely on us to put him right," Nightfrost meowed, as if he could hear Mistyfoot's thoughts spinning. "Not just you. Us. All of us."

Mistyfoot looked at Nightfrost, grateful. She touched her nose to his ear and meowed, "Thank you."

"Anytime," Nightfrost purred back. "Now, let's get you inside a den. You look like you haven't slept in a moon."

Mistyfoot stood herself up and chuckled, "Is it that obvious?"

"You were falling asleep while I was showing Berry how to tuck and roll," Nightfrost mewed, shaking off his pelt as he stood. "You only snapped out of it when he rolled on Hazel's tail, and she shrieked!"

Mistyfoot sighed. "I'm a mess," she breathed.

"Hey, it's going to be okay. Think of it like before, when you were having your dreams of the lake," Nightfrost told her, his tone chipper. "You and me, working together to solve a problem. No secrets!"

"No secrets," Mistyfoot promised. Only some.

The Clan was relaxing when they passed through the thorn tunnel and into the clearing, clustered into groups of families and friends sharing tongues and meals. Tinystar watched over them all from the Highledge, eating with Graystripe. Mistyfoot's stomach snarled - she had gone the entire day on just that one bite of shrew, and she was feeling it now more than ever.

"I'll go get something for us," Nightfrost mewed, flicking his tail along her shoulder. "Go find a nice spot to sit."

Mistyfoot's pelt warmed, and she watched him walk away, his dark shape heading across camp - but she wasn't the only one keeping an eye out. Daisy poked her head out from behind the fallen tree, and when Nightfrost passed her by, she turned her head and locked eyes with Mistyfoot.

Soon enough, she had scurried across the camp, meeting Mistyfoot before she could take another step.

"Thank you for taking the kits," the queen huffed. "They haven't stopped talking about it since they returned."

"It's no problem," Mistyfoot assured. "They did well today - they even caught a shrew!" She caught Nightfrost's eye as he emerged from the fresh-kill pile with a rabbit and threw him an apologetic tail-flick. He seemed to understand, taking their meal over to Shadepool, who was beneath the Highledge.

"They, uh, were talking about StarClan," Daisy went on, drawing Mistyfoot back into the conversation, "and apprentices. And leaders."

Mistyfoot tilted her head. "We were just teaching them how the Clans do things," she meowed. "It was nothing they didn't want to know."

"Yes, well," Daisy's whiskers twitched. "We haven't decided to stay yet."

"I know," Mistyfoot assured. What was Daisy getting at, that Mistyfoot was trying to influence the kits? I would never! I'm not Bluestar!

Daisy flattened her ears. "They all look up to you warrior cats," she mewed, "but they don't know how dangerous things can really get for y'all out here. The battles. The deaths." She swallowed. "I heard about how WindClan attacked you and killed Rainwhisker's brother over something y'all didn't even do." She shivered. "What kind of life is that for me or my kits?"

"Battles and deaths happen," Mistyfoot meowed calmly, "but you've lived here long enough now to know that it's not our every day." She squared her shoulders. "And, Daisy, I've lived outside the Clans for a few moons - it can be even worse out there. Twolegs and Thunderpaths. Dogs. Other rogues. Sicknesses you can't cure on your own. It's hard everywhere."

Daisy's eyes darkened. "I... I'm still thinking about it."

"Do you like it here?" Mistyfoot asked gently, stepping closer to the queen. "If you stayed, we would protect you. I would protect you. That's what we do." She was aware that Tinystar was watching her from the Highledge now that she had lingered so long with Daisy. His icy gaze was curious.

Mistyfoot had to ignore that. She insisted, "We work together to defend one another when things get dangerous, and we support the ones who can't support themselves, from kits to elders to even our own leader, when he needs it."

Daisy didn't seem to have the words to respond just yet. Mistyfoot laid her tail along the queen's shoulders and told her, "We're a Clan, Daisy. So long as you're here, you're one of us, and we'll do the same for you as we would any Clanmate."

Daisy's pretty blue eyes blinked at her. "Truly?"

"Truly," Mistyfoot promised. Her gaze shifted, and she caught Tinystar's eye. What was he thinking now, with that heavy heart and beleaguered mind? Did this give him some hope, or just more worries? She looked back to Daisy and told her, "Our lives can be hard, but we overcome it together. It's what we do. It's what we've always done."

Mistyfoot mewed, "Take all the time you need. We're here for you."