By the time Mapleshade had broken through the tree lines and reached the river's edge, the rain had worsened, she could barely see her own whiskers. The river had risen significantly too, it had risen enough for the stepping-stones to have vanished beneath the water's surface. Only the shift in the current betrayed to her where they used to be. Mapleshade took a deep breath, she didn't want to get her pelt wet, but what other choice did she have? She needed to go to RiverClan, to Appledusk.
Oh, if only my sweet kits were here with me. They are such good swimmers; we would be at the other side in no time.
Mapleshade felt her stomach turn to stone. ThunderClan would pay for taking her kits from her. And RiverClan would help her, they owed her, Appledusk owed her.
With that thought, she took a shaky step into the river, the water was cold, and soaked her fur. A shiver ran down her spine, she hated this. She hated this so much. Do it for your kits. She thought as she gritted her teeth.
She took another step, and another, until she could barely reach the bottom of the river. She realized she wouldn't make it to the first stepping-stone on foot. She wouldn't be able to jump too, the stone would be too easy to slip off. She'd have to swim, at least to the first stepping-stone.
She started paddling, propelling herself forward. She had almost reached the first stone, imagining what it would look like if her kits were waiting for her on it. Encouraging her to keep going.
"You can do it! Just swim, like this." She heard Patchkit in her ear. It had sounded so real, she almost felt like he was really there, with her. "Don't push me Larchkit." "I'm not! You're pushing me!" The voices of Petalkit and Larchkit rang too.
My kits! She could hear them; she could hear them calling to her. No, she could see them. It was faint, but she saw an outline of three small shapes. A part of her knew they weren't there. Yet still, when she reached with her paw to the first stone, she could still feel her heart break when she felt nothing but the cold, wet water sweeping through her paws.
Where are you? She wanted to cry out. But she already knew where they were, and she knew she would not hear an answer.
Catching her breath, she was preparing to swim to the next stone. But before she moved again, she realized she had been hearing a rumble while she imagined her kits. Mapleshade glanced sideways to see a wall of water bearing down on her, sweeping branches and debris ahead of it.
With all her might, she tried to cling to the rock as the giant wave approached her. But to no avail. As soon as the current hit her, she felt her claws scraping the stone, and then, nothing. Her paws were flailing uselessly in the water, as she was pushed underneath the surface.
Mapleshade was thrust to the bottom of the river by the force of the flood, branches scraping her fur. When she opened her eyes, she saw nothing but bubbles and churned-up pebbles. With her chest screaming for air, she clawed her way to the surface and burst out, gasping.
The river was raging around her, taking her with it. She was struggling to keep her head above water. There was nowhere she could go, the current had gripped her and kept her away from the edges.
No! she thought, realizing that she'd drown if she didn't get out of there. She couldn't die here. She mustn't. Her kits needed her. Oh, StarClan, save me.
"Mapleshade! Mapleshade! Grab a hold of the branch!" There was a frantic shout from the shore. Her prayers had been answered. She saw Appledusk waddle into the river, his fur fluffed up in alarm. He gestured with his tail to the overhanging tree. "Hold on and I'll drag you out!"
She was only dimly aware of hooking her claws into the branch beside her. She felt herself being dragged through the water, and then strong jaws were in her pelt, hauling her into the stoned. Appledusk loomed over her. "What in the name of StarClan are you doing? Where are the kits?"
Two more shapes appeared beside him. "What is a Thunderclan cat doing in the river?" Asked one. Mapleshade recognized the voice of Splashfoot, a young tom.
"Is it Mapleshade?" asked his companion.
"I think so Eeltail," mewed Spalshfoot. He peered closer, his pale gray fur glowing in the failing light.
"Where are the kits?" Appledusk asked again, was that a hint of alarm she could hear in his voice?
With a rasping breath, she murmured "Camp." Her vision was getting blurry, she couldn't concentrate very well.
"What?" Appledusk asked, seemingly confused. "What were you?" but he didn't finish his sentence.
Mapleshade tried to stay conscious. She needed to speak to Appledusk, but he had turned away from her.
"I don't know what's going on." He said to his Clanmated. "But make sure her kits didn't follow her to the river." Without another word, the two warriors ran for the river.
Appledusk came back over to her. This was her chance. "Appledusk... We need to-" he shushed her. "We can talk later. But you need to rest, Mapleshade. Stay here, I'll be back later." His voice had been soft when he spoke to her.
Appledusk was going after his clanmates, and Mapleshade wanted to call after him. Wait! Don't leave me! But she did not have the strength to do so.
Her vision became hazier and hazier, until she finally gave in to her overwhelming tiredness.

When she awoke again, it was still dark out. She noticed the three RiverClan warriors hushed together a little bit further up the slope. Appledusk had noticed her waking up and started to approach.
"Mapleshade, how are you?" he whispered. Her chest still felt tight from the water she inhaled, but other then that and the hatred she felt for ThunderClan taking away her kits, she was fine. "I'm good" She managed to say. Appledusk looked at his clanmates a few times.
"We couldn't find your kits." He said. "You murmured something about a camp, what happened?"
Mapleshade look at him sadness in her eyes. "ThunderClan found out." She whispered, just loud enough for only Appledusk to hear. She could see the realization hit him as his eyes widened and he stumbled back. Eeltail and Splashfoot were straining to hear what she had said. Unable to keep her voice down, she continued. "They exiled me!" she whined. "The exiled me and stole my kits!"
Appledusk was just sitting there. Why isn't he saying anything? Mapleshade thought frustratingly. The other two RiverClan warriors were staring at her with confusion and shock in their eyes. "How... What?" Splashfoot managed to say.
Eeltail looked at Appledusk, then at Mapleshade. "What are we going to do with her?" he asked.
Mapleshade looked hopefully at Appledusk, who started to recover himself from the news.
"I'll bring her to Darkstar." He started. "She'll decide what to do." He looked at his two clanmates. "Finish up the patrol, and keep a look out for ThunderClan cats.". She noticed Elltail look doubtful at his clanmate.
"Just the two of us, in the middle of the night?" he asked. Appledusk nodded. "I'll send someone your way as soon as we reach camp. We cannot abandon our border patrols due to an unexpected event."
Delightfully, Mapleshade realized Appledusk was trying to get the two of them on their own. My kits might not be with me, but Appledusk would never abandon me. The thought warmed her heart. She would never be alone as long as Appledusk was with her.
Appledusk started heading inlands, while the other two RiverClan cats went back to the river's edge. Mappleshade followed her mate. They walked a few paces together in silence, but when they were far enough to be out of earshot of Eeltail and Splashfoot, Appledusk suddenly stopped.
"Why were you in the river?" he asked, his tone questioning. "I tried to cross it, to come to you of course. Why else would I? ThunderClan exiled me and I had nowhere else to go." Appledusk turned towards her, but avoided her eyes. He sighed. "So you did go in op purpose." His voice was soft, almost as if he was talking to himself. "Didn't you see how swollen it was? How dangerous the flood was?" Mapleshade was taken aback. "I thought I could manage." She answered.
Appledusk seemed to think for a bit, then came a question she didn't anticipate. "If you had your kits with you, would you have made them cross too?" His eyes briefly met hers, was that hurt she was able to see?
Mapleshade wanted to say "No, of course I wouldn't, she had almost drowned!", but then she thought back to how she felt before she crossed the river. Realisation dawned on her. I wouldn't have taken my kits into the river, would I. All her mind could imagine where her three kits, hopelessly trying to fight the stream like she did. They're better swimmers then her. They would have been able to swim across easily. The sudden thought shocked her. She would have made them cross. Her heart ached at the idea, and her mind started spinning in confusion. She stared back at the brown tom she knew so well.
"So, you would have taken them into the water." He guessed, his voice harsh. "What else could I do?" Her voice was nothing but a whimper, was he blaming her for something that didn't happen?
"They could have died, you know. You could have died!" Mapleshade's pelt rose, she let out a growl. "But I didn't die, did I?" anger was rushing through her, she refused to believe anything would have happened to her kits. They would have been fine, just like she was now. They needed to be. ThunderClan was still at fault for keeping her kittens, they needed to be punished for their behavior.
Frecklewish's words rang in her head. "Do you really think they'd be safe in that cat's paws?" She tried to clear her head. Frecklewish was wrong, she wouldn't let them- She couldn't let her kits-. Frustration gnawed at her stomach. Mapleshade couldn't think, why was she so doubtful? It was ThunderClan's fault, it was all ThunderClan's fault. If they didn't steal her kits, they would be here, safe with her, right? Her clouded thoughts barely caused her to not hear Appledusk's words.
"As long as you are here, I will help you." He said "I will try to convince Darkstar to save your kits. But please, for your own safety, do not tell my clan that I fathered them. They are not ready to hear." Mapleshade's clouded gaze looked at him. He seemed distant. "Don't you love them?" she asked. Appledusk avoided her gaze. "Of course I do. But the clan won't let you stay if they knew." Mapleshade was confused. Why wouldn't they? If they knew these kits were from their clan, they surely would allow her to stay, right?
Appledusk started walking again. "If anyone asks, ThunderClan exiled you for having kits with a rogue. And we only know each other from gatherings. It's for your own good to let them believe this." Mapleshade couldn't believe her ears, but she was too worked up to protest. She just nodded, and followed the Riverclan warrior in silence.