Jetkit has taken to following me around. He alone seems undisturbed by the rumors about me. In fact, he seems to be creepily excited with the morbid prospect of my past.

"So, what did Jade look like?" he asks.

"Kind of like you, but her fur was nowhere near as glossy or beautiful." I say, remembering the scrappy kit. My mind immediately turns to her unmoving body and I look down at the ground, focusing intently on the rocks.

"Are you sure she wasn't twice my size with razor claws?" he inquires, pressing closer to me with large wide eyes that have never closed once since he opened them.

"No!" I say. "Just a kit, alright? Stop asking!" The words come out far harsher than I had meant, and the confused kit recoils from my side.

"Rushpaw, you don't have to be mean about it! Plus, she had to be a monster! Otherwise, you wouldn't have killed her..." He notices my silence, and his expression suddenly very solemn, he whispers, "Would you?"

"Sh-shut up!" I yell. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

"I only said you didn't have to be mean about it!" he complains.

I blink. Am I imagining things? Annoyed and aggravated, I stride away towards a large group of apprentices, who are gossiping idly and sharing tongues, a common tradition this early in the morning. I suppose none of them got asked to go on the dawn patrol.

"What's going on?" I ask, tail twitching.

"We were just talking. It's not a big deal or anything." Sharppaw says, looking away from me.

"It's nice to see you, Rushpaw. You've been so quiet lately." Sparrowpaw says.
"Is it really?" Nettlepaw questions.

Drawing the conversation away from the accusation, I say, "So, what brings you all together?"

"Now that we're apprentices, we rarely ever have time to sit around and share tongues. We take the opportunity when we can get it." Nettlepaw says with a grunt of general disdain.

"That's a good thing, Nettlepaw! We don't need to dawdle when we could be helping the clan!" Goldenpaw says, cuffing her brother over the ear affectionately.

"You know what else you must never have time for?" Novapaw teases, "A bath. Your fur is disgusting!"

"I figured you'd be trying to groom me, so I rolled through nettles deliberately." Nettlepaw replies snidely.

Novapaw, sticking his tongue out, begins trying to clean it. It's so different from his usual assertive attitude, but the others seem to be laughing along with him.

"You're all so different now. I wish I had more time to catch up with you." I say bitterly.

"Why does Knottedstar keep you away from the rest of us, anyways?" Sparrowpaw questions.

"She's special." Nettlepaw hisses. "It's an honor for her to be here. Isn't that right?"

"She doesn't keep me away from anything. I'm just very busy." I say quietly.

In the distance, Knottedstar watches me with piercing brown eyes, her tail flicking like an angry viper. Though I know she's not angry, only reflective, something about her dark eyes still fills me with guilt for goofing off. Just her presence makes me feel like I should be busy helping the clan.

Perhaps that's what a leader is. Someone inspiring, even a little on the terrifying side. Someone who can keep her warriors busy. Regardless, I know I should be with her, so I say a hasty farewell and trod over to her.

"Very nice to see you." Knottedstar says, "I was beginning to think you were too busy for me."

"Me? Never." I say playfully. "So, what am I going to learn today?"

Knottedstar purrs in response. "You'll see when we get there."

I glance back at the apprentices, who have already resumed their tight circle. As we leave camp by way of the river, we pass the elder's den. Owlflight is sitting out in the sun, shaking ever so slightly, and Emeraldlight is by her side, holding her up. "Owlflight isn't feeling well." I note. "Do you think she'll be okay?"

"Owlflight is very strong, both internally and externally. I remember when she was a young warrior in her prime." Knottedstar purrs, wading into the stream and quickly crossing it. It's large enough to deter kits, but now that I'm an apprentice, I can touch the bottom, even in the middle.

"You were around back then?" I ask as I slowly push my way through the gentle waters, realizing how rude I sound far too late to take it back.

"I was only a kit." explains Knottedstar. "I may look old, but I'm actually not much older than most of the warriors. The bulk of the clan is aging quickly."

"Not as long as we're around." I insist. "There are so many apprentices now. Surely they'll be able to support the clan."

"It's not 'they', it's a 'we'." She tells me without so much as turning to look at me. We're in the ambiguous territory between WindClan and DragonClan. Since WindClan cats are moor hunters, they don't come here, but since DragonClan territory is so large, we never come here either.

Suddenly, Knottedstar stops, her tail slicing a wide arc before coming to rest as she turns to me. "I thought we'd do a little battle training in a slightly less orthodox location. We'll go over what you learned earlier." she dictates.

"Any particular attacks?" I ask.

"No. I'd like to see everything that you've learned." Knottedstar says. "You'll be up against many demons, both those within and those without. They won't be sparing you any mercy. They will not go easy on you because you are young."

"So you won't either?" I finish for her, bracing myself for an attack at any moment.

"Of course I will. I'm not trying to kill you, I'm trying to train you. In fact, as a show of my kindness, why don't you take the first attack?"

I slowly creep forwards and then lunge like a diving hawk at her underside. It's an awkward slice and she sidesteps, sending me sliding into the soil. She places a paw on my back, and though I try to get up, I find she has me pinned extremely well. Seeking a solution, I jerk sideways to roll under her, and her paw gives way. I'm now positioned to attack her underbelly, but she pins me down again. Frustrated, I unsheathe my back paws and hit her in the stomach as hard as possible. She gasps, pulling away.

"Knottedstar! I'm so sorry!" I say, aware that her underbelly is bleeding.

"Demons within. Remember, this is only a training fight." Knottedstar places a determined paw forwards. "Try again. This time, you're in charge."

My heart still pounding with fear, I take another uneasy strike, but she slashes me away with ease.

Our strokes are fluid as we go back and forth, both of us circling as neither advances, only striking occasionally and retreating. Without any warning, Knottedstar rushes at me and strikes me back, sending me stumbling to the ground.

As I get up, she stands over me, waiting for me to get up. "Now-" With a swift strike, Knottedstar sends me reeling backwards. With another slash, I find my back hit a tree. I'm cornered. "Why did you kill her?"
I stop, caught off guard. I know perfectly well who 'she' is. "I was protecting the clan from a dangerous rogue who was intent on killing everyone in the nursery,' I say wryly, trying to keep my beating heart from racing ahead of me and sending me out of control.

She looks away. "If only that was the whole truth."

Rage overwhelms me and my claws scour a hit across her face. Knottedstar backs up, her calm expression barely moved by this revelation.

"You need to leave, Lunarshine."

I bare my teeth, the other presence within me suddenly unleashed in full, brutal agony. "I didn't ask for this!"

Her face isn't bleeding. I realize the wound wasn't nearly deep enough to get the point in. My muscles tensing, I aim for her face again and spring, but she steps aside. This time, I land cleanly, strength rushing through me. Turning around, I jump forwards and miss again.

"Fight back, for StarClan's sake." I yell, though I'm hardly in control anymore. Something else has taken over, pushing me downwards to the point that I can barely see what's going on. My mind feels fuzzy, as if I've just woken up, and the haziness is spreading rapidly.

Knottedstar sits down. "The battle is over. I would appreciate talking to Rushpaw now."

I take a step forwards. My paws are no longer my own. "She's right here."

"Is she?"

"Yes. She's both of us." I tell her, everything finally in place. Yes. I am not one but two, two souls in one body, sharing one conscience.

"Both of you?"

I realize she's stalling me, but I no longer feel angry. Instead, I feel relief. Knottedstar's dark eyes bring me back to reality and I gasp as I sink back into myself again, like coming up from the depths of the deepest lake imaginable.

"That was amazing!" I say. "You took on the cat who keeps possessing me.... Lunarshine!"

"Yes, I did. She's not quite as sinister as she'd like us both to believe. However, she does have some... strong opinions about various things. One of those is the clan's safety."

"Is that why she's back?"

"Very good. I believe she and Ashleap managed to reincarnate themselves into one body in order to return and help save the clan from some sinister threat." Knottedstar tells me.

"What?" I ask.

"The very way we live right now is unsustainable. The creations of the tunnels are growing in power. It is fitting that the cat who originally spilled this power into the tunnels and the cat who first tamed them would work together to end the sinister threats within them, isn't it?"

"That's me?"

"That's you."

I can feel their hearts within mine, their souls turning. They recognize their names, even when dormant. It's a history that they gave up to become me.

Not just a history. Two lives. Once you leave StarClan... you can't return.

I blink. "Is that all, Knottedstar?"

"There will be greater hardships tomorrow." Knottedstar tells me, licking herself.

"What will we be doing then?" I ask apprehensively.

"We'll be training with the other apprentices. I'd imagine that's far more terrifying than ghouls or spirits of any kind." she teases. "For now, we should return to camp."

She leads me back to the empty camp, and then walks off in the opposite direction towards the elder's den. Owlflight is hacking so loudly that I can hear it from over here. Perhaps her situation is more sinister than Knottedstar would have me believe.

My thoughts are disrupted by a conversation just past the bushes.

"Oh, come on." says a familiar voice, full of extroverted guile.

"No!" snaps a young, whiny she-cat I know to be Sharppaw.

"Sharppaw, please! We could be good friends." I listen as once again Novapaw's voice fills the clearing.

Curious and slightly disturbed, I slide into the bushes with narrowed eyes and listen to the conversation.

"Did you hear that?" asks Sharppaw, trying to back away from him.

"Not important."

Oh, but it is...

"The point is... Rushpaw is a little unstable and quick to violence. I'm beginning to think I might have misjudged her... and if I ever do become leader, you might be my deputy."

My heart stops at his last five heart-rending words. I long to run to him desperately, to ask him if it was really all true, for him to reassure me, but something holds me rooted to the ground, firm as paws slammed down atop my own.

No! You don't have to go running back to him. We'll get our revenge later.

I look longingly after him as he says, "The truth is, I'm scared of her." For a split second, his eyes are wide with genuine fear. With that, his terrified gaze returns to his usual, charismatic expression to match his confident stride and he dips back into camp.
"I am too. There's only so long Knottedstar can cover for her." Sharppaw whispers after him. She turns around to face me for a second, her eyes narrowed to slits, before she turns away. Did she see me?

My whole body shakes violently as I stumble out of the bushes once they're gone. Still, the angry spirit churns and roars within me. She is the one who forced my paw last time.

They don't deserve your friendship! Bring them all to your paws! You know what you're capable of! Knottedstar is even nurturing it for you!

Watching the other apprentices in camp gaze kindly as I come their way, not knowing I scent their fear, not knowing I've begun to feel afraid of myself.

(and we're back! It's been quite a while. What characters do you want to see more of? Enjoying some mythos? What do you think Lunarshine and Ashleap's true motivations may have been, and what are Knottedstar's 'sources'? Discuss below!)