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Stars blinked overhead as Lynxpaw, Robinwing, and Nightfrost trekked along the HeathClan border. A fog hung over the moor, dew clinging to their pelts and exhaustion tugging at their eyelids. The three of them felt restless no matter how much sleep they had the oppurtunity to gain within the confines of HeathClan, and Lynxpaw believed it was because of the stress attached to them like irritating burrs to their pelts. Dead grass crunched under their paws though as they continued on, Nightfrost taking the lead as Robinwing stuck to Lynxpaw's side.

The medicine cat apprentice constantly glanced over the border into the depths of RidgeClan territory. Peering through the trees, Lynxpaw's ears dropped at the sight of RidgeClan's mountains. Her old home. The urge to step over the border and bolt home was overwhelming, but she knew that returning to the void she once called home would be nothing but a death wish. Sorrow stabbed at her heart like a mantis conquering its prey and she tore her eyes away from the sight of RidgeClan.

Silence hung over the group like cold, leafbare air. Lynxpaw managed to catch a glimpse or two of Robinwing parting his jaws as if he was attempting to speak, but he would only sigh and glance up at the night sky. As calm as Lynxpaw finally felt since her conversation with Hawkpaw and Fawnleap, she still found her chest tightening in anxiety as they journeyed to the Moon Realm.

The molly had no clue of what awaited her there. Would Galeflower return only to grant her empty warnings? Would a new Star Realmer approach her and finally answer all her questions? Would a new prophecy be obtained? Every though buzzed about in her brain as if it was an obstructed nest of wasps and she found herself growing agitated with the Star Realm. They had to provide answers. It was their job to watch over the Clans, not hers.

"Alright." Lynxpaw's ears shot forward when Nightfrost finally broke the suffocating silence between them. Her mentor paused and stared into RidgeClan territory. Lynxpaw noticed how long he stared before he spoke again, as if he was longing for something. Longing for his old home. "We can cross the border now and it will be a straight shot to the Moon Realm."

"Should we mask our scents?" Robinwing suggested, his muzzle twitching.

"RidgeClan patrols don't normally venture this far into our territory since it's so close to the Moon Realm," Nightfrost replied with his gaze still lingering to the shadows across the border. "I'd be shocked if they ever did but usually that's only before a Moon Realm trip for the medicine cats. Our scents will be gone by then plus... they don't have any medicine cats as of right now."

Lynxpaw winced at Nightfrost's final statement. With her and Nightfrost having had retreated RidgeClan's ranks, the Clan no longer had a trained medicine cat. Would Cottonstar randomly select a cat to take over for them? No other cat had knowledge of herbs aside from Ashtail due to his moons of healing from a broken leg, but the tom could only merely point out a few herbs and their uses. A prick of guilt burrowed itself into Lynxpaw's heart feeling as if she left her other clanmates behind vulnerable.

Finally, the tom flicked his tail and stepped over the border into RidgeClan territory. She sucked in a deep breath and followed after her mentor and Robinwing, though her stomach sank as familiar scents drifted through her nostrils. Lynxpaw's heart throbbed and her claws threatened to show and dig into the dark soil beneath her. Sour memories danced about in her mind but she managed to trail after Nightfrost, holding back the bitter taste with a crossed expression. I don't want to be here, Lynxpaw thought. She glanced up to peer at the starlit sky through the slits between branches. Why have you brought us here? You better have something worth to offer.

She felt Robinwing press closer to her as they ventured through RidgeClan territory. The unfamiliar scenery frightened the medicine cat and Lynxpaw observed so by the way his gaze quickly scanned the shadows crawling around them and his bristled pelt. She clenched her teeth and brushed his tail over his, the warmth now shared between them allowing Robinwing to relax. His bunches muscles fell back and his fur flattened at he turned towards Lynxpaw, granting the molly an appreciative yet nervous smile.

Lynxpaw watched as Nightfrost paused before slithering into the undergrowth ahead. They were drawing closer to the Moon Realm. Uneasiness traveled across Lynxpaw like an array of ants down her spine, but she simply exhaled and pursued her mentor. Don't make me regret journeying here. Please, don't make me regret another decision.

Emerging from the undergrowth, Lynxpaw's chest tightened at the familiar sight of the Moon Realm before them. Wilted flowers stained the clearing and a ominous fog lifted around the pointed stone. Moonlight flitted over the marked surface of the stone and Lynxpaw shivered as she remembered the occurrences within her vision. As light as a feather on her paws though, the apprentice continued forward without a single hitch in her breath and the atmosphere felt clear. It was almost too relieving.

"Are you ready, Lynxpaw?" Nightfrost asked, tilting his head to eye his spotted apprentice.

The molly swallowed and caught a glimpse of Robinwing nodding to her with a reassuring twitch of his curled ears. She inhaled a sharp breath and dipped her head to Nightfrost. "I'm ready."

Without another glance towards the older toms, Lynxpaw pressed forward to the Moon Realm. The medicine cat apprentice eyed every scratch eased into the ruptured surface of the stone as if they were signs of treachery. Last time the apprentice had traveled to the Moon Realm, she missed out on the oppurtunity to save a Clanmate. Even without a vision lurking in the depths of her memory about the death of another, she still felt an urge to scurry back to HeathClan and never let her eyes off of a Clanmate again.

Her ears twitched waiting for Robinwing or Nightfrost to say something. Lynxpaw almost wanted them to tell her she didn't have to do this. Silence hung over them like the dreadful, cold frost of leafbare though and she crouched before the stone, fear wavering across her. She didn't hesitate once more though and instead pressed her muzzle to the stone, shutting her eyes and hoping for an answer.

The cold touch from the stone dissipated and Lynxpaw's breath was caught in her throat. She felt her limbs tremble beneath her as trepidation gnawed at her. Finally, the molly managed to open her eyes and scramble to her paws, widened eyes examining the starry clearing before her.

The air was cool as a subtle breeze drifted over her. Her ears twitched as she gazed out across the rolling, star plastered hills of the Star Realm. Turning on her paws, she nearly jumped out of her pelt at the sight of a starry form approaching her. Lynxpaw expected the familiar face of Foxpaw or Marshleap to appear before her, but instead her claws dug into the earth at the sight of Galeflower. The HeathClan ancestor blinked as their gazes met and a spark of tension existed between the two mollies.

Lynxpaw lifted her muzzle, digging up every foxlength of courage stocked in her gut. "Galeflower, I have come due to a vision I recently had," Lynxpaw started, her tail lashing. "You told me my visions are supposed to guide me and predict the future, so it is believed that I had a reason to come here. The Star Realm must have something to tell me."

Galeflower merely scanned her gaze over Lynxpaw, who noticed the starry mollies pelt prickle and her paws shuffle. Lynxpaw could clearly note that anxiety that coarsed through the HeathClan she-cat as if Lynxpaw had said something startling and concerning. Before Lynxpaw could speak again, Galeflower finally replied with a low growl.

"You act too quickly. Too foolishly."

Anger spiraled within the medicine cat apprentice at Galeflower's words. Lynxpaw pulled back her lip in a snarl at the star-coated feline. "What?! How am I supposed to act? Marshleap's death occurred just after my vision! Am I supposed to just lay around and wait for another sign?"

"I told you in our first meeting that a darkness looms over both of the Clans," Galeflower snapped, her once soothing voice turning cold and demanding. "Yet you go and leave all of your Clanmates behind within HeathClan!"

"My vision told me to come here!" Lynxpaw stammered in retort, her spotted pelt bristled. "Plus my Clanmates are safe within HeathClan!"

Galeflower turned away from Lynxpaw, who flattened her ears and snarled at the Star Realmer. Frustration washed over Lynxpaw and the urge to spit thorns at Galeflower was overwhelming. Why would the Star Realm send her a vision then disregard her for following it? None of the matter made any sense to the apprentice and thoughts spiraled in her brain causing her head to ache.

"I told you that no Clan is safe from this catastrophe," Galeflower murmured, her voice softening and wedged with sorrow.

Lynxpaw felt a stab of empathy for the she-cat but she burrowed it away. "But you also told me to follow my visions," Lynxpaw corrected.

Galeflower shook her head, the she-cat sitting with her tail caressing the star littered grass behind her. Lynxpaw felt an urge to step forward and apologize to the she-cat, but her anger towards all of the Star Realm held her back. Lynxpaw clenched her teeth and glanced around her, spotting starry silhouettes in the background. Her muzzle scrunched and she latched her gaze back onto Galeflower, her eyes ignited in a fiery rage.

"Why is it that they always send you to speak to me? I know it isn't because you're gentle and easygoing, because you seem more so distressed and angered than that," Lynxpaw pointed out, noticing how Galeflower ceased every twitch and flick at her words. The apprentice shook her head and stared down at the starry surface below her. "I think it's because the Star Realm is afraid of this darkness, but why send you when you seem just as terrified. All of them cower away in the distance as we talk and your words are empty, almost as if you don't have a clue yourself as to what darkness is threatening the Clans."

Lynxpaw paused and remembered the petrified expression across Galeflower's face when she warned Lynxpaw of the darkness. The she-cat's mixed emotions could lean towards a sense of confusion, but it seemed odd with how the other Star Realmers cowered away and didn't bother providing their own answers. The guilt that also shadowed over the Star Realm molly made Lynxpaw come to a bitter realization.

"You all know what is going on," Lynxpaw lowly meowed. "You blame yourselves... for some reason." The former RidgeClanner gritted her teeth before she spotted Galeflower cock her head to glance at her. Their gazes softened as they met and a desperate plea escaped Lynxpaw. One she had been holding in for what felt like moons. "I just want... answers. Please."

Galeflower stood to her paws and an unruly silence withered between the two. For once in history a mortal didn't cower before the presence of a star ignited ancestor, instead it was the exact opposite. The same emotion of guilt threaded the two of them closer though, keeping their tones soft and their claws sheathed, yet there was a sense that they despised one another. A breeze flitted through their fur as their gazes locked, Lynxpaw's tight with utter focus as Galeflower's cascaded into an oblivion of terror.

"There is no one left to trust, not even the stars above you until they can exist without faltering," Galeflower mumbled. Panic then soared across the molly, her eyes widened which stimulated Lynxpaw to take a step away from her. "Go! You must stop this yourself! You must trust yourself. HeathClan is not safe! Danger!"

The scenery around her began to blink and falter, the silhouettes in the distance scurrying away. Mixed emotions twisted within Lynxpaw and her gaze flickered to and fro. Panic enveloped the she-cat and she watched as Galeflower turned, bunching her muscles as she prepped herself to run away. Frustration erupted from Lynxpaw though and she lunged forward, catching the starry mollies tail with her teeth.

Galeflower squeaked and she tilted her head to glance back at an infuriated Lynxpaw. "Don't run from me! Don't run from us!" Lynxpaw growled at her through her teeth. "I want answers! You have to help us!"

The HeathClan she-cat merely frowned, her ears pinned against her head as she spoke. "We're sorry."

Lynxpaw blinked and the starry scenery around her vanished. She stumbled to her paws, her vision blurry as she grew dizzy and frantic. She heard Nightfrost and Robinwing shout her name and rush to her side to assist her. As they brushed against her though and desperately pleaded for answers, only Galeflower's words thundered about in her brain.

So many emotions tore through the spotted apprentice. She was angry at Galeflower and the Star Realm for avoiding her questions and resisting aid to the Clans. She was sorrowful due to her realizations and confused because of the entirety of the situation. As her thoughts buzzed with anger towards the Star Realm though, she could still only feel her own guilt prod at her heart.

"Lynxpaw! Lynxpaw!"

Robinwing's pleading voice finally snapped the she-cat free from her thoughts. Her chest heaved with every quick breath but the warmth of Nightfrost and Robinwing's pelt pressed close to her's eased her state. Her muscles relaxed but her chin fell, her vision finally settling as her gaze rested on the earth below her. Lynxpaw's claws were planted into the ground and her head ached, but all finally fell silent around her.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Nightfrost questioned a few moments later to break the silence between them. "Did you get any answers?"

Lynxpaw's heart shattered at Nightfrost's question. Despite her vision leading her to the Moon Realm, no answers came from the visit. That was unless the molly accounted for the bitter realizations that soared off the edge of her tongue like melting ice from a cavern ceiling.

"No, but we need to go," Lynxpaw breathed out, her gaze sliding over to the woodlands around them.

She felt as if she was being watched, and now she knew that it wasn't from her ancestors. They were watching no cats' pelts but their own. Rage bellowed within Lynxpaw and she stared into the shadows back towards HeathClan, a path that seemed littered with more darkness than the path towards her old home.

"We are not safe at HeathClan."