"Oh, hush about the Twoleg trap thing. Can't you see that mouse has already fled, and there's worse things to worry about now?" Rowanpaw's words came into focus as Crescentpaw pricked her ears to listen. The white moon-shaped mark on her face was spiky and distorted from the thin rain that was falling.

"We'll never get our warrior names!" The brown she-cat complained loudly, flicking water droplets from her ear tips. "There's no deputy or leader to elect us as one, let alone a medicine cat to get us either one of those either!"

Crescentpaw could understand both sides, but she hadn't yet had a proper greeting with Rowanpaw. She attempted to nose-touch her kin but the other apprentice turned her face. She's too upset right now. She won't even say hello! Crescentpaw tried not to feel stung from such disregard.

"I don't want to be stuck as an apprentice forever, and die as one. Like Tidepaw did!" She snuck a look back over at them, her expression snide. As if she didn't expect them to understand a word of it.

But Crescentpaw did. She moved closer and pressed her tabby-and-white fur into her sister's smoother pelt. Rowanpaw, who had never been a fan of sharing tongues or any physical contact for that matter, moved away after a second.

It was mostly Tinypaw that noticed- but so far their cinnamon-brown relative had hardly even shown that she was glad they'd come back. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Crescentpaw tried to catch Rowanpaw's eye but she was avoiding their gazes again.

Their estranged sister had always been aloof from their kin-despite any other cat's attempts to let her in. But this was as strange as ever... like complete avoidance to them specifically.

"It's alright Rowanpaw. We aren't mad at you. And I'll figure out what to do to fix the clan."

Crescentpaw was startled when her sister laughed in her face and then grunted "You? Yeah, sure. Let me know when you figure something out." She twitched her long, dripping whiskers with amusement.

Stunned and offended, Crescentpaw's hackles flung up. Her tail flicked to-and-fro as she hung onto her patience. Which by the way, was not very characteristic of her.

"Oh, shut your breathing hole. Crescentpaw has the best chance of doing anything about this than any other cat does, and you know it." Tinypaw's eyes were beseeching as she arched her paw expressively, lecturing her arrogant chestnut sister.

That set Rowanpaw off even father. Her eyes blazed as her tail lashed before she bared her teeth in a snarl. Crescentpaw leaped into a defensive stance, expecting her to attack. But she didn't; she just lowered her head and stomped away. The brown she-cat's claws were ripping up wet tufts of grass as she left.

"Wow. It's like anything you say gets her going. I didn't even say anything about her!" Tinypaw exclaimed, clutching her chest with a paw innocently.

"No, I know." Crescentpaw agreed, throwing a look in the direction that Rowanpaw had retreated. "It isn't your fault." The blue-and-yellow eyed she-cat sighed. "I wasn't done talking to her, though. Maybe I'll try again later."

Tinypaw scoffed. "Yeah, much later. Can you believe she lied about us like that?

Oh, and didn't you want any fresh-kill?" She changed the subject to avoid the negativity, to which Crescentpaw was grateful. Nodding, she padded over to the fresh-kill pile. The young she-cat halted, noticing Cheetah regretfully with one flattened ear.

"Er, sorry Cheetah. I kind of forgot you were standing there waiting..."

"It's okay!" She meowed cheerfully, kneading her paws. "I could tell that there was some sisterly tension~ going on, and I don't understand what it was about so I just stood back and kind of listened."

Tinypaw stretched out one side of her face in a half-frown.

"And I was thinking maybe I shouldn't listen, but then I realized that I should." She rushed to defend herself after seeing Tinypaw's look.

"Because I want to know more about these cats if they're going to be my new friends! And, like, a lot of them seem super not-grumpy so I bet they all will be!" Cheetah's huge round ears accentuated her bulging golden eyes. Even as raindrops rain fell upon her head and shoulders the spotted she-cat looked comfortable in the Riverclan camp. Over here, the willow tree's broad leaves sheltered them from the worst of the wet.

Of course, Crescentpaw tried to explain that the warriors expected a different standard of, uh- expression. When it came to living in the forest, that is. Cheetah nodded and did her best to listen, but she kept getting distracted by the dens and broken up stick-wall around camp.

"That wall looks all dingy and fallen apart! I could help fix it, if you want," she meowed loudly to no cat in particular. Emberfawn poked his head into camp from his guard post outside, looked at them with round green eyes, and then retreated.

"Cheetah, remember that we have to speak quietly in these wetlands." Crescentpaw tried to sound mature as she repeated herself. "Prey is fluttering in the trees beyond the camp walls. Even fish in the streams that run adjacent to us can hear a yowl like that." She laughed and stretched out a white paw to calm her friend.

"Haha. Right." Cheetah said in a more chilled-out demeanor, then smiled ear to ear.

Her mentor is going to love her. The crickets in the tall wet grass sang behind them. The twisting, winding tree-trunks around them were slick and shiny with wet bark.

She remembered her own beloved mentor, who had trained her all the way up to eleven moons. Aquasplash had been a patient and seasoned warrior. Crescentpaw's eyes began glistening as she thought of her mentor, her father, her leader, and then her deputy. All taken by the wolves, or wounds that the wolves had inflicted.

The clans were accustomed to ailments like illness, natural disasters and local predators. They had chased out rogues, foxes, badgers and even stoats. And yet not a single one had cut down- halved, Riverclan's numbers like this.

"Hey, your Warrior friends are here!" Cheetah announced, pointing her tail to the emerging Alpinefog, Houndspots, and Lagoonstripe. Two of the returning warriors held swinging prey in their jaws, dropping it when they saw her and Tinypaw. Emberfawn followed them in from behind, leaving his post. He ran into the warriors den to fetch Raccoonstripe.

Lagoonstripe then signaled the other cats around the camp towards her, long striped tail waving. Rowanpaw emerged from the apprentices den alone. Quietdew padded out of the medicine cat's den, and Crescentpaw wondered if she had been trying to treat herself.

"Everyone gather here. We must hear what the returning apprentices have to say." Lagoonstripe sat down in front of Crescentpaw. Because Lagoonstripe was so tall and lithe, she was a bit taller in height than the largest apprentice.

"First we need to tell you all where, uhmmm-." She faltered as Racoonstripe settled into a spot amongst the group of Riverclan cats. Emberfawn stayed standing, his whiskers stiff with anticipation. The tom's deep green eyes nearly matched the gloomy forest behind him.

"What?"

I've got to tell them at some point, and it's very important so I might as well tell them now! She curled her sopping wet tail around her forepaws.

"Where Goldenheart has gone."

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Racoonstripe