Darkstorm froze, and Arrowheart looked at the ground.

"I messed that up, didn't I? I was too quick." He took Darkstorm's silence as a hesitation to reply. "I'm a mouse-brain." Darkstorm shook her head rapidly, her eyes meeting his.

"You're no mouse-brain."

"Then why don't you answer?" he challenged. Darkstorm blinked.

"Because I've always wanted to be... mates." Arrowheart's eyes widened and his tail waved. Darkstorm looked at him. "Ever since that gathering."

"So you..."

"I agree. I say yes." They stood there in an awkward silence, until Darkstorm blinked and grabbed a pine with her teeth.

"I'll help." They continued weaving the pines, until the nursery and elder's den was finished. Darkstorm glanced at him. 

"I've loved you since the day I met you," she blurted. Don't mess this up! "I-"

"Me too," he murmured. "That moonhigh, everything changed. Our destinies were written." He looked up at the darkening sky. "Everything has changed." Darkstorm touched noses with him.

"Yes," she agreed. "But that doesn't mean we'll give up. It means we're stronger than before, just for surviving." She glanced at the warrior's den and began to bend the branches again. They were oddly bendable, which was good for them. Arrowheart did the same for the apprentice's den.

"The fresh-kill. We'll put it under that root, but we have to put pines to guard it." She gestured with her tail. "Can you get some more? One of us has to keep an eye on Orangetail's kits. If they take after their mother, they're only trouble," she snorted. Arrowheart's tail stroked her flank as he left.

I need time to think. Think about everything, she thought to herself, pushing some broken branches to enforce the outside of the mother-tree. She paused. I should get thorns after, so that it's even spikier than pine needles. She sighed. Stop stalling, Darkstorm. You're happy that Arrowheart asked you that, you've been waiting, because you haven't been brave enough to. She snorted. I'm brave enough to face my father and kill him, but not enough to ask a simple question. Not so simple. Yes, simple.

I found the new ShadowClan camp, with Arrowheart, but still. I found it. Now I just have to make ShadowClan as amazing as it used to be. I will do it. I know I can, and I know I will.

Now, those thorns.

"We're back!" Yowltail mewed a while later. Darkstorm nodded distractedly.

"Can you put the moss in the nursery, elder's den and warrior's den? That's all the dens we have for now. I'll sleep in the warrior's den until I get my nine lives." Comfreytail nodded.

"Sure!" 

"Darkstorm! I have de pines," Arrowheart called, sounding a bit muffled by the pine needles in his mouth. "Dey spiky." Darkstorm laughed.

"You're covered in them! You look like a... A pine-cat!" Growing more serious, she flicked her tail. "Snarlfang, you have the herbs, right?" The medicine cat came in and nodded, followed by Orangetail.

"I enforced the medicine den. Did the kits behave?" Darkstorm dipped her head.

"Yeah, they're asleep. Speaking of sleeping, we should. I know we're hungry, but it's late, and we can hunt in the morning." She yawned, noticing how tired she was, and how tired her clan looked. "Come on." Orangetail headed for the nursery, and Snarlfang the medicine den, so the rest of the cats curled up on the moss, drifting off to sleep.

...

"Whoa, it looks great now," Arrowheart mewed. Darkstorm snorted.

"Hopefully! We're going to live in it, it had better be nice. Let's go hunting." The two cats bounded to the forest, staying close but not too close to their camp. The clans hadn't decided on borders yet, but they probably would at the meeting this moon-high- Darkstorm didn't want to be the cat who provoked a fight.

"It smells like frog here," Arrowheart mewed, stopping at a huge marsh. "In the water lilies." They stalked towards the pretty flowers, side by side, silent. Darkstorm slowly slid out her claws, smelling the scent of prey, too, and edged closer to the lilies, her eyes narrowing and finding the three green creatures. She flicked her tail up, and they carried on. She froze, making sure to properly pinpoint the prey before leaping. Arrowheart came a heartbeat after, catching the frog she had missed. Darkstorm sunk her fangs into the frog's slimy flesh.

"The last one!" She made a desperate leap, scooping it up with her paw and biting it.

"We'll eat well," Arrowheart commented, holding his frog. "You've got to say, I'm getting used to ShadowClan hunting and food."

"Yeah, fine, I admit it," Darktorm snorted. "You're amazing at everything."

"But I am!" he objected playfully.

"Yeah, right! Do you want to train?" Darkstorm remembered. Arrowheart shrugged and shook his head.

"We need to get to the sort-of-gathering," he mewed. "Is everyone in ShadowClan going?" Darkstorm nodded.

She told Orangetail to gather everyone, including the kits, to go to the sort-of-gathering, as Arrowheart had called it. She followed her clan out of the mother-tree and stumbled back, surprised to see Fox.

"Ya forgot, didn't ya? I'm gonna go with ya'll to the gathering," he barked. "Come on, lead the way." Darkstorm frowned.

"You're going to scare the clans," she mewed slowly. "Don't say anything until I introduce you, okay?" Fox nodded, wagging his tail excitedly.

"Yah." She led ShadowClan towards the meeting-place. 

"Darkstorm!" Strikestar yowled. "There's a fox behind you! Run!" Darkstorm's fur bristled instinctively, until she remembered who it was.

"No, it's just Fox," she called. "He's like Midnight, but a fox. He knows where a moon-place is." Fishstar's eyes widened.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I believe him. And once we're there we can share our news- actually, once we're there, why doesn't Bushstorm show us the gathering place he found?" She looked to Strikestar, who nodded.

"So ya'll are the clan cats, eh?" Fox asked, walking towards them. "Can I show you know, where it's at?" Quickstar nodded, followed by the other leaders, and the clans wordlessly followed him.

"We're here now," Fox announced, giving an excited yip. Dogs and foxes are probably the most undignified creatures ever, Darkstorm thought wearily. "Look." He wagged his tail again as he entered a cave. So it's a moonstone? Her gaze sharpened. Is it? She cocked her head, confused, as Fox continued down the narrow, dark cave, finally stopping as the cave opened. Trees and bushes were jaggedly surrounding a thick pool of ice, sort of like the moonpool but bigger and brighter.

"Wow," Orangetail murmured, amazed. "It's..." There was no word for it; it was mysterious and magnificent and simply a place to be all at the same time. After Orangetail, there was no talking, no meowing of any sort from any cat. Fox was watching the cats with a somewhat amused expression.

The trees and bushes surrounding it were surrounded by a fast-flowing river in the shape of a star. It was certainly amazing.

"You found the moon-place," Half Moon mewed in Darkstorm's ear. She turned to see countless StarClan cats coming out of the tunnel.

"Thank you, Fox," a badger spoke. 

"Midnight." The fox dipped his white head in greeting. "The ways of cats are mysterious, but it is an honor to serve StarClan."

The badger blinked and nodded.

"You found the moonstar," Tree mewed, walking on top of the ice, followed by GhostClan. The clans held their breaths in amazement at all of their ancestors. "Your new mediator will be Shadekit." Orangetail's jaw dropped, and she licked her kit's forehead happily.

"Starkit will be Cloudstorm's apprentice," Skystar mewed. Riverstar flicked his silver tail.

"And Duskkit will be ShadowClan's."

"And Lightningpaw ThunderClan's," Thunderstar mewed. Shadowstar blinked, glancing at Windstar.

"Snarlfang can go to ShadowClan with Orangetail," Shadowstar mewed.

"My daughter, Mothflight, will train Speedpaw to be a medicine cat, and Micah will train Lightningpaw," Windstar announced. The five leaders dipped their heads and vanished, StarClan doing the same behind them. A bright ginger tom was left standing in their place, a dark grey she-cat behind him. The she-cat jerked her head at GhostClan, and the clans turned to the other clan once again.

"Shadekit," Tree mewed softly. "Trust your instincts as a mediator." The yellow tom was gone in the blink of an eye, not even a strand of fur to prove he was ever there. The rest of GhostClan followed. 

"Firestar," Darkstorm mewed, recognizing the ginger tom. "And-"

"I can say my own name," the she-cat snorted. "I'm Yellowfang. I'll be the main one helping Duskkit train." She disappeared suddenly, leaving Firestar.

"Bushstorm. You're right about where the gathering place will be," the legendary warrior mewed. He turned to the young warrior. "Show them." Darkstorm wondered how he could sound so calm, kind and commanding at the same time. She knew how hard it was. "Wait, Darkstorm, I need to talk to you. We'll join them after." Darkstorm trailed back to the leader.

"Yes?"

"You've done a good job." His gaze softened. "I was once a kittypet, but you know that. I know how hard it is to go from one thing to another in what seems like a few heartbeats. You didn't get to be deputy, but you're already a great leader, with a loyal mate and good friends." Darkstorm blinked.

"I just do what other cats do," she argued. Firestar shook his head.

"You did more than anyone else could ever do. I believe in you, Darkstorm." His emerald green eyes glittered like the stars in his fur. "In four moon-highs, come here and get your nine lives. You deserve them."

...

One moonhigh later, Darkstorm was finding herself panicking. Three moons and nine lives. The gathering-place had been exactly like Bushstorm had described it, not as amazing as the moonstar, but still amazing. They had made borders and all the clan necessities, and...

She and Arrowheart had announced their becoming mates.

She was still out of her mind with nervousness.

"You've worked your tail off the past few days," Orangetail mewed. "You need a break." Darkstorm shook her head.

"But ShadowClan needs me! Orangetail, in three days I get my nine lives. I want to make sure that I deserve them." 

"But you already do!" her deputy yowled in disbelief. "How many times does everyone have to tell you? You saved the clans!" Darkstorm looked at her friend and a bubble of laughter rose up in her throat.

"When we were kits, I wanted to be leader just to annoy you," she admitted, snorting. Orangetail nearly fell over she was laughing so much.

"Wow. Very dignified," she choked out. This caused Darkstorm to snort again. "But seriously, rest up. You've been doing everything, but we want to help." Darkstorm sighed. It was getting late, but still, she felt guilty. "Go on, sleep!" the ginger warrior ordered. Darkstorm hesitantly entered the warrior's den and curled up on the moss. Orangetail was right. She had been working twice as hard as the others. She closed her eyes. She and Arrowheart had shared a toad and her belly was full, making sleep come easier than before.

"There's this weird herb Snarlfang found," Orangetail mewed as she woke up. "Look." She showed Darkstorm a dull green herb with large leaves. "He said that StarClan had said basil was good for stomach aches, whatever basil is, but that oleander wasn't. But we don't know which is which, and he says we need something for bellyaches. Apparently we have no juniper berries right now, and he wants to be careful. He says that if someone has a really bad bellyache, they're vulnerable to diseases." Darkstorm's eyes widened.

"Oleander?"

"StarClan said that it's a herb that adapted to the cold recently. Really recently."

"But they didn't say..."

"What it looked like?" Snarlfang's weary voice asked from behind them. "No. But they did say that there aren't juniper berries here, and we need basil to substitute it. Not just for bellyaches, but also for other things. But the good thing- they said that it was the danger. So we know what the danger is."

"Arrowheart!" Darkstorm yowled. The grey warrior came out of the den. "Can you give a message to the clans?" He nodded and Snarlfang quickly told him it.

"We'll work on finding it while you're gone, but the medicine cats should know." Darkstorm blinked and turned to Snarlfang. "Are there any new plants you've found beside this?" She flicked her tail to what Orangetail had shown her.

"Yes, two others. But those are the three new herbs in the whole forest- I looked for since sunhigh to sundown." Darkstorm closed her eyes.

"Okay. Where are they?" Snarlfang led them to a place near the medicine den, with lots of pines. 

"I didn't put in the medicine den. I don't want a kit eating the oleander." Orangetail nodded understandingly as Snarlfang showed them an identical dull green herb as the one Orangetail has shown Darkstorm. Then he showed them a light pink flower, than a bright red flower.

"Hmm." Darkstorm bent down to sniff them and Snarlfang shoved her back with his side.

"We don't know how dangerous the oleander is. It could be deadly just to smell." Darkstorm dipped her head, a bit embarrassed. Honestly! I'm no better than a kit!

"Can we touch it?" Orangetail inquired.

"I did, but I put cobwebs on my paws, just in case. And I washed in the marsh after. I don't think you want to go through the trouble." Darkstorm narrowed her eyes.

"Well, the first thing we have to do is tell the clans not to touch these three plants. Orangetail, do you think you could tell them how these looked? Catch up with Arrowheart?" The ginger she-cat bobbed her head and scampered off, leaving Darkstorm and the medicine cat.

"So where did you find them?"

"The green herb was near the marsh surrounding the mother-tree, but not too close. The red herb was near my den, and the pink more on the borders." Darkstorm nodded, tucking the information away in her head. "The green herb grew in huge, leafy bundles, and the red was just in small bundles. The pink was on a shrub." Darkstorm sighed.

"And you have no clue which one is the oleander?"

"No. StarClan was careful not to tell us which was good and which was bad." Darkstorm scrunched up her nose.

"Okay, so what we do know is how they look, where you found them, and what they grow in. Wait!" Her ears perked up excitedly. "I know how to find out! What if we lay each at a time down on the ground, and wait for a bird or something to some and taste it. And then we see if they... Die."

"That could work," Snarlfang mewed slowly. "Yes! That might be the answer!" His loopy eyes narrowed. "And then we would have to move the oleander away, all of it. But that's alright. It's worth it, if it means being safe." Darkstorm wrapped her paws in cobwebs and slowly pushed the green and red herbs further away from the camp. I feel like a Twoleg, pushing things around with my paws! It's unnatural!

"Okay, here's good, I think. How about we try it with the blue first?" Darkstorm nodded, slowly pushing the bundle a good distance away and hiding behind a tree, masked in the scent of yarrow.

She and Snarlfang watched closely as a frog hopped towards it. She resisted the urge to leap at it and take it back to the fresh-kill pile. Eat it, eat it, eat it... The frog's tongue snapped out of its mouth and licked the flower. It hopped back, as if angry at the flower for a disgusting taste, and healthily hopped away. Darkstorm looked at Snarlfang.

"The blue is safe," he declared. "StarClan did say that oleander would make the consumer fall and yowl. It won't kill an animal right away, but the frog was perfectly healthy after licking it." Darkstorm nodded.

"Red next," she mewed, and again they waited for an animal to come and eat it. Another frog! This frog hopped right past it without stopping. Darkstorm sighed in disappointment. A tiny mouse stepped towards it what seemed like millions of heartbeats later and nibbled at it. Unlike the frog, it continued eating until it must have been full, and walked away. Darkstorm's eyes stretched wide in horror.

"The pink must be the oleander!"

"Probably, but we should check. But let's try going somewhere else." They walked nearer to their new border with RiverClan, a wide river, and set the supposed-oleander down. Darkstorm flung herself out of the bushes as a white fox approached.

"Stop it, Fox!" she ordered. Fox blinked. "Don't eat it- we think it's poisonous!"

"Yeah, oleander's poisonous! What do you think? I wasn't going to eat it, I thought I smelled a water vole!" 

"So it is oleander. We were right. Snarlfang, we've got to warn the Clans!" The medicine cat nodded. 

"Fox?" Darkstorm asked. "Could you do us a favor and tell the clans about this oleander?" The white fox nodded.

"'Kay. But I'm here to tell ya a message from StarClan. They want you to recieve your nine lives tonight- they've been watching you, and think you're ready." Darkstorm stumbled.

"Now? Er- should anyone else come?" Fox shook his head. 

"By yourself. I'll go tell the clans about the herb. Oh yeah, and StarClan told me something about telling you the green herb was basil? I dunno what they were talking about, but..." Darkstorm nodded politely and ran off towards the moonstar, her heart beating fast in her chest.

...

It was past moonhigh now. She had reached the mooncave, the moonpool-place past the rocky tunnel that reflected the stars and moon, and sat down patiently. Wait... I think I'm supposed to touch the ice. She padded onto the mooncave and lay down, closing her eyes. Was StarClan going to come? She started panicking.

What if I did something wrong on the way here? Was I supposed to bring fresh-kill for my ancestors? No, no no... Please come... Her eyes burst open, and she was at the moonstar. She oddly couldn't see the cave, and there was no exit. She stared at the ice and gasped. It reflected her clearer than ever.

She could see her sleek black pelt and her keen, sharp yellow eyes. Her not-thick-but-not-thin coat gleamed.

"Darkstorm," a voice called. Darkstorm turned around, surprised to see Shadowstar. I'm here! I'm here in StarClan, to recieve my nine lives!

"Shadowstar?" It was surprising how similar the two she-cats looked, facing one another. The only difference were their eyes. 

"You have come to receive your nine lives. We called you here so that we could give them to you." Shadowstar held Darkstorm's gaze. "You are ready. I will give you your first life." She touched noses with Darkstorm.

"I give you a life for courage. Courage in yourself and in your clanmates and decisions." A jolt of pain ran through Darkstorm's body. She glimpsed a mush younger Shadowstar staring in dismay at a cat's broken body on a Thunderpath,  a slightly older Shadowstar fighting cats she thought were good, and an older Shadowstar, trying to rid the clans of a killer. "Have courage, Darkstorm. You will need it until the day you die." Shadowstar stepped back, and a silver tom took her place.

"Riverstar," Darkstorm breathed.

"I give you a life for judgement. Not even the greatest leader can live without it." Again a long, agonizing jolt entered Darkstorm, and the RiverClan leader joined Shadowstar. Thunderstar walked towards her.

"I give you a life for hope," the orange tom mewed. "Hope is the brightest thing, brighter even than StarClan. WIthout hope, you have nothing." Darkstorm expected this to be soothing, but her third life was energizing. Not painful, but it made her feel like she could run back to the lake and to the ancient forest without taking a breath. She wasn't surprised, now, when Skystar greeted her.

"I give you a life for mercy. I once didn't know what mercy was, and that punished every cat I knew. So I give you a chance to not have to go through what I did." This life felt like lightning hit her and she was burning, the fires reaching the sky. Her knees buckled, but she stood straight and dipped her head. She had a vision of a young Thunderstar being held up to Skystar, and Skystar turning away. An injured tom being banished by Skystar. Skystar in the same battle as Shadowstar, killing a cat. Her stomach flipped with queasiness. Windstar came to her, her intense eyes staring into Darkstorm's.

"I give you a life for bravery. Use it well, but not stupidly. Don't make rash decisions, but don't hesitate to rush into battle, not even if it means you die. Not if that battle is for your clan." Five lives, she thought, a heartbeat before she yowled in pain. Agh! It hurts so much!

"Thinfur!" she cried, recognizing her father. The thin-furred tom licked her forehead.

"I give you a life for love," he mewed. This life Darkstorm was completely sure would be soothing, but as she touched noses with Thinfur, the longest, most painful jot yet ran down her spine. She screeched until it was over, and then she felt refreshed, as if she could feel the sixth life. 

"I love you," she whipered. Thinfur met her eyes.

"You're the best kit anyone could ask for. And when one day you join StarClan, you'll meet your mother." Darkstorm smiled sadly. Shadeflight must have killed Rabbitear, too, just as she had thought.

"Darkstorm," Badgerleap's voice mewed from behind her. She turned around. "I give you a life for humor- although things may seem like there's never a break, there is, and when there isn't, you have a job to make your clanmates happy." This life felt endless, happy and free with just a hint of seriousness.

"Orangetail misses you," Darkstorm choked out. "We'll never forget you." Badgerleap dipped her head.

"I miss her, too."

"Darkstorm?"

"Shadeflight!" Darkstorm ran towards her littermate, happiness coursing through her like she already knew what this life was going to be for.

"I miss you," he murmured, his dark blue eyes saddening. Then they brightened. "I give you a life for happiness." This life was pain-free.

"Comfreytail misses you, too."

"I love her," he mewed simply. Darkstorm nodded in understanding. One more life. One more life. One more life. She gasped.

"I give you a life for calmness," Firestar mewed. She breathed out as the wave of coolness swept through her, like a soft breeze rippling through her fur. The nine chosen cats stood together, all facing her. She held Firestar's emerald green gaze, Shadeflight's handsome blue one, Skystar's light blue one, Riverstar's cool green one, Thunderstar's bold amber, Windstar's determined yellow, Badgerleap's laid-back orange, Thinfur's loving yellow ones, and Shadowstar's proud green. Shadowstar was the one to step forward.

"Darkstar." she mewed. My new name... "You have led the clans to follow the brightest star. You fought for a better code. You killed your kin to make cats safe." She paused. "You deserve to now be a leader, even without being a deputy. StarClan trusts you. I'm not one that trusts easily, but now you're like a kit to me." The first ever ShadowClan leader took a deep breath.

"Lead ShadowClan well. The rest of us will wait for you in StarClan, no matter how long it takes." Darkstar's eyes shot open, and she found herself in the moonstar, laying on the mooncave. She couldn't believe what had happened.

"I'm a leader now," she mewed determinedly, outloud. She felt happy and sad and every emotion ever named, all at once. She had lived through so much, all in just a few moons. Her kin and friends had died, but she had hung on, knowing that somewhere, there was a home waiting for the clans. She was strong and smart, and she would lead ShadowClan to be amazing. The pitch-black she-cat had a mate and friends. She was a success, and she was leading her clan. ShadowClan. She had rid the clans of danger, and now the clans lived happily, each with a medicine cat and now they had a mediator. Here, everyone woke up with full bellies, every sunhigh, every single one. She had changed the code, and now she would make her destiny come true. 

She stared at Silverpelt, her yellow eyes bright and happy.

"I'm Darkstar. Darkstar of ShadowClan."