The sun sat still in a clear blue sky, but it was cool and distant, too distant for its soothing warmth to touch the ground. The stone hollow was quiet, especially after yesterday's ordeal. Those who did speak did so in whispers, casting suspicious glances toward the all-too-silent nursery.

         Leopardkit couldn't shake the predicament from her head. Unable to sleep, the spotted she-kit crept out of the bramble den, Mousekit's soft snores fading behind her.

          Midday was normally a time of rest for warriors off-duty, allowing time to share-tongues or for a quick cat nap. The cold of leaf-bare drove most cats into the feeble warmth of their dens, but a few remained outside today.

         Nightdapple, a tortoiseshell, and Brightfeather, a white she-cat, lounged near the thorn tunnel, sharing-tongues and speaking in low voices. No doubt gossiping.

       Leopardkit pushed her ears forward, wishing they could pick up on their whispers. It seemed that everyone in the Clan knew something about Sandstreak that she didn't.

         The thought overwhelmed her. Deep down, she was certain of something. Whatever her mother was hiding might be the reason why she hated Leopardkit and Mousekit.

       And maybe, just maybe, Leopardkit might be able to fix it.

        Goldentail's fluffy fur caught her eye, and the she-kit turned her head toward the half-rock. The elder was stretched across the slab of stone, resting out in the cold.

        Curiosity and determination burning beneath her pelt, Leopardkit started toward her.

         "You aren't sunning, are you, Goldentail?" the she-kit asked, placing her forepaws on the edge of the flattened rock. "It's freezing today."

         Goldentail opened one yellow eye and peered down at her. "Of course not! It's leaf-bare, for StarClan's sake!" she meowed, an edge to her voice.

         Leopardkit tilted her head at the old, fluffy she-cat. "Then what are you doing out here?"

         The golden she-cat sighed and raised her head. "I just came out here to get some space away from the toms," she explained, rolling her eyes. "They've been ruffling my pelt all morning! I'm sure you know how that can be!"

          Leopardkit's whiskers twitched as Mousekit came to her mind. "They can be a lot to put up with," she agreed, thinking about his stubbornness.

         Goldentail sighed. "I'd still kill for those flea-brains, though," she admitted with small smile.

        Leopardkit was silent for a moment, wondering how she should ask the question probing her mind. The she-kit climbed up on to the half-rock and settled next to Goldentail. "So... did you see what happened yesterday?" She flicked an ear nonchalantly.

        The old she-cat narrowed her yellow eyes at her. "Of course I did, but you shouldn't have!" she accused fretfully, golden fur fluffing up in agitation. "That was no situation for a kit to be watching!"

         Frustration welling up in her, Leopardkit had to suppress the urge to retort. There was a more pressing matter on her mind at the moment. "I've just been wondering..." she asked slowly, forcing herself to sound calm. "My mother has always been... different to me, and I didn't know if it had something to do with Sharpwing..." The she-kit drifted off, praying that she sounded convincing enough. She widened her amber eyes pleadingly at the old she-cat.

       Goldentail gazed at her for a moment, her yellow eyes shifting to something darker. "You want to know what happened between your mother and father, don't you?"

        Leopardkit nodded, a bit sheepishly.

       The golden she-cat sighed and gazed at her with pity. "I'm afraid you're far too young to hear about that tale."

      Leopardkit opened her jaw to protest, but Goldentail spoke again, her voice distant.

      "It was just so hard watching her go through all that," Goldentail murmured, her yellow eyes glassy as she stared off at nothing. "Sandstreak is my kit, after all. And she was so young..."

Leopardkit's ears pricked at this information. She had no idea that Goldentail was her kin. Sandstreak had never mentioned her own mother and father. In fact, she wasn't sure if Sandstreak had any other kin at all within the Clan.

And what exactly was Goldentail talking about? Did something bad happen to Sandstreak a long time ago?

      The spotted she-kit waited impatiently to see if the elder would let anything else, her tail-tip twitching, but it seemed Goldentail was stuck in a daze. Leopardkit cleared her throat loudly. "Well... the whole Clan must already know, the way everyone has been gossiping. I'm going to find out sooner or later, right?" She tilted her head knowingly.

      Goldentail shot the she-kit a stern look. "They may know, but that doesn't mean you are ready. There's too much... fragility, with the whole situation. Longkit, Weedkit, Sharpwing, Sandstreak, and Darkstar..."

      "Darkstar?" Leopardkit squeaked in surprise. Her amber eyes shone with disbelief. "What does he have to do with this?"

      "A lot," Goldentail replied grimly, and then her yellow eyes widened. "Oh, dear, I'm afraid I've said too much..."

      Leopardkit cocked her head innocently. "How was Darkstar involved? Did he break them up?" She couldn't imagine why the ThunderClan leader would do that to her mother and father, but what else could have possibly happened?

      "Well, not directly," Goldentail corrected her. And then under her breath— "And it wasn't just him—another poor she-cat got caught up in this whole mess!"

      Leopardkit shook her head in bewilderment. Her claws were itching for the answers to her past. "Another she-cat? Who?"

      Goldentail's face softened with sadness. "Her name was Bluesky."

      Now Leopardkit was truly shocked. Her heart began thumping in her chest. The same Bluesky who saved her the day she ate a deathberry? The starry she-cat who comforted her in the midst of a nightmare that was too realistic? Her spotted pelt prickled uneasily. If Goldentail knew about her, and somehow she was connected to Leopardkit's parents, then she mustn't have died long ago...

      Goldentail suddenly rose to her paws and lashed her fluffy tail. "Now, that's all you're going to get out of me!" the cream-furred she-cat growled. "I've already said too much about it all. If you keep blabbering about it, I won't stay." She swept around as if to head back to the elders' den.

      "Wait, no!" Leopardkit meowed, and Goldentail glanced back at her suspiciously. The she-kit allowed sorrow to fill her amber eyes, hoping that the elder would notice and take pity. "I'll stop asking questions. I just wanted to know why Sandstreak hates me."

      Goldentail drew her brows together. "It's all very complicated, young one," she said in a low voice. "Don't worry about it. Just be a kit." She settled back down on the half-rock, yawned with a flash of fangs, and closed her eyes, promptly dozing off.

Leopardkit's amber eyes were still wide with astonishment. Disappointed, but realizing her little investigation was over, the she-kit plopped down on the Half Rock next to Goldentail's sleeping figure. She sighed dramatically, laying her chin between her forepaws. Her mind was desperately trying to put the pieces together, but none of it made sense. What had happened between those four cats, and what did it have to do with her?

The she-kit tried to remember her earliest kit days, searching through her memories for any recollection of Sharpwing being there. There was nothing.

       While she sat, deep in thought, the sunhigh patrol burst through the camp entrance frantically, fear scent rolling off them in waves. Stonedusk was leading, his amber eyes round and his sides heaving. "Prepare for battle!" he caterwauled, drawing sleeping cats out of their dens. Leopardkit suddenly noticed the dark red stains coating his pelt. His eyes were wide with terror.

"ShadowClan is headed straight for camp!"