Opening my mouth in a wide yawn, I stood up and stretched. My muscles ached from sleeping on the cold, stone floor of the cave we had settled in. Yesterday, while Tropicpalm, Cloudypaw, Morningflower and I were out looking for the Moontree, the rest of the clan was busying themselves in finding moss for the nests.

So far, there was enough moss for the warriors to sleep on, but several cats had to share nests. The medicine cats each had a big fluffy nest filled with bracken, moss and feathers. Fallenleaf suggested the same for Mistystar, who refused and was sleeping with the apprentices instead. Stonepaw, Berrypaw and I didn't get even a scrap of moss to sleep on and was happy to share the discomfort with our leader.

Groggily, I blinked sleep from my eyes. 

There was a gap in the huddle the apprentices had made. With a sniff of my nose, I realised Mistystar and Fallenleaf were gone. 

What was the Clan leader and deputy doing out, this early in the morning? 

Nose to the ground, I followed their scent out of the cave and into a grove of trees that was teeming with prey. These critters had probably never seen a cat before, I thought, as one ran straight into my claws. Killing it with a swift nip of its throat, I continued to track the scent deeper.

Finally I heard the familiar hushed voice of Mistystar as she talked to Fallenleaf, "I've told you this before, and I'll tell you again. We are NOT having anymore kits."

I creeped closer and buried myself into a bush nearby. Curiosity was prickling in my stomach.

Fallenleaf was pacing in front of Mistystar, "I know, I know. I brought you out here to talk about something else. Something about Tropicpalm."

Mistystar seemed to stiffen, "Tropicpalm? What happened?"

Her mate shrugged. "She's been acting odd lately."

Mistystar was quick to her medicine cat's defense, "It's medicine cat business, we wouldn't know."

Fallenleaf let out an impatient hiss, "Won't you listen to me? She's been going out more and more without any explanations."

Mistystar didn't seem to be concerned, but her tail flicked from side to side in annoyance at her mate's tone, "Ugh, you think too much!"

Guilt traveled through me at eavesdropping on my leader and deputy's relationship. Slowly, I tried to back out of the bush and head back to camp, but my fur snagged on a twig and I tripped over a small branch, making a loud commotion. 

Immediately, Fallenleaf's head snapped around and he instinctively positioned himself in front of Mistystar, "Who's there?"

Panic surged through me and I had to focus on keeping calm as I tugged my fur away and righted myself. Before I could reveal myself, Mistystar pushed past Fallenleaf and thrust her paw into the bush, grabbed my scruff and dragged me out.

As soon as she saw it was only me, my leader softened her grip in surprise, "Honeypaw!"

I opened my mouth but my voice was swiftly drowned out by a high-pitched shriek of terror, "Mistystar!!"

Fallenleaf's mouth hung agape but his mate was immediately jolted into action, bolting into the undergrowth, "Tropicpalm!"

A second later, I found myself racing to keep up with my deputy as we followed our leader towards where the cry had sounded from. We had leaped over several tall-growing reeds and swerved around a fallen log when Fallenleaf paused. 

For less than a tail-length of time, we both dug our claws in, muscles coiling beneath our fur as we took in the scene. 

Two vixens were darting around Mistystar and Tropicpalm, who was panting heavily, in a show of agile strength. 

Then, Fallenleaf sprang, all four legs stretched out and tail streaming out behind him. I gasped, frozen to the spot as I watched him knock one fox to the ground before turning around to shield his mate. Mistystar, encouraged by his arrival, attacked the smaller vixen, her paws flashing in a series of lightning-quick strikes. 

I stumbled forward, feeling incredibly unsure on my paws. Before I knew it, Fallenleaf's opponent had thrown him off and swung around to face me. It took all my self control to keep my fur flat to my skin, crouching to look small and harmless while scoping for ways to gain Fallenleaf some time. 

However, before I could react, the fox slapped me across the face, once, twice. Enraged, I threw myself at it, landing on its back and sinking my teeth into its neck. Then, before I could react, I was thrown off. Splaying out my legs, I landed on four feet, feeling a marvellous sense of confidence surge through me. 

I was doing it! 

I was distracting the fox! 

Fallenleaf staggered upright, two bloody gashes torn into his pelt. With a howl, he closed his claws around its throat and dragged it to the ground with a thump. 

Meanwhile, Mistystar had been thrown and had landed in a heap of bloody fur, going completely limp. Tropicpalm was on her hind legs, doing what she probably thought was pummelling, her blows meeting air. I rushed to her aid, but not before the vixen had dodged around and seized the defenceless medicine cat by her left hind leg. 

Landing on the fox's rump, I sunk my claws in but immediately slipped off. Teeth bared and legs splayed in a battle stance, I expected it to turn its attention to me. However, the vixen kept hold of Tropicpalm, and suddenly there was a ripping sound. 

Lunging forward, I landed on the fox's back and it swung its head around to try to see me. At the exact same moment, Tropicpalm had dug her claws in and, as the momentum clashed, I was horrified to hear a cracking noise coming from the medicine cat's leg. I saw a silver of bone and torn flesh before I tilted backwards and fell, with a thud, onto the ground. 

Darkness crept into my eyes and the last thing I heard was a pitiful wail from Tropicpalm. 

Authors Note:

Hey everyone! This was a really eventful chapter and really fun to write. It might sound wrong, but my favourite part was the subtle hints on how Honeypaw was gaining her confidence, before getting it crushed into a pulp again. I really hope that was obvious. And, if not, the next chapter (which is all ready to go) will show it a lot more. 

- Quill 🪶