"Your technique is perfect!" Fogface praised. "It's time to put it into use." She looked over at Honeydapple. "Is Morningpaw ready?"

Honeydapple purred, green eyes warm. "She's always ready!"

Dawnpaw groaned.

Morningpaw trotted over to Dawnpaw, tail raised high and her ears erect. Her eyes narrowed as she assumed her battle stance. Dawnpaw mirrored her, ears pointing behind her.

Honeydapple nodded at Fogface. Fogface returned the nod and flicked her tail. "Go!"

Morningpaw reared up on her hind paws, bringing her front ones down on Dawnpaw in an elegant arc. Dawnpaw pushed herself up, head down, hitting Morningpaw square in the neck. Morningpaw, fell back, gasping as the air was knocked from her windpipe. Dawnpaw grinned.

Fogface purred, flashing a look with Honeydapple. Finally, Dawnpaw had landed a blow on her sister! "Dawnpaw, that was great! You executed the move perfectly," she praised. "Now it's time to switch."

The two apprentices faced each other once more, Dawnpaw's ears now positioned assertively, no longer pinned back. She stood upright, looming over Morningpaw. Morningpaw sprang upward, knocking Dawnpaw back. As she lay on the ground, tortoiseshell flank heaving as she panted to bring in air, Morningpaw bounded over to her, pushing her back down, paws on her throat. Dawnpaw toppled backwards with a look of surprise, as Morningpaw gave her a few belly kicks. 

"Morningpaw, what are you doing?" Honeydapple shouted over Dawnpaw's protests.

Morningpaw jumped off of Dawnpaw, turning around to face the two mentors. "I added to the move. It's great to stop a bigger cat from jumping on you, but I thought we should make our moves more advanced and take it further. Because RimuClan's Legion is really strong and powerful, and if they teach their techniques to BeechClan, we're going to need to fight a lot better to stop them," she explained. 

Honeydapple tipped her head to the side, tail waving. "Go on," she prompted.

"Well, I figured since we just knock the breath from the opponent and hurt their throat, we should follow through with that. We should press our paws to their throat to leave them with a nasty bruise, and scare them so they know we could kill them if we wanted to. Of course, we wouldn't, though!" she added, seeing Fogface's expression. "Take that opportunity to shred their belly and sent them running off, howling." She ducked her head. "Is that okay?"

Honeydapple smiled. "Yes, that's great! It's a clever idea and would work well in battle. It's wonderful that you're thinking of these things, Morningpaw. It helps the Clan, and you're proving to be a very innovative young cat."

Fogface smiled at Morningpaw too, gut wrenching at the thought of poor Dawnpaw. "Yes, we should talk to the other warriors about it and see what they think. They might be able to think of other ways to adapt the technique so that it'll be even more effective." She paused, knowing Dawnpaw would hate to hear what she said next. "I think all the warriors and apprentices should start following your lead. We've been training hard, but thinking of new moves will make us stronger and more unpredictable in battle. We should be focusing on evolving our skills, not just bettering the ones we already have. Well done." She met the burning gaze of her apprentice. Dawnpaw looked away.

"Right, that's our training done for the day," Honeydapple said, beaming. "Let's head back to camp."

As the group walked off, Fogface turned back to catch Dawnpaw's eye again, but she ignored her. Walking next to Morningpaw, she sidled up to her sister. "Well done, Morningpaw," she said, voice sickly sweet. "Fogface and Honeydapple are right. You're such a good warrior, we should all try to be more like you." Fogface, walking very close to the two, picked up what she said next, voice a whisper. "Though I wouldn't be such a show-off."

Dawnpaw stalked off, veering in front of Fogface to walk alone. Fogface sighed. She thought the training session was going to be a success, with Dawnpaw mastering the move. Morningpaw had to outdo her yet again. 

Lumbering into camp, Fogface watched Dawnpaw shoot off to the apprentice's den. Morningpaw hung around, probably to boast to the other apprentices about how clever she was. Stop, Fogface chastised herself. She's not purposefully bragging or showing Dawnpaw up. It's not her fault she's so talented.

Greyheart lay in the sun, talking to Inankapelt and Kereruseed, sharing a large trout between them. Greyheart looked up, purring at Fogface. "Hi, dear," Her mother called, gesturing for her to join the group. "How did training go?" Fogface swallowed. She'd love to talk to her mother about what happened - Greyheart already knew about her difficulties - and Inankapelt was her kin, and she was also very shrewd. But she didn't want Kereruseed to know. Dawnpaw's business shouldn't be spread all over the Clan, and while her mate's brother was kind, he was an awful gossip. 

"It was great! Dawnpaw and Morningpaw both learned the neck-spring easily, and Morningpaw thought of some ways to improve the move."

Kereruseed nodded. "She's clever, is that one. You could see it from the moment she was born. Opened her eyes early, off adventuring and discovering the world faster than any kit I've ever seen." He turned to Fogface, winking at her. "Bet you can guess who opened their eyes first in Stormspark's litter."

Fogface laughed. "She always had to beat her brothers to everything."

Kereruseed purred. "I was a warrior, so excited to be having new siblings. I knew from the moment she opened her eyes she'd go on and do great things."

Inankapelt swatted him with her tail. "I don't think that's how it works, Kereruseed. Kits just open their eyes. It doesn't define who they go on to be," she snorted.

"Well, how about your litter, Greyheart? Who opened their eyes first, Fogface or Fernstar?" Kereruseed asked.

Greyheart hummed, looking up at the sky. "Great Mother, how am I supposed to remember that?" Her tail twitched as she considered his question. "I believe it was Fogface."

"Ha! I opened my eyes first. Fernstar's the Chief, having to deal with this whole ForestClan situation. I'm just an ordinary warrior. Sorry, Kereruseed, Inankapelt's right," Fogface said, laughing.

Kereruseed didn't look perturbed, his smile stayed firmly fixed on his face. "Just you wait, Fogface. You're not dead yet, you've got plenty of time to prove me right."

The conversation continued around her, Fogface lapsed into silence, letting the quiet take over her mind. Her concentration dissipated as she enjoyed a moment of peace. She watched cats enjoying conversations from half-lidded eyelids, leaning into the sleepiness.

Eelthistle and Tumblebright laughing about something, Hollysplash lying on her back, the sun warming her belly, Mudfishleap chatting up Cinderfrost, Stormspark whispering something to Leafmask and Totarascar...

Fogface's eyes snapped open. What was she doing, talking to those two? None of them were friends. So why were they whispering as if they were exchanging secrets like a group of apprentices? A wave of nausea rumbled through her stomach, pressing against her skin. Leafmask and Totarascar were belligerent cats, they were always in favour of racing into battle without a moment of thought. Stormspark had been talking about a rebellion. Fogface had hoped her mate would get over the idea, and it seemed like she had...but what if she hadn't? What if she was hiding something from her?

Fogface stood up, the world spinning. Her mate was keeping secrets. Her breathing grew loud, rattling in her ribcage. If she was lying about giving up the idea of a rebellion, what else was she lying about? What if she doesn't love me? What if it's just for my family's power? If Stormspark doesn't love me, what am I worth? 

"I have to go," Fogface mumbled, fleeing from the group. She lurched into the healing den, the world spinning. The cool darkness of the den offered her immediate comfort, wrapping her in a calming embrace. She sank to the ground, her stuttering heartbeats and thundering breathing a chorus only she could hear. 

"Do you need Fernstar?" asked a rasping voice. 

Staring through the blur, Fogface focused on Dotterelsong's green eyes. "Please," she mumbled.

Fogface's reality warped, spilling its guts around the edges. Three scrapes at the wall of the den. Nausea tore holes in her stomach. Fernstar appearing at the mouth of the den. Her body shook as if she was exposed in the harshest snow season. Fernstar beside her, encouraging her to take deep breaths. Frecklepelt's voice in her head. "You're nothing if you're not with me. Your sister's the chief, your kin's a protector. You're weak, scared, broken. But I'm here. I can fix you, I can make you strong. You're everything with me. You're nothing, but I love you anyway." Fernstar was speaking, but Fogface couldn't hear what she was saying. "Now you've done it! You've finally driven me away! You're casting me out, now I'll have no one. A wild dog will get me, or a falcon. All because you can't handle a relationship?  You'll never amount to anything now that you've gotten rid of me. I made you into the cat you are! The cat I thought you were. I was wrong about you. You're just a coward who likes hurting people because that's the only thing you'll get out of your life. You're pathetic, Fogface."

Fogface's throat dried up. Heat radiated from her body. She was dying, the must be it. No one ever told her dying felt like this! Was this what Cricketwing felt when she got sick? Was this what Rootclaw felt when he drowned? "Help me," she whispered, mind racing. "I think I'm dying!" She collapsed against Fernstar, chest tightening. Her skin was compressing her lungs, she couldn't breathe, she couldn't think. Something's wrong, something's wrong. What's happening to me?

What felt like days later, her mind began to clear. Her heart stopped racing, her breathing felt easier. She could hear Fernstar next to her, telling her to focus on the sound of the river. Fogface's shaking stopped. The terror left her slowly, ebbing away. 

"Fernstar. What happened to me?" Fogface gasped.

Fernstar began to groom her, comforting long strokes along her spine. "You had another panic."

Fogface shook her head. "No! This time was different! I could hear Frecklepelt. She was here, talking to me!" She wailed.

Fernstar froze. "No, she wasn't. You've been here with me this whole time. No patrol reported her scent."

"But I heard her. What she said to me after you exiled her," Fogface whispered.

"It sounds like a nightmare. Except you were awake..." Fernstar trailed off. "You used to dream about her. Dotterelsong relives her mauling in her sleep. It must be related to that."

"I don't understand!" Fogface cried. "I don't know what happened to me!"

Fernstar resumed grooming her. "It's okay. We'll figure it out like we always do. I won't let Frecklepelt get anywhere near you. Neither will Greyheart, or Mudfishleap, Softears, Stormspark, or anyone else in this Clan. Not while you still bear the scars of what she did to you," she promised.

Fogface felt her flesh tear open again as if the wounds were fresh. 

"I've prepared some herbs for you." Fernstar pushed a bundle towards her.

Fogface ate them, groaning. "I'm tired." She could feel her strength leaving her body, like sap leaking from a tree. She closed her eyes, letting herself sleep.

Peeling her eyes open, Fogface's pupils dilated to take in the darkness. She stood up, bones aching as if she'd swam in the strongest of currents. Fernstar's soft snores sounded around the den. Dotterelsong's eyes glowed like twin glow worms. Fogface pulled her gaze away. She stumbled out of the den, ready to make her way to the warrior's den.

She paused. No one was guarding the camp. Thinking back to the morning, she remembered Stormspark complaining about being on guard duty. She'd made an even bigger deal about it than normal. Fogface's stomach sank. Stormspark had spoken about a rebellion, she'd been speaking to Leafshade and Totarascar, and now she'd disappeared.

Fogface shook her head, staring at the place her mate was supposed to be. What's she done now? Fogface stood, torn. She was bone-tired, legs barely able to hold her. She didn't want to sneak away from camp. But if Stormspark was getting herself into trouble, she needed Fogface to hold her back. And she'd find out what she was keeping from her.

Fogface left camp, following Stormspark's scent. To her dismay it wasn't alone, a few of her clanmates' scents intertwined. She staggered but she persisted. She didn't know how long she walked, or how many times she stopped, but eventually, she tracked the scents to the border. There, she saw a small gathering of RushClan cats.

Stormspark stood in front of the group, joined by Leafmask, Hollysplash, Totarascar, Redthroat, and Kamanafur. Fogface gasped. A small group of cats clustered at the border, looking twitchy and nervous. Fogface recognised Amberfang, Bluenettle, Dappletooth, and Wekafur.

Fogface crept closer to the group, close enough to hear what was Stormspark was saying.

"This is everyone from Forestclan that's coming?" She asked, tail drooping.

Amberfang nodded. "These are the only cats I trusted would definitely join a rebellion. I know plenty of cats who are against ForestClan, but not all of them would act. They're scared of disobeying Spiderstar and Keastar. There would be more, but these are the only cats in the Forestclan group. I wasn't able to talk to any of the other RimuClan or BeechClan cats."

Stormspark's tail didn't lift, but she nodded. "If word of this meeting falls into the wrong paws, the consequences would be awful." She stood up, pacing to the front of the group. "I thought we would have more cats. Amberfang, you told me that lots of cats hated having to become ForestClan! We can't take ForestClan down with this." She sat down heavily, looking defeated.

Amberfang shook her head. "Yes, lots of cats don't like ForestClan. But it's so hard finding cats to trust. You said it yourself, if one wrong cat hears about this, we're dead."

Stormspark growled. "Of course it's hard! Did you expect a rebellion to be easy? You need to talk to cats that aren't part of Greeneyes and Mataiclaw's group."

"It's much more risky for me than it is for you! Even if Fernstar finds out, it's not like she's going to turn you into Keastar or Spiderstar. I'd hate to think what they'd do to me if they found out about this rebellion. Keastar's always been strict and harsh. Spiderstar...he's scary. I wouldn't be surprised if he set my own legion on me." Amberfang shuddered.

"Harder on you than it is for me? I'm the one running this thing! If anyone finds out, I'm the one who'll be punished the most."

"Well, maybe you should stop running this if it's turning out so badly. If my effort isn't enough for you and you want me to start telling anyone who'll listen and get us caught, maybe we should all quit while we're ahead!" Before Fogface could blink, the two mollies were glaring at each other, bristled and snarling.

Fogface lay behind the bush. This whole rebellion idea had been worrying her for days. It was so dangerous and drastic. Stormspark just wanted an adventure. She couldn't go behind Fernstar's back! But she couldn't deny her anger. It was like a rotting wound, slowly festering in her skin. ForestClan was wrong, deeply wrong. It was a threat to RushClan. There had always been three clans, that was how it was meant to be. That was why StarClan divided the forest so that RimuClan and BeechClan could both live there.

Fogface sighed. Every cat was angry. And just because it was wrong doesn't mean she should make rash, stupid decisions. Stormspark wasn't thinking. "You're nothing if you're not with me...you'll never amount to anything now that you've gotten rid of me." But Frecklepelt's words echoed around in her head. This was her chance to prove Frecklepelt wrong. Show her that she wasn't nothing without her.

Fogface staggered to her feet, every muscle begging her not to. Her heart jumped as the group all turned to stare at her.

"We're not going to quit while we're ahead. Did you all forget why we're here?" She gulped as the group stared at her. What was she getting herself into? "We're here because we're angry. We're here because we think this change is going to ruin the Clans forever. We're here because Spiderstar and Keastar believe they can do whatever they like, and we need to show them they can't." She lowered her voice as she got closer. Her gaze met Stormspark's, who looked surprised, but proud. "There's no better leader for this rebellion than Stormspark. But someone needs to keep her in line, and that's gonna be me."

"Oooh, Stormspark, guess we can see who's the chief in your relationship!" Hollysplash quipped.

Hushed laughter rippled around the group, and the tension dissolved.

"We need to figure out how we're gonna do this. Because Stormspark's right, this group is too small to take down ForestClan." Fogface squeezed past the group, sitting down beside her mate, leaning against her to keep herself from falling.

Stormspark took control again. "So what if we're not big enough to take down the whole thing yet. I was getting ahead of myself. What we need to do is grow our numbers and make small disruptions. Don't let ForestClan be easy. Bluenettle, Dappletooth, Wekafur, you're all troublemakers. Cause drama. Undermine everything from the inside. Whatever systems are being set in place, mess them up."

Bluenettle smiled. "You want us to make a scene? We can all do that."

"Amberfang, you're resourceful and persuasive. Surely you can figure out some way of getting more cats to join. Listen to who's angry enough to want to take action and talk to them. But take your time. You're right, you can't be too careful. Find someone else to help you with recruiting. We can't do much from this side of the border."

"But we'll keep recruiting cats from our Clan," Totarascar spoke up. "And cause problems too. We won't let them get away with this."

Stormspark nodded at him.

An idea struck Fogface.
"Dappletooth? Could you be a spy? Listen in on all the little fights? Pick apart all the little problems, and the things that could turn into problems? And then report them back to us? That way we can form proper plans about causing problems and disrupt ForestClan."

Dappletooth nodded. "You know, that's a good idea. That's how Greeneyes works. Our deputy rules over ForestClan with sharpened claws. She looks at all the small issues, everyone's little dramas with each other, everything that could snowball into something bigger, and squashes the problem flat. Two can play that game."

Stormspark's eyes were bright, and a grin was spreading over her face. "So let's plan something! What's the big drama going on in ForestClan right now?"

Wekafur stepped forward. "Greeneyes and Mataiclaw are enforcing RimuClan's fighting system on us all, and the system sucks."

Amberfang glared at him but said nothing.

"Of course they are. Spiderstar always wanted RimuClan's legion for himself," Totarascar snarled.

"What's the problems with RimuClan's fighting system? Why don't you like it?" Fogface asked.

"Because it creates some weird power system. The legion warriors are loved by all, and the lesser warriors are considered lesser. It's all in the name." Wekafur rolled his eyes. "And once you're ranked, you're stuck. You train with cats who are the same skill level as you so you don't learn from anyone better than yourself and improve." He shook his head. "I hate the way keahearts like Mataiclaw are treated like gods all because they had a fantastic mentor who taught them to fight well, while good cats are treated like dirt because they weren't graced with natural skill or a good mentor."

Standing up, Stormspark started talking. "So there's some genuine flaws in the system. Can you exploit those?"

"I made a fuss about it and Greeneyes is going to talk to me. She gets my point."

Stormspark ran her tongue over her teeth, thinking.

"Say, maybe you could stage some public humiliation thing? Amberfang's in the legion, maybe she could be rude about one of you guys, who's a secondary fighter or a lesser fighter, and you could have a big fight over it?" Leafshade offered.

"That works," Bluenettle said. "Show those RimuClan cats their system sucks."

"Don't forget some of us actually like that system and don't want it to change!" Amberfang snapped. "I'll do it, only because I don't like ForestClan, and I don't want the BeechClan cats to wreck our culture."

"That's it!" Fogface jumped. The movement caused her aching body to send a jolt through her. "Amberfang, you need to spread the idea throughout the RimuClan cats that the BeechClan cats are going to ruin your fighting culture. That'll turn RimuClan cats against the idea."

"We'll reinforce it at the border, gossiping about it and jeering stuff at you guys, like 'you're gonna let BeechClan cats become legion warriors? You know they'll never be good enough' and things like that," added Stormspark, jumping onto the idea. "And BeechClan cats, you guys see some problems with the system and don't want the change in the first place. So keep saying that. Keep protesting and complaining. Be defiant and refuse to go to training sessions. Have secret-not-so-secret training sessions between cats of different fighting groups. Just mess with everything Greeneyes is trying to introduce."

Fogface felt her chest loosen as she saw smiles beginning to appear on the cats' faces, nods of agreement being passed around.

"We'd better get going before someone misses us." Amberfang stood up. "When will we meet next?"

Stormspark looked up at the sky. "How about the next half-moon?"

"Works for us!" She replied.

A few scattered goodbyes later, the ForestClan cats scurried back to their territory, and the RushClan cats to camp.

"Thanks for saving my tail back there," Stormspark said. "I thought you were against this whole rebellion?"

"I was. I'm still not sure how I feel about it. But I was watching you, and seeing everything fall apart, and I just couldn't let that happen." Fogface leaned against her mate. "This whole thing makes me so angry. I can't believe Spiderstar and Keastar would do this against the will of their clanmates, against RushClan's will, and even worse, openly defying StarClan and our gods. I don't care what they say, our Clans were built this way for a reason."

Stormspark nodded. "So you feel the anger too, huh?"

"I just...I want to do something meaningful. My sister's the chief. My father's the best fighter in the Clan."

"And Frecklepelt?"

Fogface sighed. "Yeah. I mean...you know what she did to me. She convinced me that without her I'm useless. She broke me down, constantly telling me how pathetic I was."

Stormspark nudged her. "You're not useless, or pathetic. No one believes that; you don't have to prove that to anyone."

"No, I know that," Fogface shook her head. "You, Fernstar, my friends, you've all made me feel loved and valued. But I need to prove it to myself. I want to do something bold and important, make a change that I believe it."

With camp in their sights, the two mollies struggled on, Fogface barely able to hold herself upright.

"Is Frecklepelt related to what happened today?" Stormspark asked.

Fogface nodded. "I had some weird panic. It was different from the usual ones. This time it was like she was there, next to me, talking to me."

"That's terrifying." Stormspark stopped walking, turning to look at her. "Are you okay?"

She sighed, stopping too. "No, I'm exhausted. And I'm terrified about what this new thing is doing to me. I thought I was through the worst of it all." Fogface looked at the ground. "I followed you out here because I saw you talking to Totarascar and Leafmask, and I figured out what you were talking about. I was scared that you were hiding things from me, and I spiralled. I thought that you might be lying about loving me since you were lying about the rebellion, and it brought on all those old feelings. I know you love me, but I just got so scared."

Stormspark's eyes widened, hazel irises a thin strip around her dilated pupils. "I'm sorry!" she whispered. "I didn't think about how that would look for you! I just thought you didn't want anything to do with the rebellion. I'm so sorry I hurt you!"

Fogface leaned into her mate, purring. "Don't worry about it. You don't have to be perfect all the time. You being genuinely sorry when you hurt me shows me more than if you never hurt me. Just...please don't keep big secrets from me." 

"Of course." Stormspark licked the top of her head. "You didn't join this rebellion because I wasn't telling you about it, right?"

Fogface shook her head. "No, I joined it because seeing the group made me realise how angry I and that I wanted to act instead of hanging back like I always do. I wanted to prove something to myself and watching that small group of you made me realise how little we're doing in RushClan. This is our best chance to fight back," she explained. "I still don't know how I feel about it. I might back out. But for now, we're in this together." 

Stormspark stood up. "It's your choice with whatever you decide to do. You're worth something whether you go through with this or not." She pushed Fogface to her feet. "But for now you need to go back into Fernstar's den and spend tomorrow recovering." 

Fogface walked back into camp with her mate by her side, wondering what she'd managed to get herself into.