For the last quarter moon, Fogface had stayed in camp. The thing that wasn't supposed to happen had happened. She'd seen Frecklepelt again. She saw her ex-mate at gatherings occasionally, but it was easier to avoid her with all three Clans around. In a crowd, Frecklepelt couldn't hurt her. But she was close now. At the border, a place she never should've been. Frecklepelt, all scream, all snarl, all spit. Now the border was drenched in her, like hot, sticky blood spilling over a fading stain.

So Fogface stayed in camp, playing with the kits and elders, performing basic maintenance duties, even doing a training class for all the apprentices. Dawnpaw trained with Softears instead, who'd offered to take her whenever mentoring was too difficult for her. But she couldn't hide away in camp forever.

"You're sure you're feeling up to this?" Honeydapple asked. "There's no shame in needing more time in camp."

Fogface nodded, trying to ignore her fluttering heart. "It's okay. I know Frecklepelt isn't about to jump out from behind a bush or anything."

Honeydapple licked her cheek. "If you want to head back to camp, just let me know, I'll head back with you."

Fogface purred. Sometimes it felt like Frecklepelt had taken everything from her. Her confidence, her safety, her happiness. But Frecklepelt hadn't taken her friends away.
"Thanks, Honeydapple."

Hollysplash bounced over to them, a grin stretched out over her face. Droplets of water clung to her black and white pelt. She sidled up to her sister, who gave her a suspicious glare. Hollysplash shook out her pelt, showering Honeydapple in drops of rain.

"Hey! You stupid furball, now I'm all wet!" Honeydapple shrieked.

Hollysplash laughed, her fur fluffed out in all directions. "Barely. I'm just getting you back for knocking me into that ant nest. I was digging those little bugs out of my fur for the next quarter moon."

Fogface's lips quirked into a small smile at the sight of her two friends, one with fur now sparkling with a sprinkling of rain drops, and the other looking like a literal furball. It was hard to believe Hollysplash was a protector when she behaved like a kit all the time.

"So, where's that apprentice of yours? It drizzled all through the moonhigh hunting patrol and I don't want to get rained on again." Hollysplash continued on.

"Just grooming herself," Fogface replied.

After a moment of silence, Dawnpaw trotted out of the den, wrinkling her nose as spits of rain caught in her whiskers. She joined the group, downy fur fluffing up in the cold.

"Ah, there she is, my favourite niece! Now, don't you tell your sister that." Hollysplash lowered her voice to a loud whisper. "Or your mother, she might claw me for having favourites." She gave an exaggerated wink.

Dawnpaw smiled, shuffling her paws. Honeydapple rolled her eyes. "You're a terrible aunt. Should we get going?"

Fogface and Dawnpaw's smiles both slipped at the same time. She forced her whiskers to stop trembling. "Okay, let's go." Fogface's voice came out strangled and high pitched. She winced. Her friends were going to think she was pathetic.

Hollysplash stepped over so that she was closer to Fogface. "Hey, you know I won't let that little rat anywhere near you, right? I'll shred her from her ears to her tail if I so much as smell her."

Fogface jerked her head, staring at her friend with startled eyes. She'd never heard Hollysplash so grim. Her copper eyes were slits, and had a cold rage flickering in their depths. Maybe this was why Hollysplash had been chosen to be a protector.

The small patrol headed out, walking to the ForestClan border. The tips of the grass were soaked with rain, and with every pawstep Fogface wet her paws. She didn't mind. Every RushClan cat was used to wet paws. Light flecks of rain spattered down from the sky. Each cold drop was a comfort to Fogface - every drop was proof she was in the present, she was alive. Focusing on sounds and sensations was something Fernstar had taught her during her first panics. It kept her from spiraling deeper into her head. Whenever she felt like Frecklepelt was still with her, she focused on what she could smell, see, and touch. She was here and now, in the barren landscape that was post-Frecklepelt. Fogface shook her head. Not barren. This life was a lush landscape, she was in growth season. She had her friends, her family, all her Clanmates. She had Fernstar to help her when everything was dark, she had Mudfishleap and Hollysplash to make her laugh again. She had Honeydapple, Mothclaw, Dandelionwish and Softears, who were always there to comfort her. She had Greyheart and Anttail, both of whom would burn the forest down for her happiness. And she had Stormspark, who showed her what love was supposed to be like. No, this was the good time. Back when she was with Frecklepelt was the bad time, when her world was rotting and decaying.

Hollysplash and Honeydapple lead the patrol while Fogface and Dawnpaw lagged behind. Fogface glanced down at the apprentice walking at her shoulder.
Dawnpaw's lips curled downward in a frown, brow furrowed.

"I'm sorry I haven't been able to train you the last quarter moon. Was everything okay with Softears?" She asked.

Dawnpaw nodded. "Yeah, she's good. She's really kind. I think raising her kits has helped her become a good mentor."

Fogface looked at her paws. She wished she could be a better mentor for Dawnpaw. But all the days she was absent added up. Dawnpaw needed someone who raise her confidence, bring out her potential so she wasn't falling behind her sister. That was why Fernstar assigned her to Fogface, that was what she used to be good at. But Frecklepelt stole her confidence.

Fogface opened her mouth, hesitating. Words trembled on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't bring herself to ask her question. She swallowed them. How could she ask her apprentice if Softears had been a better mentor? She was supposed to be an adult; she shouldn't give in to insecurities. But she couldn't stop her mind from going there.

Suppose she failed to help Dawnpaw. Would she ruin her forever? Would she be a jealous, mediocre warrior for the rest of her life? Fogface's own mentor, Sandheart, had shaped her into the cat she'd become. Her worries about Dawnpaw joined her terror of seeing Frecklepelt has they got closer to the border. Fogface focused on her breathing. In and out, in and out. Frecklepelt wasn't here. There was no reason why she should be here. Except there was. Before, there was no chance of seeing Frecklepelt, because RushClan didn't border BeechClan. But now Greeneyes and Mataiclaw were leading half of ForestClan, and Frecklepelt could show up at the border at any time. Fernstar had promised to talk to Greeneyes and Mataiclaw about Frecklepelt's exile and ask them to keep her away from the border. But she'd been too busy to go yet, so Frecklepelt could show up at any time.

Fogface shivered. She could see her in her mind's eye, mocking grin, cold eyes, teeth bared, claws unsheathed...feel the grass under your paw pads. Feel the rain seep into your fur. Smell the lush scent of the forest as it drinks in the rain. You're surrounded by friends, everything is going to be okay. 

The ground began to incline as the patrol reached the border. The long blades of grass brushed against her legs, leaving wet streaks in her fur. One of the fern bushes rustled. Fogface jumped, breath catching in her throat. She froze, staring at the bush. There was no other movement.

"It was just the wind," Honeydapple said, turning around. "Don't worry about it."

Fogface nodded. "I know," she said, breathlessly. "I'm just jumpy." 

Honeydapple's brow drooped, her mouth curling into a smile. She tilted her head. "Do you want me to walk with you?" Her voice was soft and comforting.

 A flash of irritability shot through Fogface. She didn't need to be pitied or talked down to like a kit. She wasn't one of Honeydapple's daughters. She took a deep breath. Her friend was trying to help; she wasn't doing anything wrong. "It's okay. I'm fine."

"If you're sure? You don't have to be fine."

Fogface forced herself to smile. She trotted over to Honeydapple, rubbing her cheek against her friend's. "I'm not fine. But I'll be okay."

The two of them walked together. Hollysplash had gone on ahead, scent-marking the line of ferns at the top of the hill where the land began to level out and ForestClan territory began. 

"Hey, what's this?" Dawnpaw's called out, having veered off to the side.

Fogface's head whipped around, looking over at what her apprentice was seeing. Honeydapple's ears pricked up. "Let's go over and see what she's looking at," Honeydapple whispered. The two of them strode over to her.

Dawnpaw's gaze was fixed on a fern bush. "Look. Some of the grass is flattened and part of this bush too. Someone's been here, more recently than the last patrol."

Fogface's heart seized. Was Frecklepelt here? Was she coming for her? She peered at the fern that had rustled earlier, but it was still, unmoving. Fogface stared at it, a wave of dizziness growing behind her eyes. She turned back to the footsteps in the grass. Bending down, she smelled the grass. Dampened by the drizzling rain, a faint scent unraveled itself from around the blades of grass. ForestClan scent! "A ForestClan cat was here!"

Hollysplash came bounding over to them, her short legs a blur. "What? A ForestClan cat crossed the border?" She thrust her nose into the trampled fern, smelling the scent for herself.

"It smells like there was only one of them," Fogface said, voice trembling. She gave her apprentice a look out of the side of her eye. "That was good work, Dawnpaw. If you hadn't have been so observant, we probably would've missed this. I'll make sure to mention this to Fernstar."

Dawnpaw's eyes widened. "Oh... thank you, Fogface." She bent her head. Between licks, Fogface caught a glimpse of a small smile on her face. At least I've done something right today.

"So we've got a spy, then." Hollysplash straightened up, her expression hard. "Let's spread out and sniff around. The scent is hard to pick up but it's fresh. We might be able to find them. If you see anything, shout so we can find you." 

A numbing coldness shocked the nerves in Fogface's paws. She looked down to find her claws had unsheathed and sunken into the dirt. She took a long breath. "Dawnpaw, you're with me." She flicked her gaze back to the fern. "We're going over in this direction." 

With Dawnpaw at her side, the two crept over to the fern. When they got to it, Fogface stood in front of it, hesitating. What if Frecklepelt was behind it? No, that scent wasn't her. Fogface had shared a nest with her for moons, she knew what Frecklepelt smelled like that. With that in mind, she worked up the courage to peek around the bush. Poking her head between the fronds, she let out a sigh of relief. Nothing was there. 

"Let's keep looking around here," Fogface whispered down into Dawnpaw's ear. Dawnpaw nodded. They poked around in the long grass for a while, looking behind bushes, but everything came up empty. Fogface began to suspect that the spy had gone back into ForestClan territory. "Well, we're having no luck. If there was a spy, we'd probably have found them by now. Let's go find Hollysplash and tell her we think they're gone." 

"Okay," Dawnpaw whispered back. They stalked over to Hollysplash, who was half buried in a fern. As they walked, a flash of ginger caught Fogface's eye. She ignored it. She was used to seeing little flashes of Frecklepelt's fur that no one else saw. At her shoulder, Dawnpaw stiffened. "Did you see that?" 

Fogface whirled around, staring at her. "What do you mean, did I see that? You saw that?"

Dawnpaw nodded slowly. Fogface turned slowly to the bush closest to her. She stalked around it in a wide circle, sweeping her tail out behind her to gesture to Dawnpaw to get behind her. Heart thumping, Fogface jumped behind the fern. She came face to face with a white muzzle and a pair of startled green eyes.

The ginger and white cat stared at her for a moment, muscles tensed and fur bristled. She sprung into action, sprinting off towards the border. Fogface stared for a moment before lunging after her, paws thundering against the earth. Her warrior brain took over, all instincts going into overdrive. She had to catch this spy for her Clan! The ForestClan cat sprinted, dodging around bushes to try and through Fogface off her trail. Her tail streamed out behind her. Gaining on the molly, Fogface craned her neck forward, reaching out to try and bite it. But she was too fast, evading Fogface's teeth by half a mousetail. Hollysplash and Honeydapple joined in the chase, hot on Fogface's heels. Looking behind her, she saw Hollysplash's anger clear on her face. Lips pulled back into a snarl, exposed claws churning up chunks of grass as she pushed herself forward. Overtaking Fogface, she sprung from the ground in a powerful leap, launching forward to try and catch the ForestClan cat. But she fell short, as the ForestClan cat crossed the border. Fogface watched as she ran further and further away, disappearing into the trees, out of reach. 

Her flanks heaved as she panted, gulping in air. Honeydapple slumped against her, pelt hot against Fogface's back. 

"What do we do?" She whispered, staring at the line of trees that the spy had disappeared into. 

Hollysplash whipped around, tail lashing behind her. "We go to Fernstar and call a meeting with the Protectors, that's what we do." She stomped over to the other three, eyes blazing. "That cat is Rainstem; she was a BeechClan cat." She strode past them, gesturing with her tail for the group to follow. Honeydapple gave Fogface a look, raising her brow. Fogface shook her head in response, catching the meaning. They'd never seen Hollysplash so serious. They followed behind them, Dawnpaw trailing behind.

"We need to figure out a plan. Why Rainstem was spying on us. Is she acting alone or is ForestClan behind her? I expect this is ForestClan. Spiderstar is one sneaky keaheart, and he's trained his deputy to be one too. There's a reason they united and left us out of the whole process. It's what Fernstar's been saying this whole time; ForestClan want to get rid of us. Keastar and Mataiclaw only feel happy when someone's bleeding, so they'd be more than happy to go along with this." She ranted the whole way back to camp. Walking back, Fogface zoned out, buzzing filling her head. RushClan's worst nightmare was starting to come true. She hadn't wanted to start a rebellion, she hadn't agreed with drastic action. But this proved she was doing the right thing, that Stormspark had been right this whole time. ForestClan were planning an attack, and someone needed to do something about it.

When they walked into camp, heads turned. It was obvious something had happened. Their fur was messy and ruffled, fern fronds embedded in their pelts. Hollysplash walked straight into Fernstar's den, her usual grin replaced by grim fury. 

Dawnpaw made a beeline for Myrtlepaw and Possumpaw, her daring tale already pouring out of her.

Fogface growled. Didn't Dawnpaw know what a big deal this was? This wasn't some little adventure to brag to her friends about, or something to one-up her sister. This could impact RushClan forever! ForestClan could come after them, Frecklepelt could come after her- Fogface snapped herself out of it. This was bad, but it might not be as bad as she thought. She couldn't blame Dawnpaw for being young and immature. 

She turned to find Honeydapple in deep conversation with Mothclaw. With a sigh, she joined them.

Mothclaw flexed his claws in and out as he listened to Honeydapple's recount of what happened. Fogface tried to add to the story, but she couldn't concentrate. Honeydapple's words rolled off her like honey from a tongue, rippling out like a raindrop in the river. Her gaze flickered to Fernstar's den. She could see the silhouette of two figured in the entrance, shadowed forms outlined in the grey. She watched Fernstar's fear, imagining the crackle of each breath, the stutter of her heartbeat. Fogface knew she should go and comfort her, but what good would two anxious sisters do? Hollysplash, the other protectors, and Greyheart would help her.

Wordlessly, Fogface left the conversation. In this moment, she felt like a spirit, existing outside of her Clanmates. Passing through camp, unnoticed, she slipped into her den. She walked to her nest of woven grass, collapsing into it. As the anxiety took over, thoughts blurring into a haze of worries, a warm body curled around her. In the darkest of times, there was always Stormspark.

Fogface leaned into her touch. "There was a spy," she whispered. "I chased her. We all did. She got away."

"I know."

"It was someone called Rainstem, but I was so scared it would be Frecklepelt."

"I know."

"I still feel like she's coming for me. I know she's not but...what if she is? She could be. Before, it wasn't a possibility because she was in BeechClan territory. Apart from gatherings, I could pretend she didn't exist. But now she's close to me and I can feel it." Fogface ranted, letting all the words come out of her. "If Rainstem could spy on our territory, so could Frecklepelt. How am I ever supposed to feel safe again? How can I get better?" She sat up, staring down at Stormspark. She wished her mate could fix her, take all her worries away with her mere presence. But she couldn't.

Stormspark gently pushed her back into her nest. She ran her tongue down Fogface's flank in long, calming strokes.  "We'll see, smell, or hear her before she can get anywhere near you. This spy business won't go any further. Fernstar and the protectors will sort this out. If they can't, our rebellion will put an end to this," Stormspark growled. One look at her mate's face told Fogface everything she needed to know. Stormspark would murder Frecklepelt herself if she had to.

Fogface looked down at her paws. She had her own legion of cats who would do exactly that.

Stormspark couldn't fix her, but she would be with her every step of the way while she fixed herself.