"I can't believe you didn't tell me. You had just seen me and you didn't tell me then?" Sparkfur glanced over at the three kits that clung close to Frostheart. Gray was at the far edge of the den, nursing her three kits plus Briarkit. DrizzleClan had brought back every rogue queen and their kits safely, Gray was being extra gently with the two kits who had been separated from her. The den was too crowded for Sparkfur's taste, but the outside forest was bitter cold, with a thick layer of snow blanketing the woods.

"We planned on it, honestly!" Berryfoot assured. "We wanted to surprise you, when you did come back." Sparkfur shook her ears lightly. Gray's kits were mewing loudly, their ears were pricked and eyes wide open, trying to mew their first words.

"Yeah? What would you do if it took me another few moons to get back?" She drew her tongue over the wounds covered in poultices, and Frostheart immediately hissed for her to not touch. It had been two days since the battle, and the healing claw marks were itchy.

"We knew you'd be back soon. You just had to." Berryfoot purred, stepping closer to her where she lay. Sparkfur looked up at him, her eyes narrow. She hadn't curled up against her brother since she was an apprentice.

"Also, we wanted your help naming them." Frostheart added with a purr. Sparkfur's ears pricked.

"Hm? Oh.. Sure." She was vaguely aware that the naming of kits was very sacred, and to be asked to help was an honor in itself. There were three kits: one was a fiery ginger tabby with high white markings, another was mostly white with a ginger tabby tail. The last was a pale creamy ginger-brown, white belly fur and muzzle.

"How about Emberkit? For the ginger tom?" She looked to Frostheart, looking for the slightest hint of approval. The white queen purred brightly.

      "Oh yes!" She nodded, "It'll go nicely with Hazelkit." She gently drew her tongue over a smaller pale ginger tabby she-kit. "I've always loved that name on lighter colored cats." Berryfoot twitched his ears happily.

"What about the last one?" The tom mewed, wrapping his tail around his large paws.

Frostheart twitched her ears thoughtfully.

"Her tail is as red as a squirrel," Grey noted from her nest. Frostheart's face lit up.

"Squirrelkit!" She blurted. The white kit was larger than the others, with a thick furred red tabby tail, a splotch in between her ears.

Sparkfur opened her mouth to say something, when he crunching of snow caught her attention. She turned her head, looking out the small gap in the stone den. She could see larger paws of a full grown dark gray cat, along side a small set of lighter gray paws. The young cat poked their head in, a tortoiseshell kit swinging in their jaws. That's the kit belonged to that queen who helped nurse Frostheart's kits while she was in battle... That means that the other cat is probably--

      Sparkfur was pushed out of her best as the light gray apprentice shoved his way into the den, the dark gray cat following with a dark gray kit in her jaws.

"Cinderstep!" Frostheart purred, her mismatch eyes wide with surprise.

"Sorry to make it even more cramped in here--" the dark gray queen murmured, setting her kit down. He appeared around a moon old, his eyes wide open and ears pulled back sassily from the cold.

"Frostheart, Asterfoot's requested that you help. A border patrol just got back, they're pretty badly busted up. We're already stretched thin with all the battle injuries, we need your help." Sparkfur looked at her paws. Of course.. This was the Asterfoot's apprentice. The cat she was supposed to help pick with the blue-gray tom the day that Ryeheart had--

"Yeah, I'll be right there." Frostheart nodded, standing up carefully. The newly named kits cried out angrily, but just as quickly as their mother stood, Cinderstep took her place in the soft moss, pulling her own two kits close.

"I should come as well..." Berryfoot dipped his head to Cinderstep and Grey, his eyes resting on Sparkfur. He looked at her expectantly as if asking if she were coming as well.

"Of course, flea-brain." She flicked an ear. He gave a side smile, filing out of the den after the apprentice and his mate. Sparkfur cast a glance back into her den. Briarkit was sleeping soundly next to Grey and his foster siblings, and Frostheart's kits were snuggling down into Cinderstep's smoky colored fur.

She turned, stepping into Berryfoot's paw steps so she didn't tramp through the snow, wincing at a particular flank wound that sent an angry shock through her. If we can do this right.. Fight off the rogues... They won't have to know what it's like to fight like this, to know death, to hurt... She ducked her head against the cold winds that began to whistle through the snowy woods.

      The camp entrance was only a few tail lengths from her personal stone den, a dark tabby she-cat was currently on guard. Her dusky brown fur was fluffed against the cold, with a mass of cobwebs plastered to her shoulder and ribcage. Sparkfur gave the freezing cat a small nod of sympathy, but the she-cat didn't return it. It's not like I'm stuck out guarding the entrance in the cold. She quickly ducked in through the bushes, she could hear Berryfoot's low mews as he spoke. She curled her lip as she recognized Waspclaw's voice as well.

      She pulled through the thick tunnel of foliage, blinking into the brightness of the snow covered camp. Paw prints were tracked all throughout the fluffy white snow, the edges of camp just barely showing signs of grass where the high branches of trees outside the bush walls had protected the ground below.

      "I'm happy you've had a family, but you need to keep your deputy life and your whatever life separate." Waspclaw was growling. Berryfoot stood out like a fiery smudge against the white background, his tabby fur on end.

      "I am..!" he half growled. She could see guilt glimmer across his green eyes. For once Waspclaw is right... Berryfoot needs to be faithful to his position.

      "It's just one mistake, Waspclaw. No cat is perfect-- deputy or not. It's not like he ate all the prey." Sparkfur strode over, tail high. Waspclaw narrowed his eyes.

      "There isn't any prey in the first place!" the dull ginger tom bristled. Sparkfur twitched an ear. Touché.

"Hey, when's Mintstar coming back? I'm she he's planned something on this perfectly timed hiatus." Sparkfur changed the subject. Berryfoot's failure to perform isn't really my business.

"I sent an apprentice out to MarshClan territory to retrieve him yesterday night. They should be back soon." Berryfoot murmured. Waspclaw seemed to have relaxed with the change of topic.

"Maplepaw is a very competent apprentice, he's Cloudstream and Bramble.. No Owlheart's kit, right?" Waspclaw looked over to Sparkfur, checking his facts. She flicked her tail.

"I guess. I've been away for three moons, I couldn't tell you." She licked a paw, dragging it over a numb ear. He lashed his tail, frustrated.

      "I hate how disconnected the clan is... When I become leader I'll change that."

      "Who says you'll be leader? You'd have to beat Berryfoot in a fight."

"I know how it works, Sparkfur." He growled. "I'm going to see the patrol that just came back. Do whatever you want, it's not like I can stop you." He padded off to the medicine den. Sparkfur's eyes flashed. For a moment there, I thought he could actually be bearable enough to have a conversation with... She padded after him, down into the underground cave-like den. She remembered when there had once been empty nests, but now as she looked down into the den from one of the stone platform steps, most every moss best was occupied.

"Sparkfur! Don't tell me your down here for wounds, too..." Asterfoot gazed up at her, herbs in his jaws. Her sharp green gaze softened. He looked so tired, his blue-gray fur mussed in a few spots, his tail half dropping. Her eyes searched for Waspclaw, spotting him and Berryfoot hunched over a badly wounded black she-cat, Amberleaf quickly applying herbs.

"No..." She murmured softly, slinking down into the den carefully. "Do you need any help with that?" She nodded to the wad of comfrey in his jaws. He purred lightly.

"There's not much you could do, but you can accompany me. Meet some patients. They love visitors." He directed her to one of the two branches off dens from the large main area. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, but she was met with a clearing scattered with cats in nests. Some had visitors, a few others were unlucky on that aspect.

A honey golden tabby she-cat lay in a moss nest, a few tail lengths separating her from another nest, occupied by a dark tortoiseshell. Her amber eyes were concentrated on the darker colored she-cat, who was purring softly to a tom visiting her.

      "Hello." Sparkfur greeted the golden tabby, who lifted her head.

      "Oh, hi Asterfoot... Who's this?" She flicked an ear in reference to Sparkfur. The older blue-gray tom set his pile of herbs down, sitting down next to his patient.

"Honeylight, this is Sparkfur."

"Oh! I've heard about you! You're the one who went in to spy!" Sparkfur dipped her head politely. She watched as Asterfoot gently turned Honeylight, revealing a nasty cut from her back leg to all the way across her flank.

"That looks bad..!" Sparkfur mewed, hoping she didn't sound too fake. Sympathetic words never came as easily to her, they always tumbled out of her mouth awkwardly. Honeylight nodded, wincing as Asterfoot began undressing the wound. Sparkfur twitched her nose, her eyes dropping down to the wound.

"It's not that bad. If you add all your wounds together, they'd probably be worse than this one!" Honeylight held her breathe as Asterfoot dabbed damp moss against the wound. Sparkfur shook her ears dramatically

"I doubt it. I got almost all of these from the leader of the rogues." Asterfoot tipped his head, interested.

"Are you sure you should be telling this to us?" Asterfoot murmured. Sparkfur flicked her tail.

"Of course. If I go out now, at least someone will be able to tell Mintstar my story." The amber eyes of the she-car lit up. Sparkfur had actually already told Berryfoot, Waspclaw, and a few other bramble den warriors every detail the moment she returned to camp, but for this injured she-cat... Sparkfur wasn't sure why, but she felt a need to make her happy.

"So, what happened?" Honeylight insisted, Asterfoot returning to his work.

"The leader of the rogues lived in a huge stone den-- as tall as an oak!" Sparkfur stretched up on her hind legs to demonstrate. A young white tom in the nest next to them turned to watch, his father turning as well.

She turned her attention back to Honeylight. "The leader of the rogues, his name was Spruceclaw! He used to be a clan cat, but he's holding a grudge for something no cat could have stopped." Asterfoot tensed, looking at his paws. She continued. "So I confronted him." Kind of. I was forced to meet him. "And he told me he was going to attack DrizzleClan! I refused to let that happen, so naturally I fought him," Lying is just too easy in storytelling.

"Did you beat him?!" The white apprentice yipped. He has dark smoky gray splotches on his spine and foreleg.

"You can't win every battle." Sparkfur sighed. She began running her tongue over the most pesky of the wounds along her flank.

"That's enough excitement for today." Asterfoot murmured gently, moving away from Honeylight. The amber eyed she-cat closed her eyes, nodding in agreement. The apprentice started whining, but Sparkfur didn't catch what it was about. There was commotion beginning to sound in the main den. Sparkfur stood up without a goodbye, dashing out. A dark golden brown tabby tom lay, flanks heaving as he caught is breath. Sparkfur edged closer.

He gasped for air, his fur wind whipped and cold, but his skin was hot. He was just running...

His eyes locked onto Sparkfur, words escaping his mouth that was hungry for oxygen. Her eyes widened.

"S...." He breathed in again, "Sparkfur!"

AN

I'm so sorry for erratic updates. I hope his makes up for it though, it's twice as long as usual. ;;;-) also a really quickly colored Sparkfur and Briarkit.