It wasn't all that long ago that there was an intruder announced to be snooping around SunClan territory. That's never good as one can probably tell. Not only that, but it was Metalclaw. The previous deputy of MoonClan who was rejected of his leadership after Scourgestar died. Being friends with Shadowfire made me feel less worried. He'd die for this clan. I like to think I'd do the same but...

When I opened my eyes in the warrior's den, I saw Sonicwind still curled up in his nest. Roseheart was staring at him with shiny, round eyes. It was somewhat encouraging to know that I at least didn't annoy Shadowfire by doing that. The thought of him made me begin to look for his sleek black pelt.

It became clear to me that he wasn't here. After double-checking to be sure, I arose from the nest and silently left. The clearing was abandoned. Once again, no Shadowfire. Just as I was going to check the medicine den, Camoflight appeared out of thin air.

"Emeraldwing..., you're looking for someone," Camoflight told me nodding his head in greeting.

His sudden appearance gave me a slight scare. It was only Camoflight... Letting my fur lie down, I nodded. "Yes, I'm looking for someone."

Camoflight glanced towards the bramble tunnel slowly. "He left to speak with StarClan. Shadowfire requested that I stay here to tell you when you awoke."

Twitching my whiskers, I lashed my tail across the ground with frustration. Figures. "That cat tells me to stop worrying... He should just stop worrying so much himself. His biggest concern should be how loud Crocscale snores in his sleep! It's like thunder and is really loud. Sleeping must be a miracle for all of you!"

Camoflight shrugged. "I don't know. When one is tired, they usually find rest at some point."

I simply sighed to myself. Why did Shadowfire always have to be that way? "Don't suppose you'll hang out with me until he gets back, would you? I don't want to go back into the warrior's den to Crocscale's snoring."

Camoflight chuckled a little and dipped his head. "Very well. I'm not on duty this morning. Knucklestar told me to stay away from the MoonClan camp for the time being. Even though he told us to stay, Diamondwing has been determined to learn more. I think she snuck out anyway."

The thought of Diamondwing snooping around on MoonClan territory didn't surprise me one bit. She once tried to steal gems from the MoonCliff out of curiosity of the consequences. She had been severely punished for that. By both Earthstar and StarClan. At the time, Earthstar was still the leader and Knuckleclaw was the deputy. Diamondwing was a spy for the clan since she was an apprentice.

Camoflight simply shrugged it off as if it meant nothing to him. Diamondwing could do whatever she wanted. For all he knew, she was doing them some good. "It's not like I don't care about her at all, but she's just a little too reckless for me. I can tell that Knucklestar definitely thinks highly of her, though. They've been friends since before I can remember." He blinked out of his remembering trance. "What about you and Shadowfire? Everyone's kinda noticed that the two of you are interested in each other."

"I- um... Yeah. I guess so. Is it really that easy to tell?" I asked somewhat embarrassed by his statement.

His whiskers twitched with amusement. "One cat knows and suddenly every cat knows. Especially if it is Dawnstripe who figures it out. He came barrelling into camp shouting, "Shadowfire and Emeraldwing are going to be mates!" and I happened to hear him. Wouldn't be surprised if every cat knew at this point."

My tail sagged a little. So much for privacy. We went to the fresh-kill pile and I chose a starling to eat. It was small and meek but I wasn't really all that hungry. Camoflight found a scrawny vole. Shadowfire could easily catch prey larger than that in his sleep. Even in the cold of leaf-bare which had officially come. Acorntail arose from the den and trotted across the clearing as if she were equally annoyed with Crocscale's snoring and curled up under Knucklestar's tree under a tree root.

"I've sensed immense power and potential in Shadowfire. He is very much like Shadowstrike. The deputy of SunClan before Knucklestar," Camoflight stated.

"I know all about Shadowstrike. Well, all except for one thing. How did Shadowstrike die exactly?" I asked curiously. I had heard every story about Shadowstrike from every cat except the story about his death.

Camoflight's eyes grew distant. "He died in an attack. Metalclaw killed him. Even though Metalclaw was only an apprentice, he was still strong. Mentored by Scourgestar himself. We buried his body by Running Life River. His soul hunts with StarClan now..."

I wish that were true.

Spitting out a mouthful of feathers from the starling, I glanced up towards the bramble tunnel. Ever since Cosmicleaf got attacked by Metalclaw earlier, cats have been antsy. Creampelt was able to fix up the medicine cat enough that she was still able to do her duties to the clan. Maybe that was why I was so concerned about Shadowfire.

"The sun's beginning to rise. Also, I think someone has returned," Camoflight pointed out as he looked up to the sky.

I glanced at the sky which was slowly brightening. Once the sun was barely above the horizon, I saw Shadowfire come back through the tunnel. Happiness sprang into me and I looked back at Camoflight feeling slightly guilty that I wanted to leave him behind rudely without saying goodbye or thank you.

"Emeraldwing, you don't have to tell me anything. I fulfilled Shadowfire's request, and now you must go to him. The dawn of a new day has sprung. With that beginning must come the end of this conversation...," he told me with a brief smile.

I dipped my head knowing my eyes were sparkling more than the sunrise. Quickly I began to run off with a quick thank you. He stayed where he was. I never noticed how nice Camoflight was. "Shadowfire!"

His black ears perked up at my shout. It looked like he was about to head to check on Cosmicleaf. Surely that could wait for a second, right? I trotted up to him and noticed he looked somewhat irritated about something. "What's the matter?" I asked.

Rather than answering, he gave my ear a swift lick. I didn't get why he did that. As I stared after him in confusion, he went to the medicine den. The sun spiked above the horizon. Something in me felt bad about something.

Camoflight watched what had happened with a solemn look. He stood to his paws and made his way back to the warrior's den. Beeflight came strolling out of the den to greet him.

"Hey, Camoflight! Did Diamondwing go off by herself again?" Beeflight inquired blinking the sleep from his eyes.

Camoflight nodded in reply. "Something bad's happened. I could see it on Shadowfire's face," he told the young warrior.

"Oh. That's not good," he stated.

"It will be better if you didn't start spreading rumors through the camp. Whatever you do, don't tell Dawnstripe."

"Understood, Camoflight! You can count on me!"

I could see them talking to each other. My black fur bristled with anger and disappointment. Shadowfire just... brushed me off! He barely even acknowledged my existence! Was it really so bad that he had to tell Cosmicleaf and Creampelt that badly?!

Feeling like running myself into the Soul Rock in the forest, I went to sit by Acorntail. Her brown pelt rose and fell steadily. "Hey, Acorntail!" I whispered loudly. Nudging her, she finally awoke.

"Emeraldwing? What do you want...? The sun has barely risen...," she groaned.

"I need to ask about Sonicwind!"

At the mention of the deputy, Acorntail reluctantly sat up. She made sure not to hit her head on the tree root. "Alright, if it's about Sonicwind..."

"I need to know what you do when he does something that annoys you," I quickly explained trying not to take up too much of her time.

"That's what you wanted to know? Why the question?"

I leered back at the medicine den. "Shadowfire and his messed up priorities..."

Acorntail's fur fluffed up a little and she yawned. "Shadowfire and Sonicwind are very different cats. I'm not sure I can help you out. However, I do know that Shadowfire's priorities probably aren't messed up. He's not a dumb cat. I think you're just jealous or something that he's not directing his full attention towards you," she said this and curled up under the tree root again.

"Wha-?! How can you say that! Acorntail! A warrior can't be jealous! Vanillaflower always told me that was a nasty emotion!" I huffed. JEALOUS.

"It kind of is because jealousy leads to selfishness. But I can understand why you feel like that... Sonicwind does sometimes give me that feeling too," she explained.

"What feeling?" I asked amazed she even had feelings.

"You like Shadowfire, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then you should know perfectly well what feeling I'm talking about," she replied. Closing her eyes for the final time, she fell back into her deep slumber.

I stood there even more confused than I began. Feelings? What did that have to do with anything? Apparently, Acorntail wasn't the one who could help me. Slightly more upset, I glanced back at the medicine den. Shadowfire emerged from the entrance and slowly made his way towards the warrior's den. It was true that he had gotten no rest at all ever since Metalclaw's sudden appearance. Visits to the MoonCliff really only made him more exhausted. Her anger melted into sympathy.

"But... then again... I suppose that he can do what he wants... I should go on a patrol or something," I told myself. Maybe I was making too big of a deal about things. He deserved sleep. After deciding to catch some prey for the clan, I dove through the tunnel and made for the trees. Surely I could catch a piece of prey that's bigger than the ones he catches!

The prey I found were all very small and pathetic. A scrawny mouse... A tiny vole... The occasional finch... Just as I was about to give up all hope, I saw a giant, fat mouse. Beaming at my luck, I killed it with a swift blow and trotted triumphantly back to camp. Dropping it onto the fresh-kill pile, I looked instinctively over at the warrior's den. The thought of Shadowfire ate away at my brain. Shaking away the thought, I forced myself to instead find Sonicwind who had already woken up. "Sonicwind!"

The deputy's ears perked up at my summoning. "Emeraldwing! Hi! Just saw that you came back from a lone hunting patrol. You sure did catch a lot of prey... That mouse was very impressive," he complimented warmly.

"Yeah, thanks. I had to get my mind off of something."

"Was it Shadowfi-"

"NO! It was not! I'm not thinking about him that much! Stop it!"

Sonicwind got a smirk on his face. Then he became the serious deputy again. "So, what is it you needed me for? Any signs of Metalclaw while you were gone?"

"No. Just scrawny prey. I wanted to see if I could join any patrols."

Sonicwind looked surprised at my request. "But you just came back from a lone hunting patrol. Whatever's on your mind must require a lot of work to distract you from it."

Flattening my ears at him when he started smirking again, I huffed and turned away towards the warrior's den. Crocscale wasn't in there sleeping anymore. Sonicwind's laughter echoed across the clearing. How he ever became the deputy is still beyond me.

I plopped down into a nest and just sat there. Sleep didn't come because I wasn't actually tired. My gaze drifted to the other end of the den at Shadowfire. He was sleeping soundly. And why wouldn't he?

"Stop thinking about Shadowfire... Stop thinking about Shadowfire...," I told myself quietly. Rather than continuing to stare at him, I forced shut my eyes. It didn't help any. I was still imagining his face all too clearly.

Shadowfire's POV

Their eyes were burning into mine. I could feel their hatred projected towards me as I stood over them. My red eyes shimmered as I stared at my fallen enemy. MoonClan. My black pelt glistened magnificently. As I listened to their wails of defeat, I shouted an order to charge. StarClan, under my command, rushed from the undergrowth and sent MoonClan scrambling for the hills. They shrieked as starry warriors slashed at them. I only relaxed when they finally disappeared into the horizon as if the rising sun had vaporized them all.

"Good work, StarClan! The forest is rid of one more threat. Now SunClan shall live in peace with no worries," I told them. Cheers arose through the clearing. Suddenly, I felt a harsh tang of irritation run down my flank.

It's not real. If only it were that easy...

I wondered to myself what my life would be like once The Lake of the Lost cats were defeated somehow. Would my life be any different? A vision of Emeraldwing flew through my mind.

"Shadowfire, why are you always so reckless?" her memory asked.

"Because I have to be to protect you and my clan," I reminded the memory. Was it more to myself? Did I just give myself a reason to be reckless? Why did I care if she worried about me or not?

The thought faded away. My victory dream was replaced by troubling thoughts. Figures. Without even thinking about it, I melted into another dream.

I blinked awake to find that it was night. Was I asleep the entire day? Knucklestar was awfully generous to let me sleep in for so long. Glancing over at Emeraldwing's nest, I saw her sitting there wide awake unable to even think about sleep at first glance.

"Emeraldwing...?" I asked lifting my head to signal I was now awake. She barely responded and continued staring off into space. Her eyes were almost laced with misery. "Emeraldwing!" I whispered louder.

This time, her ears perked up. Her eyes that once looked sad then looked dull and energy drained. When she looked up to meet my gaze, she didn't seem nearly as lively as she usually was. Emeraldwing finally responded. "You sleep a long time..."

"I just realized that." I stood and evaded the sleeping cats and nests. When I got to her, I sat next to her. "You don't look so good."

She rested her head on her paws. "Sonicwind said I was too distracted to perform my warrior duties today. Knucklestar seemed to understand my constant worries about you. That was when I started having these dizzy spells. Cosmicleaf couldn't help and Creampelt was too busy helping her. She just told me to go to the den and rest there until she could get to me... I've been here ever since. Even thinking about standing up makes me dizzy..."

I flattened my ears in confusion. Dizzy spells? Emeraldwing was fine earlier. Now she looked completely sapped of all energy and depressed. "That doesn't sound good."

"It doesn't feel good, mouse-brain," she feebly insulted as if that were obvious. It did seem to bring a little of her old personality back.

"I'll talk to Creampelt and Cosmicleaf tomorrow about this. It may just be you, but if it's not... We may have a problem," I stated plainly.

"We? You're not the one who's stuck in their nest until further notice," she replied snappily. As soon as I was certain her old self was back, She growled and clawed the ground suddenly. "And it's back again..."

I couldn't help but be reminded of when she went to the medicine den because she got a thorn stuck in her paw. The differences were that there was actually someone to ease the pain and that at the time it was funny. Now he could only wonder if this was a sign of something. No medicine cat available because of Creampelt fixing up the medicine cat. Every cat worries because he's not there anymore. The one cat he cares for falls victim to something far worse than originally speculated. Could it be possible that StarClan was sending a sign through these seemingly random events?

"Is something wrong?" Emeraldwing asked bringing me out of my deep state of thought. Blinking all previous thoughts from my mind, I shook my head at her.

"No. Nothing that you need to be concerned about. If anything, I'm the one who should be worried. You look exhausted," I told her.

"Dizzy spells make me tired..., but it hurt too much for me to sleep a wink...," she answered.

I felt sympathy rush through my fur. There wasn't anything I could do to help her out physically. I wasn't a medicine cat and I had no knowledge of herbs or roots. All I knew I could do was try to make her feel emotionally better. "Would it be better if I stayed?"

She slowly nodded. "Yes..., Shadowfire." After saying this, she lifted her head to be level with mine. She let her sandpaper-like tongue rasp over my forehead before she curled back up in her nest.

Her action sent my mind and heart racing for some reason. My mind frantically trying to interpret what it meant and my heart beating faster than it ever had. Licking my chestfur awkwardly, I decided to ask a question that had been on my mind and chewing away at my thoughts. "Emeraldwing..., how much do you love me...?"I was getting hot under my fur from the possible answers to my question. I couldn't help but want to look away, but the feeling that overtook me at her thought kept me drawn near to her.

The black she-cat closed her eyes trying to think of the perfect answer. "Enough that I'd die for you in a heartbeat without a second thought. You've taken up so much of my thoughts and... I want you... to officially from this point on and forever to be my mate!" she told me.

Her words contented me. They were the same words I would have said. I'd die for Emerldwing if it came down to it. I intertwined my tail with hers and purred softly with thoughts of a peaceful clan life with her. My mission in that world came back to me, and I shoved it off to the side. Not now. Emeraldwing was all that was important now. "You know, I would have said the exact same thing."

Just before we both trailed off to sleep, I heard a familiar voice in the darkness. My ears flattened with alarm and embarrassment at being completely overheard. I could recognize his voice anywhere.

"Lovebirds...," Sonicwind's voice snickered.

"SONICWIND!"