Mousepelt padded through the warming forest. The melted snow had made the pine and ground marshy and her already brown paws, muddy. She looked off in to RiverClan territory. Mudpelt seemed to be a complete normal deputy, but something told her that all was not fine in RiverClan. Mousepelt didn't want to go to RiverClan and spy alone. She thought about going to Amberheart, but all wasn't well between ShadowClan and ThunderClan at the time.

Ravenclaw was praising Beetlepaw on catching a vole. The tom seemed to be getting better and better at hunting each day. Midnightpaw was doing well in battle training. Silverpaw spent her time helping with elders and queens, she'd catch food for them, retrieve fresh-kill, and played with Stripekit. Vinepaw learned all she could from Stoneheart and went on border patrols with Jumbledstar. She was trying her best to make it to leadership.

Mousepelt noticed the black and grey tortoise shell she-cat eyeing Stripekit whenever Silverpaw played with him. The only answer Mousepelt could come up with was that Vinepaw was looking out for her sister.

Viperfang continued to push Stripekit away, trying to scare him out the nursery, or order him to leave her alone. Her stomach was getting very swollen and it wouldn't be long until she had Limptail's kits. The cream tom never even went to give his mate fresh-kill as her kitting neared.

Snaketooth did his best to prove to Turtlefur and his kits that he was still loyal to them. Brokenjaw knew he couldn't gain the trust of his kin easily. The black and white tom did as much work as he could to try to get them to ask Jumbledstar for them to hunt with him again. Silvertongue seemed distant. She didn't speak, not even to her kits. Quakefoot, Morningflower, and Trampleheart only had each other, it seemed. Moonglow and Ashface made the perfect team of kin. They hunted and patrolled together. Smoothpelt would join them when he could. Moonglow was enjoying his company, but Ashface was the only cat who knew when and how she was going to catch and attack.

Mousepelt then pushed away all the stressful cares and thought about her own kits. She was still unsure, but Ravenclaw never had his kits with Hollyforest. She died with them before they were even born. Silversol took everything from the poor warrior. Mousepelt was the only one who could do that now. How many cats would she have? What would they look like? What would their names be? Ravenclaw had told her that Hollyforest named one of their unborn kits before she died. Falconkit, was what Mousepelt thought she could remember.

As they entered camp, Ravenclaw instructed his apprentice to give fresh-kill to the elders and Frightwing told Silverpaw to get fresh-kill for the kits and queens. Frightwing went to the nursery to check on his mate and kit while Ravenclaw invited Mousepelt on a walk.

They walked along the border of RiverClan and ShadowClan. Mousepelt could smell a fresh  scent marker on RiverClan's side of the stream. The scent of Mudpelt hung in the air and something else. A she-cat. Mousepelt shared a concerned look with Ravenclaw.

"Ravenclaw-" Mousepelt began.

"There's nothing we can do," Ravenclaw interrupted her, "she's on RiverClan territory!"

"But me and Amberheart are the only ones who can kill her!" Mousepelt argued. "She even told me in a dream that she was planning on breaking up RiverClan!" Mousepelt hated to lie to the tom she loved, but she could never explain how she went to the island to find Amberheart and spoke to the white Dark Forest cat.

"It's RiverClan's problem, not ShadowClan..." Ravenclaw lowered his head and shook.

"The lake needs five Clans, Ravenclaw!" Mousepelt pleaded. "This is every Clans problem, StarClan will not be pleased if we just let RiverClan fall!"

Ravenclaw was silent for a moment. He looked down and thought, wasting precious time. Even if he didn't help, Mousepelt would still try to save Mudpelt.

"She's right." both cats jumped to see Vinepaw appear from the bracken alone. "If one Clan is in trouble of falling then all Clans are more than likely to fall, we have to do something."

Ravenclaw looked at the apprentice, then to Mousepelt, and back again. Then with a sigh he lowered his ears in defeat. "Fine..."

The three went around to the most wooded area of RiverClan before leaping over the lake and in to the fish faced territory. They trekked through the bushes and saw the camp. The Clan was gathered together and they all looked up to a smooth rock, poking out of the ground, where the white fur of Silversol at. Mousepelt pressed herself close to Ravenclaw and kept her tail on Vinepaw's back, keeping her from running at the evil she-cat.

"Warriors, queens, kits, elders, and medicine cat!" Silversol addressed the Clan. "You have been following a slavery rule where your the dead ancestors give nine lives to an already powerful cat! This should be frowned upon as unfair! What about the little guy? Does he never have the right to be leader? Is it just those who are blessed with rippling muscles, or for anyone who shows the greatest amount of loyalty?"

Quiet murmurs of agreement could be heard among the RiverClan cats. Mousepelt couldn't believe they were actually buying all this!

"Your ancestors care not for those who are too short, or young, or those with in abilities!" Silversol went on. "They only want the strongest to last longer!"

"Now wait just a minute!" Lilywhisker cried out. "There's another side to it! StarClan is only looking out for those of us without the destiny of being leader. It was not my destiny to be leader, but medicine cat, I share tongues with StarClan, along with Ripplestar. StarClan chose Ripplestar because he loves us more than the stars in Silverpelt! Can any of you deny that Ripplestar has given up half his lives just for us?"

The Clan nodded to one another as Ripplestar looked to his medicine cat with gratefulness.

"Every leader does that, but have all of them loved their Clan up to the last life?" Silversol questioned. "Brokenstar gave his lives up to remain leader of his Clan, but he killed kits! Who's to say Ripplestar won't do that as his life nears death?"

"I would never kill my Clan's kits!" Ripplestar got to his paws.

"Silence!" Silversol demanded. "A Clan is not free if it has a code, a leader, and a bunch of dead cats in the sky!"

Yowls of agreement broke out. Lilywhisker ran to her leader, but she was blocked by two unknown cats. She wailed out Ripplestar's name, but she was drowned out by angry caterwauls.

"Mudpelt!" Silversol called to the deputy. He stepped up close to his leader and looked up at the white scarred warrior. "You were kind enough to hear me out and the first to understand my concerns!"

"I only did what I thought would set my Clan free..." Mousepelt bowed his head.

"And you are honored for that," Silversol purred, "now kill Ripplestar!"