Goldenshine's POV

I had the strangest moment of recollection, almost feeling like an apprentice running unknowingly into the tunnels once again, as I leapt into darkness. I had genuinely never thought then that I'd ever set a single paw down in these caves ever again, let alone for a battle at that!

Once I knew I had arrived to the open space, I immediately swerved to the side once my paws had settled onto the cold floor, allowing the battle patrol that was behind me to get through.

I then watched, trying my hardest to suppress nerves, as Dovewing, Ivypool, Sandstorm and Berrynose filed in. With each new cat that came into sight, the closer I knew we were to having to fight our opponents. Come on, you've spent an entire night in these tunnels before, I told myself as an attempt to keep calm. This is exactly the same, except that there are more cats. And you have to fight some of them...

I then sprung back up to my paws, ignoring the anxious pang in my stomach as Hollyleaf then burst through the tunnel. The fluffy black she-cat had taken up the rear, and was to be the last one to enter the tunnel.

Every cat has gotten into the cave, I realized. We're ready now.

I took a deep breath, shook out my fur, and finally turned my head to look beyond where I had just come from. And honestly, purring with amusement was the last thing that I thought I'd do looking back at the WindClan cats... but I did. It was already abundantly clear that they hadn't done any training in these caves at all, at least not to the caliber that we had.

They all looked incredibly uncoordinated, lost and confused - as if they had all been blinded, and their paws had each been replaced with boulders.

And luckily, they already seemed to be carrying some ThunderClan-inflicted wounds.

My fur was beginning to tingle with eagerness and excitement now. I turned to Hollyleaf and gave her a small nudge as I met her green gaze. "Ready?"

I could clearly see the she-cat's sharp nod, even through the darkness. She then slowly crouched down as she muttered through gritted teeth, "Let's show these rabbit chasers who's boss."

After the two of us exchanged a determined glance, we then beckoned our patrol forward in order to begin advancing on the WindClan cats in front of us. I immediately recognized who I remembered to be Whiskernose, Weaselfur, Harespring, Heathertail, Furzepelt...

And then there was Breezepelt, standing at the front. His amber eyes seemed to be blazing like fire through the darkness. And even though I couldn't see it, I was sure that his black fur was probably bristled out.

A chill actually ran down my spine at the sight of this tom that I had once called my mate. Seeing his behavior with our conversation out in the forest had been shocking and unnerving enough, but seeing him in the midst of a battle felt even more so. I almost wanted to fly back to the past and give young-warrior Goldenshine a smack on the head with a stick. A really big stick.

I then tried with all of my might not to step back as Breezepelt and I locked gazes for just a moment. I broke away as quickly as I could and focused on Hollyleaf, who was making her way to the front of our ThunderClan patrol next to me.

"End this now," she demanded to the WindClan cats through gritted teeth. "You cannot win."

I then nearly flinched as Breezepelt spoke, his voice an enraged growl. "Mange-pelts!" he called out, taking a pawstep closer to our patrol. "You tormented Sol!"

"We did no such thing!" Dovewing hissed back as she ran up to stand on Hollyleaf's other side. "We invited Sol into our camp. It was your leader who wanted him chased off."

I then flicked my ears in surprise as I noticed Heathertail shoulder her way up to Breezepelt. The usually calm, demure she-cat actually was currently reflecting her Clanmate in her demeanor. "And Jayfeather murmured Flametail!" she hissed back at us. "And you've been crossing our boundaries and stealing our prey!"

What?!

I practically had to keep myself from leaping at the she-cat with her words. Not just Heathertail, but any cat that carried the belief that Jayfeather was a murderer wasn't exactly on my good side at the moment.

The light brown tabby she-cat, unfortunately, was referring to the last Gathering that had occurred just about a quarter moon ago. Dawnpelt, a ShadowClan warrior and Flametail's sister, accused Jayfeather in front of all four Clans that the medicine cat's attempt at saving her brother a few moons ago, and his failure to do it, had actually been planned; Jayfeather had been trying to kill Flametail.

Obviously, every cat that knew Jayfeather well knew that that wasn't true at all, but sadly, he was now suspended from his duties as a medicine cat until he could prove his innocence.

For me, all of this was completely unfair, and the fact that cats were actually believing Dawnpelt's load of mouse-dung was insane, in my opinion.

And hearing Heathertail actually speak against my friend caused me to bubble up with anger, and I instantly felt that I needed to defend him. "You're just as out of your mind as Dawnpelt is if you think that Jayfeather would ever even consider murdering someone, let alone a fellow medicine cat, for StarClan's sake!" I spat back at her.

I then let out another hiss as the WindClan she-cat's second accusation that she had made finally set in. "And we're stealing your prey? How in the-"

"She's right!" Whiskernose cut in. "You always think you're better than us, just because we once needed your help before the Clans came to the lake."

I immediately whipped around to face the young WindClan tom, my lips curling back into a snarl as my claws slowly slid out of their sheathes. "Well, at the moment, I'd say that we are better than you, if you think that whining and making stupid allegations is the best way to handle this!"

I then was pulled out of my anger, suddenly surprised and alarmed as Breezepelt's blaring gaze quickly shot at me after my comment. Then, he let out a bloodcurdling yowl and threw himself straight at me before I even knew what was happening. Unfortunately, he was able to pin me down as I was taken by surprise.

Another growl began to rise in my throat as I struggled in my spot. This is the first time we've ever fought each other, I realized, and I found that it didn't trigger any sort of emotion. There was once a time that the both of us would have immensely dreaded the time that this would come.

But all of that worry and dread had washed away through the roughest river. Quite long ago, for the both of us. I looked up at my former mate's eyes as I struggled beneath him and saw nothing but rage, not one twinge of regret or sorrow at all.

I then let out a pained hiss as he sunk his claws deeper into my shoulders. "Say that again, Goldenshine!" he growled at me.

I flashed a confused, enraged gaze up at the black tom. "Oh, really? Lately, everything that I've said to you, you completely twisted around!" I barked back at him. "So, I'd say that that's pointless!"

Breezepelt then let out another hiss of utter rage, and lifted an unsheathed paw that was surely ready to give some scratches. But I was quicker, using my anger towards this tom to my advantage, and managed to give him a swift swipe across the muzzle. He loosened his grip on my shoulders as he screwed his eyes shut, and I was able to slip out from under him.

Small and tight moves, Goldenshine, I reminded myself as I jumped back up to my paws. Small and tight.

With that in mind, I decided to leap straight at Breezepelt and push him into the cave wall closest to us. He let out a single gasp as his body slammed against the hard rock, but it didn't weaken him as much as I had hoped. He attempted to swipe at me a couple of times. And just as I let myself feel a bit of satisfaction, Breezepelt then let out another yowl, jumped off of another wall and dove straight at me again.

As his paws met my shoulders and pinned me down once again, I let out a silent huff as I landed hard on my back, the breath nearly being knocked out of me. I could barely stand the pain as Breezepelt then ran his claws down my flank while I simultaneously tried to catch my breath again.

At the moment, I was trapped, and was too weak to defend myself. And Breezepelt seemed to be showing no mercy at all. At this rate, he might lose control and kill me out of his rage! I thought fearfully.

I then nearly let out an audible gasp, shocked by my own thought. I mean, I was worried that Breezepelt - the tom that I had once thought of as the love of my life, the tom that was Swiftflight's father - would kill me. It was that easy of a prospect to picture.

I practically felt sick as I looked up at the WindClan tom's bloodthirsty gaze. What did I ever see in you?

I then screwed my eyes shut as I watched Breezepelt raise a single paw once again, his aiming spot quite clear.

And just as it appeared as if my awful premonitions were going to come true, I found that the weight above me had suddenly disappeared. I simply saw a flash of sandy gray fur as Breezepelt was practically yanked from his grip on me.

I was practically wheezing as I turned onto my side, finally able to get into a more comfortable position so that I could catch my breath.

But honestly, I completely lost it again as I looked up to see the cat that had come to my rescue. Oh, no! No, no, no! Breezepelt would hurt him for sure! I thought in dismay. StarClan, no!

Dustystorm currently had Breezepelt fastened to the ground, his pale blue eyes burning with bewilderment and fury. I had never, ever seen my mate look so angry. He had a sheathed paw pressed into Breezepelt's neck, while his other front paw was unsheathed, sinking into his flank. "Do not tell me that you were going to do what I thought you were," he then growled at Breezepelt, his strange tone nearly frightening me.

Breezepelt let out a contemptuous snort despite Dustystorm's hold on him. "What does it matter to you, kittypet?"

I then let out a hoarse gasp as Breezepelt then seemed to use all of his strength to shoulder Dustystorm to the side. Dustystorm lost his grip on the WindClan tom, but luckily used it to his advantage and simply gave Breezepelt a hard nudge.

Breezepelt lost his balance from where he had stood up, and slammed hard against the cave wall. While he was dazed, Dustystorm managed to give him a slash across the softer part of his belly, and then across the muzzle, right where I had hit him earlier.

And thank StarClan, Breezepelt seemed to finally be pushed to his limit. I stayed in my place, but struggled to my paws as the black tom shot Dustystorm one last look full of resentment before struggling to his paws and fleeing the clearing.

And any shocked or disappointed thoughts I was having of Breezepelt instantly went away as I turned back to Dustystorm, who was standing, but taking shallow breaths as he seemed to be coping with the pain of his new wounds.

I urgently ran up to my mate, my panic and worry for him giving me a rush of adrenaline and the strength to move. "Dustystorm!" I exclaimed, flanking him so that he could lean on me. "I cannot believe you! Are you alright?"

Dustystorm let out a huff as he let himself lean into my shoulder just a bit. "I'm fine, Goldenshine-"

"No, you're not!" I insisted worriedly, beginning to look back and forth across his back and flank. "You're injured!"

Dustystorm quickly shook his head and fully stood up. "Every cat here is surely injured by now," he muttered. He then closed his eyes and let out a sigh before meeting my gaze, his eyes wide and grim. "But Goldenshine, I could tell that Breezepelt was trying to do a lot more than just injure you. I had to jump in and put that vicious fox-heart in his place."

At those words, I let my head hang low to the ground. Even though Dustystorm was the tom that I loved, I almost felt ashamed that I had ever admitted to him that I had once loved Breezepelt. And now, Dustystorm had watched him as he nearly tried to kill me out of his thirst for battle. "I... he was, wasn't he?" I murmured, my voice barely above a whisper. He was. I can't even begin to fathom why...

I then shook my head quickly, trying to push those uneasy thoughts away, and gave Dustystorm a quick lick on the ear. If Dustystorm ever were to be even half as horrible as Breezepelt, I'd eat my tail! I thought, the sandy gray tom truly being the kindest, most gentle tom I had ever known. His sweetness and selflessness were part of why I fell so deeply in love with him. "Well... thank you," I purred to my mate.

I then let out a huff and took a step back. "Stay here," I commanded to Dustystorm as I began to turn around, ready to jump back into the battle. "You're hurt enough already!"

Dustystorm let out a half-amused, half-skeptical grunt as he shook out his fur. "Nonsense!" he meowed as he ran up to stand beside me, his eyes gleaming with worry once again. "If anyone's staying here, it's you!" My mate then gave me a hard, warning look before pelting past me and disappearing into the battle.

I sat where I was for just a moment, staring at the spot that Dustystorm had disappeared. I then let out a snort and stood up. "Well, he's just as mouse-brained as the WindClan cats if he thinks that that's gonna happen," I muttered as I shook my head slowly.

I then let out a determined yowl, beginning to follow on the path that Dustystorm had taken, but I almost immediately paused once again as Swiftflight caught my eye in the distance.

The gray-black tom was staring straight back at me, and he looked completely alarmed and practically stuck in his spot. I almost felt my own heart breaking as I realized the possibilities of why.

Swiftflight had clearly just witnessed the fight between Breezepelt and me - the disgusted, terrified look in my son's eyes gave that away. I realized that Swiftflight wasn't aware of the state of his parents' relationship. As far as he knew, we were civil, and were happy in our agreement in Swiftflight being a ThunderClan cat. And the last time Swiftflight had talked to Breezepelt, he had been somewhat open and calm.

But our son had no idea of our quarrel at the WindClan border, our last encounter. So, surely, Swiftflight was appalled at seeing his father's aggressiveness against his mother. The poor, poor thing. He's a grown cat, but he still doesn't deserve to see that.

I then watched as my son flicked his gaze over to the place that Breezepelt had fled, before looking back at me and running over to my spot. Up close, I realized that he almost looked physically sick. I was actually shocked by how affected he seemed by all of it.

For a moment, he seemed unable to even speak. "Goldenshine...?" was the only word he was able to force out.

I flashed my son a look of sympathy and put the tip of my tail on his shoulder. "Later, Swiftflight," I reassured him gently before giving a nod towards the battle that was still in its uproar. "Come on."

Flanking each other, the two of us then burst back into the battle, immediately beginning to assist Dustystorm, who was currently batting at Whiskernose. And with three cats on one side - Swiftflight in the middle with Dustystorm and I on each of his sides - getting the WindClan tom to flee was a breeze.

Well, that's honestly bad wording right now. We'll just say that it was very easy.

After the three of us exchanged a satisfied look full of triumph, I whipped my head around as I heard Hollyleaf's voice in the distance.

"Force them into the tunnels!" the black she-cat called out to the ThunderClan battle patrols.

I immediately sprang towards the nearest tunnel entrance I could see, letting my teeth show as I slashed my claws out in front of me, hopefully taunting the WindClan cats out, and then away from the tunnels.

Beside me, I could clearly hear Swiftflight's growl as it seemed to be rising in his throat, and I briefly glanced at him to see that he was staring, eyes dark with anger, towards a tall figure at one of the bigger tunnel entrances.

It didn't take me long at all to work out who it was. "WindClan! Stand and fight!" Sol called out as he watched the ThunderClan cats make their advances on the weakening WindClan cats. "You have no greater enemy than ThunderClan!"

I let out an irritated, annoyed hiss at the calico tom's empty words. "Oh, please!" I growled as I ran ahead to stand just in front of him. "Our greatest enemy is you, Sol! You're a traitor!" I briefly glanced back to Swiftflight, who I knew had followed me.

I then suppressed another hiss as I looked back at Sol. "And a liar, too," I muttered coldly.

"That's right," Hollyleaf then meowed as she ran up to stand next to me, her green narrowed gaze locking with Sol's. "Leave the Clans alone, Sol. You have hurt us enough."

Sol seemed to be bubbling up with rage at our defiant words, and he released his rage with his words. "Never! Not until I've destroyed everything that the Clans stand for," he barked back at us. "Many seasons ago, I knew another of your Clans, far away in a gorge..."

Hollyleaf and I briefly exchanged a confused glance as the tom went on. "They scorned me, too; they told me that I wasn't good enough to be one of their precious warriors!" he explained. "So I vowed to prove to all of you that the warrior code means nothing."

I then took a step back, my protective instincts kicking in as Sol's gaze shifted towards my son. "And as for the lie, well... that was easy," he murmured, his eyes suddenly glowing with mischief. "I only had to be in your camp, around you, for such a short amount of time to be able to tell what you're striving for, Swiftflight."

His gaze then darkened as he leaned his head forward and meowed, "Many of your Clanmates don't trust you. The lie took no effort."

Beside me, Hollyleaf let out a hiss. "So, you admit it!" she concluded angrily.

Sol simply gave a shrug. "Even so, the damage is already done, isn't it?" he replied in the most annoyingly nonchalant way. "Isn't it concerning, Swiftflight, just how easily cats were able to believe me?"

I was almost too full of outrage to even protest or speak against Sol's words. My head practically felt light from how angry I was. "For whatever reason, they see you as a cold, dangerous and selfish tom," Sol continued, his eyes slowly narrowing down into slits, "and it's going to stay that way."

I then almost felt as if I was physically toppling over as I heard Swiftflight's hiss from behind me, and I turned around to find him crouched down, his claws unsheathed in front of him. "Over my dead body!" he roared just before leaping at Sol and easily being able to bowl him over.

I was frozen in place now, my own heartbeat pounding in my ears seemingly the only thing I could hear at the moment. Seeing my son jump at another cat in the way that he was, all I could think was that he was returning to his malicious ways. "Swiftflight!" I yowled out to him, my voice breaking with worry. "What are you doing?"

Swiftflight now had Sol pinned down, and the big calico tom was struggling beneath my son's grip. He whipped his head towards where Hollyleaf and I stood, his yellow eyes actually revealing a bit of fear. "See? Look at this," he grunted, then looking back up at Swiftflight. "You're nothing but a vicious, short-tempered tom stuck in his ways. Attacking someone who does something as little as defy him without a second thought!"

Swiftflight let out a snort as he stared down at Sol, his eyes clear and determined. "I'm short-tempered, sure. You're right about that," my son muttered. He then narrowed his eyes and sunk his claw's deeper into Sol's shoulders. "But nothing else. I'm not attacking you because you're defying me, I'm attacking you because you've been defying my Clan, and of course that wouldn't need to be given even a single thought."

Swiftflight then bent down to hiss in Sol's ear. "And if you ever set another paw in our territory again, I might actually turn back into that cold, dangerous, vicious tom."

I then watched, now completely bewildered and astonished, as Swiftflight stepped back, and off of Sol. The large tom slowly got to his paws, and after meeting Swiftflight's firm gaze, didn't seem to hesitate to storm out of the cave and through the nearest tunnel.

Swiftflight let out an amused huff and followed Sol out for just a few pawsteps. "Get out!" he called out to him, his voice echoing in every direction. My son then glanced over his shoulder back at me for just a moment, his gaze playful and mischievous. "You worthless lump of fur!"

After a few heartbeats, Swiftflight then turned around as he let out a long huff, his eyes now dark and heavy with exhaustion. Before I could give my son any word of praise as he very-well deserved, I was interrupted as Dovewing burst in between Hollyleaf and me and approached the dark gray tom.

"Swiftflight! Why did you let him go?" the gray she-cat questioned, her green eyes wide with shock. "He was at your mercy!"

I finally managed to get a word in, my heart feeling like it was going to explode with pride as I spoke. "Swiftflight did exactly as he was supposed to," I answered Dovewing, my voice hoarse with emotion. I couldn't be more proud of my son right now if I tried...

Beside me, Hollyleaf was staring thoughtfully at my son as he shot me a sheepish, amused look. "We have to let the warrior code rule our hearts," the black she-cat added on, giving a nod to my son. "The death of a warrior does not mean victory."

And now, Swiftflight knows that, and he embraces it. I thought to myself as I padded up to my son and gave him an affectionate nuzzle over the head with my nose. He managed to let Sol go, even after he had lied to ThunderClan about him.

I then turned around, away from my son, as I realized that the yowls and screeches of battle had gotten significantly quieter. I was surprised to see that there actually weren't too many cats left in the tunnels now. In fact, it appeared as if my Clanmates were beginning to leave, except for Lilypetal, who was currently helping Sandstorm to stand up; Brackenfur and Dustpelt, who seemed to be patrolling the area one last time; and a few more cats who were simply licking at their wounds.

There wasn't a single WindClan cat in sight; ThunderClan had won this battle.

I let out a long, satisfied sigh as Dovewing, Swiftflight and I then began to follow Hollyleaf out of the cave. I not only felt immense triumph for my Clan, but for Swiftflight, who was continuing to let the warrior in him come out that had been hiding for so long. He continued to amaze me every single day. It was almost like getting to watch him grow up all over again - getting to actually see what I'd thought I'd missed while he was an apprentice.

So to see his father, Breezepelt, go in the completely opposite direction, utterly confused and disturbed me. Our son got knocked back into place, I said to Breezepelt in my mind, even though I knew there's no way he'd hear it, so... what is your problem, then?

~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~

The battle already felt like another lifetime ago, even though barely half a day had passed now.

The camp was growing dimmer as the sun began to set from above, and I actually felt a slightly cool breeze brush my fur as I carried a thrush in my jaws, trying to push down nerves in my travel across ThunderClan's camp.

I planned to bring this thrush to Jayfeather from where he currently sat in the warriors den - the medicine den no longer being his home because of his suspension from his duties. I had figured that bringing the gray tabby tom some prey could be a gesture of sympathy, or even a gesture as an attempt to make peace with him because of the current situation we were in.

Although, I still wondered why I even needed to make peace with Jayfeather in the first place. For some reason, to the medicine cat - him not helping with Snowflight meant that the two of us were cutting all ties.

I get that he cared for Snowflight a lot, but surely, even then, he wouldn't let this get it to him so much? He should know that Snowflight wouldn't actually be angry at him for this, right? I wondered as I slowly crawled into the warriors den.

I then felt a pang of anxiety as my eyes fell on the gray tabby medicine cat. "Hey," I murmured through the prey in my jaws.

Jayfeather didn't give one indication that he knew I was there. Not until he spoke. "Hi," he replied after a couple of heartbeats, his blind gaze directed straight to the ground.

I then warily padded forward and placed my prey just in front of Jayfeather's nest. "Um... I brought you a thrush," I began hesitantly. I then let out a huff and backed away. "I know it's been harder for you to show your face, lately. So, I figured I'd take it to you."

When Jayfeather remained silent, I began to uncomfortably shift my paws back and forth. "I'm... really sorry about all of this," I then continued as I let my head hang low. "Not just the Flametail situation, but..."

As Jayfeather continued to barely acknowledge my presence, I then realized that my planned attempt at an apology and peacemaking wasn't going to work for the moment. I sighed, shook my head, and turned around to leave the den. "I'm just gonna go."

"Goldenshine?"

I stopped in my tracks and looked over my shoulder, surprised as Jayfeather actually addressed me by name. "Yes?"

The tom simply gave me a curt nod. "Thanks," he muttered.

"Thanks?"

"For the thrush."

I couldn't help but feel a wave of sadness. Thanks for the thrush? That's it? "Sure," I nearly whispered before making my exit once again.

I then sat down just outside of the den as I continued to be filled with disappointment. I hated that this was how things needed to be. Just days ago, Jayfeather probably would have scolded me for my prey choice, or scoffed about how it took too long for me to even get it to him. He maybe would've even snapped at me for showing him any visible sympathy.

To any cat that didn't know Jayfeather, they'd be hurt by these kinds of things. But for cats like me, him simply showing gratitude for the prey was what hurt.

Taking this Snowstorm situation on my own really needs to be well worth it, I told myself, lifting my chin up as I forced down my dejection. I need to take action soon.

I then slowly averted my gaze towards where Snowstorm was actually sitting near the medicine den a few fox-lengths away, her blue eyes thoughtful as she sniffed at her poultice that had been applied to her shoulder.

I was then startled as the white she-cat returned my gaze, and then let out a snort a moment later. "Great StarClan, Goldenshine!" she purred, padding up to me. "Do I have a leaf on my head? A burr in my fur?"

I stared dumbfoundedly back at Snowstorm. "What do you mean?"

"You were staring at me," she replied. "It's getting somewhat creepy, if I'm being honest. That's not the first time I've caught you doing that."

I then shook my head quickly, surprised that I hadn't even realized that I'd been so obviously looking at the younger warrior, right where she could see me doing it. "Oh..." I breathed. I then let out a long sigh and closed my eyes. "Sorry."

I opened my eyes again to meet Snowstorm's amused, concerned gaze. "That's okay..." she reassured me, giving me a dip of the head in farewell before beginning to trot away. "But my goodness, you'd think that after all of this time, you'd learn your manners at least a little bit!"

I then stood, locked in my place and too shocked to even call Snowstorm back, as much as I wanted to. What did Snowstorm know about my lack of manners, one maybe would ask?

The answer would be that she doesn't. Not at all. Snowflight did, though. And what Snowstorm had just meowed was exactly something that my sister would have said if she were sitting here beside me.

The strangest mix of determination and apprehension began to rise up inside of me as I continued to watch Snowstorm walk away. We're getting closer. I know that we are.

I then stood up. And I may know how to get even closer.