Roseglade stalked the camp with all the poise expected of a senior warrior, her eyes darting between the near-empty dens and the warriors scattered about camp. Due to the harsh temperatures of midday in greenleaf, sharing tongues was done early in the morning and late at night. Roseglade had always quite preferred the late night sessions herself, if only because it was harder and harder to wake up in the morning.

She had little to gossip about, anyhow, as indicated by her choice in friends. Ochrefang eyed her from a distance, dipping his head, and Lioncall beside him gave her an encouraging nod. "Roseglade! Care to sit and eat with us? It's lonely with just the old toms about."

"Ask Irisbloom to speak with you, you old badgers." scoffed Roseglade, and Lioncall recoiled in mock surprise. Despite how much the younger warriors seemed to fear him and his massive bulk, he had been an insufferable, smiling jokester around her her ever since they were apprentices. Perhaps, if things had gone differently...

There was no time to dwell on such things now, and the thought of it left a bitter taste in her mouth. She passed them by and continued her walk through the camp, which seethed with a mild, dry warmth and everything shone in shades of gold and bleached green. Seeing little else to do, she walked towards the apprentices, huddling in the shade of their bramble den, which was unruly as ever, given that the apprentices were in charge of mantaining it themselves. Falconpaw, who she'd never liked the look of, was eying her with a sideways glare while biting down on a mouse, but Adderpaw and Gorsepaw had the good sense to look up and bid her proper respect.

"Morning, Roseglade." Adderpaw told her, cheerfully.

"Where are your siblings?" asked Roseglade, noticing distinct holes in the small band of kittens. "You three are including Saltpaw and Geckopaw, aren't you?"

"We have to?" asked Falconpaw, and though Gorsepaw said nothing, his ears flattened as well in displeasure. Only Adderpaw seemed concerned instead of looking personally attacked.

"Wow, we should be looking for our dear siblings, shouldn't we! Thank you for mentioning it, Roseglade, it must have skipped our minds." Adderpaw got up, stretching himself out in the sun, and looked to the others with all the sternness of a mentor. Gorsepaw got to his paws as well, while Falconpaw mumbled some halfhearted excuse about getting to the medicine den and stalked off.

"No problem," Roseglade muttered. Once again, she was reminded of her earlier days and the intensely pointless drama of young cats, but she couldn't recall such a serious divide amongst the cats she grew up with. There was a bit of a superiority complex in the older apprentices, who save for Ochrefang and Irisbloom, were long gone, but it had never been anything more than a few light-hearted jokes and the occasional cuff over the ear.

She was torn from her thoughts by Owlstar, who bumped into her and then looked up, trying and failing to seem inconspicuous. "Oh, Roseglade. Funny to meet you here, you're just the cat I needed to see."

"It is nice how that works out, doesn't it?" Roseglade asked. "In all seriousness, though, I'm not in trouble, am I?"

The leader shook her head, which ruffled her massive pelt. Owlstar was a sight to behold, big as Lioncall if not bigger, and her face was split neatly by a long scar that ran from between her eyes down to her neck, which was a strange contrast to her near pitch black face. Her gold, owl-like eyes, which gave her the prefix, seemed to watch her warriors like prey, which only made her attempt to sound colloquial all the more out of place. "Come with me."

Owlstar guided Roseglade past the edge of camp and into a narrow path, bordered by tall grass that seemed to be standing guard over them on both sides. The trail opened out to reveal what was once an old badger den, now the home of the leader and deputy both. Foxcatcher exited the den, and seeing them both, looked to Owlstar, faint distaste in his eyes, and sat down beside the leader.

"Well... how was Bend duty?" asked Owlstar.

This struck Roseglade as a strange thing for anyone to ask, seeing as nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "No different from normal, though the deputy was there- she had a new warrior with her." Roseglade mentioned, licking her paw. She had liked the look of him, and the way he had watched her had haunted her for well into the morning. He was questioning her, she had thought, without words.

Who are you?

"We'll have to note that down." Foxcatcher replied. He looked to Owlstar again, who looked back at him before taking a long, deep breath and continuing.

"Er, as for Bend duty... we were thinking this might be your last." Owlstar admitted.

"Is there a problem?" Roseglade snapped.

"Roseglade, at your age..."

Foxcatcher finished bluntly, "We're concerned for your health."

Roseglade recoiled, eyes glimmering with hurt, her mind racing for some kind of reply.

Foxcatcher, who seemed to have expected such a reaction, continued, "I should get on with the patrols. Don't worry, we expect about a moon or so more, but really, Roseglade, consider it."

Roseglade seethed beneath her fur and stalked back to camp, knowing, in part, that they were right. Greenleaf was kind, even on elders, but as leafbare set on, she couldn't see herself keeping up much longer. Even the thought of cold made her joints burn in aggravation.

She rejoined the others at the far side of camp, where her daughter caught her eye in the crowd. "Morning," Dapplebird cheered, her eyes bright and blissfully unaware.

Roseglade went to sit by her, feeling the comfort of her warm fur against her. Dapplebird's bright eyes shone as she watched the others settle down, and Roseglade curled her tail around her paws, lifting her head up with delicate grace. They both watched as Foxcatcher ascended a mound near the edge of camp, elevating him just enough for the rest of the cats to see, and Owlstar leaped up to his side. The mound had to be made by the warriors themselves, as their camp was flatter than the river in the morning, but it was still a mediocre vantage point at best.

"Cats of RyeClan!" called Foxcatcher, "This morning's patrols will be Clayfoot, Jackaltooth, Lightcatcher and Ramstrike around the perimeters, with Laurelbranch and Dapplebird taking Bend duty. Lemonshine, Adderpaw, Skycrest, and Roseglade will form one hunting patrol, towards the Shadowed Copse, while Howlclaw, Gorsepaw, Lioncall, Wheatfrost, and Saltpaw will go towards the river. Fawnstep, Ginkgotail, Blazefury, and I will take the remaining territory, close to camp. All others will be assisting with in-camp duties today, seeing as we'll need repairs from the recent storm. With that, I order you all dismissed." He then leapt off, looking pleased with himself, and leaving the others to get to work.

The mass of cats began to break apart and Dapplebird touched her nose to her mother's before running off. Roseglade purred and began to look for the other members of her patrol, finding all three already assembled at the edge of camp.

They set off without much more than a brief flick of a tail for hello, and the silence that ensued was relaxed. Skycrest eyed the sky for threats while Lemonshine bounded ahead, looking more like an apprentice than the cat she was supposedly mentoring.

"It's pleasant out today, isn't it?" purred Lemonshine, tasting the air.

"So it is." Roseglade said, though her dark fur was burning up beneath the eye of the angry sun. 'Pleasant' in RyeClan greenleaf either meant 'not hot enough to make you want to throw yourself into the river' or 'yes, that hot, but we're trying to make the best of it', and in this case, it was the latter.

The local flora provided little cover as well, but it was hard to deny that the RyeClan territory was a sight to behold. To untrained eyes, the land might appear unused or monotone, but to the RyeClan cats, who knew the land better than the fur on their own pelt, it was anything but. The whole swath was cut with tunnels and paths worn through generations of use, littered with tunnels used by the smaller rodentia, and interspersed throughout by bushes and young trees that relished every drop of light spared by the sun.

Their walk that day was short, and the warriors were still brimming with energy when Skycrest called from ahead, "We're here." All four cats stared up at their destination, which was right ahead, emerging from the golden grass.

The ground was hardly shaded at the Shadowed Copse, which seemed counter-intuitive, but it was the trees themselves which were dark in color. They had no foliage to speak of and were charred in many places, their spindly forms giving the impression of limbs jutting out of the ground, or perhaps upside down lightning bolts. Whatever their appearance, many mice made their homes in the area, so it was good for hunting.

"I'll take the far left." Skycrest continued, bounding off towards a tree that seemed like it was going to collapse at any moment, the entire upper half swinging dramatically to the side. Skycrest jumped up and began searching the branches for eggs.

"Are you going to go with him?" said Roseglade, quietly as she could manage.

"Oh, I can hunt." Adderpaw's ears perked, but Roseglade flinched. The tom was loud, and out of no malice of his own had likely scared off half the prey in the area.

"Adderpaw's spectacular. I'm just supervising him at this point." Lemonshine added, paying no mind to her apprentice's blunder. In fact, if anything, she was louder than he was.

"I'll check the right, then." Roseglade told them and moved to the side, tasting the air and scenting several families of mice that had ran over the roots below her in the last few days. The scent changed not far off, becoming fresher, and as she followed it around the tree she saw a single mouse looking up in confusion, too dazed by the sunlight and warmth to make the quick reaction that would have allowed its escape.

Roseglade killed and buried it before continuing her hunt, staying clear of the others. There was little else no matter how many times she circled the tree, so she went past it and out into the fields. She saw a rabbit mid-bolt and raced it, but the thing was too clever for her and gave her the roundabout near a bush. Before she could turn the corner, it had dived back into the fields, far past the paths, where the grass would be too thick to run through.

Swearing beneath her breath, she returned to the copse, only to be greeted by Adderpaw, who was watching her intently with a sizeable vole in his jaws.

"Adderpaw." Roseglade said, "Do you need something?"

"I wanted to apologize for earlier." Adderpaw said, dropping his prey and burying the small body at the outside rim of the copse. "I wasn't too rude with you or the others, was I?"

"No." Roseglade replied. The cause of the young tom's anxiety was beyond her.

"Oh, thank the stars. Gorsepaw said... uh, well, never mind. We just saw you walk away with the leader and thought we might be in trouble." He shuffled his paws.

"Kind of a rash assumption. Have you been in trouble, lately, Adderpaw?"
"Falconpaw has. So has Geckopaw." Adderpaw replied. "Um, it's apprentice stuff, usually. You know."

Roseglade nodded. "I assure you, my visit with Owlstar had nothing to do with any of you."

This seemed to assure the young apprentice, though Roseglade had to wonder just how often he'd been dealing with 'apprentice stuff' to guess that he was in trouble. Perhaps apprentices were just certain that they were the center of the known world.

"If you two pansies are gossiping, I'm going to assume you've caught enough to feed the clan by now." Skycrest said, bringing over part of her own catch, which was dangling by the tail from her mouth.

"Just a mouse, I'm afraid." Roseglade sighed.

"You're losing your edge, Roseglade." Skycrest murmured, her eyes cold, and Roseglade's hackles raised.

"She can bring back some of mine." suggested Adderpaw.

Skycrest nodded, and the party began their journey back to camp with a sizeable load of prey between them.

They were met at the entrance to camp by Foxcatcher, who looked them up and down with his usual scrutiny. "Good. Now, drop that off and go out to the Pineplace, if you will."

Roseglade was hoping for a break, especially because she felt faint from the time they'd spent out at the Copse, but the others seemed to have no issue with the command.

What she wouldn't give for a young cat's endurance.

After dropping off their prey, snagging a drink from some wet moss, and having a quick bite to eat, they set out again. Roseglade got the impression that this was going to be a long day.

The trees at the end of RyeClan territory had none of the bent paths nor shimmering glory, and the sun seemed far from them there, as if it had moved even further away the second they left the open fields. The scents here were stale and rancid, so she remarked the territory herself while the others began their hunt.

Roseglade's head still buzzed with the morning and her utter lack of energy, but her patrol gave her no grief for it. She made an effort, trying to at least appear busy, but her fatigue lead to her mainly watching the others, tasting the air on occasion and tipping them off on where she had scented this or that, but besides a chase with an old, cantankerous squirrel, she found little herself.

While the two warriors went about their work, straying far from her line of sight, Adderpaw made sure to stick nearby and turned every now and then to see if Roseglade was still watching.

He was watching her the way the other warrior had, she decided, with respect and a kind of curiosity. She didn't mind, as she was observing him in turn. His stance was good, he bent low when he crouched, and he could race any rabbit they encountered. She envied Lemonshine as Adderpaw returned to his mentor with a gleam of pride in his eyes and hers, envied their bond as they walked back, matching each other step to step, to camp. Adderpaw purred, placing his contribution down, and he nuzzled Lemonshine before walking off to meet his friends.

The sharing of tongues was to be exciting that night, or would be if Roseglade was interested in clan gossip anymore, but tonight it had gone from its usual dim roar of background noise to an aggravating buzz.

Skycrest settled down besides Lioncall, rubbing against her mate, and Roseglade turned away. She wasn't hungry, and hadn't been lately, and she had no desire to speak with Owlstar again after that morning's fiasco.

On a whim, she turned away from it all, and the camp walls greeted her, the foliage tickling her paws and pelt, but she hesitated for a second, trying to tell if anyone was going to notice her departure. When no one did, she figured they'd know she was in no real danger. Though the idea of leaving the clan in such a crucial part of the day for such a petty reason made her pelt prickle with guilt, something tugged at her just beyond the camp walls.

She followed it.

The land past there was strange beneath moonlight, all blues and strange yellow-silvers fading to black as the rest of the world did. Her ears perked to hear the cricketsong and the murmur of night winds over the grass, carrying warm breezes across the land. The night air was still warm, but not uncomfortably so, and as she breathed in through her nose she thought she could taste the sun still clinging to the earth.

Roseglade came to a hill and ventured up it, the grass retreating on all sides to reveal a small overlook. Camp was still visible in the distance, so she hadn't gone far, and though the fields were beautiful at night, there was something even better up above. She stared at the night sky as if carrying both sets of ancestors with her, the ones who had dwelled here and seen the world in each shimmering point of light and the ones across the river who had looked to each star they could see through the trees for hope in the darkest of times. She looked to find her parents, two worlds united, and she looked to find the bulk of her sole litter, the three kits taken from her... she stared up, up, and saw the empty spot in the sky close to a cluster of stars, and her breath caught in her throat.

They were waiting for her.

"Oh, my loves..."

***

Roseglade entered the camp with all the poise expected of a senior warrior, and once again bumped into Owlstar, though this time Owlstar was sitting and it really was little more than coincidence. The brown she-cat looked up, startled, and saw her there, looking bedraggled and a little frightened herself.

"Roseglade, are you alright?"

"Only thinking."

Owlstar sighed. "As was I. Roseglade, I apologize for how brash I've been. We'll need your services for as long as you're willing to provide them, and I'd much prefer you retire on your own terms. Stars knows Ochrefang will."

Roseglade purred, noticing that the statement had not escaped the now flustered russet tom, sitting just within earshot. She glanced up at the stars again and nodded, feeling the ill will ease from her. "Naturally, Owlstar... for all its trials, there's no place I'd rather be." 

(A/N: mmm... this took a lot longer than I thought it would. Though I'm not especially proud of it, I think it was well worth the time I invested, so that's something.)