MOUSETAIL WAS SHARING fresh-kill with Skystorm when she saw Lynxstar leaving the camp. "What do you think she's doing?" she asked Skystorm. "I've never seen her leave without bringing warriors with her."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure we'll find out what's going on soon enough," Skystorm told her. "It's probably not even that important." His voice was dry, as if he didn't really care much. He was always like that ever since he heard the news about Shadowheart. Whatever Mousetail tried to say to him to comfort him, it didn't work. She'd begun to run out of ideas for once in her life.

"I doubt it. If she's leaving without warriors, it must be private, which means it's important. And if it's private, then she probably won't share with anyone," Mousetail thought aloud.

"Perhaps," Skystorm mumbled.

Mousetail turned to her mate. "Come on, Skystorm, cheer up. He's still here with you, in spirit. But now, there's more important things that we have to worry about."

Skystorm looked up at her, his eyes flashing with recognition and maybe even anger. "You can't say that because your parents aren't dead," he snapped.

Mousetail looked at him with alarm. "Okay, I'm sorry. I'm just trying to help you cheer up."

"You can keep trying. But you can't, because you haven't lost anyone you care about."

"Actually, I have," Mousetail reminded him. "Softcloud was like a mother to me. She was a mother to me."

Skystorm narrowed his eyes. "Okay, but you haven't lost your mother and your father to those terrible MoonClan warriors. Softcloud was killed by a fox, not a warrior! That's not half as bad!" His voice was raised now.

Mousetail looked around the camp self-consciously. "Hey, Skystorm, I'm just trying to help you like any other good mate would do. I might not have lost much, but I lost enough to know how terrible it feels."

"Then let me grieve for StarClan's sake!" Skystorm retorted. Then he got up and left.

Mousetail stared after him in dismay. Was that . . . the first time we've ever fought? she wondered. She sweeped away what was left of the sparrow and returned to the nursery.

When she settled back down in her nest and closed her eyes to catch some sleep, she heard paw steps outside and opened her eyes. It was Dovesong. "Hi," Mousetail greeted her sister.

"Hi. What was that all about?" Dovesong asked worriedly.

Mousetail met her gaze despondently. "He's still grieving for Shadowheart. I can't blame him. But I was trying to cheer him up, but then he snapped at me saying that I don't know what it's like to lose both parents to MoonClan warriors. And then he just . . . walked away. I wasn't trying to do any harm."

Dovesong's gaze darkened. "Oh. Hopefully it's just temporary and everything will go back to normal soon."

"Hopefully," Mousetail agreed, her gaze drifting to the pool where Skystorm was crouching by. Her heart ached. She wanted to believe Dovesong, but at the same time she didn't. "We haven't fought before."

Dovesong didn't seem to know how to answer. "Is it a good or a bad thing that I know how you feel?" She let out a small mrrow of laughter.

"I think it's normal," Mousetail assured her. "Wait, have you fought with Foxclaw before?"

"Just once. But that was a long time ago." Dovesong shrugged the question away. "Anyway, I came here to check on you and ask if you needed anything? An expecting queen needs a lot of attention."

"I can live with that. And I don't need anything," Mousetail mewed. "But really, what did you two fight about?"

Dovesong heaved a sigh. "Several moons ago, when I was still an apprentice and Badgertooth and I were leaving the Moonpool, I saw him again. It was a few days after his exile. We fought with claws and teeth, really. I was trying really hard to forget about him, and he just showed up and ruined it all. I was really angry."

"Like always," Mousetail quipped.

Dovesong gave her an exasperated look. "Anyway, that's when we fought. But it was quickly forgotten. Well, if I'm telling you about it, it wasn't really forgotten, was it?"

"Do you miss him?"

"Of course I do. But at the same time, I'm glad that he's gone so I don't have to worry about him anymore. But you don't know what that's like, do you?"

"No. But I'll try to sympathize with you anyway," Mousetail told her. "I'm here if you need to talk about anything. I know we lead totally different lives, but I'm still your sister."

Dovesong looked at her gratefully. "The best sister any cat could ask for." She leaned forward and nuzzled Mousetail with deep sisterly affection. "I have to go check on Gorseberry, though. I hope you get everything sorted out with Skystorm."

"Thanks. I hope so, too." Mousetail watched as Dovesong limped out of the den. She couldn't help but wonder how much she was dealing with now. She had to deal with her, Gorseberry, Foxclaw's death, and maybe even more things that Mousetail didn't know about. She knew that Dovesong was a medicine cat and she was trained to deal with lots of things at once, but she also knew that Dovesong worried and got stressed out really easily. Mousetail's heart ached at the thought of so many cats suffering-not just her Clanmates, but the other Clans-and she couldn't do anything about it.

Then Mousetail got an idea. I could do something about it! This Clan is shrinking every moon, it seems. They could use more warriors. She glanced at her own swollen belly, her heart lifting. Could I be a permanent queen? It wouldn't only benefit the whole Clan, it would benefit her relationship with Skystorm. The experience would bring them closer together while the dark era they were living in tried to tear them apart.

Mousetail's decision was sealed at the same moment that she heard a yowl outside. She rushed to the clearing and looked toward the direction of the yowl. Owlheart and Blizzardpelt were bringing a body into the camp. They put it down lightly and the rest of the Clan huddled around it in a distressed manner. Mousetail came over, too. Her Clanmates were yowling and muttering around her.

"What is the name of StarClan?"

"Lynxstar's dead!"

"How many lives does she have left?"

Mousetail pushed through the layer of cats and saw the bloody body of her mother. "What happened?" she gasped.

"Dawnsplash is missing, too!" Mousetail heard Blizzardpelt growl beside her. He was talking to Owlheart, while the white tabby stared down at Lynnxstar's body in dismay.

What do they mean? What does Dawnsplash-oh. Mousetail stepped back, her legs shaking and unease wormed in her belly. Nausea rose inside her. She guessed the ginger-and-white warrior had done this. She'd tried to kill Frozenfang before. But why? Dawnsplash had once been one of the sweetest cats Mousetail knew. What could possibly drive her to this?

"This is all my fault!"

Mousetail turned around halfway when she heard Spottedsong wail. The tortoiseshell she-cat's muzzle was buried in Gorseberry's--Mousetail guessed Badgertooth decided he was well enough to leave the den-shoulder.

Why? Mousetail wondered. What did Spottedsong do?

"I told Lynxstar that Dawnsplash wanted to be let out, so she said she would talk to Dawnsplash, and look what happened!" Spottedsong exclaimed, gesturing to Lynxstar's body.

Mousetail turned her gaze back to Lynxstar when she heard someone exclaim. Lynxstar's wounds were gone, and the only thing left was the blood that stained her fur. The white leader lifted her head and looked around, obviously disoriented. Badgertooth and Dovesong immediately rushed to her side and helped her up. They exchanged words with her, and then Owlheart before they led Lynxstar to the medicine den.

Mousetail turned to Spottedsong and Gorseberry. "What happened?" she asked Spottedsong.

"I'm not sure. But I think Dawnsplash attacked Lynxstar. Blizzardpelt has got to know, so you can ask him," Spottedsong explained.

Mousetail nodded quickly. "Thanks." Then she turned to approach her father, who was speaking hurriedly to Owlheart. "Blizzardpelt?"

The white tom finished his sentence before turning to look at her. He looked just the slightest bit surprised when he saw her. "Yes?"

"Do you know what happened?" Mousetail asked.

"Yes. But why do you want to know?" Blizzardpelt asked.

Mousetail persisted. "Because I want to know who hurt my leader and mother. You can't keep that from me."

"Right. Dawnsplash was just mad at Lynxstar for not letting her out earlier. I don't blame her for getting mad, but I'm not sure if killing Lynxstar was necessary," Blizzardpelt explained.

"Do you know how many lives she has left?" Mousetail asked worriedly.

Blizzardpelt shook his head. "Leaders tend to keep that a secret. Not even I know what life she's on."

"Okay. Thanks." Mousetail dipped her head and walked away, but even though she was calm on the inside, she was not at all calm on the inside. Last time she was aware of how many lives Lynxstar had, she had six lives left. That seemed like a lot, but what if she had lost more without Mousetail knowing? Or what if she would lose her lives faster than anyone anticipated? Mousetail couldn't bear to think about it.

***

Dovesong stared at the ground for a long moment, considering the possibility of going on a journey soon. No, not just soon. She would go on that day. If she agreed. It was only half a day after the attack on Lynxstar, and Dovesong knew that this was a sign that time was running out to go. "Okay," she decided aloud, causing Badgertooth to look up in surprise. "I'll go. Now."

"Now?" Badgertooth echoed, his eyes wide.

"Now," Dovesong confirmed. "That attack on Lynxstar was a sign. I can just feel it. Time is running out faster than ever, and we can't wait until the last minute to make sure that we don't go down in vain. If we go down at all."

Badgertooth was silent for a few moments, then he nodded slowly. "Okay. But shouldn't you wait until morning? It's going to get dark soon."

"I can get to a shelter before moonhigh," Dovesong promised. "And this is something I have to do alone."

"No." Dovesong looked at her former mentor in surprise. "You're a medicine cat, not a warrior. What would you do if you were hurt out there? You need a warrior to go with you."

Dovesong stared at him for a long time before she gave in. "Fine. Who, though? This Clan needs all the warriors they can get."

"Remember, you're going on this journey to find more of our Clanmates. I'm positive it will be alright," Badgertooth assured her.

Dovesong sighed. "Fine. I'll go now, and I'll bring a warrior. But again, who? They all have a reason to stay."

"They do. But let's-never mind." Badgertooth lowered his voice. "Lynxstar is the one who approves of these things, but she's hurt. I don't think now is a good time."

Dovesong glanced at Lynxstar in the front of the den. "I'm sure she won't mind."

"No, I wouldn't."

Dovesong and Badgertooth turned their gazes to Lynxstar, who had lifted her head to look at them. "So, what warrior should come?"

"I trust Blizzardpelt to keep you safe on this journey," Lynxstar replied. "We may not have the best relationship anymore, but I do have all of my trust in him."

"Right. So I can go . . . now?" Dovesong asked.

"Well, if I were you, I would wait until morning," Lynxstar told her.

Dovesong looked at her, then, Badgertooth, then back again. "I understand why you want me to go in the morning. But I have to start now. The sooner the better. I can go get Blizzardpelt, and then when he knows everything and hopefully agrees, then we can go."

Lynxstar and Badgertooth exchanged uncertain looks. "Okay," Lynxstar decided. "You can go get him."

"Thank you!" Dovesong quickly exited the den and approached Blizzardpelt, who was stopping for a drink by the waterfall's pool. "Blizzardpelt, can you come to the medicine den for a moment?"

Blizzardpelt looked at her with surprise. "Sure." He got up and followed Dovesong, but on the way he asked, "What is it about?"

"You'll see." Dovesong led him into the medicine den. She addressed all three cats before going on, looking at Blizzardpelt. "I need to go on a journey. To the old territory. And Lynxstar says you need to come with me."

Blizzardpelt's eyes flashed with alarm. "That's a dangerous mission. Are you sure this is what you want to do?"

"I have to," Dovesong corrected him. "I'm a medicine cat; I do whatever StarClan tells me to do."

"Right. Fine. I'll go. What is this journey about, anyway?" Blizzardpelt asked.

"We're not really sure. But we got a prophecy. 'In the rubble of what is lost, answers will be found among the ashes.' We're pretty sure it means the old territory, and we're convinced that we can find at least a few of our missing Clanmates and bring them home," Badgertooth explained. "So, are you up to it?"

"Well, I don't really have a choice," Blizzardpelt conceded.

And they prepared to go.