"I told you that you'd pass all your trials!" Shadepool giggle-whispered to the golden she-cat as he nudged Briarwish's chin.

Maplethorn rolled her dull spring-green eyes as she gagged at their affection towards each other. It didn't help that they were only two nests away from her and somehow, decided it would be appropriate to already share a nest with each other. She watched as Briarwish smiled as she gave Shadepool a tender lick on his forehead and he gave a contented purr as the golden she-cat rubbed her head against his.

"I should probably volunteer for today's dawn patrol though," Briarwish meowed, getting up from their nest.

"Please," Shadepool meowed, almost...begging Briarwish to stay with him. "Don't leave me just yet. You have moons upon moons for patrols."

"I want to appear as a diligent and hard-working clanmate, so that I can prove to the clan that I didn't only join to live a life of peace," Briarwish meowed, her voice resolute as she puffed out her chest. "Don't worry though, I'll make sure to spend as much time as I can with you."

Her tail ran underneath Shadepool's chin as he stared at Briarwish, half-lidded eyes looking as though he was in a reverie. He gave a satisfied sigh as his gaze lingered on Briarwish as she left the den. Maplethorn felt Shadepool turn into her direction and she immediately averted her gaze, finding a certain portion of the den wall intensely exciting and began studying it.

"Jealous that you don't have a lover, Deformedthorn?" Shadepool sneered at her and she twisted her neck around, staring at her brother in the eye as she replied,

"I have a lover, in fact, lovers, all right."

"Ooh," Shadepool snickered, feigning disinterest, even though his entire posture displayed anything but. "Who are they? Tinycloud and some random rogues you picked up outside MistClan?"

She could feel the rest of the warriors still inside the den listening to their conversation and shot them one of her dagger-sharp glares, one that she spent hours perfecting with her mother. She literally sat in front of Scorchflame, glaring at her mother until she approved of it and then ordering her to glare at random Starless Forest cats, trying to scare them away. Certainly enough, they immediately began analysing each other, themselves, their nests, or the den wall.

"It's me, myself and I," Maplethorn smirked at her brother as she left the den without allowing him to reply, tail deliberately smacking into his face.

Waspsting approached Maplethorn and she internally rolled her eyes. Her father never came to her unless he was going to complain or order her to do something.

"You're coming on dawn patrol," Waspsting growled, eyes narrowed, until he inhaled her scent as she passed by and bared his fangs at her.

"What?" Maplethorn asked, feigning innocence, even though she knew that Scorchflame's scent of violets, the night air and a whiff of smoke and pine sap was infused in her pelt from having spent so much time with her mother. It was subtle at first, but eventually, she noticed that her scent began to change until it practically was the same as Scorchflame's.

"Nothing," Waspsting snarled, shaking his head, as he beckoned for Maplethorn to follow her.

Briarwish was indeed in the patrol, much to her dismay. The bubbly she-cat continued to ask Waspsting questions and converse with him, however, every so often, placed in a couple of phrases and words that would soften the wall between them. Even her father began talking to Briarwish like an ordinary cat would by the end of the patrol.

"Wow!" Briarwish mewed at Waspsting as they entered camp again. "I've learnt so much, thanks to you! Waspsting, you're so knowledgeable that I'm certain you'd make the best leader that MistClan has ever seen!"

"Heh," Waspsting chuckled, even though Maplethorn could see the pride shining within him. "If you say so."

"I don't need to say anything," Briarwish smiled, "Your actions and words tell me enough alone."

She swore that her father's gaze lingered on the golden she-cat for a mere couple of seconds too long but dismissed the thought, certain she was hallucinating after all the stress and trauma she needed to endure, both in the living and sleeping realm.

Maplethorn passed the apprentices' den and heard sniffling noises within. Deciding to check if everything was alright, she entered and saw Moonpaw crying.

"How could that usurper take him away from me? He was destined to be mine from the very beginning! That wicked, wicked seductress!" Moonpaw wailed quietly to herself, unaware of Maplethorn's presence.

"Hey," Maplethorn meowed softly, approaching the apprentice.

"Get away from me, you illegitimate daughter of a bastard!" Moonpaw screeched, aiming a swipe at her which she easily deflected.

"Calm down," Maplethorn continued, trying to use her best soothing voice, not flinching at any of the insults the apprentice hurled at her, knowing they were only said because she was in a depressed state.

"It's all your fault!" the apprentice's lip curled at Maplethorn, tears streaking her fur.

"Breathe, Moonpaw, it'll-" she paused, cautious about continuing to speak as she realised that what she just said would only be what everyone would say to her in this situation and wouldn't help her state of mind, thus, not too sure what else to say to her, she left the den silently and stood in the centre of the camp, not sure where else to go.

"Hello!" She heard the soft, sweet and melodic voice of Briarwish beside her.

Mother, why in the name of StarClan did you let her into the clan? Maplethorn growled inside her head, no response from her mother this time.

"What do you want?" Maplethorn looked at Briarwish, voice calm and cool, her green eyes were pools of indifference.

The golden she-cat shrank, taken aback by Maplethorn's hostility, but continued to smile as she said, "I forgive you."

"For what?" Maplethorn meowed, annoyed at being held back by this idiotic cat.

"For attacking me during the second trial, of course," Briarwish meowed loudly enough for the clan to hear and she winced slightly, quickly regaining her cold, royal posture, realising she had unintentionally fallen into a trap that Briarwish unintentionally, or perhaps intentionally laid out for her.

Most of the clan swivelled their heads to them and a muted snarl by Maplethorn made some of them turn around. Being reputed as the apprentice who killed one of their own wasn't something they were going to forget easily, clearly.

Maplethorn said nothing, knowing that by doing so, she would only seem petty and annoying, like swarming gnats. She wasn't going to walk further into the badger's den than she already had.

Briarwish cocked her head and meowed, "Are you okay?"

Maplethorn continued to stare at her, unblinking, tail slowly and leisurely swaying from side to side as she gazed at the she-cat, mentally tearing Briarwish's fur from her skin.

Suddenly, Briarwish collapsed and teared up, bawling as though she had been harassed by Maplethorn. As if on cue, her brother immediately ran towards them, hissing at Maplethorn as he snarled,

"StarClan above, you wicked bastard! Can't you keep your words and actions to yourself? Look here, you've upsetted Briar and you had the audacity to attack her!"

Maplethorn blinked in surprise as she saw a small wound on Briar's foreleg, one that wasn't there previously and from the small, almost unseeable flecks of blood that dotted her muzzle, she realised the cat must've bit herself.

"You're mistaken then, my beloved brother," Maplethorn replied, gaze running right over them, as though they weren't worth her time.

"Mistaken, you fox-heart?! How could I be mistaken when the evidence is right before my eyes?" her brother yowled, fur standing on end as his blue eyes emitted nothing but pure anger.

"Her muzzle is dotted with blood, she must've bitten herself," Maplethorn replied.

Shadepool looked at Briar's mouth, and where the blood dots were supposed to be, only the clean, soft cream colour of her muzzle was there.

"You filthy liar!" Shadepool snarled. "You dare accuse her of harming herself?"

Briarwish wobbly stood up and meowed softly to her brother,

"Shade, let it rest...please. I'm sure she didn't mean to do it. I'm extremely sorry about this whole encounter, Maplethorn."

"You better be grateful that you have a clanmate as benevolent as Briarwish, mongrel," Shadepool growled once more before marching away, followed by Briarwish who shot her one last glance, one which Maplethorn deciphered as a glance of victory.

Maplethorn walked to the leader's den, up the sloping path that led to it and said,

"Cinderstar?"

The black ticked tabby cackled, voice changed, unhinged as she laughed,

"Come in my dear."

The calico-tabby inched into her den like it was a viper's lair, extremely cautious until her gaze landed on Cinderstar, dangling from the ceiling like a bat, claws dug into the rock as she crawled across the rock ceiling, facing Maplethorn with her deep blue eyes.

"What kind of punishment has StarClan brought upon me? Was it my fault for their deaths? It's not as though Fangpaw was worthy of his praise and admiration, was it?"

The cloudy haze in her eyes indicated that the leader must've truly gone insane as she replied,

"No, it wasn't your fault. It was all Fangpaw's fault."

"That's what I say to myself, all day, every day. But thepain never ceases, it's always there. Tell me why, youngcat, tell mewhy that Inever am abletosleep peacefully. And when I slumber, Iseethem haunting mydreams, alwaystherewatching me, alwaystherewatching...me," the leader meowed, blood seeping from where her claws were in contact with the rock, words more jumbled as though she was trying to relieve all the thoughts were bottled up inside her.

Maplethorn slowly backed out of the den, knowing that Cinderstar truly didn't recognise she was there and left the leader to her rambling as she sprinted across camp and to the medicine cats' den, crashing into Silentpaw.

"Silentpaw," Maplethorn wheezed, looking at the moon in the sky, even though most were asleep by this point

"What's so urgent?" Silentpaw meowed, alarm reflecting in her own eyes.

"What's wrong with Cinderstar?" she panted, still shivering from the leader's eeriness.

"There's nothing wrong with her physically, Maple, anyone can see that," Silentpaw sighed, explaining quickly, as though she had some place to be. "Her mind has been shattered, possibly due to too many traumatic events that have occurred to her in a short period of time. She's unhinged now, uncontrollable, therefore-"

"Meaning that Waspsting is effectively the leader now," Maplethorn meowed, fear and unease settling in. If her father finally managed to attain his ambition of becoming the leader of MistClan, there would be no guarantee as to whether he'd stop there or continue until all his ambitious thirst had been slaked.

"Yes," Silentpaw admitted and the pair shared not a word between them until Silentpaw spoke up and said,

"Now if you'll excuse me, I need to collect some herbs. We're low on, uh, yarrow and, um, poppy seeds."

Maplethorn nodded and let Silentpaw pass her, wondering if her birth had caused the destruction that happened and more that was undoubtedly going to follow.

Her eyes closed and reopened moments later with Scorchflame standing in front of her, no warm smile from her mother this time, only in her words as she meowed,

"Welcome, my daughter, I've missed you. We're going to conquer that fear of yours today and hopefully, by the end of tonight, you will not be afraid of water anymore."

Maplethorn nodded, however, this time, felt the tickly fizzing of a creation appear beneath her paws and braced herself for the impact as she fell into the water, allowing herself to only scream and cry for help inside her mind as she was immobilised, unable to move, until she sank all the way to the bottom. There, as though some force had finally unleashed her, she swam upwards, clawing the water, pretending that, in her mind, each stroke was a mark of her vengeance against what the floods had done to her. She powered on upwards until she leapt out of the water, inhaling deeply as she shook her sopping wet fur.

"Good," Scorchflame nodded her approval at Maplethorn. "I told you exposure therapy would work."

But you never said it would completely erase the fear from my mind, Maplethorn thought, teeth biting her tongue.

"Fears never go away," Scorchflame replied. "They never vanish completely. Even if you train yourself to diminish your fear as much as possible, it will never erase itself, as though it had never been there in the first place."

She continued to clean herself as she listened to her mother, continually shaking her fur to get rid of the wetness, but to no avail.

"Mother," Maplethorn asked Scorchflame.

"Go on," Scorchflame sighed, knowing there would most likely be another lengthy explanation involved.

"Forgive me if this is rude, but, why Waspsting as your mate?" Maplethorn meowed.

"It's complicated," Scorchflame replied. "I had access to him, purely because of my beauty alone, thus I would clearly produce good-looking kits for him. However, the other reason is because I had a vision one night, when I was about to turn Waspsting down, for I didn't wish to be tied down because of kits and if I had survived your kitting, he would've forced me to have another litter and another and another, until my body would no longer be able to produce any more kits, or he found a younger and more attractive mate than me, which would be unlikely as my beauty is one that can only be seen once in hundreds of moons. The reason being is pretty straightforward, he wishes for his bloodline to be the most predominant and widespread across the entire clan as well as having at least an heir to succeed him. Anyway, as I slept that night, I saw you before my eyes, I saw glimpses of your future, your rise to power and I knew that I needed you in my life. Thus, the next day, I promptly agreed to his proposal and two moons later, you were born. I saw, as well, I needed to sacrifice myself, but I knew that you'd bring us to greater heights than ever seen before. This is why I've been wishing for you to be cautious of your actions, for one wrong move could send your whole future spiralling into ruin."

Maplethorn nodded along with Scorchflame's story as she continued,

"Mother. Was Tinycloud in love with you?"

"Yes. That foolish weakling was. But as anyone would've known, I couldn't possibly have accepted him of all cats to be my mate," Scorchflame tartly replied, her explanation short this time.

She didn't push it and they sat in silence until the stocky tortoiseshell, the Grand Voice of the Forest made their way towards them.

"You've made excellent progress, young one," the she-cat rasped as she circled around Maplethorn. "Scorchflame has clearly been training you well."

As abruptly as she appeared, she disappeared into the undergrowth again, without another word and Maplethorn blinked in confusion.

"Oh!" Maplethorn exclaimed. "I have one more thing I just remembered to ask you. How did you become the Grand Whisper if cats as infamous and as old as Tigerstar are mere citizens here?"

"Through these," Scorchflame meowed, unsheathing her claws. "But seriously, it takes a lot more than brawn to win over Mapleshade. It takes tactics and more to do so. Furthermore, those terms aren't really used amongst us, the higher ranks, and is mostly used by the lower-ranking cats to create a sense of respect and fear. In fact, I think my position as Grand Whisper will be forever secure in just a couple more seconds."

On cue, three starlit, tumbling bundles rolled towards them as a skinny grey she-cat bowed.

"It has been done, Grand Whisper," she meowed, a glint sparking inside the grey she-cat's eyes.

"Good job, Pebbletalon," she smiled saccharinely. "But, that was your full use of life. Being a pawn. Being my pawn. Sadly, now that you've accomplished it, no one needs you anymore."

She brought her claws down on Pebbletalon's throat and within seconds, the grey she-cat died from her mother's skilled blows and Scorchflame threw her corpse into the nearby bushes.

"Cats are nothing more than pawns, Maplethorn, remember that," Scorchflame meowed, after licking her claws clean.

"Mama?" The three bundles all squeaked at Scorchflame.

"Mapleshade, get your heaving, flea-filled pelt down here!" Scorchflame roared with such volume and intensity that the nearby trees shook, sending a soft cascade of black, withered leaves down onto the ground The three kits squealed in fear.

The tortoiseshell immediately appeared and one glance at the three kits, teared up, rushing towards them as she embraced them saying, "Thank you Scorchflame. I am forever in your debt."

Maplethorn had never seen the tortoiseshell so gentle and calm before as she rolled on her back, playing affectionately with the kits.

"Are they?" Maplethorn began and Scorchflame nodded, gesturing for her to remain quiet.

She studied the three kits as they bounded around Mapleshade, seemingly oblivious to the place where they were, and they looked the part too. They left trails of glowing stardust and light in their paths, a high contrast to the gloomy and depressing state of the Forest. She'd never seen the tortoiseshell's eyes express anything other than anger, grief and pain until this point. All of those expressions seemed to instantly fade, leaving only pure joy and elation.

"I've never seen her so joyful ever since I entered this place. No amount of bloodshed or vengeance has made her this happy before," Scorchflame mused as the lumbering she-cat groomed her kits, muzzle slightly tainted with flecks of stardust.

Perhaps...Maplethorn thought. The joy that bloodshed brings is different from the one that your loved ones bring.

Shaking off the unease crawling up her spine, she looked at Scorchflame, some of Mapleshade's elation reflected in her own.

"Happiness is contagious, I see," Maplethorn meowed, smirking at her mother who instantly changed her gaze to one of harshness.

"I was reminiscing about you," Scorchflame meowed firmly, not meeting Maplethorn's gaze, a trace of a grin on the corners of her mouth.

"Yeah, right," Maplethorn meowed teasingly, tail flicking at Scorchflame as she produced a smile of her own.

It almost seemed like the mood of Mapleshade affected the mood of the entire Forest, as though it responded to her emotions. She saw small dried, dead, flower buds slowly rejuvenating as they blossomed into tiny, colourful flowers.

"The mood of Mapleshade is almost pretty much reflected in the mood of the Forest. It's like a living being and has a mind of its own, one that obeys and listens to Mapleshade's commands," Scorchflame added as Maplethorn watched in awe, seeing the gloomy, dark, deathly still and damp Starless Forest, the one she was so used to seeing, transform gradually from the dark, gloomy mist hovering over their heads into a dusky, hazy, dream-like colour with soft strokes of pastel pink as it slowly wafted upwards, twisting and swirling as it enveloped the rest of the forest in its warm embrace. Small flowers blossoming from the boughs and branches of trees, as the dead branches began to rejuvenate with fresh new leaves. She saw the thorny brambles and bushes around her morph gradually into patches of pastel, yet colourful flowers.

"She must be feeling peaceful," Maplethorn meowed, sniffing the fragrant air that used to be completely infused with the scent of bloodshed, hatred and utter chaos.

"You have no idea," Scorchflame meowed, swarms of cats in the trees and ground beside them as they all gawped at their leader, possibly shocked at how joyful and at peace she seemed.

She flattened her ears against her pelt, feeling daunted by the amount of cats that lived in the forest, especially how her mother managed to scale the ranks with so many competitors constantly trying to tear her down.

"Best to give them some privacy, no? They've been separated for perhaps hundreds of centuries. You can't blame her for being so overjoyed, after all," Scorchflame's tail caressed her back, guiding her away from Mapleshade and her kits, glaring at the cats perched on the branches to do the same and the masses of pelts swarmed down and away from the leader of the Forest and into the hazy fog that billowed softly over their heads.

"They must fear you, if they obey you so well," Maplethorn meowed as they stopped walking, her mother nestling down on the soft, small blades of new grass.

"Mother!" Goldenkit meowed excitedly, leaping from the slim branch of a faraway tree and Maplethorn's breath hitched in her throat as she watched her sister soar over the ground, wondering if she would die again if she didn't manage to land on Scorchflame's back.

But the tiny thorn-sharp claws of her unborn sister dig into the back of her mother, emitting a small 'oof' noise as her muzzle dug into her mother's fur.

Perhaps everyone felt at ease, now that Mapleshade wasn't on a killing spree within the Forest. Perhaps the mood of the Forest also affected the mood of the inhabitants as well.

"You can wake up," Scorchflame smiled, even the insanity in her eyes dulling a little, replaced with a stroke of peace.

She obeyed, opening her spring-green eyes, pupils dilating as she tried to adjust to the brightness, expecting the soft, ethereal glow of the dawn sky to greet her eyes, instead, meeting the deep blue fabric of darkness that was spread across the sky, inked with small diamond jewels, and an ethereal round orb hung in the sky, visible through the small gaps of the den ceiling.

She saw a shadow dart past the corner of her vision and discreetly turned her head, seeing a denmate quietly step past other sleeping clanmates, towards the den entrance. Maplethorn felt herself rise and naturally follow whoever was sneaking out of camp.

A glimmer of moonlight that darted across the figure in front of her made Maplethorn grit her teeth.

A rogue's heart is never loyal, she snarled internally, tail lashing as she ground her teeth, wondering if Briarwish joined the clan to bring MistClan down with a group of rogues or something.

"I'm glad you agreed, Briarwish," she heard that familiar cold, cool voice purr, a pair of golden eyes glowing in the pine forest.

"So am I," Maplethorn heard the golden she-cat purr as she nuzzled her father.

Unloyal, either way, Maplethorn narrowed her eyes as she saw Waspsting grin, fangs flashing, pleased as Briar showered her father with affection, pelt vigorously brushing against his.

It's nothing, Maplethorn growled to herself. Just a clearly naive she-cat trying to raise her status within the clan by positively rubbing on the deputy.

She turned around, barely rustling the nearby bushes, unable to watch them anymore as she stormed back to her nest, tail flicking with a mixture of doubt and ire, waiting for the sun to rise.

"Where did you go?" Shadepool meowed frantically as Maplethorn's eyes snapped open, seeing Shadepool towering over Briar. "I woke up slightly before sunrise and you were nowhere to be seen! I thought you got killed by some rogues!"

"Shade-baby," Briarwish purred softly, tail softly caressing his cheek. "I'm sorry I made you worry. I'll ensure it never happens again."

Maplethorn gagged internally, nearly depositing last night's meal in her nest.

Shade-baby? She really couldn't think of any other name to call him? Maplethorn swallowed the bile rising in her throat.

She watched as Shadepool stood standing, a tinge of a blush forming on his cheeks as he stared at Briarwish, not blinking as he whispered,

"I'm sorry I yelled at you. That was foolish of me."

He then stepped forward as he whispered something into her ear, causing the golden she-cat to blush even more than Shadepool did, shuffling uncomfortably before snuggling down beside her brother.

"Soon, I promise," Briarwish meowed, loud enough for everyone in the den to hear. "I'll give you my answer soon."

"I'll await a favourable response then," Shadepool purred, licking Briarwish's nose before trailing behind her as she exited the den.

Lovesick idiot, Scorchflame meowed in her head.

What? Maplethorn asked, confused. Sure, her brother was a fool in almost every single matter, however, love was a matter completely out of control of the paws of mortals.

Pay no heed to my words, Scorchflame sighed, Maplethorn almost seeing her mother pad away from her mind into the gloomy haze that separated her, whilst she was awake, from the Starless Forest. She saw Silentpaw slip into the medicine cats' den, her fur tussled, debris scattered within.

"Silentpaw?" Maplethorn meowed, quickening her pace to match with her sister's.

"I'm fine," she snapped, stalking past Maplethorn, Silentpaw's silver tail slapping her in the face.

Maplethorn reeled back, surprised by her sister's sudden change in personality. Perhaps she was lacking sleep now that her medicine cats' assessment was close? Or perhaps she had spent too much time looking for herbs that her sleep had been compensated for?

Suddenly, a small breeze swished her whiskers around, and she inhaled as a sudden pang sparking inside her heart as she squeezed her eyes shut, forcing the memory of Speckledpatch from her mind. She'd been so preoccupied with the Starless Forest and MistClan drama that she'd managed to keep the brown tabby she-cat out of her mind...until now.

The more she attempted to shut the thoughts out, they forced themselves out of the barrier she created, piling on top of each other. Her olive-green eyes, complementing the surrounding meadows, pools of pure euphoria and carefreeness. Her graceful steps, the way she seemed to be dancing with every step she took, a certain lightness and etherealness within each. Her beautiful voice, one of sunsets and blossoming flowers, one that didn't do her justice, especially when she sang...

When she sang, the entire world seemed to halt around her, just to listen to her otherworldly voice. A voice that outshone even the most beautiful of birds. A voice that carried literal worlds and realms within them, able to make someone cry and laugh at the same time. A voice that evoked pure admiration amongst any that listened yet also instilled a sense of raw jealousy at how anyone could be able to sing like that.

Maplethorn exhaled, unaware she was holding her breath until then. Her heart ached for Speckledpatch, perhaps due to the fact the she-cat had introduced her to a life away from clan drama, a life that involved peace and one that was void of bloodshed and vengeance. Yet she would perhaps never be able to see Speckledpatch again, as long as she was a warrior in MistClan.