Nightheart reluctantly limped away from Falconheart and Sedgefern with Rabbitspring at her side. I can't believe I lost again. She cursed under her breath. Why can't I beat that stupid cat!

"Nightheart," Rabbitspring mewed quietly, Nightheart looked down at the she-cat. Her pelt was stained with blood and the wound on her ear continued to bleed which made Nightheart's stomach knot. I couldn't even defeat him when I was protecting Rabbitspring. She sighed. "What happened back there? Do you have some kind of history with Falconheart that I don't know about?"

Nightheart stopped in her tracks. I can't tell Rabbitspring about the Dark Forest. I just can't. "Back when I was an apprentice we attacked SunClan camp." Nightheart explained. "He picked a fight with me before he was an apprentice, I didn't know that at the time, though. That's how he got the scar on his nose." She thought back to that day. "His father chased me off, but that wasn't the last of it. Later, when he actually was an apprentice there was another fight but he beat me then. Much in the same way." She looked at her shoulder, the blood slowly falling from her wound. "He's just so arrogant and I can't stand it, he gets under my skin."

"Well you can't be reckless." Rabbitspring mewed, staring at her paws. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you."

Nightheart looked away, feeling incredibly guilty. She's right. I'm better than this, I'm not a reckless apprentice; I'm a warrior. "I'm sorry, Rabbitspring." Together, the two she-cats found Blackstorm and Skyfeather who had been waiting at the edge of the border with herbs to treat wounded cats.

Ravensong had made it here along with Lilyclaw. The tabby she-cat had some nasty claw marks down her belly which Skyfeather was treating. "Nightheart," Blackstorm looked up from Ravensong, his blue eyes resting on her shoulder wound. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Blackstorm." Nightheart assured him. "But I should probably get this treated, and Rabbitspring needs her ear treated."

"That can wait until after the battle." Rabbitspring mewed, it's not that bad." Nightheart didn't agree but she didn't have the energy to argue. She sat down and waited for Blackstorm to treat her.

The entire time that Blackstorm chewed up marigold and used cobweb to soak up the blood and stop the bleeding he didn't speak. He seemed incredibly off, and Nightheart had a big theory as to why that might be. He doesn't like the fact that we're fighting Honeyfrost's Clan. Everytime she thought about Blackstorm and Honeyfrost it made her angry, both for the fact that he was breaking so many rules and that he had yet to actually tell her. We tell each other everything.

Then why haven't you told him about the Dark Forest? Nightheart asked herself, feeling suddenly guilty. I guess I don't have much room to complain. She looked up at Blackstorm who worked hard on treating her wound. I just wish we were as close as we used to be. What if our friendship is gone forever?

"There," Blackstorm stepped back, giving Nightheart's shoulder a sniff. "You should be good." She looked at her shoulder, it was wrapped in a thick layer of cobwebs and the smell of herbs flowed off of the dressing.

"Can I go back and fight?" She felt useless not being able to help her Clan in this fight, AshClan had such small numbers.

"Are you serious?" Blackstorm's eyes sparked with annoyance. "I just wrapped your wound, you really want to run back out there and have it torn off right away?" He let out an angered sigh and spun around. "Is fighting the only thing that warriors think about? Do whatever you want, Nightheart."

The sharp edge to his voice pained Nightheart, he really was mad at her. She flattened her ears. "Relax, Blackstorm." Skyfeather spoke up as he treated Lilyclaw. "And to answer your question, Nightheart: No you cannot go back out there. You have a bad wound, what you can do is stay here and help us. Rabbitspring, however can go back out. A wounded ear isn't going to stop hinder you."

Nightheart's stomach flipped, she did not want Rabbitspring going back out there if Nightheart wasn't able to go with her, but she stopped herself. Rabbitspring is a fully capable warrior, I have to believe that she'll come back.

As Rabbitsping turned to leave, Nightheart jumped after her. "Rabbitspring, wait!" She called, stopping the she-cat.

Rabbitspring turned around. "What is it, Nightheart?"

Nightheart lowered her voice so that the others wouldn't hear. "Just, just please come back okay?"

Rabbitspring purred. "Don't you worry, Nightheart. I will." Nightheart watched uselessly as Rabbitspring ran back into the fighting, her stomach doing flips in her stomach. Nightheart turned away, dropping her ears. I can't help but feel so useless right now.

"AshClan!" Riverstar's sudden call rang out through the trees, Nightheart's pelt stood on end. No. "Retreat!" We lost? AshClan cats came running over the hill towards the AshClan border with SunClan cats chasing after them. Nightheart notices Haresong and Foxfeather carrying something, Nightheart's chest tightened as she realized it was a body.

Who is it? Nightheart strained her eyes to see, for a moment panicking and wondering if it was Rabbitspring but the pelt wasn't even close to hers. It was a dark tabby pelt and it was at that moment that Nightheart realized who it was. Ashblaze. The world came crashing down, AshClan lost their deputy? How? Who killed him?

As Ashblaze got closer, Nightheart noticed his paws were covered in large amounts of blood, too much blood for a cat to have survived losing. Soon, Dawnstar appeared at the top of the hill with Cinderflame and Lionclaw by her side. She stood tall but her eyes were tired, she looked shaky and Nightheart noticed an alarming amount of blood at Dawnstar's throat, matting her golden brown and white fur. Did Ashblaze take one of Dawnstar's lives?

"Remember this night, Riverstar." Dawnstar spoke, her voice dry. "You didn't have to start this battle, but you did. You swarmed SunClan territory and both Clans have paid a horrible price. I hope you think about this the next time you decide to fight."

Riverstar said nothing, she didn't even look at Dawnstar. She reached the border and looked at the wounded cats. "It's time we go home, AshClan." Riverstar instructed and AshClan returned to their own territory, wounded and defeated.

By the time AshClan reached the camp it was already moonhigh, and Riverstar told the Clan she would chose the new deputy in the morning. The Clan was battered, bloody and exhausted. Nightheart's shoulder felt stiff and had a horrible ache, causing her to limp through the territory. She had found Rabbitspring quickly, the she-cat only had a few extra scratches from her short time back in the battle, the only bad wound was her ear which had since stopped bleeding.

Due to their small size, Riverstar had sent every AshClan cat into the battle with the exception of the elders and the queens. Someone is going to have tell Silvermoon about Ashblaze. Nightheart's heart twisted at the thought, she saw the way Silvermoon looked at the warrior. Her eyes lit up like he was the sun, he was her everything. Now he's gone and she has to raise their kits alone.

Nightheart sat down outside the warriors den, watching as AshClan cats flocked to the medicine cat den to have their wounds treated. She noticed Haresong walking by, the she-cat's eyes cast toward the ground. She was one of the cats carrying Ashblaze's body, I wonder if she knows.

"Hareong," Nightheart mewed, getting Haresong's attention.

"Yes, Nightheart?" Her voice was strained and exhausted.

"Do you know who killed Ashblaze?" She questioned, she had to know.

Haresong nodded slowly. "Yes, it was Falconheart." Nightheart's stomach turned to stone, her claws scraped against the stone. Of course it was him. Falconclaw and Thornstar have groomed him into a murderer!

"I didn't see the whole situation, but Ashblaze had taken one of Dawnstar's lives and Falconheart ran to her defense." Haresong explained, then walked away to check on her kits. Nightheart's anger to confusion. Falconheart killed Ashblaze but...Ashblaze took one of Dawnstar's lives, Falconheart's mother. She didn't know how to feel, Falconheart was defending his mother's life but he also took Ashblaze's.

Nightheart had to force herself to stop thinking about the whole situation, she was tired and in pain. She wanted to see how well her Clan was doing. Dustfall and Stormheart were leaving with treated wounds, Stormheart had a dressing over his eye, but otherwise seemed find.

Nightheart closed her eyes, she had been more than willing to fight with her Clan against SunClan and their accusations against AshClan, but now she found herself questioning everything. SunClan had made the same accusations that AshClan did, so how was AshClan right and SunClan was wrong?

Nightheart turned away from the Clan and entered the warrior's den, she wanted to close her eyes and pray that this was all just a horrible dream, she wanted nothing more than go back in time and stop Riverstar from leading AshClan into a fatal battle.