As the morning sun rose to the centre of the sky, Marmotwhisper lead his patrol back into the camp, a squirrel hanging from his jaws.

"I'm surprised you were nimble enough to catch that," Emeraldsplash purred.

Marmotwhisper twitches his whiskers politely. "Did you see how slow it was? Even a blind kit could catch it," he mewed around the squirrel.

Lupinfrost caught up to the two toms, hauling a pair of mice by their tails. "Perhaps, or maybe you're just an exceptionally great hunter," he winked kindly.

The thought of him being called an 'exceptionally great' hunter didn't seem right. Euphoriaflame had trained him good, yes, but there were a lot of days where she couldn't because of her new purist duties at the time.

"Hootyew wants me on a border patrol with him, Marigoldwish and Ospreythorn. You can train with Almondpaw and Gullpaw today," the red she-cat instructed her apprentice.

Marmotpaw frowned, disappointed. "But we haven't trained together in two days!" He complained. "Mistystone or Magnoliaspring or one of the council members always seems to need you for something,"

Euphoriaflame's whiskers twitched, and he could sense that she felt bad for her apprentice. "Well, I am a purist now," she reminded him. "And a trusted one at that. If the Seraphim, her Crowned Princess, and her council need us for anything, a good cat obeys, no matter what,"

No matter what... The words Euphoriaflame had spoken so many moons ago rung in his ears.

Cinderswan padded up beside her mate, guiding him to the fresh-kill pile. "Lupinfrost has a point," she told Marmotwhisper. "That squirrel is quite impressive. I bet Euphoriaflame would like it," she purred.

Marmotwhisper tilted his head, confused. "Euphoriaflame?"

"Oh, that's right! You mustn't have heard!" She purred, flicking her tail to where the red she-cat and her mate, the young and strong council member Stagflower, were sharing tongues. "Euphoriaflame moved into the nursery this morning. She's expecting,"

Hope flashed through Marmotwhisper's body. He and many other cats had known how it had been one of Euphoriaflame's dreams to raise a little family of her own. Now that those dreams were coming true, he couldn't help but purr.

"I should bring this to her," he thought a loud, beginning to drag the squirrel in her direction.

"Don't you worry about that," Cinderswan lightly chided. "Let Stagflower do that! I'm sure he wants the chance to take care of his mate, just like you did with me," she grabbed a vole for the two of them. "Brooksplash wanted to eat with us today. Come on,"

Marmotwhisper followed his mate, curious as to why his son was so eager to talk to them. He usually spent time with Pricklestone and Coastmoon, or with cats around his age that had a higher rank.

He caught up with Cinderswan as she settled down beside her son. Brooksplash's grey and white pelt was neatly groomed, and his green eyes were bright. He seemed to be exceptionally happy today. "Hold on," he told his parents. "Morningsky's coming to join us,"

Morningsky?

Morningsky was Magnoliaspring's daughter; the heir to the Seraphim, with the title of Crowned Princess. Marmotwhisper thought he had seen Brooksplash talk to her a few times. What did she want with them?

At last, the Crowned Princess approached them. Her yellow eyes shone brightly like the moon, and her long, silky lilac fur made her easily stand out compared to her mother.

"Greetings, Marmotwhisper and Cinderswan," she smiled kindly. She sat down on Brooksplash's other side. "Brooksplash," she mewed, and Marmotwhisper noticed a gleam in his son's eyes.

"Greetings, fair Princess," he told Morningsky.

"You don't have to be so formal," the Crowned Princess explained. "We're only eating prey. I don't mind if you two want to talk in a regular tone," her whiskers twitched as she leaned closer. "Although we must be careful if mother or one of the council members approach. They don't like it when I act so casual,"

Marmotwhisper was pleasantly surprised. He knew that Morningsky wasn't that much older than him, and that she had always had a little more patience for the lower class. She'd make a fine Seraphim. If something like that is even possible, he mused to himself.

"How have your kits been doing?" Morningsky asked. "I know I've been spending time with your son as of late, but I am curious as to how the others are coping.

Cinderswan went first. "Pricklestone is becoming a fine fighter," she told her. "Although he can seem a bit hot-headed at times, he's able to keep his temper in control,"

Morningsky nodded. "Interesting. A cat with a temper is not necessarily a bad thing. If he can control it, he can channel it to use it against our enemies in the thick of battle," she turned to meet Marmotwhisper's gaze. "How about your daughters?"

"Coastmoon is doing well too," he was happy to report. "And Icicleshard has recently become mates with Chesnutdapple. She's been much happier,"

Brooksplash eased. "I was worried about her," he confessed. "She didn't seem to well after her break-up with Emeraldsplash,"

"She has gotten better, compared to how she reacted when Sunnypaw died," Cinderswan pointed out. "I thought she'd never leave his nest,"

Marmotwhisper recalled the day a pair of foxes had broken into camp in the night a few moons ago. Sunnypaw had fought his hardest, with Iciclepaw by his side, but one of the foxes overwhelmed him, and he had been killed.

And if it weren't for Sunflowersky sacrificing her life, Iciclepaw would've been killed too, Marmotwhisper thought grimly.

"I hope they stay together long enough to settle down," Morningsky admitted. "I bet Euphoriaflame would appreciate it a lot of her kits had friends to play with,"

Marmotwhisper began to feel queasy. "Well, it should be her choice. After all, she is still very young. So is Chesnutdapple. They deserve time to see if they belong with each other or not,"

Brooksplash scrunched up his nose. "Well, Magnoliaspring has been mentioning the need for new hunter kits again," he informed his father. "I wouldn't want to force it on Icicleshard either, but maybe it might be the right thing,"

"What do you mean?" Marmotwhisper asked, his voice getting an edge to it.

"Well," Brooksplash trailed off, a little uneasy. He glanced at Morningsky before continuing, his voice hushed to a whisper. "She's been sleeping with quite a few toms as of late, especially Chesnutdapple. That's why her and Emeraldsplash broke up. Magnoliaspring doesn't know about it yet, but it's only inevitable until she-,"

"You can't force a cat to have kits!" He snapped, frustrated with his son. "Icicleshard was wrong to do that, yes, but losing Emeraldsplash should be the only punishment she recieves, not being forced to have kits before she's ready!"

Brooksplash's eyes were uncertain, and he kept glancing at Morningsky. The Crowned Princess had a worried expression on her face. "If that was the case-," he went on, seemingly desperate. "Then I wouldn't be here now. You would've never had that family you always wanted, and you would've never had to put the litter in danger!"

A hush fell over the group, and Marmotwhisper stared at his son, furious. He couldn't bring himself to retaliate, and growled deeply at him. "You better learn to watch that mouth of yours," he hissed, shaking in anger and hurt.

Then, he turned to Morningsky. "I apologize for my anger," he told her grittily as he promptly strided out of camp.

As he left the entrance, the large tomcat heard another set of paw steps following him. "Wait up!" A silver cat ran up to him.

"Leave me alone, Pumasnarl," Marmotwhisper grumbled.

The large tabby looked down at Marmotwhisper with authority. "I understand you're upset," he told him. "But I'm worried. You've never gotten that mad at any of your kits before. Is something wrong?"

Marmotwhisper knew he couldn't reveal too much information to Pumasnarl. Even though he was a fellow hunter, he was Magnoliaspring's mate, and had broke up with Cinderswan to be with her. He didn't like him one bit.

"I just got a little worked up, that's all," he explained. "Look, I'd rather not talk about this with you," his tail flicked frustratedly. "Don't you have a Seraphim to report me too?"

Pumasnarl sighed. "I'm not going to do that. You did apologize to Morningsky, so technically, I have no reason to report you," he shifted his paws awkwardly. "Actually, I wanted to take a walk with you, to talk about a few things,"

Marmotwhisper was suspicious. But he sighed. "Fine. Lead the way,"

The two toms walked in silence for a while. But then Pumasnarl spoke up. "I wanted to thank you, actually,"

Marmotwhisper's eyes widened. "Thank me?" He echoed. "For what?"

"For looking after Cinderswan, and making her happy," he explained, his eyes gleaming. "It gives me relief to see that she was able to settle down with someone who was better for her. You were able to give her the family I couldn't."

Marmotwhisper was thoughtful. The prospect that Pumasnarl was thanking him was quite momentous. "I'm just doing what I can," was all he said.

Pumasnarl nodded. "Well, that doesn't mean I can't appreciate it," he stopped, sitting down. "There's something else I'd like to mention," he waved his tail to a spot where Marmotwhisper could sit.

Once he had, Pumasnarl took in a breath. "This isn't really my place to tell you this, but I think it needs to be said; if you didn't get into that argument with Brooksplash, he would've gotten the chance to tell you that he and Morningsky just became mates,"

Marmotwhisper was paying full attention now. "They are?!" He exclaimed, shocked.

Pumasnarl gulped, looking visibly worried. "Yes, they are. Haven't you noticed how close they've gotten?"

The grey and brown tabby thought for a moment. They had been spending a lot of time together recently. But he felt conflicted. He didn't like Magnoliaspring, and the idea of her daughter and his son courting made him sick. But he knew better. Morningsky seemed like a kind cat, and substantially better than her mother. He shouldn't judge her and his son's choices because of the Seraphim.

"I've seen them talk a few times," he admitted. "But I had no idea they were mates,"

Pumasnarl relaxed. "It's alright," he mewed. "They didn't want to be too obvious about it until now. Kind like how me and Magnoliaspring were,"

His eyes glistened. "Brooksplash is lucky, Marmotwhisper. He is fortunate to have a mate who cares deeply about him. She is like her mother, in the sense that she'd do anything to keep him safe," Pumasnarl went on, happy.

But Marmotwhisper felt frozen.

She is like her mother, in the sense that she'd do anything to keep him safe...

He felt sick. Surely he realized what he had said, that Magnoliaspring would do anything to keep him safe?

Snowsspirit hurried out of the medicine den, yowling frantically. "Mistystone! Mistystone!"

Marmotpaw was awakened by the healer's calls, feeling groggy. "What is he on about?" Almondpaw mumbled beside him.

The two apprentices stepped out of the den to see purists and hunters alike coming outside to see what the commotion was all about.

Mistystone hurried out of the den, with Magnoliaspring following much slower. The large Seraphim stopped in front of the healer, keeping her body as still as possible. "What happened, Snowspirit?"

"Did something happen to Pumasnarl?" Magnoliaspring asked from behind her mother.

"No no, Pumasnarl's still alive," he fretted, shaking a little.

"It's Daypaw! She was attacked in the night!"

Marmotpaw felt heavy. His eyes shimmered fearfully. "What?" He whispered, afraid. "Who attacked her?"

Snowspirit didn't hear the apprentice. He stared desperately at Mistystone. "Whoever it is, we must find the culprit immediately! I'm low on herbs. If this cat keeps making attacks, I'm going to have to decide which patients live or die,"

Mistystone nodded, concerned. "We'll do what we can, Snowspirit," she reassured the healer, turning around to face the exhausted and confused Imperials. "If any cat hears or sees any suspicious behaviour regarding this incident, report it to me immediately," her voice boomed across camp.

Marmotpaw couldn't help but stare at Magnoliaspring. She had stood solemnly at her mother's side, her green eyes hateful. She had looked at Snowspirit with venom in her gaze. She didn't seem too concerned about Daypaw. About his sister.

A realization hit Marmotwhisper hard. "I have to go," he told Pumasnarl. And without hesitation, he ran, anger clawing at his belly.

He had been right all along. Magnoliaspring had tried to kill Daypaw. He wasn't going to let her get away with this.

And with the right allies, justice will be served, he vowed to himself.

***