"Come on, Ravenpaw, we'll be late!" Mossrain leaped over large roots and skirted bramble bushes with a hop in his step, seemingly much happier than earlier. After Silverstrike came into the den and grumbled about most of the senior warriors arguing against a battle, Mossrain had seemed to be in a better place of mind. It was easy to see the battle had worried Mossrain, but now he was more confident it would be avoided, and had once again become his happy-go-lucky self. He would probably be babbling a storm if he didn't have a squirrel filling most of his muzzle, a gift for Sandflight.

Ravenpaw tried to adjust the grip he had on the sparrow stuffed in his jaws, for a feather had been rubbing against the top of his mouth. He followed Mossrain's pawsteps with a little hesitation, searching the darkening shadows for any eyes that might be watching them. He had become more fearful of the dark forest since Blossompaw's attack, even though it had happened during the day. Being out here without a warrior to protect him... His fur bristled at a rustling in the undergrowth, and he rushed to his mentor's side, flanks heaving.

"Easy, Ravenpaw, we're alone out here." Mossrain pressed against his side comfortingly.

Exactly, Ravenpaw wanted to point out, but he kept quiet. Instead, he continued to scan the shadowy forest, watching as the leaves slowly fluttered down to the forest floor, the trees almost empty now that leaf-bare was practically here. Mossrain believed it would start snowing anytime in the next few days. They had been stocking up herbs the best they could, but were still low on a few. Mossrain said as long as they had catmint, they would be fine. But Ravenpaw was worrying of a bad case of greencough. Ravenpaw hadn't been alive then, but apparently a bad bunch of the illness swept through the Clan and killed an elder, a warrior, and took one of Acornstar's lives. Mossrain had been a brand new apprentice, and said almost every cat in the Clan came down with it, and they were extremely lucky not to lose any more cats than the two. He didn't seem that bothered by Acornstar loosing a life, and had explained that it was only the third the she-cat had lost in her leadership. She still had six left.

Six left. She had six lives to loose, while her warriors only one. But yet she spent her time hiding in her cave? Mossrain said that's how she got it, because she never exercised or ate she was weak and an open vessel for illness to take her. She had been given this amazing chance by StarClan to protect her Clan, but instead her daughter, with only one life to lose, was to lead her Clan for countless moons as a deputy.

Acornstar should step down. Fear flooded Ravenpaw as the dishonorable thought came to him. His pawsteps faltered. StarClan, I'm so sorry! He turned his head to the dark starry sky, and eyed the half-moon staring threateningly down at him. I didn't mean it! I know I must have faith in my leader. He had to follow the medicine cat code, and the warrior code, even if he wasn't a warrior. And both demanded he stay loyal to his leader, and that he must help them and guide them with the best of his ability. And that meant sticking by Acornstar when she was sick in the head.

Now terror coursed through is veins at the thought he would visit the Moonstream and StarClan would not answer his call, all because of his momentary thought of betrayal. His legs suddenly didn't work, and he faltered to a stop, dropping the sparrow into the fallen leaves. Mossrain either heard him stop or sensed his distress, for he slowed and turned to look back. He turned around and headed back for his apprentice, dropping the squirrel next to the sparrow.

"What's wrong? We mustn't be too late or Sandflight might leave without us." Mossrain's tail flicked to show his hurry to get going, but patience also shined in his eyes.

"What's going to happen with Acornstar?" Ravenpaw murmured, looking at his small, dark paws.

Surprise waved from Mossrain for a moment, before he covered it up with a shake of his fur, his head rising. Ravenpaw slowly angled his head up to look at his mentor. He didn't look angry, just thoughtful and worried.

"I don't know," he said simply after a few moments. "Why do you ask?"

"I-I think some of the Clan wants Acornstar to step down to Eagleclaw." His ears burned with shame, and he desperately wanted to lick down his chest fur, but he was frozen under Mossrain's unreadable gaze.

"Do you think this way?" Mossrain asked finally, tilting his head slightly.

Ravenpaw dropped his head and nodded slowly. "Will StarClan punish me for thinking that? I don't want them upset with me!" he added hurriedly, gazing up at his mentor with fear in his wide yellow eyes. "But Acornstar wants Snowfern out of the Clan, and I can't lose my mother! And she seems so angry all the time, and she's fighting with Goldenpool and you and Eagleclaw--" He broke off, breathing heavy.

"Ravenpaw, calm," Mossrain murmured, circling around his apprentice and pressing against his side. "Everything will be okay. StarClan will tell us if anything is wrong tonight at the Moonstream. Let's not be late, shall we?" He touched Ravenpaw's ear with his nose then padded forward, picking up his squirrel and looking back at his apprentice.

Shivering, Ravenpaw picked up the sparrow awkwardly in his small teeth and headed unsteadily after his mentor. Mossrain swept his tail over Ravenpaw's shoulders and left it there as they traveled, with the gray tom just a little ahead of his black-furred apprentice. Ravenpaw tried to remember the way they had went the first time to the Moonstream, but the path they had taken to first the border with BatClan then to the Star Cave was blurred with sudden memories.

He had been to the Star Cave twice in his short life; once during the honorary half-moon trip with the other medicine cats, and once to get rid of his powers to see briefly into the future, but he had failed on that mission and instead learned two things from Echo, the first leader of his Clan--to listen to his heart, despite what StarClan might say, and the be ready for an enemy that was coming.

But that's happened, right? The Twolegs had come and gone, so that part was finished. But he had yet to listen to his heart. Or did it mean with Blossompaw? His heart was saying to continue trying to help her, while his mind told him to forget it. But could there be something bigger in the future for him? Echo said many in StarClan didn't want him to listen to his heart heart, but she convinced him he must no matter what anybody said.

Worry flooded every bone in his body, and he was incredibly grateful when he saw the forest end and turn to Thunderpath, but then confusion washed over him again when he noticed not Sandflight waiting for him, but two small, skinny warriors. One was a brown tom with a large, ugly fleshy scar that covered one side of his face, taking one ear and leaving a few uneven scraps behind, barely missing his brown gaze.

The other cat was a slightly darker brown with tabby stripes and a white chest and front paws. His eyes were lighter than the other cat's. His fur had more of a grayish, ashy overtone, though mud had begun to stain his paws like his Clanmate's. Ravenpaw wondered if they were related, but their body shapes were rather different, and the one with the ashy covering on his coat almost seemed... newer. Newer to the territory.

"I've been planning on trying to get closer to him, but now he seems so withdrawn, after losing so many cats close to him. He was so strong, head-strong and rude, but strong. He could be a great warrior if he got past this, but after Ember--" the brown tabby suddenly broke off when he noticed the medicine cats approaching through the darkness.

The injured tom followed his gaze, and sighed in relief. "Finally!" he grumbled, getting to his paws and shaking out his fur. "We've been waiting for moons!"

"Calm down, Brownear," the tabby meowed, then looked at the medicine cats and dipped his head. "I'm Hawktail. You're Mossrain and Ravenpaw, correct?" He looked at both of them with wide, curious eyes. Ravenpaw was once again surprised by meeting these enemy warriors. BatClan was so different than he thought they would be. They were nice, especially when SageClan was brought into the mix. He still remembered their interruption at the Moonstream, and how rude the leader of the patrol was. The other two had stuck up for him, but after they had made fun of his Clanmates.

Sudden worry spiked his heart for when they would meet with Poppysong. Would their relationship with the SageClan medicine cat suffer because of the tension between their Clans?

"Where's Sandflight? She's okay, right?" Mossrain asked quickly, dropping the squirrel. The older tom with one missing ear tracked it with his eyes, though he swiftly took up a guarded expression to hide his obviously-hungry thoughts.

"She's fine." A new cat approached. She was bushy furred black she-cat, with kind green eyes that glowed in the darkness. It was hard to see if she was as thin as her starving Clanmates because of her thick fur that blended well into the darkness around her, but her legs were thin and it looked like skin pulled tightly over bones. She looked at her Clanmates and meowed, "no luck hunting. Everything's hiding from the cold."

"Quiet!" the one called Brownear hissed under his breath, turning to look accusingly at the two medicine cats.

"Don't hiss at me," the she-cat warned him curtly, then dipped her head to the EchoClan cats. "Please excuse my mate, he's a little grouchy. As I said, Sandflight is safe, but we have two new kits in our Clan and one--only four days old--is very weak. She needs constant attention. Sandflight is scared to leave her side." Her nose suddenly twitched, and her eyes narrowed on the prey. "Medicine cats normally don't hunt. Did it run under your paws?" There was a spark of amusement in her words, but also a little longing.

"Probably just showing off," Brownear answered with a growl. "EchoClan likes to show they have more than others."

"Actually, they are presents for Sandflight." Mossrain picked up the squirrel and set it on the Thunderpath, out of the grass. He flicked his tail, and Ravenpaw lay his sparrow beside it. "There's an herb that grows in your territory and only in your territory. Sandflight usually brings it with her, and in exchange I give her some prey."

Ravenpaw was filled with shock. Another lie! Last time they went to the Moonstream, Mossrain had lied to his own Clanmates about Sandflight giving him herbs in exchange for prey, but that had never happened. Now Mossrain was lying again--he could think of no herb that grew in BatClan's marsh and not the forest. Or was there one he didn't know about? Was Mossrain actually telling the truth?

"Sandflight never said where she got the prey every half-moon night," the she-cat murmured, her tail flicking softly. "I guess this makes the most sense."

Brownear hissed angrily, but Hawktail turned to look at him with a wise expression. "That prey probably keeps some of your Clanmates alive, Brownear, so be nice."

"Here, take it." Mossrain nosed both the pieces forward. "I can get the herbs from Sandflight another time."

"We don't take charity!" Brownear growled, fur bristling along his spine.

Ravenpaw glanced at the sky. Would they be late to the Moonstream? The moon almost looked ready to shine beautifully into the Star Cave. The other two medicine cats would be waiting for them.

"It's not charity," Mossrain responded calmly. "It's a fair trade."

"But we have nothing to trade it for. Why not wait until you actually get the herbs to give the prey?" The she-cat tilted her head curiously.

"Because we are already late to the Moonstream," Mossrain answered smoothly. "And we don't want this prey going to waste. We both have already eaten." Mossrain flicked his tail over Ravenpaw's ears. When the cats looked at him briefly, fear shot up his spine until their eyes turned away.

"Then we will expect you tomorrow at camp." The she-cat dipped her head and crossed the Old Thunderpath, gripping the sparrow in her jaws and pulling the squirrel with her by its tail. The tom, Hawktail, grabbed it from the edge of the path and lifted it into his jaws.

"I shall be there at sunhigh," Mossrain promised with a dip of his head, then he flicked his tail and led Ravenpaw along the side of the path, towards SageClan territory. He turned his head back a few times until the BatClan cats faded from sight, then he let out a relieved sigh, but continued walking along.

"Do we actually trade prey for herbs?" Ravenpaw asked quietly, looking towards the other territory in fear they were still being watched, but it was completely silent--eerily silent.

"No, but they don't need to know that. BatClan warriors, they..." Mossrain took a moment to think of what he wanted to say. "They are very proud. As they said, they don't take charity. They don't want to seem weak in front of the other Clans."

"What about the agreement between Dawnstar and Acornstar?" Ravenpaw asked. He recalled last Moonstream meeting, where Mossrain and Sandflight had talked about something between the two leaders that Dawnstar would not--or could not--agree to.

Mossrain sighed, his tail tip twitching absent-mindedly. "You've seen Acornstar recently, Ravenpaw, do you really think she's made a deal with BatClan? Acornstar is too protective of her territory to give any part of it away, even temporarily."

"So you think the leaders... lied?" Ravenpaw murmured, watching his paws as they padded toward the end of the forest.

"I think Acornstar lied. Eagleclaw brought Goldenpool and me into Acornstar's den and asked her mother about helping BatClan. Acornstar said she had offered some hunting rights to Dawnstar in exchange for something, but the BatClan leader had disagreed. I think when Dawnstar found out, she said it was true because she didn't want to cause trouble with an unstable, powerful leader."

Unstable. Mossrain had called his leader unstable.

"Do you think StarClan is angry with us?" Ravenpaw whispered, faltering to a stop.

"What? Why would they be?" Mossrain stopped and turned to look at him, eyes glazed over with worry. Shadows reflected from their hazel depths.

"Because we're disrespecting Acornstar, our leader," Ravenpaw explained. "I know she's wrong about her current thoughts and actions, but doesn't that make me disloyal? And as Clan cats, don't we have to listen to our leader, even if they're wrong? "

"As medicine cats, we have slightly different standings," Mossrain began slowly, obviously picking his words very carefully. "Yes, we should still always listen to our leader, but our leader also has to listen to us. It'll all work out in the end, Ravenpaw, I promise. Perhaps StarClan will give us some guidance tonight. But we have to get there in time first." He rested his tail briefly on Ravenpaw's shoulder, then with a nod the two hurried back on their path.

The moon was high in the sky when they finally neared the Star Cave, with no cats to be seen. Ravenpaw and Mossrain both had their fur bushed up, protecting them from the cold wind. With the current of air rushing towards them from the direction of the Moonstream, Ravenpaw faintly recognized the scent of the other two medicine cats. Worry spiked through him that Poppysong and Hawkstream had started without them, but when they peaked through the entrance they found the two cats sitting to the side of the Star Cave, talking quietly about herbs.

"Finally!" Poppysong gasped. "We thought you weren't going to show!" The tan-brown tabby she-cat touched Mossrain's nose with hers, but Ravenpaw, before she could touch his, faked a sneeze. Luckily, it stopped the she-cat from moving forward again.

"I hope that's not the beginning of a sickness," Hawkstream meowed, getting slowly to her paws and stepping forward. Ravenpaw noticed the ginger she-cat looked even older than the last time he had seen her. Her muzzle was beginning to gray, and her eartips were paling. Her eyes, as well, looked a little duller.

"No, I think I got something in my nose." Ravenpaw felt awful about lying, but he knew it was best if his ability to see the future was kept secret, even from other medicine cats. He been getting good at not using it, but it still hurt to know he would never be able to touch another cat's nose without getting a terrifying vision.

Hawkstream nodded in belief, then asked, "where's Sandflight?"

"She stayed at her camp," Mossrain explained. "She has newborn kits, apparently, and must watch them because one is sick."

"Poor scrap," Poppysong sighed. "I hope it survives. Do you think Sandflight needs any herbs to help her?"

"If she does, she'll ask." Hawkstream fluffed out her coat. "She's proud, but not so proud she'll let a cat die, especially a kit. If she needs herbs, she'll ask someone for help."

Mossrain and Poppysong both nodded in agreement. "It is already late, shall we share with our ancestors?" Mossrain meowed, then padded to the side of the Moonstream, crouching down next to the smooth-moving water. Ravenpaw pressed against his side briefly to take some warmth for himself.

Poppysong and Hawkstream settled on Mossrain's other side quietly, twitching their whiskers. "StarClan, show us your guidance," Hawkstream whispered.

Everything soon faded away into silence, and Ravenpaw fell into a peaceful sleep.

When he opened his eyes, he was in the familiar StarClan clearing, empty of life except for a chirping bird.

"Ravenpaw."

He turned at the sound of the smooth voice, happiness filling him when he saw Berrywhisker standing there. Purring, he flicked his tail his greeting. "How are you?" he asked her, with a pang of longing. He never knew he cared for her this much until he saw her in StarClan--it was almost like he only started caring about her truly and completely once she was gone. He never realized the impact the elder had on his life.

"I'm good. I have someone who wants to meet you." She turned her head to the undergrowth behind her, and a strange she-cat came out. Muscles rippled under her red-ginger coat, while her white paws and muzzle gleamed, coated in stars. Her green eyes glowed with gratitude. She dipped her head.

"I am Violetfrost," she said softly. "I come from a distant home, one full of chaos and destruction, where I broke the rules and took a mate, despite my Clan's law." Surprise ran through Ravenpaw, but he forced himself to stay quiet. "My mate and I left, following the word from a group of cats we had captured. They spoke of Clans that respected their own and had compassion for those who needed it. But on our journey, I realized I was expecting kits. My mate, Rainshadow, found a den where I could rest while he went home to find a cat that could help, despite the many dangers he faced by doing so.

"But he did not return soon enough, and I gave birth to three kits. Soon, though, one died. I was just returning from hunting for the other two when I was attacked by a fox in my den. I accepted that I had no way to live, but right before death took me, two toms came and tried to save me. I died, but they took my kits with them. They could not care for them, but instead gave them to someone who could. Your Clan." She looked down at her paws, where a small ginger tomkit with glowing green eyes appeared. "This is Tumble," she whispered.

Ravenpaw felt his heart sink as he stared at the tiny cat that died in the EchoClan nursery. "I'm sorry we couldn't save him," Ravenpaw said quietly.

"My daughter is still alive, so apart of me is, too," Violetfrost replied. "Her name is Maple, and she will be a great warrior for EchoClan one day, I promise."

Ravenpaw looked down at his paws, silent.

"My mate returned to our den yesterday," Violetfrost continued quietly. "He does not know that one kit still lives. He must be told, and he must be accepted into your Clan as one of your own." Ravenpaw looked up, and saw her eyes were suddenly hard and unreadable, and her voice turned deep and serious. "The rain will explain the flames and save the Clans from the approaching darkness."

Suddenly, Ravenpaw's eyes were taken over, and he was seeing himself walking along the Old Thunderpath, and into unclaimed territory. He skirted trees and bushes and followed invisible trails until he reached the entrance of a large cave, where blue eyes shined from the darkness.

Sorry for slow updates, and no questions at the end of chapters, even though the plot is really moving. I am SSSSSSOOOOOOO excited for the far future of this story, where I have a lot of it planned out except for one thing: the POV. But I don't want to spoil it even though I really need opinions, so I'll probably go somewhere else on the internet and find out what I should do. Anyways, I really hope you're enjoying the story.

Question #1: What do you think Ravenpaw should do with this new information of a new Clan? Should he keep it hidden, or reveal it to his mentor and Clan?

Question #2: Is the prophecy okay? It was made to be simple, because Ravenpaw is young and Violetfrost wants him to understand (mostly)

Question #3: Speaking of the prophecy, what do you think Violetfrost meant by it? The rain will explain the flames and save the Clans from the approaching darkness.

Also, I forgot to mention, I have an important announcement!!!!!! Even though I'm only two books in, I two VERY important Special Editions coming out eventually, which I'm extremely excited about. The first will explain more of the new Clan, and will feature both Violetfrost and Rainshadow when they were still in their old Clan. Here is the description for Leafkit's Agony:

While living in EchoClan, CrowClan, SageClan, and even BatClan is harmony, living in the fifth Clan is not. A moon's time travel from the territories reveals a new group of cats, NightClan, ferocious warriors that are nothing like their other Clan counterparts. inside this evil Clan, young Leafkit emerges into a terrifying life.

By the way, it is called Leafkit's Agony because I don't want any spoilers for her warrior name, which she'll obviously live to or it would be a pretty boring story. Or, will SHE????????

Anywaysssssssss, the second one I'm also very excited for, and perhaps you guys will be more or less excited by this one than the last one, Acornstar's Misery:

Clouded Skies hints and searches some of Acornstar's past, but now it's time to go back and watch her life unfold, and see where she went wrong.

Let me know if you're excited for them, and which one you want me to focus more on! Or, do you want me to pay more attention to this story? The Special Editions are more for when I have writer's block for this story but not for Warriors in general, but I can always just force myself on this one in my free time.