Jaypaw sniffed curiously at a small patch of dock, once again testing Ravenpaw's seemingly never ending patience. The smaller tom stopped, black coat bushed against the chilly air wisping through the trees, almost completely cleared of leaves in late leaf-fall.

"Aren't these herbs?" the white and gray tom asked his brother.

"Its dock, used for soothing scratches," Ravenpaw answered, wanting to get going but not able to be rude to his brother. It was barely past sunhigh, but Ravenpaw didn't know how long it would take to get to Rainshadow, question him, and bring him back. What if he doesn't even want to come back? a part of his mind questioned, but he managed to shake it away. If he truly cared about his family, the moment he learned Maple was alive he would come to the Clan. Ravenpaw main task was likely going to be convincing him to stay there.

"Should we take it? We're out here to collect herbs, aren't we?" Jaypaw looked at his brother, and likely noticed the guilty look in Ravenpaw's gaze. The black medicine cat silently cursed his open nature. Jaypaw raised himself up, eyes wide in disbelief. "You lied? I didn't think you had it in you!"

It happens more than you think, Ravenpaw thought, but kept the words inside his head. "I'm not proud of it, but yes, I had to lie." His heart dropped just thinking about it. Yes, he kept the truth about his power, but he had lied straight out to his own sister. Without trust, where would the Clan be? Would she get mad when she found out he lied? Fear crawled over his spine.

"Does Mossrain know the truth?"

Ravenpaw looked at his paws. "Mossrain doesn't even know I came out here. Hopefully, he won't find out until we're back, but it's likely he'll ask Willowpaw, so he'll think we're getting herbs, too." Shame mixed with fear.

Jaypaw purred, shifting excitedly on his paws. Ravenpaw looked at him in surprise. 

"What?" Jaypaw meowed, unable to hide his happiness. "You're finally breaking out of your shell! It's like the old Ravenpaw!" He jumped forward, tail flicking. "So what are we really doing?"

Like the old Ravenpaw? Had he really changed that much since he was a kit? He filed the question away for a different time. Now came the hard part. How much should he tell Jaypaw? "I had a vision from StarClan," he began slowly, thinking carefully about his words.

Pride flooded Jaypaw's eyes. "That's amazing! What did they say?" He edged even closer, barely able to stay still, jumping from one paw to the other, tail waving.

"They told me about Maple's father, Rain, and where he was..." Keeping the second part of the name a secret stung his tongue like a lie. "They want him in the Clan, to raise her as a Clan cat."

Jaypaw twirled in a circle. "That's so cool!" he gasped as he stopped, eyes bright. "I can't believe they told you and not Mossrain! And now we're going to get him, right? How far is he? Will we be going on a long adventure? Hiding out in the forest at night, traveling so far we can't even see the mountains?" His gaze raised to the tall mountains that surrounded their home.

Ravenpaw couldn't help but purr. "Yes, we're going to get him, but he's right outside the territory. We'll be back before dark, hopefully." A brief flare of disappointment echoed in Jaypaw's eyes. Ravenpaw scoffed and shoved his shoulder playfully with his forehead. "Brighten up! You'll still have quite a story to tell the other apprentices! Now come on, we're losing daylight."

Breaking out of his brief sadness, Jaypaw purred and hurried to catch up to him.

They traveled quickly but quietly through the forest, with Jaypaw leading his brother on the best paths, away from the common hunting places in case they were to run into Maskdapple's patrol. Despite how much Ravenpaw would like to see his mother, who was on the patrol, he knew it might cause problems if they were caught. But they went unseen, slipping past bracken and ferns and stepping over tree roots and vines until they reached where the mountains stood in their way, an impossible barrier. They followed the steep rocky cliff side until the undergrowth broke and they found themselves alongside the Old Thunderpath.

Instead of walking along it, they padded on the small stretch of soft land, with it eventually getting so close they walked with Ravenpaw in front and Jaypaw right behind on his tail. Soon enough, it opened up again and the brothers could walk side by side, their fur brushing. It was their first time so far from home, with unfamiliar smells coming to their scent glands. Despite his earlier excitement, Jaypaw now seemed slightly scared, while Ravenpaw was terrified.

His fur was standing straight up, and his body was low to draw less attention to himself. Jaypaw followed his example, but he followed his brother's lead when the black tom straightened up, straining his eyes.

"I think that's it. Come on." With a flash of bravery, Ravenpaw led his brother onto the Thunderpath. It felt hard under his paws, the rough surface scratching the soft skin. He felt open and exposed, no longer protected by even the slightest bit of undergrowth. It had been different along the grass, because it was long and soft. Now, he felt open, with no rocky wall to one side. Breathing deep, he hurried across the path and dove into the bushes on the other side, relishing in their comfort.

Jaypaw scrambled in after him. "I didn't think it would be this scary," Jaypaw admitted quietly. "What if a dog attacks us?" he said suddenly, fear waving from him. "Or a badger, or a fox?"

"Don't worry, Jaypaw," Ravenpaw whispered, licking his brother's ear. "We're okay. There aren't any dogs out here, and we would smell any animal near us. If something came for us, we could also just climb a tree, right?" He flexed his claws as an example of their ability to hook into the bark of the trunk, hiding his own terror. Those same thoughts had been plaguing him, but he knew he needed to keep his brother calm. It also seemed to help him as well.

After his brother nodded and calmed his breathing, Ravenpaw led them off into the nearby forest, hoping they could follow their scent trail back. His paws almost instinctively knew what path to follow, despite there actually not being a clear way. Though he did see a paw print in some soft dirt, and sniffed it closely. It almost smelled of... BatClan? Were those the cats who had saved Violetfrost's kits? Had two BatClan warriors given the kits to EchoClan for them to raise? 

Pushing the thoughts out of his head, he continued past the print, following the invisible trail engraved in his memory. He passed bush after bush, brushing against ferns and avoiding prickly bramble thorns. Jaypaw followed him silently, setting his paws down soft and careful, ears flicking around to focus on every sound they heard.

Then they pushed into the open, and stared at the cave in front of them. It had seemed small in his dream, but now it seemed to gape open like monstrous jaws. He slowed his approach, and felt a little better as he got closer. It was actually quite small, bigger than the entrance to the medicine cat's den but more than half the size of the leader's den in camp. He swallowed, taking in a deep breath. Many different scents came to him. Mainly blood, death, and cat surrounded his nose. There was a heavy trail of blood leading to a fresh mound of soil, where Ravenpaw instinctively knew Violetfrost's body lay, slowly decomposing. The death scent came from the upturned earth as well, further proving his theory. He followed the dried blood until it disappeared inside the den, where two hard and cold blue eyes glared from the darkness.

"Who are you?" a voice growled from the darkness. "Get away from here!"

Jaypaw slowly backed up, swallowing in fear. But, somehow, Ravenpaw, scared of everything, held his ground.

"A-are you... Rain?" He hoped even the first part of the name would convince the tom the apprentices were friendly.

It seemed he was correct. The eyes blinked, filling with confusion, and then the tom stepped out. As big as Boulderclaw, the tom stood at a massive height and great build, but he was thin and his gray tabby fur was messy, while the unders of his body, looking like they would usually be white, was now dirty and darkened by dirt. His face was shallow from hunger, and there was a sadness Ravenpaw hadn't noticed in his eyes, heightened by his lowered ears and drooping tail. He looked broken, like a tom who had lost everything. But, after all, he had lost everything, as far as he knew. His home, his mate, his kits--all gone.

"How do you know me?" the tom asked, voice hoarse and scared. His eyes flickered around the clearing, almost like he was expecting an attack.

Ravenpaw swallowed, trying to control the encroaching fear that was creeping up his spine. He looked at his brother, feeling bad. But then he forced himself to turn back to Rainshadow. "Could we... talk alone?"

"You mean without him?" Rainshadow looked at Jaypaw.

Ravenpaw looked at his brother apologetically. "Is that alright?"

Jaypaw nodded, letting out a shaky breath. "I guess so, but I don't want to be out here alone..." He lowered his head, embarrassed, then suddenly raised it at a sound in the forest, eyes scared.

"You can go into the den, we'll stay out here," Rainshadow meowed, jerking his head to the cave. "There's... blood...but, it's clean and safe..." his mew was quiet, and he looked down at his paws. "At least, it's safe now..."

Obviously feeling awkward, Jaypaw stumbled over to the den, skipping unsteadily past the large tabby and into the darkness. He shot Ravenpaw a worried look as he disappeared. The black tom felt a strong wanting to follow him, but forced himself to hold back as Rainshadow made a slow way over.

"So? How do you know me?" he repeated, settling down and keeping his voice low so Jaypaw couldn't overhear.

"Violetfrost."

The simple word sent fury flaming in Rainshadow's eyes, and in a swift, lightning-fast movement, he had jumped forward, slamming into Ravenpaw and sending his back onto the ground. Air flooded from Ravenpaw's chest, leaving him breathless and struggling. But there was no point, and he fell still after just a moment. Even though he was thin and starving, Rainshadow was shockingly powerful, muscles rippling under his short coat as his tail lashed around in fury.

"Lies!" he growled. "My mate is dead! There is no way you knew I was here!"

At the loud, tough voice, Jaypaw peeked his head out of the den, looking worried. Instant fear flooded his gaze as he saw his brother, small and weak, pinned under the huge tom. With a yowl of anger, his eyes blazed with sudden fire and he raced across the clearing, claws out.

"Stop!" Ravenpaw cried, not to Rainshadow, but instead to his brother. Instantly, Jaypaw skidded to a stop, surprised. But he instinctively listened to any order given to him. Relieved the danger of his brother acting out was past, he now turned to the angry warrior standing over him, with his long claws curled against his chest and causing a light amount of blood to trickle into his fur, sending sharp pains through his body. He was not used to injury, and the pain was awful for him.

"Tell me!" Rain demanded, his claws scraping against his lightly.

Ravenpaw flinched at the renewed pain but forced himself to ignore it. His plan of keeping Jaypaw out of the know was now gone and decided to hold nothing back. "Violetfrost visited me in StarClan, and told me where to find you!" He kept it simple, but the moment he asked more he would reveal. Jaypaw seemed surprised at the Clan cat name for a supposed loner but wisely kept quiet.

"StarClan?" Rainshadow spat. "What is that?"

Of all the questions he expected to answer, Ravenpaw never thought he would have to explain what StarClan was. "Our... our warrior ancestors," he mewed softly. "All Clan cats who have died go to the sky, becoming another star in the night. They visit us in dreams and guide our pawsteps. Didn't... didn't your Clan have StarClan?"

He heard the intake of breath from his brother but didn't even look in his direction. Instead, he stared right at Rainshadow, seeing the shock and confusion in his gaze. His claws retracted, and he stepped away unsteadily, shaking his head. Ravenpaw slowly got to his paws, the pain in his chest a distant feeling.

"When you die in MothClan, you go to Firestar's Forest, a complete copy of our territory where Firestar, our first leader, rules with all the leaders after him over the dead warriors of our Clan." He shook his head again, growling, and his weak tone suddenly turned harsh. "Why would Violet go to you in StarClan? How would she know how to get there?"

He calls her Violet, Ravenpaw thought. When they left their Clan, MothClan, they must've taken rogue names, but Violet restored her original name of Violetfrost in death. "I don't know how she got there, I just know she came to me. She told me how you left your Clan because you were in love but weren't allowed to be, and on the journey, she ended up expecting your kits."

New pain flared in Rain's eyes, and he lowered his head. "I didn't think we'd ever find the other Clans, so I went back to MothClan to get a medicine cat..." He looked up. "And you, you're from the Clans we were looking for?"

He nodded sadly. "My name is Ravenpaw, and that's my brother, Jaypaw. Our home is just up the Old Thunderpath, right past the mountains." He turned his head to look at the towering rocks just behind him.

Rain dropped his head. "I stopped us because I thought we would have to go through the mountains... I didn't even realize the path might've cut through them. If I had been here, I could've saved her... and our little kits..." His legs trembled.

Ravenpaw let out a slow breath. "Your mate had three kits. One died early on..."

"I don't need to hear how my kits were torn apart by a fox, thank you," Rain growled, long claws curling into the ground.

"Rain," Ravenpaw said softly, waiting for the tom to look him in the eyes, "your two other kits survived the fox attack."

Shock, relief, and countless other emotions swirled in his gaze. "Then... My kits live?"

Ravenpaw flinched, realizing he should've phrased his words better. "Tumble died not long after the attack, for he was too weak." At the flash of anger and sadness, and Ravenpaw quickly added, "but your daughter, Maple, is strong and alive. She's living in our nursery, with one of our queens."

First was another flame of relief, then worry. "But the queen, won't she be angry she is kept longer in the nursery? Maple must be over a moon old by now."

Ravenpaw tilted his head. "Goldenpool has no trouble with it. Her kits are the same age, so she still has almost five moons left in the nursery."

Shock and confusion once again washed Rain's face. "But, what of your kit-watchers? When do they take over?"

It was Ravenpaw's turn to once again be confused. "Kit-watchers?" This new Clan was so weird! Cats could not be in love, queens left the nursery early--it seemed--and what in StarClan's name was a kit-watcher?

"When kits are a moon old and give up their milk, a kit-watcher, a cat too weak to become a warrior, watches over them until they are apprenticed at six moons. You... do not have them?"

Ravenpaw shook his head. "No. Queens stay with their kits until they are six moons and apprenticed to a mentor. Then they return to their duties."

"Then the kits remember who their mother was? Does that not cause complications?"

"What complications?" Jaypaw finally couldn't stay quiet, and approached to stand next to his brother. "We know our mother, her name is Snowfern, and our father is Boulderclaw. Do you know not know your parents?"

Rain shook his head. "It's forbidden, it causes connections. Connections cause love, and love causes weakness."

Ravenpaw felt his fur bristle slightly. "Love isn't weakness! Our cats, they fight for each other and care for each other. Everyone is family. We stand up against enemies together, hunt together, live together. Clans cannot exist without trust."

"Not our Clan," Rain responded sadly. "We learn early on not to trust anyone but our leader."

Ravenpaw couldn't help but flinch. "Right now, it's the opposite," he admitted. Rain tilted his head as a gesture of confusion, and Ravenpaw explained, "normally, we listen and respect what our leader says, but Acornstar is broken and confused and angry. She lost her mate many seasons ago, and is still very deeply troubled by it."

"That's why she acts like this?" Jaypaw gasped. "She's acting all insane and crazy because she lost her mate ages ago? She tried to exile our own mother!"

Rain snorted in surprise. "Talk like that is treason in MothClan."

"I guess it's treason here too," Ravenpaw replied.

"But I'm guessing you wouldn't be killed for it?"

Ravenpaw shook his head. "No, probably just a punishment like being the only one to clean out dens for a quarter moon, or searching the elders and queens for ticks and fleas. But we only have one elder and one queen right now, so I guess it's not that bad."

"We don't have elders in our Clan," Rain meowed. "You fight and hunt until you die. Most cats don't live too old anyways. Cats become weak once they get too old, and can't survive our way of life."

"Are they not honored for the time they spent fighting for their Clan?" Jaypaw murmured, eyes wide at all the proceedings.

"It's just duty to spend your life serving your leader, you do not get anything for it." He shook his fur. "I'm sure you have countless questions, but can I please meet my daughter?"

Ravenpaw took in a deep breath through his nose. He had completely forgotten! "I'm sorry, I was so distracted by learning more..." he let his voice trail off.

"I understand," Rain meowed. "I can already see the freedom in your Clan, not just from your words, but all your questions. They are rarely allowed, only for battle and hunting training purposes, or to teach the laws."

"I would really like to learn more in the future," Ravenpaw meowed.

"Would that be possible? Once I have Maple, surely I'll have to leave? I don't know how accepting you are of outsiders, but it is definitely more so than MothClan. Any cats outside our own are attacked and killed the moment we see them, whether they are in our territory or outside it. Even kits..." There was a sad tone in his voice that suggested something bad had happened in the past. Ravenpaw decided to stay away from it, not wanting to hear that story.

"We've taken in cats before, from outside the Clan like your kit or from another Clan, like my own mother. She was originally from BatClan, but joined us, EchoClan, because she fell in love with my father."

"Wait, your Clan is named EchoClan, but yet your leader is Acornstar? Why is it not the same?"

Ravenpaw looked at his brother, but he didn't seem to have an answer. "What do you mean? EchoClan is named after our first leader, Echo."

"It isn't like that in MothClan," Rain responded like the apprentice sounded crazy, for which Ravenpaw thought the same of him. "Whenever a leader takes over, they change the name of the Clan to theirs. Currently, our leader is Mothstar, so the Clan is MothClan, to symbolize that she is the absolute ruler. Before she was Nightstar and NightClan, before he was deemed inadequate."

"Inadequate?" Ravenpaw copied, not completely understanding the word but getting the gist of it. Was Nightstar like Acornstar in some way, estranged in the mind?

"Mothstar decided he was too old to lead correctly, and she wanted a cat to be her deputy, so she killed him at their apprentice ceremony and took an apprentice. It was actually my own apprentice ceremony--the cat was my nestmate, Ryefang, though I suspect not my actual brother. I think I only had a sister, and she was incredibly special, but confused and too worried about her place in the Clan." He let out a sigh. "I wish she had agreed to come with..."

Ravenpaw decided to ignore the part about Rain's sister, despite being curious about her name and her life story. Instead, he meowed, "I don't completely understand. You make it sound like this... Ryefang became her deputy. Why couldn't she wait until Nightstar died to take him?"

"Another difference in our Clans, I think. How are your deputies chosen?"

"When a cat becomes leader, they take an experienced warrior who has trained at least one apprentice to help them by giving them guidance and input, and help with organizing patrols. If a deputy dies, they are replaced by another cat chosen by the leader," Jaypaw explained.

Rain nodded. "Our deputy's duties are similar, but picking them is different. When a cat becomes leader, they choose a kit out of the next litter to be apprenticed and take the chosen kit as deputy. They are trained as a normal warrior, but also to organize patrols, keep everybody in order, find out if cats are being disloyal or treasonous, and everything else a leader should do. If that cat were to die or prove too weak to lead, they are replaced by a new cat from the next litter."

Ravenpaw shivered. "To be trusted with that kind of power so young..." he muttered.

"It's not that far off from you," Jaypaw pointed out playfully.

"Yes, it is," he shot back, not unkindly. "Anyways, I have a question; how often are your litters? You're not allowed to fall in love, so how does your Clan have kits?" A sinking feeling welled up inside of Ravenpaw at a sudden dark thought, and he hoped he was wrong. Sadly, Rain's next words proved him right.

"Arranged mating partners, done by the leader then with input from the deputy once they're old enough to choose correctly. The strongest, most loyal warriors are chosen to mate, then once the kits are a moon old they are taken care of by kit-watchers, cats who failed their warrior assessments for one reason or another." Ravenpaw found it nice of the tom to explain kit-watchers again with a little more detail. Before he could ask something else, Rain meowed, "now my turn for a question: Jaypaw said that our picking of deputy and their early power is similar to you. How do you mean?"

"Oh, I'm a medicine cat apprentice," Ravenpaw explained.

"Another difference?" Rain questioned. At the confused looks both Ravenpaw and Jaypaw gave, Rain was once again forced to explain. "Medicine cats are very low in our standards, just simple healers for when we are sick. There are only a few of them, since most cats want to become warriors. After all, our entire Clan is based off how well you can fight and hunt, so being a medicine cat is seen as weak, unhelpful, disloyal, and everything else bad. It's the only time when weakness is allowed. I'm guessing it is not the same in EchoClan?"

"No, there's normally just two medicine cats--" Ravenpaw began, but was interrupted by the tom.

"I'll ask about it later. For now, I just want to get to my daughter." He stood up, signifying he was ready to get going.

"I can understand that. We can also talk on our way." Standing, Ravenpaw stretched out his back, then winced at the pain in his chest. He quickly tried to lick the blood clean. The wound had already stopped bleeding, but his fur was stained. He managed to clean it swiftly.

"Sorry about that," Rain meowed.

"It's all right," Ravenpaw responded, heading along with Jaypaw at his side, and the old MothClan warrior hurried after them. They followed the small trail they had made through the unclaimed forest, feeling much braver with Rain with them. Ravenpaw knew he was starving and weak, but he was still a very large cat, and a fair fight for anything that might cross their way. 

Finally getting the plot going, and I wrote almost all this chapter in one go. I'm excited about where this was going. If you can't tell, this book will be longer than the last one, but hopefully, that isn't too bad.

Question #1: How do you think the Clan will react to Rain?

Question #2: What are your thoughts on MothClan?