By the time Ravenpaw had checked the last injured cat, the sun had begun to set, with orange starting to darken the endless blue sky. Gathering the scraps of goldenrod--he had used every last bit of cobwebs he had brought out--he carried them into the den. Every cat was sleeping except for Brightflower. The pretty tortoiseshell looked up from cleaning her shoulder. "Welcome back," she meowed softly.

He dropped the goldenrod down at the herb storage. "Thanks," he responded quietly. Luckily, the she-cat's nest wasn't far from where they kept the herbs, so he didn't have much fear about waking the others, who so needed to rest to heal their wounds.

"Do you think Mossrain is okay?" Brightflower shifted closer inside her nest, her ears flicking worriedly.

"I think so," Ravenpaw responded, beginning to separate the herbs before him. "He went out of camp with Shadefur. I'm sure he'll come back calm and collected."

Brightflower purred softly. "I want to be like them someday," the she-cat murmured, leaning back into the moss. "To be that close and happy."

Ravenpaw found himself a little confused. Wasn't her best friend Featherpaw? The two were close in age, so they likely had a lot in common. Surely they were as close as Mossrain and Shadefur would be, since the two toms were just over nine moons apart in age?

"Yeah, me too," Ravenpaw responded finally.

Once again, to his confusion, Brightflower purred in amusement, though soft and quiet. "Don't worry, Ravenpaw, you don't have to worry about that for a long time."

Ravenpaw opened his jaws to ask her what she meant, but then he heard pawsteps and turned to see Mossrain and Shadefur entering the den. Mossrain was in the middle of laughing at something Shadefur had said but quieted when he noticed all the sleeping cats. The two cats padded back to the herb storage. Ravenpaw noticed Shadefur's shoulder, which had a few healing scratches, was uncovered and slightly bleeding.

"What happened?" Ravenpaw asked softly, worried for his older brother.

Mossrain snorted, looking amused. "He decided to climb a tree despite the fact that I told him not to, then broke open his wound." Mossrain grabbed some cobwebs from the dwindling supply and went back to his friend, sitting down and licking the large gray tom's bleeding shoulder.

"You don't have to be so rough," Shadefur muttered, eyes glowing playfully.

"You'll know when I'm being rough," Mossrain responded with a light tone, covering the scratches with a thin layer of cobwebs. "If you break them open again I'll trap you in a nest for the rest of leaf-bare."

Shadefur purred, touching his nose to Mossrain's. "I'm sure you'd enjoy the company." He murmured something in Mossrain's ear, and the smaller gray tom flicked his tail happily in response. Shadefur began to pad away, then eyed Blossompaw sleeping in her nest. He veered off to go to her nest.

"Shadefur--" Mossrain cut off when the gray tom nudged Blossompaw's shoulder with his paw. The small cat blinked open her eyes, looking tired.

"What?" she mumbled.

"You keep treating Mossrain like you are now, and one day you'll find yourself on my bad side. You talk to him with respect or you don't talk to him at all. Understand?" Ravenpaw was surprised by the harshness in Shadefur's meow. How could he speak to his own sister like that?

He must be really close to Mossrain. Not for the first time, he wished he could that good of friends with somebody.

"Shade--" Blossompaw tried to say, but he stopped her short.

"Do you understand?" he growled.

For a moment, Blossompaw was quiet, staring at him with wide eyes. Then, finally, she murmured, "okay."

"Good," Shadefur hissed. "Stop being such a self-centered kit and try to care about someone else for a change. Maybe if you were nicer, some cat would actually care that you're in this nest." Without another word, Shadefur turned and stalked from the den. As he left, he was forced to weave past Eagleclaw to escape the den.

The deputy stared after him in surprise, then turned to Mossrain. "What happened?" she asked.

"Nothing of importance," the young medicine cat decided quickly, hurrying forward to his deputy. He sniffed the she-cat's shoulder wound, then stepped back. "Why are you here? Is something wrong?"

Her eyes flashed. "Of course there is! If you haven't noticed, my mother is missing!"

Mossrain flicked his tail uneasily. "Sorry, I just meant... Uh, what do you need, Eagleclaw?"

"I want you to go to the Moonstream," the deputy said, taking a deep sniff through her nose, forcing herself to stand taller. "Ask them where Acornstar is--what we should do."

Mossrain swallowed, looking a little awkward. "We'll go," he meowed finally, "but, uh, don't get your hopes up. StarClan does not always tell us everything."

"They will tell us something," Eagleclaw decided. "Go now, and come back with news."

"It will be quite a while before the moon is in the right place," Mossrain quickly explained, but Eagleclaw shook her head in response.

"I don't care. Your Clanmates will be fine--Goldenpool will help them if they need anything. Take Ravenpaw and go." She turned and left the den, her tail tip flicking in anxiety.

Mossrain sighed, then headed for the herb store. He quickly and skillfully stored the herbs then stood and shook out his coat. "Well, let's go. Brightflower, we'll be back soon. If anything happens, please go tell Goldenpool. Don't open your wound, though."

"I won't," the she-cat promised. "Good luck," she added.

"Good luck to you too," Mossrain meowed, touching his nose to her's before flicking his tail for Ravenpaw to follow. Together, the two young toms headed for the den entrance. Ravenpaw found himself nervous as he left the camp, unsure of what StarClan would say. Would they say where Acornstar was, or would they dodge the question? Would they say to just leave her, to have Eagleclaw take over?

"How many lives does Acornstar have left?" Ravenpaw asked quietly as they headed down the rocky pathway.

Mossrain hesitated with his answer, waiting until he touched down on the cold snowy grass. "Six."

"She's only lost three lives? How long has she been leader?" Ravenpaw had always been told she had become leader when she was rather young and had assumed she had been EchoClan's leader for a rather long time, much too long to have only died three times.

"Longer than any other leader right now-- one of the youngest the Clans have had. She became Dovestar's deputy after Chiveclaw's death, and leader only half a moon later after Dovestar had an awful accident."

"She's been leader since Boulderclaw was an apprentice?" Ravenpaw breathed. That was so long ago! And she would've been so young, too. "And Dovestar's death--it was so quick! How did she even know what she doing?"

"She didn't," Mossrain sighed, continuing through the darkening forest. "At least, that's what Goldenpool said. By then, Buzzardcloud had died and she was young and on her own, so it was hard going. Acornstar wasn't as messed up as she is now, but she was young and confused and of course still definitely not as stable as any cat would've liked."

"So... The Clan's been going downhill ever since Acornstar was made leader?" Ravenpaw murmured, forcing himself to continue on after his mentor.

"It was unfortunate that it happened this way," Mossrain meowed slowly. "If Dovestar had lived longer, perhaps she would've learned to deal with grief. But there was an awful storm one night and a kit had gone missing. Dovestar was leading a patrol to the forest to find it when she fell off the pathway. She broke her spine, her legs--everything but her neck. She was in awful pain, but StarClan was silent. Goldenpool had no idea what to do. Only a few days passed before Dovestar died. It was her last life."

"That must've been awful," Ravenpaw murmured. "It seems leaders in EchoClan have bad luck."

"No kidding," Mossrain muttered.

They fell into a comfortable silence as they continued through the dark forest. After a bird called shrilly from the shadows, Ravenpaw quickened his step to fall side by side with his mentor. Mossrain curled his tail over the young tom's shoulders. It instantly calmed Ravenpaw enough for him to enjoy the beauty of the deepening shadows.

It didn't take long for the forest to end, and together they headed down the low slope of the moorland. SageClan's sharp, wind-blown scent filled Ravenpaw's whiskers, but the darkening snow-covered moor was undisturbed. Everything was sleeping--except for the two EchoClan cats, padding across the stretch of grass with cold pads and fluffed fur.

Ravenpaw was glad to slip into the Star Cave, though the wind did sweep through the many small holes that allowed the moonlight to shine inside. He took a few licks of the thin, freezing river water. Mossrain joined him, then they settled into the sand in wait.

"What do you think StarClan will say?" Ravenpaw finally asked.

"I don't know," Mossrain sighed. "She is the anointed leader of our Clan, blessed with nine lives by StarClan. But she is, in all honestly, breaking our Clan. Eagleclaw would be the best thing to happen to EchoClan for a long time, but if StarClan wills for Acornstar to rule until her final death, then so be it. We follow the will of StarClan."

"Okay, Mossrain." Ravenpaw nodded sadly. He hated the thought so clear in his mind--Acornstar should not be leader. Wouldn't it be so much easier if Eagleclaw, wise despite her upbringing, was able to lead them? With nine lives within her, couldn't Eagleclaw make EchoClan so much more powerful? Because that's what they needed. All the Clans needed power, but also peace with each other; because together, with as much power as possible, they may defeat MothClan.

They waited in silence as the moon rose higher and higher into the sky. Ravenpaw felt sleep overcoming him, and struggled to keep his eyes open. His jaws opened into a large yawn, and he struggled to contain it. Mossrain purred, but didn't say anything. Eventually, Ravenpaw rested his chin on his paws, whiskers brushing the soft sand under him.

Trying to stay awake, he let his mind wander back home, wondering how everyone was doing. Did Goldenpool have to leave her kits to check in on the injured cats? What if a wound got infected while they were gone? Flicking his tail, he let out a sigh. There was nothing he could do right now.

Ravenpaw knew he must've slipped in and out of sleep, for time moved strangely. It felt like moons, yet no time at all, when bright moonlight filled the Star Cave, scattering broken moonlight onto the sparkling water, bouncing off the glittering pebbles under the smooth-flowing stream. As always, Ravenpaw watched with awe at the beauty. He let out a soft breath, getting to his paws. Sand stuck awkwardly to his belly, and he shook it away the best he could.

"Come on," Mossrain murmured, sounding tired. He padded forward to the edge of the water and lay down next to it, lapping softly at the stream. Ravenpaw joined him, and was grateful that he was allowed to finally close his mind to the world and drift off.

He awoke to a quiet forest, the trees full of bright green leaves that rustled in the wind. Ravenpaw looked around, but he couldn't see anything or anyone, nothing except endless trees and undergrowth. "Hello?" he called. "Echo? Berrywhisker? Violetfrost?"

There was no answer.

There was a soft noise behind him, and he looked into the woods, searching for what had moved. For some unknown reason, his eyes traveled to the grass before him, where a large acorn was sitting in the green stalks. Was that what he heard, an acorn falling? He sniffed it but found no strange scent. He rolled it softly with his nose and saw a large and ugly crack down the length of its side.

There was a loud, thunderous cry above him, and he leaped backward in fear. Circling down through a break in the trees was an eagle, white head glowing like snow and yellow eyes large and fierce. Ravenpaw scrambled father away, but the eagle was not focused on him. Instead, it used its huge talons to grip the acorn and began to carry it into the sky.

Ravenpaw watched it slowly circle upward, looking so happy and smooth. Then, suddenly, the acorn slipped from its talons and fell toward the ground. With a screech, the eagle dived after it. Ravenpaw could see its gaze, full of terror and sadness. Right before the acorn hit the grass, the eagle managed to catch it again, crying out with relief. It tried to fly upward again, but it seemed unable to. No matter how hard it beat its wings, it was unable to go upward. The acorn seemed to be holding it down, not allowing it to fly.

It looked downward at its talons, agony in its eyes. With a sad cry, it opened its talons and let the acorn fall through the air and land in the grass next to Ravenpaw. The apprentice stared up at the eagle, watching its slow way upward, looking dragged down with depression. But it was still soaring, still climbing higher and higher.

Ravenpaw thought the dream would end, but then a small black shape burst from the trees, launching itself into the much, much bigger bird. Ravenpaw realized, with a shock, that the attacking creature was actually a raven. Its jet black feathers were ruffled, and its dark eyes glowed with malice as it pecked wildly at the eagle's face. With a screech, the eagle began to fall.

Opening its pale beak, the raven let out a loud cry. Then it launched itself up, flying straight up for the bright blue sky, leaving a few feathers to float down after a quickly-falling eagle. Ravenpaw jumped back as the large bird crashed into the grass. Its wide yellow eyes stared at him with no feeling, blank and empty. The poor creature was dead.

It just wanted the acorn, he thought. He looked back up for the raven, but it had disappeared.

"Ravenpaw."

The apprentice whipped around, finding himself facing a cat he had never seen before. He was a large, muscular tom, with flaming red tabby fur. His large eyes, a deep and glowing green, were filled with sadness. "Help my family," he murmured.

"Who are you?" Ravenpaw asked fearfully. "Who's your family? Are they in trouble?"

"Help them." He looked at the eagle, sadness in his eyes. "Help my daughter realize the truth."

"Daughter?" Ravenpaw looked over at the eagle, the body resting right next to the broken acorn. "Are they your family?"

Ravenpaw woke by the stream with a start. Dull sunlight was shining into the Star Cave, glistening off the Moonstream. Mossrain quietly blinked open his eyes. "That was...strange..." he breathed.

Ravenpaw just nodded, still thinking fiercely. Had the red tom really been referring to the acorn and eagle as his family? He tried to remember if he had heard of a red tom in StarClan. Red tom, red tom, red tom... Redcloud! The acorn and eagle represented Acornstar and Eagleclaw! It was so obvious, how had he not seen that before? Ravenpaw looked at his mentor, beginning to open his mouth to speak, but then he noticed a worried expression on his mentor's face.

"What wrong?" he asked. 

"StarClan did not share with me," Mossrain murmured, sitting up with a lost glaze over his eyes. "We are on our own." Then he looked at Ravenpaw with a gleam of hope. "Unless--did they share with you?"

Ravenpaw gave a nervous nod. "Yes. I'm sorry."

"What for?" Mossrain brightened. "StarClan shares with us for a reason. As long as they shared with one of us, I'm fine with it. StarClan sends visions to those who need it the most, not those who want it the most. So, what happened?" He hunkered down in front of the apprentice, eyes wide and tail flicking.

Ravenpaw swallowed. Hesitantly, he explained what he had seen, but for an unknown reason, he kept the part about the raven to himself. If the acorn and eagle had meant real cats, then did the raven as well? And wouldn't that mean that he was the cause of Eagleclaw's downfall? No, surely not?

After he finished talking about his exchange with Redcloud, Ravenpaw fell silent, looking at the sand under him. Would Mossrain understand the dream? The young gray tom was silent for a few moments, obviously deep in thought. He let out a heavy breath, blinking slowly.

"Acornstar fell, and Eagleclaw was trying to bring her up. Then she lost her but caught her again. Then she let her go willingly and finally managed to fly."

"So the first time was an accident, but the second time on purpose?" Ravenpaw asked.

"Yes, I think so. Eaglestar has just lost Acornstar, so I think she needs to get her again then lose her. Then, she will be able to fly upward."

"Can't we just go home and tell Eagleclaw to let her mother go?" Ravenpaw questioned. It would be easier and would cause fewer problems for their Clan.

"No," Mossrain sighed. "Eagleclaw must learn on her own that her mother cannot be what she once was. We will tell her that StarClan wants us to bring Acornstar home, and once she is, hopefully Eagleclaw can realize the truth. But things will just get worse until Acornstar returns. Eagleclaw would never take over as leader as long as her mother was alive."

Ravenpaw nodded in understanding, but there was still a deep pit of doubt in his stomach. How long would his Clan suffer before there was peace?

Sorry this is late, I was having some writers' block. But it's here, and I'm excited to keep writing! No questions this update, but you can comment your thoughts, predictions, questions, whatever you want! I hope you enjoyed!