Blossompaw was laying in her nest, head on her paws, watching with cold eyes as Mossrain and Ravenpaw padded quietly from the den, believing her to be asleep. She knew it must have something to do with that newcomer, Rain, who had arrived with Ravenpaw just a little earlier in the day. They obviously didn't want her to know they were leaving.

Foolish, she thought, thinking bad of them just because they hadn't looked back to check whether her eyes were open or closed.

As foolish as you, a scathing voice in her head whispered.

She curled her claws into her nest, trying to block out the sound, but it was loud in her ears, ringing around her head.

As foolish as attacking that dog, another whispered mockingly. Getting stuck in a nest because you wanted to save a medicine cat, it laughed.

Family makes you weak, the first growled. I remember killing my own brother.

Blossompaw shivered, wanting to scratch at her ears. Maybe that would stop the horrible voices that plagued her every day.

Such a weak kit, laughed a new voice.

She should go cuddle back with her traitor mother! the second chuckled.

The BatClan rat? questioned the first. Oh, do you think the kit knows she's half frog?

Is it true? Blossompaw asked herself, wondering if she could trust such voices. But hadn't she heard something about BatClan? Wasn't that why Grayblaze had attacked her mother just a moon ago, because Snowfern had defended BatClan?

Such a smart kit, teased the first voice.

"Enough!"

At first, Blossompaw thought the voice was in her head, but then she realized there was someone standing by her nest. She flinched, pain running down her spine, when she realized the cat was none she had seen before. She was a strikingly beautiful gray she-cat with white paws, chest, belly, and muzzle. Her eyes were a glowing dark blue, and though her fur was a little ragged, she still had the slim grace of a powerful warrior. But, most noticeably, she was transparent, though no stars littered her pelt. Instead, it seemed rather dark and shadowed, like she had been hiding away in a dark forest without the sun touching her coat for countless moons.

"Who... Who are you?" Blossompaw whispered, trying to bring enough courage into her chest to cry out a warning.

Such a scared kit, mocked one of the voices.

"Quiet!" growled the apparition. "This apprentice does not need you in her head. Begone!"

Blossompaw expected to hear their snarky replies, but they were quiet. "What... What did you do?" she whispered.

"I sent them away," the gray she-cat replied. "They were wrong to taunt you, when you are obviously so troubled."

Blossompaw looked at her with terror, but also with the tiniest bit of hope in her chest. Her voice was so smooth, so caring. "Are you from StarClan?"

The she-cat sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. Blossompaw was sad to see such a beautiful gaze so tormented. "I am not. I wish I was, but I made mistakes in life that I am forced to make up for in death, so I am not allowed to be with my Clanmates in never-ending greenleaf, chasing countless mice and voles and listening to a warm breeze in the trees." There was a wistful tone in her voice. "Instead, I am forced to dwell in a dreadful, dark place, full of misery and despair and cats looking for a redemption that will never come. The cats that spoke in your mind live in this place with me but have been driven mad by countless moons of loneliness. They were able to get into your head because of the strife in your mind. You are as lost as they are, and they wanted to use you to do awful things."

"I'm... Lost? Is that bad?" Blossompaw whispered, her eyes wide with a silent plead for a truthful answer.

"No, my dear, it's not bad at all." The she-cat moved close, running her cold tail along Blossompaw's back, bringing no warmth to the apprentice, but she was strangely comforted. "Every cat gets lost, you just sooner than others. But how could you not, with your life?" She paused for a small moment for Blossompaw to comment, but she was waiting desperately for the cat to go on. "You are loved less than your littermates, and none of your Clanmates truly understand you. But I do, and I can help you. I can make you a great, great warrior, one to be looked upon with admiration."

"But... My injury... I won't be able to walk for ages..." Blossompaw felt despair growing in her chest. This cat, this amazing cat, was offering her something remarkable, but she would have no way to actually train with her for at least a moon, probably more. "I won't become a warrior until way after I'm supposed too..."

"I can change that," the she-cat answered softly. "It would be hard, but I could heal you. You would still be sore for some days, but your back would be back to normal, and you'd be training before you knew it."

"Really?" Blossompaw looked at her with a desperate gleam. "Oh, please, I'll do anything!"

"Easy, Blossompaw," the she-cat whispered. "If I help you, you must promise to help me. I want to prove myself to StarClan, to show them I can belong with them, as an honored warrior. And to do that, I want to help you bring an age of happiness and prosperity to EchoClan. You must do what I say, and believe me when I say it's for the greater good of everybody."

"I will!" Blossompaw breathed in aspiration. "I will, I swear! I'll do anything!"

"I'm glad," the she-cat responded softly. "But we can't go much farther without you knowing my name. I'm sure you've heard stories of me, and though they are likely true, my reasons are different. As a young warrior, I saw a Clan that needed my help, that needed to be better. I did things I shouldn't have and was blamed for things I didn't do. Everything I did was to help my Clanmates, even if it hurt me. My kits died when they were quite young, and it changed me... It was heartbreaking, but I forced myself past it to help my Clan. But my mate, my darling mate... He thought I had killed them myself, on purpose, to further my gain... He wasn't right in the head, my poor dear... He turned my Clan against me and watched them tear me apart then took over as leader... The Clan has been going down since then..." She had such a thick emotion in her voice Blossompaw wished she could comfort her.

"I won't judge you," Blossompaw meowed. "Whoever you are, I promise, I'll know you did what you did for a good reason."

The she-cat looked up with sad eyes. "My name is Brookstar."

For a moment, Blossompaw didn't know what to say. Of course she had heard the story. When she had been forced to clean Dappletail's nest, the elder had spoken about the old leader without the apprentice asking. But she had enjoyed such a peaceful talk, with no judgment on why she was there.

"I'm sorry all that happened to you," Blossompaw meowed finally. Relief flooded in Brookstar's gaze.

"Thank you, young one," she whispered. "I'm truly glad you understand."

"Will you heal me now?" Blossompaw pleaded. "Please, I just want free of this nest."

Brookstar purred softly. "I know you trust me, but I need to know if I can trust you. Though I wish I could believe you with just your word, I need more than that."

"But what can I do, stuck in this stupid nest?" the apprentice asked. "I'll do anything I can!"

Brookstar seemed to think for a moment, opened her mouth, then shut it again, hesitating. Finally, she meowed quietly, though she knew no one could overhear, "there's a cat, in EchoClan, who cannot live here anymore. She is suffering, forcing the Clan into darkness, and needs to be taken care of. She needs to go, so we can leave tragedy behind and start moving forward."

"Who? Acornstar?" Blossompaw felt a small swirl of hate in her chest when she mentioned her leader. She was an awful cat, doing nothing to help their Clan. "How could I get rid of her?"

"Not Acornstar," Brookstar meowed calmly. "At least, not yet. She is ruining our Clan, but that will be over soon. No, this cat is just a normal warrior, but she is dragging down our future. We will continue to look to the past for vengeance because of her, and she is distracting the medicine cats from doing their job."

"But medicine cats are weak!" Blossompaw objected.

"They are a way of life," Brookstar meowed. "They are necessary for our continued survival."

Blossompaw looked down, forcing herself to nod. She didn't know if she believed Brookstar just yet, but she had to trust her. This long-dead leader was the first cat to truly believe in her, and she wouldn't let the she-cat down. "Who is it?" she finally asked.

Brookstar trailed her gaze away, to the prone figure of Russetdawn, laying still in her nest as always. "The Clan will mourn her, but we will continue to look to the past as we try everything we can to bring her back. But she will waste away in that nest for the rest of time, never to open her eyes again, but also never to let go of life." She looked at Blossompaw. "She needs to cross to StarClan, but she needs the help of the living. She needs your help, Blossompaw. You can let her rest in peace."

"You... You want me to... kill Russetdawn?"

Brookstar sighed, blinking softly. "I'm sorry, my dear, I know it sounds hard. But I need to know you'll stay with me, through everything I may ask you to do. This will likely be the hardest I ever ask. I promise, if you do this for me, you will be healed soon. And then I will train you when you sleep, and soon you will become the best apprentice, then the best warrior, in your Clan. I swear, if you trust me, one day, I will make you leader of EchoClan. You will be Blossomstar, and with you there will be a great new era, one of peace for all of those you find worthy. But first, you must send Russetdawn to StarClan."

Blossompaw stared at her in admiration. "Okay," she whispered. "I'll do it."

Pride shone in Brookstar's gaze. "Then go, now."

And so, watching the she-cat for just a moment more, Blossompaw dug her claws into her nest, dragging herself forward. Pain gripped her spine, twisting in her skin like sharp thorns. She gritted her teeth together, growling to herself, and continued to force her body forward, back legs splayed out behind her.

"Yes! Go, go!" Brookstar urged. "Your entire future is ahead of you, you just need to crawl to it!"

And so Blossompaw urged herself on, claws scraping against the ground. With every drag of her body she felt agonizing pain, but in her mind she couldn't help but picture herself standing above her Clanmates on the Rock Pile, white coat as bright as could be, the silver on her back reflecting beautiful sunlight, and her green eyes strong as she gazed down at her warriors. For my future, she thought, thinking of how proud her parents would be, seeing their shining eyes looking up at her with the same loving look they so often gave Ravenpaw, the perfect kit. 

The stone scraped against her stomach uncomfortably, but she continued moving forward, getting closer and closer to Russetdawn's nest. The she-cat was still as ever, sides moving slowly and unevenly, eyes fluttering weakly.

And before Blossompaw even realized, she was at Russetdawn's nest. She looked back to Brookstar, worry in her gaze, but the she-cat was silent, nodding her on slowly. So Blossompaw looked back at Russetdawn, lying so small in the nest.

"Don't spill blood, make it seem she died on her own. Your Clanmates won't understand, you see..."

So Blossompaw sheathed her claws, brought a paw slowly toward the she-cat's neck, and began to press down. Soft at first, but then harder, listening to her gasp for breath, eyelids twitching, whiskers quivering, ears flicking. She started to choke, struggling to get a breath in her lungs. But there was nothing, her throat closed because of the apprentice's paw tight against her neck, right under her chin. Her breathing got shallow and slow, continuing its slow decline until there was no breath in her body at all.

Blossompaw stared down at the limp body, while Brookstar gazed over at the apprentice, a dark look in her gaze. Finally, the long-dead cat thought to herself. A new follower to carry out my every command. And so trusting, too... Excitement flared in her gaze. She thinks she's so unloved, yet it's quite the opposite. With my guidance, she'll never truly open her eyes. Brookstar suddenly struggled to hold in a laugh. A mistake of your own making, Boulderclaw. Perhaps you should've watched your daughter a tad closer. Now, she takes her rightful place by my side, and will become what you never could be.