Challenge: talk to the one person you can't get along with. Hard, right? I've already gone over this where there are times when we have to bite our tongues and get along but try digging information out of them. They either mock you for fun or just watch you suffer, or they have sense in them and talk back to you in a friendly tone. Some people find talking to other people already hard enough, let alone talking to someone you disagree with constantly. 

It depends on the person, really. Some people are like chameleons and can easily adapt to their surroundings, taking the personality of the people they are around. Mimicking the person you see is one way of getting it the answers you want, but other people just talk and talk, thinking that annoying the answers out of them would work better. Others take a softer route and try to peacefully talk with the people they don't like. Either way, all of us suffer when we try to talk to someone we don't know, even if we don't say it out loud.

Do we?

X X X 

"There's no end to them," Honeypaw cursed, swinging a paw at an incoming rogue. "Come on! Show me what you got!" Her paws batted at another rogue, sending them off with a tail tucked between their legs. The apprentice crashed back to the ground and whirled to the next cat, preparing herself. Another pelt came flying out, colliding with the enemy before they could reach her, his brown pelt reminding her of one cat.

Beechpaw grabbled with the tom, using his smaller size to his advantage, ducking and slipping under the she-cat, digging his claws into her sides at any opening. The rogue twisted around and grabbed his paw with her teeth and her brother flinched. Then he swung a clawed paw on the side of her face and the rogue released him, howling as blood flew out of the attack. He rolled under and thrust his paws into her underbelly and shot off, getting back on his paws for the next attack. Honeypaw sprang into the fight and slammed her paws on the rogue's head, pushing it to the ground.

Her back shifted and churned and Beechpaw took action, jumping on the rogue's hind, pinning it down. Honeypaw gave a brisk nod and leaned closer, hovering over the she-cat's ear. Underneath her paws, she felt the thump of the rogue's heart quicken, her chest heaving and choking with little breath. The stench of her pelt was enough to make her gag, but she held her tongue and with as much ice and venom she could seeth out of her mouth, snarled.

"Tell me who the leader is and I'll consider sparing your life." She unleashed her claws and stabbed the rogue in the back of the neck, letting the scarlet liquid rise and dampen her paws. "Do it now before I change my mind and find someone else. I haven't had a good meal in moons—"

"Honeypaw!" snapped Beechpaw, flicking his tail impatiently. "We're all hungry but restoring to eating other cats isn't the answer!" He looked up and let out a startled cry when a gray tom barreled through, slamming into her brother. Honeypaw curled her claws, watching as her brother forcefully ripped away from his target, chunks of fur falling out of his claws. She cursed and dealt a devastating blow to the she-cat, sending her off. The rogue wobbled on her paws, casting a murderous glow from her working eye.

Honeypaw didn't worry about the threat and bounded after the brother just as Vineclaw and Brindleface sprang, taking on the injured rogue. Fighting and pushing her way through the fight, she followed the faint trace of her brother, scanning each bloody pelt for her brother's familiar and comforting fur. Then she spotted him scrambling to the top of a den with the same tom prowling the area of the structure, waiting for the apprentice to slip into his paws. To her shock, a calico she-cat slipped out of the den, spotted the rogue, and then a spark ignited, sending her forward.

The tom jumped back as she slammed herself into his stomach, paws wrapped around his back to pull him close. Swiftly, she snapped her jaws around his neck and bit down, hitting the ground with three paws, her last one holding him still as he thrashed. Cedarsky, still holding her ally, looked at Honeypaw with blood pouring out of her mouth, flowing down the tom's now cold body, and splashing on the white snow with red raindrops. Her blood turned cold and Beechpaw pulled himself into a jump.

Then Mothpaw came out of the den and spotted Cedarsky and the dead rogue, her face paling. Like it was a piece of prey, the calico spat out the corpse in front of the small apprentice, who flinched and jumped back, afraid to touch it. Honeypaw narrowed her eyes as the she-cat shifted her gaze, targeting her. Beechpaw noticed and sprang from above, tackling the rogue by surprise, managing to land one blow on the scrawny she-cat. Joy erupted from the rogue and she laughed, spinning in place, tossing the apprentice off through dizziness. 

She stepped away before Beechpaw could knock her to her paws and raised her hackles, turning on the rogue, curling her lips back. Mothpaw, as usual, didn't say anything and only watched through those wide, hapless blue eyes. It disgusted her that even after so long, her younger sister still couldn't raise a paw to defend or attack a cat, but Honeypaw tried to not let that show too much. Knowing her, she'd fall into a long depression and desperately try to please her and then revert back to her old self once she'd earned her satisfaction. Cedarsky rooted her front paw in the snow, stopping her circle, stopping directly in front of her.

Licking her lips, the rogue hissed, "Are you going to get in the way? I don't recall a time when I've taken down a cute apprentice like you before. I think it'll be fun and exciting."

"What are you planning?" Honeypaw countered, not taking her eyes off the she-cat. "Explain whose side you're really on, Cedarsky. I see you take down a Frostlight and kill him on the spot when Ashstar or Aspenstar aren't looking and now you take down one of your own. Are you just going to kill whoever you set your mind to?" 

"I will follow the orders of the cats I trust and do what they ask, steal, kill, or even torture," Cedarsky stated with a twirl of her tail. "But I will kill the cats who get in my way or pose some kind of threat."

"And how did Frostlight pose a threat?" Honeypaw growled, strength surging through her body and chasing out the fear that grew like a tree. "How did he when he did nothing?"

"He was another target I had to get. Take out the sister and then take out the brother, doesn't that seem right?" shrugged the rogue, passing by, motioning her tail for someone to follow. Honeypaw held her tongue as Mothpaw quickly slipped by, her paws light as a feather. The two sisters locked eyes for a brief moment before she snapped, grabbing the silver apprentice by the pelt and yanking her over. 

Mothpaw let out a yelp, claws digging into the ground. Cedarsky didn't look over her shoulder, only stopped where she was and let out a long moan. Honeypaw held her sister close, fur rising along her spine. "Where are you going?! Can you at least tell me who the leader of this is?!"

"Nightfall's sister, of course," she answered, the answer turning Honeypaw to stone. Mothpaw stiffened and her breath hitched, the two of them connecting the answers. They looked at each other, unsure of what to say or how to react. Cedarsky laughed, "I wanted you to find out yourselves, but I guess I couldn't wait anymore. Come on, if you want to see your family, then follow me. I'm sure she's dying to see her daughter's kits."

Echoflight's... Yes, it makes sense now, Honeypaw thought, eyes flashing. Ripplestone kept this hidden from me, too! StarClan sakes why doesn't anyone tell me anything?! She snatched Mothpaw by the neck and hauled her over to Beechpaw, promptly giving him a hard kick in the shoulder, snapping him awake. He struggled to his paws as another kick knocked him in the side and he fell over, snarling. 

"N-no!" Mothpaw claimed, ripping herself free from her grip. "Echoflight said that Daystar went missing because she was trying to find Amberfeather!" 

When did you learn about Amberfeather?! Honeypaw hissed, flattening her ears as she delivered another kick to Beechpaw's pelt. He got to his paws and growled at her, his words falling silent on her ears as her mind continued to pace. StarClan this isn't going to be good anymore! Why didn't he tell me that Daystar had a brother?! Why didn't Echoflight tell us that her own mother had a brother?! Better question, how is she still even alive?! Ashstar has his nine lives, so he shouldn't be a leader if she's still alive! 

"Amberfeather?" Cedarsky's eyes lit up and she spun around, smiling. "Oh, how I heard so many tales about that brave cat. The cat who had the intelligence to see through her leader at the time while the rest of the Clan was blind as a bat! I heard she was even offered a position to join this batch of rogues, to which she declined, and I don't blame her, this pit hole is worse than walking in a filed of corpses that rot in that sun." She gestured toward the battle around them, warriors throwing themselves into claws of danger, tearing down rogue after rogue just for a breath of air. Honeypaw squeezed her eyes shut as Whitepaw and Finchpaw were thrown to the ground, a tom leaning over at the two she-cats. 

"Did you steal her body or something?!" Honeypaw demanded, stomping on Beechpaw's tail, who let out a howl and darted away from her, licking his pelt. "Or did she really get hit by a monster? Daystar might've followed and gotten hit in an attempt to save her, but that doesn't mean she was just reived because of those nine lives..." She gritted her teeth and Cedarsky danced around the three apprentices gleefully. 

"If I remember correctly Daystar saved Amberfeather and then proceeded to kill her. Once she was dead, then she was safe." Cedarsky swung around and pointed to two toms that pinned a CinderClan apprentice down, slowly draining the life out of the tom as the rest of his clanmates fought desperately to break their defenses. Honeypaw lowered her ears just as a snap of a bone split the snowy sky, Cloudpaw's spirit floating to the empty afterworld. Slatepaw's cry of her friend rang in her ears, followed by an outraged scream. Mothpaw and Beechpaw glanced in the apprentice's direction and both of them dropped their ears at the sight. 

I have to kill her now, she confirmed, looking at Cedarsky. If I do kill her now, that saves us for now. Nobody says that those two cats will come after us. But I have a feeling they wouldn't hesitate to kill her if they discovered she's taken the lives of many cats herself. Some belonging to her own Clan of rogues. Honeypaw braced herself and summoned the strength to leap, but Mothpaw quickly slipped through and placed a firm paw on her tail, locking eyes with her. For once, she thought she saw something else besides the spirit of Echoflight resting in her crystal pools. 

"Don't do it," she hissed. "Killing isn't going to help anything right now. I can't stop everyone in this field from killing one another, but I can stop the cats that I see. So, as deranged as she seems, I don't want you to kill Cedarsky. Besides, it'll probably be the exact opposite..." 

"Are you doubting my skills?!" Honeypaw snarled, fur bristling. "You're one to talk when you can't even stand a fight---"

"I'm doubting your spirit," Mothpaw snapped. "I know you're strong, but I think Cedarsky's on another level than you. I don't want you to throw yourself into a fight just to prove me wrong because that might kill you. You're not my sister but you are, so the part of me that wants to keep you alive is telling me to stop you."

"Then explain Daystar. Why is she still alive and why did she turn against her own Clan? Tell me that, then!" 

"I don't know those answers! I'm just as lost as you so that's why we need to keep Cedarsky and maybe Jaggedstone and Soulfrost alive! You just saw them slaughter Cloudpaw! He was my friend and now he's gone! We have to swallow our pride and try to get along just for answers."

"Then promise me I'm going to get the answers I want," snapped Honeypaw, facing Cedarsky. "For all I know, this could be a giant lie. Daystar was gone when we were born and Echoflight never mentioned her mother ever having some kind of brother."

Was it to protect us? A softer voice whispered in the back of her head. Honeypaw unleashed her claws and dug it into the snow at Cedarsky's increasing smirk. Deep down... did Echoflight know that her mother was the one behind it? Or is Cedarsky lying to us again just to make us stand on our toes? This is why cats need to tell me what happens because only then will I be able to help them! She lashed her tail and nearly struck Mothpaw on the side. Beechpaw came up and gave her a hard shove from behind, throwing her in the snow. 

She sprang back up and growled, ready to lash out when he held out a paw in defense, angered. "Listen to me, sister," he spat out the words like they were toxic and Honeypaw tried to not let how much the words stabbed her in the heart. "There are some things that only Mothpaw and I know. Right now, both of us know that Cedarsky isn't lying when she says that Daystar is behind all of this."

"What?!" Honeypw snarled, whirling towards her sister, who was torn between shrinking back or standing up. "Then what is it that you know and what makes you guys so sure that Cedarsky isn't lying?!" The calico threw her head back and let out a laugh, settling down after a few moments, enjoying their fight. She snarled, catching her attention and lifted a paw against her own neck, promising. The rogue never flinched, rubbing her insult off like snow. 

"And what makes you so sure that you know everything?" Beechpaw sighed, his paws shaking. "Listen, we've lost Gorsekit, Echoflight, Olivepaw, Sleekwhisker, and we're definitely losing you and Scarpaw after this battle is over. I don't care about Ripplestone and hope he dies in this battle, but you also don't know how much Mothpaw and I have learned." Mothpaw skipped over, avoiding the argument entirely and stood by Cedarsky's side, who had pulled herself into a warm ball and took a quick nap, her ears were still pricked, obviously listening to everything the apprentices had to say. 

And do you know much I've lost? My mother, two brothers, and my little sister! Honeypaw wanted to say that, but Beechpaw talked over her like she was reduced to ash. 

"Maybe it's you who doesn't understand and that's not a bad thing. The one thing that's really connecting us together is the fact that Daystar is behind it all. All of us want some kind of revenge on her and even though Mothpaw will probably argue and say we need to spare her life, we have to kill her. Get answers and then kill her, that's all," Beechpaw explained, planting his steadfast gaze on the leader's den. "I know that I might die. I know that you or Mothpaw could easily die in this battle now. I'm not that blind to realize it. I just... I just want to prove to someone that I was alive."

"What a speech," mocked Cedarsky, getting back to her paws. "If you're all so sure and ready to die, then we might as well hurry up and go there. Daystar never did get to see her daughter's offsprings. Except for one."

Gorsekit?! Beechpaw and Mothpaw jumped to their paws and scanned the battle for a familiar pelt the color of dust. Keeping the hope locked away, Honeypaw's nostrils flared, and she snapped at the rogue, "What do you mean?! Is Gorsekit in this battle right now?!"

"Who knows?" Cedarsky taunted, heading toward the den, her voice sending chills down her spine. "That answer is for you to find out."