"Hold still, otherwise I won't be able to treat your wounds."

Larkpaw gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the burning sensation as Hollytail applied a paste of unfamiliar herbs to her scratches. "I'm sorry," she managed to say.

In the meantime, the next day had dawned. Larkpaw couldn't even remember how she had got here or if she had slept at all. In any case, she didn't feel exhausted.

She had long since realised that she was in the SnowClan camp, or more precisely, in the medicine cat's den, which in turn was located in a small cave system. From outside, she could hear voices and numerous unfamiliar scents. The thought that her Clanmates were worried about her robbed her of the last of her sanity, but so far she hadn't had the chance to ask when she would be allowed to return.

"So." Hollytail stepped back. "Make sure you don't get any dirt on the wounds. I'll make you new poultices at sunset today."

Larkpaw bowed her head to the grey-brown tabby she-cat. "Thank you!" she meowed before she twisted backwards to see what Hollytail had done. The she-cat had fixed the pastes with leaves. Larkpaw doubted that they would last long. It would be best if I didn't move at all.

While she stood there as rigid as a stone, Hollytail began to clear away the unused herbs.

It's exhausting to stand for so long. Larkpaw moved her head carefully to get a better picture of the den. From her vantage point, she couldn't see much. All she knew was that she was in one of the back caves and the exit, through which bright sunlight flooded, was about a leap away.

"Do you know who attacked you?"

Larkpaw flinched in surprise. She thought about how she should answer this question. How would Hollytail react when she learnt that it had been a former RoseClan cat?

"I don't know," Larkpaw replied, which was at least partly true. "Probably a rogue."

Hollytail gave a contemptuous snort. "Rogues have no honour. I hope Leapfoot is stepping up patrols on the border to make sure he doesn't get any ideas about invading our territory." She extended her claws. "And if he does dare, we'll be prepared."

Larkpaw stared at her with her mouth open. That was an unusual way of thinking for a medicine cat.

Rogues have no honour. When she thought back to what Hollytail had said, she felt hot. Flutter, Fennel, Aster and the kits are nothing like this tom. There can be good rogues too.

The memory of the moment when Flutter had confessed to her shortly after Smallblotch had disappeared that she would rather leave flashed through her mind like a lightning bolt.

But they hadn't left yet. Perhaps Flutter had changed her mind.

"Whatever," Hollytail sighed. "Later, Greypaw and Brindlepaw should come by and bring you some fresh prey and nest materials."

An orange and white she-cat with large, round, amber-coloured eyes appeared. It wasn't until Hollytail lowered her head and meowed a greeting in a formal tone that Larkpaw realised that this was Specklestar. She hurriedly lowered her head as well. She didn't want to make any mistakes in front of the leader of SnowClan.

Specklestar let her watchful gaze wander over Larkpaw and focussed on her eyes in particular. Larkpaw twitched the tip of her tail nervously. She didn't like the way Specklestar was looking at her.

She better not say anything about my eye colours. It was only with difficulty that Larkpaw was able to hold back from snapping.

Most of the time, she was no longer aware of the unusual feature, since she was careful not to look at her reflection while drinking, and no cat had ever asked her about it again.

Specklestar turned to Hollytail. She tilted her head two times to the right side and scratched a long line on the ground with her paws.

After a short pause, Hollytail shook her head firmly.

Again, Specklestar tilted her head two times to the right, moved her tail circularly and finally held it up high.

When Hollytail twitched her ears, Specklestar padded the ground once with her left front paw and disappeared from the den.

Confused, Larkpaw looked alternately at the spot where the leader had been standing and at Hollytail. She had no idea that SnowClan was so serious with its taciturnity. The two she-cats hadn't meowed once and yet, miraculously, they had understood each other.

"What were you two—" Larkpaw searched for the right word, "talking about?" She wasn't sure if that was the right term, but she couldn't think of a better way to put it.

Hollytail turned to her with a doubtful expression. "Well, I don't know if I should tell you. Body language is a closely guarded secret of our Clan. But... I guess if you know a few harmless everyday gestures, it won't hurt."

Larkpaw's heart leapt for joy. It was certainly an interesting experience to learn about the customs of another Clan.

Hollytail settled down in front of her with her paws folded under her. "Where should I start?" she mumbled, more to herself.

"What were the gestures you and Specklestar just used?" Larkpaw suggested, hoping that they hadn't been having an secretive conversation.

"Right!" Hollytail twitched her whiskers in amusement. "Well, let's start from the beginning. Tilting your head twice always symbolises a question." Hollytail scratched a line on the ground and added, "And this sign means something like 'duration'. In combination with the question gesture, it becomes something like the question 'How long will it take?'."

How interesting, Larkpaw thought. She hardly knew anything about the SnowClan cats' communication system, yet it seemed incredibly exciting. "What does it mean when you move your tail like that?" She tried to imitate the circular motion, but she wasn't used to it, so it felt rather strange.

Hollytail curled her muzzle in confusion. "It's important that you do that in combination with this gesture." To demonstrate, she performed the circular motion and also raised her tail in the air. "It has the meaning 'to take care of'. The other two gestures also exist individually, but... that doesn't matter now."

It was clear to Larkpaw that Hollytail didn't want to reveal her Clan's secrets, even though she secretly wondered if they weren't taking it too far. As far as she had understood, it was only about simple communication.

"She here?"

Larkpaw's fur bristled at the snide tone. She turned around to see who had called that out - and found herself face to face with Brindlepaw.

As quickly as the river in the ravine, her memories of the last Gathering came flooding back. Brindlepaw had been the apprentice who had dared to call RoseClan vile. Larkpaw trembled with rage at the mere thought of it. At that moment, she felt the urge to pounce on Brindlepaw and force her to take back her accusation.

But she had better not do that in the middle of a strange Clan's camp. Still, Larkpaw struggled to remain calm.

"What do you mean?" Hollytail walked past Larkpaw and looked sternly at Brindlepaw from narrowed eyes. "Larkpaw is our guest and she's also wounded. Doesn't Darkwhisker teach you respect?"

Brindlepaw flattened her ears and wanted to answer, but Hollytail didn't even give her the chance. "You really should learn how to behave in the presence of other cats. Especially if this is a RoseClan cat."

At the mention of Larkpaw's Clan, the SnowClan apprentice slumped her shoulders and seemed to shrink. The small-voiced look on her face made Larkpaw feel malicious joy. That's what you get for insulting others!

She felt relieved when Brindlepaw finally walked backwards out of the den again. "Greypaw will definitely bring the prey later." With these words, she wanted to disappear, but Hollytail cut her off.

"And what about you?" she asked in an ominous tone. "As far as I know, you were responsible for organising the nest material. Where is it anyway?"

At that moment, a dark grey, almost black she-cat with light golden eyes appeared in the entrance to the medicine cat's den. Her presence alone radiated a lot of authority, so that not only Brindlepaw but also Larkpaw had to flatten her ears.

The SnowClan she-cat's gaze immediately fell on Brindlepaw. "Didn't I ask you to get the nest material for Larkpaw?" she asked in such an icy tone that Larkpaw trembled. She certainly didn't want to mess things up with her. It was hard to believe that Brindlepaw dared to go against her orders. I would do anything as soon as she glances at me out of the corner of her eye.

"I'll go," Brindlepaw grumbled and slipped outside.

Snorting, the dark grey she-cat looked after her. "I don't know what to do with her," she admitted. "I'm slowly running out of options."

"It's not your fault," Hollytail soothed her with a purr and stroked her flank with her tail. "From this point on, it's entirely up to Brindlepaw how she behaves."

"I just wish she was as simple as her brothers," the dark grey she-cat sighed.

Larkpaw scratched behind her ear, confused. Suddenly the cats were talking to each other normally. Was it perhaps because she was in the den with them and they feared she could decode their gestures? But perhaps their silent communication system wasn't sophisticated enough to hold every conversation in this way.

At that moment, the dark grey she-cat turned to Larkpaw. Her eyes widened noticeably and she padded forward to sniff at the apprentice.

Larkpaw backed away suspiciously. Her whole body felt stiff. What's that supposed to be?

"It's hard to believe I'm seeing this."

Oh please! I don't look that unusual! She acts as if I have three heads.

Larkpaw allowed herself a silent sigh when the she-cat let go of her again. She fervently hoped that not all SnowClan cats made such a fuss about her eyes.

The dark grey she-cat pointed at Larkpaw with one paw and tilted her head to the right twice. Her eyes shone almost hopefully, which made Larkpaw even more nervous. Her claws itched to ask what the two cats were talking about, but at the same time she knew that she probably wouldn't get a proper answer.

In response, Hollytail tilted her head once to either side.

By my whiskers, if only I knew what that meant!

All of a sudden, Larkpaw's nose began to tingle unpleasantly and she couldn't help but sneeze. Embarrassed, she licked her chest fur as the she-cats turned round.

"Oh!" The dark grey warrior raised her head in surprise. "How rude of me not to introduce myself. I'm Darkwhisker. As you may have noticed, Brindlepaw is my apprentice, although I'm not so sure she understood that." She purred amusedly.

Larkpaw blinked in amusement as well. Suddenly, Darkwhisker no longer seemed so threatening. After all, she was also just a cat.

Then Hollytail stood in front of Larkpaw. "She needs some rest now."

"All right." Darkwhisker didn't look a bit disappointed. "Then I'll go and see where Robinpelt and Iceblossom are hanging around." Longing could be heard in her tone. "I haven't seen them all day."

With that, Darkwhisker disappeared again.

Larkpaw was relieved that at least most of the cats she met treated her nicely. Still, she felt an incredibly strong longing for home. She would love to jump up right away and run to the RoseClan camp.

It can't be that I'm stuck here. My Clanmates will find me soon, I'm sure of it.

***

As dusk fell, Larkpaw felt so wide awake that she doubted she would be able to sleep that night.

Hollytail was just changing Larkpaw's poultices. The tortico she-cat endured the procedure without complaint.

As soon as Hollytail had finished, Larkpaw jumped up. "Thank you," she meowed.

"You don't have to thank me." Hollytail flicked her tail dismissively. "This is my duty, after all."

Larkpaw stepped to the entrance of the den and peeked outside. The resemblance to her own camp made her feel a deep pang in her heart. The cats sat and lay together in groups, sharing prey or grooming each other's fur. In this aspect, all Clans are probably similar.

Then Larkpaw's gaze fell on Brindlepaw, Goldenpaw, Greypaw and Cedarpaw, who were mock-fighting next to a mossy tree stump. At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to be in the apprentices' den with the other apprentices and talk to them about the day.

"You must miss your Clan."

Larkpaw was so lost in thought that the sudden sound of Hollytail's meow startled her. Embarrassed, she licked her chest fur. "I snuck out of camp," she admitted, although she was sure that Hollytail had already figured that out. "I'd like to go back right away, but I don't know how to explain it to them."

"Why did you disappear in the middle of the night anyway?" Hollytail inquired curiously.

I can't tell her that! Larkpaw was so overwhelmed that he couldn't get a word out.

Apparently Hollytail realised that there was no point in questioning her further, because she said in an indifferent tone: "It doesn't matter if you don't want to tell me. But you have to clear it up with your Clan."

"Yeah, right!" Larkpaw jumped up. "When can I go back to them?"

With a flick of her tail, Hollytail motioned for her to sit down again. "First your injuries have to heal. You can't possibly walk that long in your current state unless you want them to rip open again."

Larkpaw lowered her head in shame. She hadn't even thought about that. "But surely they already know I'm here, don't they?"

When Hollytail avoided her gaze, her fur bristled. "Didn't anyone tell them?" the apprentice asked with a hint of panic.

"Today at sunhigh, Leapfoot was actually planning to send a patrol to the border to do just that," Hollytail told her after a few heartbeats of silence. "But Specklestar was against it."

Larkpaw wrinkled her muzzle in confusion. "Why was that?"

"I don't know," Hollytail sighed. "She didn't give a reason. To be honest, I don't think it's right for her to keep you here, and I'm sure other cats think so too. But most of the Clan has a blind loyalty to Specklestar. They would follow her every order without exception."

"It's certainly not allowed to keep cats from other Clans prisoner," Larkpaw interjected. "Even Specklestar has to abide by that rule."

Hollytail shook her head. "As leader, Specklestar has the freedom to set her own laws. Besides, prisoners have often been taken in the past. It was usually to blackmail the other Clan or to prove to them after a defeat that they were at least as strong. And since there is no rule in the warrior code that forbids such things... well."

Larkpaw's pelt prickled. That's just not right. If RoseClan found out what SnowClan had done, it might end in a fight. They couldn't waste their energy unnecessarily during Leaf-fall. "But you're a medicine cat, aren't you? Aren't you even above her in some situations?"

"Things work differently in SnowClan," Hollytail explained. "The leader always has the sole power of decision. Neither the deputy, nor the medicine cat, nor the Warriors' Council or the elders have the right to contradict them. Unconditional loyalty is required. This is already instilled in the kits."

These words aroused annoyance in Larkpaw. "A single cat can't possibly lead an entire Clan!"

But Hollytail only shrugged her shoulders helplessly. "It's always been like that. There's nothing you can do about it."

Yes, there certainly is! Larkpaw refrained from answering. She couldn't shake off the feeling that things couldn't always be right in SnowClan when all cats without exception had to obey Specklestar's orders.

What if she made the wrong decisions? In the worst case, that could mean the end for all of them.

Then Hollytail stood up and trotted to her nest. "It would do you good to go to sleep soon," the grey-brown tabby she-cat meowed over her shoulder. "You need as much sleep as possible to recover."

Larkpaw twitched her ears dismissively. "Yes, yes, in a moment."

She stared up into the sky with wide eyes. What did StarClan think about the way SnowClan lived? The cats' ancestors hadn't developed the rank of the deputy for nothing.

It's impossible to lead a Clan alone. It only leads to rash decisions. Larkpaw unsheathed her claws. Someone has to tell Specklestar that she can't just hold me hostage like this — even if it has to be me.