"S-Silentpaw?" Maplethorn asked, her tail vibrating with joy, still hardly believing the sight before her.

"Yes," Silentpaw smiled at her.

She launched towards her sister and rubbed her head with her sister's, licking her fur and purring uncontrollably.

"Welcome home, sister," Maplethorn purred. "You have no idea how shocked I was when I returned and realised you weren't here."

"I'm sorry for leaving you without even a proper farewell, but Dovesprig's order was for us to leave immediately, thus we couldn't complain, after all, if Dovesprig received such an auspicious prophecy, we must obey it, right?" Silentpaw meowed softly.

"How about we catch up after I report to Cinderstar about my vigil?" Maplethorn replied, eyes darkening at the mention of WillowClan's medicine cat.

"Sounds great!" Silentpaw beamed. "Wait...vigil? Are you a...warrior now, Maple..."

"Maplethorn's my new name. Do you like it?" Maplethorn asked as they leaped into camp and climbed up the path to the leader's den.

"Of course and congratulations!" Silentpaw grinned, purring even louder as she rubbed her head against Maplethorn's shoulder, "It suits you wonderfully!"

"Wait outside," Maplethorn meowed, "I'll tell Cinderstar of your arrival."

Silentpaw nodded as she stepped into the leader's den after a beckoning flick of Cinderstar's tail.

"Any news then, Maple...thorn?" Cinderstar questioned, turning around to face her as she lingered for a while before saying her new suffix, as though she regretted making her a warrior.

"Well, nothing much, apart from the fact that Silentpaw is now home with us," Maplethorn casually responded, looking directly into Cinderstar's deep blue eyes.

"She's back?" Cinderstar gasped, taken aback as her eyes widened.

"Yes. What's so surprising, dear leader? Did you believe she'd die whilst travelling there or back?" Maplethorn queried, voice controlled, biting one side of her cheek to quell the anger rising inside her.

"N-no, of course not! I was just surprised as to how short of a time frame she had returned in. Dovesprig said-" Cinderstar stammered before controlling herself and paused for a couple of seconds before speaking, "You are dismissed and may spend the rest of the night however you wish. Tomorrow, you will begin your duties as a full warrior of MistClan."

Maplethorn dipped her head in respect before leaving the den and walked with Silentpaw to the medicine cats' den.

"So, sister," Silentpaw purred. "Tell me about what happened during your exile and after you returned."

"Well," Maplethorn began. "It's a long story..."

[TIMESKIP]

"I see," Silentpaw meowed as Maplethorn wrapped up her story. "Is your shoulder alright?"

Back to our kithood then, Maplethorn internally sighed as Silentpaw clambered over her, checking her entire body for wounds or cuts.

"Well," Maplethorn continued, "I see you were sent off on a journey by Dovesprig of WillowClan?"

"Of course!" Silentpaw replied proudly, after falling off Maplethorn's back with a quiet oof, and puffed her chest out. Silentpaw was larger than Maplethorn, which wasn't really surprising, considering that practically over half of the clan stood taller than her, however, weighed lighter than a feather.

"Well, Ghostwhisper told me why you left. Since I have the whole night to spare, can I tell you my side of the story?"

"Certainly," Silentpaw purred.

"Well, according to Ghostwhisper, at the Gathering in which I was held during my exile, after the announcements made by the leaders, Dovesprig announced a prophecy which implied that some selected cats of each clan would come together and rescue some faraway clan. You were the sole representative of our clan, correct?"

Silentpaw meowed, "Yes, I was."

"Then, you left, but Ghostwhisper believes this was merely a plan orchestrated by the leaders to get rid of cats that were a threat to them, the cats that promised rebellion. I'm sure I would've gone, had not I been exiled during that moon," Maplethorn continued, finishing the story.

"No! You can't think of it like that!" Silentpaw bursted. "Dovesprig is a cat of virtue and the literal embodiment of StarClan! She would never harm us! Also, Cinderstar cares about us so much we would never even think of a rebellion! All I've ever done is heal cats so why would I be considered a threat?"

Does that mean I'm the true embodiment of the Starless Forest? Also, Silentpaw, Cinderstar wants you dead because she knows that you are completely under my influence from the very moment your eyes opened. She knows that she will never be able to shake your roots, never cause you to turn against me, so she wants to kill you off to prevent anyone from standing by my side, Maplethorn furrowed her brow unintentionally as she contemplated the sudden thought that formed within her mind.

"Very well," Maplethorn sighed. "Tell me about your journey, Silentpaw, I'm dying to know."

"Cinderstar picked me as the sole representative of MistClan and as our group gathered to leave, Dovesprig herself wished us good luck. We followed the brightest star in the night sky, for moons. Indeed, some cats died, due to hunger or the bitter leaf-bare, but it was for the greater good, right? Anyway, after we reached a clan hidden deep underground, we slowly helped to rehabilitate them and brought them above ground. This was no easy process, of course. They had stayed underground for such a long time, they weren't ready to easily convert to our beliefs, but we convinced them, especially me, that if they didn't do this, it would only bring complete destruction upon their clan. We stayed for a moon, to help them adjust before we returned. And now, here I am!" Silentpaw proudly proclaimed as she told her story to Maplethorn.

No doubt a plan to get rid of them all. The underground clan was merely a stroke of luck that seemed to be bestowed upon them by StarClan. They were supposed to keep wandering until the end of their days, and even then, not finding any 'clan' to rescue, Maplethorn gritted her teeth as she praised her sister for her astounding skill and bravery.

"I shall go to sleep now. It's getting late and I may be put on dawn patrol tomorrow," Maplethorn rose as she bid farewell to her sister as she walked, a dark cloud looming over her emotions as she lay down in her nest and closed her eyes.

"Sister!" Goldenkit squealed, bouncing towards Maplethorn, as she opened her eyes in the Starless Forest, watching the kitten tripping over her paws as she wriggled with excitement, "I heard you received your warrior name, Maplethorn, is it? Such a fierce name! You sound like a warrior!"

"Maplethorn," Scorchflame purred.

"Mother," she meowed as she greeted Scorchflame back.

"Silentpaw was lucky, was she not? You are truly one to deduce on plans quickly, hey?" Scorchflame nudged Maplethorn playfully.

"Scorchflame..." Maplethorn began. "Do you know of any other clan apart from the four we currently know of?"

"Well," Scorchflame meowed. "There was once an underground clan, a group that had dissented from the clans a long, long time ago, almost as far back as the reign of Duskstar."

Maplethorn tipped her head to the side, interested. Heatherstalk had never once mentioned another clan that existed outside the current four before.

"Of course, we didn't know. It was such a long time ago and leaders also found it to be a slap in the face of their leadership so tried to cover it up as much as possible. It worked, clearly, since no one nowadays knows, clearly. But, my dear daughter, the further you step away from the light, the more monsters you will find in the darkness. What defines you will be your response to them," Scorchflame continued.

"I'm ready to listen, mother," Maplethorn meowed.

"Well, around the reign of Duskstar, tensions started brewing among the clans as floods, droughts and a lack of prey completely devastated the landscape. Some cats had lost too much and decided to leave. At a Gathering, one cat, Flickerflight, a bold, daring young cat, spoke up, saying she was going to leave and also said that she knew there were cats out there who thought the same. If they wanted to be cowards and facing this continued ruin which would eventually lead to complete devastation. If they were brave enough to join her, she would promise to bring them to a new land of promises and hope. Some cats joined her, due to their optimism or the fact that they could not tolerate spending another second within their territory, with all their clanmates dying around them. Others who were more level-headed and less optimistic than their peers, saw Flickerflight's words as nothing more than an empty promise. Flickerflight left with her band of followers and practically vanished without a trace. Many efforts were made to track down where they went, but no one heard a word from them. However, one cat returned, generations later, saying they were from GlowClan, the clan which had departed a long time ago. Needless to say, he was used to try and locate the cats who had departed, for the rest of the clans marked them as traitors, but no matter how hard they tried, they could not find the clan and the cat who had returned, completely disappeared, just like how he appeared out of thin air," Scorchflame meowed.

Maplethorn nodded as she tried to ignore her unborn sister snoring at their paws. For a cat of her size, Maplethorn was shocked by the volume of the snoring that Goldenkit produced, certain StarClan could hear those snores from here.

Scorchflame winced slightly as she noticed Maplethorn staring at her sister,

"Apologies, my darling, I should've probably thought beforehand to keep your sister entertained before you entered."

"It's alright," Maplethorn replied, stifling a yawn of her own.

"Silentpaw returned, right?" Scorchflame meowed, breaking the pregnant pause that formed between them.

"Yes," Maplethorn replied, more relaxed now as she lay down on her stomach, tail lazily swishing around.

"That's good to hear," Scorchflame meowed indifferently, dipping her head, but Maplethorn swore she could see a relief flickering in her eyes.

A heavy thud alerted Maplethorn as she instantly leapt to her paws, whipping around. Even with a mentor of a high rank as Scorchflame didn't mean that others wouldn't randomly attack her. Survival of the fittest, as both her mother and Mapleshade said.

However, it was only the bulky tortoiseshell she-cat, ruler of the Starless Forest that emerged from the darkness, shadows practically melting off her stocky body as her sinister amber eyes surveyed Maplethorn, her mother and her unborn sister.

"Such a nice family reunion, hm?" Mapleshade growled softly, stalking towards the trio, muscles rippling under her thick, dense fur.

Maplethorn stilled completely as her breath hitched in her throat. She felt her mother tense beside her, felt Scorchflame's fur bristle beside her as she heard her mother's voice whisper urgently into her ear, just as the tortoiseshell she-cat charged towards them, "Wake up."