The clan flocked behind Cinderstar as they approached the hazardous abyss between the territories of StormClan and MistClan. Maplethorn looked up at the moon, still rising in the darkness, nearly full...perhaps...this would be her first Gathering. She shook the thought from her mind and sighed. Cinderstar had never, ever since her return, chosen Maplethorn to attend the Gathering as a representative of the clan. She knew that the possibility of attending a Gathering was as feasible as a kit's daydreams.

"Briar," Cinderstar meowed, deep blue eyes hooded in the darkness as she stepped towards the cliff, motioning the golden she-cat to step towards her.

"Your final trial will be to descend to the bottom of the abyss, fetch a piece of bone of a deceased and make it up by sun-high. If you return after the given time period, you will fail the assessment and may not join the clan."

"No!" Shadepool meowed, outraged, barely letting the leader finish."You can't expect a cat of no training to do something as dangerous-"

"Yes I can, Shadepool," Cinderstar meowed calmly, though flashed her fangs at the insolent tom to shut him up. "I'm the leader of this clan and my word is law."

Maplethorn saw Waspsting's eyes flash with ire. Clearly her father was so obsessed with his son that he didn't wish for even the leader to speak in such a manner to Shadepool.

"But," Shadepool protested, approaching the shocked golden she-cat, protectively circling her with his body. "She'd die! She's not nearly as skilled-"

"Shadepool," Cinderstar reprimanded, her tone suddenly harsh, harsh enough to make even Waspsting wither slightly, the rest of the clan, however, seemed to try and hide behind each other to avoid the leader's blistering gaze. Maplethorn casually wondered whether leaders took lessons from other leaders to learn how to make their voice as hard as steel.

"You may choose any other trial, but not this one," Shadepool meowed confidently, chest slightly puffed, as though he was actually the leader of the clan instead.

Cinderstar stood perfectly still, so still that it seemed even the most tranquil of waters seemed to ripple. She stood like that for a couple of seconds before giving a small smile, one that promised chaos.

"Alright then, Shadepool," Cinderstar meowed calmly. "You said that you believed descending the abyss would be too difficult for an untrained cat like Briar, correct?"

Maplethorn watched as her brother's blue eyes bore into the leader's as he replied, "Yes. It is clearly so. Even the most untrained in the clan would be able to tell this isn't fair."

Maplethorn winced, almost feeling pity for her former brother as she knew he had stumbled right into the trap the leader set for him.

"Very well," Cinderstar smirked. "Shadepool, since you clearly believe that you are such a spectacular warrior, why don't you accompany Briar down the abyss? She could clearly do with some company, right?"

Shadepool blinked, mouth agape, almost like a carbon copy of Waspsting's facial expression. Maplethorn smirked, swishing her tail around as Heatherstalk pressed herself against Maplethorn's medium-length fur, possibly to warm her against the chilly night air. However, Maplethorn didn't need that comfort, she was used to most of the harsh aspects of life, but she almost felt...lighter with those who were closer to her.

"W-well, I mean," Shadepool stammered, blue eyes still glistening with alarm, but Briar gave him a look that would only induce pure pity from anyone who was caught under her gaze and Shadepool stood up straight, fear completely vanishing as he said. "I will do it."

Cinderstar smiled serenely as she said, "You may begin now."

Most of her clanmates stuck around to watch, the darkness of the abyss not challenging to most of their eyes, however, some left, either because of duties they needed to attend to, such as the medicine cats, or because they possibly decided that sacrificing their sleep for something this trivial wasn't worth it.

Maplethorn snuck away, having other plans in mind, constantly checking behind her shoulder to see if her clanmates were following her. She had a plan, and didn't want it to be interfered with this time.

Maplethorn finally found the shallower part of the abyss and dove in, paws connecting with the closest ledge.

My daughter, Scorchflame meowed. What are you planning to do?

You'll find out soon enough, Maplethorn replied, gritting her teeth as she could feel the ghost of the pain from her dislocated shoulder hovering over her. Besides, I thought you knew since you had 'my whole future before your eyes'.

Maplethorn didn't hear her mother's reply as she continued to leap and fall through the abyss, this time more cautious about judging the distance between ledges and possible landing places with her eyes.

It seemed as though only a couple of seconds had passed before her paws came into contact with the bottom of the abyss and she'd shocked herself with her speed. Perhaps it was because she'd taken a longer route last time,

Regardless, Maplethorn swiftly found the skull of Adderpaw, the skull of the other deceased apprentices, clearly defined by the unusual size of the skull, almost twice as large as Maplethorn's own one. She unintentionally shuddered at the thought of facing someone as large as Adderpaw in combat. She struggled to haul the skull as far as possible before panting in exertion. Her spring-green eyes flickered upwards, trying to locate where the pair descended. Perhaps this was futile, after all, the abyss stretched so far that its length was almost unfathomable.

She was about to give up and leave the two to their own devices until a gust of abyss wind swept into her face, carrying along the scent of both her brother and of Briar.

With a renewed strength, Maplethorn dragged the skull, almost running with it, and by the time her strength finally started to wear away, she glimpsed upward, near-full moon faintly illuminating two silhouettes darting above her and smirked. They'd chosen one of the rather deeper portions of the abyss to descend from. Clearly, even despite Waspsting's guidance last time, Shadepool couldn't remember where the easier part of the abyss was.

Maplethorn quickly got to work, hoping the darkness of the abyss would partially conceal her, especially with all the jagged rocks and ledges that littered this portion of the abyss. She cleared out most of the bones, placing them far out of reach and anticipating they wouldn't take the trouble to walk further than necessary. She dragged the skull into the centre and smiled before sprinting back to where she descended the abyss and hoped that Cinderstar would only be more jarred than when she brought Fangpaw's skull to her.

She ascended the abyss, paws barely scraping against the rock as she flew out, finally landing on soft grass as she hurried back to camp, finding herself tucked into a tight ball as she waited for sun-high to approach, eyes unintentionally closing as she felt herself drifting away into the realm of sleep.

"Maplethorn," Scorchflame meowed, forcing her to open her eyes.

"No," Maplethorn replied, curling back into a ball. "Not me. Who's Maplethorn? I'm not Maplethorn."

"I understand that you fear the water," her mother sighed. "But I promise that with time, this will become easier for you."

"No," she mewled again, squeezing her eyes shut until she could see pinpricks of colours dancing across the insides of her eyelids.

"Don't make me create a river right underneath your paws," Maplethorn's mother warned her and she sighed as she faced Scorchflame.

"I promise I'll only increase the intensity of the water only when you're comfortable with the streams that I create," Scorflame meowed reassuringly as she gave Maplethorn a lick on the ear.

Which will be when I'm dead, she growled in her mind.

"No sass from you, my kit," Scorchflame replied, nudging Maplethorn's flank as she saw a stream slowly fizzing into sight and flowing gently in front of her.

She flinched unintentionally as she tried her best to quell another panic attack brewing in her chest.

"Breathe," her mother growled, voice harsher than how she previously would address her, and she obliged.

Maplethorn inhaled, allowed her mother to count to three, held her breath for six more counts before releasing it for five. She felt her mother guide her into the water as she continued to practise breathing, barely feeling the liquid lapping against her pelt as she continued to wade into the water until it touched her stomach.

The moment Scorchflame ceased counting, Maplethorn fully felt the force of the water, even though it was a slow trickle and gave a yowl of despair as she fought against Scorchflame who was expecting this and bit into Maplethorn's scruff.

"Stop panicking!" Scorchflame growled as she tried to hold a flailing Maplethorn down.

As Maplethorn scrambled for the shores, both her paws finally gripping against the earth, she felt Scorchflame hauling her back in.

"Only when you control yourself without my guidance will I allow you to get out," Scorchflame hissed at Maplethorn, trying to steer clear of her unsheathed claws waving frantically around.

Maplethorn opened her mouth, attempting to let out another scream, however, this time, swallowed water instead, sending her into a full panic attack. Maplethorn sank underneath the surface of the water, and saw, through a blurry haze, her mother's scarred calico pelt leaping out of the water and tried to follow suit, only to find her left paw stuck under an ancient, gnarled root. She tried yanking her paw, fighting another flashback that swarmed before her eyes. The lack of air sent her spiralling into a realm of hysteria as she clawed fruitlessly at the water, hoping to drag herself out of the water.

Suddenly, a pang of asphyxiation snapped her concentration into focus. She exhaled, watching the stream of bubbles floating to the surface, counting them one by one, until her mind was distracted from the water. She could see the fuzzy splotches of black edging into her vision and knew she needed to act quickly. Reaching down, survival instincts kicking in, unsheathed her claws again and sliced through the gnarled tree root. Once her hindpaw was free, she clawed through the water, head finally bursting out as she inhaled deeply, never so grateful for air in her life.

"What was that for?" Maplethorn spluttered, shaking water from her pelt as she panted, body heaving. "Why did you leave me? Did you wish for me to drown?"

"Oh, calm down," Scorchflame scoffed, flicking her tail as she gave a hint of a smile. "I wouldn't have let you drown. I thought that if you were alone, you could clear your head, as no one is forcing you to stay in the water."

Maplethorn huffed, eyes narrowed as she tucked her paws beneath her body. She watched as a small golden bundle wriggled its way to her.

"Sister!" Goldenkit mewed, rubbing against Maplethorn's wet pelt.

"Good to see you, Goldenkit," Maplethorn purred, giving the tiny kit a lick on the forehead.

The golden tabby she-kit, Maplethorn mused, was the one that looked closest to her father. It was a pity she died...perhaps Waspsting would've found some pity in his heart and taken the she-kit under his care, if she had survived the kitting.

"Mother," Maplethorn meowed.

"Yes?" Scorchflame asked, looking at Goldenkit who was snoring on top of Maplethorn's back.

"Why is Goldenkit in the Starless Forest? Shouldn't she be in StarClan for she hasn't committed any sins?" Maplethorn asked, craning her head to look at her sleeping sister.

"Well," Scorchflame sighed. "StarClan thought so as well. But I wished to keep her for...for I pitied that she never would have a chance at life, that she'd never grow up and experience more...deeper emotions and thoughts. Thus, I stole her from StarClan's grounds whilst she was sleeping and carried her here."

Maplethorn eyed her mother as she listened to her story, licking her whiskers, still shivering slightly from the river that was now non-existent.

"And?" Maplethorn prompted as Scorchflame stopped talking. "That can't be all."

"StarClan was mildly irritated, of course, at the fact that I'd taken something that belonged to them. However, one brash, reckless, stupid deceased apprentice decided that he would be brave and smart enough to sneak a kit out of the Forest with hundreds of bloodthirsty cats. Needless to say, he was killed and then StarClan got incredibly furious that we killed one of their own, thus, started releasing their cats into our territory in hopes of killing us, believing they were justified in their actions because we killed one of their members who crossed the border between our lands. That, my daughter, is a law that no one is exempt from, unless we are negotiating under certain conditions. StarClan, my daughter, is not as saintly and pure as they claim to be. In fact, if they are a fraction of what they claim to be, I will claw out my heart right in front of them and give them all the secrets of the Forest. It only so happened that we were the ones who didn't communicate with the clans first, thus we are antagonised for our 'evil deeds' when the truth is that StarClan only keeps those who they believe will spread their propaganda to the next generations."

Maplethorn could see Scorchflame's fury in her eyes as her mother's claws unsheathed, raking them into the pelt of an unsuspecting passerby, a dark colourpoint tom with faint bengal patterns and ice-blue eyes, who was shocked at her mother's actions and whirled around, ready to fight.

However, her mother was already out of reach and aimed a bite at the tom's tail. The black cat responded with a pained screech as he tore his tail from Scorchflame's grasp. It finally dawned on Maplethorn that this was the first time she actually saw her mother fight and she had to admit, Scorchflame was so fast, yet so skilled. Every bite or strike that her mother aimed was deliberate and forceful, timed to inflict the most pain, as well as ensuring she wouldn't be attacked in the process. Maplethorn winced involuntarily as she saw the scars that littered her mother's pelt and only wondered how skilled the ancient tortoiseshell was...if she could truly inflict so much damage on her mother. Maplethorn licked her paws, hoping she would never face Mapleshade in combat.

Maplethorn twisted her head to look at Goldenkit, somehow still sleeping peacefully, despite the commotion going on. As she turned back to watch Scorchflame, she realised a small circle had formed around them, which so happened to be including her as well.

"Go Scorchflame!" A cream-coloured she-cat with seal points sitting beside her cheered her mother on.

"No way, Creamspot! Crowfang will win for sure!" A dusty-blue she-cat meowed.

Maplethorn rolled her eyes as she stretched gently, so as not to awaken her sister.

"You're Scorchflame's daughter, right?" a deep, smoky, voice meowed to her left. "Golden's sister...Maplethorn, isn't it?"

Maplethorn tore her gaze away from the battle and faced a massive, sturdy dark brown tabby tom with a paler underbelly and wide, pale amber eyes that radiated menace and fury.

"Yes," Maplethorn meowed, daunted by the tom's size. Perhaps it was because she was lying down on her stomach and didn't dare to move, scared to disturb her sister from her peaceful slumber.

"It's nice to finally meet you," the dark brown tom rumbled, smiling slightly. A smile that indicated he had finally found someone to further fuel whatever plans he was brewing.

"Indeed," Maplethorn meowed. "I never quite caught your name?"

"Tigerstar," the dark brown tabby replied, proud of his name.

Tigerstar. Maplethorn racked her brains as she tried to remember a leader from the current four clans of that name, resulting in only one, however, that Tigerstar had orange eyes and a ginger pelt.

She mentally face-pawed as she remembered about the older four clans that used to exist, until disasters upon disasters completely wrecked all of them, rendering the remaining survivors were forced to leave, picking up some more members along the way.

"You're the cat that tried to revolt against...Flamestar's, I think that was his name, rule? Because he was a kittypet or something," Maplethorn finally replied, surprised that more cats had now joined the fighting and she was sure it wouldn't be ending anytime soon.

"Firestar," Tigerstar corrected Maplethorn. "And yes, he was a no-good, lazy, stupid kittypet. He didn't understand that the clan needed a rigorous, strict leader which would, in turn, bring prosperity to the whole of ThunderClan! Well, I suppose, the closest thing that you have to ThunderClan is StormClan."

"I see," Maplethorn meowed, not too sure what else to say in this situation.

"I admire MistClan though, I must say," Tigerstar continued, sitting down beside Maplethorn. "I admire that your clan has actually thought of methods to weed out the weaker and less capable cats, after all, only the strong are worthy of the rewards the clan reaps."

"So do I," Maplethorn found herself saying. "I indeed believe that MistClan's assessments are now much more advanced than previous generations and that we only allow the strongest to survive."

She saw Tigerstar nod in approval at her response and she felt another cat looming behind her. Turning her head around to the best of her ability without disturbing her sister, who was somehow still snoring like a badger, she saw a flat-faced mottled brown tom with orange eyes, however, the most interesting feature about him was his tail, broken in the centre like a branch.

"Brokenstar," Tigerstar meowed, dipping his head in respect.

"So this is Maplethorn? Daughter of the Queen's Grand Whisper?" the mottled brown tom eyed Maplethorn from head to tail tip as he made a grunt of either mild approval or severe dissatisfaction. Brokenstar then padded over to sit beside Tigerstar.

The Queen's what? Maplethorn frowned, tail flicking to further accentuate her confusion, and she added that to the list of things she wanted to ask her mother.

A small wriggling movement on her back caused Maplethorn to look at her sister, kneading her back as she gave a long yawn and began resting again. Maplethorn picked her sister up by the scruff, Goldenkit giving a mewl of protest but quietened down as she was placed between Maplethorn's forelegs. She stretched her back, joints cracking after being forced to stay in a single position for so long. She glanced down at her sister who was somehow sound asleep again and wondered how it was possible for a kit to sleep that long. She'd never seen any elder in the four clans sleep for half as long as Goldenkit.

"Don't worry about the kit," Brokenstar huffed as he watched Maplethorn staring at her sister. "She gets into so much trouble all day every day that I'm surprised she has enough time to even sleep. In fact, this is perhaps the first time I've seen that boisterous sister of yours sleeping."

Maplethorn blinked, giving a stiff nod as she felt her mother approach her and looked up. Scorchflame had gained a bloody wound across her muzzle but seemed to still be glowing from the fight.

"It was so exhilarating," Scorchflame meowed to Maplethorn. "Crowfang didn't hold a chance against me, until some of his buddies joined in. Anyway, I see you've found some company, my daughter?"

"Yes, mother," Maplethorn replied firmly, watching her tone. She didn't want to seem too disrespectful as Scorchflame was her mentor, however, also didn't wish to seem too passive and meek in front of other cats, especially in front of those who have existed in the Starless Forest for perhaps centuries upon centuries.

"Ah, Brokenstar and Tigerstar, nice to see you again," Scorchflame meowed at the two former leaders, sitting down beside Maplethorn, facing the two toms.

The two cats dipped their heads in respect, bodies bowed in respect for her mother. Perhaps, Maplethorn thought, her mother held more power in this place than she formerly thought. As they conversed, Brokenstar and Tigerstar both seemed to fawn slightly over Scorchflame, though in a discreet manner, and each was slightly shooting at what the other said. It seemed as though this entire place was a court, with Mapleshade placed in the centre, the Queen of the court, everyone else below her scrambling to tear higher-ranking cats down, and those of a higher rank doing their best to stay above all the madness below them as well as to try promote themself to become as close to the Queen as possible.

"Well," Scorchflame meowed, standing up, as Goldenkit had finally awoken and began to play around with Maplethorn's tail. "It was nice to chat with you, but I think it's time for us to go. We have other important things to do as well."

Both Brokenstar and Tigerstar bowed again as Maplethorn picked her sister up by the scruff and padded behind Scorchflame.

"It should be dawn soon," her mother said as they walked, "You should probably wake up soon."

She placed her sister on the ground and the golden tabby kit disappeared among the undergrowth.

"Of course," Maplethorn began. "But...can I ask you one final thing?"

"Go ahead," her mother meowed, lazily flicking her tail.

"What's a Grand Whisper? Brokenstar mentioned that you were the Queen's Grand Whisper," Maplethorn meowed cautiously, not too sure if this was a private topic, after all, her mother had never once mentioned this before.

Scorchflame sighed as she readied herself for another story, "It's...a deputy I suppose, well, the closest thing that I can think of. Mapleshade is the Grand Voice or the Queen, the highest ranked cat in the Starless Forest and her word is law. This place...it's practically hers and she owns us, we must obey her with no questions asked. She doesn't care about the rest of us, only to see that we are following her rule, if I am to be frank. I am the Grand Whisper, I enforce her rule amongst the rest, mostly via fear and manipulation. I have the capability to promote cats to a Whisper, which are a group of cats that are ranked below me, third-highest in the Forest and are there to also enforce the rules that Mapleshade and I place down. The ranking system below a Whisper is more murkier, very unstable, and one can instantly find themselves at the bottom of the chain within a blink of an eye. Thus, this is the reason why you can see a battle happening every single day. A victorious battle could uplift your status, especially if your opponent is one that is extremely difficult, however, at the same time, evokes jealousy from others, and they may all combat you at the same time to raise their own status."

Maplethorn stared at her mother, processing the information. She initially thought that Mapleshade was just some extremely skilled and powerful cat that was respected among most for that and there was no ranking system within the Starless Forest, that it was just a mess and unharmonious place, a literal living hell.

"Well," Scorchflame meowed. "Wake up, Maplethorn, it's past dawn."

Maplethorn obliged and blinked, eyes greeted by the woven wall of the warriors' den. She grunted and stretched her muscles, walking out as she watched the final streaks of pink and orange fade away into blue.

She walked over to the scarce prey-pile, picking out a plump dark-furred rabbit. The depressed-looking prey-pile was another indicator that her clan was inclined more towards combat, rather than hunting. The only way her clan managed to pull through leaf-bare was often by raiding the camps of others or forcing hunting parties of others to hand over some of their prey, otherwise MistClan would completely annihilate the clan. To no one's surprise, WillowClan was the easiest clan to bargain with, thus, they were often stuck eating rabbits for the entirety of leaf-bare. She gnawed at the bones of the rabbit after she consumed it, finally aware she hadn't eaten in days, hunger pangs finally kicking in. She groomed her leg after burying the bones out of camp. Most of the clan consumed everything in front of them, but she always had a distaste for bones, always so dry and sharp as well as flavourless.

As she returned, she saw a frail tom with herb patches littered across his pelt and being supported by Silentpaw as he slowly walked out of the medicine cats' den.

"Tinycloud!" Maplethorn meowed, joyously bounding towards them and gently headbutted her mentor. "You're walking!"

"He's not crippled, just severely injured," Silentpaw meowed, a sharp edge to her voice and Maplethorn blinked, wondering where Silentpaw got her sharpness from.

"I know," Maplethorn growled, immediately getting on the defensive, as though SIlentpaw was going to attack her.

"No need to be so angry," Silentpaw mewed, guiding Tinycloud toward the prey-pile. Maplethorn felt a pang of guilt as she realised she had taken the largest piece of prey from the pile, the only food left being pieces of scrawny mice and sparrows.

"Pick whatever you want to eat,"Silentpaw gently meowed at her former mentor as she helped him sit down beside the prey-pile.

She watched as her mentor dragged a mouse from the pile and devoured it in one bite.

"It'll be leaf-bare soon," Maplethorn meowed, tone hopeful. Whilst many clans struggled to scrape by, MistClan often lived in luxury during the season, especially with their habits of raiding food from others.

"It'll be the Gathering soon," Tinycloud meowed, after he ate his second mouse. "I hope you'll get chosen to go. I think every young cat should at least experience a Gathering once."

"No luck for me to be chosen Tinycloud, I think you know that as well as I do," Maplethorn sighed as she watched her mentor lick his lips.

"Never say never," Tinycloud mumbled before Maplethorn's sister guided him back to the medicine cats' den.

[TIMESKIP]

Maplethorn watched as Shadepool and Briar half-jumped, half-fell into camp. Another flair of vexation roared inside her. She craned her neck to see above the mass of cats and saw them hauling the massive skull between them and unconsciously grinned, waiting for Cinderstar's reaction.

Cinderstar leaped upon the High-Ledge, tail swishing peacefully. Perhaps she was pleased that a rogue had passed the MistClan assessments while she was the leader, however, she hadn't seen the piece of bone the pair brought back yet. As the two cats presented the skull in front of Cinderstar, she shoved past her clanmates, seeing Cinderstar's expression of pure shock and fear, even though she tried, and failed terribly to mask it.

Maplethorn watched as the entire clan waited with bated breath, possibly assuming whether Briar was actually worthy to join the clan, after all, she didn't complete the third assessment by herself, however, Maplethorn knew that it was actually because Cinderstar was probably reliving some random flashback from her past.

Waspsting looked expectantly at Cinderstar, giving her a nudge and whispering a couple of words before speaking for the leader instead as he declared, "Cats of MistClan, I am here to announce the results for Briar's trials."

The cats murmured amongst themselves until Waspsting held out a tail for silence. She saw that something had completely collapsed within Cinderstar's eyes, as though her rationale had been all wiped away.

"Briar," Waspsting began. "You have passed your assessments and you will receive your warrior name. You possess all the qualities that MistClan cats should have, therefore, from this day forward, your name will be Briarwish for your optimism and light-heartedness. We welcome you into MistClan as one of our own."

She saw Briar, now Briarwish, beaming with absolute happiness as she nuzzled Shadepool, perhaps the first public sign of affection the she-cat displayed. Maplethorn decided to conclude that Briar was a naive, optimistic bundle that posed little harm to the clan, mostly to heal her battered ego as she stalked away without being dismissed by Waspsting.

She tried to quell the rising tension in her chest, as though this moment would be the biggest mistake that the four clans had ever witnessed and leapt into the forest, running through their territory, wind rushing past her, not sure what kind of storm was brewing on the horizon.