#ashrise

Tigerpaw was basically jumping with joy as he prepared the food for the Gathering. Starleaf was coaching him through what to do, an exhausted look on her face. Nightflower chuckled. She remembered when it was her doing tedious tasks. Part of her almost longed for her apprentice days again… but it sure was nice to have her own space!

Since Crystalclan’s camp was so vacant of good shelter within the wider structure, apprentices lived in the nursery. When it was all ten of them in the same den? Now that got crowded!

To be honest, Nightflower wanted to stay home. But there was no was she’d risk it. After all, Firepaw would be a warrior any day now. It would be a bad move for her to miss the Gathering— she wanted to be there when her friend finally managed to graduate.

Firepaw’s mentor Smallcloud had passed a few moons ago, so she had to receive a new one. Apparently, he wasn’t much better. His name was Cowfur and much like his namesake, supposedly all he did was sleep and ignore her training. Maybe Firepaw was just exaggerating.

Still, Nightflower could see how that could get annoying.

The Gathering was extra packed that night— there were new faces everywhere she could see. She figured the occasion was the face on the loft with the leaders. A younger cat, looking to be about her age, stood next to the Wanderer’s representative.

Darkstar jumped onto the loft to join them. He wasn’t the last leader tonight— Redstar was lingering in the crowd with two smaller cats. He said one last goodbye before getting into place with the other leaders.

Starleaf bounded over to the steps, where the deputies stood. Bloodthorn’s spot was empty last moon; but this moon, a suave-looking cream tom was in her place.

Tonight, her father was the one to start the proceedings.

“All is well in Crystalclan. We have one new warrior, Applesnow! She has worked hard for the position.”

The aforementioned Applesnow just smiled away, seemingly oblivious to the attention placed on her. Nightflower made sure to yell her name extra loud, so that she’d notice they were talking about her.

“Huh? Oh, it’s my turn already?!” she snapped back into reality, before folding in on herself in embarrassment. “Oh… um… thank you?”

Next, it was Badgerstar’s turn.

“There isn’t much to report. Our clan is doing well.” he stated, before lumbering off to the side.

Redstar came to the front next, a serene smile on his face.

He held his paw up, pointing into the crowd. “Swampclan has had a momentous moon. Two wonderful kits have become apprentices. Please celebrate Jaggedpaw, our newest warrior apprentice, and Sharppaw, our first cleric apprentice.”

“YEAHHH!” a loud, loud cheer ripped through the crowd. It came from the mouth of a small, scrappy molly with eyes as crimson as Redstar’s, one of the ones he was talking to earlier. She was definitely Jaggedpaw. She punched the shoulder of the apprentice next to her, who had a meeker attitude. Nightflower assumed this was Sharppaw.

Redstar lifted his pointed paw into the air, silencing the gathering.

“I’m afraid to announce that our deputy Bloodthorn has retired. In her place, Bergamotfur has become our newest deputy. I hope you will all wish him well on his journey.” Redstar said without missing a beat. His smile never faltered.

With that, he stepped back to allow Finchstar to take the front.

Finchstar was not a tom who showed a lot of emotion, from what Nightflower had seen of him. Mainly, it was reserved for his family— in the form of joy. But today, he looked… troubled. She wondered why.

“Today, we have one new warrior. Please welcome Firefall.” his voice lacked enthusiasm.

Nightflower cheered as hard as she could for her friend. If anyone deserved it, it was her! Firefall was a very good name too. Although, as she looked at Grangeclan, she could see an unease settling over them. They were cheering the least out of any of the clans. What in the world could that mean?

He stepped back, and Nightflower expected things to end there. But instead, the Wanderers representative stepped forward.

“I am training a new apprentice to take my place. Penny will be replacing me in due time. However, she has much to learn, so I will not be leaving yet.” The rep mrrped in laughter. “Penny, step forward and say your piece.”

Penny was a tuxedo cat like Nightflower, but with much smaller ears. Her eyes were a bright orange, rather than Nightflower’s purple.

“Um, hello. As you know, I will be taking the position of Torch-bearer in the future. Fran has been a good mentor so far! As part of my training, I will spend a moon living in each camp. I hope to see you all soon!” Penny smiled as she spoke, even though she seemed nervous. She stepped back, and the Gathering began

The extra cats began to cheer. They must have been Wanderer’s cats, she figured. One of them was talking with Starleaf— a grizzled dilute calico molly. Starleaf beckoned Nightflower over.

“You can go congratulate your friend in a bit— there’s someone I want you to meet first.” Starleaf spoke outwardly with a curtness, to keep up appearances. Of course, Nightflower knew her mother well enough to tell that she was quite excited.

“Who is it, Starleaf?” Nightflower said, careful to keep familiarity out of her voice.

Starleaf motioned to the calico molly, and they slinked out of the Four Corners through a rotted board. Nightflower quickly followed after them.

Once they were far enough away to avoid eavesdroppers, Starleaf smiled.

“Nightflower, do you know your grandmother?”

She blinked. Her… grandmother?

The calico molly laughed. “Oh, the little one wouldn’t remember. She was just a week old!”

Nightflower gasped. “I’m so sorry… I can’t remember you. I’m a terrible granddaughter!”

“Come on, don’t worry dear. My name is Squirrel. I’m your mother’s mother; your grandmother. I used to lead a squad of the Wanderers, back in the day. Now your mother’s sister’s taken it over.”

“I-It’s nice to meet you, Grandma!” she stood up straight.

“How’s retirement been, Mom?” Starleaf asked.

Squirrel chuckled. “Oh, it’s been nice. Your father’s No-furs keep me fed, and it’s fun to see the new recruits struggling in the yard! Maya was too busy to come with me, but she says hi.”

“Maya?” Nightflower asked.

“Ah, you haven’t met any of your aunts and uncle, have you?” Squirrel chuckled. “Maya is one of your mother’s sisters. She’s the one who took over my squad. There’s also Hazel, my son, and Shauna.”

“Penny is Shauna’s daughter.” Starleaf clarified. “That’s why your grandma hauled herself all the way here.”

“Ah, and what a good decision that was. I’m so glad you’re doing well here.” Squirrel smiled. “I wish your littermate was still with us. But I supposed she’s watching over you from your stars, isn’t she?”

Nightflower’s thoughts lingered on Ravenkit, and how she had seen her last moon. “Yeah. Sometimes I wish I knew what she was thinking.”

Starleaf seemed surprised. “You’ve seen her recently?”

“Yeah. She led me to Grassfoot on the First Snow. I wouldn’t have found her if it wasn’t for Ravenkit.”

Starleaf furrowed her brow. “I— I didn’t know that. Nightflower, will you remember to tell me next time you see her?”

Nightflower gasped. “Oh! Yeah Mom, I promise. Sorry, it slipped my mind.”

The grief lingered in Starleaf’s mind just as it did Nightflower’s. She hadn’t really considered how hard it was for her mother to not know what Ravenkit was doing… and to watch one child grow, while the other stayed the same for all of eternity.

Squirrel butt her head into Starleaf’s, then Nightflower’s. “It’s so good to see my kin again. If you’re ever in the area, be sure to stop by the No-fur den, ok? Conan and I will be so happy to see you around. And make sure you take care of Penny, alright? Don’t let those Swampclan bastards hurt her!”

Starleaf turned to Nightflower. “You can go now. I’m going to stay to catch up with my mom for a bit. Enjoy the Gathering, ok?”

Nightflower smiled. “Alright. Bye Mom. And it was nice meeting you, Grandma!”

“Good seeing you too, dear!” Squirrel waved her off.

—

When Nightflower had returned, everyone had started eating. She picked up one of the last pieces of prey, a small sparrow, and ran over to where Firefall was sat.

Their friend group was tucked into a corner, away from the fire. Not many others were near them due to how cold it was that night, but the friends huddled together for warmth. It was Shimmersky and Lynxclaw on the outside and on the inside, was the new warrior of the day.

For a molly who just passed the greatest milestone of her life, she looked awfully conflicted. Just as much as the rest of her clan. Nightflower set her food down next to Firefall and turned to her.

“Hey new warrior!” She said excitedly.

“Hey.” Firefall repeated without much enthusiasm.

“What’s with the long face?”

She just turned away.

Shimmersky nudged Nightflower “Hey, trade prey!” Shimmersky had a big, juicy vole by her side. Nightflower was happy to oblige.

The friends sat side by side, silently eating prey, before Lynxclaw spoke.

“Ok, enough of this! Firefall, what’s going on?! You’ve been practically counting down the days before you became a warrior, so why are you so upset now?!”

Firefall looked at her food. “I… I can’t tell you. I’m not supposed to discuss it with the other clans.”

“Other clans?!” Lynxclaw was indignant. “Firefall, we’re your friends! We’re not some enemy!”

Nightflower looked at Shimmersky, then back at Firefall. Shimmersky nodded. “Go for it.”

“Hey, I get it Firefall. I get it.” Nightflower started. Firefall seemed to relax a bit. “If it makes you feel better… I have a secret of my own.”

Lynxclaw’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not supposed to tell the other clans, but… you’re my friends. I think it’s time for you to know.” Nightflower said, “I’m not Shimmersky’s littermate. I’m Darkstar and Starleaf’s surviving kit.”

Firefall and Lynxclaw’s eyes went wide.

“I-is that really safe to be saying out loud?!” Lynxclaw whispered. They knew just as well as Nightflower did the danger of what that meant. “I mean, we won’t tell anyone, but what if someone heard that?!”

“You… survived. You survived that. You’re… you’re the cat from the prophecy.” Firefall looked at her with a new expression; one of determination.

“Yeah. I know this is dangerous. But I trust you guys. And I want you to know that we trust you too, Firefall. We’d never tell your secret to anyone else.”

Firefall nodded. “Ok. Ok…” she looked up. “Do you know what reincarnation is?”

Nightflower shook her head. Shimmersky and Lynxclaw seemed similarly confused.

Firefall continued. “Basically… if a kit dies really young, they can sometimes use their power to be born again. They lose their memories, but get a second change at life. It’s purely Starclan power— they don’t even need a second parent to be reborn.”

Nightflower could see where this was going.

“One of my clanmates— Ashrise— used to get really weird around me. A few others would too, but especially him. And I never used to know why. But… this moon, my parents sat me down. Apparently… I’m the reincarnation of one of his dead kits. They figured this out because… well… apparently my father can’t father kits. So my parents were really confused as to how I came to be. And when I was born, I looked a lot like Ashrise’s kit Emeraldkit.”

“Emeraldkit?” Shimmersky asked. “This must have been long before our time. I’ve never heard of that name before.”

“Pearlheart went to Starclan to ask, and well… all of the other kits were still there; except Emeraldkit. And her littermates confirmed it. I’m… someone’s dead kit. I don’t know what to do. Do I talk to Ashrise? He’s… technically my father. But at the same time… I love my parents. Rainleaf and Bloomfur are the ones who raised me. And I don’t know… do I even have room for another parent?“

Nightflower looked at Firefall. “I don’t think it should be up to us what you do. In the end, your decision is your decision. But… I mean, I don’t think it’ll hurt to get to know him. Maybe give it a try? In my experience,” she thought about Rime and their porch, “another parent never got rid the ones that came before. They just became another person to love.”

Firefall seemed to think about it a bit. “I… yeah. I’ll give it a try. Maybe not yet, but someday. Ashrise has always been nice.” she sighed. “It’s weird to think about how I’m technically the deputy’s sister.”

Lynxclaw thought for a moment. “Have you been able to meet Emeraldkit’s other parent?”

Firefall scrunched up. “No… that’s the weirdest part of this whole situation. They won’t tell me anything about Emeraldkit’s mother or how she died. The whole clan’s been on edge about it. Something… bad happened. Something really bad.” she sighed for a moment. “All I know is that she was the cleric before Flyheart. I don’t know a name though.”

Both Lynxclaw and Shimmersky looked as confused as Nightflower felt.

“Well, just know that we’re here to support you, Firefall. If you ever feel like your clan’s too hard to be around, you can come stay with us in Crystalclan.” Shimmersky butt her head into Firefall’s. She chuckled.

“I’d offer too, but Badgerstar is the worst. He probably won’t let you stay. I’d fight him for you though!” Lynxclaw added.

“Thanks guys.” Firefall smiled. “I might take you up on that offer. Not the fight one though— I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

Nightflower settled in closer to Firefall. “We can stay with you until the end of the Gathering, if you want.”

She laughed a bit. “I think I’m getting flashbacks to that first Gathering.”

“Hey, you get your turn to mourn too. It really sucks to be isolated from your clanmates.” Lynxclaw looked over to the side, eyes focused on a small group. Nightflower could see Penny speaking with Yarrowheart and Badgerstar.

“Agreed.” Firefall said.

The four settled into their spots, talking idly until the gathering ended.

—

Nightflower and Shimmersky had said goodbye to Lynxclaw and Firefall, wishing them the best. They joined the rest of their clan on the way out. Everything had seemed to conclude normally. It was just Swampclan and Crystalclan left in the Four Corners. Both were on their way out. Nightflower was with Starleaf.

“Where will Penny sleep when she comes to our clan?”

Starleaf hummed. “I think the elder’s den would be best. It’s empty for now, so she’d be quite comfortable there.”

Nightflower started to make a statement in agreement, before the loudest yowl she’d ever heard ripped across camp.

“YOU FOX-HEART!”

Nightflower turned to see Jaggedpaw, the apprentice from before, wrestling with Tigerpaw.

“I’LL KILL YOU FOR THAT!” her claws were sheathed, but her eyes were filled with as much venom as her words. She had managed to pin Tigerpaw down.

“IT’S NOT THAT SERIOUS, MOUSEBRAIN!” Tigerpaw shouted back, kicking her with his hind legs.

She was unrelenting, leaning into him. “Apologize.” she spat.

“NO! I DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING WRONG!” he writhed under her paws.

Nightflower had started her way there, but Starleaf had already bounded over to separate them.

“That’s enough, Jaggedpaw.” a voice interjected.

Redstar himself calmly strode towards the two apprentices.

“F-Father!” Jaggedpaw smiled.

“Get off the apprentice this instant.” He said.

She looked horrified. “B-But… but he insulted our clan!”

Redstar’s expression never changed. “You are the one insulting our clan with your conduct. Get off him.”

She retreated, stepping off Tigerpaw with a scoff. As she left, Nightflower could swear she saw tears prickling at the corners of her eye.

“This Gathering has already concluded. Jaggedpaw will be punished later for this mistake.” Redstar said, before beckoning the rest of his clan to leave. They exited out of the main entrance.

The Swampclan cats whispered among themselves as they left. Nightflower could have sworn some of them were laughing.

“What were you thinking?!” Starleaf yelled at her apprentice. “Fighting at a Gathering… do you know how that looks? It’s dangerous!”

“It wasn’t my fault!” Tigerpaw bristled under the scolding. “I wasn’t even talking to her! All I said was that it’s creepy that Swampclan is making kits apprentices!”

Starleaf sighed. “Because of you, we could have been in a serious situation. You need to learn to hold your tongue better at Gatherings.” she placed a paw on his shoulder. “What would I have told your parents if you had gotten hurt?”

Tigerpaw scoffed. “She’s just a kit. She can’t hurt me.”

“Really? Because it looked like she was winning to me.” Pebblepaw added with a smirk.

“Shut up Pebblepaw!” Tigerpaw lunged after his sister, who ran away laughing. He followed after her, huffing in anger.

Starleaf looked very tired. “She won’t be a kit forever…”

“There’s no way he can hear you, Mom.” Nightflower replied.

“I know. I just worry for him. He’s too impulsive for his own good.” Starleaf sighed.

Nightflower bumped into her mother’s side. “He’ll learn someday.”

“I hope you’re right, Nightflower.”

—

Jaggedpaw was huddled in a corner of the nursery, wrapping her body around her paw. All she could hear was Rosekit’s raspy breaths. She huffed, turning in on herself.

“Do you want me to look at that, Jaggedpaw?”

She looked up to see Alderflower.

“No. I don’t need any medical care. Focus on stupid Rosekit.”

Alderflower looked at Rosekit, who slept soundly despite her mangled leg. Jaggedpaw couldn’t understand. Why in the world would she care so much about a kit that wasn’t even hers? Why wouldn’t she just let it die?

“Rosekit is stable. Her wounds aren’t bleeding.” Alderflower finally replied. “Yours are. Let me look at them.”

Jaggedpaw acquiesced, holding her injured paw out to Alderflower.

Alderflower gently took Jaggedpaw’s bleeding paw into hers. “He did this to you, didn’t he?”

“No. He didn’t. And even if he did, I deserved it for disgracing our clan.” Jaggedpaw snapped.

Alderflower licked her paw clean, which made Jaggedpaw wince. “Alright, I won’t push.”

She grabbed some cobwebs out from beneath the nest, placing it on Jaggedpaw’s wound.

“It should heal without a scar. You’ll be alright.” Alderflower smiled. “Do you want to sleep with me and Rosekit tonight?”

Jaggedpaw turned up her nose. “No. I don’t want to.”

She looked out of the nursery to the empty apprentice den, where she slept all by herself. Snow had begun to form a thick layer on the ground.

“But the apprentice den is really cold, so I suppose I have no choice.”

Alderflower moved over to make room for Jaggedpaw. She reluctantly slotted herself inside.

Stagpaw’s wild cries of joy echoed across camp.

Flyheart whirled around, snow dripping off her face. She laughs with reckless abandon.

“You’re on, pint-size!”

Firefall and Havenclaw, who were watching from the sidelines, laughed.

“It’s good to see camp in such good spirits!” Havenclaw remarked.

Firefall agreed. With everything Grangeclan had been dealing with, it was nice to see everyone goofing off. Several of the other apprentices and warriors had joined in on the snowball fight.

Firefall and Havenclaw were helping with the new net project. To protect from hawks, Finchstar had tasked many of the warriors to create a large net to be fastened over the camp. They had traded with the Wanderers to get more of the thick Stiffnet that surrounded the camp. Currently, they were weaving rope to prepare for attachment

“I almost want to join!” Firefall laughed. Havenclaw shook his head.

“We’ve got work to do, Fire. Don’t forget that.”

“Yeah, I know…”

Suddenly, Firefall noticed a black cat slink out of the Mediator’s den. She hid herself behind Havenclaw.

Havenclaw tensed up. “Ashrise?” he asked.

Firefall nodded.

“Well, you better not hide behind me… you know I’m smaller than you.”

She wanted to retort, but the proof of his statement came when the black tom noticed her immediately.

“I need to run.” her fluff rounded out in fear.

You need to confront him eventually, her mind said to her.

Well, today was not that day.

She abandoned her post, jumping down and into the warrior’s den below. She weaved between sleeping cats until she found herself at the darkest corner. There, she sighed in relief.

“Firefall…”

She jumped at the noise. It was Dovelight.

“Oh, s-sorry Dovelight! I uh…”

She looked disappointed. “What reason could you possibly have for leaving your work? You volunteered to help out.”

“Oh, uh…” she wracked her brain for an excuse. “I was uh, cold. Just taking a brief break.”

Dovelight shook her head. “No, that won’t do. This is the sixth incident this moon. Come with me.”

—

The den she found herself in was small and unfamiliar. In front of her sat Finchstar, who had an unamused look on his face. To his sides were Dovelight and Ashrise. Firefall made a conscious effort not to look at him.

“So, my deputy tells me this is the sixth time this moon you’ve abandoned this project.” Finchstar sighed.

“Yes, I know—“ she started.

“No, I don’t think you do.” he interrupted. “This project might be what finally ends hawk attacks in camp and it’s been delayed multiple times because of you!”

“Look— ugh, why is he here?!” she pointed to Ashrise. “He’s got nothing to do with this!”

“That tom is your advocate, you mousebrain!” Finchstar slammed his paw on the ground. “He’s here to make sure my frustration at your actions doesn’t make my judgement more severe than it should be.” He looked over at Ashrise.

“Finch… I know why she’s been doing it. It’s to avoid me.” Ashrise spoke. “I don’t think she should have any punishment. It wouldn’t fix the core issue.”

“Perhaps we should just keep the two of you in a room together as punishment and finally resolve this then.” Dovelight said, an annoyed expression on her face.

Finchstar nodded. “I agree. Firefall, as punishment for skipping your duties, you must stay here with Ashrise to talk out whatever your issue with him is.”

Firefall was flabbergasted. “Wait—but— this is a personal matter between us! It has nothing to do with either of you!”

“Ashrise, do you have any objections?”

He thought for a moment.

“While I would have rather spoken to her on her own terms… I will accept this punishment for this warrior.”

Finchstar nodded. “Alright. This meeting is adjourned. You two must stay and talk. Dovelight, guard the den entrance.”

With that, the two cats padded out of the room.

Ashrise stood across the room from her. She pointedly turned away from him.

“Firefall… I’m sorry for being so distant, and not telling you about our familial connection earlier.” he started.

“This… whole thing has turned my life upside down.” she spat. “Every single older clanmates has taken to treating me like a disease for something I know nothing about. So unless you plan on telling me whatever this thing was, I don’t want to talk.”

“I… you’re putting me in a very difficult position.” his voice shook. “Even after so many tens of moons, it’s still raw. I still suffer from the guilt and grief of that situation…”

“Then what are we even doing here?!” She snapped, turning to face him. “I tried to have a relationship with you, but you keep pushing me away. And when I try to understand why, you just spout that horse dung about how you’re still too hurt about whatever it is! I’m a lake-damned victim of it too, you know! So if you’re not going to finally tell me what the depths killed me, you might as well just leave for Swampclan! At least I would be more comfortable in my own clan if you did that!”

She panted, spit dribbling from her lips. She hadn’t expected it all to come out like that… but it needed to. Ashrise looked like someone had just trodden all over his flowers.

“Say something.” she hissed.

“I’m… sorry, Firefall.” he said, his voice as faint as a summer’s breeze. “I’ve been a bad father. I… should tell you about it. You… deserve to know that much.”

Her eyes widen. “Finally. Yes, tell me! What happened to me?!”

He took a breath. “Her name… was Rosethorn. I met her after I almost died from a bad bout of whitecough.”

—

“You’re not actually sick.” the cleric stated with her familiar no-nonsense tone.

“I wanted to see you again.” Ashrise stated. “I mean, you’ve captured my world!”

She looked at him for a while, before looking away. “Alright. We can… try something.”

—

He chuckled. “I used to visit her every day. Eventually, we went from just trying it out to full mates, and then…”

—

“What should we name them?” Ashrise asked.

Rosethorn looked at the three bundles with the most expression he’d ever seen on her face.

She pointed to the tortoiseshell molly, with a white blotch that looked like a moth’s wings. “What about Mothkit?”

“I like that one.” Ashrise smiled, then looked at the black tom with his spiky fur. “How about Stemkit for this one?”

She nodded. “He looks a lot like you, Ashy. Only fair you get to name him.”

Ashrise cupped the little red one, the smallest and last of the kits.

“Then you should name this one.”

She thought for a moment.

“How about… Emeraldkit?”

—

“I was… so happy when you and your littermates were born.” Ashrise smiled sadly, looking at Firefall. “But… I only got a few short moons with you.”

—

“Daddy!” Mothkit tackled Ashrise where he sat in the cleric den, while the other two ran after her.

“Kits, leave this den.” Rosethorn shooed them away. “Your father is sick. He needs to heal.”

“I’ll get them out of here, Rose.” Ashrise said, before coughing.

She paused, before turning away. “Please, Ashy. That would be great. I couldn’t bear if they caught your sickness.”

As soon as she was out of earshot, he whispered to the kits.

“Here, have some of my mouse.”

The three kits excitedly took a few bites, eager to have some of the food their mother wouldn’t let them have. Then, they scampered off, not wanting to be chastised by Rosethorn.

—

Ashrise could barely move. He saw Rosethorn, just out of reach. He attempted to reach out.

“Rose… h-help me…”

She looked at him, and spoke with her usual sweet voice. “You know I can’t, Ashy. I’ll get Flypaw.”

“Rose…!” he croaked.

“Rosethorn!” Flypaw yelled. “The kits! There’s… they’ve gotten sick as well!”

Rosethorn looked horrified. “That’s not… No!” She ran to out of the den.

Ashrise could only watch.

—

Rosethorn sat next to Ashrise’s sick body, her face hollow. “This is your fault. You’ve killed them with your negligence, Ashy.”

“Rose…” he pulled himself up, though he was still tired. He reached an arm out to her.

She turned away.

“I’m going to bring Dovekit and Pearlkit here. Keep them in the den, alright Ashy? Don’t make any more mistakes.”

—

Ashrise stopped with his story, overwhelmed with emotion.

“I should have realized what she was about to do… why she would bring our adopted kits into the den with me. I should have stopped her!”

He took a breath, and continued.

—

Ashrise had waited for Rosethorn long enough. He walked out of the cleric den. In the clearing, most of the warriors were gathered around the nursery.

“What’s going on?” he asked one of his clanmates.

“It’s… I… I can’t even describe it!” she responded.

He pushed his way through the crowd, coughing. Was Rosethorn in trouble?

He saw her standing at the front of the crowd.

“It’s a tragedy.” she mewed, her voice filled with mock sadness. “To think… one bad mouse…!”

Ashrise looked at her, and realized.

“Rosethorn… what did you do?!”

—

Finchstar looked at Rosethorn in anger.

“For the crime of poisoning five kits… and one nursing queen… you will be executed and buried in the Depths. May you never harm anyone else again.”

Rosethorn screamed. “You can’t! My kits… I have to join them in Starclan!”

“You should have thought of that before taking everyone else’s kits away.” Finchstar spat.

“I… I won’t die like this!”

Ashrise watched from the cleric den. Dovekit and Pearlkit were in his arms. He could feel both of them crying.

—

Firefall looked at him in horror.

“That’s why… Rose is a frowned upon prefix.” he explained. “Why every older cat seems to be uncomfortable around you. It… brings back bad memories.”

“I… can’t believe anyone would do that…”

He looked away. “I still can’t… understand what happened. And it’s hard to think about.”

He turned back to his daughter. “I still see parts of her when I look at you. And it scares me. I shouldn’t… no, I can’t be afraid when I’m around you. But… it’s a reflex I can’t control.”

Firefall didn’t know what to say. “Well… I assure you… I’m not her. I’m not even close to her. But… I can keep avoiding you if that’s what you want.”

“No!” Ashrise said. “That’s the opposite of what I want! I do want to have a relationship with you. It’s just… going to be difficult for me. I want your patience.”

Firefall took a moment, before considering.

“Alright. But if I feel uncomfortable, I want to be able to leave.”

He nodded. “I will respect that. In the meantime, I’ll do my best to stop the older cats from judging you. If you chose so, I promise I’ll join Swampclan and leave you to be.”

She laughed. “Thanks… dad.”

(For some reason, Badgerstar and Bonestripe keep being messed with)

(I have decided I no longer will mess with it. That is why there are duplicated lines)

LEADER BADGERSTAR—a black tom

LEADER BADGERSTAR—a black tom

DEPUTY BONESTRIPE — a black molly with a white

skull-and-ribs-like pattern on her face and

back

CLERICS CLOVERPELT—a gray molly

ASPENSTRIPE—a black tabby molly

SEEDWHISKER—a dappled golden tom

MEDIATORS ROACH-HEART—a pale ginger tabby molly

APPRENTICE, RATPAW

WARRIORS SUNSTRIPE—a ginger tabby tom

FLYBRACKEN—a gray molly with a ginger

face

APPRENTICE, LOCUSTPAW

LAKEFACE—a silver molly

APPRENTICE, SPRUCEPAW

LARCHFANG—a pale gray tabby trans-molly

BROKENPAD—a gray-and-white tabby molly

APPRENTICE, YARROWPAW

STONEPELT—a dark gray tom

CLIFFMOON—a dark gray smoke molly

GHOSTWHISKER—an unusually spotted

black tom

BEETLEHEART—an unusually spotted black-

and-white tom

WET-TAIL—a masked gray tabby molly

SLATESTRIPE—a white molly with a striped

gray tail and two gray stripes on her head

APPRENTICE, LYNXPAW

PINESPIDER—a black tabby tom

DAWNWING—a masked ginger tabby molly

HOUNDHEART—a black smoke tom

BRANCHTAIL—a black-and-white tom with a

long tail

FERNCLAW—a white molly with gray-tipped

ears, tail, and nose

APPRENTICE, GOOSEPAW

SHINEWHISKER—an unusually dappled

brown-and-white tom

WILLOWHEART—a ginger tabby tom

TIMBERFOOT—a pale ginger tabby molly

APPRENTICES SPRUCEPAW—a ginger tabby tom

GOOSEPAW—a masked light brown-and-

white molly

LYNXPAW—a white molly with lilac ears

YARROWPAW—a dark tabby tom with a

white patch

RATPAW—a white tom with a speckled gray

gray leg; apprentice to the mediator

LOCUSTPAW—a dorsal-striped golden tom

QUEENS BOGPATCH—a pale gray molly (mother of

Gustkit, a speckled ginger tom)

POPPYLAKE—a golden molly (mother of

Milkkit, a dorsal-striped brown tom, and

fostering Mitekit, an unusually dappled gray

molly)

ALDERHONEY—a speckled dark molly

(mother of Tinykit, a dorsal-striped dark tom)

ELDERS GOLDLEAF—a spotted black molly with

piercing gold eyes

OLIVEFUR—a ticked golden tom

GRANGECLAN

LEADER FINCHSTAR—a dark ginger tom with a white

top half

DEPUTY DOVELIGHT—a masked brown tabby molly

with a red bow

CLERICS PEARLHEART— a white-and-light-brown

molly with a pearl earring necklace

FLYHEART—a black tabby-and-white molly

OLIVEHEART— a black tabby cat

BLIZZARDFADE—a pale gray smoke molly

MEDIATORS IRISRAIN—a black-and-white molly

SUNSONG—a golden tom

ASHRISE—a black tabby tom with

heterochromia

WARRIORS MAGPIEFUR—a speckled black molly

FOXSWOOP—a pale gray ticked molly

TOPCLASH—a brown ticked tom

APPRENTICE, CHESTNUTPAW

STEELSONG—a brown mottled tom

ANTLERFUR—a pale tom

COWFUR—a silver-and-white smoke tom

WHISPERFUR—a pale gray-and-white tom

APPRENTICE, BADGERPAW

BUDFERN—a tortoiseshell-and-white molly

SAGESPECKLE—a pale ginger molly with no

tail

CLOVEHEART—a white-and-golden tabby

molly

SMALLCLOUD—an unusually spotted dark

tom

APPRENTICE, FIREPAW

SMOKESPOT—a speckled dark molly

BLACKQUILL—a black tabby tom with vitiligo

and a red collar

BIRCHRAIN—a white-and-gray tom

COALSHADOW—a dorsal-striped black molly

APPRENTICE, HAVENPAW

WILDFADE—a black-and-white smoke molly

RAINLEAF—a silver tabby tom

BLOOMFUR—a red molly

CURLYBLOSSOM—a gray tabby molly

COPPEREYE—a pale-and-white smoke tom

APPRENTICE, SPLINTERPAW

HOLLYFOOT—a black ticked molly

GOLDFOOT—a golden tom

STORKFUR—a speckled black molly

CEDAR—a dorsal-striped brown tom

TAWNYHEART—a speckled ginger molly

APPRENTICES GLOWPAW—a dark tabby molly

BADGERPAW—an unusually dappled black

tom

SPLINTERPAW—a gray tabby molly

HAVENPAW—a black tabby tom

CHESTNUTPAW—a gray ticked tom

FIREPAW—a dark ginger molly

QUEENS BIRDFALL—a ginger-and-white molly

(fostering Graykit, a gray smoke tom,

Stoatkit, a spotted silver tom, and Lightkit, a

gray smoke tom)

ELDERS LAKESTRIPE— a pale smoke tom with his

eyes scarred over

SWAMPCLAN

LEADER REDSTAR—a speckled ginger tom with

copper-red eyes

DEPUTY BLOODTHORN—a red molly with green

eyes

CLERIC BLACKBERRY—a white-and-black

tom

WARRIORS IVYHEART—a silver-and-white molly

FROGLEAP—a dark ginger tabby tom

APPRENTICE, HAWTHORNPAW

PUDDLESPLASH—a white molly with a gray

patch on her chest

STARLINGFUR— a ticked brown tom

BUZZARDFANG— a cream cat with a lilac

tail

CUCUMBERLEAF—a gray molly

TALLSTEM—a brown tabby tom

SPARKFLOWER—a dark ginger molly

ALDERFLOWER—a gray smoke molly

ECHOPOOL—a pale tabby tom

FALLENFERN—a gray tom

DOEBIRD—a pale ginger molly

TICKSEED—an unusually spotted golden

tom

APPRENTICE, RYEPAW

SHEEPNOSE—a silver ticked tabby molly

BERGAMOTFUR—a ticked cream tom

JUNCO-EYES—a pale-gray ticked molly with

dark eyes

PLOVERBELLY—a pale gray smoke tom with

a white belly

APPRENTICES RYEPAW—a light brown smoke tom

HAWTHORNPAW—a seal-point Siamese

molly

QUEENS MARETAIL—a light brown molly (mother of

Rushkit, a speckled pale ginger molly, and