Archive of Our Own

Flowerpaw led the way through the tree dappled hills with Gorgeous behind her, her fluffy tail constantly checked for mud. Podpaw and Faith chirped away about fishing while Thrushpaw and Bumblepaw lurked in the back. The two PuffinClan toms stayed close together, muttering to one another with their tails low. Flowerpaw could hardly blame them. If Thrushpaw’s dream had been more than a dream (and despite Podpaw’s hopes that it was exactly that), that meant all of PuffinClan was in disarray and Thrushpaw just lost someone he considered a second mentor.

Morning was slipping towards sunhigh, and Flowerpaw ran through her father’s stories as she walked. How far was the human den where Lobsterspot was born? True, the group hadn’t gotten far the day before (Thrushpaw had been too distraught), but they had to be close, surely.

“Flowerpaw, darling, you must be honest with me,” Gorgeous suddenly huffed. “While I am sure that being a seer comes with a good deal of respect and company, Thrushpaw certainly seems stressed by his position. I’m not about to waste my life away under a mountain of responsibility, am I?”

“Of course not!” Flowerpaw insisted, snapping out of her navigation. “He’s in mourning. Sun and Moon’s words can be a lot to handle, but that’s why seers don’t have to hunt and fight. They can devote their energy to advising the Clan on the will of our ancestors.”

“I don’t know how good I’ll be at the job since they aren’t my ancestors,” Gorgeous muttered. “Still, if cats like you are there to help me, it won’t be impossible.”

“Gorgeous, come walk by me!” Faith called, looping around Flowerpaw and Gorgeous. “Podpaw showed me what fishing looks like!”

“I’ll be right there!” Gorgeous promised. She leaned into Flowerpaw’s ear and added “I may check in on your friend too. Maybe an older voice will do him good.” Gorgeous slipped back to watch Faith try to fish the air. Podpaw stared at the young molly as he took Gorgeous’ place by Flowerpaw.

“Does Faith have a crush on you too?” Flowerpaw asked innocently.

“Well, I mean,” Podpaw stammered, nearly choking on his own spit. “It’s not like it’s against the code, considering she’s joining SealClan. I mean, she is really really pretty. Don’t judge me!”

“I’m not judging you,” Flowerpaw huffed good-naturedly. “I’m asking if you’ve told her.”

“It would be bad timing to do that now , with Thrushpaw,” Podpaw pointed out. Thrushpaw and Bumblepaw had stopped talking and marched silently onwards.

“Should we talk to him?” Flowerpaw wondered, whiskers twitching uncomfortably.

“He’s still a seer. We can’t help them with their seer problems.”

“But this isn’t a seer thing. Archpelt meant a lot to him.”

“No one talked to Mountainleap when Ivyheart died.” Flowerpaw’s shoulders tensed.

“Maybe that’s why we’re bringing a replacement back,” Flowerpaw mumbled. “Maybe we should have paid attention to him.”

“What? He’s the seer, cats talk to him all the time!”

“Yeah, but when Sprucefoot died, you remember how Dad went around to talk to everyone about their feelings? He never went to see Mountainleap.”

“No one went to go see him, Flowerpaw, he lost it.”

“But isn’t that exactly when counselors should see someone? I have this bad feeling that we could have prevented this quest if we treated him differently… I don’t know what to change, though. Maybe if we shared some prey with him?”

“Flowerpaw, whatever’s going on with him, it started long before we were born. Let it go.” The littermates got to the top of a steep hill. Flowerpaw paused as the sight below took her breath away.

She had seen human dens before; the Stone Tree was rumored to have been a den long ago, and some humans lived at the corner of the territories, catching fish and staying close to their nests. Flowerpaw had never seen so many dens firmly packed together. Small Thunderpaths criss-crossed between the dens. Humans wandered the paths beside them, entering warm colored dens. Foreign smells attacked Flowerpaw’s nose. This strange place was the size of two Clans, at least!

“A human camp,” Podpaw gasped, jaws open to take in everything.

“We call it a town,” Gorgeous clarified, joining the group at the top of the hill. Thrushpaw gazed at the town, ears pricked.

“This is it,” he muttered. “This is where the other seer is.” He hurried down the hill, with Bumblepaw hurrying behind him.

“Thrushpaw, wait a moment!” Gorgeous called, running. Flowerpaw, Podpaw, and Faith joined the mad dash downhill.

As they neared the edge of the town, the unknown smells grew thicker. Flowerpaw could smell loners mixed in there, but she couldn’t track any of them. They walked on the side of a gravel-lined Thunderpath. A strange line cut in front of the travelers. It was partially wooden but glimmered with silver when the light caught it. Large white trees stood on either side, faded red markings carved into the leaves.

Thrushpaw and Bumblepaw ran across the path just as the white trees began to glow. A loud ringing pounded through Flowerpaw. The thick branches of the trees lowered around the wooden line.

“Did we do something?” Bumblepaw gulped, moving back to the line.

“You stay right there, Bumblepaw,” Gorgeous snapped with such command in her tone that Bumblepaw scrambled away.

“What is this?” Flowerpaw asked as the ground began to rumble. There was something huge barreling down the path.

“Keep back, everyone,” Gorgeous warned. The wind whipped around Flowerpaw as a huge monster, unlike anything she had ever seen before, zoomed past her. There was one giant pointed monster at the front of the creature, and various monsters dragged behind it. She and Podpaw yowled as it roared with the ferocity of a hundred Clans.

It took a while before the monster’s tail slipped away and the white branches retracted. Thrushpaw and Bumblepaw were just as disturbed by the experience as the SealClan apprentices.

“That was amazing,” Faith gasped.

“That, darlings, was a Thundersnake,” Gorgeous explained. “I’ve had plenty of strays tell me about them. They travel on these Silverpaths at incredible speeds, far faster than anything on the street, what you’ve been calling a Thunderpath. They aren’t as frequent as typical monsters, but at least you have a chance of surviving if those ones attack you.”

“Cross over, before more of them show up,” Bumblepaw gulped. Flowerpaw and Podpaw did not have to be told twice, leaping over the Silverpath.

The travelers were safe in town, so long as they kept to the gray paths lining the Thunderpaths. The monsters there were slow and infrequent, but Flowerpaw didn’t trust them. They walked close to the walls of the many tall dens. The humans either didn’t see them or gave them a wide berth. At least, the adults did.

“She just wants to rub your head!” Faith purred as a tiny human reached its grubby paw towards Thrushpaw, who tried to sink through the wall. Thrushpaw hissed and swatted the human. She jumped back with a yowl and waddled down the path, crying.

“You can’t trust the small ones,” Gorgeous tutted.

“The sooner we find the seer, the better,” Bumblepaw groaned. “I miss PuffinClan.”

“They need us back there,” Thrushpaw huffed, looking at the clouds. “If we can rest for a moment, maybe I’ll receive a sign pointing us towards the seer.”

“I haven’t seen a single mouse since we got here,” Podpaw grunted. Bumblepaw led the travelers into a small side path, free of humans and monsters. Silver boulders stood by the den walls. Heavy smells wafted from inside each one. A reddish-brown cinnamon tabby with flowering markings tore at strange black material inside a knocked-over boulder, revealing an assortment of scraps and junk to their blue and cream calico companion.

“I think I smell some meat in this one, Lilac,” the calico molly chirped, sticking her head into the boulder.

“That’s a strange way to hunt,” Podpaw grumbled. The two loners turned to look at the questing party. Flowerpaw unsheathed her claws.

“Did we stumble into someone’s territory?” the cinnamon tabby, Lilac, asked their companion.

“Oh, no, we don’t live here!” Faith scoffed. “We’re just traveling.”

“So are we,” the calico molly chuckled, shaking junk out of her fur. “This is Lilac, goes by she and they, and I’m Rainbow. Unless you want to spend the whole day scrounging the streets for rats, you’ll want to start searching the trash.” Rainbow’s eyes added to her name: the left eye was red while the right was green. Flowerpaw’s story-keeper curiosity took over. The only cat in the Clans with different colored eyes was Adderscar, but he was born with regular eyes and the left was damaged by fire, so it didn’t count. Flowerpaw’s long dead aunt had eyes like that… could Rainbow be the other seer?

“We don’t know what’s edible,” Flowerpaw admitted, hiding her claws and approaching the pair.

“It’s not too hard to tell,” Rainbow promised, clawing out a scrap of white meat. “So long as the humans don’t kick us out, feel free to look around.”

“They’re not who we’re looking for,” Thrushpaw huffed, shaking his head. “Let’s keep going.”

“Thrushpaw, we need to eat,” Flowerpaw grunted, hiding her disappointment. “Seers or not, they’re offering us food.”

“You’re looking for someone?” Lilac gasped as she pulled out the remains of a foreign red berry. “Can you tell me the story?”

“Lilac, don’t bother them,” Rainbow warned, beginning to eat.

“I don’t mind,” Flowerpaw said, sitting between the traveling pair. “I’m Flowerpaw. This is my brother Podpaw. We also have Thrushpaw, Bumblepaw, Faith, and Gorgeous. How long have you two been traveling together?”

“We don’t really,” Rainbow admitted. “We met each other coming into town and decided to spend some time together until we head our separate ways.”

“Rainbow fought a lynx once,” Lilac mentioned. “She’s seen so many things…”

“So you don’t know anyone here?” Thrushpaw sighed as everyone gathered around the pair.

“You’re more than welcome to stick with us,” Rainbow suggested. “We enjoy the company. If you’re looking for someone, Lilac might know them. She likes listening. Either that or she sleeps while I recount old stories.”

“No, no, I listen,” Lilac insisted.

“This is humiliating,” Gorgeous groaned, poking her nose at a soggy mess of food.

“Will you tell me your story?” Lilac asked, huge blue eyes watching Flowerpaw intently. “If your friend is alright with it.”

“Thrushpaw’s usually nice,” Flowerpaw assured her. “He…”

“I lost someone,” Thrushpaw muttered, claws in a clump of flat meat.

“Oh no,” Lilac hummed. “Well, I consider myself a story-teller, so if you have a story to tell…” Thrushpaw’s whiskers twitched. His muscles relaxed, tension seeping out.

“I’m a story-keeper!” Flowerpaw laughed. “I will be soon, I mean. I’m still training.” Flowerpaw launched into a short summary of the Clans and why the apprentices were so far from home. Everyone else dug through the junk, finding scraps to fill their bellies. At times, Lilac stared into space, eyes slightly unfocused, before they would take a bite and zone back in.

“I think I’ve heard of the Clans,” Lilac admitted. “Yes, a few travelers have come across that land. You’re very strict with your borders.”

“If we let every passing loner hunt, we wouldn’t be able to feed our kits,” Flowerpaw pointed out.

“Good for you, defending your kin,” Rainbow huffed with a stiff nod. “Seems a bit dull being stuck in one place under such rules, but I can respect it. Have your journies been fun?”

“Fun?” Bumblepaw repeated. “I don’t think it’s supposed to be fun. I guess I’ve liked traveling with my friends, though.”

“There we go!” Rainbow purred, hopping to her paws. “Maybe we can show you a bit of fun while we’re in town. Who knows, you may run into this seer of yours.”

“Hold on, Rainbow,” Lilac warned, flicking their tail. “Thrushpaw hasn’t told us his story. He looks like he has a weight to get off his chest.”

“You don’t know about StarClan,” Thrushpaw muttered, ears dipping down. “You’ll just say it was a dream.”

“I don’t make any judgments about the stories I hear,” Lilac promised with a gentle trill. “I just listen.” Thrushpaw shoved his food away.

“There’s not much to say,” Thrushpaw sighed, spit flying. “I found Archpelt in StarClan, he’s joined the ancestors. He’s dead and I didn’t get to sit at his vigil because I’m stuck hunting down my replacement.”

“Murkstream’s replacement, not yours,” Bumblepaw corrected, shaking his head.

“They’ll replace both of us,” Thrushpaw groaned, refusing to look at Bumblepaw.

“StarClan wouldn’t send you on the quest if they didn’t want you to be a seer!” Bumblepaw insisted, getting close. “The other seer will just be your apprentice. I’m sure of it. I’m the hopeful wasp in the prophecy, and I’m telling you to have hope. We’ll figure everything out.” Thrushpaw leaned against Bumblepaw, stress and grief flowing off his pelt.

“It’s the hopeful bee, not the hopeful wasp,” he chuckled sadly.

“It’s certainly not the bee with perfect memory,” Bumblepaw laughed.

“He really needed that,” Flowerpaw whispered to Lilac as the others shifted the conversation to what exactly they were eating.

“I’m glad to help,” Lilac giggled. Podpaw pounced into the boulder, flank wiggling as he shuffled through the mess with a loud clatter.

“Look at this!” he chirped. He dragged out a rat-sized chunk of glistening red meat dripping with mouth watering juices. He set it down and said “I have no idea what this was, but it smells really good .” A shadow grew overhead. A tabby landed in the center of the group, grabbed the red meat, and jumped over a shocked Faith.

“Who was that?” Gorgeous gasped.

“That’s my lunch!” Podpaw yowled, giving chase, leg still sore from his injury. Flowerpaw bolted alongside her brother. A climbing path of hard ginger vines snaked up the side of one of the dens. The thief jumped onto the vines with a loud clatter. Their back paws skidded against the edge of the poked platform, just long enough for Podpaw to lunge and bite the foot. He dragged the thief back to the ground and pinned them down, growling. Flowerpaw wondered how the thief missed such a simple jump. That was when she noticed the thief’s belly, plump and red with milk.

“Podpaw, get off her!” Flowerpaw ordered. “She’s a queen!” Podpaw noticed the thief’s belly and tumbled back, rubbing his healing foot against the rough ground.

“I’ll be in trouble if I don’t bring something good back to the colony,” the thief panted, pushing herself up. “Just let me go.” The thief was a brown tabby whose black stripes were criss-crossed by shallow scars. A blue collar hung on her neck. The rest of the party caught up to them.

“What’s a queen like you doing hunting?” Podpaw huffed.

“Not all mothers have the pleasure of resting while they nurse,” Gorgeous pointed out.

“You can have the rest of the trash,” the thief groaned.

“You stole that right under my paws!” Podpaw snapped, teeth showing.

“Your Clans have strict hunting rules, don’t they?” Rainbow grunted, getting between Podpaw and the thief. “Finding prey can be difficult in the city. If this molly’s colony expects her to bring back food, she could face punishment for failure. Not all colonies are kind places.” Podpaw shrunk slightly.

“You could have just asked,” Podpaw grumbled.

“I don’t think you would have given me anything,” the thief mumbled, eyes narrowed.

“I’m sorry about my brother,” Flowerpaw said, approaching the queen. “My name is Flowerpaw. Who are you?”

“Luanne,” the thief sighed. “Can I leave with the steak?”

“Darling, do you think we could visit your colony?” Gorgeous asked, trotting to Luanne’s side. “We’re travelers, you see, and we’re looking for someone who may join us.” Gorgeous brushed her tail over Luanne’s back. The jumpy queen squirmed away. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Luanne gulped. “I just… don’t like cats doing that.”

“Your colony wouldn’t be mad if we paid them a visit, would they?” Gorgeous wondered. The apprentices shared a glance. They all seemed to know what Gorgeous was getting at.

“No, no, Michael likes guests,” Luanne assured them.

“Who’s Michael?” Bumblepaw asked.

“My mate, and the colony leader,” Luanne explained. “Still, there are cats who would be angry if you didn’t bring any food with you. If you really want to come along, you need something.”

“We’ll leave you to that,” Rainbow sighed, trotting back to the silver boulders. “Good luck finding your seer.”

“Rainbow,” Lilac called. Rainbow looked back. Lilac stuck beside Bumblepaw and the others.

“If you want to go to the colony, I’m not holding you back,” Rainbow scoffed, playfully rolling her eyes. “We aren’t permanent companions.”

“I want you to come,” Lilac said, taking a step towards Rainbow. “It might be fun.” The pair locked eyes for an awkward moment. Rainbow was the first to break.

“If we need offerings,” Rainbow groaned, “we’ll need more than a chunk of red meat. Let’s start searching.” Rainbow leapt onto a silver boulder and began to rummage.

“We should find actual prey, too,” Bumblepaw declared, tasting the air. “Podpaw, is your ankle strong enough to hunt still?”

“The scuffle made me sore,” Podpaw admitted, shaking out his foot. “I’ll stay here.”

“I’ll go with you,” Thrushpaw sighed. The PuffinClan toms slipped onto the human-occupied paths while everyone else began digging.

“I know Podpaw may seem mean,” Flowerpaw sighed to Luanne, “but if you want, we can say you found that meat. I don’t know how strict your leader is.”

“Why are you helping me?” Luanne muttered, pupils narrow. “I stole from you.”

“We have our reasons for meeting as many cats as we can,” Flowerpaw admitted, nibbling an itch on her side. “The warrior code says we have to help all kits in need, and that means we need to help queens produce enough milk for them. Therefore, we have to help you get food.”

“I’m not sure what the warrior code is,” Luanne muttered, gaze softening, “but thank you.”

“I can tell you about the code if you want!” Flowerpaw suggested.

“So long as you aren’t needed in the hunt,” Luanne chuckled, whickers flicking towards Faith and Podpaw. They were pulling at more black material, ripping through it like prey flesh. Flowerpaw sat beside Luanne and began her spiel on the Clans. Though she told Lilac a broader story of her home, she decided to focus on the warrior code, StarClan, and Sun & Moon in this retelling. She had Luanne’s full attention.

“I don’t know where loners and kittypets go when they die, but I hope they have a place as wonderful as StarClan,” Flowerpaw purred as Bumblepaw and Thrushpaw returned with a matted rat. “I hope they get to watch over their kin too.”

“I won’t admit to understanding most of that,” Luanne laughed, “but that last part? I like that.”

“Do we have enough to please Michael?” Faith asked, gathering everyone’s findings. Alongside the rat and the steak, there were a few more scraps of white meat, a mouse, and a mysterious sea-shell containing chunks of fish that, while partially rotten, still had edible pieces.

“This is wonderful!” Luanne purred. “Follow me, I’ll take you to the colony.” As everyone picked up their share of the offerings, a large old human stumbled into the path with a giant stick. He yowled and swung the stick towards the cats.

“Bolt!” Rainbow yowled. Everyone scrambled away, nimbly dodging the human’s furious swipes. Luckily, he chased them as far as the path’s end before spitting and stomping away.

“I’m surprised it took him that long to chase us,” Lilac admitted, walking backwards and dragging the sea-shell. Luanne led the procession of travelers through the town, cutting down dark paths. Flowerpaw had no idea where they were. At least in the wild, she could look south and know home was that way. With the tall dens hiding the sun, she lost that comfort.

Eventually, Luanne approached a giant red stone den. Unlike the other dens, debris and junk littered the corners. Eyes of ice dotted the walls, some of them shattered and others covered with wood. It was taller than most of the other dens. A small field looped around the den, isolating it from the rest of the town. Luanne leapt through one of the broken eyes, back paws slipping when she jumped inside. Lilac threw the sea-shell to Flowerpaw, who waited on the eye’s ledge when everyone else was inside. The pair jumped down together.

The den was sectioned off into smaller dens, similar to Gorgeous’s old home. This den was crowded with broken human contraptions that faced a black wall. There was a gap leading to a larger area on the other side.

“The humans abandoned this place long ago,” Luanne assured them, heading into the main area. “The older cats call it “The School.”” 

The main area was a camp of human contraptions and alien objects. There was a clearing in the center where cats gathered and talked and nests built under wooden platforms and inside silver logs. The colony had a Clan’s worth of cats! There was a huge, dark gray tom sitting near the travelers. He had a white underside and a missing right ear. He chewed on a greasy bone and looked up when Luanne and the travelers walked past him.

“Luanne, what are you doing?” the tom growled.

“They’re just travelers, Streetwise,” Luanne explained. “They want to see Michael. They brought food.” Streetwise’s bright green eyes lit up when he saw the sea-shell of fish.

“Now that’s a find!” Streetwise declared. “Michael will like you guys. Come on.” Streetwise threw his bone aside and led the group towards the camp. Eyes glowed from dark nests, watching them with quiet anticipation. Two silver cats, one with gray eyes and the other with gold, sat on top of a carved log with a curtain of fur draped over it. They hopped down in unison and walked around the travelers.

“A steak,” the gray-eyed tabby, a molly, purred, eyeing the meat in Luanne’s jaws.

“Is Michael in his den?” Streetwise asked. More cats slipped into the light. A white-footed tortoiseshell, a lilac cat with a sky-blue collar, a warm gray ticked molly, everyone wanted to see what was happening.

“Luanne?” a smooth voice called behind the fur curtain. A face slipped into the light. He was a handsome white tom, his fur fluffing into a mane around a bright orange collar that matched his eyes. Like Luanne, the collar did not jingle.

“Luanne said you would be more welcoming if we brought food,” Bumblepaw gulped, dropping the rat. “We hope this is enough.”

“Enough?” the tom, whom Flowerpaw assumed to be Michael, laughed, eyeing the prey. “This is wonderful! Everyone, these expert scavengers have brought us gifts! Eat up!” The colony dove from the shadows and pounced on the food. They scrambled for the good bits of fish within the sea-shell. The smaller ones dove for the white chunks. A lean fawn cat jumped over Flowerpaw to get the ragged mouse. Michael rubbed against Luanne, tail running down her back. Luanne did not rebuke her mate as she passed him the steak.

“If you’re here to stay, I sure won’t mind,” the lilac tom purred, looping around Gorgeous.

“I’m afraid my standards are a bit too high for you, darling,” Gorgeous teased.

“Can you give us some room?” Thrushpaw asked, squeezed into himself as the cats began to disperse. A small entourage gathered behind Michael and Luanne: Streetwise, the silver littermates, the fawn cat, and a cream spotted molly.

“So, Luanne,” Michael asked, setting the steak at his paws. “What made these travelers want to see us?”

“They didn’t say,” Luanne sighed.

“Rainbow and I are just wandering,” Lilac said, pressing against Rainbow, “but the others are looking for someone.”

“A mate?” The lilac cat hoped, sticking their head out from a silver log.

“Dash, leave it alone,” the fawn cat growled.

“Yes, Ragnar!” Dash yelped, scampering away.

“From the exhaustion in your eyes, you’ve traveled a long way,” Michael hummed with a flick of an ear. “Who are you looking for?”

“We don’t know their name,” Faith explained. “Thrushpaw will know them when we find them.”

“Oh, we should introduce ourselves,” Bumblepaw realized. He pointed his tail at each cat in turn. “There’s Rainbow, Lilac, Faith, Thrushpaw, Gorgeous, Flowerpaw, Podpaw, and me, Bumblepaw.”

“Are you the leader of this ragtag colony, Bumblepaw?” Michael asked.

“No no no,”  Bumblepaw laughed, moving towards Thrushpaw. “Thrushpaw’s the reason we’re all here. He’s the one who heard the prophecy.” A gentle murmur rippled through the school. Michael glanced at his entourage.

“Now you really have piqued my interests,” he laughed. “Come, step into my den. We can share a meal and you can tell me everything. If your followers require anything, my inner circle can attend to the matter.” Michael dug his claws into the steak and ripped off a chunk. “There you are, Luanne. For yourself and our children.”

“We aren’t followers,” Podpaw gumbled as Luanne took the offering and scurried off.

“Silver, Gold,” Michael ordered, flicking his tail at the silver littermates. “Find our guests a nest. Thrushpaw, if you’re ready?” Thrushpaw nodded to his fellow apprentices and followed Michael behind the curtain. Silver and Gold hopped behind them and approached the group. The only difference between the pair were their eyes and their genders.

“There’s plenty of room near Gouge,” the tom, Gold, explained, “if you’re willing to look at him.”

“Gouge?” Podpaw muttered as Silver and Gold led the group away from Michael’s den. There was another side area, except this one was full of high, dust-covered platforms. Two toms sat above them, sharing the rat Bumblepaw caught. One was a thin golden mackerel with long fur while the other was lanky, with wiry, patchy black hair. When he looked up, Flowerpaw saw big, dark-orange eyes and a half-hairless face, pink skin wrapping around his muzzle and eyes.

“And I thought your curly fur was cool!” Faith gasped, glancing at Podpaw. “He looks like a wolf!”

“Wha, I’m still cool!” Podpaw huffed. Faith leapt onto the platform by the two toms.

“Hi, I’m Faith!” Faith declared, tail high.

“Jacob,” the black tom laughed. “Thanks for the food. This is my friend, Gouge.” Flowerpaw hopped up just as Gouge looked up. Then again, looking up wouldn’t be the right word. He had no eyes; they had been torn away, leaving scarred holes.

“Hi,” Gouge mumbled.

“Oh, that looks painful!” Faith whined, flinching in sympathetic pain.

“It still is, sometimes,” Gouge sighed, turning back to his food.

“That’s a horrible name!” Gorgeous huffed, joining Faith and Flowerpaw. “Why would you ever name yourself after something so traumatic?”

“There’s nothing wrong with that, Gorgeous,” Flowerpaw chastised the older molly. “In SealClan, Torneye has an injury just like that, and she chose to change her name to honor what she went through!” That caught Gouge’s attention. His ears focused on Flowerpaw.

“Huh,” Jacob hummed with a friendly flick of his tail. “I’ve never met anyone with an injury like Gouge.”

“If our guests choose to stay with us,” Silver explained, “they’ll be sleeping in here.”

“What’s SealClan?” Gouge asked, ignoring Silver.

“It’s where my brother and I are from!” Flowerpaw declared. “There are four Clans in total, and we all live in the wild, hunting and protecting each other. We don’t always get along, but we come back together in the end.”

“This Torneye, you don’t sound scared of her,” Gouge stammered, standing. 

“I was a little scared as a kit, when I met her,” Flowerpaw admitted, licking her chest. “I’m not anymore, though.”

“What’s she like?” Gouge asked, barely able to sit still.

“She’s nice,” Flowerpaw said. “She’s a warrior. Her son just became an apprentice.”

“She has a son?” Gouge cried. “She has a mate?”

“Hey, bud, are you okay?” Jacob asked, tail touching Gouge’s flank.

“I want to go to the Clans!” Gouge yowled, getting in Flowerpaw’s face. “Take me with you.” Flowerpaw’s words faded. That certainly wasn’t what she expected.

“Gouge!” Silver snapped. Gouge stepped back, ears flat. “You’re a colony cat. You want to throw that away for a stranger’s story?”

“Sorry,” Gouge mumbled. He went back to eating.

“Come off it, Silver,” Jacob growled. “He hasn’t been that excited about something in ages.”

“She’s just being honest,” Gold pointed out. “Don’t go chasing after imaginary mice.”

“Let’s explore, Lilac,” Rainbow sighed, nosing Lilac out. “Maybe you can make some more friends .”

“You make it sound like a bad thing,” Lilac giggled as the pair left.

“You like to brawl, Jacob?” Faith asked, wiggling her flank.

“Not many cats to brawl with here,” Jacob admitted.

“Let’s have some fun!” Faith laughed. She pounced on Jacob, shoving him across the platform. They nearly fell off.

“Faith, get off him!” Gorgeous ordered with a hiss.

“Actually, this sounds like a good time!” Jacob grunted. He kicked Faith’s belly and jumped off the platform. Faith followed with a laughing yowl. Flowerpaw and Gorgeous rejoined Bumblepaw and Podpaw. Podpaw watched Faith and Jacob roll across the ground with narrowed pupils and unsheathed claws.

“Jealous?” Flowerpaw muttered. Podpaw stammered wordlessly, lips itching to curl back. He groaned and stomped out.

“Enjoy your time here,” Gold said, tail waving around the large den as he and Silver left.

“Bumblepaw, I think you should talk to Gouge,” Gorgeous suggested, glancing back at the golden tom. “Considering how excited he seemed by the Clans, maybe he’s our seer?”

“Good idea!” Bumblepaw gasped. He jumped onto a silver stump and to the platform, sitting next to Gouge as they watched the brawl below.

“That leaves us to wander, I suppose,” Gorgeous sighed, shaking the dust from her pelt.

“Lots of potential seers here,” Flowerpaw mused, leading her outside. 

Most of the colony had returned to their usual routine. Rainbow chatted with Ragnar and the cream molly from Michael’s “inner circle”. Flowerpaw overheard Ragnar call the molly “Sweetie”. As Rainbow guessed, Lilac did indeed make a new friend; they sat beside a fluffy dark brown molly as she ate some fish.

“The calico carefully laid out a soft nest for the injured tabby,” Lilac purred, paws gently kneading as she spoke. Her tone was soft, like they were telling a nursery tale and soothing the kits for the night. For one homesick moment, Flowerpaw wondered how Mothkit was sleeping, knowing his cousins were far from home. Flowerpaw made a silent promise to share tongues with Mothkit when she returned to SealClan. 

Gold wandered by the pair and glanced at the brown molly.

“Chocolate, don’t fall asleep,” Gold warned, brushing his slender tail over the brown molly’s whiskers. “You’re guarding the camp tonight.”

“I won’t!” Chocolate promised, taking a big bite of fish.

“How old is that molly?” Gorgeous whispered as they passed Lilac.

“From her size, I think seven moons?” Flowerpaw guessed. She would never trust such a young cat with guarding an entire camp, but she reminded herself that she wasn’t in the Clans, cats grew up fast beyond her home. Chocolate had to shake out her pelt a few times to stay awake as Lilac continued their story of the kind calico treating the tabby who nearly killed her.

“Now where did my brother run off to?” Flowerpaw muttered, glancing around the camp. Podpaw’s distinctive curly fur was easy to spot. He was talking to the flirty lilac cat, Dash, and showing off his pelt. His confident sneer had returned. He held out a paw, showing a tiny scar inside his ankle from a CliffClan fight in his early moons of training. A bit of pride rumbled through Flowerpaw as she realized she now had the bigger scar of the two; the Silverjaw wound was covered with fur, but the skin underneath was pale and lined in pink.

A loud dragging sound snapped Flowerpaw out of her thoughts. A fuzzy black and white tom pushed against a large lightweight object, filled with the furry curtains that covered Michael’s den.

“What is that ?” Flowerpaw gasped, approaching the beige construction.

“A box?” the black tom hummed. “You must live far from humans. There are a lot of boxes in here. Silver asked me to take a couple to your room.” Flowerpaw wasn’t sure what a room was, but she guessed it was the word for the smaller dens within the “school.”

“Well go on,” Gorgeous purred, nosing Flowerpaw’s side. “Hop inside.” With a soft trill, Flowerpaw obeyed, jumping into the box. It was the most comfortable nest she had ever laid in. The safety and security of the close walls could only be matched by the nursery. Flowerpaw rolled about, getting comfy in an awkward-looking pose. Maybe she would take a nap, at least until Thrushpaw came out.

“I can’t push it if you’re in there,” the black tom called. Silently screaming for acting like a kit, Flowerpaw scrambled out of the box.

“Thank you, darling,” Gorgeous giggled. “What’s your name?”

“Hades,” the tom said. “Let me know if you need anything. I spend a lot of time improving this place.” Hades continued on, head shoving the box towards Gouge’s room.

“Another contender for seer?” Gorgeous wondered.

“I’ll ask Thrushpaw to keep an eye on him,” Flowerpaw promised. A shiver rippled down her spine. She could feel eyes upon her. She glanced about, tasting the air. Two big brown eyes watched Flowerpaw and Gorgeous from around a corner.

“Darling, if you want to chat, then come out!” Gorgeous laughed, her feathery tail swishing back and forth. The white pawed tortoiseshell crawled into the light.

“Are you a house cat?” the tortoiseshell asked, head slightly cocked.

“Formerly,” Gorgeous explained. The tortoiseshell’s ears perked up.

“I’m a housecat too,” she purred. “My name’s Mittens. It’s nice to find other house cats. Everyone here is just a stray.”

“You don’t live in the colony?” Flowerpaw asked, surprised.

“I go to my housefolk when night falls,” Mittens explained. “I haven’t talked to another house cat in a long time.”

“Well I am more than happy to have a chat!” Gorgeous declared. “Flowerpaw, you’ll be fine without me, won’t you?”

“Of course,” Flowerpaw said.

“Try to enjoy the company,” Gorgeous advised as Mittens led her to a side room. Flowerpaw glanced around the camp. It felt like being at a Gathering, trying to find someone to talk to. A sandy-gray molly sat in front of a large den. Luanne was nestled in the shadows, kits at her belly. Flowerpaw headed towards her. Just as Luanne noticed her, the molly stepped between them.

“Her kits are sleeping,” the molly growled.

“Molly, it’s alright,” Luanne called.

“Molly?” Flowerpaw repeated. “You’re a molly named… Molly?”

“My mother believed in simple names,” Molly huffed. She moved aside, carefully eyeing Flowerpaw as she entered the nursery. Luanne laid in a soft nest, head lifted to greet Flowerpaw properly.

“I hope I’m not disturbing you,” Flowerpaw whispered.

“They’re fast asleep,” Luanne promised, moving her tail over the three. There was a white molly, a dark cream tom with broken stripes, and another molly that looked just like her mother. They were close to weaning age.

“What are their names?” 

“Frosty, Sandy, and Muddy.”

“Simple and fitting.” Flowerpaw looked back at Molly, you still glared at her. “I don’t think your friend likes me.”

“She’s protective, that’s all. She’ll be welcoming once she learns you don’t mean me harm.”

“Your colony is a nice place. It reminds me of my Clan. Michael is a kind leader.”

“Yes, he can be quite welcoming.” Luanne tucked her kits closer to her.

“Frosty looks just like him. Does she have his eyes too?”

“They’re blue.” Luanne said that with such a quiet, remorseful tone, it took Flowerpaw only a moment to remember the age-old warning healers gave to queens with white kits.

“Is she deaf?” Luanne nodded.

“Please keep that to yourself. Gouge has barely earned his place in the colony with his blindness, if Frosty can’t prove herself before the others learn…”

“She can learn to hunt.”

“I know she can. It’s others who doubt it.” Flowerpaw loafed beside Luanne, offering a comforting presence.

“I know it’s an empty offer since we aren’t staying here forever, but I can hunt for you as long as we stay. That way you can look after your kits.”

“No.” Luanne’s tone grew sharp, eyes flashing with alarm. Flowerpaw’s fur bristled.

“Do you get in trouble if you don’t hunt?” Flowerpaw asked. “Is that where your scars come from? Is that how this colony works?”

“No, Flowerpaw, I promise not,” Luanne insisted, a paw on Flowerpaw’s paw. “There’s… I’m held to different expectations as the leader’s mate. The colony is as good a place as your Clans.”

“Where do you think you’re going with that, Ribbon?” Streetwise growled outside the den. Luanne carefully slid around her kits and joined Flowerpaw, the pair sticking their heads out to catch the scene. Streetwise glared at a white tom with… were those pink eyes? The tom had a piece of fish cradled between his paws.

“I’m going to eat,” Ribbon said nonchalantly.

“You know the rules,” Streetwise huffed. “You don’t hunt, you don’t eat. Give that to someone who deserves it.”

“Actually, that isn’t the rule,” Ribbon corrected him with a confident twitch of his whiskers. “Michael’s said time and time again you earn food by supporting the colony. That means hunting, guarding the entrance, or, as I was doing all night, looking for some burdock for Dash’s rat bite.” Flowerpaw perked up. He was a healer! Perhaps a seer as well, if she was lucky.

“Chasing your tail all night doesn’t count,” Streetwise snapped. A small red molly darted out of a dark corner and stood between Ribbon and Streetwise.

“You leave my dad alone!” she snapped, teeth bared. “He does more work in a day than you have in your whole life!”

“Beetle, stay out of this,” Ribbon warned, gently tugging the molly’s scruff.

“What did you say to me, you little runt?” Streetwise growled, showing his claws. A large shape dropped from the ceiling. A shadow fell over Streetwise. The gray tom froze and slowly looked behind him. A giant brown tabby loomed over him, ears torn to nothing from countless fights. Streetwise’s tail slipped between his legs. His jaw floundered, searching for a comeback. Beetle lifted her chin in a defiant glare.

“Keep the fish,” Streetwise finally hissed. He scurried towards Ragnar and Sweetie, whose eyes shone with hidden laughter.

“Hi, Pappa,” Beetle chirped, hopping underneath the tabby’s chin. The huge tom purred and licked Beetle’s head.

“Are you alright?” he asked Ribbon. The white tom touched his nose to the tabby.

“Streetwise is just being tough,” Ribbon sighed. “Nothing to worry about. Nothing would have happened.”

“You can’t be sure,” the tabby hummed. He glanced around the camp and locked eyes with Flowerpaw. His pelt bristled, pupils narrow. Flowerpaw shrunk under his gaze.

“There’s a stranger near Luanne’s kits,” the tabby growled.

“Rope, she’s alright,” Luanne promised, gently nosing Flowerpaw out of the den. “This is Flowerpaw. She and her companions are staying with us for a while. They brought us that fish.”

“Hello,” Flowerpaw said, head low. “I’m sorry to unnerve you.”

“When did they get here?” Rope asked, turning to Ribbon.

“While you were hunting,” Ribbon explained.

“What did you bring back?” Beetle asked, sniffing Rope’s teeth.

“Silver took the mouse,” Rope sighed, turning back to Flowerpaw. “If Michael approves of you, I won’t say anything. Still, I don’t trust strangers around my daughter and mate. Who are your companions?”

“Rope, do you have to interrogate her?” Ribbon sighed.

“I’m not interrogating her, I just want to meet the newcomers,” Rope insisted. Beetle’s head flicked between Ribbon and Rope with bright attention.

“I understand,” Flowerpaw promised. Podpaw was still talking with Dash. Considering who he was, Flowerpaw decided not to introduce him to Rope first. Gorgeous and Mittens sat in a corner of camp, laughing over some shared kittypet joke. “Gorgeous! There’s someone who wants to meet us!” Gorgeous looked up. She said a quick goodbye to Mittens and trotted over.

“Greetings!” Gorgeous chirped.

“This is Gorgeous,” Flowerpaw introduced. “Rope here wanted to talk with us. These two are Beetle and Ribbon, if I got the names right.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” Gorgeous purred with a little bow. “I love your eyes, darling, pink is your color, to be sure.” Ribbon blinked and hid his face as Beetle giggled. “Now who’s the tortoiseshell with you? I rarely meet one with such an even split of color.” Gorgeous turned to the empty space next to Rope.

“Oh, okay,” Beetle realized with a nod. “She’s the crazy one. There’s always a crazy one with travelers.”

“Beetle!” Ribbon snapped.

“Crazy?” Gorgeous gasped. “How dare you? I am as sane as anyone!”

“Gorgeous, there’s no tortoiseshell here,” Luanne said, sitting next to Flowerpaw.

“What are you talking about?” Gorgeous snapped, approaching Rope. The big tabby tensed, eyeing Gorgeous. “There’s a tortoiseshell right here, practically standing on Rope! Of course, I don’t think anyone could stand on him, considering his size, you’re quite muscular, sir. What’s your name?” Gorgeous stared at nothing, waiting a moment as though the nothing responded. “See, her name is Halfstar. That’s not the sort of name I could make up.” Flowerpaw choked on her own spit.

“Halfstar?” Flowerpaw gasped as Gorgeous’ outrage grew.

“Why are you laughing at me?” Gorgeous snapped at the empty spot. The fur curtain over Michael’s den shifted. Thrushpaw and the leader stepped into camp.

“I do hope you can find the cat you’re looking for,” Michael purred. “I can’t say I believe in spirits of the dead and prophecies, but I can see that this means a lot to your group. So long as you support the colony and earn your keep, you can stay with us during your search.”

“Thank you, Michael,” Thrushpaw sighed. His eyes drifted over the camp. They settled on Rope, and the empty spot next to him. His eyes grew wide.

“Ribbon, take Beetle away,” Rope huffed. “Something strange is going on.” 

“I wanna see what’s what,” Beetle declared. Her attention turned to Thrushpaw. “Hey, you! You see a tortoiseshell too? Is it a ghost?”

“Ghosts aren’t real, Beetle,” Ribbon said.

“It’s you,” Thrushpaw gasped, slowly approaching Rope. “You’re the other seer.”

“What are you talking about?” Rope hissed. 

“Rope is no seer,” Michael chuckled, walking alongside Thrushpaw. “He’s one of our greatest fighters. From what you’ve told me, Thrushpaw, that’s not what a seer does.”

“Gorgeous was a pampered kittypet, and she’s the SealClan seer,” Flowerpaw pointed out.

“Hold up, we found the seer?” Podpaw ran towards the group, Dash trailing behind with curiosity. “We can head home!”

“I don’t like being surrounded by cats spouting nonsense,” Rope growled, growing larger.

“Maybe we can talk about this?” Thrushpaw suggested. 

“Yes, I would like an explanation,” Rope huffed as Ribbon stroked his tail down his back.

“My ancestors sent me and my friends on a quest to find two cats to bring back to our home,” Thrushpaw explained, motioning to Flowerpaw and Podpaw. “They’re destined to become seers, the conduit between the living and StarClan, our ancestors. Gorgeous is one of them, destined for SealClan. I think you’re the seer meant for my Clan, PuffinClan.”

“Clan…” Ribbon hummed, playing with the word on his tongue. “Is that like a colony?”

“Similar,” Flowerpaw sighed. “I don’t know if you believe in your ancestors watching over you like we do, but we’re called to follow their advice. They want Rope to join us.”

“What’s a seer?” Beetle asked, trotting up to Thrushpaw.

“Like I said, we’re responsible for advising our Clans on what StarClan tells us,” Thrushpaw gulped, making space between him and Beetle as Rope’s glare hardened. “We interpret signs in nature and our dreams. We step back from our living families so we can hear from our dead ones. We witness their visions from the Sun and their prophecies given by the Moon. We’re responsible for helping all the Clans and I got a prophecy telling me to find new seers for SealClan and PuffinClan.”

“Have you had any strange dreams as of late?” Gorgeous asked. “Dreams of star-filled fields and shining cats?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rope snapped. 

“He was talking in his sleep last night,” Beetle pointed out with a chuckle. “Kept saying “Robinroot, Robinroot…” What’s a robin root?”

“She was a former PuffinClan seer!” Flowerpaw gasped.

“So you have been dreaming,” Gorgeous hummed, sitting next to Ribbon.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Rope declared, claws out. “I’m not leaving my home because of a dream. Now leave me and my family alone and stop bothering us about seers and stars!” Ribbon pressed against Rope, trying to calm him down. Michael watched on with a neutral stare.

“Ribbon, why don’t you and Rope step outside for a bit?” Michael suggested, walking around the group. “Our guest’s offer has clearly upset him, and I know he would be more agreeable once we all agree to leave the matter alone.”

“Come on,” Ribbon whispered, nosing Rope along. Rope glared at Gorgeous and Thrushpaw, and shot another violent look at Flowerpaw. He gave into his mate’s demands and stomped towards the exit.

“Sorry my pappa’s angry,” Beetle huffed, sitting. “He usually doesn’t get like that!”

“Thrushpaw, can you do me a favor?” Michael sighed, wrapping a tail around Thrushpaw. Luanne stiffened next to Flowerpaw. Why did the queen smell like fear now, when Rope’s fury barely swayed her?

“What is it?” Thrushpaw asked as Beetle scampered towards Mittens and Dash.

“This matter of the seers,” Michael muttered, “don’t bring it up around Rope anymore.”

“But he’s the one,” Thrushpaw stammered, facing Michael. “He’s the seer, Halfstar was standing beside him!”

“Surely the matter isn’t set in stone,” Michael laughed. His soft and casual tone gathered frost as he spoke. “I know this means a lot to you, but you’ll only antagonize him more, or any cat in the colony, for that matter. Like I said, you can stay here if you’re willing to follow the rules, and one of those rules is to not cause chaos in my home. Do you understand?” Thrushpaw hesitated, glancing towards the exit. Then he nodded, body slumping. The frost in Michael’s voice melted and his ears perked up. “Thank you, Thrushpaw. I’m sure you can find a seer in town. Your friends will have seen your room, why don’t you let them show you? I hope your stay with us is pleasurable.” Michael slunk away, ears flicking towards Streetwise, Sweetie, and Ragnar. The three followed him into his den.

“Luanne, we can keep talking later,” Flowerpaw promised. “I need to talk with my friends.”

“I understand,” Luanne sighed. “Why don’t we speak tonight? I’d love to hear more about the Clans, and I can tell you about colony life. Your friend Lilac may want to join, I overheard her begging Molly for interesting tales.”

“That would be great,” Flowerpaw chuckled. A brown face peeked out of the nursery, slipping under Molly’s legs.

“Mom, I want more milk!” Muddy demanded. Molly shushed her and shoved her back into the den. Flowerpaw laughed as Luanne shook her head.

“I truly need to start weaning them,” Luanne chuckled. She went back to her children as Podpaw and Gorgeous led Thrushpaw towards Gouge and Jacob’s area.

“We’ll have a tough enough time getting cats into SealClan and PuffinClan, but I think you would work well in ElkClan!” Bumblepaw chirped, still deep in discussion with Gouge.

“That sounds amazing,” Gouge gasped, tail high. On the floor, Faith and Jacob were panting, exhausted from their brawl. Podpaw’s jealousy sparked once again as he turned his gaze from Faith.

“Stop it,” Flowerpaw whispered, smacking her brother with her tail. “She’s just playing.”

“Gouge, my friends are back, I’m gonna talk with them,” Bumblepaw said as he noticed the group. He jumped from the high platforms, right in front of Thrushpaw. “Thrushpaw, I have great news. I don’t think Gouge here is a seer, he said he would hate the job and hasn’t had any weird dreams like Gorgeous, but I think I’ve convinced him to join the Clans!”

“What?” Thrushpaw snapped.

“It doesn’t have to be our Clans,” Bumblepaw said, excitement suddenly dimming. “He said he wants to leave the colony.”

“We can’t keep bringing every cat we meet with us,” Thrushpaw groaned, eyes closed.

“I don’t see a problem if he goes to ElkClan,” Podpaw huffed, sitting in the shadow of the platform.

“Oh, are we talking about Gouge and Jacob?” Faith joined the conversation, slipping beside Podpaw. “Jacob seemed interested in seeing the Clans too. I told him what I knew and he said if Gouge left, he’d probably go with him. They’re best friends, and the only reason he stays here is because they help feed Gouge, and they’re already mean to him apparently.” Thrushpaw loafed and thunked his head against the floor with a groan.

“Never mind about him, just wait until you hear this,” Gorgeous interrupted, catching everyone’s attention. She quickly ran through what happened with Rope.

“We obviously aren’t going to ignore Rope,” Podpaw grunted at the end of the recap. “We came all this way.”

“Still, Michael’s right,” Thrushpaw hummed, deep in thought. “We can’t beg Rope to come with us. We have to convince him he’ll enjoy Clan life.”

“Which means we’re staying here for a while,” Flowerpaw finished Thrushpaw’s thought. Despite how much she missed her home, the colony was a new culture, a new world to explore, a place to dig up flaws and virtues and bring that knowledge back to the Clans to improve life for all. Besides, she didn’t want to leave Luanne so soon. She seemed like she needed a friend.

“So what do we do?” Faith asked, sitting at attention.

“I’m going to build a nest,” Thrushpaw sighed. “I’m exhausted. Maybe StarClan will have some advice for me. You should dream too, Gorgeous. You’ll need practice.” Thrushpaw trudged to the box Hades left in the room. He sniffed it before crawling inside.

“This little break is for the best,” Gorgeous declared. “We could all use the rest. We’re dead on our feet!”

“Jacob offered to take me on a tour of the school,” Faith piped up. “Anyone wanna come along?”

“I do,” Podpaw immediately said. “I’ll tell him more about ElkClan. Cause that’s where he wants to go, right? Not SealClan?” Flowerpaw couldn’t understand how Faith was so oblivious, but the spotted molly simply nodded. The three cats took off, with Podpaw keeping close to Faith. Flowerpaw could tell it was going to be a long few days.

Flowerpaw had gotten used to a lack of patrols and structure during her quest. She couldn’t say the colony was like SealClan when she woke up the next morning, surrounded by friends and strangers alike, but to be around so many cats with so little expectations… well, Flowerpaw wasn’t sure what to do. She couldn’t spend all her time hunting or stalking Rope, so she had to find ways to fill her time.

She had spent the previous night keeping her promise, telling stories to Luanne and Lilac. The loner’s soothing voice quickly put the kits to sleep (save for Frosty). Lilac and Flowerpaw switched between stories while Luanne listened, soaking it all in. There were tales of Silverpath trips and warriors of old, and Luanne stayed silent through it all. Flowerpaw never had such a patient listener.

That morning, as Flowerpaw and Rainbow hunted for a place to make dirt, Sandy, Muddy, and Frosty bolted through the camp, boundless energy surging through them as they tackled each other. Sandy slammed the ground with his paws and Frosty, who was facing away from his sister, turned around. He pointed his tail at Muddy, who played with a crumbled leaf. Frosty laughed and zoomed into her sister. Muddy shrieked and bolted, Frosty hot on her tail. There was a lot a cat could say without words, but Flowerpaw wondered if there was a language the small family crafted for the deaf kit… 

When she and Rainbow got back from making dirt, Molly was in deep discussion with Thrushpaw. Mittens, who arrived just as Flowerpaw woke up, watched the debate with bated breath.

“The distinction between your roles is ridiculous,” Molly scoffed. “What happens when one of your healers dies and there is no one to take their place?”

“We ask another Clan to borrow a spare healer,” Thrushpaw said.

“And if there are no extra healers?” Molly asked. “You can’t ask these other colonies to give up the only cat who can treat their wounds. Why in the world are there so few healers?”

“I can agree with you on that point,” Thrushpaw sighed. “We need just as many healers as we do warriors. But we wouldn’t be so effective at our jobs if we spread ourselves too thin. Our specialties make us skilled.”

“I have a question,” Mittens interrupted, raising her tail. “What is a warrior?” Flowerpaw laughed as Thrushpaw sighed and went over the basics of Clan life.

“What are your plans for the day?” Rainbow asked, stretching. The question quieted Flowerpaw’s laughter. She wasn’t used to life without a schedule.

“I’m going to hunt,” Flowerpaw declared after a moment. “I’ve never hunted alone before. It will be interesting. What about you?”

“Find a cozy spot to nap,” Rainbow yawned, tasting the air. “Hunt in the afternoon. I don’t think I’ll stay very long. Make some friends, some memories, then continue on.”

“Doesn’t wandering tire you?” Flowerpaw asked, sitting. 

“I get antsy staying in one place for too long,” Rainbow sighed. “I’ve traveled from the frozen lands of the north, with snow white bears and floating ice, to the islands of the south. It’s all I’ve known since I opened my eyes.”

“That’s amazing,” Flowerpaw gasped. “What will you do when you’re too old to travel?” Rainbow hummed an “I don’t know” sound. Flowerpaw was about to offer a suggestion before she thought against it. Thrushpaw grew more and more annoyed every time someone showed interest in joining the Clans. Maybe she could keep it to the current group.

She walked towards the exit, eyeing the kits as they bit and tackled one another. Occasionally Molly would glance over from her debate to make sure they were safe before returning to the topic. When Flowerpaw peeked into the nursery, Luanne was gone. Maybe she would run into the queen on her hunt?

Flowerpaw landed on the grass outside the school and was bombarded with thick human pollution. She nearly gagged on the stench. Still, she could hunt. Coastbrook once forced her to roll in crow-food to hone her other senses in hunting. This was nothing compared to that. 

She stayed close to the school, not wanting to get lost. She scaled a rattling gray path of vines that snaked up a den wall and stopped partway up. She could look over most of the town. There was an odd, unnatural beauty to the stiff dens and the glittering lights that mimicked Silverpelt on Earth. Even the humans wandering about had a funny appeal to them. If they were willing to give cats free food and shelter, it was no wonder so many were happy as kittypets.

A pigeon fluttered on the edge of the gray vine. Flowerpaw’s eyes shrunk into sharp focus. Her legs itched with anticipation of the hunt. She imagined it was like hunting in a tree; keeping your balance was just as important as catching the prey. She walked in a straight line as the pigeon preened its wings.

It wasn’t a clean kill; Flowerpaw nearly fell as she tackled the bird. She had to snag its wings before she pulled herself back. Still, she caught the pigeon. It was a plump bird, still enjoying summer food. Flowerpaw suddenly remembered something Bumblepaw mentioned about the sanctity of birds in PuffinClan. It gave her an idea. She needed to bring the pigeon back to the colony quickly so she could recruit Bumblepaw for her plan.
“She won’t last out here,” someone snapped below Flowerpaw. The apprentice stiffened, crouching against the vines, trying not to rattle them. Two cats walked into the gap between dens where the gray vine climbed. It was Michael and Luanne.

“But we can communicate,” Luanne begged, turning on her mate. “I have some gestures I can teach the colony.”

“We can’t expect the entire colony to learn a new language just because our daughter was born deaf,” Michael huffed with a dismissive flick of his tail. They were talking about Frosty! “Don’t you think I want to keep her? You’re weaning the kits to meat and dropping Frosty at a human’s den, and that’s final.”

“She’s your daughter!” Luanne cried. She barely finished her sentence before Michael’s clawed paw slashed across her face. Luanne stumbled back with a yelp. Michael held out his bloody paw, waiting to strike again.

“Stop arguing with me!” Michael hissed as blood dripped down Luanne’s jaw. Flowerpaw shook with unholy rage. Why wasn’t Luanne doing anything? She stood there like a scolded kit. Flowerpaw was desperate to jump down and confront the tom, but she couldn’t risk losing access to Rope. She had to bring him to PuffinClan, and she didn’t think facing Michael down would solve anything.

“You can’t take her,” Luanne whispered, staring at the ground.

“You are lucky you didn’t say that in camp,” Michael growled, sheathing his claws. “If cats like Streetwise saw my own mate was questioning me, I would lose control of the colony like that.” He ran a paw against the rough ground. “Then where would we be?”

“I’m sorry,” Luanne breathed. Michael’s puffed fur smoothed down. He wrapped himself around Luanne. Luanne looked ready to vomit.

“You’re a loving mother,” Michael sighed into Luanne’s ear. “We have to do what’s best for Frosty. The humans will take care of her.”

“Humans don’t care for deaf kits,” Luanne tried to explain. Michael bit Luanne’s cheek, hard. The queen squirmed in his grasp and tried to pull away. Michael took a small tuft of fur with him when he let go.

“What did I just say?” he spat. “If you care for Frosty at all, you’ll wean her and give her away.” Luanne nodded, eyes squeezed shut. “I’m continuing my hunt. I don’t want to hear another word about this when we return home, understand?” Another nod. Michael’s strange icy calm dissolved his anger once more. He purred as he approached his mate. “It’s alright, Luanne. We’ll still have Sandy and Muddy and all the kits in our future.” He licked the wound on Luanne’s cheek. Tail swaying high, Michael trotted away. Luanne furiously rubbed her face against her shoulder, trying to wipe away the blood. 

Guilt swarmed Flowerpaw. She should have done something. Taking her prey in her jaws, she leapt from the gray vine onto the ground in front of Luanne. Luanne stared wide eyed at Flowerpaw’s sudden arrival.

“...How much did you hear?” Luanne whispered.

“He’s your mate,” Flowerpaw hissed. “Why did he hurt you?”

“He gets angry at me,” Luanne muttered, continuing to rub away the blood. “He’s trying to do right by others and the colony.”

“You have to know that’s just an excuse,” Flowerpaw huffed, sitting beside Luanne.

“I do,” Luanne sighed, staring into space. “I’ve known for a while. But it would be more dangerous to leave than to stay.”

“Did he give you these scars?” Flowerpaw demanded, tail waving over Luanne.

“My father founded this colony and gave leadership to Michael when he died,” Luanne huffed, turning her wound from Flowerpaw. “He’s been just as good a leader, save for some additions.”

“Additions?” Flowerpaw repeated. “What are those?” Luanne wouldn’t answer. Nightmares of tyrannical rule sprouted in Flowerpaw’s mind. “Can I groom your wound? It could get infected.” 

“Thank you,” Luanne whispered. Flowerpaw gently licked the blood from Luanne’s muzzle, smoothing over sore skin and stained fur. They sat in silence until the wound stopped bleeding.

“Come with us,” Flowerpaw begged when she was finished. “I don’t care what Thrushpaw says, the Clans have accepted many loners before and they’ll keep accepting them. You can join SealClan. Brinestar will appreciate the fresh blood.”

“You don’t know how much I want to say yes,” Luanne groaned, closing her eyes. “He’ll hunt us down. I don’t know if he’ll spare my kits.”

“The Clan will protect you,” Flowerpaw promised, setting a paw on Luanne’s shoulder. The queen backed away. “Sorry.”

“Later,” Luanne sighed, tired eyes meeting Flowerpaw. “We can talk about it later. I see you caught a pigeon.”

“We can go back to camp and say you caught it,” Flowerpaw insisted, nudging the bird to Luanne. “Then you can stay with Frosty and your other kits. I don’t trust Michael around them.” Luanne’s eyes glittered with thankfulness as she picked up the bird. They said nothing as they turned back towards the school.

When they entered the camp, Gold was guarding the entrance. He glanced at the pigeon in Luanne’s jaws.

“Good catch,” he purred. “Michael came back a few minutes ago. He saved a rat for you and your kits to share.”

“How nice,” Flowerpaw hummed, trying to keep the rage out of her voice. It wouldn’t help Luanne for others to know about her situation yet.

“How did you get that scratch?” Gold asked, nodding to the fresh wound on Luanne’s cheek.

“I had to fight some wanderer for the pigeon,” Luanne said, dropping the bird. It unnerved Flowerpaw how good a liar Luanne was. “Flowerpaw came to my rescue.”

“Hope you taught them a lesson,” Gold huffed with a glance to Flowerpaw.

“You take the bird, you earned it,” Luanne insisted. She slid the pigeon to Flowerpaw. “I need to see my kits.” She ran off, quickly joining Sandy and Muddy outside the nursery, as the two wrestled one another with Frosty on the sidelines. 

“Have you seen Bumblepaw today?” Flowerpaw asked.

“The floppy-eared fellow?” Gold confirmed. “He went to the second floor with Chocolate.”

“I don’t know what that is,” Flowerpaw admitted with a slightly cocked head.

“There are two layers to the school,” Gold explained. He nodded to the far wall, where a path climbed upwards. “Follow that path and you’ll get there.” Flowerpaw picked up the bird and followed Gold’s instructions. She had to jump to get onto each platform, trailing into and through the ceiling.

The second floor of the school was just as crowded with junk as the first, but it lacked the touch of feline inhabitants that the camp held. Flowerpaw did not possess the words to describe the objects that blocked her path. It was like a field of giant boulders compacted into a cramped trail.

A dark brown tail slipped past Flowerpaw beyond the debris. Flowerpaw snuck and slipped around the junk as laughter reached her ears. When she got to the end of the long path, she glanced left into another room with high platforms. Chocolate and Bumblepaw walked about as Chocolate laughed her head off. Bumblepaw joined in, but his laughter wasn’t quite so joyful.

“Oh, your friend caught a bird!” Chocolate chirped, noticing Flowerpaw. “Is that for us?”

“It can be,” Flowerpaw said, joining the pair under a cracked sheet of ice looking towards the town. “Bumblepaw, can you show me how you pluck feathers? I want to collect a bunch.”

“Oh, sure!” Bumblepaw hummed. He took a wing between his paws and began to carefully pull feathers off the catch.

“Bumblepaw is so funny,” Chocolate laughed as Bumblepaw worked. “You and your friends really bring life to this old place!”

“I wasn’t even trying to be funny,” Bumblepaw chuckled with a mouthful of feathers. “I was just talking.” Chocolate snorted, a paw over her snout. Bumblepaw met Flowerpaw’s eyes with wide confusion. Flowerpaw had no answers for him.

Soon the youngest apprentice had a pile of feathers at his paws. The three cats shared the pigeon, gobbling down the meat without speaking. Chocolate didn’t seem to come up for air until she had her fill.

“So what do you want the feathers for?” Bumblepaw asked when he finished, licking his lips. 

“This,” Flowerpaw explained, grabbing a feather. She approached Chocolate and carefully stuck the feather into her pelt.

“Oh, pretty,” Chocolate hummed, examining her gift.

“A thank you for helping us,” Flowerpaw declared. “Bumblepaw, can you help me carry all of these? We have a lot of cats to meet.”

“I still don’t know what you’re up to,” Bumblepaw huffed, obeying Flowerpaw’s command.

Flowerpaw led the way to the first floor, carrying her own collection of feathers. To her surprise, almost everyone she hoped to see was in camp. Most lazed about or played with human debris like kits. Others shared tongues and enjoyed the company. The first stop on the feather parade was to Lilac and Rainbow, who shared a meal together.

“Another Clan tradition!” Lilac gasped as Flowerpaw tucked a feather into their fur.

“How are they staying in?” Rainbow hummed when she received her feather.

Next was Dash and Mittens, who lounged about rating everyone’s looks.

“Is this a declaration of love?” Dash purred when Bumblepaw gave them a feather.

“Dash, stop it,” Mittens giggled.

Jacob had to explain what Flowerpaw was up to as she put a feather in Gouge’s pelt. Gouge nosed the soft feather. It was difficult to tell what he felt without his eyes, but he kept his feather close to his face, breathing in the scent of kindness. Jacob’s fur was too thin to hold the feather, so he simply accepted the gift and kneaded it between his paws.

Podpaw was showing Hades some battle moves when the feather parade reached them.

“What, I don’t get a feather?” Podpaw scoffed as Bumblepaw fitted Hades’ gift into his pelt.

“You’re not one of the cats who opened their home to us.” Flowerpaw chuckled.

“Thank you,” Hades hummed, studying his gift.

“Bumblepaw, why don’t you take your feathers to Molly and we’ll meet outside Rope’s den,” Flowerpaw suggested.

“I hope you aren’t planning to antagonize him,” Hades sighed as the pair trotted away. Molly was still talking with Thrushpaw, so Bumblepaw joined them while Flowerpaw stepped into the nursery. Luanne played with her children, nipping their ears and batting at them gently. Everyone was in a fit of giggles. Flowerpaw dropped four feathers off in the corner of the den. Luanne noticed the offering. Flowerpaw bowed to the queen and stepped back.

Bumblepaw and Flowerpaw reconvened outside Rope’s den. They could see the grizzled tom inside with his mate, listening to Beetle chatter on. Bumblepaw squirmed, glancing about for an excuse to leave, but Flowerpaw nosed him onwards.

“Hello?” Flowerpaw called, poking her head into the den. Beetle paused her story just as she reared onto her back legs. She fell against Ribbon with a plop. Rope’s soft gaze to his daughter hardened when he looked at Flowerpaw.

“What’s this?” Ribbon asked, noticing the feathers.

“A gift,” Flowerpaw explained. “A thank you for allowing us to stay in your colony for a while, and an apology for yesterday. We saved the biggest feathers for you.”

“Why feathers?” Beetle asked, cocking her head and hopping off Ribbon. “Why not the actual bird?”

“Where I’m from, feathers are a sign that you care about someone,” Bumblepaw explained awkwardly, slipping his last feather into Beetle’s pelt.

“May I?” Flowerpaw asked, stepping closer to the toms.

“I would love a feather,” Ribbon purred. He sat still while Flowerpaw tucked it by his chest. “Here, Rope, let me put the last feather in your fur.”

“Is this some backwards attempt to convince me to leave again?” Rope grumbled. He did not refuse the feather, however, allowing Ribbon to slip it in.

“It’s a gift,” Flowerpaw repeated, backing out of the den. “Take from it what you want.” With a flick of her tail Flowerpaw led Bumblepaw into camp.

The day came and went, and Flowerpaw’s plan seemed to have worked. Near sunhigh, Rope joined Faith, Jacob, and a very insistent Podpaw on a hunt. Although they only came back with human scraps, Rope didn’t maul them, so Flowerpaw considered it a good sign. She spent most of her day keeping Michael away from his mate and kits. Her offer to demonstrate a “time-honored SealClan battle technique” would only work once, so her plans mostly involved taking the kits on a walk around the school and keeping Luanne in good company. She didn’t trust any of Michael’s inner circle to protect her, so she focused more time around Lilac, Gouge, and Hades. Even if she couldn’t tell others what Michael was doing, she could keep Luanne around cats who wouldn’t sell her out.

The four apprentices talked through the night, analyzing Rope’s every move and figuring out how best to approach him the next day. They talked themselves into circles by the time Rainbow yowled at them to quiet.

Now, as Bumblepaw hunted for Rope’s company late that day, Flowerpaw and Thrushpaw sat with Gorgeous on one of the high platforms in their room, combining their knowledge into a lesson on SealClan seers.

“Each Clan has a different sunhigh ritual,” Thrushpaw said. “SealClan has a Clan-wide prayer before anyone is allowed to eat. You have to remember the words, otherwise it will stain your reputation with the Clan.”

“I understand,” Gorgeous hummed. “SealClan is a Clan that does not rush things. I can appreciate that.”

“Let’s take a test,” Flowerpaw declared with a pleased trill. “Let’s see how much you remember about SealClan. What is the Clan hierarchy?”

“From the bottom to the top…” Gorgeous hummed. “Kits & apprentices, warriors, story-keepers, counselors, elders, the leader & deputy, the healer, and the seer as the highest power in the Clan. But it’s not a strict hierarchy, merely a guide to authority.”

“Good,” Thrushpaw chirped. “Who are the current queens?”

“Magpieflower, Rabbitface, Needlecall, and Alderfeather,” Gorgeous yawned, rolling onto her back.

“What do we do with our dead?” Flowerpaw questioned.

“Let them drift into the sea,” Gorgeous sighed.

“Last question,” Flowerpaw said. “What do mates give each other when they ask to become mates?”

“A sea shell,” Gorgeous huffed. “Now if we’re done with that little quiz, I have my own question. What’s the ritual involving yellow petals in front of the camp?” Thrushpaw was about to answer, but paused, confusion washing over him. 

“The petals?” Flowerpaw realized. “I remember that. It’s a SealClan ritual to ask for Sun’s advice regarding a major problem. How do you know about it?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” Gorgeous admitted with a long pause. “I must have dreamed about it. SealClan’s been on my mind quite a bit since I joined this little group. The salty sea from a cliff overlooking the world, gentle rivers bubbling to and from that great blue mass… it all sounds simply divine.”

“Gorgeous, I’ve told you to pay attention to your dreams,” Thrushpaw reminded her, scooting closer. “What else have you dreamed about?”

“Fairly mundane things,” Gorgeous explained. “I’m going through the life of a seer. I’ll see some wonders of nature and learn an unseen truth of the world. I’ll do these strange things I don’t entirely know, like the petal ritual. Once, I stood over a large crowd and gave a speech about StarClan. I don’t know what I said, but it was very informative.”

“A sermon…” Flowerpaw muttered.

“Gorgeous, listen,” Thrushpaw gulped. “I don’t think those are just dreams. If you’re seeing things that Flowerpaw and I never taught you… could StarClan be filling in the gaps in your knowledge?”

“Even if Mountainleap steps down from being a seer, he can still advise Gorgeous on those things,” Flowerpaw quickly snapped. “Why would StarClan have to teach her?”

“Well it doesn’t seem to work, considering I don’t know why I’m doing these things,” Gorgeous huffed, raising her chin.

“Flowerpaw!” Podpaw called. He trotted into the room with Rainbow on his heels.

“Do you need something?” Flowerpaw asked, hopping down.

“Michael’s asking for us,” Rainbow explained. “He wants us in his den.” Flowerpaw nodded, but her insides churned. Had Michael noticed her watching him the previous day? No, otherwise it would have just been her going, not Podpaw and Rainbow. With a brief tail wave to Thrushpaw and Gorgeous, Flowerpaw followed Podpaw and Rainbow to Michael’s den. Ragnar and a few other cats stood outside, muttering to one another. Podpaw nosed the fur curtain aside and let the mollies inside. Michael’s nest was a box tipped on its side. He sat tall within the box, watching the three as they entered. Streetwise stood in the corner.

“Hello, everyone,” Michael purred. “I have a mission for you.”

“What sort of mission?” Podpaw asked, body stiffening, ready to go.

“Streetwise has the details,” Michael sighed, nodding to the tom in the dark. “Streetwise?”

“There’s a human den not too far from here,” Streetwise explained as the group turned to him (but Flowerpaw kept an ear to Michael). “There’s easy access and a room full of more food than you can imagine. Nothing you seashore cats would recognize, but better than any fish or mouse. And I’m not talking about those rabbit pellets house cats eat, I mean real food.”

“I want to try human food!” Podpaw declared, looking back to Michael.

“That’s exactly why we want your help,” Michael laughed. “We’ve heard your stories of the training the Clans give you, and I can tell Rainbow here is an accomplished fighter. I want you to join us on tonight’s raid and bring back as much food as you can. After stuffing yourselves, of course. Might as well enjoy our hunt.” 

“Sign me up!” Podpaw chirped, flank high.

“Who else is going?” Flowerpaw asked, hiding her feelings behind a curtain of good manners.

“Streetwise, Ragnar, myself, and Rope, among others,” Michael listed, tail dipping as he counted. “Stealth will be important. If we wake the humans, our feast is over.”

“We know how to be stealthy,” Podpaw promised.

“I’ll pass,” Rainbow sighed. “I don’t mess with humans. I’ve seen what they do to cats they pull off the streets. Judging from Ragnar and Dash’s smells, they were victims of the Cutter.” Flowerpaw wasn’t sure what Rainbow meant. She didn’t get time to ask, however, as Streetwise chomped into Rainbow’s tail. Rainbow screeched, spinning around with claws ready.

“What was that for?” Flowerpaw snapped, back arched.

“We told you the rules,” Streetwise hissed. “If you’re staying here, you’re supporting the colony. Michael asks you to do something and you do it. You don’t get to pass.”

“While Streetwise was rather quick to the punishment there,” Michael sighed, stepping between his comrade and Rainbow, “he is right. I can’t allow you to continue sleeping here if you will not listen to me.” Deja vu washed over Flowerpaw. She stepped closer to Rainbow, trying to calm her.

“It’s not a big deal,” Podpaw scoffed. “Wrenlight would stick me with a quarter moon of tick cleaning if I refused to join a patrol like that. No one’s gonna touch us if we stick together.” Rainbow growled, a low and threatening sound.

“You bite me again, you’ll see what I can do,” Rainbow spat at Streetwise. “I’ll join your little mission. When do we leave?”

“When the sun sets,” Michael explained. He trotted back to his nest. “Make sure you’re all ready. Why don’t you take a walk, allow yourselves to cool your heads? We need to work together to succeed tonight. You’re all dismissed.” Streetwise stomped out of the den. Flowerpaw did not linger.

When she and her brother stepped back into camp, Rope was watching them from outside of his den. There was no more hostility in his eyes. Instead, he scanned the SealClan apprentices’ unique curly pelts, the way they held themselves. 

Flowerpaw was suddenly very conscious of how she moved. She didn’t trust Michael on a hunting patrol, but not only would it keep him away from Luanne, Frosty, and the other kits, but it would give Rope the chance to see Clan training in action.

“We should make sure we’re ready for any potential conflict,” Flowerpaw huffed, turning to Podpaw. “Why don’t we spar?”

“But we’re not fighting any other cats…” Podpaw muttered. Flowerpaw nipped his ear and led him to a corner of the camp. As the pair ran through simple defensive moves, Flowerpaw occasionally glanced at Rope. His eyes were still on them.

Eyes gleamed from the corners of the school. Michael took the lead on the patrol, the final glimmers of the sunset turning his white pelt into a rainbow. Flowerpaw and Rainbow stayed in the middle of the pack near Rope. Podpaw wandered beside Streetwise, the pair as quiet and serious as true warriors.

“What sort of food will we find?” Flowerpaw whispered to Rainbow.

“I can only guess,” Rainbow hummed. “Chicken, cow’s milk… humans have enough food to spare.” Flowerpaw’s stomach churned at the thought of such unknown yet delicious food.

“When we get there, you need to be quiet,” Rope reminded the apprentice, surprising her. “We cannot alert the humans.”

“I won’t,” Flowerpaw promised. “SealClan’s trained me to be stealthy.” She hoped to continue the conversation, but Rope kept his gaze straight.

It was completely dark by the time Michael led them off the scratchy stone paths and towards a human den. There was a flap in the wall, big enough for a cat to slip through, at the top of some steps. Ragnar jumped next to the flap.

“Single file, everyone,” Ragnar huffed as Michael slipped inside. “I’ll keep watch.”

“I’ll bring you something sweet,” Streetwise chuckled, dancing his tail over Ragnar’s nose as he entered. The pelts of the colony cats shook and shimmered as they followed their leader, barely contained excitement stirring under the surface. Podpaw waited for his sister before he launched inside. Flowerpaw’s head pushed the flap aside.

While Rope entered the den and joined the other cats wandering towards a shadowy white room, Podpaw stood awestruck at the alien scenery. It was similar to\ Gorgeous’ old den, although dust floated in the air like clouds. The smell of warm, succulent food led her after the colony. Streetwise and Michael tagged on the thick branch of a squat white tree. Something clicked and the tree split in half, bathing the colony in light. Rows of food sat within the tree, trapped in crystal cocoons and glimmering web. Podpaw inched forward, tail flicking, but Rope kept him back.

“Wait for Michael’s signal,” Rope whispered. Michael jumped into the tree, dangling from the edge and squeezing between the stacks of food Flowerpaw lacked words for. He pulled the webs off a sea-shell full of meat. He grabbed as much food as he could in his jaw, tucking some under his chin. He looked over the silent crowd, whose eyes followed his every move. He flicked his tail and jumped out.

“Eat up!” Streetwise roared, burrowing into the tree. The colony swarmed the tree, scrambling for anything they could grab. Crystal cocoons fell and shattered on the ground. Meows and cries of success rippled around the human den. Others revealed hollows in the wooden walls with hard silver cocoons. One cat bit into the cocoon and sweet juice dripped over their fangs.

“Talk about being quiet,” Flowerpaw gulped.

“Woah, Flowerpaw, look at this!” Podpaw gasped, squirming to the floor of the tree, where shattered cocoons threatened to slice open paws. One broken cocoon revealed long green plants like half-grown pinecones. Podpaw bit into one. His eyes went big. “Flowerpaw. Flowerpaw this is so good. Eat it. It’s not prey, but it makes my mouth curl up. Eat it!” Flowerpaw crept around the feasting cats and sniffed the green plant, covered in thin, smelly juice. She took a bite.

“Great StarClan,” Flowerpaw muttered as beautiful tastes flowed over her tongue. It was disgusting and wonderful at the same time. “Rope, what is this?”

“A pickle,” Rope chuckled, rooting through the tree for a soft white stick wrapped in clear web.

“Flowerpaw and I claim the pickles!” Podpaw screeched, scooping up the wiggly treats. Flowerpaw trilled and devoured her pickle in a few quick bites. Juice clung to her chin, sticky like honey but thin as water. She grabbed more, nibbling them like mice. Did kittypets eat like this? No wonder all the kittypets Flowerpaw had met were plump. She'd be as big as the Stacked Stones if she ate like this every day.

Rope suddenly yelped, skidding away from the shards of crystal on the ground. He left a bloody paw print in his steps. He cradled his front left paw close, licking the pad.

“Rope, are you okay?” Flowerpaw asked, licking the pickle juice from her chin.

“The shards cut me,” Rope groaned. “I’ll have to get Ribbon to look at it.”

“Rope, help me guard the pickings for the others,” someone called, pacing around a collection of scattered food. “The others will eat it like vultures otherwise.”

“I’m hurt,” Rope snapped. “Give me a minute.”

“Can I help?” Flowerpaw asked, hopping through the shards.

“Honestly, Rope, it’s a little wound,” Michael huffed from his spot in the white tree. “Clean it off and get an inventory on our spoils.”

“He said he needs a minute,” Flowerpaw hissed, unable to hide her disdain. “You don’t need to be a healer to know walking around with a bleeding paw will get it infected.” Rope held out his paw, which bore a neat horizontal wound. Flowerpaw began licking the pickle juice and grime of the human den away.

“If Ribbon wasn’t in our colony, we would just have to bleed,” Rope grumbled, glancing at Michael, who returned to his feasting.

“The Clans make sure the injured rest,” Flowerpaw huffed, spitting out the blood on her tongue. “Why are you so against going?”

“Michael?” someone yowled. There was a white footed tortoiseshell at the edge of the room, watching the scene in horror.

“Oh, hey Mittens!” Podpaw called, mouth stuffed with pickles and a slice of a glistening gold fruit from a silver cocoon. “You decided to join the raid?”

“Raid?” Mittens gasped. “Michael, you can’t be here! This is my house!” Podpaw quickly swallowed. Flowerpaw turned to Michael, who watched Mittens with cold disinterest.

“Your humans have all this food while our colony starves,” Michael explained casually. “You may sleep here, but if you insist on spending your days at the school, you must use your resources to provide for the colony.”

“This food isn’t mine!” Mittens hissed, glancing around with bristled fur. “It’s not mine to take!” Rainbow emerged from a lower level of the white tree, pupils narrowing.

“This isn’t our territory,” she realized with a soft voice. A light flickered to life at the top of a steep path behind Mittens. A large human male stormed down with a stick in his paws.

“Thunderstick!” Streetwise yowled. Flowerpaw and Rope bounded away before a pellet shot out of the stick, slamming into the floor with such force that it left a dent in the hard ground.

“Grab the food and get back to camp!” Michael ordered, snagging something from the store and bolting for the flap. Podpaw snagged the last pickle while Flowerpaw helped Rope limp away from danger. Another pellet shot the white tree as the human roared.

Flowerpaw and Rope burst into the night with the colony on their tails. The wall opened up and the human loomed over them, gripping Mittens by the scruff. He threw Mittens at the colony and slammed the opening shut. Mittens landed on Ragnar, only to jump to her feet and race for the flap. Yet when she tried to push it open, something blocked her path. She clawed at the flap with a desperate yowl.

“Mittens, give it up,” Streetwise snapped. “Your humans kicked you out.”

“This wasn’t my fault!” Mittens cried, turning to the colony with bristling fur and bared teeth. “How did you know where I lived? Why would you do this to me?”

“Our colony needs this food far more than the humans,” Michael explained, carefully approaching the furious kittypet. “You’re right, Mittens. This was our fault. But think of it this way. If your humans were willing to throw you away like rotten meat just because we were there, how long would it have been before they gave you up to the kennels?”

“What are kennels?” Podpaw whispered. Rainbow shushed him.

“You don’t know that would have happened,” Mittens whined as Michael sat beside her. 

“They don’t deserve you,” Michael scoffed. “Come back to the colony with us, alright? We’ll get you a nest with Dash, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Mittens sniffled. Michael licked her cheek, and Flowerpaw couldn’t hide a shiver of disgust. “Don’t cry now, that won’t help. The colony supports each other. What you need is sleep and a good meal. We’ve saved some meat, feel free to take your pick when we get home.” Mittens nodded, body sagging.

“Come on, before he decides to chase us,” Ragnar ordered, picking up some meat. The colony silently followed, with Michael lurking behind with Mittens, offering gentle words of a new future. The entire walk back, Flowerpaw’s claws scratched the stone path. Whenever she looked at Rainbow and Rope, neither would meet her eye.

“Come on, Faith, talk to me,” Podpaw whined the next morning as the colony pondered their actions. Chocolate didn’t touch the food the others brought back the night before. Hades glared at Streetwise and Ragnar as he walked past. Sweetie and Silver laughed and joked near Michael’s den, but Gold was notably absent. Flowerpaw and her brother trailed after Gorgeous and Faith, who refused to look back at them as they crossed through the school. “I didn’t know it was Mittens’ home.”

“It’s not as though we had a choice,” Flowerpaw added. Gorgeous spun back with curled lips and furious, narrowed eyes.

“You should be ashamed of yourselves,” she spat. “Eating poor Mittens out of house and home, quite literally! The pitiful thing’s been moping with Dash all night. You are quite lucky everyone else was around you when you returned last night or you’d be sporting quite the scratches. I expect you both to fully apologize to Mittens by the end of the day, or I may just reconsider joining SealClan.”

“We already said we’re sorry,” Podpaw snapped. He stepped towards Faith. “Faith, you know I wouldn’t have gone along with it if I knew where we were going.”

“I know you don’t have a high respect for house cats, but it can be a good life,” Faith huffed with a shaky voice. “You stole that from Mittens. I don’t want to talk to you right now. Gorgeous, let’s go hunting with Gouge and Jacob.”

“Agreed,” Gorgeous declared. “These two need time to stew in their punishment.” Podpaw’s pelt prickled at Jacob’s name.

“Sure,” he growled as Gorgeous and Faith trotted away. “Go play with your new toy. Pretend I don’t matter.” Faith moved closer to Gorgeous. The pair slipped out of sight. Flowerpaw caught eyes watching her from the nursery. Bumblepaw and Thrushpaw stared at the SealClan apprentices, not even trying to hide their eavesdropping. 

“Are you mad at us too?” Flowerpaw sighed, approaching the pair. Podpaw trailed behind her, grumbling.

“Honestly, I think Michael was justified,” Thrushpaw hummed. “The colony needs the food, and Mittens had it.”

“Not if it cost her her home,” Bumblepaw huffed. “Michael’s acting like he did nothing wrong!”

“Bumblepaw, where’re Luanne and the kits?” Flowerpaw suddenly asked, noticing the lack of laughter and milk in the nursery.

“Luanne and Molly took them on a walk,” Bumblepaw explained. “Wait, don’t change the subject! You need to understand this was wrong.”

“I think everyone knows that by now,” someone mumbled to Flowerpaw’s right. Rope approached the apprentices, keeping his weight off of his injured paw.

“Has Ribbon seen your paw yet?” Flowerpaw asked, sniffing it as Rope sat beside her.

“He’s as angry with me as Gorgeous is with you,” Rope sighed, glancing at his den. “I just finished talking to your friends, Rainbow and Lilac. They’re rather conflicted over staying with the colony any longer.”

“They aren’t part of our group, so if they want to leave, it doesn’t matter to us,” Thrushpaw pointed out. “We’re going to stay longer.”

“Alright,” Rope hummed. Silence hung in the air for a few long moments. “I came over here because I had a question for you, Thrushpaw. I wanted to know what your leader is like. Are they like Michael at all?”

“Well…” Thrushpaw groaned. He turned to Bumblepaw for help, but he looked just as lost. “Whalestar’s really old, and I don’t think he’s going to be leader for much longer. Maplesong, though, I think he’ll be a good leader. He basically leads PuffinClan already, since Whalestar’s usually in his den. He makes sure everyone gets the chance to breathe when their duties grow heavy. He’s the mentor to my sister, Codpaw, and he’s able to balance that while being deputy. I think with his leadership, the counselors will have a stronger voice than in past moons, but that isn’t terrible.”

“He sounds wise,” Rope noted with a small nod.

“Is this your way of saying you’ll come with us?” Bumblepaw hoped. Rope’s eyes hardened, pupils tightening in a blink. The question died unanswered.

“Pappa!” Beetle called, scurrying out of her family’s den. Rope turned just in time for Beetle to sit between his paws. “Dad wants me to tell you to apologize to Mittens for the raid and see if she needs anything else today.”

“Beetle, why don’t you tell your dad that he shouldn’t talk to me through you,” Rope chuckled. “Tell him he should come outside.”

“Alright,” Beetle groaned, stretching. She trotted back to her den, calling “Dad! Pappa says you shouldn’t talk to him through me and to come outside!”

“Tell him—” Ribbon huffed from the shadows.

“Ribbon, will you just face me?” Rope snapped. Beetle froze at her father’s harsh tone. Ribbon slipped into view, glaring at his mate.

“You told me you wouldn’t go on anymore of Michael’s raids after the kennel incident,” Ribbon growled. Flowerpaw wished she could vanish into the background rather than stand in the middle of family drama.

“I can’t refuse Michael’s orders, you know that,” Rope grunted.

“You ruined Mittens’ life,” Ribbon hissed.

“That's an exaggeration.”

“She loved her humans!”

“They clearly didn’t care for her. They threw her out, even though she wasn’t involved in the raid.”

“Oh, don’t pull any of Michael’s excuses on me, you know the colony’s to blame, not the humans. You stole from them.”

“I will apologize, alright?”

“I don’t know if that’s good enough.”

“Should we still be here?” Flowerpaw asked her brother.

“I broke your trust,” Rope sighed. He pressed against Ribbon’s shoulder. “I told you I wouldn’t go on Michael’s wild missions anymore, but I went. I didn’t even say no. I’m sorry.”

“It’s a good thing you’re cute,” Ribbon muttered, his tone softening. “I still expect you to talk to Mittens.”

“After you look at my paw?” Rope begged, leaning back and holding out his front paw.

“Rope, I didn’t know it was that deep!” Ribbon yelped. “I thought you were whining over a little scratch! I’ll see if I have anything for infected wounds.” He gave the pad a good cleaning.

“So are you still fighting?” Beetle gulped, sticking her head between the pair.

“We’re alright,” Rope promised, touching his nose to Beetle’s forehead. Lightning struck in Flowerpaw’s mind.

“That’s why you don’t want to go with us!” she gasped. “You don’t want to leave your family!” Rope glared at her with a “well, duh” expression that made Flowerpaw’s confidence dim.

“What makes you think you’d have to?” Bumblepaw wondered with a tilt of his head.

“You didn’t seem quite accommodating for additional travelers,” Rope grumbled, turning to Thrushpaw.

“Alright, I’ll admit it, I wasn’t in a good mood when we met,” Thrushpaw huffed, touching his paw to his chest. “I wanted to get home as quickly as I could.”

“I know PuffinClan will let you bring Ribbon and Beetle with,” Flowerpaw promised. “They allow their seers to have mates and kits. They wouldn’t make you abandon them.” Ribbon glanced at Michael’s den. The white tom wasn’t there, but his inner circle lurked nearby.

“I don’t know if Michael would allow us to leave so easily,” Ribbon whispered.

“I don’t care what Michael says,” Flowerpaw grunted, standing. “He isn’t a good tom, trust me. You don’t have to live underneath him. No one in this colony does. We can take all of them to the Clans, send them to ElkClan and CliffClan. Friends are always welcome.” Thrushpaw groaned, throwing his head back.

“I’m a rabbit-brain, oh StarClan,” he moaned.

“What’s wrong?” Bumblepaw asked.

“Heh, rabbit-brain,” Beetle giggled.

“That’s the exact phrase Leafdapple told me during the half-moon meeting, friends are always welcome,” Thrushpaw groaned, getting to his feet. “StarClan wants us to bring the colony back to the Clans. Like Flowerpaw said, ElkClan and CliffClan will appreciate the fresh blood.”

“We’d have to ask around, see who would want to come with us,” Podpaw pointed out, just as a white shape caught Flowerpaw’s attention. Michael and Luanne walked into camp, with Sandy and Muddy hurrying beside them. Molly lurked in the back, eyes dark. Flowerpaw’s chest squeezed.

“Luanne?” she called, hurrying to the mates. “Luanne, where is Frosty? Didn’t you bring her on your walk?”

“Yes, Frosty,” Michael sighed, head low. “We had to make a difficult decision. You’ve noticed Frosty’s odd behavior, haven’t you?” Flowerpaw knew where Michael was going. It took all her willpower not to screech and claw him to shreds. “I’m afraid she’s deaf. She wouldn’t have lived well in the colony. We brought Molly along so neither of us would know where she is, in case we had second thoughts. Frosty will live the life of a house cat.” Molly stared ahead with expressionless eyes. Sandy and Muddy didn’t seem to understand the seriousness of the situation. Luanne stared at the ground. 

“I see,” Flowerpaw said, every muscle tensed.

“I’m going to speak with Streetwise and the others, Molly,” Michael noted, turning to Molly. “Please stay with Luanne.”

“I’ll take her upstairs, where it’s quieter,” Molly promised as Michael walked towards his den. He flicked his tail, and Streetwise, Silver, and Sweetie left their conversations to join him. Luanne began to shake.

“I thought it was just a walk with Molly,” she whined, claws out.

“Molly, how could you do this to her?” Flowerpaw begged as Luanne pressed her head into her chest. “You stole her kit.”

“Come upstairs with me, please,” Molly sighed, shaking her head. “Leave Sandy and Muddy with your friends.”

“Why would I go anywhere with you?” Luanne spat. Sandy and Muddy snapped out of their worlds and watched the conversation.

“Not in front of your kits,” Molly muttered. “Please, I’ll explain everything in private.”

“I’ll come with you,” Flowerpaw declared, chin on Luanne’s head.

“Mom, I’m real confused,” Sandy asked, putting a paw on Luanne’s leg. “Why did Molly take Frosty? Why didn’t we go too?”

“Sandy, Muddy, do you see that brown tom over there?” Luanne sighed, getting down to her kits’ level and nodding to Thrushpaw. “Go sit with him while Mommy talks with Aunt Molly.” Luanne tried to keep her voice steady.

“I’m staying with you,” Muddy whined. “I don’t like it when you leave.”

“I’ll be back,” Luanne promised.

“No,” Muddy huffed, tiny claws digging into Luanne’s paw.

“Both of you, give her some space,” Molly ordered.

“Fine, but you better be back in five seconds!” Muddy grunted, waddling to Thrushpaw. Sandy gave Molly an odd look and followed his sister. Molly turned to the stairs.

“I’ll make her tell us where Frosty is,” Flowerpaw whispered, walking alongside Luanne. “Michael won’t get away with this.” She jumped up the stairs, a speech stewing in her throat.

Molly crept through the debris field, going as far from the stairs as she could. She kept glancing back to be certain Flowerpaw and Luanne followed. She led them into a tiny room, thick with the choking smells of human creations. Some still remained in translucent cocoons; strange yellow liquids and poisoned water.

“Why are we here?” Luanne asked. Something in the corner mewed, like an attempt at speech when speech was a foreign concept. Luanne’s ears perked up. A small white face peeked out.

“Frosty?” Flowerpaw faltered as Luanne cried in relief. Molly made some strange signs, but Frosty touched a paw to her own nose and cuddled into her mother’s fur. Luanne licked Frosty’s head with loving fury, murmuring gentle affirmations.

“I was never going to abandon Frosty,” Molly revealed. “Michael told me to take her somewhere and meet them outside the school when I was done. There’s more than one way into this place if you’re nimble enough. I snuck Frosty inside and got to the front before you returned. Frosty was supposed to stay hidden, but she smelled her mom.”

“I’m sorry I doubted you,” Flowerpaw conceded as Luanne and Frosty spoke in their invented language.

“I would have thought the same,” Molly admitted. “This will be a good short-term solution, but if Michael learns about this, or someone else finds her…”

“I know what Michael does to Luanne,” Flowerpaw said, her gaze hard. “I won’t let him hurt her anymore.” Molly blinked, surprised.

“You told her?” she asked Luanne.

“She found out,” Luanne explained as Frosty climbed on her belly.

“You can’t stay here,” Flowerpaw huffed. “Come with us. We’re going to ask some of the colony to join the Clans. You and your kits can join me in SealClan. Molly, you can come too. I’ll make them take you.” Luanne’s answer hung on her tongue as hope sparkled in her eyes.

“I need to stay,” Molly muttered. “Someone needs to watch your flanks. Ever since Michael took over for Luanne’s father, he’s treated the colony like his own private army. That raid you went on? He’ll drag along half the colony into dangerous situations with promises of food and fun. His close friends make sure no one thinks about leaving. This place used to be better, someone needs to bring it back to life.”

“Would StarClan accept my kits?” Luanne wondered. “We aren’t Clanborn.”

“My father isn’t from SealClan either,” Flowerpaw explained, plans already churning inside. “He’s earned his place in StarClan, just like all the other loners who join the Clans. You believe in my ancestors just from our stories, they will be proud to include you in their ranks.”

“Moon’s words must truly be powerful if she sent you to me,” Luanne conceded. “I need something to believe in. If StarClan sits in her protection, I know my kits and I will be watched over.” Flowerpaw had lost Molly’s attention. The gray cat watched for any curious wanderers while they spoke. “Michael will hunt us down. How do we sneak out of town?”

“I have some ideas,” Flowerpaw assured Luanne.

When Flowerpaw returned downstairs, Bumblepaw explained the situation as he knew it to Gorgeous, Faith, Jacob, and Gouge, catching them before they left for their hunt. Flowerpaw joined Bumblepaw in patrolling the camp, hunting down those they could trust and offering them a new world. It was just like delivering the feathers.

“You’ve told me so many stories about the Clans,” Lilac purred, sitting with Rainbow as the apprentices gave their proposition. “I have to see them for myself.”

“You’ll really settle down?” Rainbow scoffed.

“I can’t spend the rest of my life traveling,” Lilac admitted. “Rainbow, come with, please. You’ve seen the whole world, why not make a home for yourself?”

“Lilac, that’s not who I am,” Rainbow insisted.

“At least travel with us,” Lilac begged, staring into Rainbow’s eyes. “Michael won’t be happy when we leave. What if he takes it out on you?”

“I was planning to leave tonight anyway,” Rainbow conceded. “Alright, alright, I’ll travel with you. But don’t try to drag me into the Clans, alright?”

“Okay!” Lilac cheered. She gave Rainbow’s ear a friendly lick.

Mittens and Dash were next. Flowerpaw expected Mittens to be furious at her for her involvement in the raid. However, once she explained the offer, Mittens simply nodded and turned her back to them.

“Michael doesn’t care about the colony,” Dash grumbled, resting his head on Mittens. “If he did, he wouldn’t have raided Mittens’ house. He uses us.”

“So is that a yes?” Bumblepaw asked with a bit of hesitation.

“Are your warriors hot?” Dash asked.

After that, Bumblepaw insisted on asking Chocolate. Though Flowerpaw had her doubts, all it took to convince her was the promise of learning the battle moves Podpaw loved to show off.

“All I know how to do is claw and bite,” Chocolate huffed as she guarded the camp entrance. “I wanna learn the spins and flips you guys do!”

“Most fighting settles down to biting and clawing,” Flowerpaw reminded her.

“But advanced biting and clawing,” Chocolate pointed out.

There was one more cat Flowerpaw wanted to invite to the Clans before she began planning their escape in earnest. Hades was cleaning up the scraps of food from the raid when the apprentices cornered him.

“I know you’re likely mad at me for helping with the raid,” Flowerpaw began with lowered ears, “but we—”

“I’ll join the Clans,” Hades said, not looking up. Flowerpaw was thrown by the answer. Hades sighed and added “Chocolate told me about your offer. My skills are underappreciated here, as you can tell by the mess everyone leaves. Thrushpaw mentioned that your counselors are responsible for caring for the camp?”

“They keep up morale,” Flowerpaw admitted. “Everyone’s responsible for the camp.”

“Perhaps you need a role focused on camp maintenance and the care of your weakened members,” Hades hummed. “I know what I am good at. Every society needs fresh voices to improve itself. That’s the role you may just play for this colony.” Hades took the scraps of rotting food and hurried to the camp exit.

“Is that everyone?” Bumblepaw asked.

“You know,” Flowerpaw hummed, anticipation itching under her fur, “I think this is why StarClan sent me on this quest. They wanted me to talk about the Clans and invite others. Hades is right, fresh blood is important.”

“So what am I here for?” Bumblepaw wondered softly, staring into space.

“Bumblepaw, we would have torn each other’s throats out if you weren’t here,” Flowerpaw laughed, headbutting his shoulder. “You made us get to know each other. You helped us work together. I think that’s a better role than the muscle.” Flowerpaw glanced at Podpaw, who was throwing Sandy and Muddy into laughing fits with a strange tippy-tapping walk, like he was hopping around mouse holes.

“What’s next then?” Bumblepaw asked, sitting taller.

“We don’t have much time,” Flowerpaw explained, dragging a claw through the dust on the floor. “Everyone needs to be ready to play their part. If we all just left for a hunt, Michael and his supporters will be right on our tails. Before that, I need to tell you and the others about Luanne.”

Everyone held their breath as night came. Flowerpaw and Podpaw lurked around their room, waiting for the plan to begin. Gouge whispered with Rainbow and Lilac in the corner, barely audible from Flowerpaw’s spot at the entrance.

“Bumblepaw says we can either be warriors, storykeepers, or counselors,” Gouge explained, flank wiggling with excitement. “I don’t think I want to be a storykeeper. I don’t have a good memory. Could I be a warrior?”

“You can train to become one,” Lilac insisted. “Flowerpaw said there are a lot of blind cats in the Clans. If they can do it, you can too.”

“I’ll be a warrior, then,” Gouge declared, purring. 

“We aren’t out of here yet,” Rainbow whispered. “Silver will hunt you down if we don’t get our head start.”

“Quiet,” Podpaw suddenly hissed. “Faith’s heading out.” Flowerpaw pricked her ears. Faith and Jacob strolled out of Rope and Ribbon’s den. Thrushpaw was talking with Michael and Streetwise and eyed the others as they passed. Flowerpaw had to praise Thrushpaw’s skills; even though he knew a few details of Michael’s terrible nature (Flowerpaw didn’t tell her friends everything about Luanne, that would be a betrayal of trust), he acted as though nothing was wrong. Bumblepaw and Chocolate stopped eating their rat, only for Hades to sit between them with a glare, prompting them back to normal behavior. Sweetie was guarding the camp entrance that night and noticed the pair approaching.

“Where are you going so late?” Sweetie huffed.

“We’re hunting,” Jacob explained with shocking ease. “We’ll be back soon.”

“Alright,” Sweetie grumbled, laying down. Faith and Jacob trotted outside.

“Phase one of the plan, complete,” Podpaw chuckled.

“Don’t be weird about it!” Rainbow hissed, peeking around Flowerpaw.

“Cue Ribbon and Rope,” Lilac hummed just as the pair left their den. Beetle spun around Rope’s paws, nearly tripping him.

“No, get her back in the den,” Flowerpaw muttered, holding her breath. “She doesn’t need to come out with you.”

“Sweetie?” Ribbon called.

“What?” Sweetie snapped, narrowed eyes trailing the family while she stayed still.

“Listen, your old humans, do they still have that garden with the catmint?” Ribbon asked as Beetle attempted to climb onto his back.

“How should I know?” Sweetie grumbled.

“Can you go and grab some for me?” Ribbon begged. “Gouge has been coughing for the last few hours and the catmint might help him.” His cue given, Gouge hacked out his lungs. Half the colony glanced towards his room. Flowerpaw and the others tried to look casual. Gouge continued coughing for a rather long time. It took Lilac gently kicking him to stop the fit.

“You’re the herb cat,” Sweetie huffed. “You get it. Can’t you see I’m guarding the camp?”

“I want him to stay!” Beetle whined. Her voice was so high, it clawed at Flowerpaw’s ears. “I don’t like it when he leaves at night! What if he’s taken to the kennel?”

“Gah, shut it!” Sweetie hissed, flinching. Rope growled, and her temper quickly cooled. She mumbled “I still can’t leave my post.”

“I’ll watch the camp,” Rope grumbled, sitting next to Sweetie. “No one will come in here unless I want them to.”

“I only need a few leaves,” Ribbon groaned as Beetle chewed on his ear.

“Fine, fine,” Sweetie spat. “I’ll get your catmint. You owe me, Ribbon!” Sweetie stalked to the exit, leaving Rope with the camp’s safety.

“How much longer until phase three?” Podpaw whispered.

“The route Molly took to the second floor was complicated,” Flowerpaw sighed. “It may be a while before—” Destruction and chaos crashed and tumbled across the second floor. The ceiling shook under the sheer impact of the madness. Cats peered out of their dens, yelps and questions flooding the air. Luanne and Molly scurried out of the nursery with Sandy and Muddy.

“What is that?” Streetwise hissed.

“Someone needs to check that out,” Molly growled, staring at the ceiling.

“Streetwise, Ragnar, Silver, with me!” Michael ordered, flicking his tail. He raced to the stairs and bounded upwards, his entourage hot on his heels. There was only one problem with the plan. Gold lurked at the edge of Michael’s den, extremely confused.

“We can handle one of them,” Flowerpaw huffed.

“Do they have enough time to get back down here?” Lilac wondered.

“No time for that,” Thrushpaw snapped, racing to the small group. “We need to move while they’re distracted.” Chocolate, Bumblepaw, and Hades jumped to attention. Mittens and Dash zoomed out of their dens. Mittens grabbed Muddy while Dash snatched Sandy, and the group made their way to the exit. The rest of the colony watched, still confused, as Faith and Jacob scrambled inside. Frosty dangled from Faith’s jaws, ears pinned back.

“Where are you going?” Gold asked, keeping up with Molly.

“Luanne and the others are leaving,” Molly declared, spinning to face Gold with unsheathed claws. Flowerpaw led Thrushpaw, Gouge, Podpaw, Lilac, and Rainbow past the confrontation, joining up with Bumblepaw. “When Michael comes down, we’re going to have a talk about who should be leading this colony.”

“If you don’t like Michael’s leadership, we can talk it through,” Gold insisted, head flicking about to see everyone. “You don’t have to leave. You’re taking his kits, doesn’t he get a say?”

“No,” Luanne growled, getting into Gold’s face. “My wounds aren’t from rats or humans, Gold, they’re from him. These are my kits, not his.” Gold’s confusion shrunk, morphing into a cold shock.

“That can’t be true,” he mumbled as Flowerpaw stepped out of sight and jumped through the shattered crystal hole.

“What did you do to make so much noise?” Gouge asked, sprinting to Jacob’s side.

“Pushed over a trash can,” Jacob laughed, nudging Faith. Luanne and Molly were the last ones out of the school, landing in unison on the grass.

“Molly, are you sure you want to stay?” Luanne gulped, turning to her oldest friend.

“I’ll keep Michael busy,” Molly sighed. Luanne rubbed against her, eyes squeezed shut.

“I’ll miss you,” she purred. Molly licked her shoulder. Flowerpaw breathed, calming the shaking of her pelt as the two pulled back.

“Now go,” Molly ordered as two white paws climbed onto the edge of the shattered crystal entrance.

“No!” Thrushpaw wailed as Michael leapt through and tackled Luanne. 

There was no time to react, no struggle or dramatic speech of betrayal. There was a gaze, as Flowerpaw and Luanne locked eyes, a gaze of terror and vanishing hope. It was all Flowerpaw could do before Michael dug his teeth into Luanne’s neck.

“Mom!” Sandy screeched, squirming in Dash’s jaws. Mittens shielded Muddy from the gore. Faith dropped Frosty, too terrified to keep her grip. No one could move as Streetwise, Ragnar, and Silver slipped through the shattered crystal to watch Luanne’s blood smear the grass.

Michael only let go when Luanne stopped squirming. Someone was crying; more than one cat, from the sound of it. Flowerpaw thought she was one of them, but she couldn’t tell, too blinded by rage and regret to do anything else. Michael looked up, blood dripping down his white mane and staining his orange collar. He held Luanne’s broken blue collar, now a dull purple. He spat it out.

“Now,” he purred as Gold appeared on the ledge, “let’s go back inside and talk this through.”

“She was your mate!” Gold screeched. He lunged off the ledge and tackled Michael, pressing his face into the blood pool.

“Traitor, stop them, not him!” Silver hissed, digging into her brother’s scruff.

“Molly, get them out of here!” Gold roared. He kicked back, sending Silver flying. Michael squirmed out from underneath him.

Flowerpaw only realized the others were running when Podpaw shoved her. She hadn’t looked away from Luanne that entire time.

Her paws bled against the scratchy stone paths as she and the colony cats ran after Gorgeous and Bumblepaw, who had taken the lead. Where would they go? Why weren’t they fighting Michael, avenging Luanne? Who had her kits? Podpaw was beside her, Frosty dangling frozen in his teeth. Good, good. Flowerpaw needed to keep running, make sure everyone got away. For Luanne. She glanced back once, fast enough to see Michael and his entourage on their heels. She couldn’t see Gold.

It was only when they turned a corner that she realized where Gorgeous was taking them. The Silverpath lurked brightly against the small lights shining from the Thunderpath’s tall gray trees. Ribbon grabbed Beetle by the scruff and threw her over, landing in the grass outside the town. Rope helped Gouge across the unfamiliar ground. Podpaw, Mittens, and Dash crossed quickly, carrying more than their own lives across the threshold of danger.

Flowerpaw’s back paw burned and spasmed. She tumbled forward, halfway on the Silverpath. Her foot was stuck between the silver slabs. Michael was right behind her, jumping, blood stained teeth ready to dig into Flowerpaw’s flank. But it wasn’t his teeth that grabbed her. Rope spun around and pulled Flowerpaw by the scruff, hard. For a moment, Flowerpaw thought she was going to lose her foot. Her paw flew out. She and Rope tumbled into the Thunderpath just as Michael landed on the Silverpath.

“You think you can just abandon the colony?” Michael laughed as Streetwise, Ragnar, and Silver stopped just short of the path. “You think you can get away?” Suddenly, Gorgeous, Rope, Michael, and Thrushpaw cried out, eyes shut tight as though blinded by a flash of lightning.

“What was that?” Thrushpaw gulped, blinking furiously. His ears flew back and his back arched. Rope skidded away from Flowerpaw, staring at a spot just in front of Michael in horror.

“How…” he gasped.

“What are they looking at?” Podpaw asked, voice muffled by Frosty’s fur. Flowerpaw couldn’t see it, but the hidden Sun blessed her vision for one terrifying moment to understand the scene unfolding.

Luanne stood before Michael, stars dripping from her collarless neck, the scars of his abuse transformed into beautiful stardust.

Flowerpaw blinked, and Luanne was gone, but from the realization filling Michael’s eyes, she was still there.

“You accepted her,” she gasped, turning to Silverpelt high above. “Thank you.”

“I don’t know what you are now, Luanne,” Michael growled, tail thrashing, “but I guess you couldn’t leave me alone. You couldn’t go through with it.” His legs jolted, but his paws stayed on the ground. His cocky taunt turned into growing horror. “I can’t move my paws.” The ground began to rumble.

“Michael, get off the Silverpath!” Ragnar roared as lights glimmered far down the path.

“I can’t!” Michael screeched. He turned to the empty spot once more. “Luanne, stop this! Help me!”

“She won’t listen to you anymore,” Gorgeous declared, lips curling. Michael yowled and screeched, trying to pull his paws up. He shrunk under StarClan’s wrath.

Flowerpaw watched as the Thundersnake collided into Michael’s white pelt.

They didn’t stay to see if Streetwise and the others stuck around. Most of the group had no idea what happened, but they wouldn’t doubt good luck. They only stopped running when Beetle fell into Rope’s leg, exhausted.

They set up camp at the top of a hill. Flowerpaw volunteered to keep watch first. She had too many feelings, too many thoughts screaming in her mind to sleep. No one discussed the Clans or the next steps or what to do with Luanne’s kits. Muddy seemed not to comprehend what happened, but Sandy and Frosty cried as they curled next to Ribbon and Beetle. 

Molly left as soon as they were settled. She muttered something about “restoring the colony without Michael’s influence” and “checking on Gold” and slipped out of sight. No one fought to keep her there. Everyone was coming to terms with what happened.

Flowerpaw faced the town, which glimmered in the distance. She watched the stars, looking for a new one among her ancestors. Someone shuffled the grass next to her. Claws out, she jumped, ready for a scuffle.

“It’s just me,” Gorgeous yelped softly. “Deep breaths, darling.”

“We don’t know if Michael’s friends will come after us,” Flowerpaw grumbled, turning back to the town.

“I doubt they will after what happened,” Gorgeous assured her, sitting. “Did you see her too?”

“For a moment.” Flowerpaw laid down.

“From what Thrushpaw said, it was likely a seer thing. I have no idea how Luanne ended up in StarClan, however.”

“She believed. She knew her kits would be protected with us and StarClan welcomed her in.”

“That sounds quite mature. I know you grew close to her.”

“I’m taking in her kits. I’ll get my name and I’ll join the nursery if I have to. I’m going to raise them. For her.”

“Now I know you were close. Strangers don’t offer to raise someone’s kits.”

“I think I loved her, Gorgeous.”

“As a friend, or something more?”

“Does it matter?” Gorgeous shifted closer. She laid her head on Flowerpaw.

“I suppose not, darling. I suppose not.”

In the quiet hum of early autumn night, Flowerpaw slept under Gorgeous’ protection, and Flowerpaw dreamed. 

Within the dream, she was old. An elder, with a full name and a full life serving SealClan. She had kits of her own, and those kits had kits. Who knows, maybe she was a great-grandmother in this dream. It didn’t matter. She sat in her nest with a crowd of kits at her paws, itching to hear every detail. Telling the story did not hurt, even though Flowerpaw knew, somewhere, that it would for a long time, that the scars would cling to her like battle wounds until they became melancholy nostalgia many, many moons later.

“StarClan sent the Thundersnake hurtling into Michael, wiping his wickedness from the world,” she told the kits. Perhaps they were a bit too young for the story. Her own kits would scold her later, but the elder had earned the right to spook the youngest generations.

“So Luanne’s dead?” one whined, clawing at the side of her nest. “But she was supposed to come to SealClan with her kits!”

“Who says she didn’t?” the elder chuckled. “StarClan did not welcome Luanne to their fold out of pity. They gave her a mission. They blessed her.”

“Blessed her with death?” another asked, cocking their head.

“You misunderstand,” the elder laughed. “From the moment her kits were born, Luanne fought to keep them safe. When she died, StarClan allowed her to continue that, guiding them and their descendants from StarClan. Before their mating ceremony, mates will ask for a long love, and for protection. You see, little ones, Luanne watches over the mates of the Clans. She knows the pain of love turning bitter. Should a mate raise their claws against their lover, she will be there with divine fury.”

“She wasn’t a clan cat,” her great-grandkit huffed.

“No, but I loved her strength and curiosity,” the elder purred, staring out at the sky, searching once again for that star. “I loved her, and the stars loved her too.”