Chapter Text
Dim gray light filled the forest outside of camp. Coralstar could hear voices and the patter of pawsteps on the smooth, damp earth as Featherfluff led her to a small, cobwebby glade that was full of cats.
"These are our new allies," Featherfluff explained. "Everyone! Look over here!"
The cats fell quiet and turned to look at Coralstar and Featherfluff.
"Everyone, this is Coralstar, our leader," announced Featherfluff. "Coralstar, these are Scorchscale, Gleamtooth, Iceheart, Lavenderpaw, Snakefang, and Thistlewhistle."
"Please, just call me Thistle," meowed a silver she-cat with green eyes and long, plumy whiskers.
"It's great to meet you all," said Coralstar. "We're really glad that you've chosen to stand with us, but there's been a bit of a change of plans. StarClan has decided that cats who can prove that they're good cats will be left alone. They'll only try to kill the cats who can't, or won't, do that."
"How dare they tell us what we have to do to be able to exist in our own afterlife?" demanded Snakefang.
"Anyhow, being good is overrated," grumbled Thistle.
"I know it's not ideal," meowed Coralstar, interrupting the warriors before they could start to argue. "But it'll buy us some time--according to StarClan's original plan, we would all be dead right now."
Snakefang grumbled, but didn't say anything else.
"Right." Coralstar straightened up, wishing Violetshadow was with her. "Here's my plan. We all pretend to be good cats when StarClan tests us. It doesn't matter if you consider yourself a good cat or not, you just need to be able to fake it for StarClan. And if you pass the test, then you get to go back to your afterlife the way it was before."
The new cats murmured among themselves.
"I think that's a good plan," announced Lavenderpaw with a flick of her white-spotted gray tail. "But how do we know what StarClan wants to hear, in their test? Most of us don't have a lot of practice being good."
"We'll just have to practice," meowed Violetshadow from behind Coralstar.
Where were you? she mouthed.
Not now, he hissed back.
"You mean, like acting?" asked Iceheart. "Because I'm a very good actor. Lying is fun."
Coralstar winced. "Don't say that in front of StarClan," she said. "They don't look favorably on cats who tell lies. But, to answer your question, yes, we'll be acting."
Pawsteps behind the new arrivals announced Bluebellkit's and Fluttering Bird's return. The two she-kits bounded up to Coralstar. "Have you started playing yet?" demanded Bluebellkit.
"Playing?" asked Coralstar, confused.
"Your game," explained Bluebellkit, rolling her eyes. "The one where you try to pretend to be good."
"Oh," meowed Coralstar. "That's not a game, it's very serious. We're just about to start, if you want to stay."
"Of course we do!" mewed Fluttering Bird.
"All right, everybody!" said Violetshadow. "We don't know what questions StarClan is going to ask, but we can practice with some simple ones. Thistle, you and a cat you don't like are both very hungry. However, there's only one mouse on the fresh-kill pile. What do you do?"
"Eat the mouse, of course," meowed Thistle with a puzzled expression.
"StarClan would want you to share it, even though you don't like the other cat," explained Coralstar.
"That's mouse-brained," muttered Thistle, lashing her tail. "But whatever. I'll share the mouse because I don't want any cat to go hungry. How's that?"
"Better, but still room for improvement," replied Violetshadow, turning to Scorchscale. "If you found out your mate had cheated on you, how would you react?"
"Kill him and make it look like an accident," replied Scorchscale immediately.
Coralstar and Violetshadow shared a look.
This is going to be . . . interesting.