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| - "Wait up, Breezepaw!" Ryan, Chamomile, and Lily came crashing through the undergrowth behind me, heedless of the fact that they were now deep into SpringClan territory. I didn't pause for them; I hardly looked back, too intent on my mission. I was a fast runner. I knew it. And there was no way the rogues, no matter how well they knew our territory, could get to the camp before I did. I took every shortcut I could, lungs burning and pleading for air. Because it wasn't just enough to beat them there. I had to have time to warn the Clan. Skidding into the camp, I screamed with all the little oxygen I had left, "The rogues are coming! They're attacking!" Forcing all that air out of my lungs made me see stars, and I had to pause to steady myself. The reaction was instantaneous- all the cats out in the camp raced over to me, and many more began emerging from their dens. When the three siblings raced into the camp, they found themselves instantly surrounded by Cherrynose, Dewfrost, and Goldenburst; Lily put her paws up in an act of surrender. "Hey, I know you've seen me before threatening you, but I'm honestly not in the fighting patrol," she said. "We just followed Breezepaw because-" "Is that true?" Dewfrost asked, looking at me. I was suddenly glad Lily hadn't finished her sentence; I didn't want my mentor to be disappointed in me for hanging around with rogues for no reason. Nodding my head, I panted, "But there are rogues on their way. They-" That was when the first cat entered the camp. Clearly the leader, she was a pale cat with fur that was no distinguishable color. It could've been white, it could've been cream, it could've been really pale gray- I had no idea. The same went for her eyes. They were an opaque mix of violet, gold, green, and blue. Just looking at her was enough to confuse me thoroughly. "Her name's Claron," Lily whispered to me. More rogues were coming up behind her, and I was staggered by the sheer number of cats on her side. There looked to be enough to rival SpringClan, if not more. Suddenly I wasn't so sure we could win this fight. Nevertheless, Oakstar didn't appear afraid- at least, not on the outside. He marched up to Claron with a mask of rage on his face. "Get out of my camp." Sneering, the she-cat tackled him. Quailfeather pounced on her, trying to pry her off the SpringClan leader; while that was going on, the rest of the rogues charged. There was no time to think. I just leaped into the fray, hoping I wouldn't end up hurting one of my own Clanmates. "You're going down, lousy apprentice!" a rogue snarled into my face, his foul breath making my blood curdle. "Nice try, weasel!" I grunted, kicking my legs deep into his stomach. He staggered backwards with an oomph sound, murder gleaming in his eyes. Hopping back to my paws, I raced at him again, only to have another rogue slam into me. "Leave Rory alone, you moron!" the she-cat snarled, lunging for my throat. I figured this Rory was her mate or something- but I had no time to sort out familial relations among the rogues. Twisting my head away painfully, I shoved a paw in her mouth. Did it hurt? Yes, but better my paw be massacred than my throat. While she fought for breath, I regained my footing and slashed at her again, not paying attention to Rory, who had just cut a slice out of my shoulder, it appeared. The she-cat I was fighting was down for the moment, but I was tired and bleeding, and didn't have the strength to contend with Rory, who was preparing to spring at me once again. Wearily, I closed my eyes and braced myself for the impact- which never came. Reopening my eyes, I found Ryan and Rory grappling at my paws, screeching like a pair of banshees. Ryan slammed into Rory where I had attacked him before, sending him rolling away in pain. I raced over to Ryan, panting, "Thanks! But... why are you fighting on our side? Won't you be in huge trouble now?" "He didn't even recognize me," Ryan said in disbelief. "He didn't even say 'hey, you're part of the group, traitor'. He just... he thought I was a Clan cat. He actually thought that." Despite the fact that a) being a Clan cat wasn't something to be ashamed of and b) Ryan had just been hurt by the cats who were trying to destroy my very home, I still felt sympathetic towards him. But before I could say anything, he gave himself a brisk shake and said, "Anyway. I wasn't fighting for your Clan. I just didn't see you want to get hurt... badly." "Um... thanks?" I said. "Ryan! We have to get out of here!" That was Lily, her eyes sharp and insistent. "The group isn't going to... we can't stay with them. Look what they're doing. This isn't what we believe in." They wanted to destroy the Clans, but didn't want to fight? What, did they think we'd just give up? I shook off the rude thoughts as Ryan raced over to join his sisters, preparing to exit the camp. I stepped forward. "Wait! If you agree that the group is bad, you can join us. You can fight against them. Please?" All three cats shook their heads. Ryan gave me a soft smile. "Sorry Breezepaw. But we will never join the Clan." And they were gone. Well, I really had no other options. Turning, I went back to fighting. I would think about Ryan, Lily, and Cammy later. "Look on the bright side," Minkpaw said in the gloomiest voice I'd ever heard. "We won." "They didn't wipe us out," Specklepaw corrected. The Vale Squad members were sitting as far as we could get from each other. Specklepaw wouldn't look at me or Daisypaw, Daisypaw wouldn't look at me or Specklepaw, I wouldn't look at Specklepaw, and Minkpaw was too upset with all of us for being "drama queens" to say much anyway. Around us, the camp was in a quiet state of disarray. Lionpatch obviously had had to give up his "no visitors" policy to treat the wounded of the fight. Which gave me time to glimpse Blossompaw, up and on her feet. A huge bandage was plastered to her chest, but she looked like she was going to recover, and I was infinitely relieved. "You okay, Breezepaw and Minkpaw?" a creaky old voice mewed from beside me. Fuzzears. I smiled up into her wrinkled old face, standing to give her a lick on the cheek. "We're fine, Fuzzears. Just a few scratches." Minkpaw stood too, flanking the elder on the other side. "I'm good too." "That's good. I wouldn't want you idiots getting yourselves killed." She said it sharply, but I could sense the caring behind her words. "Redbelly, Creamflower and Grayfinch are busy bellyaching about the battle in the den. I don't feel like listening to all that complaining. Gives me a headache." Actually, Fuzzears did her fair share of complaining too, and we all knew it, but no one said it. Instead, I said, "How are you?" A rumbling cough rippled through her, making her ribs stretch against her worn old pelt. "I've been better. I've had a little tickle in my throat for a while now, and frequent headaches. But I don't want to bother Lionpatch. StarClan knows he's got enough on his plate already." Exchanging glances with Minkpaw, I said, "You should get yourself checked, Fuzzears." "Thistles! I'm fine. Young ones these days are too used to every little worry of theirs being tended to. I can suffer a little cold. I think I'm just going to sleep it off." She trotted away. Uncertain, I turned to Minkpaw. "Should we be worried about it?" The apprentice began to reply, but before she could, Eveningfall padded over, unwittingly interrupting our conversation. "There you apprentices are! I'm here to ask you a favor- well, it's an order from Oakstar, but ordering is so impolite." She chuckled and gestured towards the nursery. "Will you be willing to watch the kittens while Cloverflower and I go practice a little battle training? Oakstar and Quailfeather want everyone sharp and ready to fight the rogues if needed, and we don't know who to keep with the kits." Daisypaw and Specklepaw got to their paws, and the four of us exchanged glances. "All of us?" Eveningfall smiled, clearly unaware of any tension. "Yes. You'll need all four of you to manage all the kits, trust me." Aloud, I said enthusiastically, "We'd love to watch the kits!" The others stared at me like I was insane, obviously not understanding my act. Returning my smile, Eveningfall said, "Thank you so much. Cloverflower! Come on!" SpringClan's other queen came out of the nursery with a concerned look on her face. "I just don't know, Eveningfall. Poolkit and Petalkit are still so tiny and helpless. They need their mother." "We'll take really good care of them. All of them," Daisypaw assured her. The worried queen gave her a thin smile. "All right, I guess..." We watched as the two she-cats headed towards the training hollow, and then the other three members of the Vale Squad began giving each other a stare-down. Sighing, I flicked my tail and began leading the way towards the nursery. "Forget whatever fight you were planning, guys. We have to watch the kits and keep them safe, and that's what we're going to do." "Easy for you to say, Breezepaw," Daisypaw sniffed, brushing past me into the den. "You always like to play hero, don't you?" I stopped in my tracks and stared at her, but she was sitting by Petalkit and Poolkit already(and I didn't think the language I was about to use was appropriate for the kits to hear). Meanwhile, the three older kits had already besieged Specklepaw and Minkpaw, chorusing a bunch of shout-outs and requests. "Are you our new father?" That was Flowerkit to a very taken aback Specklepaw. Brightkit leaped onto Minkpaw and batted at her tail. "Hi! You're Minkpaw right?" One word to describe them. Hyper. "Is there any easy way to put them to sleep?" I said, padding up beside Specklepaw. Ruefully extracting Flowerkit's jaws from his paw, he shrugged. "Don't ask me. I suck with kits, remember?" I could see in his eyes that he was still hurt from me leaving before, and made a mental note to just come out and tell him about our "relationship" as soon as possible. Which, of course was later. And I was not making excuses this time. There was no way I could tell him in front of the other apprentices and kits. Still... Daisypaw was the only one of us who was having any luck with the kits, it seemed, and that was because she'd chosen sweet little Petalkit and Poolkit. The both of them were nestled by her, playing with her silky fur as she told them stories. The rest of us were left to struggle with Eveningfall's rambunctious litter. "Ow ow ow! Brightkit, please don't pull my tail!" Minkpaw exclaimed from nearby. Sighing, I said, "Come here, you three. Specklepaw, how about you watch Sleepykit. Minkpaw can watch Flowerkit, and I'll watch Brightkit." Volunteering to watch the naughtiest kit of all felt like a mortal sacrifice, but I told myself to suck it up. She was just a kit, after all. Us three apprentices sat down facing our respective young charges. "So," Minkpaw said awkwardly. "What do you kits want to do?" Sleepykit shrugged nonchalantly, his big, drooping eyes(for which he was named) focused on us. "It's your job to come up with fun stuff," he claimed smugly. Just great. "Why don't you three play a game of... uh... moss-ball." Specklepaw hastily snatched a piece of moss off of a nearby nest, crumpled it up, and tossed it at Sleepykit. All three kittens pounced on it, and I leaned back with a sigh of relief. "Good thinking." "Thanks," he replied hesitantly. Minkpaw's gaze darted from me to him, obviously sensing something was wrong, but not wanting to intrude. Abruptly, the brown she-cat got up. "I think I'll just... er... be with the kits." She padded towards them, saying, "Sleepykit, get your paw out of Brightkit's mouth! Er... I mean... what am I saying? Brightkit, stop biting Sleepykit!" I chuckled a little bit, trying to relieve the awkwardness of being left alone with Specklepaw. "This is an interesting kitsitting party, isn't it?" Distractedly, he nodded. "Breezepaw," he whispered, turning away from Daisypaw to stop her from hearing(as if she wasn't watching us like a hawk). "What do you think? About... about what I said. Because, and I know this sounds harsh, but I'd rather you just give me a straight out answer. It... it takes a lot of guts to tell someone you like them to your face and-" His face was growing redder by the moment, and I was feeling more awful by the moment. Without even thinking, I leaned forward and touched my nose to his. Answer given. Not thought about, but given. His eyes flew open, and he stared at me in pure shock for a few seconds, a flush appearing on his cheeks. "I-" "Breezepaw?!" Flinching, I turned to gaze into Daisypaw's angry hazel eyes. I got up, motioning for Specklepaw to stay where he was. This wasn't his fight. "Daisypaw, I'm really sorry-" Tearfully, she pushed past me and walked out of the nursery. "Oh, I don't want to hear it." As it sunk in, I realized I really needed to take things more seriously. Relationships. I hadn't understood how much Daisypaw really cared about Specklepaw - or at least, how much it would hurt her if her best friend became a couple with him. And I didn't realize, at least, not in time, how she believed a best friend would act when faced with her friend's ex liking her. This was all my fault. I'd hurt Daisypaw yet again. "I'll stay with Petalkit and Poolkit," Minkpaw said quietly, ushering the other three kits over to Specklepaw and I. Not in the mood for... well, anything really, I flopped down and let the kits climb all over me. Meanwhile, Specklepaw stared at his paws. "Breezepaw? Is Daisypaw a deal-breaker?" He sounded resigned. Wondering if I was going to regret this, I shook my head. "No. We can still give this whole couple thing a go." Oh StarClan, I suck at this so much. His growing smile froze without warning. "Um... Breezepaw? How many kits does Eveningfall have?" "Three," I said, sitting up in alarm. "Brightkit, Sleepykit, and Flowerkit." "I only see two." Nearby, Minkpaw's head shot up in concern. "What? That's nuts. How could one of them have gotten out?" "Brightkit. Brightkit's missing." Of course it was her. She was the most mischievous... and it had been my job to watch her. "Oh, great. I am so dead. I have to find her. She could be hurt." I scrambled to my paws and dashed out of the nursery. "Wait! I'll come with you!" Minkpaw raced after me. "Specklepaw, you need to watch the kittens- and make sure no one knows anything's wrong." The tom nodded, and without further ado, Minkpaw and I... began racing around camp like a couple of lunatics. We checked every den. We even searched in Oakstar's den, trying not to look suspicious. It was no use. Brightkit wasn't in the camp. And she had went out of the camp before- I remembered when Specklepaw and I had found her during our training session. She'd claimed that she'd made herself an apprentice or something. Which meant she could basically be anywhere. "We'd better split up and find her before-" "Breezepaw! Minkpaw! We decided to come back early from our fight training." My stomach lurched dangerously as Eveningfall and Cloverflower padded into the camp. Oh.... what was that they say about her mother and her kits? I am so, so dead. Eveningfall will kill me. "Eveningfall! Cloverflower! The thing is... I... well..." Minkpaw nudged me, signaling I should just get it over with. "You lost Brightkit?" Eveningfall guessed, her pale amber eyes glinting. How had she known? "Well-" "That's odd, really. Because while Cloverflower and I were training, we found Brightkit." She moved aside to reveal the little tabby-and-white she-kit, who was standing there with a smug look on her face. I was so relieved I could hardly speak. "Eveningfall, I'm so sorry-" "That's okay, Breezepaw. It was irresponsible, yes, and I'm not pleased. But I figure you have your reasons, and your things to take care of." She gave me a knowing glance. Unable to do anything else, I just stood there as she padded past me, Brightkit in tow. "Well. You sure dodged a big one on that." Minkpaw stretched. Totally agreeing, I nodded my head. "Now to get Daisypaw to speak to me. Ugh. Why am I such a bad friend?" "Because you are," she said flippantly. Then she perked her ears. "Do you hear that?" I did hear it. A hacking cough, coming from the elders' den. Fuzzears. "I'm going to go check on her." Minkpaw shook her head. "I will. You go make it up to Daisypaw- or have a little alone time with Specklepaw." Winking, she trotted away. Honestly, I didn't know if I intended to do either of those things. I just wanted someone neutral to talk to, someone who wasn't wrapped up in all this ridiculous, insane drama. Oddly, Ryan's face flashed in my mind. Where were he and his sisters now? How were they? Despite the fact that I hadn't really gotten to know the loner tom, I felt an odd pang of... what? Did I miss him already? Sort of, I had to admit. I missed matching wits and arguing, even though we hadn't really spent that much time together. After all, he had saved me twice, once on High-Rock, and once from a rogue. I really had begun to consider him a friend. That was when Oakstar emerged from his den and padded towards the top of leader's High-Rock. Hastily, I pushed aside my thoughts padded forward, guessing he was going to call a Clan meeting. Sure enough, the familiar words calling the Clan together soon rang out across the camp, and my fellow Clanmates began gathering around. Specklepaw and Minkpaw joined me- Daisypaw sat off to the side with Ivyrose and Goldenburst, but I could feel her glare on my pelt, and it made me feel like dirt. "Cats of SpringClan, this meeting isn't a ceremony or anything cheerful like that, I regret to tell you. It has to do with Claron - that's the leader of the rogues - and the group that attacked us today. Cranelegs and Hazelpelt encountered them later, and arranged a meeting between Claron and I right now. We each will bring three cats with us, and no more, to discuss things. If no treaty is reached, well... we'd better prepare for battle." "Who are you taking?" called Hawkeye. "Mintwhisker," Oakstar said, nodding towards his mate, "Yellowsun, and Goldenburst. Quailfeather, of course, will be in charge while I'm gone. Everyone remain vigilant. Breezepaw, Minkpaw, you've got guard duty for the first half of the night. I'll see all of you soon." With that, he hopped off High-Rock and motioned to his three escorts. The entire Clan watched them go with worried eyes. All of us were scared about what could happen to Oakstar and the others. There was no telling if Claron would play fair. Tail drooping, I made my way back to the apprentices' den. It had been a long day, and I was ready to just relax. Before I could enter though, Brightkit hopped in front of me, a tentative expression on her little face. "Breezepaw? I'm supposed to say sorry for causing trouble for you guys and running way. My Momma told me I acted like a little brat, so sorry I guess." I couldn't help smiling. "That's okay, Brightkit. I should've watched you better." She smiled widely and wrapped her little paws around my leg. "Thank you!" she squeaked. "You're the best! Oh, and I want you to be my mentor when I'm an apprentice!" Flattered, and with that peculiar warm feeling kits give you in my chest, I watched her race away. That was one thing, at least, that went right today.
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