Head held high and jaws clamped shut, Ashleaf paced into camp. The Gathering had been a total bust, in her eyes at least. She had remained silent for the trek home. However, remaining mute wasn't much of an issue when no cat dared speak to her after her outburst.

The StormClan party dispersed the moment they reached home. Once out of sight, Ashleaf rushed to the Highrock and ducked into the lichen that guarded her den. She needed time to think, alone.

Breaths growing shallower and panicking, she curled up in the farthest confines of her den. The bewildered leader shut her green eyes, attempting to block out the swarming thoughts clouding her mind.

What just happened? 

Why did Snowsong call off the Gathering? She was just getting to a point! Ashleaf was trying to reveal the evil that resided in the Clans, to try and put matters right, to be the bearer of peace to the Clans. Yet, they dismiss her and claim her to be the evil one. How dare they accuse her of framing? 

A miserable whimper escaped Ashleaf's throat. In all the time since she had awoken at the Moonstone, all she had seen were battles, conflict, fury, loss, and confusion. That was all she had ever known. Why couldn't matters be as simple as living in harmony? 

How did I get caught in all of this madness? She wondered. Her thoughts flashed back to the night she woke at the Moonstone.

The rush was less of memories and more of feelings. Emotions. The cold, alarming fear that was with her as she snapped her eyes open through the darkness. The fight or flight impulse she received when she saw Snowsong's glowing eyes, and how she had chosen flight. 

She recalled the sense of confusion when she couldn't grasp anything that occurred before waking. The shock of Snowsong's sudden appearance. And finally, the satisfaction and comfort of when Snowsong assured her she would have a place in StormClan.

If only the comfort had lasted.

From the moment the two cats had set off, it had been nothing but torture for her. These cats, supposedly her friends and family were never at peace!

Reminiscing a bit deeper now, Ashleaf remembered the moments before Snowsong had arrived. She had gazed out into the terrain below. Planning to make a new life, on my own, She recalled. What would have happened, if she had fled? If she had not gone with Snowsong, with StormClan, what would have become of her? 

The distressed leader continued questioning herself. Would I have survived as a rogue? A kittypet? A loner? Where would I have gone if I had not so quickly accepted Snowsong? How would-

"Ashstar?" a soft mumble arose from the entrance to her den, snapping her out of her deep contemplation. Ashleaf glanced up, blinking her troubling thoughts away.

Two she-cats stood in the entrance to the den, the lichen draping over their shoulders. It was her deputy, Mudfoot, and the warrior, Lilyblossom. These cats, along with Snowsong, were supposedly Ashleaf's closest friends before her memory was taken. 

Mudfoot stepped forward with a heavy step of her large, chestnut-brown paws. Her amber eyes were filled to the brim with concern. Lilyblossom adjacent to her looked similarly. However, the long-furred gray she-cat's eyes, Ashleaf could tell, were more guarded than Mudfoot's. It seemed as if there were something she was afraid of. Like something was troubling her.

What's wrong with- Ashleaf stopped herself. No. It's not my issue. Let her resolve it herself. Frankly, she was tired of this. Exhausted of trying to solve other cat's problems. Sick of feeling obliged to every cat's need. 

Ashleaf, at last, forced herself to sit up. She licked her ruffled chest fur to try and make herself somewhat presentable to her friends. The chaos of the Gathering and her panic had caused her to neglect her grooming. "Yes?" She choked out awkwardly. 

Mudfoot gulped. The deputy steadied herself and then mewed, "Ashstar, as your deputy and best friend, we'd like to talk to you. Is that alright?" 

Ashleaf exhaled slowly. She could see where this was leading. However, she couldn't make cats worried. She had to play it cool. "Sure. Something concerning you both?"

Lilyblossom narrowed her lily-green eyes. "Ashstar, you know what we want to talk about. Don't pretend like nothing just happened." She flicked her sweeping tail in annoyance.

"I suppose you're right," Ashleaf admitted. These cats may be overbearing, but they weren't stupid. Ashleaf was preparing to speak when she was intercepted by a scoff of alarm from Mudfoot.

"That's enough. This has to stop, Ashstar," The deputy turned to Ashleaf with an uncharacteristic firmness. "I can't take this anymore."

Ashleaf cocked her head in confusion. "What do you mean, Mudfoot?" She mewed quietly.

Mudfoot and Lilyblossom exchanged glances, Mudfoot's eyes frenzied and desperate, Lilyblossom's dark and cold. Lilyblossom pulled away and faced Ashleaf. "You're doing it again," She hissed in exasperation, "Ashstar, stop treating us like this."

Bewildered, Ashleaf blinked. "Elaborate. I don't understand."

The brown she-cat's chest rose and fell as she took a long, deep breath. "You know what? We need to talk, away from camp. Just, me, you, Lilyblossom and Snowsong." Mudfoot sighed. She turned to Lilyblossom, "Go get Snowsong. I'll walk with Ashstar to the Great Clearing. It's time for another Gathering."

Wait, what?

~~~

"Just go along with it," Snowsong hissed in a barely audible voice, "Pretend like you know what's happening. Don't give anything away."

Ashleaf's stomach twisted uneasily. Lilyblossom in the lead, the party of she-cats made their way through StormClan territory, eventually arriving in the Great Clearing. Ashleaf, who was blindly following Snowsong and her apparently "concerned" friends, hadn't the slightest clue what was going on.

When they reached the empty, sandy hollow, the four cats branched out. Mudfoot, Lilyblossom, and Snowsong each proceeded to a corner of the clearing. 

For the first time, Ashleaf distinguished four large stones in each of the corners. Huh, she thought, dumbfounded. Each of the stones was placed to form the corners of a flawless rectangle. 

The three she-cats each leapt up onto one of the stones. Once perched upon the smooth surface, Snowsong turned an expectant gaze onto Ashleaf. I guess that means I'm supposed to jump on the last one? Shrugging, Ashleaf leaned back on her haunches and launched herself onto the rock, just as she had done so similarly at the Gathering. 

This time, however, she didn't fall.

Lilyblossom in the corner directly in front of her cleared her throat. She kneaded the ground with her paws. "I'll begin. I'm almost certain we all knew that a meeting was necessary, with the given situation." She glared at Ashleaf, whose belly tightened. 

"Use the standard introduction, please, Lilyblossom," Snowsong murmured under her breath. She flicked her brown tail impatiently.

The gray she-cat narrowed her eyes. A glimmer of what appeared to be exasperation flashed between her and Snowsong. "We haven't used the 'standard introduction' since we were apprentices, Snowsong," She murmured, but Snowsong must have delivered another angry glare, since Lilyblossom then puffed, "If you insist."

Lilyblossom blinked slowly, took a deep breath, and began to speak. "Greetings, StormClan. It is time for yet another Gathering consisting of the four of us. Just as tradition foretells, when times are hard in StormClan, Ashstar, Lilyblossom, Mudfoot, and Snowsong will join together for a meeting to resolve their differences."

Ashleaf was struggling not to burst with confusion. What? Is this some sort of counseling session? And...just...what?!

"Because our friendship is too strong to fall apart!" Mudfoot exclaimed.

This is absurd, Ashleaf thought with a huff, I barely even know these cats. They're just the ones I happened to wake up to. I don't need to 'reconcile' or whatever. I need to convince the Clans that Rosestar is evil! I need to do something other than gossip like queens!

Lilyblossom once again turned to Ashleaf. Warm greenleaf wind ruffled her fur, but it did nothing to soothe her. Lilyblossom's cold green gaze chilled her to the extent that no amount of gentle warmth could penetrate. "Let's begin." She mewed. "Ashstar, have you anything to say for yourself?"

All three pairs of eyes then turned to blaze directly into hers. Two amber, one green. The searing cold glare of Lilyblossom. Mudfoot's innocent and concerned. And lastly, Snowsong's gaze, clearly conveying a message.

A message that read, "If you give anything away, I will rip every last one of your whiskers off and feed them to the monsters on the Thunderpath." At least, that's what Ashleaf pictured the firey medicine cat saying.

"Anything to say for myself?" Ashleaf echoed to herself, too faint for any other cat to hear. "I don't know," She mewed a bit louder, "What do you want to hear?"

Silence. Dead silence.

Ashleaf felt her pelt flush. "I-I mean, I don't know what to say! Why are we even doing this? There's nothing for me to say! What do you want?!" 

Suddenly, Mudfoot dropped to the surface of the stone. The chestnut brown she-cat buried her nose in her paws, letting out a crestfallen wail. She yowled, "Something, Ashstar, something! We want you to explain why you've been acting like this! You look at us like you've never seen us before! I-it's like you don't even know us anymore!"

"I'm sorry," Ashleaf whispered, taken aback by her deputy's outburst.

Lilyblossom spoke up. "It's like you've forgotten us. You cling to Snowsong all day, every day. I mean, we know you're a leader now, and Snowsong's your medicine cat, and you supposedly have a "special bond", but we do, too!"

"You've barely even spoken to us since you came back from the Moonstone," Mudfoot added with a sigh.

"And when you do speak," Lilyblossom carried on, "It's like we don't even know you anymore! You've become distant, jumpy, awkward, and just so...different! And-and just when we think you've mellowed out or something, you go ahead and screech like a fox in a fit at the Gathering!"

For the first time since arriving in the Great Clearing, Snowsong spoke up. "And speaking of the Gathering," She growled, taking Ashleaf by surprise. Was Snowsong really cross with her? She had noticed Snowsong acting quite sore toward her. The medicine cat's fur bristled as she meowed, "Ashstar, what makes you think you can openly accuse Rosestar in front of all the Clans?! You know how manipulative she is! How could you be so stupid as to break the truce and embarrass the entirety of StormClan?!"

Ashleaf could detect by her tone that Snowsong wasn't acting for the sake of secrecy, she was truly furious with her. Once again, her skin beneath her pelt burned with shame. 

Oh StarClan, she realized. In the heat of the Gathering, she had completely forgotten that the StarClan-declared truce applied to her as well as Rosestar and Hawkstar. That's why they were acting so kind and innocent. Ashleaf felt as if a huge stone had been placed in her belly, Because they had to. And I wasn't. Oh no...

"I'm sorry," Ashleaf mewed again, for the second time that night. She made certain her eyes pleaded to Snowsong for forgiveness. "I wasn't thinking."

"Oh, for sure you weren't!" Lilyblossom yowled, "Rosestar's probably going to come back with a bigger patrol to kill us all because of you!"

"Hey!" Mudfoot scoffed, turning to Lilyblossom, "Now that's unnecessary, Lilyblossom. You don't have to ridicule her!"

Isn't that what they've been doing all along? Ashleaf wondered incredulously. 

"That's right, I suppose," mewed Snowsong with a sigh, "She made a mistake. She apologized. She's been forgiven. Isn't that what we always do?"

Lilyblossom glared at the two sisters, Snowsong and Mudfoot, for a moment. Finally, the gray she-cat shrugged and murmured, "Yeah. Fine. Whatever."

Ashleaf couldn't prevent her eyes from widening. She couldn't believe how swiftly Snowsong and Mudfoot had defended her. We must be really close if forgiveness is that easy. 

If Ashleaf couldn't be more surprised, Snowsong then leapt down from the stone, paced across the Great Clearing, leaned back and sprang upon Ashleaf's rock. The white and brown she-cat pressed her lean body against Ashleaf's. Snowsong pushed her muzzle under Ashleaf's chin. A purr rumbled in both cat's throats.

Snowsong turned to Lilyblossom and Mudfoot. "Ashstar has gone through a lot lately," She began, "You know, being a leader is hard and stressful! It's not hard to imagine when one makes mistakes. Like you've noticed, I've been spending more time with Ashstar to help her through this. You should, too. We all need to be closer. Maybe what we all need is a long hunt together. To take our minds off of things. To bring us together."

"We haven't been hunting since before Lightstar died," Mudfoot observed.

"Yes! Exactly!" Snowsong pressed, "We need to show StarClan that nothing can split us apart! What do you say?"

"Yes!" Mudfoot yowled.

"Yeah, okay," agreed Lilyblossom. 

Ashleaf just nodded awkwardly. She was lost for words.

"Then it's decided! Tomorrow after sunhigh, the four of us will spend as much time together as we can. And from that moment on, nothing shall separate us! A friendship this strong will never be broken!"

Though Mudfoot and Lilyblossom seemed as enthusiastic as Snowsong, Ashleaf, however, was not so certain. She was grateful that she had friends with so much faith in her, in their friendship, but how could she take part in a friendship where she hardly understood the cats in it?

These doubtful thoughts flooding her mind, along with her current situation in the Clans, made her mind begin to wander and wonder.

Would life be any simpler, any better, perhaps, if I had left to live on my own when I awoke at the Moonstone?

Ashleaf bowed her head. At this point, whether this stress is worth it or not is any cat's guess.