The tall grasses swayed around Rosekit as the sound of her racing heart filled her head. Up ahead, she could just make out the black and grey tailtips of her littermates. She didn't know if they were headed in the right direction, but Spiderkit seemed to know what she was doing. Lifting her nose into the air, Rosekit caught the scent her littermates had to be following – a rank, unpleasant one that made her wrinkle her nose.

In her distraction, she nearly barrelled into Stonekit, who had stopped at Spiderkit's raised tail. The she-cat at the head of the group crept forward to what Rosekit could see was an opening in the ground – a burrow of some sort. The closer they moved to it, the more apparent the scent became.

"Let's attack it while it's sleeping," Spiderkit whispered, claws glinting in the morning light. "It will have no idea we're coming."

Stonekit nodded enthusiastically but Rosekit stayed back, terrified at the idea of coming face to face with a fox. You have to prove yourself, she thought. Just go along with Spiderkit's plan.

Yet, when Spiderkit let out a fierce yowl and dropped into the burrow, Stonekit right behind her, Rosekit felt her muscles freeze up. She took a tentative step forward, fur bristling.

Spiderkit's yowling stopped abruptly, replaced by a frustrated growl. "It's not here," she yelled, scrambling back up to the surface. "I wonder where..." Rosekit watched the she-cat's eyes widen as a shadow fell over them.

She gulped, afraid to turn around. Ginger fur puffed up to twice her size she glanced over her shoulder just in time to see a row of shiny teeth bearing down on her. Terrified, she bolted with a screech. The fangs snapped closed somewhere behind her.

"We need to get out of here!" she shouted but Spiderkit was already running in the direction they'd come from. The fox took no notice of the black she-cat, bearing down upon Rosekit instead. The ginger kit shook with fear, claws gripping the earth beneath her. This is the end, she thought. I should have never agreed to come.

But the fox turned away from her as it passed by its burrow, attention now directed at the ground. A chill ran through Rosekit as she realized Stonekit was still in there.

Suddenly, she was running across the dirt and launching herself at the fox's side, claws scratching at every bit of it that she could reach. It turned its gleaming eyes to her, snapping its fangs closed a whiskerlength away from her and causing her to leap away. She tried again, this time clamping her jaws down on its tail.

It gave a shriek, waving its tail wildly. Rosekit felt her jaws slacken, and then she was flying into the tall grasses. She landed with a heavy thud, her sides heaving.

A bloodcurdling screech filled the air and the kit shivered. Forcing herself back up, she stumbled back in the direction of the fox's lair. All she could see of the rust-coloured animal was it's back legs and tail, which stuck out of the burrow as the screeching continued.

She gathered her paws beneath her, swaying slightly, but before she could pounce a grey shape leapt over her, hitting the fox squarely in the hindquarters. The animal shrieked, body bending at an unnatural angle as it slid its way out of the burrow to face the new attacker.

The scene was beginning to grow hazy for Rosekit but she attempted to blink it away as the tom battered the fox's head with blow after blow, avoiding its jaws without much effort. Then, another shape appeared, and another, until the fox was surrounded by five cats. It looked between them, as if sizing them up, before turning tail and fleeing.

Rosekit let out a breath of relief and collapsed, the adrenaline leaving her body in a big rush. The last thing she saw was Creamfoot running in her direction, and one of the others pulling a small body from the burrow.

//

"This is unacceptable, Tallstar!"

The pounding in Rosekit's head grew with every syllable until her eyes were forced open by it. She blinked in the darkness, letting her eyes adjust, and found the familiar walls of Crowleaf's den before her. She was laying in a bed of soft moss, something she had never done previously when visiting him.

"What would you have me do? Keep them hidden in the tunnels until they are old enough to be apprentices?"

The voices came from the tunnels beyond the medicine den, but their volume carried them throughout the underground system. Rosekit could hear each word loud and clear.

"Only the ones who attempt to kill their littermates."

"I'm sure that's not what Rosekit meant to do."

The kit started at the sound of her name, slowly closing and opening her eyes again as the pounding in her head steadily grew. She couldn't be sure, but it sounded like someone was trying to frame her for murder.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of the black medicine cat, who was at her side instantly.

"Thank StarClan you're awake," he said, pressing a paw to her. Rosekit flinched away and attempted to bring herself to her paws. Scanning the medicine den she saw another nest, also occupied.

"You need to lay down," Crowleaf continued and Rosekit obliged as dark spots filled her vision. "You suffered a concussion fighting that fox."

The fox. Of course.

"Where's Stonekit?" she said, the sound of her own voice startling her as it cracked from disuse. How long had she been here?

"Stonekit will be fine," Crowleaf assured her, pressing her body back down into the moss nest as she tried to rise again. "You've both been out for three days. He suffered more injuries but he'll be good as new by the time you're apprenticed."

More shouting sounded from the tunnels, closer this time, and Crowleaf narrowed his eyes.

"If they bring this in here..." He swore under his breath.

Moments later a dark shape appeared in the medicine den entrance.

"How is he?" Dapplefrost asked, walking right past Rosekit's nest and up to the other one, where Rosekit assumed Stonekit was.

"He's got some healing to do, but it won't affect him majorly," the tom said. Rosekit heard more than saw the queen settle beside Stonekit and start licking furiously at his fur.

"Also, Rosekit is awake," Crowleaf said brightly. "Her concussion should clear up in the next few sunrises."

Dapplefrost growled. "She's the reason why Stonekit is hurt. She could never be well, for all I care. Stonekit won't be."

This time, a growl sounded from the entrance to the medicine den. "Don't speak about your kits that way." The den went quiet as Tallstar stalked in, pelt bristling. Dapplefrost looked straight at him, but gave no response.

"It wasn't my idea," Rosekit said feebly, struggling to lift herself off of the moss. "Spiderkit wanted to go after the fox and I followed her and Stonekit."

"Spiderkit already told me the whole story," Dapplefrost said, the hazel of her eyes cutting through Rosekit, "and that's not the version I heard." With a whisk of her tail she stalked past Tallstar and disappeared into the tunnels. Rosekit fell back into her nest as Tallstar and Crowleaf exchanged a glance.

"Tell you what," Tallstar whispered, brushing against Rosekit with his whiskers. "Why don't I get Condoreye to come keep you some company? I'm sure he has a story or two to tell."

Rosekit felt the lump in her throat growing and met her leader's eye dolefully. Slowly, she nodded.

"I'll send him right over." The tabby stroked her back with his tail a couple times before leaving the den.

"Why does she hate me?" Rosekit whispered to herself. A flick of Crowleaf's ear told her he'd heard, but he offered no answer.

Before her sorrowful thoughts could overtake her, the single MoorClan elder arrived and, with a great thump, settled beside her nest.

"You poor thing," he said, gazing down at her with his single eye. "It's a good thing Harlow got to you when he did."

"Harlow?" Rosekit asked, the strange name rolling awkwardly off her tongue.

"A loner, passing through the territory," Condoreye replied. "Said it's been a while since he'd been here, though it's much safer now than it used to be."

"It's safer now?" Rosekit whispered, the image of the fox's teeth snapping a whiskerlength from her filling her vision. She shivered.

"While we still have predators like foxes and badgers to think about, there is no more DarkClan to terrorize the land," Condoreye explained. Then, after a pause, "Perhaps that's the story I'll tell you today. The downfall of DarkClan."

Even in her defeated state, Rosekit perked up. Dapplefrost didn't want them hearing about DarkClan, but Rosekit no longer cared – if she ever had, really.

"About a season cycle ago, a rag-tag group of cats showed up in the Twolegplace," Condoreye began. "They had planned a rebellion against DarkClan, but failed, and were looking for a safe place to stay while they grew in strength in order to attack DarkClan once more. During this time..."

Rosekit listened attentively, but found her thoughts drifting as a voice – Spiderkit's, of all things – entered her mind: "Why should we believe the story is the same as it was before?"

And, though she didn't wonder ifCondoreye's story was true, she did think about why Dapplefrost always chose tobelieve Spiderkit's stories, but never hers.

// Poor Rosekit :( A shorter chapter, but a necessary one.