Sootstar's words shuffled about Nightpaw's mind constantly for the next quarter moon. He was torn between believing the StarClan tom and sticking to everything he'd ever known, caught between two versions of truth and unable to make up his mind which he believed in.

Despite his indecision, Nightpaw found himself observing his Clanmates more closely. Hailwatcher took this as a good sign, praising him for his alertness in uncovering treason. Nightpaw suppressed his guilt at these times, focusing instead on finding the true parts of his Clanmates - whatever Sootstar meant by that.

The kits seemed easiest to decipher, so Nightpaw spent three sunny mornings with them, telling them stories and observing their reactions. The litter of four enjoyed his company, badgering him for telling after telling until Nightpaw felt his throat would forever be dry.

Bramblekit was the most logical of the four, constantly analyzing Nightpaw's words. Shadekit liked to keep to himself, too busy dreaming of his quickly approaching apprenticeship to pay the truth-teller's apprentice much mind. Mothkit was rather quiet, speaking only when she had an intelligent comment to contribute, making her seem much older than five moons. Wrenkit, the smallest of the litter, was filled with curiosity, constantly asking questions and pitching in her ideas.

"When are you going to give the Clan a telling?" that inquisitive kit asked now, fixing Nightpaw with her copper stare.

The tom shrugged. "Soon, I suppose. Hailwatcher has not mentioned it." The apprentice was on his own today, Hailwatcher attending to some important business with Dawnstar. Nightpaw's only companion for the day was the ever watchful Birchfrost. Though her belly grew round with kits, she still attended her guardian duties.

"What are you going to tell the Clan about?" Wrenkit pressed, taking a seat before Nightpaw and wrapping her thin tabby tail over her paws neatly.

"Stop badgering him with questions," Snowdapple scolded the kit from her position at the back of the nursery.

Nightpaw gave a slight purr. "It's fine, really." The caretaker bowed her head in an almost fearful way, saying nothing more.

"So, what story?" Wrenkit asked again, bouncing up from her sitting position. "Will you tell me? Please?"

"That would spoil the surprise, though, wouldn't it?" Nightpaw replied.

"What if we all beg you?" Bramblekit cut in, joining Wrenkit's cause. Behind him, Mothkit rose to her paws too, green eyes shining hopefully. Shadekit remained at the back of the den, playing a half-hearted game of moss ball with Sedgecloud.

Nightpaw kept his jaws firmly shut. As much as he would have liked to tell the kits what story he'd chosen for his first telling, the truth was that he himself had no idea. Even after days of thinking, he had not the slightest clue.

"Pleading doesn't work on DarkClan cats," Nightpaw replied, deciding to teach them one of DarkClan's rules. As the words came out of his mouth, he couldn't help but think of the warrior code Sootstar spoke of, and how much less harsh it seemed. The ways of the Old Life, as the tom explained them, made the Clans sound like big families that would die for each other. In comparison, DarkClan seemed like a mass of cats, each set on reaching their own goals even though they lived in a Clan-like structure.

Wrenkit opened her mouth to continue her pestering but the appearance of a figure in the entrance to the nursery cut her short.

"Nightpaw, would you care to join me and the other apprentices for a sunhigh meal?" Cinderpaw's lithe grey form cast a shadow across the nursery floor and the kits gazed up at her in wonder.

"Did you catch anything today?" Nightpaw had to stop himself from snorting when the question left Wrenkit's mouth.

Cinderpaw purred in amusement. "Yes, actually. I caught a squirrel today. Would you like to share it with your littermates?"

Before the kits could give their enthusiastic reply, they were cut off by Sedgecloud's irritated voice. "It is not the job of apprentices to feed the kits. That would be the job of the caretakers."

Cinderpaw flinched slightly but made no comment. Shrugging at her littermate, she turned with a flick of her tail and left. Nightpaw watched, wondering if he should follow her, before glancing at the kits apologetically and joining the other apprentices.

"I caught a rabbit this big!" Flamepaw was saying as the two apprentices approached. The ginger tom had his tail stretched out as far as possible to help his rapt audience visualize his freshkill's size.

"Always exaggerating," Cinderpaw muttered under her breath as she lay down next to Cherrypaw and shared her vole. Nightpaw sank into a crouch across from Flamepaw.

"I caught two birds today," Dapplepaw countered. "Both were in flight by the time I got them, but I snagged them at the last second." She gave her shoulder fur a lick, clearly proud of herself.

Flamepaw scowled. "The rabbit wasn't the only thing I caught," he said, voice a little whiny.

"Why are you always competing with each other?" Nightpaw asked innocently, taking a bite out of a rather scrawny mouse. With leaffall well under way, the prey slowly grew thinner and more sparse.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand," Dapplepaw said, turning her nose into the air snootily. "You know nothing about being a warrior."

"He's been to training sessions," Cinderpaw defended, an edge to her voice. "And he's caught freshkill for the Clan too."

"But not enough times to even come close to the rest of us," Flamepaw pointed out.

"Good thing I'm not a warrior apprentice then, isn't it?" Nightpaw growled under his breath, appetite suddenly gone.

Flamepaw narrowed his eyes. "Well, for a truth-teller's apprentice, you certainly don't do a lot of telling."

It felt as if Nightpaw's body were heating from within, blood slowly boiling and threatening to make him explode. He snarled deep in his throat but forced himself to keep his jaws shut and claws sheathed. He was above petty apprentice competitions.

Glaring at the other apprentices, he picked up the remains of his mouse and stalked off to the other side of the camp, hoping to be left alone. He refused to be put down by the other apprentices, especially his littermate. If Flamepaw's 'true self' was that competitive and power-hungry, he would have no problem fitting the mould of DarkClan's perfect warrior.

"I'm sorry, Nightpaw." The black tom glanced up to see Cinderpaw standing before him, the remains of a sparrow hanging from her jaw. He flicked his tail at her, though he didn't know if he wanted her to stay or leave.

"What for?" he asked as she dropped her meal to the ground.

"For Flamepaw's rudeness," she replied, voice laced with confusion.

Nightpaw snorted. "Don't apologize for him. He's just being a model DarkClan cat."

His littermate scowled. "That's no excuse for his being so dark-hearted."

Dark-hearted, Nightpaw thought, grimacing at the word. Is that how Sootstar sees us?

Realizing Cinderpaw was waiting for his response, the tom fixed her with his golden stare. "DarkClan is meant to be ambitious and, as far as I see, Flamepaw embodies that perfectly. I may not like the way he acts towards me, but he's well on his way to becoming a warrior. Where are you?"

The she-cat's eyes betrayed her shock and pain. Seeing her reaction, Nightpaw felt a shred of guilt, but he stood his ground, refusing to apologize. After a moment, Cinderpaw got up, picking up her sparrow, and turned without a second glance.

Nightpaw watched her go sadly, though he was careful not to show it. For the first time since they were kits, he could clearly see how kind and eager to help others she was - and how dangerous that could be. He needed to help Cinderpaw, to protect her somehow; if she did not become less soft, as Dawnstar mentioned during their apprentice ceremony, Cinderpaw stood no chance of becoming a warrior.

Attachment is forbidden... Shaking his head, Nightpaw ignored the thought, thinking instead of Sootstar's words during their last meeting. Eyes still trained on Cinderpaw's receding form, the tom wondered if the kindness she had to offer would be seen as an asset by the Clans of the Old Life. Yet, no matter how hard he puzzled over it, Nightpaw couldn't figure out how kindness would help his Clanmates.

What Nightpaw did know for sure was one thing: Cinderpaw's true self was showing and, if noticed by the other members of DarkClan, he feared she would suffer for it.

"Have I told you the story of Foxtail and Minnowstrike?" Hailwatcher's voice broke into Nightpaw's musings, startling him to his paws. The apprentice shook his head in response.

"Not here," the truth-teller said curtly, heading off for the camp's entrance. Looking down gloomily at the remains of his mouse, the black tom turned to follow.

Hailwatcher's path led them into the moors, a shallower part of the territory where the grass wasn't quite so high and the earth slightly harder. They headed directly south of High Rocks, following the long forgotten border between MoorClan and SeaClan, stopping at a strange contraption Nightpaw had never seen before. Sniffing curiously, the tom approached the object.

Circular, and brown in colour, he could see it was made up of multiple parts - a thick outer band and a criss-crossing grate within. It looked like it was meant to keep things out, a barrier of sorts. He leaned forward to observe it further but leaped back just as quickly as a claw reached up out of the bars, an angry hiss rising into the air.

"Careful," said Smoketalon, who seemed to be guarding the area. "That prisoner Minkfur brought in really has a temper."

Moving forward once more, Nightpaw saw a hollow in the ground beneath the grate, and within the hollow the dark shapes of felines. Only one pair of eyes stared back, a hostile amber glare full of fire and contempt.

"The prisoner cave," Hailwatcher explained. "We found this Twoleg relic rather useful in keeping our prisoners in and others out, and it's easier to move out of the way than a boulder when the need arises." Nightpaw understood his mentor referred to deputy races.

"Now, Foxtail was a rather considerate tom. He always thought to feed the kits before the Clan, hardly ever taking a full piece of prey for himself. He was a good hunter and a hardworking Clan member, but his good-natured ways got the best of him.

"As he guarded this very cave on some of the coldest leafbare days DarkClan has ever seen, he heard the starved cries of our prisoners. Skilled in hunting as he was, it was no problem for Foxtail to gather up some prey and push it through the grate. But the scent of the prey remained on the barrier's surface and Foxtail's scent along with it. Banished from the Clan for feeding the prisoners, Foxtail found himself amongst them, joining their cries against the cold.

"When newleaf came, the Clan called for a deputy race to replace their recently killed deputy and Minnowstrike, Foxtail's littermate, decided to take part. Her fighting skills were well-known throughout the Clan and, like Foxtail, she was a rather agreeable warrior, though much less soft. At least, that was the Clan's belief until the final stage of the deputy race."

Suddenly, Hailwatcher's blue stare seemed much too intense for Nightpaw to bare, and he felt his skin crawl as he realized how the story would end. He wanted to move away, tell his mentor that he knew what happened, but he continued to listen with wide eyes, unable to stop the inevitable finale.

"Minnowstrike faced Foxtail head on but her blows were too soft, her movements too slow. Everyone in the Clan knew she was just biding her time, waiting for the words that would free her from killing her littermate.

"But Fogstar knew what she was doing and pitted her against Blackstorm instead, the other deputy candidate. He knew she was a traitor to the Clan and everything it stood for, which meant she would surely lose to Blackstorm.

"Sure enough, Minnowstrike lost her life that day. Her merciful actions helped no one, as Foxtail was killed by Fogstar immediately afterwards. Attachment brought them both to that end and attachment continues to be the main culprit for treason in the Clan."

Nightpaw shivered under his mentor's gaze, unwilling to meet it. He instead looked down at the prisoner cave, where the tom Minkfur caught had taken to shouting obscenities at his DarkClan captors.

"You have much to learn, Nightpaw," Hailwatcher finally said. "And others have much to learn as well. But it is best to leave them to their mistakes rather than forcing them to change. Their true selves will shine through in the end, no matter how hard you try to stop it."

The apprentice hung his head, knowing the truth of Hailwatcher's words, even as his fur bristled at the similarities between the truth-teller's and Sootstar's teachings.

"Do not let others drag you down with their mistakes." The truth-teller rose to his paws with those final words, turning to leave. Then, as if changing his mind, the massive spotted tom approached the prisoner cave, where the dark tom continued to yowl to the skies.

"And you," Hailwatcher growled, momentarily silencing the prisoner. "You would have done well to listen to my story. DarkClan has no mercy for their own kind, let alone the likes of you." The truth-teller spat at the prisoner, who stared back at him with that same defiant amber stare.

"When I get my claws on you," the prisoner hissed, "you will wish for the mercy your group of dark-hearted minions doesn't believe in."

Both Hailwatcher and Smoketalon snorted, while Birchfrost and Spiderthorn brushed the threat aside. Only Nightpaw, staring at the prisoner far below, felt a stir in his paws. Not quite fear, he thought, but a feeling of foreboding he knew he couldn't shake.

// Quick poll: Who is your favourite character? Bonus points if you tell me why!

In other news (somewhat) related to this novel and my presence on Wattpad, finals season is coming up quickly which means projects to finish and exams to study for. Add work to that and it seems I won't have very much time to write or read in the next couple of weeks. I will be getting around to everyone's novels as soon as I can (my library keeps me updated) and will attempt to continue updating Unmasked regularly! Thanks for all your support (: