DAWN LIGHT SHONE on the camp, making the waterfall glisten. The sun seemed as bright as ever, and when it shone into Dovepaw's eyes she squeezed them shut and turned away. Foxpaw was lying next to her with his head on his paws. He looked miserable.

     It must be terrible, losing a littermate like that. I would be heartbroken if Mousepaw died to a MoonClan warrior. Dovepaw gazed at the brown tom, sympathizing with him.

     Foxpaw looked up at her and meowed softly, "The vigil is over. You can talk."

     "I'm sorry for your loss," Dovepaw murmured at once. "I would feel terrible if Mousepaw died."

     "I know. That's why I like you. You sympathize with every cat, even when it's not that big of a deal. Sometimes I wish I could do that." Foxpaw purred.

     Dovepaw's heart leaped with both fear and joy. He liked her! But at the same time, she knew that the medicine cat code forbade medicine cats to have a mate and kits, much less fall in love. "This is a big deal."

     Foxpaw's eyes shone with gratitude. "I know. I was just trying to emphasize . . . Never mind. Thank you for staying. It means the world to me."

     Dovepaw nodded. "Of course. It's the least I could do."

     Hollypaw and Gorsepaw were up and stretching. "I hate vigils because you have to stay awake," Hollypaw groaned. "But it was for Leafpaw, and I wouldn't dare disrespect her, especially since she's with StarClan now."

     Gorsepaw snorted. "You know you can sleep. I'm sure Acornshade would accept it."

     Hollypaw nodded excitedly. "I'm sure she would! Great StarClan, I could sleep for a moon if I could!"

     "If you did," Gorsepaw meowed, "I don't think it would make anyone really happy. Because vigils are for respecting our Clanmates who have passed."

     "I know that!" Hollypaw cuffed Gorsepaw's ear with her paw sharply. "I'm not a mouse-brain!"

     "The elders are coming with the herbs," Foxpaw mewed mournfully. "And they're going to take her away." His voice shook.

     Dovepaw pressed her flank against his. His fur was warm with dawn sunlight. "It's okay. She's in a better place."

     Foxpaw nodded. "I know. It's just . . . it's different when she's not here with us."

     Hareleap and Brownfur dipped their heads to the cats surrounding Leafpaw's body. They set their herbs down and began to cover her body in rosemary and lavender to cover the scent. Hollypaw looked grief-stricken all of a sudden. She leaned on Gorsepaw, who watched as Leafpaw was taken away with clouded eyes.

     "We will miss you, Leafpaw," Dovepaw murmured. Hareleap and Brownfur turned to a grassy patch behind the camp. "I'll go see if Badgertooth needs anything. If you need me, you know where to find me."

     She headed to the crevice in the rocky ridge where the medicine den was. Badgertooth was working inside. Dawnsplash was lying on a moss nest while Badgertooth checked her wound from the day before. "Hello, Dovepaw. Excuse me for a moment while I finish this."

     "Was Leafpaw buried yet?" Dawnsplash asked, sorrow deepening her mew.

     Dovepaw nodded. "Yes. Did you want to send your last farewells? Hareleap and Brownfur just left. Maybe you can find them."

     Dawnsplash's expression changed from worry to excitement. "Can I go, Badgertooth?"

     Badgertooth nodded. "Yes. Just tell me when that paw is hurting again."

     Dawnsplash nodded and left the den, her walk a slight limp. She glanced at the two medicine cats gratefully as she turned the corner. Dovepaw watched until her tail slipped away around the corner.

     When her tail vanished, Dovepaw noticed Foxpaw with Hollypaw and Gorsepaw, his last remaining littermates. Another wave of sympathy washed over Dovepaw, overwhelming her. She didn't want to believe that Leafpaw was gone, but Foxpaw and his littermates made it hard to forget.

     I can't leave anything in the past. The past is what makes us, what takes us to where we are today. Dovepaw gazed at her paws. She looked up when she saw Skypaw entering the den cautiously.

     "Hareleap says they need more moss for the nests. I thought this would be a bad time, but you know how grumpy he gets."

     Dovepaw nodded, widening her eyes dramatically. "Oh, I know. I'll get some more moss."

     "Bring Foxpaw and Skypaw with you," Badgertooth meowed. "With MoonClan out there, there's no way I'll let you roam the territory alone."

     Skypaw sighed with relief. "Finally, a way to escape the camp. I can go fetch Foxpaw." He left the den.

     When he came back with Foxpaw Badgertooth meowed, "Great. Now go gather enough moss for two nests. I expect you'll be back before dusk. And make sure you don't leave any cat behind."

     Dovepaw nodded and led Foxpaw and Skypaw from the den. She and the two toms exited through the bramble tunnel. The sky was cloudy and dark, and storm clouds covered the sky. The usual bright sun was concealed behind the clouds.

     In the plains, they spotted a large tree with huge, winding roots and branches. "That looks perfect!" Dovepaw exclaimed. The toms shot ahead of her. Dovepaw limped to catch up. "Wait up! Don't you remember that I can't run as fast as you?"

     Foxpaw looked behind him. "Oops. Sorry. I just wanted to get the task accomplished. Also, it's cold!" His fur was fluffed up.

     "It's not that—" Skypaw joined them. "Oh, yeah, sorry. Badgertooth said not to leave any cat behind, and look what happened!"

     "It's okay," Dovepaw reassured him. "But let's go before dusk, and before Foxpaw's tail freezes."

     "Hey!" Foxpaw's whiskers twitched. He and the others headed to the tree, but this time walking.

     Skypaw gazed up into the tree. "Here, Foxpaw and I can get the moss, dropping it to the ground, and Dovepaw can gather it from there." He glanced at his Clanmates. "Are you two happy with that plan?"

     "Yes, great," Dovepaw replied.

     Foxpaw nodded. He and Skypaw began to climb up the tree, their claws unsheathed to keep their grip.

     After a while, they collected enough moss for the elders' nests. Dovepaw collected it all in a pile. When Foxpaw and Skypaw grabbed their fair share, they left for the camp.

     Snow began to fall lightly, dotting their pelts with white specks. Dovepaw snapped her head around to look at Foxpaw when she caught him gazing at her. "What are you looking at?" she asked through a mouthful of moss.

     Foxpaw's eyes widened. "Oh, well . . . you just look so pretty in the snow." His amber eyes sparkled with sunlight.

     Dovepaw couldn't suppress a purr. "Why, thank you, Foxpaw." She stuck her muzzle halfway in the air playfully. "I know I am the most majestic cat in all the Clans, you don't have to tell me."

     Foxpaw snorted. "I know you know, I just thought I'd tell you that I noticed."

     Skypaw glanced over his shoulder with amusement in his eyes. He didn't say anything, though. He just kept moving along the flat plain.

     The three apprentices set up the two elders' nests at the camp.

     "Finally," Brownfur sighed as he settled down in his new, dry nest. "Now I can sleep without waking up at night."

     Hareleap nodded. "Those nests were torture. Really."

     Dovepaw rolled her eyes, pretending to check outside the den so that the elders wouldn't see. They were so ungrateful. She knew she would have to get used to it, being an apprentice and all, but they were just so disapproving, it was getting annoying.

     "I'm hungry," Foxpaw mewed. "Care to share from fresh-kill, Dovepaw? I would hate to get a huge piece of prey and not share it with any cat."

     Dovepaw blinked in surprise. "Sure. Enjoy your new, dry nests," she called to the elders.

     Brownfur was already asleep in his nest, snoring loudly, but Hareleap flicked his tail in acknowledgment. He still seemed angry at Dovepaw for snapping at him a moon and a half ago.

     So much for not holding grudges, Dovepaw sighed, following Foxpaw to the fresh-kill pile. There wasn't much in it, but a patrol was just coming back with more prey.

     Spottedpaw dropped a large squirrel on top of the pile and lifted her muzzle in the air proudly. "I found the most plump squirrel you've ever seen!" she boasted. "If some cat decides to eat it, then they'll have to share it with me!"

     Foxpaw glanced at Dovepaw and then the squirrel. "Then I'll let some other cat have it. I want to talk with Dovepaw for the time being."

     Spottedpaw sniffed and trotted away, her head high, to the apprentices' den.

     Foxpaw dragged a small squirrel from the pile and put it in between him and Dovepaw. They began to share it. "You know what I said earlier?" he asked suddenly.

     "About my fur matching the snow so well that I was supposedly the most beautiful cat in the world to you?" Dovepaw asked. "Yeah. What about it?"

     "That's not . . . that's not all I think about you," he meowed, sounding sort of embarrassed.

     Dovepaw pricked her ears and leaned forward, listening intently.

     "I think that you're very kind and generous and wise and sympathetic. Like when Leafpaw died a-and you agreed to sit vigil with me. And meant it." His eyes glowed with affection. "My point is, I really, really like you, but I didn't know if you would like that since you're a medicine cat and all."

     Dovepaw's eyes widened instinctively. It took her a moment to untangle her tongue and force some words out. "Wow. Well, I-I do like you back, but I don't think we can go as far as that if that's what you wanted to do."

     Foxpaw nodded solemnly. "I knew you were going to say something like that. And that's okay. We're only apprentices."

     Dovepaw gazed into his warm amber eyes. If her injury hadn't gotten in the way, she would have had the opportunity to be in love with Foxpaw and be able to walk with him in a relationship like he wanted to. Like they wanted to. But all she could say was, "True."

     Foxpaw's eyes glittered. "Thanks for understanding. At least you care. B-but I don't mean that, like, in a bad way . . ."

     Dovepaw let out a mrrow of amusement. "I know. Don't apologize." She tucked her paws comfortably under her chest. "Well, I guess we could hang out sometimes. I honestly don't believe that that will affect my role as a medicine cat apprentice."

     Foxpaw's tail shot up with happiness. "Really? You would do that for me?"

     Dovepaw nodded. "For you."

***

     Moonlight washed over the clearing. Dovepaw woke from her rest when she heard paws scuffling in the snow outside the den. Out of curiosity, she shook her sleepiness away and snuck outside the den. She was more than glad that she didn't share a den with the other apprentices. It was better to have a big den all to herself and Badgertooth.

     She pushed through the bramble screen as silently as she could. When she saw Blizzardpelt and Frostfeather were guarding the camp, she stayed in the shadows of the medicine den. There was a shadow moving among the brambles that barricaded the large camp. Dovepaw narrowed her eyes, trying to see clearly who it was. It was a sleek, lithe cat. It had glowing green eyes and brown fur. It could only be one cat. Sparrowfeather! What is he doing, sneaking out of camp at a time like this?

     Blizzardpelt and Frostfeather were unaware. They were meowing quietly to each other and keeping their eyes outside of the camp. Sparrowfeather quietly crept up on them until he reached a loose path of bramble that looked like she had been through several times already. He jumped through and in an instant—and a loud rustle of undergrowth—he was gone.

     Frostfeather turned sharply and looked around with keen green eyes. When she saw nothing she turned around and began to guard again with Blizzardpelt.

     Dovepaw growled. How did they not see that? The snow was crunching under his paws, and his tail was just vanishing from sight when Frostfeather turned around. He's not even that good at being stealthy. She pricked her ears, trying to hear what Blizzardpelt and Frostfeather were saying.

     "I heard something, I swear!" Frostfeather insisted desperately. "There was a loud rustle in the bramble barrier, and then nothing."

     "It must have been your imagination," Blizzardpelt meowed calmly. "If a cat was leaving camp, we would have heard before they left. We can check in the morning."

     Frostfeather shook her head stubbornly. "No. I'll go check the rest of the territory. If someone left, they haven't gotten far. I'll be back before dawn, I promise."

     A growl escaped Blizzardpelt. "Fine. If you don't come back before then, I'll tell Owlheart to send a search patrol."

     Frostfeather rolled her eyes and plunged into the bramble tunnel, her fluffy white tail trailing behind her.

     Secretly Dovepaw hoped that she would come back in one piece. Surely Sparrowfeather isn't with MoonClan. Otherwise, I'd have been right all along.

***

     Dovepaw woke again when the sun shone directly into her eyes. She blinked and sat up. She remembered how Frostfeather left after Sparrowfeather snuck out of camp, and she and Blizzardpelt both hoped that she would come back. She limped from the den and peered around, hoping to see Frostfeather and Sparrowfeather somewhere.

     Instead, she saw most of the Clan crowded around the bramble tunnel. Sparrowfeather was with them, calm as a gently flowing stream. He had a cool look in his eyes, though, which made Dovepaw curious. She left the den and joined the crowd. When she saw what they were murmuring about, she gasped.

     Frostfeather, fur torn and bleeding, was limping into the camp with Whitefoot and Snowtail supporting her. The white she-cat gasped for breath. Her eyes were wide and glazed over with pain.

     "What happened?" Lynxstar darted from her den and to the scene. The Clan cats made way for their leader. They stayed silent, as if telling her what happened was too much. "Frostfeather! Who did this to you?"

     Frostfeather gasped sharply, trying to steady her breathing but failing terribly. Her eyes were fixed on someone, but Dovepaw couldn't tell what or who. "It was . . ." She collapsed and lay still, blood pooling around her.

     Badgertooth rushed from the medicine den, a bundle of herbs in his jaws. Dovepaw sprang to action, too, and pressed moss on Frostfeather's wounds.

     "Is she dead?" Dawnsplash wailed.

     Dovepaw raised her tail, silencing the Clan. She put her ear close to Frostfeather's chest. Her heartbeat was slow but steady. "No. She is just unconscious. She'll wake up soon."

     Dawnsplash leaned into Whitefoot, sighing with content. "Thank StarClan!"

     Badgertooth walked over with a pawful of cobwebs. He struggled to get through the crowd.

     Mousepaw yowled, "Give them room to work!"

     "Press your paws on the wound while I wrap this around it," Badgertooth ordered Dovepaw.

     Dovepaw pressed her paws on Frostfeather's wound, preventing any further bleeding while Badgertooth wrapped the cobwebs around it. When she let go, she held her breath as she waited for a red blotch to appear on the cobweb wrapping. But it didn't. She sighed in relief.

     Badgertooth turned to Blizzardpelt and Ashbreeze. "Carry her to my den."

     The two warriors nodded and took Frostfeather's body away.

     The cats of FrostClan broke away from the scene. Snowtail was watching Sparrowfeather through slitted pupils, her fur lifting. Dovepaw wondered what she was thinking about. Was Sparrowfeather the cat that attacked Frostfeather? Did he try to kill her? What drove him to do that? Her mind whirled.

     Snowtail ran up to Sparrowfeather, her green eyes accusing. The fur along her spine and scruff spiked like thistles.

     "You have something to say, don't you? Tell the Clan! Tell the Clan you tried to kill my mother!" she yowled, her ears flat, her fur bristling, and her eyes blazing with fury.

     The cats turned sharply when they heard Snowtail and gasped. They began to murmur and yowl judgingly.

     Sparrowfeather bristled slightly but otherwise stayed completely calm. "Now, Snowtail, we aren't jumping to conclusions, are we?" He didn't even flinch when Snowtail thrust her muzzle into his face.

     "Don't you lie to me," she growled. "Before Frostfeather collapsed, she was staring directly at you. She was about to say 'It was Sparrowfeather.'"

     Dovepaw couldn't hide what she knew. She stepped forward. "I saw Sparrowfeather sneak out last night," she began. Blizzardpelt looked shocked as if he couldn't believe he was right all along. "Blizzardpelt and Frostfeather were guarding the camp when he snuck out, and Frostfeather went to search for him, though she wasn't sure if it was even a cat."

     Murmuring broke out among the Clan. Mousepaw stepped up on a small ledge on the side of the hollow. "Let her speak! She might show us something we never realized." She stepped down and nodded to the ledge and then to Dovepaw, her blue eyes sparkling.

     Dovepaw jumped up on the ledge and gazed out among the Clan. "I knew that something like this would happen. When I was a young apprentice, Mousepaw and I snuck into the warriors' den out of curiosity. Sparrowfeather stopped us and told us to not come back again. But the thing is, he was twitching in his sleep. I knew this was unusual. I told the elders about this, and they didn't believe me. Sparrowfeather is guilty, I know it, and I have all the knowledge and right to say so."

     The Clan murmured agreement. Sparrowfeather was bristling. "I would never do such a wrong thing! I am a loyal and worthy warrior. Rosefeather, I was in the den last night, wasn't I?"

     Rosefeather looked nervous. "Y-yes, you were."

     Sparrowfeather shot a look at Dovepaw. "You are nothing but a liar and a wrong accuser! The elders were right to not believe you. The elders are always right."

     Dovepaw caught Hareleap sniff irrationally.

     Snowtail looked furious. "Stop trying to make us believe you! Just because you're all smart and everything doesn't give you the right to manipulate us like that." She stepped forward. Dawnsplash and Whitefoot tried to stop her, but she pushed past them and to Sparrowfeather.

     Sparrowfeather stepped back. "Again, you're jumping to conclusions. You have to slow down, Snowtail. Maybe take a walk."

     Snowtail snarled. "I am not doing any of that until you admit that you tried to kill her!" She leaped on Sparrowfeather. She landed a blow on his ear. Sparrowfeather tried to dodge but it became light anyway. He darted aside and clawed at her spine. Snowtail snarled and twisted around to strike another blow. Sparrowfeather reared and batted at her muzzle.

     Snowtail landed back on her paws and ducked under Sparrowfeather when he landed. While she passed she scored her claws over the tender skin on the tabby's belly. Blood spattered on his fur. Sparrowfeather yowled and twisted around to meet Snowtail face-to-face.

     He aimed for her head and ended up scratching her forehead. Blood trickled down the white she-cat's face and into her eyes, but she blinked and wiped it away quickly with a paw. She jumped at the brown tom and tore at the fur along his spine.

     "Someone do something!" Dovepaw yowled. She saw Blizzardpelt pushing through the crowd and jumping in between Snowtail and Sparrowfeather.

     Snowtail and Sparrowfeather broke away from each other, but Snowtail tried snapping at Sparrowfeather. "Stop it!" Blizzardpelt yowled. "There is no reason for this nonsense! You are not kits!"

     Snowtail growled and nodded reluctantly. She still gazed at the brown tom through rage-filled eyes.

     Badgertooth beckoned Dovepaw down from the ledge. "Come on, let's go."

     Dovepaw tore her gaze away from the hostile cats and followed Badgertooth from the clearing and into the medicine den.