I almost feel insulted that you have forgotten me.

Coldness crept through Larkwing's fur. She could literally feel the cats around her getting more nervous. The scent of fear was unmistakable in the air.

Larkwing dug her claws into the ground. What would they do now? After what the strange tom had said, they couldn't possibly let him go without an explanation.

"Do you really have no idea who I am? Is everyone's memory really that bad?" he purred cynically.

An angry hiss sounded from somewhere.

With his ears flattened, the ginger and white tom trotted to the edge of the island. "Then you must have forgotten Cloverdapple too — and Splashpaw."

No... impossible. Stunned, Larkwing pushed herself forwards. Her gaze fell on the two new cats who were pushed in front of the willow. No doubt, one of them was Splashpaw. Relief rose in Larkwing. About three moons ago, Splashpaw had set out to look for the last cats of his Clan who hadn't fallen to the Shadowless. And now he had returned, with those very cats.

The brown and white spotted tom beside him had to be Cloverdapple, the medicine cat of LaurelClan. Then that means...

"Redleaf!" Nightblossom jumped to her paws and left her spot near the roots of the willow. Tail twitching, she stepped closer to the red and white tabby tom, her nose twitching suspiciously as if she didn't want to believe it.

Now Larkwing remembered too. This is the LaurelClan deputy! Unbelievable to see him here.

"Cloverdapple and you had fled, hadn't you?" Specklestar pointed out. "Why did you come back now of all times?"

Redleaf looked up at the orange and white she-cat, who stood swaying on a curved branch. "Fled? Who told you that?" Unconcealed resentment poisoned his voice. "Do you think we would be so cowardly as to leave our Clan alone under such circumstances? The truth is, Eveningstar banished us."

A murmur ran through the assembled cats. "I doubt he's telling the truth," Rabbitcrawl hissed.

Fangs bared, Larkwing whirled round to face her. "Of course it's the truth!" she growled indignantly. "You're not going to question Redleaf's words, are you?"

A warning glance from Gooseleap silenced her abruptly. With her flews pressed together, Larkwing trotted off.

"But Eveningstar is dead," Specklestar objected.

"Does that mean you've been away for much longer than we thought?" Honeyclaw now wanted to know.

Redleaf's fur bristled almost imperceptibly. "Obviously yes," he replied. "Back then, we had no choice but to follow Eveningstar's orders. She threatened to have us killed if we continued to oppose her views. And then one day it almost happened." His tail lashed indignantly. "What choice would we have had? We were outnumbered."

He's absolutely right about that. Fleeing was the only sensible decision. Larkwing's fur prickled. Surely she wouldn't have decided differently. No matter how important it was for her not to be seen as a coward, going up against so many cats alone would mean certain death.

"That still doesn't explain why you're here again," Specklestar intervened again. There was a sour undertone in her voice, as if she didn't like seeing Redleaf and Cloverdapple.

However, the two of them didn't let Specklestar's negative attitude get in their way, or at least they were able to keep their feelings under control.

"Splashpaw was looking for us," Cloverdapple interjected. "He told us what happened in MoonClan and that... that Larchleaf claimed we had left on our own."

At that moment, Larkwing remembered that Splashpaw had told her, just before he left, that Redleaf, Cloverdapple and Larchleaf were littermates. How tragic it must be when a littermate has joined the enemy!

"That made us realise that we should do something about it," Redleaf added.

The cats exchanged doubtful glances with each other. "But how are we supposed to do that?" Foliagemist of MoonClan meowed thoughtfully. "We don't stand a chance against them."

And they seem to be immortal. At least some of them are, Larkwing added silently. The memory of this knowledge sent shivers down her spine. Only a few moons ago, during an attack on the camp of RoseClan, Lakepelt and Elderpelt had wanted to kill one of the Shadowless in an especially cold-blooded and cruel way to avenge the death of their littermate Reedclaw. However, she had risen only a moment later and would probably have fatally injured them if Goldenshadow had not intervened and sacrificed himself in their place.

Redleaf lashed his tail. "Haven't you ever thought about how you can take action against them?" he asked incredulously.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the island. Larkwing looked down at her paws, somewhat ashamed. It was true, they wanted to get rid of the Shadowless, but all this time they had just sat idly by, afraid of their next attack.

"How is that supposed to work?" Nightblossom asked. Suddenly the usually so confident deputy of MoonClan looked pitiful, her yellow eyes lacklustre. "We sent a patrol into LaurelClan territory once and they never came back."

Larkwing winced. She had pushed that back into the depths of her memory until now, but now that Nightblossom had spoken, the memory came back like a stormy wave. Swallowfern had also been on this patrol. It made Larkwing's chest tighten every time she thought about how long they hadn't been able to see each other.

Back when Larkwing and Amberhaze had been kits, Swallowfern had taken them in and nursed them, treating them like her own kits. But one day, when they had been taken back by RoseClan, Larkwing had felt nothing but hatred for Swallowfern. Hatred that she had lied to her about her origins and her family.

Since that day, Larkwing had never seen Swallowfern again. Sometimes she couldn't help but wonder if her foster mother still thought she hated her.

But that wasn't true — not anymore.

"You can't just give up on each other like that!" Redleaf's indignant meow snapped Larkwing out of her deep thoughts again. "This has always been a place of Clans and we can't let one of them go under. Who's to say that the same thing won't happen to you one day as it did to LaurelClan?"

The cats glanced at each other uneasily. None of them dared to say anything back.

Redleaf continued, "That's why we were able to convince ourselves to return. We should form a reconnaissance patrol and gather information about the Shadowless. Of course, we won't be able to beat them with our current knowledge. But they must have a weak point somewhere. And we need to find and attack that weakness at the right moment."

Wow. I must admit, that's impressive. The fact that he, as the only cat, dared to give orders to three Clans aroused both admiration and disbelief in Larkwing. She remembered how Splashpaw had once told her that Redleaf had had to hold the Clan together in Eveningstar's place in the last few moons before he disappeared, when she was slowly going mad. A cat like that wasn't afraid to act like the sole leader.

"A reconnaissance patrol?" Palestar repeated, her interest seemingly piqued. "How do you imagine that?"

Redleaf flicked his tail. "Quite simple, a few cats from each Clan will form this patrol. Each of you has a reason to hate the Shadowless, don't you? That should convince at least a few to join us. We'll set up camp somewhere outside the territories, and from there we'll develop plans to get information on them."

At that moment, Larkwing couldn't help but admire Redleaf's determination. He simply reappeared one night, after many moons of uncertainty, and took the initiative. Admittedly, it seemed more like a reckless leap off a cliff into cold water, but in a way, Redleaf was right.

It seemed she wasn't the only one who thought so, because the SnowClan she-cat who had first noticed Redleaf's return earlier spoke up. "Which cats are suitable to join this reconnaissance patrol anyway?" Her tail twitched back and forth as if she was already planning to join.

This earned her a venomous look from Specklestar. "Don't you dare!" she hissed. Addressing Redleaf, she said sharply, "It doesn't look like a good plan to me. I certainly don't intend to bother my cats with such nonsense."

Hollytail jumped to her paws. "You can't be serious!" the grey-brown tabby she-cat meowed, stunned. "Are you still claiming that the Shadowless aren't a danger? Have you forgotten that Leapfoot was kidnapped by them?"

Abruptly, she fell silent as Specklestar hissed wildly. "We have no proof that he was kidnapped," she growled fiercely. A fire of rage burned in her amber eyes. "That is absolutely the most mouse-brained idea I've ever heard. Leapfoot is not a reckless kit. He won't be kidnapped that easily."

The silence that followed was uncomfortably oppressive, like the air before a thunderstorm. Larkwing couldn't suppress rolling her eyes. How could it be that Specklestar always had to cause trouble?

"I didn't even realise she was so careless about the whole thing," Gooseleap whispered behind her.

"I wonder if she's denying Leapfoot's abduction to avoid looking weak," Rabbitcrawl whispered back. "She's always been obsessed with demonstrating strength, even if that means not wanting to admit the actual truth."

Larkwing's fur bristled with discomfort. She knew exactly what Rabbitcrawl was alluding to. A few moons ago, when Larkwing was still an apprentice, Specklestar had kept her in the SnowClan camp. She wanted to force RoseClan to give them territory, even though there were the Foreign Lands around them where she could have expanded her territory.

Until today, Larkwing hadn't realised why Specklestar had acted this way. But after what she had just witnessed, she was beginning to realise that it was simply Specklestar's way of constantly having to prove how dominant her Clan was and that any danger, no matter how great, was a mere trifle to them.

Lashing her tail, Specklestar leapt from the willow. "SnowClan, we're leaving," she growled in a tone that brooked no argument.

But Hailstar did it anyway. "You can't just disappear like that!" the grey spotted tom called after her in disbelief.

Specklestar didn't give him or any other cat a glance as she stomped off the island. The SnowClan cats followed her only hesitantly. Some cats turned their heads away in shame as they trotted past the two remaining Clans.

The Clans are falling apart, Larkwing realised with horror. If SnowClan splits now too, only we, RoseClan, and MoonClan will be left. Is that what the Shadowless intend? But what reason would they have to hate the Clans so much? None of this makes any sense at all.

"Just leave her alone," Redleaf said after a while. "She'll realise at some point that she's made a mistake."

In anticipation, Larkwing unsheathed her claws. She could hardly wait for that moment.

Fruittail stepped towards Cloverdapple, her bushy black tail stretched upwards. "It's nice to see you again," she purred warmly. "We missed you at the half moon meetings."

Cloverdapple twitched his ears. "I guess you'll have to miss me a little longer," he meowed apologetically.

"Oh, right, you must be part of the reconnaissance patrol as well, I suppose," Fruittail concluded. "Speaking of which, how will it be decided who will join it?"

At that, everyone's attention fell back on Redleaf. "That's best decided between yourselves," he replied. "I'll wait for your decision at the next new moon, then we — that is, Cloverdapple, Splashpaw, the potential members and I — will meet here and decide how to proceed."

Palestar lowered her head. "I'm sure we'll have found some volunteers by then," she promised. "Oh, and Splashpaw..."

At the sound of his name, Splashpaw took an inconspicuous step back and ducked his head.

"We all thought you'd gone back to the Shadowless voluntarily back then," Palestar continued.

Splashpaw shook his head eagerly. "That was just an excuse to get Redleaf and Cloverdapple back," he explained.

Palestar raised her head in surprise. "Really? Unbelievable... What would you have done if you hadn't found them?"

In response, Splashpaw just twitched his ears unsuspectingly and remained silent.

"Anyway, it's good to know that you're okay," Palestar meowed honestly.

Yes, she's absolutely right. When Larkwing's gaze fell on Splashpaw, she felt pride rise within her. What a journey he must have travelled to find the cat he had believed had a solution to all the problems that plagued the Clans.

Perhaps we really did need someone to give us clear and unambiguous direction. At that moment, Larkwing felt hope for the first time that they had come one step closer to victory over the Shadowless.