With great effort, Larkwing struck her front claws into the soft bark of the tree. Only when she was sure that they were firmly anchored did she carefully lift her hind paws from the branch she was standing on and, groaning, pulled herself onto the fork of the branch above her.

A purr sounded above her. Annoyed, Larkwing turned her head upwards. "Don't make fun of me!" she grumbled, "Climbing is just not for me."

Lakepelt's dark grey face emerged from the branches above her. His whiskers twitched vigorously. "You could have stayed down."

"Never!" As quick as a flash, Larkwing scrambled further up the trunk. "I'm not a cowardly mouse!"

She would never admit to Lakepelt that she was afraid of heights at a certain point. Whenever she looked down, she had the feeling that her heart would stop for a moment.

But she loved spending time with Lakepelt. Ever since they shared a den again and had their nests next to each other, Larkwing felt as if they had their friendship back from their apprenticeship.

Eventually, she reached the same branch that Lakepelt was sitting on. Tensely, she tried not to pay attention to the height she was at.

At that moment, a breeze picked up and caused the branch to sway slightly. Frightened, Larkwing squeaked. Immediately afterwards, she bit her tongue. I'm not a cowardly mouse? What a lie!

She sat down carefully and wrapped her tail around the branch. Far below her, she could hear the sound of the river; above her was the grey, cloudy sky.

"Do you think the others are talking about who's going to join the reconnaissance patrol?" Lakepelt asked after a while of silence as he sharpened his claws on the bark of the tree trunk.

"I'd be surprised if they weren't," Larkwing replied.

"I kind of wish I'd been there yesterday."

Larkwing snorted. "That was definitely the weirdest Gathering I've ever attended."

Rolling her eyes, she thought of how Specklestar had led her Clan away from the Gathering early in a fit of rage. In the end, only RoseClan and MoonClan had been able to exchange news.

Larkwing had learnt that her foster siblings had also successfully finished their final assessments and were now called Dashfoot and Leafwind. Unfortunately, she hadn't had the chance to talk to them personally.

"I would like to join it."

Surprised, Larkwing lifted her head. She opened her mouth, about to ask if Lakepelt really wanted to expose himself to such danger willingly, when she noticed something.

There was something different about him. Had there always been that icy expression in his light blue eyes? Had he always been surrounded by this aura that sent a shiver down Larkwing's spine, as if she was being followed in a dark, gloomy place?

Ever since Goldenshadow had been killed, Lakepelt had seemed strange to Larkwing. She had never really realised what exactly it was that bothered her — until now.

Her chest tightened, making it hard for her to take a proper breath. "I think I know why you want this," she whispered in a raspy voice, her throat dry as sand. At the same time, she hoped she wasn't right in her assumption.

"They all deserve to die," Lakepelt replied bitterly, his ears flattened. "For what they did to Reedclaw and Goldenshadow. And for everything else they've done. It's not enough to simply drive them away. They're different, Larkwing, you know? Who said they wouldn't come back? What guarantees that they wouldn't do the same damage somewhere else? That's why they have to be eliminated."

Be eliminated. Lakepelt's way of thinking was extreme. In a way, he was right that it was better to get rid of the Shadowless as effectively as possible. Still, it frightened Larkwing how naturally he had talked about it.

There must be a better solution, she thought, one that works without deaths if possible. But she couldn't shake the dark feeling that this was just wishful thinking.

***

Only when the sky began to dawn did Larkwing and Lakepelt climb back to the ground. They had talked about everything but the Shadowless.

Now Larkwing headed for the camp. She had volunteered for an evening hunting patrol, and even though she had done it more out of a sense of duty at first, she was now glad to have something to do that would distract her.

Ravenleap was already waiting at the Birchtunnel to lead the patrol. At the sight of Larkwing, he flicked his ragged ears in greeting. "The others should be here soon too."

It didn't take long for Lilacclaw to join them with Owlpaw. "I'm sorry, I think I lost track of time," she meowed.

"You're not that late," Ravenleap replied indifferently.

Out of curiosity, Larkwing's gaze moved to Owlpaw. As far as she could remember, this would be the grey-brown tabby tom's first hunting patrol.

With a twitching tail and tense paws, he sat next to Lilacclaw, staring intently into the forest as if he was already trying to detect prey. Lilacclaw must be putting a lot of effort into his training if he's allowed to take part in a real hunting patrol after only a few days, Larkwing thought with a slight hint of worry. I just hope she doesn't push him too hard.

Involuntarily, Larkwing was reminded of Fernpool, her first mentor, before she herself had scratched out one of her eyes in a fit of possession. Although the training with her had lasted less than three days, Larkwing still knew what high expectations Fernpool had had of her.

Finally, Flutterflight also stepped through the Birchtunnel, which meant that they were now complete. There was an expression of eagerness in the clear green eyes of the orange tabby she-cat. No wonder, after all, she had been stuck in camp for the last few moons. Although she had decided to become a nursery helper after her kits had been made apprentices, she certainly couldn't say no to a good hunt either.

The RoseClan cats set off one after the other until they reached the tree trunk in front of the River Ravine, where they parted ways.

Larkwing's path led her across the ravine and into the lower part of the forest, towards MoonClan territory. All her senses were focussed on tracking down the first prey under the dense foliage.

But no matter how hard she tried to concentrate, the memories of the previous night would not let her go. How naturally Redleaf had suggested the creation of the reconnaissance patrol. He must have had the idea long before.

With a gnawing feeling in her chest, Larkwing wondered why they had never thought of it themselves. The Shadowless were dangerous, there was no question about that, but it was the Clan cats' duty to defend their territories at all costs.

Larkwing's gaze fell on a robin that was barely visible among the foliage, except for its red chest feathers. Grateful that it hadn't noticed her yet, Larkwing stalked towards it. She was only a few tail-lengths away from her prey; if she judged the jump correctly, she would have it in a moment.

Suddenly, the robin let out a warning chirp and took to the air. At the same time, Larkwing leapt forward quick-wittedly and barely managed to catch it with her paw and bring it down to the ground.

My reflexes seem to have improved, Larkwing thought contentedly as she delivered the killing bite. It's just a pity that all the prey in the area are probably hiding now.

Irritated, she lashed her tail. She would have to go searching for a while before she could find anything again.

She had just buried her prey under a stunted fern bush when she suddenly had the feeling that she was being watched. An icy, tingling shiver ran down her spine and into her paws, which seemed to be stuck to the ground.

Is someone there? The words stuck in Larkwing's throat like thorns. She vigilantly turned her head back and forth.

But she saw no one. She was all alone here in this part of the forest. Slowly, Larkwing squeezed herself backwards out of the fern. "Now I'm imagining things," she muttered to herself.

Shaking her head at her fright, she turned round — and shrieked, terrified to death.

Motionless, she stood in front of her. She still looked almost exactly the same. The shiny, black fur, the small, white paws. Only the dark amber eyes were missing. Instead, Swallowfern stared at Larkwing from deformed, black holes from which tiny clover and white flowers sprouted.

Only now, after she had overcome the shock, did Larkwing storm off blindly. In her rushing panic, she rescued herself to the next best place that came to mind — the lowest branches of an oak tree.

Breathing heavily, Larkwing clung to the trunk. "This can't be. It can't be true," she repeated over and over again.

This was not Swallowfern. It must have been an illusion. Larkwing dug her claws into the bark, ready to climb higher if this thing, whatever it had been, followed her.

So she stayed out for quite a while, listening for every single sound in the forest. Fortunately, nothing indicated that the creature was nearby.

Groaning with relief, Larkwing let herself fall flat on the branch. Gradually, her violently beating heart calmed down again, although the fear remained and seemed to choke her throat.

Swallowfern, she thought with a shiver. What are you? Was that just a vision? Is it still in the future? Or has it already happened?

Larkwing looked down at her paws, her claws still unsheathed. For what reason would she get a vision? She, who was nothing more than a fresh warrior.

Still, the encounter had just made her realise something. It was time to act. She owed it to Swallowfern, and to everyone else who had to suffer because of the Shadowless.

I have to join the reconnaissance patrol.

At the same time, the idea seemed crazy to her. Under no circumstances would Palestar allow this. But now this feeling had taken hold of her like an annoying burdock.

Awkwardly, Larkwing slid down the trunk again. She half expected to see Swallowfern again, but to her relief there was no one there.

Larkwing stretched her muzzle skywards. She'd had enough of sitting around doing nothing. It was time to act.