"Specklestar banished me." Crowshadow sounded as unaffected as if she didn't care in the slightest. Fluffing up her thick fur against the cold, she trotted to the front of the willow and dropped to the ground.

No one made a sound. They just stared at the black she-cat with a mixture of surprise and disbelief.

Larkwing felt like she was sitting on an anthill. Awkwardly, she swayed back and forth. That must mean that Crowshadow became a rogue!, was the first thing that came to her mind. But not a normal rogue, who was clanless from birth, but an exile. Stars in the sky, that's the worst of all punishments!

The question of why Crowshadow had been banished was on Larkwing's tongue like a burr. But in the end, it was Redleaf who uttered the question that everyone wanted answered.

"Why?" That was all he said. He didn't need to say anything more, though.

Despite the stares that were continuously directed at her, Crowshadow didn't duck her head. Larkwing admired her for that. She herself was sure that she would be devastated if she were ever driven away. The former SnowClan warrior, on the other paw, continued to radiate fearlessness.

"That should be self-evident. Specklestar banished me in front of the entire Clan because I refused to sit idly by any longer while a deadly danger is waiting on the other side of the river, one that would finally break out any day and annihilate the remaining Clans." There was an almost feral glint in Crowshadows's greenish-golden eyes, an extreme contrast to her relaxed demeanour just now.

Hearing this made Larkwing feel nauseous. She had never liked the leader of SnowClan before, and now she had another reason to hate her. It was simply impossible that Specklestar didn't give a mousedung about the danger in their midst.

Lakepelt flattened his ears disapprovingly. "Specklestar has always had some serious problems," the black tabby and white tom hissed so quietly that only Larkwing could hear him.

Nodding silently in agreement, she thought back to the one day when Reddapple had been badly injured during a border battle. Larkwing would never forget that fight. The sight of her blood-covered Clanmate was forever etched into her memory and still gave her restless nights from time to time. Reddapple was truly lucky that Fruittail and Bramblepaw had cared for her so devotedly back then.

"But how can Specklestar let it all go so cold?" Leafwind asked. "After all, Leapfoot was kidnapped by the Shadowless! Even if she tries to deny it," he added.

Crowshadow gave the younger tom a long look that was characterised by deep cluelessness. "I don't know," she sighed agonisedly. "But I'm not interested in what SnowClan does anymore. I'm no longer bound to them and can therefore do whatever I want." She stood up resolutely. "And I've decided not to be such a mouse-brain like Specklestar."

Perplexed, Larkwing's mouth stood open. She dared to do say this? I'd like to talk to her in private and pick up a few ideas on how to be so awesome and how to have this I-make-dirt-on-everyone-and-everything mindset.

"Good for us, I guess," Redleaf said after a short pause. He stepped from one paw to the other, as if even he had been thrown off course by Crowshadow's impertinent behaviour. "Now that we've sorted that out, let's get on with what we actually wanted to start with."

Once again, Larkwing's heart began to go crazy in her chest. She didn't want to remember what the Shadowless had done, she just wanted to forget and hope that one day she would wake up and realise that it was just a nightmare.

It was Lakepelt who provided the first information. "That might sound unbelievable," he meowed hesitantly, thumping his tail on the ground, "and I'm not even sure I wasn't imagining it, but... they don't seem to be able to die."

Larkwing jumped in to support him. "I can attest to that!" she confirmed eagerly. "Even after being inflicted with injuries that no normal cat could survive, they carried on as if nothing had happened."

Pondering, Cloverdapple tilted his head. "Are you sure it was fatal enough to kill them?" the brown and white tom inquired. "As far as we know, the Shadowless are cats too. Why should they be any different from us in that aspect?"

Uncertainly, Larkwing paused. Actually, she knew for sure that her eyes hadn't been playing tricks on her. Elderpelt had performed the killing bite that was usually only known from hunting.

Larkwing knew that she had seen how the shadowless cat's body had gone limp and motionless. How their breathing had stopped for a moment.

Still, she didn't want to question Cloverdapple's knowledge as a leaf-change-long medicine cat. Maybe she had been mistaken in the end and had imagined things that hadn't happened because of all the stress.

"Well, I... I probably just imagined it," Larkwing sighed resignedly, her gaze fixated on the ground in front of her white paws.

A little roughly, Lakepelt nudged her against the shoulder. "You definitely didn't imagine it," he retorted under his breath. "If Elderpelt and I saw it too, there must be some truth to it."

Cloverdapple twitched his ears. "On the other side, they seem to be very different from Clan cats or the usual rogues, especially when it comes to their behaviour," he mused. "That defies all logic, but maybe their regeneration abilities are simply enhanced."

Although this sounded just as crazy as the observation that the Shadowless were immortal, Larkwing had to admit that they could no longer be considered normal opponents. So trying to apply their laws to the Shadowless would be about as successful as teaching a mouse to fly.

"What kind of behaviour are we talking about?" Crowshadow spoke up. "You have — I mean, you were forced to live in a camp with the Shadowless for a while, weren't you? Did you notice anything else?"

Splashpaw pawed at the grass. "I can still remember them doing next to nothing," the light reddish-cream tom told her. "They never reacted to Eveningstar's commands. And when they did do something, they all started and stopped at the same time."

"In fact, the only things they did were either wandering around or watching other cats," Redleaf added. "I don't even know if I ever saw them eat. Or groom themselves. They never behaved like normal cats."

What he said made Larkwing involuntarily afraid. Shuddering, she bristled her fur. She didn't like the fact that even after all this time, they knew nothing about the Shadowless.

Silence fell over the island for a moment until it was interrupted by Crowshadow's energetic voice. "For my part, I think you're exaggerating," she declared firmly. "It may be true that the Shadowless are different. But immortality? Supernatural regenerative abilities? I'm sorry, that doesn't sound credible enough to my ears."

Larkwing unsheathed her claws. She had the feeling that Crowshadow was right. There had to be a logical explanation for the Shadowless' behaviour — but which one, for StarClan's sake, would it be?

"We won't get anywhere like this," Redleaf decided, shaking his head. "Not as long as we can't find any more information."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Crowshadow interrupted him boldly. "Should we just walk into your old territory and—"

"Yes."

Horrified, Crowshadow flattened her ears. All courage had vanished from her expression. Instead, her eyes gleamed with fear.

This is crazy! We're going to run right into the heart of danger like this.

"I know it's risky," Redleaf continued, sounding as if he were talking about planning a border patrol. "But do you seriously want to remain clueless? We can't possibly wait for the next attack and hope to find out more information. In the territory of LaurelClan, we would have the chance to observe their everyday behaviour."

Now Larkwing had to admit that she was impressed by how dauntlessly Redleaf approached the whole thing. It almost seemed to her as if he didn't know fear at all.

He used to be the deputy of LaurelClan. Surely it must have been terrifying to know that one's own Clan, after preparing to lead it for so long, was being taken over by mysterious, destructive strangers.

It seemed that Redleaf's reasoning had given the other cats food for thought. Leafwind flicked his tail. "How exactly would we do that?" the MoonClan tom asked enquiringly. "Who would want to go over there? A cat is less conspicuous than..." He looked around the island, "seven."

Splashpaw, who had not yet spoken, stepped forward hesitantly. "Going in there alone is just as risky," he pointed out. "Wouldn't at least two cats be better?"

He's right about that. Besides, we can't just go into LaurelClan territory unprepared. So we have to come up with a plan...

Then Larkwing was torn from her thoughts by Crowshadow's voice again. "I agree that only one of us should go. I can say from my own experience that we attract the least attention that way. A cat that is small — and has dark fur to camouflage itself enough — would be best to take on this task."

Slowly, she let her gaze wander across the clearing until it lingered on Larkwing.

Frightened, the tortico warrior backed away. Crowshadow couldn't possibly mean her!

"Out of the question!" she objected. "I don't even know my way around there. I'll probably cause you even more problems."

But when she realised that everyone was looking at her expectantly, she slumped her shoulders. How can it be that they all think I would venture into LaurelClan territory voluntarily? As if they had collectively decided that I, of all cats, would be the best choice.

Helplessly, she turned to Lakepelt. "Do you agree that I should go?"

Lakepelt avoided her green-blue gaze. "It's true that you have better opportunities to hide as a smaller cat," he argued.

Astonished, Larkwing drew in a sharp breath between her fangs. "I'm definitely not that much smaller than you!" she contradicted.

Well, please! There's only a paw's width of height difference between us.

"If you don't want to do it, you don't have to," Redleaf meowed.

Larkwing hesitated. The mere thought of meeting the shadowless ones voluntarily made her legs tremble. She was terrified, although she couldn't possibly admit it.

On the other paw, it filled her with a slight sense of pride that she was trusted with such a task. Perhaps she should actually agree and spy on the Shadowless for the others. After all, she hadn't joined the reconnaissance patrol only to cower like a skittish rabbit at the slightest sign of danger.

"I will do it," she confirmed resolutely.

"Are you sure?" Redleaf asked. "I don't want you to feel forced into it. If you don't feel comfortable, I could do it for you."

Larkwing bowed her head gratefully. "That's all right. I'll manage."

Hopefully that didn't turn out to be a lie.

"Good luck then," Redleaf meowed sincerely. "Do you think you could start the day after tomorrow?"

Larkwing nodded.

Redleaf twitched his ears. "Try to find out as much as you can. I don't want to unsettle you, but everyone's life depends on you."

Thank you, I know that too! Larkwing suppressed the urge to roll her eyes.

"Is there something else that should be discussed?" Redleaf looked around, waiting for reactions.

Crowshadow spoke up. "How will news reach all cats as quickly as possible? We all live in different territories. It takes days for everyone to be brought up to date."

Next to Larkwing, Lakepelt snorted disdainfully. "Not all of us live in a territory." No one responded to this, however.

"Crowshadow, since you're clanless now, you could come to camp with us," Cloverdapple suggested kindly.

His offer made Crowshadow's eyes light up briefly. She looked over at Redleaf questioningly. "I don't want to cause you any trouble, but so far I have no place to return to."

"Why not?" Redleaf replied, to which Crowshadow delightedly raised her bushy tail.

Now Leafwind stepped forward. "I could ask Hailstar for permission to leave the Clan for a while and move to camp with you as well. That would also solve the problem of delivering the news."

Larkwing suppressed a mocking purr. "I would never have thought that there was a MoonClan cat who would voluntarily leave their beloved hills," she teased softly.

Lakepelt twitched his whiskers in agreement.

"What about them?" Splashpaw gestured to Larkwing and Lakepelt with one paw. "Their territory is the closest of all to the Foreign Lands and our current territory. Should they move to our camp too?"

Before any cat had a chance to meow, Larkwing replied in a firm tone, "I want to stay in the RoseClan camp as long as possible. I've walked the distance to the border of the Foreign Lands many times. It won't be a problem for me to go beyond it occasionally."

She nudged Lakepelt promptly, who briefly announced that he agreed with her.

"That's the most sensible solution," Redleaf agreed. "Now we've covered almost everything important, except for..."

The way the orange and white tabby tom pronounced the last words aroused curiosity in Larkwing and she leant forward. What else is there?

Redleaf's green eyes lingered on Splashpaw. "It's a bit unconventional, but it's long overdue. So, come here."

Splashpaw let out a surprised meow. "Did you mean me?" he squeaked, his yellow eyes widening in awe.

"Who else?" Cloverdapple made a forward gesture with his paw. "After all, you still have your paw name. Don't you think it's about time it changed?"

Larkwing listened up. She hadn't even thought of that because of all the commotion! Splashpaw hadn't had his warrior ceremony yet, even though he was two moons older than her.

Purring and with his tail curled upwards, Splashpaw hopped forward. In front of the rock, he tried to stand as still as possible, but Larkwing could see his hind paws scratching in the grass.

Redleaf raised his voice, "Forestheart isn't here, but she would definitely declare you ready, too. Even without the final assessments, you've really proven yourself in the last few moons."

It was certain that Forestheart had been Splashpaw's mentor when everything was still fine in LaurelClan. I wonder if he's thinking about her right now, Larkwing pondered. I hope that when they meet again one day, she can see how far he's come.

"Splashpaw," Redleaf continued, "are you willing to use all your skills for the good of all the Clans?"

Splashpaw's "I am" was so quiet that Larkwing had to strain to understand it.

"Then you should be known as Splashfur from this moment on," Redleaf announced.

Larkwing was amazed at the brevity and simplicity of the ceremony. At the same time, she realised that she knew nothing about the customs of LaurelClan. It could well be that it was simply customary for them not to have elaborate appointments.

I'd better ask them about it soon.

"Splashfur! Splashfur!" Together with the other cats, she repeated the new name a few times with pride.

It was true, this warrior ceremony was rather unconventional, but in the time they were living in, it was necessary to embrace change and exceptions.