"Of course I know what I witnessed! Do you think I would make something like that up just for fun?"

Without meaning to, the volume of Larkwing's voice had soared. The tips of her ears hot with embarrassment, she bit her tongue and quickly looked around the camp. A few cats eyed her, some curious, some disapproving. Luckily for her, no one made a move to come over.

There was an unmistakable gleam of shock in Lakepelt's eyes. "I just can't quite comprehend it all," the dark grey tabby tom whispered, clawing tensely at the ground with his white front paws. "Does that mean Shadowless have the possibility to die after all?"

"I doubt it was a normal death," Larkwing interjected. "It happened so suddenly and for no apparent reason-"

"And then there was the unknown black liquid," Lakepelt finished her sentence. With his ears flattened, he examined Larkwing closely. "That could have turned out very differently for you. You're really lucky they weren't interested in you this time."

His words evoked a cold shudder. Shivering, Larkwing pulled her paws under her body. We really did escape death by a whisker's breadth.

But something else Lakepelt had said made Larkwing remember another thing. "As for the liquid," she meowed, "Fruittail didn't say a word about it in MoonClan."

Lakepelt raised his head in surprise. "She didn't? Even though it could be an important insight?"

"I wish I knew," Larkwing sighed truthfully. "Maybe she didn't say anything because she was afraid we wouldn't be believed. Think about it." Her tone became more eager. "How could we realistically explain this phenomenon? This was the first time we've ever observed something like this in a Shadowless. To be honest, I didn't think you would believe me so easily."

In disbelief, Lakepelt shook his head in disbelief. His tail lashed across the ground. "Of course I believe you!"

Hearing this relieved Larkwing. She had realised that she could trust her best friend. Nevertheless, she had been worried at first that he might label her a liar.

Then she noticed how Lakepelt's gaze wandered to the side for a heartbeat. Immediately he bristled his fur, his long, sharp claws unsheathed.

It didn't take long for Larkwing to find the reason for his sudden hostility. Rainsplash! By now, the name of the grey and white speckled she-cat sounded like a curse. Even though Larkwing had nothing to do with her, she knew very well that Rainsplash was a she-cat full of hatred directed at her kits.

I wonder if Lakepelt knows that I was watching them when it turned out that after Reedclaw, Rainsplash wanted him dead too.

"Tell me, is everything alright?" Larkwing inquired cautiously nonetheless.

Slowly and somewhat uncertainly, as if she had just torn him from a deep dream, Lakepelt turned round again. "It's nothing-" he wanted to defend himself, but Larkwing glared at him so hard with her bi-coloured green-blue eyes that he finally had to give in. "It's Rainsplash. Apparently she saw how Elderpelt and I have... well, you know what I mean."

Larkwing nodded, trying to act as if this was new information to her.

"Now I think she wants to get rid of us," Lakepelt continued. "And that's why I'm really worried about Elderpelt. What if Rainsplash is going to harm her while I'm gone?"

Rainsplash can't be that spiteful. Larkwing tried to shake off the dark feeling inside her. Still, she realised that a she-cat who was delighted about her daughter's death was capable of far worse things.

"I'm sure Elderpelt can take care of herself." Even as she spoke, Larkwing was already feeling dark foreboding. "Besides, she's never alone. Rainsplash won't be able to hurt her."

It was obvious from Lakepelt's dubious expression that he didn't believe her words.

Perhaps Elderpelt would actually put herself in great danger when Lakepelt is gone. Rainsplash probably knows how protective he is of his littermate and she wants to take advantage of it. Larkwing stared ahead, lost in thought. I would never have thought that Lakepelt had such a terrible mother. That's even worse than not having one at all.

"Hello, are you still awake?" Lakepelt waved a paw in front of Larkwing's face. "Why are you staring at the rock face so intently? Do you want to look through it or what? No, it looks more like you're about to do your business."

Larkwing gasped indignantly. "That's not true!" she retorted. After a little hesitation, she added, "Besides, I'm sure I'll make a different face when I do my business."

Twitching his whiskers in amusement, Lakepelt purred. "Anyway, it looks like I have to go now. Border patrol stuff and all." He stepped towards Larkwing and rubbed his muzzle against hers. "See you later, Larkwing."

With that, he padded off.

Larkwing blinked in confusion. What was that? Hopefully that doesn't mean anything.

Her fur bristled. She couldn't read too much into it. Back then, Lakepelt had made it unmistakably clear to her that he didn't want to enter into a mateship with anyone.

Nevertheless, that had thrown her completely off course.

Maybe I should talk to him about it sometime, Larkwing decided. At the same time, she knew that she would probably never dare to do so.

Eyes half closed, she rested her muzzle on her paws. By now, the moon was almost full. The journey would probably begin in two nights. Until then, Larkwing wanted to enjoy her remaining time in the RoseClan camp as much as possible.

But she could probably forget about being able to rest properly, because Blossompaw came padding towards her.

"Do you need anything from me?" Larkwing mumbled absently, not caring about the apprentice.

Blossompaw nervously ran her tongue over her chest fur several times before answering. "Um, well..." she squeaked. "Would you have time to practise the evasion technique for attacks from behind with me? Because I have a fighting test coming up and I... well, I don't feel prepared enough yet."

Larkwing was puzzled. "Why don't you ask Mothspark? He's not your mentor for nothing," she reminded the small, light brown tabby she-cat. "And what about Nettlepaw or Owlpaw? Maybe Bramblepaw would also agree to practise with you. After all, you are friends."

However, Blossompaw shook her head vehemently. With begging forest-green eyes, she stepped even closer to Larkwing. "I don't want to bother them," she murmured with averted eyes. "Besides, you're a warrior and a battle strategist. So you should be good at it, right?"

Blossompaw's suddenly shy, insecure behaviour was new. She was usually a bright and wild she-cat who never missed an opportunity to act out her exuberance. Strange. Extremely strange.

Larkwing pulled herself to her paws. If Blossompaw asked her like that, she probably had no choice but to say yes. Perhaps it would also be beneficial for her to repeat a few techniques. Surprise attacks were still her greatest weakness. She reluctantly remembered the fight with Petalpaw, where she was almost drowned in the camp pool.

"But we can't go as far as the Pineglade. It's already too late to walk that far," Larkwing decided. "Surely we can find a suitable spot somewhere else."

Larkwing left the camp, with Blossompaw leaping close behind her. They wandered aimlessly for a while until they arrived at a lower clearing. It was much smaller than the Pineglade, but the ground was covered in soft moss. Perfect conditions to repeat some techniques.

"Good," Larkwing meowed. "Before we start - do you know what you must never ever do in a fight?"

Eagerly, Blossompaw pranced around. "Oh, oh, I know!" she exclaimed. "I must never stay in one place for too long, always pay attention to my surroundings and..." She abruptly broke off her flow of words and hung her head. "That's all I can remember."

That was okay for a start. It's just not accurate enough. "You forgot to mention that you should never land on your back. It's hard to get out of that position, and it's practically impossible to defend yourself."

Hot with shame, Larkwing remembered that she had made this mistake many times before.

Stretching her tail into the air, Blossompaw performed a small leap. "Can we try the surprise attack now? Please!" she meowed.

Now she acts again like she always does. It was still a mystery to Larkwing why Blossompaw wanted to practise with her, of all cats, when they had hardly had anything to do with each other in the past. "Then try to attack me without me noticing," she commanded Blossompaw.

"Just attack?"

Larkwing flicked her tail in confirmation. "Do it the way you think is right."

She turned and took a few steps away, trying to give a careless impression. At the same time, she turned her ears as far back as possible and breathed silently to make sure she didn't miss a sound.

Barely a moment later, there was a barely perceptible rustle. In a flash, Larkwing swung her hind legs upwards and somersaulted. As she did so, she felt her paws bump against something. As soon as she had landed again, she whirled around and sped towards Blossompaw, who was staggering back.

The light brown tabby had no chance to react due to her bafflement. This made it easy for Larkwing to push her to the ground. With a snorting exhalation, Blossompaw lay there flat.

Immediately, Larkwing was overcome with a guilty conscience. "Did I hit you? I'm so sorry! I hope I didn't hurt you."

I bet Flutterflight would kill me if that was the case.

Luckily for her, Blossompaw didn't seem to have taken any damage. She sat up again, her whiskers trembling. "That was really impressive!" she exclaimed. "But how did you know when I was going to jump? I tried to be as quiet as possible."

"Well, you were quiet, but not silent. That's an important difference," Larkwing explained to her. "As your training progresses and you gain more experience, you'll learn to move silently and inconspicuously enough to make flawless attacks."

Blossompaw's eyes shone with admiration. "I've heard you're a very good fighter."

Embarrassed, Larkwing licked her white chest fur to avoid the apprentice's gaze. Lately she had been hearing this claim all the time. Inevitably, she wondered if she was simply underestimating her current abilities.

"And I really like your eyes," Blossompaw continued.

Larkwing almost choked in shock at these words. "What, my eyes?" was all she could manage to say.

Blossompaw's expression, which had previously been full of eagerness, changed to a serious one. "Yes. I've always been fascinated by that. You know, we both have a physical peculiarity-" She wagged her dark red tail, "-but I'm starting to hate mine."

Only now did Larkwing realise the different colour of Blossompaw's tail again. Compared to her light brown pelt, it was clearly distinctive, but Larkwing had become so accustomed to this feature that she hadn't noticed it until now.

"Hate?" the tortico she-cat repeated. "But why? Has anyone said a mean thing to you about it?" She flexed her claws. Woe betide those cats who insulted Blossompaw!

Tentatively, Blossompaw gnawed on her flews. "At my last big gathering, a few SnowClan apprentices made fun of me," she admitted quietly. "They said it looked unnatural and that I should be ashamed to look like that."

SnowClan really does just cause trouble. Larkwing snarled indignantly. "Remember one thing," she growled, her muzzle thrust forward. "What a SnowClan cat says has no value. They're all the equivalent of rotten crowfood anyway."

"You can't say that!" Blossompaw squeaked, startled, as she looked around as if she feared they were watching her.

But Larkwing stuck to her opinion. "Don't let them intimidate you. Make it clear to them that you won't put up with such teasing," she ordered in a serious tone.

Hesitantly, Blossompaw examined her tail for a long time, then she looked at Larkwing again. "I'll try," she meowed uncertainly. "But can I ask you something?"

Curiously, Larkwing tilted her head. "Of course, what is it?"

Blossompaw took a while to answer. "Have you ever wished you had a single eye colour? So that you'd look like everyone else and not stand out from the crowd?"

That was a good question. Larkwing remembered exactly how desperate she had been as a little kit when she had found out that she had two different eye colours. Back then, she had wanted nothing more than to just look normal. But by now she had become so used to it that she no longer gave it a second thought.

The fact that her left eye was green and her right blue was an irreplaceable part of her that she didn't want to live without. It was one of the many little things that made her exactly the cat she was today.

"Thinking about it," she finally replied, "I don't want to be like everyone else. And you should too. Nobody should hold anything against you because of the way you look. I don't know what circumstances caused your tail colour, but this feature is clearly part of you and you should be proud of it."

Blossompaw trembled slightly. "Thank you for not thinking I'm weird. I was afraid you'd think I was exaggerating."

Purring soothingly, Larkwing twitched her whiskers. "Don't worry, I know what it feels like to look different myself." Looking up at the dusky sky, she took a step back. "Now then, how about we get on with the techniques?"

Promptly, Blossompaw's enthusiasm returned. Her paws kicked up the moss a little as she jumped up exuberantly. "Absolutely! Will you show me how to do that great dodge technique you just did?"

It filled Larkwing with joy to see Blossompaw so eager. That's exactly what we need at this time. Cats who put a lot of emphasis on their fighting skills. "Actually, this technique is quite difficult and rarely used. It's better if you do simpler exercises first." However, she quickly noticed how Blossompaw's ears went down in disappointment and hurriedly added, "But if you're so interested in it, you're welcome to try it out at the end."

"All right," Blossompaw meowed. "Then let's get started now. After all, I have a test to pass."