Larkwing stood on the ledge, her gaze cast downwards. Her legs wouldn't stop shaking.

She needed to think carefully about what she should say. The lives of all cats here depended on her powers of persuasion.

It was already sunset. A few cats were in the camp, sharing tongues. Among them, Larkwing could catch a glimpse of Leafwind and Splashfur. Her paws itched with the urge to join them and try to forget that gloomy cloud hanging over them.

"Pull yourself together," she growled. "You're the only one who knows about Sunray's plans."

All right. She took a shaky breath. Just call a meeting.

How crazy she must be to take such a right. You're not a leader, her guilty conscience whispered to her. You have no right to give orders to others.

She shook her pelt. There was no time to think about whether what she was about to do was appropriate.

Just as Larkwing was about to draw attention to herself with a yowl, an angry snarl sounded. The brown and black spotted tom, Trout, whom she had already met yesterday, was facing a grey-brown tabby tom, his hairs all standing up in his pelt.

"Don't you understand that it's no longer safe for us at the ruins?" Trout sounded tense. "We can't return!"

"Well, I don't understand you!" the other tom replied sharply. "The ruins have always been our home. Just because we've been driven from there doesn't mean we have to hide in the forest forever."

Trout fluffed his tail. "They were our own campmates! You're not seriously asking us to go back to the place where they betrayed us."

Larkwing clenched her teeth. Until now, the camp had seemed so calm. At the same time, she had to admit that she liked the grey-brown tabby tom's attitude. Understandably, he didn't want to forget the old camp so easily. That was exactly the kind of cat she needed. Cats who were willing to reclaim what they had lost.

With this realisation in mind, she inflated her lungs and howled at the volume of a thunderclap, "Set your damn eyes on me!"

Silence followed immediately. Even the omnipresent chirping of the birds was gone. Only the beating of her heart was audible to Larkwing, so loud that another cat could hear it if they stood close enough.

"I don't think there's any point in retreating either," Larkwing began. At that moment, she was grateful for the argument, because it meant she didn't have to worry about what words to start her speech with, but could simply add something to the existing discussion.

Trout interrupted her. "What do you know about it?"

Certainly more than you. Larkwing swallowed the snarky retort and glared at Trout until the snide expression had disappeared from his face.

"There's something I want you to know about Sunray," Larkwing continued. "In truth—"

"Stop that! You're not going to feed them any more of your twisted lies!"

Cirrus stood in the midst of the cats, her back arched. The others moved away from her as if they had bumped into an invisible barrier.

With three leaps, Cirrus had reached the foot of the rock face, her gaze fixated on Larkwing's ledge. The RoseClan she-cat immediately recognised what she was about to do and saved herself on a higher part of the cliff.

Not a moment too late, because as soon as her white paws touched the rock again, Cirrus landed where she had been standing a moment ago.

Larkwing's heart almost stopped in shock. If she hadn't reacted quickly enough, Cirrus would have knocked her back-first onto the pointy scree below.

The initial shock quickly turned to anger. For a moment, the corners of her eyes darkened. "Don't come any closer," she hissed in warning.

Cirrus glared up at her with narrow eyes. Then Larkwing felt it again — that heartbeat that wasn't hers. Cirrus was practically consumed by her fear. But as leader, she couldn't afford to admit that she had failed in her role. That was probably why she hid her true feelings behind anger, but it had no effect on Larkwing.

On the contrary, it fuelled her ambition even more. She bared her fangs. Attacking Cirrus would throw the situation into chaos. However, Larkwing hoped to put Cirrus in her place with her intimidating demeanour alone.

Suddenly she became aware of the throbbing that was all over her body. She felt strange fear. No longer just from Cirrus, but from all the cats around her.

They can sense that their end is near. A strange stiffness took hold of Larkwing as she heard a voice in her head — her voice, but somehow different. Darker. Colder.

Oh great StarClan, not now. I just want it to stop. What have I done to deserve this?

In response, the voice grew louder, more threatening. Accept your fate, it boomed, inaudible to everyone else. There is no escape. You are now one of us.

The last sentence finally snapped Larkwing out of her trance. She jumped onto her paws and let her tail lash. I don't care what you have planned for me. As long as I'm still sane, I won't stop fighting your kind.

As quickly as they had appeared, the voice and the stiffness vanished from her body as if they were being swept away by a storm wave. When Larkwing was fully conscious again, she became aware of Cirrus once more. The grey and cream she-cat was still crouched on the ledge, staring at her with a mixture of horror and confusion.

Larkwing's temples throbbed and she suddenly felt as if she were on fire.

I am...

Not for one moment must she think about that. It was just a hallucination, nothing to worry about.

I am a Shadowless. Shadowless... Shadowless... Shadowless...

Larkwing tried to smooth her fur. "There's something I want you to know about Sunray!" she began again, almost yelling to drown out her endlessly repeating thoughts. "In truth... in truth, Sunray is a Shadowless!"

"Are you sure? Sunray has been behaving normally until recently." The sceptical words came from Cirrus. She looked exhausted, her blue eyes dull, as if she had realised that there was no point in contradicting Larkwing any further.

"She told me that herself," Larkwing confirmed. "To be honest, I'm not sure myself if I should believe that. But one thing is clear. Sunray was never who she said she was. She's worth less than crowfood. She's been colluding with the Shadowless and manipulating you all along. Me as well."

Down below, Topaz jumped to her paws. "Let's say that's true. What reason would she have to manipulate you?" she asked challengingly.

Larkwing's paws twitched at this question. No point in refusing, I suppose. I want them to know as much of the truth as possible. "Sunray is controlled by the powers that created the first Shadowless, and only through them could she manipulate your— I meant our minds," she explained. "By now you should all know that no prophecy ever referred to me. This was just a lie from Sunray. She wanted to force me into your midst to..."

At that moment, Larkwing's voice almost broke. She swallowed hard, tensing her lower jaw. They really listened to her. As if I were their leader.

Shadowy images flashed through her mind, of Sunray, of Crowshadow with her shattered leg. Of the tentacle that had been controlled by Sunray.

Suddenly a fire seemed to ignite in her, uniting the concentrated power of entire StarClan. Beware, Sunray. The next time we meet, you will atone for what you did to us. I will kill you and cleanse the world of you!

Strangely enough, Larkwing no longer felt any aversion at these thoughts. Deep down, she knew it was the only solution. It didn't have to mean turning to the paths of darkness. Besides, StarClan would surely understand her decision and forgive her if she tried to be an honourable warrior from then on.

So she raised her voice again, louder and more forceful than before. "Sunray wanted to sacrifice me! That's why she kidnapped me and manipulated the other ruin cats. She wanted to sacrifice me to resurrect the spaceships!"

Horrified murmurs rang out. Some cats looked up at the sky with their ears flattened, as if they feared the spaceships in question would descend from the clouds.

"But the spaceships have been dead for ages," Stream's confused voice rang out.

"And no one knows where they are," a white tom added.

The tortico she-cat twitched her ears. "It doesn't matter at the moment," she replied dismissively. "What's more important is making sure Sunray doesn't even get the chance to come close to them."

"How are we supposed to do that if we don't even know where Sunray herself is?" Cirrus asked as soon as Larkwing had finished.

"Don't worry about that," Larkwing purred. "I know for a fact that Sunray will come back and try to attack you again. Then I'll have plenty of time to ask her about the spaceships. And believe me, she'll be forthcoming with information. After all, she had to tell me a few things about her true nature in exchange for her eyes..."

Hold on. I didn't seriously say that! It's not even the truth! Larkwing cringed, but the words had already been said and heard. She cast her eyes down, not daring to look at any cat for fear of meeting dislike or even disgust.

This strange disease that ate its way to her soul made her say things, think things, that were abysmally evil. The worst thing was that she felt powerless against it. Even though she realised that she had to keep fighting it, she felt indifferent at the same time.

"But Sunray won't come alone," she continued. "As a Shadowless, she can infect other cats too, and I think she's already started."

Cirrus gasped. "You don't mean—"

She didn't have to finish her sentence. Once again, Larkwing sensed the ruin cats' fear. This time, however, it was mixed with disbelief and sadness.

"I'm sorry. There's nothing that can be done about it," Larkwing murmured chokedly. "No matter what happens, they won't be able to recognise you. They won't be able to remember their old lives or who they used to be. That is over. From now on, it doesn't matter what was in the past. The Shadowless are your enemies and should be destroyed."

She feared that cats would disagree with her, hissing at her for speaking so callously of their former campmates. Instead, she was met with silence. The ruin cats must have realised that there was no hope, no matter how much it hurt them.

Finally, after a long pause, Lavender stood up. Her ears were flattened and her neck fur ruffled. "I don't want any more to die, but why does it have to be them?"

Oh Lavender, I'm so incredibly sorry. Larkwing could hardly bear to see the small she-cat so lost and desperate. She had lost her family as a kit because of the Shadowless and now she was facing the same nightmare again.

"Forget them," the grey-brown tom, who had just had an argument with Trout, urged her. "Larkwing is right. These are hard times we live in. Think of the first Shadowless. They too once had lives, but these were taken from them when they became Shadowless. It will be the same for our campmates. Nothing will ever be the same again."

Lavender just stared at him from half-closed eyes. Cherry moved closer and touched her ear comfortingly with her nose.

At the top of the ledge, Larkwing stepped from one paw to the other. Now she had got most of it behind her. But there was still something she had to say.

She lifted her long, bushy, black tail and flicked the white tip to the side, just as she had seen Palestar do so many times before when she wanted to make herself heard. "Starting tomorrow at sunrise, you will undergo daily battle training that I will supervise. Each of you. Your defences still leave a lot to be desired—" At these words, she gave Cirrus an annoyed sideways glance, "—and without a thorough overhaul, you won't stand a chance. Show Sunray that you won't give up so easily."

And suddenly a saying popped into her head, one that could perfectly express the will to fight that blazed within her.

"Death to Sunray! Death to all Shadowless!" she yowled up into the sky.

The echo of her voice reverberating off the rock faces soon faded into silence. Larkwing felt sick. You mouse-brain! You just told them they have to fight their former companions and now you're acting like nothing's wrong. But still... We're dealing with Shadowless here. They have no inhibitions about killing us, so we should do the same.

Just as she wished a hole would open up in the ground for her, she spotted Lakepelt. Her heart leapt with excitement. I didn't even realise he's here!

Larkwing narrowed her green-blue eyes, hoping he could see it from a distance. She wanted to bury her nose in his wonderfully soft fur with all her might, soaking up his scent as if it were oxygen.

There was also something else she urgently wanted to discuss with him. Admittedly, she was a little afraid of how he would react. But for now, she could only formulate it as a suggestion to be on the safe side.

All of a sudden, Lakepelt took her completely by surprise, flicking his fluffy, dark grey and black striped tail and repeating her battle call. "Death to all Shadowless!"

Larkwing gave a tiny hop with excitement. She had to pull herself together to stop herself from squeaking like an immature apprentice.

More and more cats joined in, most of them hesitantly. But there were no objections to be heard anywhere, which reassured Larkwing.

No question, the ruin cats were facing the hardest part of their lives — and they couldn't escape. Nevertheless, Larkwing was sure that they would get through it. She would work hard to make sure they could hold their own against the impending threat.

"You would really make a great leader." Cirrus's soft, admiring words snapped Larkwing out of her thoughts.

Embarrassed, Larkwing licked her white chest fur. "I never intend to be leader," she contradicted, "I hardly think I'm up to that kind of responsibility. I'd much rather stay a normal warrior forever."

Cirrus bowed her head sympathetically. "Still, you stood here and called for battle. Not many cats would've done the same. Most would've hidden their knowledge until it was too late. You're different. You could have kept it from us that we would soon have to fight our companions again. Instead, you confronted us with the truth, and I thank you for that."

Larkwing felt all warm at her words. Most of the time I didn't even know what I was doing. Somehow I just spoke as if someone else was guiding me.

"By the way, I'm sorry for the way I behaved towards you." There was genuine remorse and honesty in Cirrus's tone. "That was stupid of me. I could never forgive Sunray and I want her to get her just punishment as much as you do. But I couldn't believe she was actually that evil. I think I was just trying to avoid the truth."

"Never mind," Larkwing purred, though strictly speaking that was only half the truth. She didn't have the nerve to keep arguing, though. "Just make sure your cats are rested for tomorrow."

With a quick tilt of her head, Larkwing slid down the rock face and charged towards Lakepelt, knocking him straight over. But she didn't care at the moment. She simply pressed her face into his fur, so deep that she couldn't breathe.

Beneath her, Lakepelt began to squirm. "Get down! You're smothering me," he snapped gruffly, as Larkwing was used to.

The black and rust-coloured mottled and tabby she-cat did as she was told and stepped back. "So you're fine when you talk to me like that," she mocked good-heartedly.

The black tabby and white tom licked her muzzle, his blue eyes narrowed. "I've missed you, Larky," he whispered. "I've been thinking about you the whole time, wondering if you're okay."

Oh, so you're actually serious about this nickname? But Larkwing was slowly getting used to it. She would even be fine if Lakepelt never called her by her real name again.

"I can take care of myself," Larkwing fended off. Still, it made her happy to hear that. There was something nice about knowing that someone was worried about her.

Lakepelt's whiskers twitched. "I know."

Larkwing was about to say something back when she realised they were being watched. She didn't even have to turn around. She could feel the stares boring into her pelt like thorns.

She tensed her claws. Curious mouse-brains! Mind your own business!

"Could we go outside?" she asked. "I think the others will spread rumours about us if they watch us any longer. And... and I wanted to ask you something."

Lakepelt stopped licking Larkwing's nose. For a moment, it looked like his usually bright eyes were darkening. "Would probably be better," he agreed, his voice suddenly huskier and cold as ice.

With a final, warning glance over her shoulder, Larkwing ran forward. Outside the camp, she waited for Lakepelt.

Maybe I should've waited with my exuberant greeting until we were out of sight of everyone else. Annoyed, she twitched the tip of her tail. Leafwind already thinks we're mates. Now word is sure to get around the whole camp in no time. StarClan forbid that a she-cat and a tom do not want to mate with each other for once!

"Don't worry about them," Lakepelt said. "That's their problem if they want to see us as something we're not. We both know better anyway."

"You're right," Larkwing agreed, although she couldn't shake the queasy feeling that she would soon have to explain herself. "Listen, while we're here, we could walk around a bit."

"Walk around." Lakepelt tilted his head. "But it'll be dark soon."

Larkwing stroked around him. "Ooohh, is anyone scared here?" she mocked. "I'm here to protect you, after all."

Barely a heartbeat later, she saw a white paw wipe towards her. Instinctively, she rolled to the side and immediately jumped up again.

Lakepelt crouched down as if he was about to pounce on her at any moment. "You're four moons younger than me. Why should you protect me?"

Larkwing pranced backwards. "Hm, I don't know. Maybe because you're still more inexperienced than me?"

That was true, at least when comparing their fighting experiences. While Larkwing had already taken part in four battles — although the short duel with Sunray couldn't really be called a real fight — Lakepelt had only been in two.

"Stop it already," Lakepelt growled, sitting up.

Larkwing trotted back over to him with a twitching tail tip. Looks like someone here can't bear to be weaker than me! She had to suppress an amused purr at this thought.

However, she refrained from uttering it. Even if she could afford to tease Lakepelt a little, she'd rather not overdo it.

They moved away from the camp. By now, the sun had completely set. It wouldn't be long before the Silverpelt would shine in the sky. It was cloudless tonight, which meant that they would see the stars in all their glory again.

Every now and then, Larkwing checked the air out of habit. On a fern, she could make out the faint scent of a squirrel that must have come this way a while ago. But she wasn't hungry. Her belly was still full from a dove she had helped herself to before her speech.

Somehow she found it quite nice to simply walk through the forest and surrender to the silence. No patrols, no worries about whether the borders were safe. By now, her duties as a Clan warrior seemed like a distant memory, like a dream that she quickly forgot after waking up.

But it wouldn't stay that way forever. Soon they would have to return and then everything would be the same again.

The face of a light brown she-cat flashed before Larkwing's inner eye and she flinched slightly. Oh Bramblepaw, I wish I knew how you were feeling right now. Are you still waiting for me? And Shadowpaw and Mistpaw, are you still listening to your mentors, even though you're already twelve moons old? And... oh Amberhaze! I miss you so much that I can hardly breathe. I just wish StarClan would send me a sign, so I know you're alive.

Something soft and warm pressed against Larkwing's flank. Shortly after, she could feel Lakepelt intertwining his tail with hers, but she didn't pay attention to it.

"You can be really scary, do you know that?" Lakepelt's voice was right next to her ear.

"Hm?" Confused, Larkwing tried to remember if Lakepelt had been talking to her, and for how long. Or had she been walking around here the whole time, not responding to anything he was trying to tell her, as if she was in another dimension right now?

Before the feeling of shame could really set in, Lakepelt added, "Did you actually scratch Sunray's eyes out?"

Larkwing stiffened. "I didn't want to. I-it just happened," she stuttered. "Don't think anything weird of me now, will you?"

"Why would I think that? I'm much more proud of you for defending yourself." Lakepelt nibbled at the base of her ear. "If anything, it wasn't enough. Look, Larky, this cat is abysmally vile. She deserves a lot worse than just being blinded."

A chill travelled down Larkwing's spine. She knew exactly what Lakepelt was getting at, and unfortunately, he was right. She shouldn't have held back. She should have killed Sunray while she still had the chance, preventing Sunray from turning the ruin cats she had manipulated into Shadowless. Then there would never be an attack and the Clan cats could have been on their way home long ago.

Maybe I should just go and look for her in the morning, Larkwing thought. At the same time, she realised that it was too dangerous for her alone, and she didn't want to get other cats involved. Besides, she couldn't just run off now that she had sworn to prepare the ruin cats for battle.

"Of course you'd say something like that. You already have four times the experience with killing," Larkwing muttered.

Suddenly Lakepelt stopped and moved in front of her. "You're not afraid of me now because of that, are you?"

Larkwing hesitated. Her first reflex was to say no. She had known Lakepelt since she was just two moons old. She had been friends with him for most of her life, and apart from her first two or three moons in RoseClan, she had never felt uncomfortable in his presence.

But times had changed. Lakepelt had changed. She simply couldn't ignore that. Still, she felt no aversion, though she should.

"I'm not." She lifted her chin, hoping her answer sounded believable.

"Good," Lakepelt purred. "You know, I would do anything to protect you. I can't lose you as well."

Lose you as well. Larkwing felt an imaginary sting dig into her heart as she realised who Lakepelt was talking about. "You still miss them, don't you?"

This time it was Lakepelt who buried his muzzle in Larkwing's fur. "Why should I be able to forget them? I can't. I've tried to get used to the fact that I'll never see them again in this life. It's never got better. It will never get better."

Larkwing felt terribly helpless. Only now did she realise how quickly she had recovered from Reedclaw's and Goldenshadows's deaths. How long it had been since she had last thought of them.

I hated Reedclaw, she remembered. She had always been mean to me. Even just moments before her cruel death, she was obnoxious. But Larkwing could never mention that to Lakepelt, even though he knew about it. This wasn't about her. A brother had lost his sister, that was tragic enough.

"I won't leave you, though," Larkwing heard herself say. Her voice sounded far too monotone. Maybe because she knew she couldn't guarantee anything. Death was always around them. One day it would snatch each of them with its talons.

Lakepelt broke away from her, but still stayed close enough that she could see the darker speckles in his eyes. "I can train you if you want," he blurted out. "I probably won't be able to stay with you the whole time, so I don't think I'd be afraid for you if I knew you weren't defenseless."

"You'd do that for me?" Larkwing curled her tail upwards in delight. It wasn't that she felt weak. She was sure she could take on any shadowless cat with a bit of luck. However, it was never wrong to brush up on her fighting skills, and training with Lakepelt automatically meant more time with him.

"Not only that," Lakepelt continued. "You think I'm going to let you handle the ruin cats' training all by yourself?" Unexpectedly, he stuck his muzzle out and pushed Larkwing back. "Don't forget that I'm a battle strategist too. There's no way you can do this alone."

Larkwing had to agree with him on that point. At that moment, she simply hadn't thought about it. Now, however, it dawned on her what a difficult task she had burdened herself with.

"All right," she meowed and wiggled her rump. "As long as I get to boss you around."

She hadn't even finished speaking when she was crushed to the ground. She wriggled around in vain, trying to pull her paws out from under her body.

Lakepelt pressed both front paws onto her head, making it unnecessary for her to move. "You want to order me around when you're so weak?" he hissed in her ear.

"That was unfair!" Larkwing complained. "I wasn't prepared for that!"

Lakepelt let go of her again and settled down next to her. "You should have been." He licked a paw and pulled it over his ear.

Awkwardly, Larkwing assumed a more comfortable position, her hind legs stretched out to one side. Always being on guard can't be the right way to live! The tip of her tail twitched tensely through the dead leaves on the ground.

Again and again she glanced hesitantly over to Lakepelt. She had to ask him now, otherwise she wouldn't be able to rest all night.

But before she could even open her mouth a tiny crack, Lakepelt paused in the middle of his washing session and sniffed at her with a strange, unclear expression. "You look even better with it than before, by the way."

At first, Larkwing just tilted her head unsuspectingly. It wasn't until a heartbeat too late that she realised what Lakepelt was talking about.

Embarrassed, she turned her face away. "You're just saying that," she fended off.

"I'm not." Lakepelt pulled himself to his paws. "We should go back now. It's already dark."

A wave of panic overcame Larkwing. She hastily jumped up and stood in his way. "Wait a bit!" she mewed, her voice involuntarily high and thin. "Can I ask you something?"

Lakepelt's eyes narrowed. "Depends on what it is."

Ignoring her suddenly racing heart, Larkwing pressed out, "What am I to you?"

Lakepelt pressed his black nose against her pale pinkish one. "You're my very best friend, Larky, that's what you are," he replied. It almost sounded like a threat, but maybe that was just because of his naturally dark voice. "I really love you and would love to spend my whole life with you. There's no other cat I feel that way about."

Larkwing breathed out in relief. Best friend. That was exactly what she wanted to hear. At the same time, that was exactly what bothered her.

"I love you too," she meowed softly. "But somehow I've been feeling lately that just being friends doesn't do my feelings justice anymore. Don't get me wrong," she added hastily. "I'm not saying that I've suddenly developed romantic feelings for you. It's just that I wish I had a better word to describe it."

So, now it's out. Ears flattened anxiously, she took a step back. She immediately felt worry gnawing at her. Maybe she was the only one who saw their bond with each other as so special that they needed their own word for it. She might mean a lot to Lakepelt, but that didn't automatically guarantee that he was of the same opinion.

"I've thought about that too," Lakepelt admitted, to which Larkwing felt as if a heavy rock had been lifted from her shoulders. "I've never understood what's so tempting about being in a relationship. I also never wished or convinced myself that I would end up like that one day. I didn't want to spend my whole life depending on another cat. It's different with you. You have so much meaning for me that I wouldn't even mind if you were something like my mate. Not in the conforming way. But in a different, special way. One that can't be described with normal words."

"In a transcendental way, you mean?" Larkwing asked. Her fur prickled with joy. What had she been worried about?

"Maybe." Lakepelt twitched an ear. "What do you think about that?"

Larkwing had to hesitate at that. She had to admit that Lakepelt had summed it up much better. There was one thing they both agreed on. Romantic feelings were out of place here. However, that didn't mean they were just friends. After everything she had heard and felt today, it almost felt like that term has lost its meaning.

"I... I think I need to think about it for a while," she finally meowed.

Lakepelt pressed his muzzle into her white chest fur. "I don't mind," he whispered dully. "The only thing that matters to me is that you feel the same way I do."