Chapter 15

Aspenpaw stared at the circle of DawnClan cats as they marched Fang towards her former camp. She remained in the shadows, ears pricked, eyes wary.

Brackenpaw glanced over her shoulder from where she was tailing Fang. The dark brown she-cat shot Aspenpaw a dark glare. The ginger she-cat returned the stare blankly, unsure of how to reply.

"What do we do now?"

Ebonyswoop padded up to Ravenflutter, tail twitching to and fro. Aspenpaw noticed how droopy her friend's whiskers were. Ravenflutter's pelt was scratched, and she had one paw firmly placed on Nightshade's back.

"I...don't know," Ravenflutter stared down at the limp, bleeding tom. "I'm sure this is Nightpaw; we were apprentices together."

"That changes nothing," Eagleswoop padded forward, tail held high. "If either of you she-cats care about bringing back the light, before this foxdunged cold gets us, you'll follow Sparrowstar's orders. Drag him to camp."

Ravenflutter remained where she was. Her beautiful amber eyes flashed, and her tail lashed across the earth. Eagleswoop whirled around, and before Ravenflutter could leap away, he slashed a paw across her left ear.

He had cut half of it clean off.

Blood began to pour down openly from the wound. Crimson stained her black face red. Stringstrike gasped in disgust. Ebonywing let out a wail as she sprinted towards Ravenfluter. The black she-cat lowered her gaze, turning to grasp Nightshade's scruff in her jaws.

"Don't questions orders," Eagleswoop spat at the bleeding she-cat.

He turned to address the remainder of the cats. "If we're going to survive this, we're going to need to be stronger warriors. That means not questioning Sparrowstar. He has StarClans wishes to lead us to safety."

"Foxheart," Stringstrike breathed under his breath.

Eagleswoop twitched his ears in the direction of the warrior. "If any warrior, Senior or not, questions his judgement, they'll get a little ear clipping too."

He turned to Ravenflutter, who had nearly dragged Nightshade to the camp barrier. She left trickles of blood in her pawsteps. Ebonywing was beside her clanmate, murmuring reassurance in her ear.

"R-ravenflutter," Eagleswoop called.

The black she-cat whirled to face him. Her jawline was held tight. "Yes?" was her reply.

"I think a couple of moons in the apprentice's den ought to even you out. Last piece of the freshkill pile too. We don't like cats who act like rogues." He shifted his gaze to Ridgepaw, who was helping to hold Haze down.

"Ridgepaw has been loyal," Eagleswoop remarked. "I think we'll make an example of him."

Aspenpaw's foster brother glanced up from where he had been holding Haze down. To her horror, his eyes gleamed with excitement as he gazed up at Eagleswoop. The tom purred.

"Full medicine cat name for you today, Ridgepaw. Perhaps we should think about making you the senior medicine cat of DawnClan too."

"Really?!"

Eagleswoop nodded sagely. "You've been so very helpful with Sparrowstar's transition. StarClan speaks quite strongly with you. Poor Breezefern has such a weak connection that she thought Blazestar was still alive."

Aspenpaw waited for some cat to retort, but instead, all of them bowed their heads, eyes raw with grief.

"Those rogues were truly heartless," Eagleswoop remarked.

"I hope his spirit watches over us," Elmspot added.

"We'll make him proud. We'll honour his final wish to make DawnClan the strongest clan in the forest," Ridgepaw concluded.

Aspenpaw didn't want to see anymore, but she couldn't stop watching. Her heart ached with grief. She was their enemy now. She no longer had a home, and she was the reason why all this was happening.

"Hold on!" Stringstrike said suddenly. He flashed a glare towards Eagleswoop. "Where's Aspenpaw? I thought you said you had her!"

"She's..." Eagleswoop paused. "She was lying to all of us. She's the reason the sky," he gestured above, "is the way it is. The shadowed dawn."

"So, where is she?"

Eagleswoop jumped when Stringstrike growled at him. He blinked, glancing around in confusion.

Aspenpaw's heart was pounding in her chest. For the first time in her life, she clung to the shadows, desperate for them to conceal her from her enemies. She kept her tail still, while all her body ached to run.

StarClan, who even am I anymore? While the DawnClan warriors all watched Eagleswoop search for her, Aspenpaw felt like wailing. She didn't understand who she was anymore. This should have been her, the cat at Eagleswoop's side, rooting out the enemy.

Part of her wanted to run to him, to beg like a kit, for her old position back.

But she knew deep down that DawnClan was no longer her home. Even if they wanted her back, she could never return, not after this.

"She's disappeared," Eagleswoop remarked. "Unsurprising, considering her monstrous powers." He jerked a paw towards Haze. "Let's get this rogue to camp; maybe she'll answer our questions."

Haze remained silent. She struggled to get to her paws, swaying slightly. The leaf poultice had nearly fallen off of her face, revealing raw scratch marks underneath. Aspenpaw turned, expecting to see Ridgepaw bolting away to get herbs, but instead her brother urged her onward, not meeting Haze's gaze.

"Go hunt, patrol, or whatever," Eagleswoop added, blinking uncertainly.

I'd rather have an actual eagle as a deputy than that birdbrain, Aspenpaw thought as Eagleswoop awkwardly shuffled back towards DawnClan camp. StarClan knows how he managed to become one.

She remembered a dream, one where she was deputy under Blazestar. Her pelt had gleamed in the sunlight as she addressed her clanmates, ordering patrols together with all the efficiency and tolerance a good deputy would have.

But that's not me anymore, Aspenpaw stared into the long shadows across the forest floor. Do I even deserve to be called Aspenpaw?

Another thought struck her.

Do I even want that name?

Lightsong had given it to her, perhaps to pay homage to Duskstar's warrior name. But Aspenpaw didn't even look anything like an aspen tree. She was a fluffy, muscular ginger tabby, not a scrawny white and black apprentice.

"Alright, why are you still here?"

Aspenpaw whirled around, her thoughts all evaporating when she turned to see Brackenpaw staring straight at her.

"What are you doing here?" Aspenpaw shot back.

For a moment, Brackenpaw looked like she wanted to retort that she lived here, then, a change fell across her expression. When she gazed up at Aspenpaw, she suddenly looked vulnerable.

"Look," she began. "I know we don't see eye to eye, but I also know that you're one of the few trustworthy cats still around."

"How come?" Aspenpaw narrowed her eyes.

Brackenpaw stared at her. "You have no one to tell this secret to," she replied shamelessly.

"What?"

Brackenpaw sighed. "Asp, Eagleswoop is working to destroy all the clans. Sparrow's trying to take control of all the clans. Everything in DawnClan is degrading day by day. And I don't know what to do."

Aspenpaw's ears perked up. "Eagleswoop's doing what now?"

She expected Brackenpaw to snap at her, but instead, the brown she-cat sat down. "He's my mentor," she replied. "And I've finally gotten his trust. We're going on missions with other clan cats. Secretive missions Deadly missions."

"Deadly?" Aspenpaw blinked. Yeah right, like Bracken's doing anything that dea-

"Attacking and rooting out the weaknesses in rogues. We're trying to control them completely and entirely. By night, I try to catch strays alongside a few other young warriors from other clans. Then we send them over to her."

Aspenpaw stared at Brackenpaw in shock. She didn't believe this. She wouldn't believe this. Brackenpaw was just trying to get to her. Eagleswoop was nothing but a mousebrained coward. There was no way to control rogues.

And yet... I keep having these visions, I shot darkness out of my paws, and now the sky above clan territories is literally a black mist.

All Aspenpaw could say was; "why?"

"Because I'm not like you," Brackenpaw replied quietly, not meeting her gaze. "Not brave enough to stand up and speak out. I'm trying to understand what they're doing, but there are no cats I can trust."

"But you trust me?" Aspenpaw cocked her head to one side. "Isn't the whole part of our relationship that we like don't like each other?"

Brackenpaw nearly laughed.

"Pretty sure it's not," she said, finally meeting Aspenpaw's gaze. "I'm pretty sure we're just..."

Her voice trailed away, but Aspenpaw finished the thought. "Young and jealous."

Brackenpaw grinned weakly. "Yep. But Eagle's making Ridgepaw and I warriors tomorrow."

"What about Nutpaw?" Aspenpaw asked, eager for more information in spite of the grim state of things.

She remembered how much she had loved the little brown tom as a kit. He had had such a lovely sense of humour, and his eyes had always danced whenever she spoke to him. She couldn't believe she would ever fall for Eagleswoop and Sparrowtalon's lies.

Brackenpaw winced. "You know how my brother is," she replied softly. "Kind, loyal, friendly. I finally told him the truth, but Eagle must have heard, because the next day..."

Aspenpaw stared into Brackenpaw's eyes, and saw millions of unspoken emotion whirling in them. Nutpaw had been taken. Brackenpaw looked as though she was ready for Aspenpaw to yowl at her. Aspenpaw bunched her muscles.

Then, as fast as she could, she burst towards Brackenpaw, and embraced her.

There were no words for what the two she-cats experienced at that moment. When at last they broke away, Brackenpaw's eyes were gleaming, and there was resolve in her gaze. A heartbeat later, another voice broke into the conversation.

"Aspenpaw! I was worried something had happened to you!"

Fang was sprinting forward, out of the thorn tunnel. Brackenpaw let out a hiss, leaping away from him, while Aspenpaw let out a faint purr. The tom's eyes glittered with worry as he turned to gaze up at her.

"Sorry, Fang," Aspenpaw dipped her head, and flicked his tail across his shoulder. "I shouldn't have fled. It wasn't fair of me."

Fang nodded, blinking at her kindly. "I understand," he meowed softly. Then, he meowed distractedly. "I convinced the Sparrow-cat that we're worth keeping around. That way maybe we can do some spying, and get some information."

"You're a pretty good talker," Brackenpaw commented. "Sparrowstar doesn't usually relent."

Fang blinked at her. "It was you!" he exclaimed. "You were the one listening to our conversation."

Brackenpaw nodded slowly. "You're observant too."

Fang looked up at Aspenpaw, the mist overhead making his lilac eyes seem oddly bright. "What are you going to do?"

I don't know... Aspenpaw stared up into the bleak sky, wishing for just a moment that she was back in DawnClan with a decisive leader to decide the path her paws should follow.

"I don't think I should stay here, so maybe...the sunpool?" Aspenpaw flicked her tail. "Maybe StarClan will know what to do. Then, I could go to ValleyClan? We could find allies. I'm not gonna abandon the clans!" Not like my parents...

"Smart," Brackenpaw nodded. "But you'll need an alias."

"A...what now?"

Brackenpaw rolled her eyes. "Hazelsong knows he's looking for an 'Aspenpaw,' but I don't think he knows exactly what you look like. You'll need a fake name."

Aspenpaw tried to hide her excitement at the thought of trying a new name. Maybe she could pick one that better matched her personality?

"You could pretend to be a kittypet," Fang offered. "Their names are different...you could be...Penny?"

"Penny," Aspenpaw scoffed. "How would you like to be called 'Fangy.'"

Fang grinned. "Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Maybe I should change my name to Fangy. Great idea, Pe-"

"How about you think on it?" Brackenpaw offered. "Picking the right name can be difficult. Take you time."

Aspenpaw nodded. "I think I'll take a rogue name, less conspicuous that way."

An unreadable expression flashed across Brackenpaw's face, but the young DawnClan apprentice nodded. Fang had fluffed up his pelt.

"I should get back," he turned to Aspenpaw. "How about we meet in, say, a half moon?"

Aspenpaw nodded. Instinctively, she glanced up at the sky, but the moon was nowhere in sight. She shook out her pelt uncomfortably, before turning back to Brackenpaw and Fang.

The two cats she had thought would be her sole enemies... now the only two cats she could trust.

Aspenpaw lifted her chin. "I'll see you soon. Good luck to you both."

Then, she turned, and padded into the shadows.