𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧 #1: 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

Dovepaw glanced back at the camp. Badgertooth stared after her, dismay clear in his eyes. I thought maybe this would actually work out. I thought that Foxclaw would actually be honest. But now it feels like no one is on my side. How am I supposed to keep my promise to always follow this medicine cat code when I never chose to be a medicine cat? Then she realized that there was no way to maintain her relationship with Foxclaw if he was never going to be completely honest with her. So maybe Badgertooth and Tawnyflight were right. She didn't need Foxclaw.

     She caught a stray leaf under her paw and tore it up. I don't need him. I don't need anyone, she tried to convince herself. An image of Foxclaw's warm amber eyes flashed through her mind, and she felt a pang of misery, which she quickly pushed away. I don't care about him anymore.

     Dovepaw darted along the path that led deeper into the plains. More and more images flashed through her mind. No, no, no! Get out of my head! I don't need you, and that's final! She stopped, sitting down, and put her paws over her ears. Stop it!

     "Are you alright?"

     Dovepaw gasped. She turned around and didn't see anything. "Foxclaw?"

     "No." The cat sounded slightly amused.

     Dovepaw parted her jaws, searching for a scent. "WindClan! What in the name of StarClan are you doing here?"

     A small black-and-white tabby she-cat stepped onto the path, her amber eyes gleaming. They reminded Dovepaw of Foxclaw's eyes, full of warmth and promise. Dovepaw's breath caught in her throat. No! Everywhere I look, he's there. Oh, StarClan, I should have listened when I had the chance.

     "What are you so angry about?" the tabby asked.

     Dovepaw gazed at her curiously. "Why do you want to know? And why do you look so familiar?"

     "Calm down, Dovepaw. It's only me, Swallowpaw," the tabby mewed, sounding concerned. "What happened?"

     Dovepaw immediately recognized her friend. She forced her fur to lie flat. She narrowed her eyes at the WindClan she-cat. "Swallowpaw? What are you doing here on FrostClan territory?"

     "You're on the edge of the territory, and there's this neutral piece of land that goes alongside each of the Clan's territories," Swallowpaw explained. "But that's not the point. The point is, why have you not told me about this? This is important stuff, Dovepaw!"

     "W-well, Foxclaw lied to me about not lying! And he told me not to worry about it, and all this time I've been under his spell or something, because I have been too mouse-brained to realize it!" Dovepaw growled. "And his possum-face won't get out of my head! It's like he's haunting me!"

     Swallowpaw looked stunned. "Really? All of that has happened, and you didn't think to tell me?"

     Dovepaw hung her head. "I just . . . I knew that it was breaking the rules, and I thought I really loved him, so I didn't do anything. You see what I mean?"

     Swallowpaw nodded. "Yes, I understand. But really, you knew it was against the code and you didn't even think about telling anyone? This is serious stuff!"

     "I knew I would get in trouble, and a while back, I told Foxclaw—actually, I promised him—that I would do nothing to sabotage our relationship." Dovepaw hissed under her breath when she mentioned Foxclaw's name.

     "It sounds like he manipulated you, Dovepaw." Swallowpaw's voice came out as a whisper. "Why haven't you noticed?"

     "I already told you." Dovepaw's voice cracked. "Oh, Swallowpaw, I feel so fuzz-brained. It was obvious, and now . . . he's a traitor. He's hiding secrets from me, from the Clan. . . . And I can tell that they are terrible secrets."

     Swallowpaw pressed her flank into Dovepaw and didn't speak. But after a few heartbeats she meowed, "I can't stay. Fawnspots expects me to gather a bunch of herbs before sundown, which seems nearly impossible, so I'll just get on with that."

     Dovepaw nodded. "Okay. I'll see you soon," she called after the black-and-white apprentice. Now what will I do? Go back to camp, I guess. But he will be there, and I don't want to see his face again.

     Oh, fine. I guess I'll go back. There's no harm in it, I guess. Dovepaw felt a pang of guilt as Foxclaw's face flashed in her mind again. She recalled his words, It's all in your head, Dovepaw. Trust me.

     No, snap out of it, Dovepaw. You're not falling for him ever again.

     Dovepaw growled, sinking her claws into the damp earth. Then she continued along the path, this time towards the camp. She tried to push his image to the back of her mind as she thought about all the things that could go wrong. I already said that I don't need you! The fur along her spine rose. I listened to you, and look what happened!

     She paused as the camp became only a few fox-lengths away from her. No. I can't go back. I can't, I just can't.

     There was a wail of grief and terror from inside the camp. Dovepaw's heart lurched. A MoonClan attack . . . ? She limped into the camp and looked around. The entire Clan was gathered around something. The reek of death surrounded the inside of the circle.

     "What is going on?" she murmured, half to herself and half to whoever was listening. She caught Mousepaw's eye in the corner of her vision.

     "There you are, Dovepaw! I was worried . . . Also, Foxclaw seems pretty angry."

     Is he really angry, and he's not acting anymore? "Yeah, I know. And I was just taking a walk. But what's happening?"

     "I'm not entirely sure because Whitefoot won't let me see, but I think that a cat died," Mousepaw murmured. "Also, I haven't caught a whiff of MoonClan scent, so it must have been a fox or something."

     Fox. Dovepaw shuddered. What if Foxclaw had done this? What if he really was lying all along? No. That's fox dung. I'm too paranoid. "No MoonClan scent?"

     "The scent of fox dung is covering up any other scent."

     Dovepaw growled. "Let me see." She stalked into the crowd, avoiding Foxclaw's watchful eye, and joined Badgertooth. A limp shape of black-flecked white fur lay in front of him. "What in the name of . . ." She stared in shock. "Frostfeather?"

     "She's dead!" Dawnsplash wailed. "My mother, she's dead!" She pressed herself into Snowtail, who was gazing at her mother's body in shock and grief. Whitefoot was also beside Dawnsplash, comforting her with soothing words. But whatever he did didn't seem to help the distressed ginger-and-white she-cat at all.

     "Who did it?" Dovepaw asked.

     "I'm not sure. Fox dung is covering up any scent that's there. Perhaps you can try and search it out?" Badgertooth suggested. "You have a good sense of smell."

     Dovepaw nodded and began to search out other scents. There was one that hit the roof of her mouth that shocked her completely.