𝒟𝙰𝚁𝙺𝙴𝙽𝙴𝙳 𝒫𝚁𝙾𝙿𝙷𝙴𝙲𝚈 ─── 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯 2.

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

Mousetail sighed as she watched the dawn patrols leave from where she lay at the mouth of the nursery. She desperately wanted to be on the patrol, side by side with Skystorm, but she knew how important it was to stay in the nursery and make sure that she did as much as she could on her part of keeping the kits safe and healthy. And whether they both liked it or not, Skystorm still had to take care of the Clan and his expecting mate.

She looked up when she heard commotion outside. Her heart leaped. Owlheart and Lynxstar were at the medicine den, investigating something. But Mousetail couldn't tell what it was. A couple of the remaining cats in the Clan, which weren't too many, were murmuring curiously and trying to get a closer look at what was happening.

Mousetail heaved herself out of the nest, feeling heavy with the weight of kits, and padded toward the scene. Dovepaw was standing beside the medicine den, waiting nervously. Mousetail hurried toward her. "Dovepaw!" The white she-cat looked up quickly. "What happened?"

"Foxclaw went missing. We're not sure where he is. When Badgertooth woke up this morning, he was informed by Spottedsong that Foxclaw was gone. She said she had no idea where he went, either," Dovepaw explained quickly.

"You didn't see anything when you came back from the half-moon meeting last night?" Mousetail asked curiously.

"No. I would know because he was flirting with me the moment I came in," Dovepaw muttered under her breath. "I swear, I would have clawed his muzzle off by now to shut him up if I wouldn't get in trouble for it."

Mousetail stifled a purr of amusement. "Okay . . . was there a scent trail that you could follow?"

"I don't know! That's what they're trying to find. Anyway, on a happier note, I got my full name yesterday!" Dovepaw's eyes widened with pride. "I'm Dovesong now."

"That's great! I'm so happy for you." Mousetail touched her sister's cheek with her nose happily.

They both turned around when Lynxstar hurried out of the medicine cat den. Owlheart and Badgertooth followed close behind her. Badgertooth rushed to Dovesong. "We found no trace of where he could have gone. Spottedsong and Frozenfang have no idea where he went, and there's no sign of a struggle or scent trail. When the hunting patrol comes back, Lynxstar will send a search party," he told Dovesong. "Oh—and do you know what happened to Frozenfang?"

"Hopefully he hasn't gone too far and we can still catch him. What happened to Frozenfang?" Dovesong asked, looking alarmed.

"Her wound is gone. She says she doesn't hurt anymore, so I was wondering if you knew anything about it," Badgertooth responded.

"Oh, yeah. I knew about that. It happened before we left." Dovesong glanced around her and then continued. "She wanted me to check her wound because it hurt, and when I took the cobwebs off, there was no wound. But before I took them off, I ran my paw over the bandaged part. I'm guessing that it was my ability that I have been too scared to use."