𝒯𝙷𝙰𝚆𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝐹𝚁𝙾𝚂𝚃 ─── 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯 3.

『 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟶 』

THIS ISN'T FAIR, Dovesong thought when she was trapped in another, tougher den that was blocked off with a pile of boulders. She knew no one would find her now. Even though that's what she thought last time, the thought seemed more accurate now. How in StarClan was she going to get out of this one? She didn't have anyone else here with her to help her escape. No one knew she was here. At least, not that she knew of.

And now that she saw what Cypressstar would do if she refused to do anything, she was even more terrified. As much as she wanted to see all of the cats she lost again, she wasn't ready to die just yet.

She was just curling up in her nest and, surprisingly, drifting off, when she heard an angry yowl outside of the den. She rushed to the den entrance, where only faint moonbeams shone through the darkness. She strained to hear what was happening, but heard nothing. She opened her mouth to search for different scents, and found countless FrostClan scents drifting into the den. But they were too vague to tell who it was and where they were.

So they did know she was here! And it seemed like they were going to get her out!

But even though Dovesong's spirits lifted miraculously, she knew that this escape attempt was going to end as a battle, and someone was going to be hurt, if not killed. A shiver ran down Dovesong's spine at the very thought.

"Dovesong!"

Dovesong's heart lurched at the sound of a hiss. She looked around but saw nothing. "Who's there?" she asked cautiously.

It sounded like there were two cats outside of the den because two cats exchanged words before the first cat answered. "It's us, Gorseberry and Spottedsong! We're going to get you out of there!"

How? Dovesong didn't want to say the question out loud; she knew that the MoonClan cats would sabotage the plan if they heard. And knowing Spottedsong, she probably knew what she was doing. "Okay." Dovesong couldn't stop her voice from trembling. She fell silent and shrank back into her nest. A whirlwind of doubts came to her. She knew that this would probably fail. Or it would be like last time, which was even worse than the plan failing overall.

She couldn't stop terrible memories from flashing in her mind. Memories of the battle a near half-moon ago. Images of Foxclaw's battered body at her paws, while she struggled to keep him alive. Memories of her hesitation and inexperience that had gotten Foxclaw killed. She desperately didn't want that to happen again.

Then a boulder shifted behind her and fell. She let out a silent yelp of alarm and jumped away, flicking her tail from where it lay, and where the boulder landed heartbeats after. She coughed as dust billowed in her face. She blinked dust from her eyes and looked toward where the boulder fell. "Spottedsong?"

The tortoiseshell she-cat looked overjoyed. "Sorry about that," she apologized. "I'll try to get the other rocks." She disappeared behind the wall of stacked boulders. Dovesong heard her grunting in effort as she pushed. Gorseberry joined her and together they pushed another rock out of the way. "Can you squeeze out?" Spottedsong asked, careful not to alert the MoonClan cats across the clearing.

Dovesong narrowed her eyes at the boulders. It was small enough for a kit or young apprentice to go through, but definitely not herself. "I don't think so. One more should do the trick. I can help push them." She stepped forward to push on the boulders. They were already loose because the other two were gone, so it wasn't hard to push them away. Soon Dovesong was able to slip through the gap.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Spottedsong whispered. "Let's get out of here-"

Gorseberry let out a yelp of alarm. Dovesong noticed Ivyspring behind them, who had been stalking in the shadows, but a snapped twig betrayed her presence. The cream-and-brown she-cat leaped at Spottedsong immediately, but Gorseberry countered, shielding Spottedsong and raking his claws over Ivyspring's muzzle so that she leaped back with a yowl.

"We have to get out of here!" Spottedsong gasped.

Dovesong nodded quickly, too scared to speak, and followed Spottedsong as she raced out of the camp. They dove into the bushes outside of camp. "Where's Gorseberry?" Dovesong asked worriedly.

Spottedsong, too, seemed to notice just that moment. "I-I don't know. I can go check." She slipped out of the bushes and ran into the camp again. Dovesong watched as she left, holding her breath. It was so quiet she could nearly hear her own quick heartbeat.

Please, StarClan, don't let him get hurt, she prayed. Don't let anyone get hurt. She stared at the camp's hollow with wide, expectant eyes. For a long time, there was nothing. There probably was sound coming from the camp. But it was either too muffled by the undergrowth or her whirling thoughts prevented her from hearing anything.

Then Spottedsong emerged, with Rosefeather by her side. Gorseberry was with them, though he mostly relied on them to get him anywhere. There was a deep gash in his throat, and another shallower gash in his leg. Dovesong rushed toward them.

"Do what you can," Spottedsong told her in a panicked voice. Dovesong thought she never heard Spottedsong be so distressed over another cat. "Please. We need to get out of here quick."

The other FrostClan cats came after her. They huddled around Gorseberry, Spottedsong, and Dovesong while Dovesong healed Gorseberry. "There'll be no more bleeding, at least," she informed them when she finished. "But the damage inside will need time to heal."

Spottedsong helped Gorseberry back up and let him lean on her. "Let's get out of here now."

"Where do you think you're going?" a voice behind them demanded. They all whirled around immediately to see Cypressstar, his deputy, Nightclaw, and Sparrowfeather. Dovesong saw Rosefeather and Sparrowfeather look at each other for a long time, their gazes neutral and showing no more affection for each other, just misery from Rosefeather and regret from Sparrowfeather. "You didn't think you would get away with this, did you?" Cypressstar asked.

Cold fear washed over Dovesong as fur bristled, ears flattened, lips drew back in hisses and snarls, and claws slid from their sheaths. Only Lynxstar remained calm. "You can let us leave or end this with even more bloodshed. You always knew this was never the right thing."

There was something else behind her words that made Dovesong wonder. What did she mean by 'You always knew this was never the right thing'?

Cypressstar flattened his ears and hissed as a warning to back off. "It may not be the right thing in your eyes, but it is in mine. Now give my prisoner back and no one gets hurt."

"My cats have already been hurt," Lynxstar responded in an incredibly calm voice. "But you see how we always come back. You know your efforts have never succeeded. You know hatred will never win us over."

Cypressstar held her gaze for a long time. "My efforts won't fail in the end, you'll see." He turned back to his Clanmates and flicked his tail. "Let's go back." And they left without a single protest. What Lynxstar said must have been a sensitive subject for Cypressstar because Dovesong knew that he wasn't the kind of cat who would back down that easily.

It made Dovesong immensely curious.

The FrostClan cats began to go back to camp. Lynxstar fell into step beside Dovesong. She touched her daughter's cheek with her muzzle. "I hope he wasn't much trouble?" she asked.

Dovesong returned her gaze warily. "The exact opposite, actually."

Lynxstar's gaze darkened. "What happened?"

"He interrogated me. But we can talk about that when we're in camp," Dovesong told her.

"Sure. I understand you must be tired," Lynxstar sympathized.

Dovesong nodded distractedly. She was caught up in her own relief knowing that the escape could have been much, much worse. Thank you, StarClan, for protecting us.