Unfamiliar scents wafted around Heatherpaw. She murmured and slowly blinked her eyes open, expecting to find herself in the apprentices' den. Instead, she quickly rose to her paws when she saw herself out in the open. Whipping her head around, Heatherpaw saw she had been sleeping in the snow, a dent in the white frosty ground where she had previously woken from underneath her. She was on a mountaintop, but she couldn't pick up even the faintest trail back to camp.

Worried, Heatherpaw padded up to the edge of the cliff, hoping to find any familiar landmarks she could use to lead her back home. What she saw instead took the apprentice's breath away. Down below the mountain stood a large forest, the trees topped with beautiful leaves. Beyond it Heatherpaw could see a large field with tiny colorful specks where flowers grew, and on the other side of it was a bare plain with very little trees and many rocks jutting out from the ground. On one side of the forest was rather large lake, and the other side was practically right next to the base of the mountain.

What was most confusing was each area of the large land looked vastly different. The forest by the mountain held beautiful leaves of red, orange, yellow, and brown, while the leaves on the other half of the trees by the lake were lush and green. The field was dappled, almost crowded, by the colorful flowers and the bare plain was blanketed with snow and ice.

Somehow, this mysterious land was simultaneously going through all four seasons: leaf-fall, greenleaf, newleaf, and leaf-bare, respectively.

Heatherpaw continued to stare out from the mountaintop in awe, her mouth gaping and her eyes wide. How was an impossible phenomenon like this even possible? How could one piece of land undergo all four seasons all at once? Surely if parts of the forest were colored with gradually dying leaves, the other half would be doing the same, or the frost of the snowy plain would've frostbitten and killed the floral moor right next to it.

Without much thought, Heatherpaw took one step forward, then another, and before long she broke into a run down the mountainside. She couldn't explain it, but she found she was somehow drawn to this unique land. Her paws itched with the need to explore and try to make sense as to why four seasons were occurring all at once here.

Despite being so high up on the mountain, it didn't take Heatherpaw long at all to reach the bottom. She stared up into the colorful trees, standing in the leaf-fall section of the territory. Dead and decaying leaves crunched beneath her paws as she padded through.

She skirted through the trees towards the leaf-bare plain. The fallen leaves and snowy blanket seemed to make an abrupt border between forest and moor, too even and neat to be natural. She padded into the snow and made her way to a large clearing. Beyond the supernatural territory stood a large wooden den, the roof and walls broken down. She came to the conclusion that it was an abandoned Twoleg nest. Tilting her head to the side, she contemplated exploring the old den or venturing into the flowery field instead.

Before Heatherpaw could make a decision, the sky darkened rapidly, and she looked up to see the once clear blue sky was suddenly hidden by thick storm clouds. Lightning crackled up above, illuminating everything around her, and before long it began to rain.

Heatherpaw wrinkled her nose and gagged at the foul, sour scent the rain carried. It didn't smell even close to normal sky water. She felt her fur sag and mat to her skin, heavy and thick, and the strange rain felt unnaturally warm.

Confusion and fear tightened Heatherpaw's throat as she struggled to breathe through the sickening stench, and she saw the sticky water began to pool underneath her, making it impossible to lift up her paws and walk through. It wasn't even the same color as regular water. Instead, it was dark and red.

With a sense of dread, Heatherpaw concluded that the sky wasn't raining water. It was raining blood.

The apprentice panted heavily as the river of blood grew thicker and deeper, beginning to swamp and soak through her legs. She gagged at the horrible stench and struggled to swim through the thick substance, but it seemed her paws had sunken underneath the earth itself, making it impossible to maneuver through to safety.

A sudden screech in the distance harshly startled Heatherpaw, and her breath quickened as more and more yowls and wails began to sound all around her, ringing through the air and seeming to echo and bounce off each other until they grew too loud for her to handle much longer.

Through the darkness of the blackened storm clouds and bloody rain, two bright yellow eyes slid open and stared through, piercing Heatherpaw and chilling her to her very core. She heavily trembled as if very cold despite the disgusting warmth of the blood seeming to drag her down into the ever-growing river that had now risen up to her chest. The eyes were expressionless as they stared, but Heatherpaw still couldn't shake a sense of foreboding.

All of a sudden, a black shape launched out from the darkness at Heatherpaw, its eyes gleaming with hatred, and Heatherpaw let out a strangled cry as she felt horrible pressure against her throat where sharp teeth met blood-soaked fur and flesh.

She thrashed aimlessly as she struggled to gasp in air, her eyes shutting tight when all she could take into her lungs was the rancid stench of blood, and with a wail her eyes flung open again, wide with fear.

Heatherpaw rapidly sat up, gasping and coughing and trembling all over, her fur fluffed out in terror. It took her several moments for her new location to finally register. She was sitting in a nest lined with moss in the apprentices' den. Shinepaw and Lizardpaw slept in their own nests next to hers, and one of Lizardpaw's hind legs was sticking out into Heatherpaw's nest. His paw must have pressed against her throat in his sleep.

Oh, thank StarClan, it was all just a dream, she thought, feeling weak with relief. The dream felt so vivid and real, and the horrid stench of blood was still caught in her nose, which sent a chill down her spine. Did the dream even have any meaning to it? What could it ever mean if it did?

"Heatherpaw!" A meow from outside the den jolted Heatherpaw out of her thoughts, and she let out a yelp as she stared at the mouth of the cave. She saw her mentor Bluestorm blinking at her.

Oh, no! Did I oversleep? Oh, he must be so mad! Fear shot through her once again as she scrambled to her feet and nearly tripped over Lizardpaw's leg to run outside. Specks of moss still clung to her pelt.

"Hey, uh, you okay there, kit?" Bluestorm asked, his one good eye wide with concern. "You look as if you've just seen a ghost."

Heatherpaw looked up at her mentor in clouded confusion. Wasn't Bluestorm mad at her for oversleeping? The events from the night before rushed back to her just then. She had saved Bluestorm from losing his very first - and quite possibly his last - apprentice when she confronted the Clan deputy Sharpstrike, and now she and her mentor were on far better terms.

The apprentice shook out her fur, the moss flying off her side. She gave her chest a few licks to flatten her fur. "S-Sorry. I had a bad dream, that's all."

"It happens to all of us," Bluestorm empathized. He slid his tail comforting down Heatherpaw's spine, flattening her fur back down. "Perhaps a good ol' hunting patrol will take your mind off it."

That's right! The hunting patrol! Bluestorm had promised to take her out on her very first hunting patrol and properly teach her how to hunt and catch prey. Her dream immediately forgotten, Heatherpaw gave herself another quick shake and bounded down the ledges to the cave floor. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Bluestorm walked down after his apprentice as Sharpstrike approached the apprentices' den. She gave a nod of greeting to the already awoken apprentice and her mentor. "You two are joining the hunting patrol this morning, right?"

"That's right, and I'm so excited to finally learn how to properly hunt," Heatherpaw replied enthusiastically.

"Well, better late than never I suppose," the deputy grunted with a rather harsh glare at Bluestorm as she passed. The tom's shoulders and tail drooped.

Frowning, Heatherpaw walked up to her mentor and placed her nose on his shoulder respectively. "Hey, don't worry. Sharpstrike won't be angry forever."

"I suppose you're right. It's just, I still feel awful about the way I treated you," Bluestorm sighed heavily. "I'll still do my very best to make up for my past mistakes. I just hope it isn't too late."

"Of course it isn't," Heatherpaw reassured with a soft purr. "You still have plenty of time to teach me all I need to know to become a true EarthClan warrior."

Little rocks crumbled loose and tumbled down the wall of the camp as Sharpstrike climbed back down with Shinepaw behind her, who was still yawning from being just woken up. Heatherpaw purred her empathy to her denmate; now that the events of the dream were wearing off, she was beginning to feel tired and sleepy herself. She yawned as she followed her mentor out of camp.

The open world was chilling and piercing Heatherpaw's skin through her short fur, and she shivered. She tried not to show too much discomfort, however, as Webpounce had also joined the patrol, and she knew that she and Flashfall still felt indifferently about her.

After traveling several tail-lengths down the mountain, Sharpstrike halted and rose her tail to get every cat's attention. She turned to Heatherpaw and Shinepaw. "This is a good place to begin your practice scenting prey. Can you detect anything?"

"She wouldn't be able to make out the scent of mouse bile if it were plastered to her nose," Webpounce taunted, her whiskers twitching in crude amusement.

Both Heatherpaw and Sharpstrike opened their mouths to retort, but to everyone's surprise it was Bluestorm who spoke first. "Heatherpaw's nose is just as strong as any other cat's. You'd better think twice next time before insulting my apprentice, or you'll be sorry."

Heatherpaw saw shock shining in the warrior's eyes as the cat who once shared her opinion on the sandy-colored she-cat was now the first cat to defend her. Heatherpaw herself was just as surprised, but not at all disappointed.

Satisfied, Bluestorm looked back to Heatherpaw and gave her an encouraging nod. "Go on. What can you smell?"

Blinking gratefully, Heatherpaw joined Shinepaw in closing her eyes and parting her mouth to drink in the frosty scents around her. Unfortunately, that was all she could detect. She gave Bluestorm an apologetic look. "I can't smell anything." She glared at Webpounce when she snorted and sneered at her.

Sharpstrike tasted the air as well and nodded. "She's right. Stop looking at her like that, Webpounce. Let's continue further down and see if we can find anything there."

Webpounce gave a grumpy twitch of her tail and followed the deputy, Bluestorm and the apprentices not too far behind.

After a few moments of walking and occasionally pausing to smell the air, Heatherpaw finally detected a scent that stood out like a cherry blossom in a mud puddle. "Mouse!"

Bluestorm stopped to scent the air and nodded approvingly. "Good job, Heatherpaw." He turned his head to look at small patch of grass growing through the cracks in the ground, and a tiny furry body was seen nibbling at the stalks. "See if you can catch it."

"We'll go on up ahead and see if we can find anything else," Sharpstrike meowed softly before she, Shinepaw, and Webpounce slipped away.

Heatherpaw nodded eagerly and dropped into a hunter's crouch. She slipped through the snow as slowly as she could, but all of a sudden the mouse whipped its head up and stared directly at her. With a squeal, it dived into a tiny burrow in the snow.

Heatherpaw, panicked, pounced at it, but she was too late. The mouse had disappeared, and all she was able to achieve was getting snow all over her fur. "Mouse dung," she cursed with a lash of her tail. She looked up nervously at her mentor, expecting to see him glaring at her disapprovingly.

To her relief - and embarrassment - his good eye glistened with amusement. "I don't recall covering oneself in snow to be a very crafty hunting tactic."

Heatherpaw shook out her fur, sending snow flying everywhere. She stared down at her paws in disappointment. "I don't understand. I made sure I stayed downwind of it."

"Yes, but how lightly did you put down your paws?"

Heatherpaw blinked in confusion. "Huh? Uh, I wasn't really paying attention."

Bluestorm sighed in disappointment and shook his head. At first the apprentice was afraid she had truly done something wrong, but she was proven wrong when he heard himself mutter, "I should've taught her this by now. Bluestorm, you're a terrible mentor."

Heatherpaw tried to find the words she wanted to say, but she didn't get the chance as her mentor approached her, blinking patiently. "You see, different prey detect different things when we stalk. While rabbits depend on smell and sound, mice depend on the ground beneath them. They'll be able to feel a cat approaching before they ever smell him."

Heatherpaw blinked in amazement. "So when I hunt mice, I need to be sure to step as lightly as I can?"

"That's right," he nodded. "And try to control your breathing and heart rate as well. An excited warrior will most likely miss his prey because they'll detect heavy breathing or rapid heart pulses."

Heatherpaw nodded in understanding. "I get it. I'll be sure to be more careful and aware next time I find a mouse."

"For the time being, why don't you go ahead and perfect that crouch of yours?" Bluestorm meowed before his apprentice could wander off.

The sandy-colored apprentice obeyed, crouching down low to the snow-covered stone, lifting her belly and tail up from the snow so they wouldn't drag.

"Lower your tail a little, it doesn't need to be that high up above the ground," Bluestorm instructed. "Keep your senses sharp. Concentrate on more than just the prey you're hunting. Focus on your movement and breathing and everything around you. You never know, there may be a fox or dog or enemy cat lurking by."

Heatherpaw narrowed her eyes in concentration as she stared at a small stone laying in the snow a few tail-lengths away. She crept slowly towards it, keeping her ears pricked. They tilted towards the stone, but she was also careful to focus on the sounds around her.

All of a sudden, she heard the snow next to her ruffle, and she was able to leap back just in time to see Bluestorm had suddenly charged at her, swiping out a sheathed paw at her muzzle, missing her nose by a whisker. She stared wide-eyed at him, still shaken by the massive startle, and she narrowed her eyes grouchily at him when his whiskers began to twitch with laughter.

"Hey, good job keeping your senses alert, kit," he purred. "Alright, go ahead and finish stalking that stone over there."

The apprentice took a few moments to slow her rapidly beating heart with deep breaths. She lowered herself back down and resumed stalking. Satisfied with the distance she had made between herself and the stone, she waggled her haunches before pouncing at it, scooping the stone up in her paw and flinging it high into the air. It landed with a muffled thump in the snow, and Heatherpaw quickly lashed out a paw to pin it as she bent down to give it a quick nip.

"Very good!" Bluestorm praised with a pleased swish of his tail. "That was very good what you did, flicking the stone into the air. That would have stunned a mouse or shrew long enough for you to deal the killing blow."

Heatherpaw dropped the stone back into the snow and purred sheepishly. She felt a thrill of joy build up within her at her mentor's feedback and critiques. He's like a completely different cat, and I'm not at all disappointed.

"Now," Bluestorm meowed, lowering a paw to the stone. "Pretend your prey is heading towards the stream. Find a way to stop it before it can reach the water." With a hard thwack, he knocked his paw into the rock and sent it hurtling downhill towards the stream below.

Immediately Heatherpaw broke into a sprint down the mountain. She pushed her paws hard against the large stones underneath the snow, but she found she still wasn't going to be able to reach the stone before it reached the stream. Snow, that's it! She leaped up high into the air and angled her paws in a way that when she landed, she would be able to loosen up the snow on the ground and send it flying towards the stone. As expected, the white clumps of frost showered over and buried the stone, stopping it in its tracks. Heatherpaw was able to stride the rest of the way down to it and dug it out with her muzzle. She panted heavily as she turned back to her mentor, who bounded down to her, her face covered with snow.

Bluestorm's eyes shone with surprise and delight, clearly impressed. "I never thought of using the snow to bury the prey to buy myself more time to catch up to it! That was very clever, Heatherpaw." He let out a sudden loud mrrow of laughter. "Your face is so white! You look almost just like Redheart!"

Heatherpaw purred with laughter and she shook the snow off her face, dropping the stone back down. The purr quickly ceased as she recalled her mentor's quarrel with his brother. Since he was much kinder and more understanding now, she figured perhaps it wouldn't hurt to ask. "Bluestorm, could I ask you something?"

"What's up, kit?"

"I was just wondering... Why are you and Redheart so distant from each other?"

The laughter in Bluestorm's good eye died, and his gaze became expressionless, probably so that his apprentice couldn't try to guess what he was feeling. Before she could thoroughly search, he gave a nonchalant shrug. "I guess over the years he and I lost touch."

Heatherpaw narrowed her eyes at the tom. "Are you sure that's the case? I don't know if you two would be fighting this much if it were just that."

"Well, cats change as they grow up. It doesn't matter anyway, we're supposed to be hunting." Bluestorm bounded off, looking over his shoulder to call out to her. "Come on, let's see if we can find another rabbit."

Heatherpaw reluctantly followed, keeping up the pace to ensure she wouldn't fall behind. But she was only half-focused on the hunt. She knew there was more to Bluestorm's and Redheart's falling out than just simply losing touch - they lived together in the same camp and slept in the same den! With StarClan as her witness, she was going to find out what caused the two brothers to drift apart if it was the last thing she would do as a cat of EarthClan.

By the time the hunting patrol returned to camp, Heatherpaw had made up for her loss with a new mouse she expertly caught, the limp warm body dangling from her jaws. Considering it was still the middle of leaf-bare, the patrol hadn't caught much, Webpounce clutching a shrew and Bluestorm carrying a scrawny snow hare.

The cats deposited their catch on the miserably low fresh-kill pile, but Heatherpaw kept her mouse. She placed it down so she could speak without muffling through brown fur. "Bluestorm, could I bring this to Dewcloud?"

Bluestorm nodded approvingly. "Good idea. Then you can bring this snow hare to the elders." He gave a frustrated twitch of his tail as he stared down at the snow hare and shrew. "I'll ask Sharpstrike if I can join another hunting patrol later on. The Clan needs much more than this."

Heatherpaw picked the mouse back up and padded across the clearing to the medicine den. While she did want to bring the medicine cat something to eat, she also wanted to ask her a question. She had recalled Shellpelt and Darkflame mentioning the medicine cat before her, Blackheart, and how his sudden disappearance had caused Bluestorm and Redheart to drift apart. She knew that Blackheart's successor just may have the answers she sought.

She mewed into the cave before inviting herself in, and she blinked in alarm to find Lizardpaw lying shivering in a mossy nest. His short tabby fur was plastered to his skin.

"What happened?" Heatherpaw asked, approaching her denmate and grooming his ears, hoping to warm him up a little.

"I was chasing a water vole along the stream bank and lost my balance over the edge," the three-legged apprentice replied, purring his gratitude to Heatherpaw. "I lost the vole and fell into the stream."

Heatherpaw could tell he was trying to fluff up his fur to protect himself from the cold, and she murmured her sympathy. "I remember the first time I fell into the stream. It's no fun. But I'm sure Dewcloud will be able to help you get better."

"The w-water's easy, he just n-needs to dry off," Dewcloud meowed as she approached the soaked cat, carrying large, fuzzy leaves in her mouth. She placed the herbs down on the floor. "The real problem is p-preventing fever."

"Didn't you use feverfew for Fireleap when he hit his head a while back?"

"I used the last of it for Shellpelt's m-migraine two days ago." Dewcloud sighed. "I w-wish we had better a-access to herbs up here."

"I'm sorry, Dewcloud, I didn't mean to fall in the stream," Lizardpaw apologized shamefully, staring down at his forepaw.

Dewcloud purred softly and gave his forehead a reassuring lick. "Don't worry, it h-happens to all of us. Now, g-go ahead and eat these h-here." She pushed the leaves up to the apprentice. "These are lamb's ears. They m-may not prevent fever in the s-same way feverfew can, but they'll give you s-strength to fight it off if it sneaks up on y-you."

Lizardpaw obediently licked the leaves up and chewed, screwing up his face in disgust. "Oh, gross! This is horrible!"

"If I had any access to proper s-soil, I would make herbworm out of these leaves to make it t-tastier. Well, I've n-never tried it myself, but my former m-mentor told me it tastes better than p-plain herbs."

"That's actually what I want to talk to you about, Dewcloud," Heatherpaw suddenly meowed, catching the medicine cat by surprise. Embarrassed by her outburst, she gently pushed the mouse forward with a par. "Um, I also brought you something to eat."

"Let me finish up with Lizardpaw, th-then we can talk." Dewcloud turned her attention back to the soaked apprentice and began pawing moss over his back to warm him up. Once she finished, she nodded to Dewcloud and walked to the back of the cave where her own mossy nest lay. Heatherpaw followed with the mouse.

"Now, then," Dewcloud mewed, sitting down in her nest and accepting the mouse. She took a large bite out of it and swallowed it after chewing. "You said you w-want to ask me something about my mentor?"

"Yes," the apprentice nodded. "The elders told me how Bluestorm and Redheart were friends until your mentor disappeared out of nowhere. Do you know what happened, or where he went?"

Dewcloud softly sighed and gulped down another mouthful of mouse. "Unfortunately, I d-don't know where he went or why. All I kn-know is he left as soon as I f-finished my training and earned my m-medicine cat name. Blackheart - that was his name - was a very talented medicine cat and l-loved him all of his Clan, and he loved each cat as if they were his sons and daughters, j-just as I do."

"I just wonder why Blackheart would leave if the Clan valued his talents so much," Heatherpaw wondered.

"I th-thought the same thing," the medicine cat admitted. "P-Perhaps it was because of what h-happened after he tried taking Bluestorm as his a-apprentice."

Heatherpaw blinked in surprise. "Bluestorm trained to become a medicine cat?"

"It was a-after he fell during one of his apprentice assessments and i-injured his eye on a rock jutting out of the snow. Blackheart kn-knew he couldn't save his eye and th-thought he would never become a w-warrior, despite Sharpstrike being Clan deputy with only one eye herself."

Heatherpaw tilted her head curiously. "If Sharpstrike could be deputy, what made Blackheart think Bluestorm couldn't be a warrior?"

Dewcloud shook her head. "I'm n-not sure. Then again, he was a-always quite fond of him and R-Redheart. Perhaps he was just w-worried or something." She finished her mouse and stood up to stretch. "I'm s-sorry, Heatherpaw, but that's all I know. Perhaps the elders would kn-know more. After all, Darkflame is Bluestorm's m-mother."

"Alright. Thank you very much, Dewcloud." Heatherpaw backed out of the cave, wishing Lizardpaw a speedy recovery on the way out, and bounded back up to the fresh-kill pile. She knew she needed an excuse to visit the elders again so she wouldn't be accused of gossiping.

Unfortunately, the rabbit and shrew were gone, and she remembered suddenly that Bluestorm had already brought them something to eat. Backtracking, she headed back to the medicine den, only to be stopped by Webpounce when she crossed her path.

"Didn't you just come out of the medicine den?" the warrior asked with a suspicious narrowing of her eyes.

Heatherpaw knew she needed to show the warrior respect despite how much they disliked each other. "I had brought Dewcloud some fresh-kill and visited Lizardpaw, and now I going back to ask for mouse bile so I can check the elders for ticks."

"Yes, you've grown quite good at tending for the elders, haven't you?" Webpounce taunted, her whiskers twitching. She noticed Heatherpaw trying to walk around her, but she leaped in her way. "I didn't say you could go."

"You're not my mentor!" Heatherpaw hissed. "Let me go!"

"Not until I check with Bluestorm that he really did send you."

"He's on another hunting patrol."

"Then I suppose you can't go until he comes back so I can ask him."

Why do you have to make my life so difficult? Heatherpaw yowled in her head, glaring at her.

To her relief, she saw Fireleap passing by and called out to him. "Fireleap! Tell Webpounce to let me go to the medicine den."

Fireleap stopped to look over, then glared at his mate. "Why are you blocking her way."

"I just wanted to make sure Bluestorm had told her to tend to the elders," she replied innocently. "I don't want Heatherpaw slacking off and get herself into any trouble, that's all."

"Webpounce, let Bluestorm worry about her. You worry about our kits."

Kits? Heatherpaw peered at the she-cat's belly and saw a slight bulge. Webpounce is expecting more kits!

Webpounce huffed in irritation and stepped to the side to let Heatherpaw pass. Blinking her thanks to Fireleap, the apprentice bounded to the medicine den again. Once she received a stick with the stinky bile-soaked moss on its tip, she made her way to the elders' den.

Shellpelt was the first to detect Heatherpaw's arrival. "Come on in, Heatherpaw."

Heatherpaw squeezed her way in and saw that the elders were still eating the rabbit Bluestorm had given them earlier. "Oh, sorry," Heatherpaw mumbled around the stick. "I didn't know you were still eating."

"That's okay, you can do our ticks later. Thank you, Heatherpaw." Darkflame blinked affectionately at her.

The apprentice placed the stick down outside the den and nestled down before the two elders. "Well, while I'm here, I've been meaning to ask you two if you could tell me a little about Blackheart, the medicine cat before Dewcloud."

The two elders exchanged surprised glances. Then Darkflame shuffled her forepaws under her chest. "Very well, then. What do you already know?"

"Well, Dewcloud told me he was a very talented medicine cat for starters."

"That he was," the elderly she-cat rasped. "He was a gifted medicine cat right from the start as a kit. He was very intelligent and wise for his age. As a matter of fact, since living in the mountain he had discovered that the juices of the leaves from the wintergreen bushes heal wounds more effectively that the berries. He was so very clever."

"He sounds it," Heatherpaw agreed. "I was also told that he was very close to every cat in the Clan, but especially Bluestorm and Redheart." She saw alarm flash in Darkflame's eyes and she tilted her head in confusion. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Darkflame replied. "I just… can't help but remember when Bluestorm and Redheart were so close as kits and apprentices during the time Blackheart was in the Clan."

"That brings me to the question, actually: why did Blackheart leave?"

Sadness clouded the elder's eyes. "I... I don't know. He never told me. I don't know if he told anyone. Well, perhaps he told Fireleap; the two of them were best friends and shared everything with each other."

Bluestorm's and Redheart's foster father! Heatherpaw recalled the time Fireleap had mentioned to Darkflame how he was so proud of the two brothers, claiming how he couldn't have loved them more if he were their real father. Perhaps Fireleap could tell her why Blackheart left, if he was the only cat the former medicine cat told. "Thank you very much for your help, Darkflame."

"Why are you so curious about Blackheart anyhow?" Shellpelt questioned. "The Clan knows how remarkable a cat he was, but you've never shown such interest in him before."

"Well... I feel that if I can get to the bottom of why Blackheart's departure ruined Bluestorm's and Redheart's relationship, I can find a way to fix it."

"We certainly hope you can find a way to help," Darkflame rasped. She finished the last bite of rabbit and licked her lips, then flicked her ear. "Before you go do that, though, you can get this nasty tick off my ear. StarClan knows how these little things survive so far up in the mountain."