The air was dry, still tainted with foul smoke. It flowed all throughout camp, even the dens with no holes were filled with it. The leader's den was deserted; the large hole overlooking the front clearing let in too much of the ash to host a meeting.

Instead, the cats gathered in what used to be the queen's den. Only one sealed hole that Twolegs would look out of remained, no moonlight penetrating the black clouds. It left the group near complete darkness.

The floor still had stains from where cats had given birth, and one where the last remaining queen was killed. Littlestar sat right on top of it, staring at it like she always did with Longstar's blood stain in the leader's den.

It was for you, she thought, leaning closer to the stain. That kill was for you and your kits.

The entrance was nearly closed. There were no other cats moving about on the upper floor. Everyone took to sleeping on the first floor. Four other cats were gathered with Littlestar. Sharpfang sat underneath a large Twoleg symbol hanging from the wall. Whitestar sat underneath the covered hole. A blue-grey cat lay near him, Blueclaw, who kept her eyes on the entrance.

They sat in silence, most looking near Littlestar's position. She continued to stare at the blood stain underneath her paws. She kept leaning closer, slowly, seeming to whisper to it.

"Didn't you want to speak to us?" Sharpfang said. Littlestar immediately looked up.

"Yes," Whitestar said. "I have some things that will need to be passed to all-"

The entrance creaked open. Burn sulked through and took his seat between Blueclaw and Heavyclaw. He seemed to have lost even more of his fur.

"Sorry I'm late," he said. His ears flattened and his tail fell to the floor. "There were more than we thought."

The rest of the cats dipped their heads. "Wolfgang and the short one are taking care of the rest." He began licking at one of the bald patches on his front paw.

Whitestar looked up first, nodding. "The first thing I wanted to talk about was our casualties, as a matter of fact. In the Upper Territories alone, we lost four patrols, nine cats total. That, plus the cats we lost in the Lower Territories. We did not expect any wildcats to move that far in, but one of our hunting patrols caught one of theirs in our territory.

Outnumbered four to two, our patrol was killed, unfortunately. Another two patrols got their distress cries and chased off the wildcats, killing one in the process... we were unable to retrieve the dead from that area, though. Their bodies were gone by the time another patrol came to get them."

The other cats looked towards each other in silence, except for Littlestar. She was staring out the closed hole across from her. She watched as the ash continued to flow by, the scratch of it on the clear-barrier making her ears twitch about.

"That is not all," he continued. "The patrol led by Shortfang moved along the border. They were spotted by wildcats after stumbling across the path Littlestar had gone down. They said Flyfoot ordered them hunted down. They got away but lost one in their escape, without locating Littlestar."

Whitestar stared right into Littlestar's eyes. "In total, we lost five patrols, about one quarter of our numbers in exchange for one wildcat. And I-"

"Two wildcats," Littlestar snapped. The group focused their attention on her. "Two wildcats are dead because of this, not one." she immediately went back to staring out the clear-barrier.

Whitestar went back to addressing the group. "With these losses, sustaining any positions outside of the clan is no longer possible. We have already abandoned our Lower Territory position. Bonbon had greater numbers than we did, and we can no longer keep them off so much territory. We should only defend around our camp from now on."

None of the cats responded to his words. They all just continued to stare at Littlestar, who continued to ignore them. She stood completely still, her dull, green eyes fixated on the ash flowing outside.

"I agree," Heavyclaw said, still looking towards his leader. The other cats nodded their heads. Whitestar flicked his tail.

"Then it is settled," he said. "There were herbs and stuff left there by Fleetheart and me, but I doubt it is still good. Either the wildcats have taken it or the ash has ruined it. When we are done here, make sure to tell Wolfgang's patrol not to return for it."

Burn nodded. "I'll tell him,"

They sat in silence again, all eyes continuing to point towards Littlestar. She glanced at their stares, then quickly turned hers away and back at the clear barrier.

I can't even see the night sky, she thought, staring intently at the black wind outside. Good. That means they can't, either.

The cats stayed in silence for a few moments longer. The ash continued to scratch at the barrier, yet all attention was on Littlestar.

Burn flicked his tail impatiently.

"If no one else will say it I will," he said. "Littlestar, where were you? From what we all heard, you just ran off along the border. Why would you even think that was a good idea? Patrols were lost in your own territory! So what made you think running off near the border was going to accomplish?"

Littlestar shook her head, but kept it down. All eyes lay upon her. "The wind was strong, and the structures were beginning to burn. They would've never detected me as long as I was hidden."

"And that's another thing," he continued. "You ran down a thunderpath where everything was on fire. Fire! Heat puts you out like that. You could've collapsed back there and got captured again-"

"You shut your mouth. Right now." Littlestar finally moved her head upright, turning towards Burn. The dirty wraps on the back of her neck were rustled by her loosened collar. "You really think you can say something like that when you don't even use your injuries to your advantage?"

Burn narrowed his eyes. "You're the one who's about to get yourself killed doing something stupid like going off alone. That would've been a real waste of the 'gift' you have."

"How many times have you attacked when you barely hold a scent? Once? And it was with your group, too... that makes you about as useful as a dead mouse."

He jumped up from his position, his fur patches bristling and his bright, yellow eyes wide.

Littlestar flicked her tail towards him. "No, even less useful. At least a dead mouse can feed a cat."

Burn's eyes shot open even wider. He let out a low growl, leaning his belly closer to the ground.

"Speaking of food," she continued, "how much of it have your hunting patrols caught? Nothing? Seems like those rouges of yours I brought on were more of a burden than-"

"My kin have died believing in you!" Burn slammed his paws on the floor, leaping just a paw step from his leader. Littlestar sat, unmoved. Her head immediately looked away from his wide eyes and back towards her own paws.

"We have been divided by your war, not mine. Half my kin aren't even here anymore, and I'll never see them again."

Littlestar dipped her head even lower.

"The rest are injured in your medicine den. Fighting your war. Following your orders. Dying for your stupid ambitions. You call yourself a leader? Look around! Three quarters of the StoneClan cats are now dead and what do you do? You run off to go kill a single cat. A single wildcat! As if that-"

"That's enough, Burn." Heavyclaw boomed. He turned towards the shaking, brown cat. Burn backed away from Littlestar slowly, not taking his gaze from her.

The rest of the room sat in silence, waiting for Burn's fur to fall back to normal against his body. Whitestar flicked his tail.

"We need to discuss this, Littlestar. According to Shortfang the wildcat you killed was Mousetail, LeafClan's eldest medicine cat. From previous gatherings, she seemed to be against the border disputes. And, from your own orders, was to be left alive to take charge when Pineheart, Flyfoot, and Horseleaf were all killed to act as an elder voice of reason."

Burn narrowed her eyes at Littlestar once more. His claws extended, scratching the floor below. Littlestar began to paw at the trinket hanging from her neck.

Blueclaw held her head up. "She told of the destruction of all clans if we were to ever go to war. It was a prophecy she received before the first war with StoneClan. But she also understood the plight of the StoneClan led by Bonbon.

"Yellowstar met with her many times after the war. She was there with Wolfstar during the wildcat's retreat from the forest and into this Twolegplace. Thanks to Mousetail, Wolfstar did not let his old grudges or pride command him, and sought another solution to his clan's overpopulation."

"You're forgetting something, blue one," Burn said, pointing a claw at Littlestar. "That one over there was captured by the wildcats after that inferno night. Had she not been so careless as to spy while injured-"

Littlestar's head shot up. "Burn-"

"I found you half dead in their camp!" he shouted. "Now try and tell me how useful to your clan you were like that?"

"Burn!" Heavyclaw shouted. "Control yourself."

Littlestar's breathing quickened. Her fur had spiked, her ears erect and alert.

"All this information on Mousetail's thoughts is nice," Heavyclaw said, "But she's dead now."

"That is why I brought it up," Blueclaw responded. "It could help us predict how the wildcats will respond to this."

The others remained silent. Littlestar looked back at the bloodstain under her paws.

And I did that. I killed her. But they don't understand. I did this for the clan. This helps us in the end... I'll just have to make them understand.

Whitestar tapped his paw on the floor. "I believe their response will be a swift revenge attack. After Wolfstar's death, they must have looked to her for guidance. Even if Eaglestar or Flyfoot did not feel the same, others did. If there was any motivation for them to destroy us besides hunting grounds, they have it."

Burn shot an angry glance at Littlestar, who paid him no attention. He seethed a growl through his fangs.

"Littlestar," Whitestar said. "What do you think we should do?"

Littlestar kept her head facing the floor. She began to paw at the trinket hanging from her collar. Her breathing slowed and her ears flattened once more.

"What does it matter," she whispered.

"Excuse me?" Burn shouted.

"I killed their lead medicine cat. If anything, it helped us. Every time we injure them, it will be that much harder for them to recover."

"Did you hear a word he just said?" Burn yelled. "You killed our chances at giving them a peaceful leader. And they're probably coming in full force."

"Nothing changed." Littlestar responded. "He planned to wipe us out anyway. If we aren't out there hunting or defending our borders, his hunter-killers are useless. They would've had to come back here eventually."

Burn let out a wild hiss, his claws cutting deep into the floor. His ears were flat and he dropped lower, ready to pounce.

"I don't want to hear 'nothing's changed' when most of my friends are gone. And so are most of yours, and Whitestar's. Everything has changed!"

Littlestar returned to her sulking position staring at the floor. The other cats were silent, sitting patiently. Each of them was staring at Littlestar.

The ash-laden wind continued to cut into the clear barrier. Its edges began to rattle and buckle under the strength of it. The last bits of light bled out of the room, leaving the cats in darkness.

Littlestar hid her dull, green eyes from the others.

They're staring at me, she thought, imagining three pairs of eyes hovering above her. They're still watching me. Waiting for me... they want me to save them? No. No one should want me to save them... I'll only-

The entrance burst open and slammed against the wall behind it. A dark figure of a cat stood within it. Light from the outside dotted the cats.

"Trouble," the cat said, Christa's voice. "There's a group of wildcats coming! A large one. One of our scouts has already been killed."

Littlestar pushed past her littermate and sprinted towards the steps. She looked down at the clearing. Wolfgang was already directing the others in setting up the thundersticks and fake-claws. Their brilliant shine had given way to the dull red of wildcat blood.

She bounded down the steps, the others behind her. Her words echoed in the back of her mind.

Let him come, let him come.

She moved past the cats readying the defenses. The front and side entrances slammed shut. Two thundersticks were being moved into the medicine den. Fleetheart was helping an injured tom out of the way, while the other injured cats limped towards the center.

"Not here," Fleetheart said. "Head up to the second floor and wait. You're all injured."

"No way," the injured tom responded, the remaining patches of his fur bristling. "Burn told us to defend our own, and our keep. And that's what we're going to do."

Littlestar felt a pang in her chest as she reared up to look out the low-bearing hole, no barrier to obstruct her vision.

The torrent was still going, but she could still see the thunderpath across from camp clearly. Several of them were low to the ground, their fur bristling. They were already waiting for their orders. But two of them returned to normal and parted way. Down the center of the mass walked two wildcats.

One had dirty, white fur and narrow, hazel eyes, piercing through Littlestar' gaze. The other, a large, brown tom with the same hazel eyes, took a position at her side.

His dark figure clashed with the black sky and ash that quickly flooded her vision. He aimed his head forward, seemingly looking straight at her. Littlestar's tail twitched as she forced herself to keep staring.

"Littlestar!" the low voice boomed. "This is Horseleaf, leader of LeafClan."

Her heart skipped a beat. Her ears stood as high as they would go. And her paws were trembling in place as her mouth flooded with saliva. Fangs clenched, she resisted every urge to sprint into the storm of ash.

"I offer you one last deal. One last deal... in exchange for all your territory, we allow your clan to leave Twolegplace for good."

The cats behind Littlestar began to hiss and jeer wildly at their aggressors. Whitestar emerged behind her, waving his paws to calm her down.

"We also want one more thing," Horseleaf shouted. "Littlestar, we want you dead. You give up life, and all your comrades go unharmed. I swear by good name of Wolfstar they will be unharmed."

Littlestar nearly fell from her spot. Her eyes went wide, staring straight at Horseleaf's blurred figure. The wind continued to torment the camp, rattling the loose stone and wood pieces. Even the wildcats outside struggled against it.

She slowly turned her head back, but stopped halfway. Her paws and tail were shaking violently when she faced back to the outside. The camp was too silent behind her. Not even a murmur from any of them. They just held their position, waiting for the wildcats to charge.

I won't turn, she thought. I won't watch them think 'yes'.

"We would never agree to something like that!" Whitestar shouted as he leaped up onto the ledge next to Littlestar. "You can forget about your offer. We stand with her."

Horseleaf and Flyfoot walked into the camp's boundaries. Littlestar was almost able to see his face, but the wind picked up. The two wildcats clung to the ground as the ash nibbled at their skin.

"Last chance!" he shouted above the torrent. "No more chances after. You give us Littlestar, or you all die here!"

Whitestar turned to face Littlestar, leaning close to her ear.

"Littlestar," he said, "We follow our warrior code, StarClan, and our leaders. You know where we stand. What about you?"

Her whole body ceased shaking, petrified. Her eyes narrowed towards the two wildcats. Her tail flopped carelessly in the wind, her ears flat against her head.

This is it, she thought, clenching her fangs. I can end our clan's suffering, end my suffering... but would it change anything? Would they even let us go? After what I did to Mousetail... her prophecy called for the destruction of all other clans. StarClan watches silently for many moons. This ends now, them or us.

She arched her head up, straightening her whole body.

"You die here, Horseleaf!"

The cats in the camp began to grip the thundersticks even tighter now. She jumped down, leaned up against the wall with other cats. Whitestar left and took a position closer to the center.

Horseleaf lowered his head.

"There will be more death... LeafClan, attack! That clan ends here!"

The mass of wildcats sprinted across the thunderpath and were quickly upon the camp. Littlestar poked her head over the ledge to watch the charge.

What was once plump flesh and swelling muscles was replaced by bones that wiggled with each step. Their legs were skinny and their hips were flat. Tuffs of fur were already missing from most of them. The ash had taken a toll on their skin; parts of them were blackened and bruised. The skin around their mouths was cracked and peeling. Their murderous eyes saw only one target.

Whitestar dug deep into her flank and dragged her down to the floor as the wildcats leaped through the entrance. He pressed both of them against the wall.

Two wildcats already hung from the fake-claws. Several landed in the camp. They immediately jumped on the first cat they saw.

One she-cat had her neck sliced by the claws of two wildcats before they were brought down by another group. They pinned the two, ready to deal the killing blow.

Another wildcat leaped onto them and took them to the ground. He chomped down on a warrior's neck before he was slashed across his chest, smashing the bones that hung underneath.

Two cats pushed a thunderstick to the center of the hole. One wildcat immediately joined her clanmate from the end of the fake-claw. The thunderstick fell under the weight, right back in the camp.

The wildcat on the stick continued to struggle and thrash. Her sharp claws tore off the eye of another cat. He screamed out in pain, freezing as she stretched her claws and tore his face. Strips of flesh hit the floor hard as her claws went deeper. He shook as he lost his nose, and his fangs.

His clanmate ran over and shoved the thunderstick, thrusting the wildcat away. It was no use. The other cat fell to the floor, his blood running towards Littlestar.

Whitestar continued to press against Littlestar, holding her face from the battle. She fought and struggled against him, clawing at his back.

"Get off me!" she screamed. "They're dying all around me! Let me fight!"

"We can't let them win," Whitestar responded. "Not like this!"

Another wildcat turned at his words. Her mouth salivated, green eyes aimed right at the leaders. She splashed in the blood of the dead warrior and lunged at the white and black tom. He braced, another clanmate shoving her away. They tumbled into a third cat.

"She's mine!" the wildcat shouted.

She tore the cat's flesh open. The smaller cat screamed. The wildcat pinned her down and moved on top of her. She sunk her fangs into the smaller cat's