"Heatherpaw, even though you will not fulfil your warrior duties, do you promise to honour and protect your Clanmates, both living and dead?"

"I promise," Heatherpaw murmured with trembling paws, moving her head as she could still see.

"Then from this moment on, you will be called Heatherleap, as a reminder of the great progress you have made and how you never let it get you down, despite your accident. We thank you for your service. May you find peace in StarClan as a full MoonClan warrior."

Silence followed as soon as Hailstar had stopped talking. Normally they should be calling her name now, Larkkit thought worriedly.

Willowpaw had half risen and looked around the crowd, but he too dared not congratulate Heatherleap.

The newly appointed warrior seemed to realise what the problem was. "I'm going to die," she declared dryly and without further explanation.

Whispers spreaded across the camp.

"What does she mean?"

"Has she already been made a warrior because of that?"

"That's right," Heatherleap confirmed. "I have decided that it's time for me to go."

Mapleblossom pushed forward to join her. "You didn't tell me that," she mewed reproachfully and sadly at the same time.

Embarrassed, Heatherleap turned her head away. "I didn't want to stress you unnecessarily."

Suddenly a challenging yelp sounded. Junipertail had jumped up and was glaring angrily at Hailstar. "What are you doing?" she demanded to know. "Just because a cat — an apprentice! — wants to die doesn't mean you can just give her a warrior name. What has she done, anyway?"

She had become quite irascible, which was why the others had moved a bit away from her. Stormpaw and Firpaw shook their heads. "This is really embarrassing," Stormpaw commented.

Hailstar just looked at Junipertail with a blank expression. "More than enough. Heatherleap worked harder then any other cat. Would it be fair in this case to let her die with an apprentice name? We're not cruel cats."

Junipertail hissed. "Yes, but we should follow the code strictly." Then she turned around and disappeared into the warriors' den.

Slowly, the gathering dispersed. Larkkit looked around in confusion. Would no cat congratulate Heatherleap now? Only Willowpaw and Mapleblossom spoke to the young warrior with their tails raised high in the air, most of the other cats acted as if nothing had happened.

And what if StarClan is angry with Hailstar for giving Heatherleap her warrior name without permission, so to speak? A cramped feeling spread through Larkkit's mind. What would happen to her then?

Nevertheless, Larkkit was glad that Hailstar agreed to the ceremony. She might have barely known Heatherleap, but she knew that she was one of the most loyal and hard-working cats in MoonClan. How would it look if I didn't congratulate her?

"Heatherleap!" Larkkit called out. She paused and looked around, however, no one else joined her. What is wrong with them? Larkkit scowled and lowered her head. At that moment, it shouldn't matter that Heatherleap hadn't been given her name according to the traditional rules.

"Thank you, Larkkit!" She turned around in surprise. Heatherleap had raised her tail steeply into the air. "Take care of yourself, will you?"

It was a mystery to Larkkit how Heatherleap could remain so calm in her condition. No matter what happens, you have to stay strong. Larkkit involuntarily recalled the young warrior's words.

At the same time, she remembered what Swallowfern had said yesterday. There was a secret, and Larkkit was dying to know it at last.

She trotted off in search of her mother. Maybe she would be ready to tell them now.

Larkkit finally found her at the Sunhigh Stones, where she was devouring the last remnants of a skylark. When Swallowfern noticed Larkkit, she straightened up and shook herself vigorously. "Well, it seems it's time now. Just let me gather your siblings quickly."

The night before, Larkkit had been thinking so much about the secret that she hadn't realised when she had fallen asleep. But soon I will know the truth.

After a moment, Swallowfern returned with Dashkit, Leafkit and Amberkit. "We're going out of camp for this," she decided. "Come with me."

"Out of camp?" Leafkit replied incredulously. "But it'll be almost two moons before we're allowed to."

"Exactly!" Dashkit jumped to his defence. "We don't want to get into trouble."

But Swallowfern merely flicked her tail. "That's no problem. I've already spoken to Hailstar about it."

Fortunately! For a heartbeat, Larkkit was reassured, but then something else occurred to her. "Is it even safe in the territory?" Her fur bristled. Although there hadn't been any more incidents so far and the cats hadn't spotted anything suspicious, it was still too unsafe to roam outside the camp at times like this.

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on you," Swallowfern reassured them.

Of course, she's a trained warrior too, Larkkit thought as she and her littermates followed Swallowfern out of camp.

Larkkit realised as they stepped out of the Hilltunnel that this was the first time she had seen the territory by day. The countless hills, the fields of heather and the spots of gorse bushes, it all looked exactly the same as back then.

"This is our territory?" Dashkit squeaked, impressed. "It's great!"

"I agree." Larkkit took a deep breath and tried to smell all of the different scents. "I can't wait to become an apprentice and be here all the time."

Larkkit turned in circles with excitement. She was a MoonClan cat. How lucky she was to call this magnificent landscape her territory. I will do everything I can to protect it from enemies. She puffed herself up proudly. I'll be the best apprentice — and later the best MoonClan warrior, of course.

But then Larkkit was abruptly torn from her dreams of the future by Swallowfern. "There's a stream nearby. You can have a look there, Larkkit."

The memory of last night flashed through the tortico she-kit's mind again. Oh no. My eyes. It wasn't a dream after all.

While Larkkit trotted along beside her littermates behind Swallowfern, she had lowered her gaze to the ground and didn't dare to look at any cat. It was rabbit-brained, she knew, because everyone had already found out. Nevertheless, she felt ashamed. How could she ever live with herself?

They arrived at the stream. Larkkit trembled and took a few steps forwards. The clouds were clearly reflected on the grey surface of the water. "I can't do this," Larkkit mumbled in a brittle voice. She could no longer move, as if she was being held down by invisible tendrils.

"Yes, you can." Amberkit had stepped to her side and scratched her paws indecisively. "I can look at the water with you if you want me to."

Larkkit blinked. She would never have expected that from Amberkit. "Alright."

Larkkit approached the stream with renewed courage. This time she wouldn't back down.

Trembling, Larkkit looked at the reflection of her face in the stream. The entire right side of her face and a small part of the other was light reddish brown with a tabby pattern, the rest of left side was black. She also had a white muzzle and a small white blaze.

So this is what I look like. Now that she thought about it, Larkkit actually found herself quite pretty, if it weren't for her eyes. It seemed that Leafkit had actually been telling the truth. Although the colours hadn't fully developed yet, she could see it more than clearly enough: the dark moss green on the left and the more intense sky blue on the right.

It looked unnatural. Still, Larkkit couldn't help but continue to stare at herself. The sight unsettled her, but she couldn't let go.

After an infinitely long time, Larkkit tore herself away. Her gaze met Amberkit's and for the first time she took a closer look at her littermate's eyes. Amberkit was the first one whose eye colour had begun to develop. Although they weren't quite mature yet, it was clear to see that they were an unusual dark amber colour and matched Amberkit's reddish-golden fur well.

Dashkit's eyes were about to turn as bright blue as the sky, an unusual colour, but it also matched her silver pelt.

There was a thin, irregularly jagged light green ring around Leafkit's pupils, but the rest of his eyes seemed to be turning pale gold. Larkkit hadn't really noticed it until now, but Leafkit also had two different eye colours. However, they aren't as noticeable on him.

"Larkkit? Are you alright?" Swallowfern mewed.

Larkkit nodded slowly. "I still can't believe it. How is that even possible?"

Swallowfern twitched her ears helplessly. "I don't know. I don't know of any cat with the same trait either."

The idea of being the only cat with two-coloured eyes fascinated and frightened Larkkit at the same time. In the worst case scenario, everyone would reduce her to her eyes. She had to think of something to distract from her appearance.

"Well, now that we've done that, I guess it's time to tell you," Swallowfern announced.

The secret she was talking about! Larkkit's eyes flashed.

Swallowfern ruffled her fur as she paced restlessly back and forth in front of her kits. "I wish I didn't have to do it," she began, "but if I don't do it now, it will be too late. The other cats say I've been keeping this from you for too long. But I couldn't bring myself to do it."

"What does she mean?" Leafkit hissed.

Larkkit shared his cluelessness. She waited nervously for Swallowfern to continue.

"Have you ever noticed the differences between you?" Swallowfern continued. She stopped and pierced the kits with a steady gaze.

Slowly but surely, her behaviour was frightening Larkkit. Of course they were all different. What sense would it make if they were just copies of each other?

"All cats in MoonClan are short-haired. All of them, without exception," Swallowfern emphasised. "Didn't it ever seem strange to you that two of you have longer fur? That's no coincidence."

Larkkit's eyes widened. "No! Stop it!" she protested.

Swallowfern extended her claws. "There's no such thing in MoonClan. You two aren't my kits." Her expression softened again, sad and remorseful. "I'm really sorry, Amberkit and Larkkit."

At that moment, Larkkit's world fell apart. No. No, that can't be. We are Swallowfern's kits. She is lying. For whatever reason, but that's not the truth.

Amberkit had crouched to the ground beside her and was trembling violently. "That's not true," she mewed pitifully. "Why would you say something like that?"

Swallowfern's gaze was monotonous. "It's the truth."

No! Larkkit would have liked to throw that word out into the world, to vent her disbelief and anger. At the same time, she realised how clueless she had been. It wasn't that she had never noticed, but she hadn't cared. Her and Amberkit's pelt really was a little thicker than her Clanmates'. It seemed like an insignificant detail, but that was exactly what showed her that they weren't MoonClan cats.

"It can't be!" Dashkit gasped in horror. "We've known each other since we were born."

"Are we even your kits?" Leafkit added challengingly. He glared angrily at Swallowfern as he clung to his only remaining sister and dug up the ground with his claws.

Swallowfern nodded affirmatively. "Yes, you really are my kits. But Amberkit and Larkkit—"

"Here come strange cats!" Amberkit had jumped up and was sniffing suspiciously, her eyes fixated on the horizon.

Larkkit stretched her head and could make out an approaching patrol in the distance. The wind carried their scent directly towards them. Something seemed familiar to Larkkit, but she couldn't think of what it could be.

Besides, she was too exhausted to think about it anyway. She just couldn't believe that Swallowfern wasn't her mother and that Dashkit and Leafkit weren't her littermates. It was so incredibly absurd. Where did Amberkit and I really come from? It had to have been a MoonClan queen, but she died giving birth, so Swallowfern nursed us. Larkkit wanted to cry out in frustration. Swallowfern had already told them that they weren't MoonClan.

What if we were loners and this is why we look different?

"RoseClan!" Swallowfern's fur stood up.

Now that she said it, Larkkit could remember it again. Fruittail had had exactly the same woodsy scent on her. What did they want here?

Swallowfern stood protectively in front of the kits. Timidly, Larkkit looked past her and saw five cats appear. They were almost as small as MoonClan cats, but their pelt was a little longer and thicker and their bodies were stocky.

"Palestar!" Swallowfern almost squeaked and lowered her head. "You've come all this way. What is it? Shall I take you to Hailstar?"

Awe ran through Larkkit. The leader of RoseClan was here? She seemed to be the slender, long-legged, light grey and white spotted she-cat with the narrow, light blue eyes.

"I suppose that's necessary," Palestar replied in an exceptionally friendly manner. "Because we're here to—" She interrupted, apparently having spotted the kits. "Aren't they too young to be out here?"

"They know now," Swallowfern replied. "I... I didn't want to do it in the middle of the hustle and bustle of camp."

Why was Swallowfern telling the cats of an enemy Clan what had just happened? A dark premonition slowly spread through Larkkit. It was not possible. There was no reason to worry.

"Then we would want to get Larkkit and Amberkit back," Palestar finished her sentence.

It took a moment for Larkkit to realise what she had said. How can Amberkit and I come from RoseClan? She looked around with growing panic.

Dashkit and Leafkit gave their supposed siblings evil looks. "Cats from outside the Clan! And from RoseClan to boot," Dashkit hissed, ears flattened, and crept suspiciously around them. "And we've been sharing a nest with you for moons."

Leafkit refrained from saying anything, but it was clear that he too now found them repulsive, thanks to Swallowfern.

Was this a dream, a nightmare? "If we're really from RoseClan, then how are we here?" Larkkit snarled, tail lashing. "Did you steal us?" The idea that MoonClan could have kidnapped her from the nursery of RoseClan made her feel nauseous. MoonClan was honourable. At least that was what she thought until now.

"We would never steal kits from other Clans!" Swallowfern protested, giving Palestar an apologetic look.

"In fact, we brought you here," a tortoiseshell RoseClan warrior with gentle green eyes explained. "So that you can survive."

Survive. Larkkit felt like everything revolved around her. "What does that mean?" she whispered.

Swallowfern stepped forward and gestured for Larkkit and Amberkit to come to her with a flick of her tail.

Until now, Amberkit had pressed herself trembling to the ground, not even looking up or making a sound. Now she trotted to Swallowfern with a drooping tail and a blank expression.

At that moment, Larkkit felt more helpless than ever before. She had to help Amberkit, but how could she do that when she herself couldn't think clearly because of her despair?

"Your real mother was a RoseClan cat, that's true," Swallowfern confessed quietly. "However, she couldn't nurse you because shortly after you were born, rogues invaded the nursery and killed her."

Larkkit hardly dared to breathe. Our real mother is dead. Thorns ate into her heart. She would never get to know her. What was her name, what did she look like, what did her fur smell like? Would she have been just as loving as Swallowfern?

"I'm really sorry I kept this from you for so long," Swallowfern meowed, her eyes shining with sadness. "I know it's very hard for you to accept, but... you can't stay here. You have to go back."

Larkkit pressed her paws into the ground determinedly. All this time, Swallowfern had been pretending to them, making them believe they were all family. And now she was coming out with the fact that Larkkit and Amberkit weren't her kits and also came from another Clan. Her act was truly heartless.

"You never really wanted us!" Larkkit hurled at Swallowfern. She didn't care one bit that the RoseClan cats were still there and could hear everything. Too many feelings were raging inside her like leaves in a whirlwind. From now on, Swallowfern was a stranger to her. All the beautiful memories were just an act.

"What are you talking about?" Swallowfern looked hurt. "I... Of course I wanted you! Despite everything, you are my kits and nothing will change that."

Larkkit bared her fangs, growling. "You should have told us sooner if we mean so much to you."

A movement in the corner of her eye distracted her. Amberkit was about to run back to camp.

"Amberkit!" Larkkit meowed, but couldn't bring herself to meow any louder.

Dashkit ruffled her fur. "Just run away!" she hissed, her back arched and her eyes narrowed and flashing. "You were never wanted here anyway."

"Stop it!" Swallowfern retorted sharply.

Larkkit didn't know what happened next, because she had jumped up and followed Amberkit as quickly as she could. Her vision was blurred and she only focussed on the path in front of her. Amberkit and I — we are RoseClan cats. Larkkit could barely suppress a whimper. Everything had been fine yesterday. Dashkit, Leafkit, Amberkit and her were all playing together. And believed that we were littermates.

The Hilltunnel appeared in front of her. Larkkit dashed through. When she arrived at camp, she abruptly planted her paws in the ground and came to a rather awkward stop. Some cats looked at her in surprise or amusement, but then went back to their tasks.

Everyone lied to us. Larkkit set off in search of Amberkit.

She finally found her under the branches of a gorse bush. Larkkit quickly crawled inside and immediately stopped. What should she say to Amberkit? Of all the kits, she had been the most attached to Swallowfern. It had often annoyed Larkkit, but now Amberkit had lost the most important part of her life.

I can't comfort her, Larkkit thought desperately, because that would mean that I don't take her feelings seriously. Nothing can heal the pain that Swallowfern has inflicted on us.

So Larkkit had no choice but to sit next to her only remaining sister and lay her muzzle on her head in silent support.