I was actually chosen for such an important patrol!

If the circumstances that had led to this weren't so tragic, Larkpaw would be jumping around and proclaiming her joy right now. But the memory of the wake was still intense.

Our job is to find out as much as we can. Larkpaw flattened her ears. The thought of seeing her old camp frightened her. Still, she tried not to let it show.

She was surprised that Palestar had sent her and Amberpaw on the patrol. The leader hadn't given any reasons, so both Larkpaw and Amberpaw were left confused.

However, there was no point in speculating further now. With every step she took, she inevitably moved closer to MoonClan territory, and her heart almost seemed to burst.

The thought of seeing Swallowfern again made Larkpaw feel nauseous. The last time she had seen her, she hadn't exactly been friendly. Every time Larkpaw remembered it, she felt terrible.

I wonder if she'll ever forgive me.

The sound of the river grew louder and the forest became thinner. The cats slowed their pace on the slope and finally stopped on the bank. Here they would wait for the next patrol to take them to camp.

Larkpaw's claws itched. She wanted to run straight to the camp, but as Honeyclaw had said, that would seem like a direct accusation.

The apprentice settled down and mindlessly rolled a small pebble between her paws. Cloverleaf died here somewhere. She wondered if her Clanmates were thinking about it too.

She raised her head scrutinisingly and studied the behaviour of her patrol companions. Amberpaw padded restlessly in circles. She kept staring across the river and her nose twitched as if she was searching for familiar scents.

Larkpaw's gaze moved on to Honeyclaw. The light golden tom had his paws tucked under his body. The tip of his tail twitched from time to time, but Larkpaw couldn't tell if it was a sign of nervousness.

As far as she could remember, Honeyclaw had only been deputy for seven moons, which was a comparatively short time.

But before that, he had been a warrior for many leaf-changes. So how many times must he have taken part in such a risky conversation between two Clans to not be nervous at all?

The last two cats on patrol were Stormpool and Brownnose. They also seemed relatively relaxed.

In the next moment, Amberpaw stopped abruptly. She stretched her muzzle forwards and drew in her breath sharply.

It seemed that she had noticed a patrol approaching. Honeyclaw pulled himself to his paws and jumped down the embankment first.

With barely noticeable ruffled fur, the RoseClan cats balanced over the tree trunk that led over to MoonClan territory.

Larkpaw anchored her claws into the bark as she ran after Amberpaw. The last time she had crossed the river here, she had been an inexperienced kit. Now she was older - and braver.

The river below them flowed calmly but quickly, its colour an impenetrable dark grey like thunderstorm clouds.

When they reached the other end, Honeyclaw told the others to stay on the bank. "Keep your fur flat," he reminded them. "We don't want them to get the idea that we're blaming them for Cloverleaf's.... accident."

"It seems implausible to me that MoonClan could even be capable of such an act." Stormpool twitched an ear.

Larkpaw glanced sideways at Sunbrook's littermate uncertainly. The dark grey tom spoke the truth. The MoonClan cats were far too peaceful for that.

Except... there was one cat who had a personal problem with Cloverleaf. Larkpaw felt an icy chill run down her spine. She had heard that RoseClan and MoonClan often had a tense relationship - not only because of their polarising nature, but also because MoonClan had been regular victims of attacks from PrickleClan many leaf-changes ago.

Thanks to their quick legs, it didn't take long for the patrol Amberpaw had spotted to arrive. Larkpaw immediately recognised Caveshadow, Blazedew, Blacktail, Violetwing, Streamwater and Willowpaw. She was pleased that she could remember all their names.

"Greetings," Streamwater meowed with a slight dip of her head. "Is everything alright in RoseClan? We've heard from Cloverleaf." A shadow seemed to flit through the grey and white MoonClan warrior's blue eyes. "No cat deserves a death like that. We've asked StarClan for a safe journey for her."

Honeyclaw flicked his tail. "Thank you, we really appreciate it. Mind you, it's also the reason we're here."

Streamwater's posture immediately became more tense. "Why?"

"Are you trying to insinuate that a cat from MoonClan had something to do with Cloverleaf's death?" Violetwing interjected. Her green eyes were wide.

"There's no proof of that," Honeyclaw replied. "But there must have been a reason why Cloverleaf was at the border."

His explanation didn't seem to satisfy MoonClan. Streamwater lifted her head resolutely. "We won't tolerate false accusations," she meowed in a cool voice. "Because that's why you're here, isn't it?"

Larkpaw twitched her whiskers. "Didn't she just listen?" she whispered into Amberpaw's ear.

Her littermate licked her flews nervously. "I hope it won't come to a fight because of that."

Larkpaw shuddered at the thought. Her second battle training wasn't for another two days. She wasn't ready to take part in a fight yet.

Maybe that's also the reason why Palestar had sent the two of us on patrol, it suddenly flashed through her mind. This possibility made the most sense, considering that the MoonClan warriors knew how inexperienced Larkpaw and Amberpaw still were. Their presence was meant to show that RoseClan had no interest in attacking, because there was no way they would put their youngest apprentices in danger.

Blacktail nudged Streamwater barely noticeably with his muzzle. "Shouldn't we listen to them first?" the black and white tom whispered, although Larkpaw could tell from the dilated pupils of his green eyes that he was nervous.

Streamwater lashed her tail slowly before she replied, "All right. We wouldn't get rid of them any other way anyway."

As soon as the MoonClan cats had turned away, Larkpaw bared her fangs. It's hard to believe that these were my Clanmates!

The fact that they were like strangers made Larkpaw's chest feel strangely tight. She would never have thought how insignificant her kithood in MoonClan could be. None of the MoonClan warriors had batted a whisker, none of them had shown in any way that they were pleased with Larkpaw's and Amberpaw's presence.

Hopefully there are cats in the camp who won't greet us so coldly.

The first thing Larkpaw noticed was how unprotected she was in the meadow. There were no trees far and wide, and the heather and gorse fields were often too open to offer any reasonable hiding places.

This was probably also the reason why MoonClan cats had the ability to run fast. Instead of acquiring strength and fighting skills to defend themselves in such an unsafe area, they preferred to count on speed and the hope that StarClan would help them.

Larkpaw sighed. She hadn't realised how much living in another Clan would shape her way of thinking.

I was once proud to belong to MoonClan, Larkpaw remembered with a hint of nostalgia.

Finally, the Hilltunnel appeared in front of them. The MoonClan cats ran ahead. Before Honeyclaw followed them at a distance, he meowed to his patrol, "Best leave the talking to me. Every wrong word could have consequences. We can't afford that this close to Leaf-bare."

Larkpaw hoped fervently that he had planned a good approach.

She trotted through the Hilltunnel into the MoonClan camp. I haven't been here for five moons, she realised. It was almost a shock to see her old home again. Still, she could vaguely remember her time here, even though that memory was as thin and fragile as a feather.

Over there is the nursery. Larkpaw's chest tightened painfully.

There were only a few cats in the camp; the patrols were still outside at this time.

Nightblossom emerged from the warrior den. Her ears twitched when she saw the RoseClan cats, and she trotted over to them. "What brings you here?" The black she-cat's voice sounded discreet, but not as suspicious as Streamwater. "Hailstar is currently outside the camp."

"It's about Cloverleaf," Honeyclaw replied, as if he were merely talking to a Clanmate. "We were wondering if anyone had seen her before she died."

Nightblossom's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. "I'm not aware of anything like that, but you're welcome to ask us."

That sounds a little like she's trying to hide something.

"Don't move until Hailstar is back," Nightblossom ordered.

Honeyclaw's neck fur bristled briefly, but he refrained from replying verbally and just nodded.

Larkpaw sat down. She hoped they wouldn't have to wait too long.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Amberpaw shifting nervously and leaned over to her. "Is everything alright?"

"It's hard to see it all again," Amberpaw whispered. "I miss it so much."

Larkpaw ran a paw over the blades of grass thoughtfully. Do I miss the MoonClan camp too?

When Willowpaw trotted over to them, she twitched one ear half-heartedly. At least there was one cat who didn't pretend they'd never met.

The red tom threw a quick glance over to Nightblossom. "Hello."

"Hello, Willowpaw," Larkpaw replied.

"Willowbranch," he corrected immediately, looking a little offended.

Larkpaw purred in surprise. Of course, he must have got his warrior name long ago! In her mind, she scolded herself for assuming that Willowbranch had still been a 'paw. "Congratulations!"

Willowbranch flicked his tail in thanks. "Well... it's been a while."

"Obviously." Larkpaw tried to think of conversation topics. "What happened after we were gone?"

"Not that much," Willowbranch admitted slowly. "Every cat has basically pretended that you were never there. Your names haven't even been mentioned once. Not even Swallowfern or Dashpaw or Leafpaw have mentioned you with a single word."

His story made Larkpaw shudder. No wonder the other MoonClan cats hadn't reacted to them!

"Is Swallowfern here?" Amberpaw suddenly asked timidly.

To her disappointment, Willowbranch answered in the negative. "Dashpaw and Leafpaw are also outside the camp."

Amberpaw hung her tail.

"What else has happened?" Larkpaw pressed. Now she was eager to catch up on all the news she had missed.

Willowbranch's river-green eyes widened exaggeratedly. "You won't believe this now," he murmured, "but Mapleblossom is actually expecting her second litter of kits."

Larkpaw's fur stood on end in shock. It would never have occurred to her that Mapleblossom would be able to have kits in her state of mind.

"No one knows from whom, though," Willowbranch continued, apparently not expecting any comments. He twitched his whiskers slightly. "But definitely not from Blazedew again."

"Blazedew?" Larkpaw repeated curiously. "I didn't realise they were mates." They never gave me that impression either, she added silently.

"They haven't been for a long time," Willowbranch explained. "It had something to do with the fact that Motleycloud wanted to become a medicine cat - and well, Blazedew had something against that. And Mapleblossom naturally wanted to support Motleycloud, which eventually led to them parting ways."

Larkpaw couldn't believe her ears. "I'll only hear something like that when I'm gone," she meowed reproachfully.

Willowbranch shrugged his shoulders impassively, but didn't say anything more.

It was unbelievable for Larkpaw that Mapleblossom had kits. She had always seen the she-cat as an old and experienced warrior who had no interest in raising a second litter.

The curiosity almost drove Larkpaw mad and her paws tingled with the desire to simply run straight to Mapleblossom to ask her herself.

That would mean that Motleycloud would finally have siblings - even if only half-siblings.

Larkpaw suppressed a purr. She could hardly wait to meet the kits.

At the same time, she noticed a gnawing feeling of guilt. She shouldn't be so interested in these kits. One day she would face them in battle.

***

"I am loyal to my Clan and only my Clan." Junipertail glared reproachfully at the surrounding cats.

Hailstar raised his tail placatingly. "This is about whether you saw Cloverleaf two sunrises ago," the grey tom meowed. "We need every clue we can find."

Slowly, Junipertail narrowed her amber eyes. "No, I haven't," she replied in a venomous voice.

Larkpaw gritted her teeth in frustration. She hadn't remembered Junipertail being so obnoxious. Automatically, she searched the crowd for Stormpaw and Firpaw, who looked as if they would like to sink into the ground at any moment.

I would be ashamed if I had a mother like that.

Now Nightblossom stepped forward. "You said you found her nest empty in the morning, right?" Apparently her question was rhetorical, because she immediately added, addressing the MoonClan cats, "Were any of you near the river at night?"

The silence that followed was frightening.

"Where were the night patrols?" Nightblossom asked.

At first, no cat seemed to want to give any information until Flowerpelt spoke up. "I went with my patrol towards the LaurelClan border," the young, tortoiseshell MoonClan warrior confessed, pawing restlessly.

"Did you see anything suspicious though?" Hailstar urged.

Flowerpelt pinned her ears back. "No, nothing."

Larkpaw fluffed up her fur. This questioning would be useless. They had made the difficult journey for nothing.

She thought longingly back to her camp. In the meantime, she would much rather be doing camp chores like the other apprentices.

It also turned out that no one had got close enough to the river to be able to see a cat on the other bank.

After every single MoonClan cat had been questioned, Larkpaw's mood had already sunk deep into the root kingdom.

"We're sorry," Hailstar meowed at that moment, "but we have no idea what happened to Cloverleaf."

Maybe we'll never find out, Larkpaw thought. And maybe that's how it's supposed to be.