𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧 #3: 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐭

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐎𝐍𝐄

Ever since Mousetail watched the patrol leave the camp, she mouthed the same words over and over again: "StarClan protect them." She wanted to help badly, but she knew she couldn't, no matter how much she cared about the cats who went back to that wretched place.

     Mousetail sat at the lip of the nursery, staring at the ground, lost in her own thoughts. She looked up when she heard another cat approaching her. Surprisingly, it was Frozenfang. "Hi," she greeted Mousetail, sitting down beside her. "Worrying about Dovesong?"

     "How'd you guess?" Mousetail asked good-humoredly. "Yeah, I am. I'm also worried about Skystorm. I tried to convince him not to go, but he went anyway. I'm scared he's going to get hurt."

     "I get that. I'm scared for Cloudsky, too. But I guess wherever Spottedsong goes, they go too. At least, that's what Cloudsky told me," Frozenfang mused.

     "I guess. But Skystorm is going mostly because he knows how much I worry about Dovesong. Not just now, but always. She's a mess." Mousetail let out a dry mrrow of laughter. "But I guess it's because of Spottedsong, too."

     "Yeah. I also get how you worry about Dovesong. But however much you worry, it won't help things. Whenever she gets something solved, she gets another thing to worry about. And sometimes it's her fault." Frozenfang didn't sound scolding at all; she sounded enormously amused. Her eyes sparkled and her whiskers quivered as she spoke. "But anyway, I hope all this goes well."

     Mousetail nodded. "Definitely."

     After a long moment of silence, Frozenfang asked, "Do you think this will all end someday?"

     Mousetail gave her a long, thoughtful stare. "I haven't thought about that. But if it does, I doubt you and I will be alive."

     Frozenfang shrugged. "Hopefully not. I want to see them get what they really deserve."

     "Saying rebellious things against them isn't going to help," Mousetail pointed out.

     Frozenfang sighed. "I know. I just . . . it makes me so mad that they hurt me and the cats I care about so much and I can't do anything to help," she meowed with such sadness it made Mousetail's heart heavy.

     "That must be hard, caring about cats from two Clans, and each of those Clans hate each other," Mousetail reflected.

     "It is. And having a friend that ran away is hard, too. Moonclaw was a best friend for a long time—since we were kits, even—before . . ." Frozenfang's words trailed away.

     "Before what?"

     "Before she found out I was lying to her," Frozenfang responded, not meeting her gaze. "I never forgave myself. She was so heartbroken after that day, and I don't think she has stopped thinking about it. Maybe she was glad she left, because so many cats in that Clan betrayed her."