//Un//marked

// chapter 28 //

    Lightpaw woke from a full night's sleep exhausted. The moment she opened her eyes she felt her fur prick with the feeling of being watched and the paranoia, never fully gone, rose again.

She had good reason to be careful. While some cats seemed to trust her immediately, or else were blinded by her skills, others remained skeptical. Nightchaser remained at the forefront, but she avoided him at all costs. Dewpaw was another, but avoiding him was tough considering training. DarkClan's insistence on keeping up her mask suddenly seemed much more useful.

Beetlepaw, on the other hand, assimilated into the group well in the moon they had been here. She was much more likeable here, in Lightpaw's opinion, and though her stubborn competitiveness still shone through she also tried harder to get along with the others. That group, of course, didn't include Lightpaw. The two hadn't spoken to each other in a couple of days.

Lightpaw found her littermate sitting near the freshkill pile, speaking with the large black and white leader of the former gang. He looked engrossed in her story, his tailtip twitching faintly near her own.

"Beetlepaw, can I have a word?" Lightpaw asked politely, approaching the two. Beetlepaw shot her littermate a reproachful look but realized she had an image to keep up.

"I'll finish that story later," she purred to Gannet, who nodded enthusiastically. Beetlepaw flicked her tail over his ear as Lightpaw lead her away.

When they stopped, a couple of tail-lengths away, Lightpaw rounded on her.

"Are you flirting?!"

Beetlepaw licked a paw and drew it over her ear nonchalantly. "Maybe. What's it to you? I'm trying to get close to some of the cats in this camp so I can learn more. It's more than you've been doing."

Her words stung. "I've been a little scared of being discovered. Oats made a comment about spies the other day, and Dewpaw clearly doesn't trust me – or you, for that matter."

Beetlepaw rolled her eyes. "Dewpaw's just jealous we can both fight."

"That still doesn't excuse the spying comment," Lightpaw said tersely. "And, besides, most of the alley cat trainees don't like us either."

"They're definitely jealous," the black she-cat replied. "Did you see the look of pure fury on Hazel's face the other day? Or Webpaw, she muttered insults under her breath the whole way back."

"How are we supposed to learn anything without giving ourselves away?" Lightpaw moaned, frustrated with their predicament.

"Do what I do."

"Pretend to be someone else?"

Beetlepaw's signature glare surfaced. "No. Be more likeable. I've got the gang covered, see if you can find an in with the alley cats. Make friends with the trainees, make up stories to get closer to them if you need to."

"Flirt?" Lightpaw offered.

Beetlepaw did not deem the suggestion worthy of a reply.

"Has it worked in your favour at least?" the tortoiseshell pressed.

The black she-cat looked around and leaned in closer. "I don't think we're the only spies here. Gannet has dropped hints that he knows of DarkClan, and more closely than an outsider would. I think that's why Rainpaw and Stormpaw were sent there – to link the gang with DarkClan."

The mention of the other mission made Lightpaw's worries about the two apprentices resurface. "You don't think they were punished for failing that mission."