Whispersong blinked open her eyes, stretching beside Bumblefrost. Last night Eveningstar had agreed, grudgingly, to let Bumblefrost sleep in the nursery with her; the apprentices' den was becoming quite full with six apprentices. Meadowheart hadn't liked it when Whispersong told her, but she eventually convinced the tortoiseshell queen that Bumblefrost meant no harm to her or her kits and would only ever be in the den at night.
Yesterday, after the Clan meeting about the mysterious deaths and disappearances, Whispersong had found Bumblefrost coming back into the camp by himself, carrying prey. He was now allowed on hunting patrols again, seeing as he hunted anyways when he was by himself, but he still wasn't allowed to go on border patrols, though it didn't seem like he cared; he hadn't been on a patrol since Eveningstar had told him he could.
When he had reached her, she had asked him again, trying to hide her annoyance, why he was leaving her so often. He had told her, as he had last time, that he had gone hunting for himself and brought back prey with them. Whispersong had asked why he didn't just join a patrol since he was allowed to, but he'd just said he didn't want to hunt with DawnClan cats, especially not hunt for them. He had said that when DawnClan finally saw what kind of warrior he was and showed trust in him, then maybe he'd hunt for them again. But until that moment, he'd hunt for himself and Whispersong only.
Whispersong sighed and yawned, looking around the nursery. Meadowheart and her kits were not in their nests; it was just Whispersong and Bumblefrost in the den.
Bumblefrost stirred beside her, yawning. "What time is it?" he murmured drowsily.
"Probably just before sunhigh," she replied quietly, glancing at the light at the den entrance.
"Okay," Bumblefrost yawned again, blinking away sleep from his green eyes.
Whispersong stood up, arching her back in a stretch. Her jaws gaped in a yawn. "Let's go see what's happening around camp," Whispersong murmured. "Plus, I want to find Echoheart."
"Why, is something wrong?" Bumblefrost asked in worry, getting to his paws quickly.
"No," Whispersong assured him. "I've just been stuck in camp all this time and I want to see if I can join her when she goes out to train Cherrypaw. Eveningstar said that cats can't leave the camp unless accompanied by two more warriors, and you could come too."
"You're confined to camp, Whispersong. And besides, Echoheart could just join up with two other mentors and their apprentices. She wouldn't need us to be there," Bumblefrost muttered.
"We can still ask her."
"You'd have to get Eveningstar's permission first," Bumblefrost warned.
"I know, I know."
"Wait, but shouldn't you be resting? You told me yesterday that Goldheart said our kits will be born very soon!"
"But I need to stretch my legs. They feel all stiff; taking a walk in the forest will help," Whispersong argued, shaking her front paw.
Bumblefrost shrugged. "Fine, you can ask Eveningstar and Echoheart, but don't get your hopes up."
Whispersong lead the way outside the den and across the camp. When she finally spotted her sister by the sunning-stones, she trotted over to her, a bit wobbly.
"What are you doing outside the nursery?" Echoheart asked. "Aren't your kits due soon?"
"Yes, but I want to stretch my legs," Whispersong meowed. "So maybe I could go out training with you and Cherrypaw?"
Echoheart blinked. "You're confined to camp," she warned.
"I know that. I'd ask Eveningstar."
"And how do you know walking around the forest is good for your kits?"
"I'll ask the medicine cats, too, then." Whispersong flicked her tail in annoyance. "And don't you need to have two warriors accompany you anyway?"
Echoheart blinked. "Yes, but I was planning on going with Sparrowtail, Eaglefeather, and their apprentices."
Whispersong blinked. "Oh."
"But they went on the dawn patrol!" Cherrypaw piped up.
"Oh yeah. They went on the NightClan border dawn patrol," Echoheart murmured to herself.
"The NightClan border what?" Bumblefrost asked.
"If you were at the meeting yesterday you would know," Cherrypaw meowed with an air of superiority. Bumblefrost blinked, trying to contain his anger.
"Cherrypaw, cut it out," Echoheart snapped. "And don't be rude to a warrior; they deserve respect."
"But he's a DayClan warrior!"
Whispersong stepped forward. "He was a DayClan warrior; he's not anymore. He'd never do anything to help Rainstar again."
Bumblefrost shifted his paws.
"Yeah right," Cherrypaw muttered.
"Bumblefrost wasn't even here when Rainstar kidnapped you and Lilacpaw," Echoheart meowed quietly. "He wants to get rid of Rainstar as much as we do. He'd never help her, I promise."
"Okay," Cherrypaw sighed, still eyeing Bumblefrost warily.
"Anyway," Echoheart meowed, turning to Bumblefrost. "We have two dawn patrols and two evening patrols now. A NightClan dawn and evening patrol, which checks the NightClan border and the border by the Twolegplace, and a DayClan dawn and evening patrol, which checks the DayClan border and the border that we don't share with any Clan."
"Oh," Bumblefrost murmured, looking lost in his own thoughts.
"Well," Echoheart sighed. "Cherrypaw and I have to go training. I think I'd be best if you two stayed here, because you'd be breaking your punishment, Whispersong. You know Eveningstar would make you stay at camp."
"Alright, alright," Whispersong grunted with a lash of her tail. "Just another day sitting in the camp doing nothing."
"I'll see you later," Echoheart meowed, padding across the camp with Cherrypaw following. They found Sunfur and Lilacpaw, then Eveningstar and Star. And soon the six of them were leaving the camp together to go training. Whispersong sighed, then dragged herself back across the camp and into the nursery. She flopped down on her nest and listened to the cats bustling around the camp without her.
* * *
The last sun rays disappeared from the darkening sky, and the stars twinkled into view by the heartbeat. Whispersong sat beside Bumblefrost outside the nursery, sharing a small sparrow. Cats were slowly dispersing and settling into their dens for the night. Eveningstar took the first guard, and Echoheart, Cherrypaw, Sunfur, Lilacpaw, and Star said their good nights and headed to their dens after returning late from their training session. Whispersong watched her sister praising Cherrypaw and Lilacpaw, and jealousy squirmed in her stomach. Whispersong should have been the one training Lilacpaw, not Sunfur. Whispersong could be sitting there, telling Lilacpaw what a good job she had done today, planning out the next day of training, spending the day out in the forest with her sister and both of their apprentices, together, as they had always planned.
Whispersong shook her head. No; I'm having kits! I couldn't train an apprentice with kits!
She was scared about having kits, especially since they would be half-Clan. But she wouldn't change it for the world. She couldn't wait to be a mother, couldn't wait to watch her very own kits grow, open their eyes, take their first steps, play with each other, become apprentices, train, mature, become warriors one day, and serve their Clan. Whispersong felt her heart warm at the thought, and she realized with a smile that having kits was maybe better than training an apprentice.
Bumblefrost nudged her back into her senses, and together the two headed toward the nursery and curled up beside each other on their nests to go to sleep.
Whispersong lied awake for a while, listening to Meadowheart's kits tossing and turning, and finally falling asleep. Bumblefrost was completely still next to her, flanks rising and falling peacefully. She sighed and laid her head on his side, feeling her sleepiness overtake her.
Whispersong blinked open her eyes. Something had woken her, some strange urge. She looked around the den. Every cat was asleep. She stared at the den entrance. It was pitch black out. What had woken her?
Whispersong blinked, then stood up and stretched. She quietly padded to the den entrance, looking out at the camp. Eveningstar was no longer on guard; Moonshine had taken his place, which meant that it had passed moonhigh. Whispersong looked up, searching for the moon amongst the thousands of stars shimmering above her. She found it hovering above the treetops behind the High-stone, sinking toward the horizon. Dawn would soon approach.
Whispersong sighed again, then lowered her gaze.
She nearly screamed. Her heart thumped louder than the monsters on the Thunderpath, and her eyes were as wide as full moons. Her fur bristled along her spine and fear sunk deep into her stomach.
A pair of eyes stared at her from behind the medicine cats den. But they weren't cat eyes. Whispersong gulped as the eyes reflected the moonlight eerily. She trembled, fear overtaking her body. She glanced quickly at Moonshine to see if she had seen it too, but the older warrior didn't seem to notice anything amiss.
Whispersong turned her gaze back to the medicine cats den, but the eyes were gone.
* * *
Whispersong had sat in the very same spot the rest of the night, but the eyes had never returned. Dawn crept upon the forest, turning the sky a pale, rosy pink. The birds began to chirp in the bare branches above, and a chilly breeze blew across the short brown grass. But Whispersong wasn't paying attention to that. She was still hard on the lookout for those two eyes. What are they? A badger's? A fox's?
Then it struck her, and she jolted in shock. Were those the same eyes Echoheart had seen all those moons ago when they were still apprentices? The eyes Echoheart had realized were a sign, sent by the Tribe of Endless Hunting?
Whispersong gasped. She had to tell Echoheart! She stood and padded across the camp cautiously to look for her sister. She was on edge, jerking her head at every little noise. Her heart pounded, and in her distraction she nearly ran straight into Clovertail and Rayclaw.
"Woah!" Whispersong yelped.
Rayclaw rolled his eyes, laughing. "Honestly, you would have thought that by now you'd learned to watch where you were going," he meowed sarcastically.
Whispersong sniffed in annoyance, not in the mood for Rayclaw's jokes. "I was distracted, okay?"
"Obviously," Rayclaw snorted in amusement.
Whispersong rolled her eyes in annoyance, muttered, "Whatever," then stepped around Rayclaw and Clovertail and walked away, ignoring Clovertail's hasty apology as she passed.
She found Echoheart sitting beside Hailstorm and Sparrowtail, talking about last night's evening patrol.
"...couldn't find it anywhere. Not on the DayClan border or the NightClan border or anywhere else!" Hailstorm growled.
"Couldn't find what?" Whispersong asked.
The three warriors turned. "Rainstar's scent," Echoheart muttered.
"Oh." Whispersong should have known. She sighed; she knew Hailstorm was one of the best trackers in DawnClan, so if he couldn't find any traces of Rainstar anywhere, then no one in DawnClan would.
"So Rainstar's nowhere to be found," Hailstorm muttered angrily.
"Well that could be good, couldn't it?" Sparrowtail blinked. "If we can't find her scent, then she might be gone—"
"But she could be lurking anywhere," Hailstorm replied angrily. "Before, at least we had an idea of where she was and where she had been! Now we know nothing! What if she wants to kill another cat—"
"—which seems like something she'd do—" Echoheart muttered.
"—How would we know which Clan territory to find her in? She could very well be in DawnClan territory next!" Hailstorm finished, looking furious and extremely worried.
Whispersong blinked. He had a point. Rainstar could be hiding anywhere. She could be deep into DuskClan territory or she could just outside the DawnClan camp! "Well, then we should keep everyone inside the camp until we're sure she's not waiting outside to attack us. Did you tell Eveningstar?"
"He was on the patrol with us," Hailstorm muttered. "He knows."
"Well, what did he say about it?" Echoheart asked worriedly.
Hailstorm turned to her, blue eyes dull. "Not much, except that we can't all stay inside camp, even though that'd be a safe option, like you said. But it'd be impossible. We need to hunt and secure our borders. If we hid in camp, we'd starve before Rainstar would even have the chance to kill again," Hailstorm sighed. "But Eveningstar's still keeping in place the rule that no cat can leave camp unless accompanied by two other warriors."
"Well, that's good at least," Whispersong sighed.
"I can't believe we're being haunted by one fox-dunged cat!" Sparrowtail snarled.
"Three, actually. Flamethorn and Emberclaw joined her," Echoheart muttered.
"Oh, I forgot about them," Sparrowtail growled. "Those fox-hearts."
They all nodded, and there was a silence.
"The camp seems empty," Whispersong commented, looking around her. "How many patrols are out right now?" she asked.
"Just the two dawn patrols, but that is four cats on each," Hailstorm meowed, pausing. "Then Yellowflower and Goldheart went to see if any herbs by the stream are salvageable. Apparently the herb they're looking for is best when dried out, so now is the time to look for it," Hailstorm shrugged.
"Didn't they need another cat to accompany them? Eveningstar doesn't—"
"Yeah, I think they left with Moonshine," Hailstorm replied.
Whispersong nodded, staring at the bushes beyond the medicine cats den, suddenly recalling last night. That's where she'd seen the eyes. She sighed. She still needed to tell Echoheart about it.
"Where's Cherrypaw?" Hailstorm asked Echoheart, breaking the silence.
"Sleeping. The other mentors and I decided it was best to leave them sleep after yesterday's long training session," Echoheart meowed.
"Well since Cherrypaw is sleeping, do you want to join my hunting patrol? Sunfur told me to take one out at sunhigh, and it's sunhigh now," Hailstorm offered.
"Sure," Echoheart smiled.
Whispersong smirked, then remembered: "Echoheart, before you go, can I talk to you for a moment?"
"What's wrong?" Echoheart immediately asked.
"Nothing," Whispersong meowed, trying to sound convincing. Hailstorm and Sparrowtail were looking at her in worry. "Nothing's wrong. I just need to tell you something."
"Okay," Echoheart meowed slowly, still looking concerned. She followed Whispersong across the camp then sat down. "What's wrong?" she asked. "And don't tell me nothing; I know something's bothering you."
Whispersong took a deep breath. "I saw a pair of eyes in the bushes last night. Like—"
"Like the ones I saw?" Echoheart gasped.
"I don't know what it means, but it nearly scared me out of my fur. Do you think it was a sign like the last one?"
"What else could it be?" Echoheart sat in thought, blue eyes distant. Then she turned back to Whispersong. "When I saw the eyes, it was like a warning for something, I think... I don't really remember what it was a warning of though. It was four seasons ago..."
"Well, we got that dream to go to the mountains after you saw it."
"So... so maybe something to do with the prophecy happens every time we see it... Maybe it is a warning. Of what, though?"
"The danger arriving in the forest," Echoheart suggested in a whisper.
Whispersong froze. "It can't be here yet... can it?" Whispersong murmured in fear.
"I don't know; I really hope not, but we can't be sure."
"But we would've seen things— footprints and stuff like that— wouldn't we? Or heard of something from the other Clans! Or even scented it! How..." Whispersong's head was spinning in terror. The danger couldn't be arriving yet! We're not ready! I'm not ready!
"I would have thought there would be traces of it," Echoheart whispered. "Maybe there are, and we just haven't realized it."
"Of course we'd realize it! Or some other cat would, at least! If there's a great big bear walking around the Clans of course some cat will see it!"
"Not necessarily. We know there's a bunch of foxes around in these forests, but we never see them. Same with badgers. They can hide."
"I guess, but then what about scent?"
"No cat has reported any unusual scents, I don't think," Echoheart murmured.
Whispersong sighed. "Well then what could this sign be warning us about?"
"I don't know," Echoheart sighed, looking worried. "I guess we'll find out."