Cloudyfoot poked his head into the apprentice den as Sagepaw groomed her flank. "Yes?" the apprentice meowed softly, sitting up and licking down a tuft of fur on her shoulder. "Do you need something?"

"Can you clean out the elder's den?" The white tom's yellow eyes were dark with pity. "You did nothing wrong; we just need someone to do it." Sagepaw nodded and stood up, trailing after her mentor as he padded out of the apprentice den. The apprentice knew that out of the current cats of her rank were much better fighters and hunters than her. So, more often than not, Sagepaw was stuck with all the mundane tasks. 

She padded into the medicine cat den. "Uh, Larkshine?" the white-and-brown she-cat meowed tentatively. "Can I have some moss? I'm supposed to clean the elde—"

Her eyes widened as a large, stocky black-and-white came lumbering out of the back of the den. His yellow eyes seemed dazed with sleep as he stared downward at the now dwarfed apprentice. "Moss, you say?" Sagepaw gave him a nod. Larkshine narrowed his eyes briefly for spinning on his paws and tromping to the back of the den. Some leaves rustled, and the medicine reappeared with a bundle of moss in his jaws. He bent down to pass it to her, but as Sagepaw took the moss, he didn't move.

"You visited the place where cats do not have stars in their fur, didn't you?" he inquired softly.

But before Sagepaw could respond, the tom had whisked off into the back of his den. 

Heart pounding at the thought of him knowing her newfound secret, Sagepaw padded out of the medicine den, ducking to avoid a sharp overhang. She reached the elder's den and padded inside, eyes quickly adjusting to the low level of light. "Hello," she meowed softly as cats stirred in their nests. "I'm here to clean your—"

"What are you doing here so early in the morning," complained Silverpool, hazel eyes shining in the den's darkness.

"Yeah, let us get on back to sleepin'," Marshleap added.

Clawedpelt seemed more hesitant. "The apprentice is here to clean our nests. Why don't you scoot over to Brokenjaw's, bless his soul, old nest?" He directed his words at Silverpool, who rolled her eyes and stood, head bumping the top of the den as she made her way toward her nest.

She settled into the old moss, letting out a soft hiss as her bones creaked. "Now, get on with this, uh, cleanin' that you're supposed to do. I want to get back in my nest when my eyes open."

Sagepaw nodded and quickly rushed to Silverpool's nest, unsheathing her claws and raking up the mossy bed. "Hey, Clawedpelt?" The gray tom angled his ears toward the apprentice, curiosity lighting his hazel eyes. "I heard some warriors talking about a cat. . . a cat who killed two apprentices in a time of famine. Do you happen to know anything about that?" She collected up the dirty moss, balling it and tossing it out the den entrance. 

Clawedpelt nodded. "As a matter of fact, I do! His name was Viperfang, and he was an ambitious young warrior. Always complaining about the deputy, Yarrowfang at the time and never listenin' to his elders. I was only a little apprentice when the apprentices were killed, but it sure struck fear in every cat's heart." The elder took a deep breath as Sagepaw started patting down new moss, combing through it for thorns.

"Well, I was an older apprentice when I was sent to patrol near Viperfang's hideaway. He would kill our prey and attack warriors, leaving them injured and crying for help. I met him, and I was frozen in his shadow. He asked me if I wanted to hear a story, but before he could begin, I spotted my mentor and ran as fast as I could."

Silverpool lifted her head. "Oh, that's not it," she meowed as she moved back into her nest. "I was a fellow warrior with the cat. He was a good liar, always comin' up with excuses for sneaking off into the woods and traversing around in the night.  Viperfang loved to tell stories too. . . he would enchant the young kits with his tales of valor and bravery, when in reality they were just falsities." Silverpool took a deep breath.

Now Sagepaw was cleaning out Clawedpelt nest as Marshleap opened his muzzle to sleep. "I have more to add. . . Viperfang wasn't a bad cat. He would do anything for his mate and kits, and when they had nothing to eat, he couldn't take it. Those apprentices would tease the littler cats by dangling chunks of prey in front of them, then snatching it away. Viperfang never ate either. He would go for suns upon suns without so much as catching scent of the prey pile. He would take some prey just as the hunting patrols would return, and he would shove it to his mate.

"Poolshine would refuse to eat. Since having her kits, she had been too weak to move, and she had gotten it in her head that she would be useless to the Clan after her kits became apprentices. She would refuse to eat too, instead giving prey right back to the apprentices, who gleefully teased Viperfang back again. Those two, Blackpaw and Rainpaw, they were never right in the head." Marshleap shook his head dismissedly. 

"Well, thanks for stirring up old memories," Silverpool meowed brightly. "And for cleaning my nest."

Sagepaw whispered a, "You're welcome," but she was still processing the information as she left the elder's den and headed out to find her mentor.

This was written by Rio :) Hope you enjoyed!