"How many lives does she have left?"

A cat with glimmering transparent fur with eyes that glittered like stars stared at a grey tom with amber eyes. They locked gazes, the grey tom's burning with rage. The starry cat took a step back nervously, unsure what to say.

"Sweetpaw!" The grey tom roared. "Answer me! Don't just sit there like a mouse-brain!"

Sweetpaw, the starry cat, flinched back, eyes flashing with hurt. "Thistlestar, I-"

Thistlestar stalked closer to the smaller cat, a snarl plastered on his face. "If you don't tell me then I'll-I'll-"

He broke off with a sigh. "I'm sorry. I've been so stressed as a leader. I hope you understand," he meowed, his voice suddenly silky and soft.

Sweetpaw leaned in and gave the larger cat a lick on the cheek. "It's okay. I'm not mad. You're my brother!"

Thistlestar grinned. "I'm glad," he meowed. Sweetpaw's eyebrows furrowed. Was that sarcasm in his mew.

"I'm not a kit, you know! I'm-"

Thistlestar cut off the smaller she-cat's protest. "Of course you're not," he meowed sweetly. "You were the biggest apprentice in the den."

Sweetpaw glared at her big brother. Stop patronising me!

Thistlestar looked like he was about to lose his patience. "Just please tell me how many lives she has left."

Sweetpaw sighed. "Okay," she mumbled. "But I feel like this is a mean thing to do."

Thistlestar rolled his eyes. "It's fine."

Sweetpaw looked at her paws, inhaling deeply.

"She has eight."

--

Bluestar padded back to camp with Mistyfoot, Timberfur and Petaldust. They had just been training once more and were doing well. She looked warmly at her daughter. "Great work today," she purred.

Mistyfoot smiled. "Thanks, Bluestar."

Bluestar nodded in reply, trotting into camp. She raised her muzzle to the sky, looking at the colourful sky as the sun began to set. The blue-grey she-cat yawned and suddenly felt weary and tired. Her eyes drooping, she padded into her den and lay down, closing her eyes and letting sleep gently wash over her.

--

Bluestar woke up in her den. It was a lot darker and she drowsily got to her paws. The tangy scent of blood reached her nose, making her panic. She bolted out of her den, all evidence that she was tired gone. But there was nothing in the camp apart from a cat who sat near the entrance. At first, Bluestar guessed it was a cat keeping guard, but her breath caught in her throat as she drew closer. The cat's familiar body type and fur colour made dread start to form in her stomach.

The cat slowly turned their head, fixing Bluestar with an intense green gaze. Bluestar crouched, pressing her stomach to the ground. She stared with panic in her eyes.

"Mapleshade," she choked out. Then her eyebrows furrowed and she slowly pulled herself to her paws. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"No hello?" Mapleshade whined, eyes blinking innocently. "I'm so sad."

Bluestar's eyes narrowed and her claws sunk into the grass. "I'm not afraid of you anymore, Mapleshade."

The tortoiseshell she-cat gasped. "You were afraid of me before?! I'm so honoured!"

Bluestar crouched to spring at the she-cat, making her more amused.

"You can't touch me, Bluestar," she meowed softly. "But I can touch you. This will only end badly for one of us."

Bluestar snarled. "Why are you here? What do you want after so long?"

Mapleshade licked a paw and examined her claws. "I wanted to catch up. See how your kits are doing," she meowed, fury burning in her eyes. "Your surviving kits."

Bluestar's tail lashed. "Foxheart," she growled.

Mapleshade recoiled, looking hurt. "What a horrible thing to say to a queen who just lost her kits!"

Bluestar scowled and took a step back as Mapleshade's expression grew serious and she leaned in close to the leader's face. "If all went well, Petalkit, Larchkit or Patchkit would have had Shellheart. I would be living happily in RiverClan as an elder as Shellheart had Oakheart and Crookedjaw!"

Bluestar's eyes widened. "What?" She asked softly.

"Appledusk took another mate, Reedshine. She had a kit who had Shellheart who had Oakheart and Crookedjaw," Mapleshade spat, looking insane, driven mad by grief and loneliness.

"Why are you telling me this?" Bluestar asked, eyes narrowing.

Mapleshade's eyes lit up. "You're going to face grief like me, I know it. Stonefur and Mistyfoot and Mossdapple will die while you have a few lives left. You will realise how horrible it was for me!" She cackled.

Bluestar growled. "I won't let them die," she protested.

"I said that about my precious kits," Mapleshade responded, eyes glittering with fury. "But they still died! StarClan was cruel to me because I broke the code, why won't they do the same to you?!"

Bluestar felt sympathy pierce her heart. "Maybe it wasn't StarClan," she meowed. "Maybe it was Darkstar and Oakstar."

Mapleshade snarled, lashing out with a paw at Bluestar's face. She narrowly missed, dodging the claws by a whisker.

Then the tortoiseshell she-cat froze, grinning. "You have a visitor," she meowed softly.

"What?" Bluestar asked, confused. "Who?"

Mapleshade groomed herself. "It's going to be so fun!" She yowled, not hearing Bluestar. "You and your disgusting family will be destroyed!"

Bluestar's eyes widened. "Wake me up," she meowed slowly, knowing full well who the cat would be.

Mapleshade let out a mrrow of emotion. "You will realise what it's like to have everything gone from you! I'll finally win! I'll- I'll- You'll get your revenge!"

"Revenge for what?!" Bluestar hissed.

"Being happy!" Mapleshade snarled in reply. "Having a great family without dealing with the loss of losing your kits!"

Bluestar jumped at Mapleshade. "I lost my mother and my sister! My nephew who I raised hates me! I have definitely dealt with loss!"

Mapleshade leapt out of the way, getting ready to swipe at Bluestar.

The second her sharp claws hit the leader's face, she woke up, jumping to her paws. Sunlight shone through the den and she could hear birds gently chirping. It was a beautiful day outside, but she knew the grass would be covered in blood after what was about to happen.

Slowly she padded out of the den to see cats of ThunderClan padding into camp, with Thistlestar in the lead. He dipped his head to Bluestar, eyes full of glee.

"Good morning, Bluestar."