They knew what they saw. Valleyprint knew what they saw. They were a smart warrior with keen eyes and a loyal mindset, and never once had they been wrong about something they’d glimpsed. They knew without question that they had seen a flash of black and calico pelt, two cats moving towards the Meadowclan border with a hurried, panicked gait before disappearing into the forest that marked the beginning of Redwoodclan territory. The black-splotched warrior was more than certain that they’d seen trespassers that afternoon, and they were determined to dig deeper.

Yet somehow, their clanmates still had the audacity to doubt them.

“Are you absolutely sure?” Bluebreath asked them gently, setting down the unfortunate finch he’d caught. “It could just be a trick of the light. The grass does that sometimes.”

“Of course I’m sure!” Valleyprint yelped in indignant reply, whirling around to face the blue tabby tom. “Since when have I ever been wrong about trespassers?”

Yellow eyes blinked back into theirs, wholly unamused and thoroughly unconvinced. Bluebreath had been their best friend since kithood, and he knew Valleyprint better than any other cat that had ever walked the Earth. He’d been there for every moment, every tizzy and every fit and every laugh, smile, and quiet night. They might as well have been siblings. He knew Valleyprint was a keen cat, but he also knew they tended to get riled up over the littlest things. “I’m not saying I don’t believe you, but I am saying that it’s very possible that your peripherals were playing tricks on you.”

Valleyprint wanted to roll their eyes so hard that their whole body would go tumbling across the grass. “I’m certain,” they insisted more firmly, narrowing their navy eyes just a little. “There was calico fur over in that grass. It was impossible to mistake for anything else.”

Bluebreath cast his eyes out towards the patch of meadow that Valleyprint indicated with a raised paw. He set his mouth in a pensive line for a moment before nodding slowly, caving like he usually did. For all his smarts, Bluebreath tended to be very non-confrontational. Valleyprint had unknowingly used this to their advantage more times than either of them was ready to admit. “I… I guess you could be right,” the tom relented after a moment, squinting slightly at the border. “Maybe the border marks aren’t as fresh as they should be?”

Valleyprint was already halfway to the treeline, several steps ahead of their friend both figuratively and literally. If there were trespassers then clearly the borders weren’t marked enough. That needed to be fixed instantly.

This isn’t perfectionism, the warrior insisted to the little voice in the back of their mind. This is necessary. This needs to be done.

The little voice was, as usual, not convinced. You’re making a big deal out of this, it protested ceaselessly. It was just one cat, anyhow. Nothing important.

Too bad. Valleyprint was already sprinting across the meadow to the treeline, intent on rubbing their cheek against every rock and tree they could possibly reach. Behind them, they could hear Bluebreath calling for their return, but they ignored him masterfully. Making sure every last stretch of the Redwood-Meadow border smelled like Meadowclan was far, far more important, and a good warrior had priorities.

---

They had to be dragged back to camp, having rubbed their cheeks almost raw against numerous border markers. Bluebreath had tried to stop them, he really had, but Valleyprint had gone too quickly for him to keep up with, and they’d refused to budge. Just the scent marking must’ve taken an hour, not to mention how long it took to pry the fretful warrior away from the treeline and return home with them.

“Let me get this straight,” spoke a slightly sonorous voice, sighing quietly in exhausted frustration. Its owner, Nagi, was the clan’s deputy, subdued and patient in nature. “You think you saw a Redwoodclan cat come over the border into Meadowclan territory, only to turn around and leave without doing anything?”

“Well, no, we didn’t see them come onto Meadowclan ground, but we did see them leave. There were two of them, one black and one calico,” Bluebreath did his best to explain, nervously shifting his fluffy tail around his paws as he spoke. “Actually, I didn’t even see anything at all. It was Valleyprint who saw them.”

The black-splotched warrior jolted forward at the mention of their name, startling poor Vividamble, the clan’s medicine cat who had been trying to disinfect their wounds and put cobwebs on the raw spots. “I know what I saw! They must’ve been spies, or stealing something, or seeing someone forbidden! We need to tell Cranestar!”

Nagi sighed, holding up a paw to signal that he wanted Valleyprint to settle down for a moment. “Hang on now, Valleyprint. Redwoodclan is an honorable group of cats led by a wise and fair leader. I’m not saying that you didn’t see cats from Redwoodclan going back across the border, but do you really think that a hardworking and just clan like that would contain cats who would steal from their neighbors? It was more than likely an honest mistake.”

“How could anyone cross a clan border as a mistake?!”

From next to Valleyprint, Vividamble sighed. “Unclear scent markers, getting distracted while chasing prey, overexcited apprentices, simply not paying attention… There are lots of reasons for a cat to cross the borders without nefarious intent. Nagi is right, it was likely an honest mistake, nothing worth worrying Cranestar over.”

Both Nagi and Bluebreath nodded, the former standing up to place a gentle paw on Valleyprint’s shoulder. His eyes, a keen shade of green, searched for contact in theirs. “You need to stop letting your anxiety get the better of you,” the marbled tom spoke softly. His shoulders shifted as he heaved a gentle sigh, dark patterning shocked against white fur. “You can’t see past the worst-case scenario, and that’s only going to do you harm. You have wonderful potential, if only you could learn to put your worries to rest.”

Valleyprint wanted to bite him, but he was the deputy and they were a good, code-abiding cat. It came as a relief when he stepped away and swished his black-and-white striped tail as he quietly made for the exit. Bluebreath pulled Valleyprint in for a gentle hug. “He’s right, you know. Put out the fires on your mind and try to rest for a bit. With all this stress, you’ll become an elder prematurely,” he chuckled softly, attempting to make a friendly jab at them. Valleyprint faked a smile.

“Heh… yeah, guess so,” the black-splotched warrior managed, trying to indulge their friend in his attempt to cheer them up. It came across as stiff – acting was far from being one of Valleyprint’s talents – but Bluebreath seemed satisfied with it. Valleyprint watched as the tabby tom stood up and quietly made his way to the exit.

“Rest in here,” Vividamble spoke softly, a gentle but obvious command. “I’ll let you go tomorrow, once the stress has worn off.”

Valleyprint knew what that really meant. “You’re going to cause a fuss if I let you outside right now, so you need to stay in here until you can stop acting like a lunatic.”

Nobody ever listened to Valleyprint. Not since the anxiety came, at least. They used to be such a brave, studious, gifted cat, but…

But now I’m just defective. They’re right. I’m not worth taking seriously.

They should just shut up and stop worrying everyone. They should just stop fretting over everything.

Get your head in the game, Valleyprint. It’s no big deal.

It felt like a big deal, though. It felt like the sky would fall if nobody listened. Maybe it would.

Maybe one day someone would pause and take their concerns seriously again.

Maybe one day they’d be right.

For now, all they could do was sit alone in the medicine den and wait to be worthy of the outdoors again, no matter how long that took. Growing drowsy as the adrenaline started to dissipate from their body, Valleyprint laid their head down and stared out the den’s entrance, trying to force open their heavy eyelids. The bed of moss they were on smelled like miscellaneous herbs, and the afternoon sun had long since begun its descent towards the horizon. Maybe a little nap won’t hurt. Just a few minutes…