**OLD** Valley Cats: Of Sky and Stone 1- Daughters and Darkness

Chapter Thirty

 "What do you mean, he isn't coming back?" Twisterpaw demanded.

 "He wants to stay in CliffClan. Wise choice, if you ask me." Onyxpaw shrugged apathetically. "So, are you going to join him?"

 "Does he miss me? Do any of them miss me?"

 "No."

 Twisterpaw glared down at her paws, infuriated. Her family was truly slipping out of her reach now. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the scrawny black she-cat padding away to join the other CliffClan apprentices. Twisterpaw stood up, shaking the fictional frost from her pelt as she turned around to scan the white rocks for her mentor.

 Crowpelt was sitting on the tallest boulder, talking to Wolfstride. But before Twisterpaw even took a step in his general direction, he turned his head to stare into her soul. After a few awkward heartbeats, he gracefully hopped down from his perch and waded through the dense foliage towards her.

 "Hello, Twisterpaw. You did well in training tonight." he commented simply.

 "Yes, but do you think-"

 "Is your family not perfect?" Crowpelt tilted his head suddenly, ready to pounce on any answer she gave.

 "Well... I don't know." Twisterpaw admitted.

 "I'd like to introduce you to someone." Crowpelt said, turning towards a cloud of mist. He waved his tail, beckoning her to follow. Twisterpaw glanced around quickly, studying the cats. She knew all of the apprentices that trained in the Frozen Forest, plus the warriors who trained them. But she had only met  a pawful of spirits before...

 "Who is it?" she ventured, her voice setting off many echoes in the mist.

 "You have not seen this cat, but you have heard much about him. A cat from ForestClan, too." Crowpelt hinted.

 "Um... Is it Pumastar? Or was his name Cougarstar? That leader?" Twisterpaw guessed.

 "No, but I will give you one more hint. He's still alive."

 Twisterpaw racked her brain trying to think of someone, but eventually one answer flickered through. "Um... my father? One of those cats that were exiled from ForestClan when I was a kit?"

 "Correct." Crowpelt smiled slightly, revealing his long, snow-white fangs.

 The pair stepped through the mist, and into a ring of black, twisted trees. Standing in the grass were a cluster of cats Twisterpaw had never seen before. A pale tabby she-cat with amber eyes rushed forwards, snarling at them. Twisterpaw leaped out of her way, cowering in the grass as the she-cat raced by her. "Well? Can I see them now?" she demanded.

 "I haven't talked to Robinsong recently, but a while ago she said Squirrelstrike was working on it. Soon you'll be seeing Mousefall." Crowpelt said coldly.

 "How soon?" the she-cat snarled.

 "He has only been here once, but we should be able to convince him in a while."

 "And how long will that take?" the tabby's voice was rising.

 "Calm down, Twistedbramble. Maybe we could visit during the day?" A grayish-brown tom stepped through the mist, laying his slender tail on Twistedbramble's shoulder.

 Twistedbramble whipped her head around to growl at Crowpelt. "You told me I'd see them before they became warriors!" she yowled furiously.

 "Maybe Ratchaser has a point." Crowpelt held up a dark gray paw. "Since Mousefall is showing resistance to our plan, maybe we should change a minor detail. I propose we bring the siblings to us, but in the waking world."