Warriors AU: Sandstar's Quest

Chapter 20

Sandstar flattened his ears in disappointment. "I thought she would at least stay until we got back," he meowed. "There's so much more I wanted to ask him."

Fireheart dropped her prey beside Sandstar's and padded across the hollow where Sky had slept. "She's used to being alone," she pointed out. "I suppose he just didn't feel comfortable around other cats."

Sandstar twitched his tail tip, irritation raising the fur on his shoulders. "Now we'll have to trek all the way up the gorge again. I don't want to leave without speaking to her. I have to know more about Skyclan, especially why they left these caves."

Fireheart's green eyes glinted at him. Sandstar was afraid she would think he was becoming obsessed with Skyclan, particularly when there was no Clan to restore, nothing but memories and sand.

"I'll feel as if I've failed the cat in my dreams if I don't find out what destroyed the Clan in the end," he defended himself. "It wasn't just leaving the forest. They reached this place, and they could have thrived here, especially with their special ability to leap. So what happened next? Why did they go?" He shook his head in frustration. "I have to know," he repeated.

"It's okay." Fireheart pressed her muzzle against his. "I understand. And if—"

A panting, scraping noise from outside the cave interrupted her. Sky clambered into the cave; a huge bundle of moss was clamped in her jaws.

Relief flooded over Sandstar. "You're still here!"

"And you found moss!" Fireheart added.

The old cat dropped her burden and looked at her as if she thought she was mad. "You do use moss for bedding, don't you? I haven't dragged this stuff all the way up from the river for nothing?" She gave her nest of ferns a scathing look. "Maybe you enjoy being pricked all night."

"Yes, we use moss," Sandstar meowed, "but we couldn't find any."

Sky snorted. "I'll show you later." She pushed the bundle of moss toward them with one paw. "There, put it in your nests. I don't need any; I won't be staying another night."

"I wish you would." Fireheart brushed her muzzle against Sky's shoulder; the old cat tensed, but didn't protest. "There's so much you can tell us."

Sky hesitated, then flicked her ears. "I'm not welcome here. Those kittypets... I've been driven out, just like my ancestors."

"I'm sorry—" Sandstar began.

"Don't feel sorry for me!" Sky's blue eyes flashed. "I've got a perfectly good den of my own. I don't need anything."

Her voice ached with a loneliness that contradicted her words.

Fireheart padded across to the small fresh-kill pile she and Sandstar had made, and picked out a plump vole, which she carried over to Sky. "Please eat," she mewed.

The old cat's eyes glinted with surprise, but she crouched down to devour the vole. Fireheart fetched a starling for herself, while Sandstar used Sky's moss to line their nests. It was paler than the moss that grew in the forest, and he was still puzzled about where Sky had found it. There hadn't been time for the old cat to go far.

By the time Sandstar settled down to eat, Sky was swallowing the last scraps of fresh-kill. "Thanks." She grunted. "I've eaten worse."

Fireheart dipped her head. "Please, will you show us where you found the moss?" she asked. "And maybe some of the other places you remember from when you were young?"

Sandstar gave Fireheart an appreciative glance. It was a good idea to nudge the old cat along the path of her memories; she must want to share them, after being so long alone.