Starlight

Chapter 9

Feathertail and Mothwing ducked under a thornbush, surveying the space.

"This might do," Mothwing meowed, placing her herbs down. "There's plenty of space for a store, and it's sheltered enough to keep me and any future patients dry from rain and snow."

Feathertail placed her bundle down next to Mothwing's, a question gnawing at her belly. "Mothwing? Do you think we've made the right choice?" she mewed hesitantly. "Is this really where StarClan wants us to be?"

Mothwing looked from where she had laid down and curled her tail tightly around her. "I can't answer that, Feathertail, you know that. They'll tell us what they're willing to tell us. Now stop worrying and get some sleep, I heard Leopardstar is ready to put the Clan to work in the morning." She pushed her nose into her tail, and her breathing became slow and even as she drifted off.

Feathertail did not find sleep so easy to come by. She crouched beneath the thornbush, gazing around the shadow-filled clearing. I hope she's right, she thought. Only one or two lone stars glimmered from the cloudy sky, and Feathertail began wondering if StarClan really was lost to them forever.

She must have dozed at last, because she opened her eyes to find she was dreaming. She was standing on the stepping-stones back in the old territories, looking into her territory. Fish splashed around her and the running water soothed her more than she expected it too. Perhaps it was like Stormfur said, once you've been around something too long, it's almost impossible to let go of it. A sudden gust of wind ruffled her fur and made her turn. She was met with a sight she hadn't expected.

Graystripe was sitting at the treeline, looking down at his daughter with soft yellow eyes and a small smile. His long gray pelt was waving with the breeze and the leaves blew around him almost like the forest was moving with him. Then, his eyes lifted from Feathertail and looked behind her, a look of pure love flooding his expression. Turning back around, Feathertail could've cried out in joy. Stormfur was standing across the river, his fur matching their father's. He was smiling too, and Feathertail could almost feel his soft fur against hers just like before. But the cat next to him was one that surprised her.

It was Silverstream!

Graystripe had told them enough about their mother for her to imagine what her mother had looked like. Her pelt was a close color to hers, but Feathertail's stripes were more gentle and lighter than Silverstream's. Her mother's blue eyes were softer than anyone's she's ever seen, and her long tail was curled neatly around her paws.

"Silverstream? Stormfur?" Feathertail called, turning in multiple circles to keep an eye on her family. "Graystripe? What's going on?"

Graystripe padded down from the treeline and stopped at the edge of the water. Silverstream and Stormfur did the same and they all bordered the stepping-stones as if they were blocking her way. Graystripe rested a paw on a small stone close to him, his tail curling slightly around his hind leg and looking down.

Silverstream was the one to speak. "You need to choose one, Feathertail," she mewed softly, her eyes flicking between her kits and her mate. "You cannot live with a paw in both worlds. You must make a choice that makes you happy."

"Like you did?" Feathertail ventures.

Silverstream's expression turned slightly sad, but her loving smile never dropped. "I chose love," she admitted. "My father tried to stop me, but I knew I would always have chosen Graystripe over everything else. You need to make a choice, my little one. You need to choose kin, or love. Graystripe is your father, but remember that kin does not determine where your true home is."