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Larkwing followed Cirrus at a distance into the forest that bordered the camp. Her head was full of thoughts, full of questions and they left her no peace.
Right after Topaz had dragged Phoebe into the ruins, Cirrus had appeared, suddenly strangely tense, and had urged Larkwing to move on. Cirrus had stubbornly turned her head straight ahead and without another word had meandered between the ruins.
Her behaviour worried Larkwing, just like Topaz's. Is Topaz Phoebe's mother? she wondered, then decided that it was probably true. She tightened her claws as what the golden she-cat had claimed found its way back into her mind.
It was simply unbelievable, truly the most mouse-brained, the most stupid thing Larkwing had ever heard. And it made her so incredibly angry.
What does that mean, healing is feminine? Larkwing snorted heavily and broke a twig — that dared to lie in her path — in two as she passed it. That's not true at all! It's a good thing Cloverdapple didn't hear that. He certainly wouldn't have been happy about that. Neither would Finstrike.
She glanced over her shoulder. The ruins were barely recognisable among all the trees. Now her nose finally picked up the familiar smells of the forest. They seemed to flow through her body and for a moment she thought she was as light as a feather, as if she could float.
Flooded with a wave of sudden longing, Larkwing sighed softly. What a pity that I can't fly! Surely it would be great if I could turn into a bird — yes, preferably into a lark. After everything that's happened recently, I wish that was possible. Just to be able to fly away from all the problems... But they can probably fly too.
As if they were mocking the she-cat, birds began to chirp. At first a single starling drowned out the wavelike rustling of the treetops, then gradually more and more joined in until the air was filled with a multitude of different songs.
With narrow eyes, Larkwing peered up. Immediately afterwards, she hissed in fright and quickly lowered her head again. The sun shone down from the sky unhindered, so that she almost looked directly into the glistening light by mistake.
At that moment, she realised that Cirrus already had a considerable head start. Larkwing stormed after her, uttering several curses. "Not... so... fast," she gasped, feeling like her lungs were going to burst.
Cirrus then came to an abrupt halt. With her ears pressed to her head, she crouched down and lowered her head to the ground and back up again several times. "Excuse me! I apologise so much. Please forgive me." Her voice rose an octave in nervousness.
"It's all right." Larkwing suppressed an exasperated sigh.
Oh great StarClan, please make us get out of here as soon as possible!
It was almost embarrassing to see how Cirrus had immediately thrown herself into the dirt over this little thing. It was compounded by the fact that she was actually much older than Larkwing, and that overwhelmed the young, black-red mottled and ginger tabby speckled warrior.
