Leafpool lifted her head. “That’s where we stood after we were given our apprentice names.” Leafpool nodded to the edge of the clearing.
Squirrelflight remembered. “We were waiting for Dustpelt and Cinderpelt to take us into the forest for the first time.”
“You were always so impatient.” Dustpelt’s gaze flashed teasingly at Squirrelflight. “But you were a quick learner.”
“I had to be!” Affection for her old mentor warmed Squirrelflight’s heart. “You had so much to teach me.”
Cinderpelt lay a tail-length away, sharing a squirrel with Longtail and Mousefur. She looked up from her meal. “Leafpool was always patient,” she mewed fondly. “Especially with the elders. She could listen to them complain for moons.”
Mousefur pricked her ears. “I hope you don’t mean me,” she mewed sharply.
Squirrelflight saw Cinderpelt and Leafpool swap a knowing glance. She blinked innocently at Mousefur. “Of course she didn’t. You never complained.” As she spoke, Squirrelflight noticed a gap in the ferns at the far end of the clearing. “Look, Leafpool.” She nodded toward it. “That’s where we used to sneak out of camp and go exploring.”
Leafpool purred. “We’d pretend we were fetching mouse bile from the medicine den and slip out when no cat was watching.”
Dustpelt’s eyes widened. “That’s why I could never find you.”
On the other side of the clearing, Ashfur got to his paws. He signaled to Dustpelt with his tail. “Do you want to come hunting?” he called. “I’m meeting Whitestorm by the river.”
“Sure.” Dustpelt acknowledged the gray warrior with a nod. “I’d better go. Whitestorm will be waiting.” Dustpelt dipped his head. “I’ll see you when I get back.”
Will you? Squirrelflight shifted uneasily. However nice it was to hang out with her old Clanmates, she wanted to be back with the living. She watched as Dustpelt met Ashfur at the entrance. “Isn’t it weird having Ashfur around?” she asked Hollyleaf.
“Not really.” Hollyleaf licked a paw absently. “After a while, what happened in the forest seems less important.”
Firestar swiped his tongue around his jaws. “It’s strange how distant the living Clans seem now. These days I recognize more pelts in StarClan than I do in ThunderClan.”
Sandstorm pulled the squirrel carcass closer and picked delicately at the bones. “No cat fights in StarClan,” she mewed between bites. “But then, we’re never hungry, or cold. I suppose there’s less to fight over.”
“Squirrelflight!” Juniperkit’s mew made her turn. He was hurtling toward her, his tail sticking straight into the air. He bundled into her, purring. “Do you want to play moss-ball with us?”
Dandelionkit hurried after him. “Briarlight says it’s more fun if we all play.”
“I said no such thing.” Briarlight bounded to the edge of the clearing and blinked at Squirrelflight. She looked lean and fit, her pelt sparkling with starlight. It was hard to believe she’d been crippled for so long. She grabbed Juniperkit and scooped him onto her back. “Do you want a badger ride?”
“Yes!” Juniperkit squeaked.
“Me too!” As Dandelionkit scrambled onto Briarlight’s back, Larksong and Flickerkit crossed the clearing.
“Let’s have a race,” Larksong called.
“Can we?” Flickerkit’s eyes lit up.
“We can do anything we want.” His father ducked low enough for him to climb onto his back.
Squirrelflight purred as Briarlight and Larksong charged away, the kits squealing with delight as they clung on. Her purr suddenly died in her throat. They’d always be like this. “Are they sad that they’ll never become warriors?”
Firestar shrugged. “They learn warrior skills,” he told her. “And even though they won’t ever get warrior names, they can hunt and explore where they like. It’s safe here. And there are always plenty of other kits to play with.”
Sandstorm followed Squirrelflight’s gaze. “They spend a lot of time with Mosskit,” she told her.
Squirrelflight jerked her muzzle toward her mother. “Mosskit.” The name rang a bell. She’d heard nursery stories about her. “Wasn’t that Bluestar’s kit? The one who went missing?”
“Yes.” Cinderpelt shifted onto her belly. “She and Bluestar are inseparable now.”
Leafpool glanced around the camp. “Why aren’t they here?”
“Why should they be? There are no borders in StarClan,” Cinderpelt reminded her. “Cats roam where they please. Bluestar lives with Oakheart now. They can be the family they never were in life.”
Squirrelflight wondered what it was like to live without borders. She tipped her head to one side. “How can the Clans live in peace here but not beside the lake?”
“I told you.” Sandstorm flicked her tail. “There’s less to fight about.”
Cinderpelt got to her paws. “I promised Yellowfang I’d hunt with her this afternoon.” She blinked at Leafpool. “Do you want to come too?”
“Of course.” Leafpool blinked at Squirrelflight. “Do you want to join us?”
“No thanks.” Squirrelflight wanted to make the most of the time she had here in StarClan. She could wake up at any moment and find herself in the ThunderClan medicine den. “I’ll stay with Sandstorm and the kits.” She watched Leafpool and Cinderpelt hurry toward the gorse tunnel, their pelts fluffed with excitement. Cinderpelt seemed happier here, and Leafpool happy to be with her again.
Firestar closed his eyes, and Sandstorm began to wash his ears as though he were a kit. Mousefur rolled onto her side, clearly relishing the sunshine. How comforting it was to know that those who’d left them would never truly be gone.
Hollyleaf caught Squirrelflight’s eye. “Can I show you around?”
“What about Sandstorm and the kits?” Dandelionkit, Juniperkit, and Flickerkit chased one another’s tails on the other side of the clearing.
“They can come too,” Hollyleaf told her. “Don’t forget, kits aren’t confined to camp here. They can go wherever they like in StarClan. There’s nothing to hurt them here.”
Squirrelflight glanced at her father. He was dozing now, gently snoring. “Should we wake him?”
“He likes to have a nap in the afternoon,” Sandstorm told her. “He’ll be fast asleep until sunset.”
Squirrelflight got to her paws. “Dandelionkit! Juniperkit!” They stopped playing and looked at her eagerly. “Do you want to come look around with us?”
“Yes!” Dandelionkit raced toward her, Juniperkit on her tail.
“Can we come too?” Larksong and Flickerkit hurried after them.
“Sure!” Hollyleaf shook out her pelt. “Maybe we’ll catch some squirrels while we’re out.” She headed for the thorn tunnel. “Tree hunting is the best.”
“Tree hunting?” Squirrelflight pricked her ears nervously. “Isn’t that dangerous?”
“Not here.” Hollyleaf ducked through the entrance.
Juniperkit lifted his tail happily. “You can’t hurt yourself, even if you fall.”
“It’s like flying without wings.” Dandelionkit pushed past her and raced through the gorse tunnel, Juniperkit at her heels.
Squirrelflight hurried after them, her belly tightening. Even in StarClan, she didn’t like the idea of her kits falling.
“Don’t worry.” Sandstorm must have seen her pelt prickling. She ran her tail along Squirrelflight’s spine. “They’re perfectly safe.”
Squirrelflight raced along the oak branch. A ginger tail bobbed just ahead. As the ground blurred far below, she felt no fear. She reached the end and leaped. Air streamed through her fur. The tree beyond seemed to reach toward her, and she landed among its branches, breathless at the thrill. She hesitated, scanning the tree for the squirrel. There it was, swarming up the trunk! She hauled herself upward, her claws digging easily into the soft bark, and scrambled onto a crooked branch as the squirrel doubled back.
Hollyleaf was watching from the branch above. As the squirrel neared her, she slithered down, blocking the squirrel’s path. It turned, eyes widening as it saw Squirrelflight. She leaped for it and hooked it up, then killed it with a single bite. Its blood sang on her tongue, and she sat back on her haunches, satisfaction pulsing beneath her pelt.