Moonlight shone through the trees, illuminating five five feline shapes as they made their way through the grass. Their destination was a calm pool at the end of a small stream, a pool that perfectly reflected that moonlight that illuminated them. The lead cat was a ginger tom with amber eyes, and he was the first to sit beside the pool.
"So, we're in agreement as to what must be done?" he asked. One of his companions, a silver tabby tom with green eyes, nodded in agreement.
"Second chances. For those who deserve it. StarClan has scorned them."
"This is foolish, Riverstar, Thunderstar," growled the third tom, a light gray cat. "How will they even be selected?"
"By us," sighed the lithe brown she-cat. "Who better to choose than the originals. Gray Wing made it clear that this was the best course of action."
"I don't completely agree with that," mewed the black she-cat. "But I suppose it's better than risking an uprising again. So, each of us chooses one cat to rejoin the Clans as a kit?"
"Precisely." Thunderstar smiled, then nodded to Riverstar. "You should select first, my friend. I believe you already had a cat in mind?"
Riverstar prodded the water's surface with his paw, revealing a gray-and-white kit sleeping in the curve of a blue-gray she-cat. Windstar had a slight grin on her face.
"You would take her away from her parents and brother here in StarClan?"
"Every cat we choose will be taken away from their family in StarClan," pointed out Shadowstar. "We just have to ensure it won't hurt those left behind here."
"I'll pick next," Skystar stated. He did the same as Riverstar, the pool revealing a dark ginger tabby she-cat. "She deserves it more than most."
"I guess I'm next," Windstar murmured. The pool revealed a black she-cat, scarred by battle. "My kin, stripped of her destiny by an old grudge."
"I'll go next," offered Shadowstar. For her, it was a black-and-white kit, a warrior in name alone. "He died too young. And he should've lived to become a cat of great importance."
Thunderstar took a deep breath; it was his turn now, and his choice would be sorely contested by the others. He could only hope that his reasoning would sway them enough that he would be able to give the warrior another chance. And he also had a back-up plan that might allow that warrior to be allowed. The surface of the pool shimmered and darkened, showing a tortoiseshell she-cat curled on a patch of slimy leaves.
"Her?!" spat Skystar, furious. "Why?! She's among those in the Place of No Stars!"
"She was the one who caused them to rise against us!" added Shadowstar. Windstar and Riverstar nodded in quiet agreement.
"She was wronged by StarClan in the worst possible way," Thunderstar explained. "We took everything from her, and it was because of us that her darkness entered the Clans in the first place. This is our chance to fix it so she can be with those she truly cared about: her kits."
As if on cue, three kits emerged from the grass, scarcely tall enough to see over the blades. They were young, and all five leaders knew whose kits they were. These kits had mourned for seasons over not being able to see their mother, and only being allowed to see their father. They hated their father for what he'd done to their mother and they only wanted their mother.
Windstar and Riverstar bowed their heads in capitulation. Shadowstar gave in, and Skystar was clearly outnumbered.
"Fine. But if she causes more trouble…"
"She goes right back where she came from."
Five stars will fall from the sky before the Clans' darkest hour and finish what was started in the Great Battle.