Leafstar bounded atop the Great Rock and put her head down. Her heart was breaking. She looked up, being the only leader left of the four Clans. She called a meeting together of all the surviving Clan cats to meet at Fourtrees as soon as possible. The Clan leader that remained was herself, a few ShadowClan cats and maybe a WindClan or RiverClan cat here or there. She could never be more devastated. "Cats of the Clans." She said her voice cracking from her tears. "I'm sorry to say, that this may be the last generation for the Clans. I'm sorry to say this, it crushes my heart." Leafstar said putting her head down again. "But, it's time for the Clans to go their separate ways. ThunderClan is already gone. Our fierce leaders have either passed on to StarClan, or abandoned with no hope left in their hearts. It is time for the Clans to disperse for the last time." Leafstar said, her voice coming in sobs. She looked down at the remaining Clan cats. They were all sad and she saw the shine of their tears as they rolled down their faces. "I'm sorry this had to happen....." She said hopping down. "I'll miss you all." She said walking away. "But we all need to go our separate ways." She said now crying. She heard one cat speak up. "Well, what if we rebuilt the Clans somewhere else? Leave this place and go find new Clan mates and then come back home?" Leafstar pricked her ears. "It can't be done. ThunderClan can't be rebuilt and still be pure at heart." Leafstar said sobbing. "It's time we go our separate ways...." She said, watching the cats pad away, each a different way through the bushes, alone...... "Leafstar." Leafstar turned around. It was Strawberryfur and Willowfur. Leafstar put her head down. "Just because the Clans are gone, doesn't mean we have to leave each other." Strawberryfur said tapping Willowfur and Leafstar on the shoulder. Leafstar turned away. "They can't be rebuilt, Strawberryfur. I know what you want for these cats, and I want it too. But it can't be done. It's too late for these cats, and it's too late for ThunderClan now. I never thought we'd have to say goodbye...." Leafstar said hugging her friends. "I'll miss you all the most." She said breaking free. She started heading for some bushes, but stopped, and turned. "Goodbye, my Clan mates. I'll never ever forget you all..........." And she was gone. She could hear the slight murmur of cats back at Fourtrees. She passed by few cats that were dispersing in different directions to move on as well. She trudged on through the marsh, her paws sticking in the mud from the rain the night before.
Leafstar was now beyond ShadowClan Territory and in the fields far beyond. She had said her goodbyes to her Clan mates and knew the remaining Clan cats were devastated. But, what could she do about it? She was the only leader of four Clans.... She knew she had to do what had to be done. And that was split the Clans. She knew she would be sad without her Clan mates, but maybe she'd meet a cat along the way who would befriend her. How she longed for her Clan. But, the first thing she had to do was change her name. She didn't want the cats beyond the Clans to know what happened to them. "Let's think now...." She looked at her pelt and her features thinking what would suit her best..... Her brown pelt with the white and brown stripes, her deep green eyes, her one white paw.... her brown tipped tail..... "Mist...." She said to herself. Her mostly grayish white pelt fit perfectly to the description. She kept walking in the tall yellow grass, it was like a.... Savannah type of terrain, she knew she was far from the territories, because the river was getting awfully thin. Until she spotted a white cat across from it. "Hello." The cat responded when Leafstar looked its way. "Hello." Leafstar replied, smiling. "Come on over here, I'm Snow by the way." Leafstar smiled and waded to the other side of the 'river.' "I'm Le- Mist. I'm Mist." Leafstar said, hastily. "Nice to meet you, come on, there's an oasis a little further down. If you want to get a drink and some shade. Leafstar nodded thankfully and padded after her friend. "So, have you ever been in a savannah, Mist?" Snow asked questioningly. "No, I lived in a marsh, until it uh.... Prey became scarce, forcing me to leave my friends and travel somewhere else." "Well, you've come to the right place. We have big birds, meerkat, chaffinch, snakes, and mice. We're stocked. The savannah is so many miles away from the closest marsh, wow; you've traveled far, Mist. Well, anyway, as I was saying, the savannah is a group of Loners who have no fighting, we fend for ourselves. And the Oasis is where we go at night to rest. A lot of us just pass through and go onto the alpines that are beyond the savannah. You see, we have three different terrains beyond here that all have rest points. There's one in the gap of the alpine mountains beyond here, and there's one in the tundra beyond that. Hopefully you won't go as far as that. So, Mist, are you staying? Or are you passing through?" Leafstar narrowed her eyes in thought. "I- I think I'll pass through." Snow flattened her ears and out her head down. "So many of you do that. Why can't you Loners just pick a spot and stay there?" She asked in sadness. "Snow, why don't you come with me?" Snow picked her head up. "Are you crazy? To where?" "Everywhere. We could travel the world. We could journey beyond even farther beyond the tundra and see what's out there." "Mist, what's out there is snow.... There's nothing beyond the tundra. Cats that have been there have seen it. It ends at the ocean and doesn't go any further..... It's just water and blocks of floating, thick ice." Leafstar tilted her head. "Well let's put those blocks of ice to good use. Like stairs.... I want to explore the world, see what's really out there....." "Mist, you're crazy. That's what all you loners want to do now... Just pick here, and stay here. The savannah is the nicest and safest place there is...." Leafstar narrowed her eyes. "I- I- I can't miss a chance like this." She said to her friend, "Trust me Mist... You'll be disappointed if you go out there. And it may be fatal." Mist sighed and nodded. "Alright, I'll stay." But Leafstar didn't want to. She still held that thought in her mind.... And she knew, it would never leave her mind until she went out there and achieved it......