"Bluestar!" A familiar voice purred joyfully. There was a face she hadn't seen in moons…
"It's so good to see you again!" The grey leader purred.
Snowfur stepped back and stared at her with a critical gaze.
"Your pelt is awfully dull, for StarClan. Are you feeling alright?"
"I didn't know my pelt could be anything but starfilled." Bluestar murmured, confused.
"It brightens and dulls based on a number of factors. Your emotions, whether you've eaten-."
"Why do I need to eat when we're all dead?"
"It's definitely not necessary, but it makes cats feel better. We've been doing it our whole lives. Why stop just because we don't need it?"
"Fair point." Bluestar meowed. "Truth be told…" She glanced briefly at Oakheart and Thrushpelt. Snowfur nodded.
"Our parents are over there, Mosskit, if you and Thrushpelt would like to have Oakheart meet them."
"Okay." The grey and white kit chirped. She led two of the four most important cats in her life to where Moonflower and Stormtail were talking, tails twitching impatiently .
"Now-." Snowfur offered, ready to go back to their previous conversation.
"Wait for it." Bluestar snickered.
Sure enough, Stormtail hopped to his paws and bared his teeth the second he saw just who was with his granddaughter.
"Get out of our territory, RiverClanner!" He hissed. "Bluestar may have chosen you, but we will never approve!"
"I was brought here by Bluestar's request." Oakheart rumbled quietly.
"And mine." Mosskit and Thrushpelt added insistently.
"Bluestar made her choice, against the rules it may have been. Taking that away from her would be cruel. You're her parents, so I'd think she'll like for you and her mate to get along." The sandy grey tom implored.
"Yes, well-." Moonflower murmured awkwardly.
"He's not what we wanted for her!" Stormtail snapped. That seemed to set something off in Moonflower, because the silver tabby glared at the tom beside her.
"Considering the circumstances, you're one to be picky over who mates with whom." His mate hissed.
"I did no disservice to the warrior code, unlike your wretched firstborn!" Stormtail scoffed. "Turning her back on StarClan like we're something to be ignored."
"Well, we're all here now, and if you want to ever see her, or Mosskit or Thrushpelt or maybe even Snowfur, you'll get over yourself and accept the fact that, like with me, who she liked didn't match who she ended up with!" Moonflower sneered. "And don't you dare think I've forgotten what you've done to my brother!"
Stormtail looked taken aback.
"It's been moons!" He insisted.
"You tried to have him killed!" She snarled. "And when that didn't work, you settled for discrediting him. It will take far more than a few moons to even begin thinking about you in a positive light!"
"I did nothing wrong! Goosefeather was already crazy!"
"You turned me against him!" She sighed. "I know now that I should have been better to him, but you made it easy. The right words in someone's ear, the wrong-."
"I do believe that I heard my name in this conversation."
Goosefeather… oh, Bluestar had a bone to pick with him. She tore across StarClan's fields like it was nothing before pouncing on her uncle, furious.
"What gave you any right?!" She snarled. "You've been guiding my paws from the moment I became an apprentice, the second you knew that stupid prophecy was about me! I finally find something for myself and you just snatch it away like you always do!" She screeched.
Goosefeather was not quite shocked to find himself on the ground, staring up at a furious niece, but Moonflower bundled her daughter away and helped her brother to his paws.
"I know you've always meant well, sister, but it's time some things were explained."
"I certainly hope so!" Bluestar hissed. "You threatened my kits!"
"Indeed I did. A mistake on my part, and not the first." Goosefeather admitted. "My intention was never for anyone to die, though it might have seemed that way. I… this is going to sound very strange, Bluestar, but I have powers."
"I have the ability to see prophecies before they come to pass, even now. When we were alive, I thought that if I nudged the cats involved in the right directions, if I could make sure only the good prophecies happened, I could keep my Clan safe."
"Unfortunately, life doesn't work like that. And while I'm sorry to say it, you were meant to have kits… and you were meant to lose them. I had no control over how you lived your life, Bluestar. I had no control over anything. I only knew what I saw, and I ran around like a crazy cat trying to keep everything from falling apart."
"Powers…" Bluestar murmured. "Can you see them even now?"
"Yes," Goosefeather purred. "That has never left me, but Bluestar, this is StarClan. We can all see the prophecies now. There is much more peace here."
Indeed. Goosefeather seemed more alive than she'd ever seen him. His eyes were bright and there was very little trace of the haunted, fearful medicine cat she'd come to hate.
Speaking of fearful, Stormtail hadn't been all that fond of Goosefeather and Moonflower seemed bother overprotective of her brother and dismissive of her mate. Was there something wrong with her parents? Were there things that even StarClan couldn't fix?
"Bluestar?" That ever-cheerful voice should not sound as broken as it did. The last time this cat had been so tormented was when Pinestar left the forest for good. She turned to face her former deputy and found his predecessor as well.
"Lionheart, Redtail, it's good to see you well." Bluestar purred. They both dipped their heads, confused.
"What happened?" Redtail demanded. "You were waiting with the rest of the Clan at Sunningrocks why-?"
The tortoiseshell deputy's eyes glowed and he went still.
"Redtail?" Bluestar hissed, alarmed.
His gaze darkened and he padded forward, shock filling his expression.
"I'm so sorry, Bluestar." He whispered, burying his face in her shoulder. She leaned forward to lick his cheek.
"It is I who should apologize, my friend. I was blind to my Clan's faults, and that led to your demise."
"In that case, it's everyone's fault but Fireheart." Lionheart scowled. "But let's not go down that path. It is good to see you, Bluestar."
The large golden tom wound himself around her, a "cheer up!" technique that went back to when they were apprentices.
"Hey, what's a fish-face doing among ThunderClan cats?" Redtail chirped.
Bluestar had been ready to rebuke the tortoiseshell when she saw Oakheart's eyes light up. Apparently they'd made amends and it was a joke.
"I'll have you know that I climbed a tree once!" Her mate boasted.
"Right... I'll bet you couldn't catch a mouse if it leapt into your paws!" Snowfur taunted playfully.
"You're both on! If I do, you'll have to get your paws wet because I'm gonna make you catch me some fish."
"And if we win?" Redtail demanded.
"I'll catch your prey for the rest of the night."
"Fair's fair." Snowfur decided. The three of them dashed off to who knew where, and Bluestar found Mosskit at her paws.
"Dad's been trying to teach me how to fish, but sometimes I fall in the water. Want to see?"
"Absolutely." Bluestar purred. She glanced back at her own parents, who were doing their best to focus on everything but each other. She'd pester them later. Right now, she had fish to catch.
"Coming, Lionheart?" She asked. The golden tom seemed lost in his thoughts.
"Oh, yes please." He scrabbled to his paws and bounded over to them.
"Lead the way." He insisted, nodding to Mosskit.
Bluestar was curious about her parents, but as long as they didn't hurt each other, they had all eternity to work out just what was wrong with them.