Princess sighed as she dragged her paws through the endless trees.

'Where am I?' She thought irritably, 'This forest goes on forever!'

At every rustle of the leaves, every coo of an owl, she felt a shudder of fright tingle down her spine like a mouse scuttling along her back.

"Hello?!" she called out, "Is anybody there?!"

She was greeted only by the silence and a cold breeze, and she fluffed out her fur with a cross huff as she kept walking to heaven-knows-where.

"How do Firestar and Cloudtail live like this?" she muttered, wincing as some thorns tore at her pale tabby pelt- hidden by the darkness of the night.

As their names drifted off her tongue in the form of a puff of cloud, she felt a stab of longing for her brother and son.

She still kept in touch with their other siblings of course, their sister Candy and their brother George, but well, having scarcely known their father and being separated so youmg- Firestar had been the rock in her life after she found him again- living in the forest with the wild cats. And he'd taken in her son, her darling son, Cloudtail. Princess held back tears- why hadn't they visited in so long?

Suddenly, the scent of blood filled her nostrils, and the she-cat's head shot up in worry, her fur bristling and tinted with the silver glow of moonlight.

"H-Hello?" she whimpered. The wind seemed to push her forwards, towards a small clearing lit up by fireflies that lazily fluttered around, little specks of golden starlight.

It was beautiful, except...She looked down with a gasp as something sticky went between her toes. She yelped at the sight of blood trailing towards her across the clearing, and jumped away from it. She looked to the edge of the clearing, where she suddenly noticed a huddled form.

'Someone's hurt!' she realized, then cleared her head and set her gaze, 'I can't leave them here to bleed out! I have to help!'

"Hello?" she called, "I'm going to help you!" she bounded forward and crouched over the huddled cat, his back facing her. She got no response, but under the smell of blood she could smell...no, it couldn't be. She shuddered, "Hang on, I'll get something to stop the bleeding!"
she rushed to the edge of the clearing where some moss was perching at the base of a large oak, and yanked it out of the ground and rushed back to the wounded cat, pressing the moss onto what seemed to be the worst wound, a deep cut on his flank.

Then she stopped. No. She'd been so caught up in her determination she hadn't noticed it...the fiery pelt, the well-muscled frame and broad shoulders...

With a shaking breath, she crept round so that she could see his face...

"NO!"

Princess screeched as she sat bolt upright, panting in fear. Shaking her head, she looked around her in panic, then relief filled her. She was in her little pink, fluffy bed in the corner of the kitchen, dim moonlight filtering though the glass panel doors to the garden. She could hear the faint barking of the neighbour's dog, and smell the inviting aroma of the flickery wax things that her housefolk set alight to.

She let out a sigh of relief, but fear still etched her delicate features.

'It felt so...real.' she thought in fright. Seeing her brother's body, the grief she'd felt- it was so alike that of when she'd found out that her best friend Mitzi from next-door had been hit by a car.

She shook her pelt, taking a long breath, 'I'm going mad, it was only a dream.' she told herself. However, that knowing within her, the knowledge that every cat has for their kin's safety, continued to rise up, getting more and more persistence, urging her to admit it. Urging her to admit that;
"He's gone..."

The words were a single breath from her mouth, and as soon as she said them, her world crashed and a sob racked her small body.

"I never got to say goodbye! Oh brother, I'm so sorry!" she cried, collapsing into the fluffy cushioning of her bed, that no longer seemed to provide the warmth and comfort it once did.

"Everything you did for me," she whimpered, "I-I should have taken your offer! I should have gone into the forest with you when I had the chance! I should have been there!"

Lurching out of her bed, she darted through the cat-flap and into the garden, a rush of warm summer night air hitting her as she leapt onto the fence, digging her claws into the wood.

It was too late now- the forest that used to harbour her brother and his home was gone, replaced by another row of houses, and another after that, and more and more. It was ironic, she found, that the woods that she had thought to be so savage, so unruly, could be more welcoming than this- the sheltered structures of housefolk.

She took a deep breath and sighed, closing her eyes. It was too late now to go after the wild cats- she had no idea where they were now, and what was there for her when her brother was gone? Of course, there was her dear Cloudtail, but last she'd seen- he had a she-cat of his own, that one-eyed ginger and white cat, Brightheart was it? They probably had a family of their own by now, and what use would she be anyway?
"Oh Firestar...brother I wish things had been different..." she whispered.

At the sensation of a tail on her shoulder, she gasped and whirled her head around. Jaw gaping, she stared at the semi-transparent form of her fire-pelted brother, the very same. He was a little different to when she last saw him- he'd grown, both in height and bulk, and more scars laced the bright pelt, but those emerald green eyes were the same as ever, just as they'd been when they were still kits curled up together at their mother's belly.

Tears filled her eyes as she looked at him, but inside a joy brewed as he smiled softly at her, that same cocky, determined yet warm, loving smile she had last seen.

She didn't feel the need to speak, nor question how he was there. She just let her muscles relax and looked up at the glittering stars spread across the sky. She didn't know if he was still there, but she still felt his tail comfortingly stroking her shoulder, and she still felt his presence next to her.

"I'll be with you, even if you can't see me..."

A/N.

Hi guys, just wanted to say a big thankyou for those who have stuck with these stories so far :D Really appreciate it!

Also did anybody see the little Land Before Time quote right at the end there :3 No? Okay.

As always, please fav and follow :D !

So as always, suggestions are accepted ;) Who do you want to read about next in these little one-shots?

NOTE FOR THIS CHAPTER:

Just wanted to clear one little thing up incase anybody gets confused; the reason Firestar is only half-visible when he appears to Princess at the end of this chapter is because he's not in Starclan's...general limits, so it would take a LOT of effort to be able to get to Princess, let alone make himself visible for her to see and touch.