"We need to talk."

Those weren't the words Red Claw wanted to hear.

"Yes, we do," he replied.

Acorn Fur flicked her tail and led Red Claw back into her herb store. A moon had passed, and the clans were now in the thick of leaf-bare. Clouds had been covering the sky for weeks, and Red Claw couldn't remember the last time he'd seen the sun.

Acorn Fur's herb store was a huge hole. On one side were several rocky shelves and rock-lined holes where leaves were kept. Usually, anyway, when leaf-bare came it was nearly empty.

At the very top of the den was another big hole, covered with woven leaves, grasses, branches and bushes. Usually sunlight lightly dappled through and lit up the den, but this was a cloudy leaf-bare and the den was dark, cold and blue. It truly wasn't anything like the front of the den, which was one big rock-lined structure. A single nest sat there and so did several holes where Acorn Fur's most important leaves were.

But the sun den was much more beautiful. And where many more memories Red Claw and Acorn Fur had took place. Once Red Claw got a thorn stuck in his nose and Acorn Fur had invited him back. Once it was out, Acorn Fur started talking herbs to him.

Acorn Fur sighed. "The last time the other medicine cats and I met at the Moonstone, Moth Flight made us swear to never have kits.

Hypocrite was the first word Red Claw's mind jumped to. He stood and touched his nose to her ear.

"I don't like kits," Red Claw admitted, "I didn't know you wanted any. We don't have to have kits, Acorn Fur, not if your position doesn't let you."

"That's not all," the medicine cat went on, her voice shaking. "We can't have mates, either."

Red Claw shrunk back. "...oh."

"Yeah…"

Acorn Fur scuffled her paws and neither cat spoke for a very long time. Red Claw didn't know what to put his eyes on and neither did Acorn Fur.

"...so this is the end of us, then?" Red Claw eventually asked, his voice very quiet. Acorn Fur made one solid nod, still not looking up at him. The tom stood and pressed his nose lovingly to her cheek. She looked up at him as he spoke again, "I'll always be your friend, Acorn Fur. My nest is always open and I'm still here if your code ever changes."

Acorn Fur sniffed and nodded slightly. Before Red Claw could take too many steps away, the she-cat leaned forward and pressed their cheeks together one last time. Red Claw didn't try to stop her.

Leaf-bare ended, and so did new-leaf, but Acorn Fur's code never changed. Honey Pelt had grown into a fine young hunter and Dew Petal had grown into her fur. Though her chest was still large and plumey.

Nothing much had changed in SkyClan. No kits had been born, and only one cat had died. Skystar had lost his first life giving up his prey to Star Flower when she got very sick.

"I have lives to spare," he said on his deathbed. "She doesn't."

But, the most noticeable difference was that the hunters had changed dens. The former den was too small for the three new cats that joined, so they moved to the one between the hunter's former and the apprentice's former.

Nettle had lost his pinecone momentarily in the switch. The gray tom let out an ear-splitting screech. Acorn Fur and Skystar immediately rushed to the den entrance, leaves in Acorn Fur's jaws. The dirt ground was empty, and no blood splattered the ground to earn such a sound. Nettle was scuffling around where is nest used to be, his amber eyes wide and tail flailing wildly.

Skystar stepped forward and stood beside the tom. "What's the matter?"

"My pinecone!" he exclaimed just as loudly, "I-it's for Fircone-! I have to find it!"

"Calm down, calm down," Skystar soothed, "We'll find it."

Honey Pelt hopped into the den and, along with the other two toms, started sifting his claws through the dirt and destroying the walls to look behind.

"Found it!" Honey Pelt eventually exclaimed, pulling a small, thin, reddish-brown pinecone from behind the shared nursery wall. Nettle rushed over and ran his paws over the object. Eventually his eyes softened and he purred.

"Yes… thank you."

Skystar padded over, "If I may ask, why do you want that pinecone?"

Nettle's voice was soft as he explained, "It's for Fircone. It's been hard since the Great Battle… I just miss him so much."

Acorn Fur padded into the den, her leaves switched out for the little purple flowers of thyme. As she passed her leader, she felt waves of anxiety and guilt overcome her. She quickly placed the thyme at Nettle's paws and rushed out, panting. Red Claw made the first steps to comfort her, but Acorn Fur shook her head and he didn't move forward. He did, however, look on guiltily as Sparrow Fur licked Acorn Fur's face comfortingly.

But, just because Acorn Fur had been denied a lovelife, didn't mean the rest of SkyClan had been. In fact, Dew Petal was getting herself rather cozy with a certain white-and-black striped tom.

She returned home one day at sunset without a catch. She immediately padded over to Flower Foot, who was drawing future battle plans in the dirt.

"Talk," she mewed, "Now."

Flower Foot blinked, surprised, but stood and followed her without a word. Dew Petal led her deep into the territory on ThunderClan's side. The silver she-cat eventually stopped at a big birch and climbed up into a high branch, her sister on her tail. Flower Foot swiftly hopped over her sister and settled further along the branch while Dew Petal kept to the trunk. The she-cat stared down at the ground, eyes cloudy and lost.

"So?" asked Flower Foot.

Dew Petal sighed. "Do you remember Sterling? That kittypet we met last leaf-fall?"

"...yeah?"

"Well," Dew Petal went on, her voice quiet and shaking, "I've been meeting up with him, both in his garden and that strip of land between the forest and Twolegplace. It's nice. I've been in his den and he has these big soft boulders he takes naps on, they're really comfy… He has this dog who looks a bit like a cat and she's actually very nice. His food is really good, too, it feels a bit like dirt but it tastes wonderful."

Flower Foot stared, mortified, as her sister spoke. Once she paused, she spoke herself. "Please don't tell me you're becoming a kittypet, Dew Petal!"

Dew Petal blinked and shook her head, "Oh, no no! I was getting ahead of myself…"

Flower Foot heaved a sigh of relief, but horror quickly rose in her again as Dew Petal kept talking.

"I think I'm expecting kits," she said, quietly, "Sterling's."

"WHAT?!"

"Shh! I don't need the whole forest knowing!"

"What do you MEAN you're expecting a kittypet's kits!"

Dew Petal smacked her paw to Flower Foot's tan cheek. Flower Foot gulped and stared, wide-eyed at her.

"I don't know if I am," Dew Petal breathed, "But I don't know how to bring it up with mom or dad or Acorn Fur to check! I was feeling really sick one morning and I told Sterling, this kittypet named Cider overheard and told me later that she felt like that too when she was expecting her first litter."

Flower Foot sighed, "Well, that's not very good…"

Dew Petal sighed herself and shook her head, "It's not."

The two sat in silence for a very long time, neither knowing what to look at. Eventually, a magpie fluttered under the tree they sat in and started pecking the ground. An idea struck Flower Foot and she leapt down, landing squarely on it's back. A snap! came from under her. Dew Petal stared down, rather confused.

Flower Foot bared her teeth in a smile, nodded to herself and looked up to her sister. Dew Petal got the message and quickly climbed down, hopping to meet her once a tail-length from the ground.

"Hm?" sounded the silver she-cat.

"I had an idea," Flower Foot explained, perking up.

"Shoot."

"We'll run this through the mud, you can eat it, then once we come home and you feel bad, Acorn Fur can check if there are any kits in you!"

"...are you sure that'll work?"

"We'll never know unless we try."

So, magpie in Flower Foot's jaws, the sisters headed toward the riverside to carry out her very dumb plan. It had been rather stormy since leaf-bare, but they could throw the evidence of this plan into the river. The tan she-cat crushed the magpies skull and, together, they started to pick off the feathers. Once a big enough piece of the breast was made bare, Flower Foot took a claw and cut out a small section.

Still hooked into her claws, she lightly grazed it over a nearby puddle. Dew Petal felt her stomach twist just watching, but the anxiety of possibly carrying kits was far greater. Leaning down, she took one tiny bite. Dew Petal shoved her claws deep into the marshy ground and kinked her tail over her back as she forced herself to chew. She nearly couldn't swallow, but eventually forced herself. She shot closer to the river's edge and took several laps.

"Here," Flower Foot offered, shoving the bird closer, "Get the taste out of your mouth."

Dew Petal shook her head and sat up, "I think I've lost my appetite for a lifetime," she sighed heavily, "If this doesn't work, I'm making you eat the same."

Flower Foot let out a bit of laughter. "And if it does?"

"...I'll still make you eat it."

Flower Foot laughed again and took her own bite of the magpie, then shoved it's corpse and feathers into the river. After it sunk out of the she-cat's sight, they turned back home. Dew Petal, sick immediately, leaned against her sister all the way back.