The SkyClan cats headed back to camp. Shadepaw leaned against Hazelpaw and said to him, "Thank you, Hazelpaw."
"For what?" he asked.
"You fought Whisker for me. I would have been doomed if you hadn't helped me."
"But what about Sagewhisker?" he asked spitefully, "He fought Pearl and Venom."
"Yes, but he could handle them quite easily. There's no way you could have beaten Whisker by yourself. But you tried anyway, for me."
"Well, I would have done the same for any Clanmate."
Shadepaw rolled her eyes. In the distance, she saw Sharpclaw nod slightly to Patchfoot, who took the lead, still holding Gingersnap. The deputy came back to join Hazelpaw and Shadepaw.
"Good job, son," he said, "I'm really proud of you. You fought bravely, and you helped your friend."
Hazelpaw's ears flattened in embarassment at his father's praise.
Shadepaw chuckled, "It's okay, Hazelpaw. I know what parents are like too."
That reminded her of Bounceheart. Shadepaw looked back to see that Rockfall and Tinyflower were still carrying her father. Their grief for their dead brother caused them to walk slower, tails drooping. The sight sent fury into Shadepaw's heart. The cat who had killed Bounceheart, Storm, would pay. But she was glad to know that her father would be safe, among the ranks of StarClan.
They made it back to camp.
When Rose saw her daughter back, she cried out with joy, "Gingersnap!" and ran over to retrieve the kit from Patchfoot.
"See, Rose?" said Sharpclaw, "We told you we'd bring Gingersnap back."
"Actually, it's Rosefrost now," she replied, "And this is Smokekit." The small gray tom jumped up and down, excited about his new Clan name.
"Congratulations!" Sharpclaw exclaimed.
Rosefrost leaned down, purring and said hello to Gingersnap.
"Good news, sweetie. We're SkyClan cats now, and you can get a new name, like Smokekit."
"But, I like my name," Gingersnap whined.
"Don't worry, Gingerkit," said Leafstar, "I promise that when you get your full warrior name, I'll let it be Gingersnap. Okay?"
"Okay!" Gingerkit agreed.
Cherrytail headed out of the warriors' den. She let out a cry of horror when she saw her mate, Bounceheart, dead.
"What happened?" she asked Rockfall.
The black tom hung his head, "He got killed by a BloodClan cat while trying to rescue Gingerkit."
"Oh no," the tortoiseshell she-cat whispered.
"Cherrytail," Shadepaw said, "I can't believe he's gone."
"It's okay," her mother encouraged, "Death is a part of life. Your father will be a welcome addition to StarClan."
Clovertail, Bounceheart's mother, wept, "I never thought I'd see the day that one of my kits died. I always expected that I'd be there to welcome them."
Sharpclaw leaned against his mate, "Don't worry. I promise I won't let that happen to Rockfall or Tinyflower."
Shadepaw couldn't help but laugh. Sharpclaw was not the father of Clovertail's kits. They had become mates moons after she had given birth. Their real father didn't stick around, so they had never met him. Clovertail said that he had jet black fur and amber eyes, but she never talked about him because it made Sharpclaw uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable.
Sharpclaw gave the apprentice a condescending look.
"Just you wait," he teased, "Someday you'll be in love, and you'll make promises that other cats will fing humorous. Then you'll think back and wish that you had never laughed at good old Sharpclaw."
"Right," she responded, unconvinced.
Soon enough, it was night time. The Clan shared tongues with the fallen Bounceheart for the last time, before they went to their den to sleep. A few stayed to sit vigil for the ginger warrior. They were Shadepaw, Rockfall, Tinyflower, Cherrytail, Clovertail, and Rosefrost. Cherrytail had looked at the latter skeptically, and the white queen had to explain.
"He died saving my daughter. I think I owe him this much."
She then asked Petalnose to watch Gingerkit and Smokekit for the night. Shadepaw's mentor nodded in agreement and scooped the two kits into the nursery. Petalnose knew what it was like to raise kits. She was the mother of Sagewhisker and Mintsong, and her mate, Rainfur, had died in the legendary battle against the rats. She had been through a lot, and Shadepaw was happy to have her as a mentor.
Shadepaw glanced sadly at her father's cold ginger pelt. She looked up at the sky and saw one star, shining brighter that all the others, right above her head. Shadepaw knew in her heart that the star was Bounceheart.
Storm looked up at the starlit sky. He knew that the stars were nothing more than lights in the night. Screw the rumors that you became one of them when you died! Storm had never believed them, not even once. Although, he did notice that one was a little brighter than the others, but he assumed it was just a coincidence.
Most of the Clan was sleeping, but Storm couldn't. In the darkness, he could barely make out the tortoiseshell form of the BloodClan medicine cat, Camo, sorting through herbs. She had gotten her name because of how her pelt helped camoflauge her in the forest background, even though in BloodClan's old territory, there was no forest. In BloodClan, the medicine cat didn't do foolish things, like dream about dead cats with stars in their fur, and their only job was to heal their Clanmates. Also, in BloodClan they were allowed to have mates.
"Hi there!" he said cheerfully, "Can't sleep either, huh?"
"Nope. So, I decided to make myself useful. Herbs don't sort themselves, you know," she replied.
"I guess."
"Storm, is something bothering you?" she asked.
"No. Well, actually, yes. Camo, do you believe in an afterlife?"
"I believe that when you die, your soul doesn't just disappear, but I don't think that dead cats can visit anybody in dreams. Besides, you remember how the warrior ceremony goes: 'Scourge, if you are somewhere listening, look upon this apprentice!' So, yes, I do believe in an afterlife."
"Okay," Storm responded, "Thank you Camo."
Storm went to his nest. He looked at the sky once again. The stars twinkled, as if they were alive. He wondered if the ginger tom he had killed today was now one of them.