Silverstar followed her mate into the darkness. She quickly passed him, however, and lead the clan down the scent trail her friends had left. They passed a few cars and alleyways, and finally made their way to a steep hill that was presided over by a large tree. The kits, Sunfur, Ravenpelt, Leafear, and Tigerstripe were there, waiting anxiously for her return.

"Silver! Thank Starclan! Are you alright?" Sunfur cried as soon as they were within hearing distance. Silverstar immediately felt her ears burn with shame.

"Er...I'm fine."

She immediately took an inventory on her remaining clan. They were still a little sore from the run in with the rats, though most of them were ok by now. For some reason, the fact that they had once been human speeded up their regenerative properties so they healed really quickly. However, the apprentices were all scratched and Fierceclaw, who had taken the biggest part of the beating, was bleeding heavily from a cut over his eye. Otherwise, they were ok.

"Fierceclaw, and all the apprentices!" She called out. "Come here and see Leafear!"

Then in a quieter voice, she asked, "Hey, Leaf, do you have any herbs or anything?"

"Not much. Just some cobwebs and horsetail. It won't go far."

"Well, stretch it as far as you can and just make sure they'll get through the night. Then we'll get to the sleigh, and it'll be fine."

"OK."

Leafear treated them, and made sure that the swelling, bleeding, and other minor things had stopped. Then Silverstar ordered that Whiteclaw organize watch shifts. So, exhausted from their little escapade, they settled down to sleep under Starclan's watchful gaze.

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

They woke up the next morning in a semi-state of shock.

"I can't believe it." Skypaw whispered. "We're free!"

Suddenly, joyous shouts came from all the cats.

"Weve done it! We're on our way again! We're alive!"

Only one person was Trueheart. He seemed a little...down. If you were to give his state of mentality a color, it would be a dull gray. Or maybe even a putrid shade of green.

"I don't feel so good," he moaned. Leafear hurried over to him.

"Are you ok?"

He straightened. "Yes! Of course! Fit as a squirrel in spring! Never better!"

Leafear looked unsure, but before she could say anything else, Silverstar cut her off.

"Ok everybody! Listen up! We're going to get a move on! I had a dream last night. A dream from Starclan. They said that we must hurry, or the paths through the mountains will be blocked. We must follow the path of a dying warrior. When I awoke, a shooting star was leading us in a straight line from where we are now. So...I've decided we will head on from here. Leafear can gather herbs around these houses and we will simply go on our way. We will carry the kits. Agreed?"

"Wait a minute!" Sunfur and Leafear cried simultaneously. Leafear backed off, but Sunfur plowed on.

"You dont' expect us to walk all the way! We can't do that!!"

"Sure you can." Silverstar said firmly.

"But I need those herbs, Silverstar!" Leafear said angrily.

"We can't carry the kits the whole way!" Ravenepelt shouted.

"Of course not. They can learn to ride on your back." Silverstar said. "Look, you guys, you don't understand. Starclan told me this was the right way. I know it sounds crazy, but it'll just be easier if we listen to them. They know best."

"They weren't always right," Tigerstripe yowled. "They made mistakes too!"

"Yeah," Silverstar snapped. "But this wasn't just any Starclan cat, Tiger-loud-mouth-stripe. This was Thunderstar."

Then she stopped, shocked. "Oh no," she whispered. "I wasn't supposed to tell."

"What I don't get," Leafear said thoughtfully. "Is why they told you directly. It doesn't seem like Starclan at all. They must give us help, but not directly. It's usually signs and warnings and stuff...not direct warnings, though."

"True," Silverstar said. "But remember. We're different."

"Fine."

"Then, we leave in a few minutes time. Whiteclaw, arrange hunting patrols, and kit carrying shifts. I'll take my fair share too."

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

They left in a few minutes. Silverstar was carrying Flamekit, Sunfur had Crystalkit, and Tigerstripe was gingerly grasping Stealthkit about the scruff.

"Ooof," Silverstar mumbled around the small kit. "They're getting heavy."

"Yeah..."

They walked for quite a way, following the path Silverstar had been shown. It was easy, through a slightly wooded area, though it was mostly highway. After hours of walking, they came to an old barn.

"You think we should stay here for the night?" Silverstar asked Whiteclaw. He nodded. It looked safe enough. They padded inside. It was warm and filled with hay and the promising scent of mice. Suddenly, out of nowhere, something hurtled onto Silverstar, pinning her to the ground.

"AACK!!" she yowled, and tried to buck it off. It smelled like cat. Whiteclaw quickly pulled the thing off her, and it turned out to be a hissing, spitting, ravenblack cat. Immediately, though, he straightened.

"Oh, sorry." he said (for it was a tom.) "I thought you were those Bloodclan cats coming back here. My name's Ravenpaw."


Crystalstar: :) THanks! This is Silverstar, by the way. I think those names are interesting, especially Journeykit. But I don't htink they fit. I like Stormkit, and Pebblekit, though.

Firestorm: thanks for understanding!!!

Scorchtail: Welcome to the newest fan of my story!! -round of applause-

Abby-Whitlock-Hale-Cullen: :D

Uldaren Bardaniel: Thanks for everything- your praise, and your thoughts. :)

icanhazlolzcatzplz: I think i always put toooo many 'zzzz' in yoru name. :) I will try and update soon.

Well, don't forget to review!!! :)

-Owly

P.S. From Silverstar: I would like to tell everyone that Whiteclaw, Sunfur, Ravenepelt, Fierceclaw, Skypaw, Bluepaw, and Thornpaw all say "Hi!" The rest of my clan would like you to know that fleas are much worse than they sound. :D