A/N THIS IS THE LAST, COUNT EM, LAST CHAPTER OF THIS STORY!!!!!!!!

Epilogue

Nightshade, Sunshine, Darkstorm, Proudheart, Wildstorm, Moonheart, Spiritwind, Swiftpad, Needlepelt, and Ivystorm are still missing. We will probably never see them again. As Hawkfrost leaves back to wherever he came from, I am swept by exhaustion like I've never felt before.

After a few moments, I'm aware of my kits pressed against my legs timidly and the stirrings of hot breath on my fur. I turn and see Birchheart standing beside me calmly, his forest green eyes sparkling with stars.

"You can't stay?" I murmur. It is almost rhetorical, but he shakes his head anyway.

"I am meant to watch over you from the sky now," he whispers. "But I will only watch over you and our kits," he adds warmly, gazing down at where Starkit and Moonkit still linger by my paws.

Finally Moonkit takes a timid step forward. "Father?" she guesses timidly. I pick her up gently and place her beside her father. "Moonkit, this is Birchheart, your father. Starkit," Birchheart blinks at the curious name, before clearing his eyes and nodding deeply. "This is your father," Starkit doesn't move. She doesn't look up.

"Starkit?" Birchheart asks softly to the little bundle of black fur. Finally, Starkit looks up, the silver streaks of fur around her eyes glimmering brightly in the twilight and stares at Birchheart with a wild, almost pleading look in her green eyes.

"Is Nightshade coming back, Birchheart? Tell me, please!" she begs, pounding up to where Birchheart stood, slightly taken aback.

"Rest assured, little one, he will walk side by side with me very soon, and together we will watch over you and your sister from the stars," Birchheart tells her quickly.

Moonkit's eyes narrow in confusion. "Nightshade was so mean to you, though, Starkit!"

Starkit whipped around to face her sister, her green eyes stretching very wide. "But he was a great warrior!" she gasps, sounding as if Moonkit had insulted her friends memory.

A yowling sound comes from a blue-gray she-cat, who must be Bluestar, and Birchheart looks at me regretfully. Understanding, I touch noses with him gently and tell my kits to say goodbye to him.

"Bye!" Moonkit squeals and she and Starkit barrel onto Birchheart, who purrs in amusement as his kits crawl over him. Finally, he picks them off of him and gives them each a brisk lick on the head. "Be good," he teases them.

"Moonkit, Starkit!" comes a shrill call.

"Cinderkit, Riverkit!" Starkit purrs, mews a hasty goodbye to Birchheart and takes off, scampering over to where her friends began speaking to her in excited voices.

"Bye, father!" Moonkit licks her father's nose affectionately and turns tail to go and speak with her friends.

"They are good kits," I murmur. "Starkit will be an adventurous warrior, and Moonkit is already very mature and noble,"

"Whiteleaf," Birchheart sighs and comes very close to me. I feel my heart pounding in my chest- this happens every time I'm near him. "I love you,"

"I love you, too, Birchheart," I whisper softly, nuzzling my muzzle into his neck fur. "I will never let you go from my heart," For a moment, we stay like that, together. Then Birchheart takes one last breathful of my scent and takes off, disappearing a few paces away from me.

I turn and pad slowly to my kits. The threat of the forest is gone for good, the rift between the living and the dead has once again been sealed. We can live a peaceful life.

Or that's what I thought at the time, as I gazed down at my kits. Little did I know that my own kits had a future full of confusion and dismay, love and pain ahead of them. But that is a different story, this one is over.

A/N IT'S OVER!!!!!!!! I made all of the characters that I made new that I didn't remember the names of die. I was just very confused. Lol. My next story, the story of Whiteleaf's kits, is called 'I Will Never Let you Down'. See ya!

Copyrighted to Tigerstripe (Hannah Ritter)

Stealing is prohibited.

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