=drum roll= Chapter 24! This one should have a lot more point in it than the last one, which was written mainly for my amusement... hehe... =embarrassed look=.

So... things start to wrap up in this chapter... etc. You get the idea.

And the chapter name... comes from Phil Collins's song, read more about it in the Author's Note at the very end of the chapter.

Blue Skies Ahead

The sunlight streamed into the companions' den, and Cherrypaw wearily opened her eyes. Five days after the battle and she was still feeling unusually tired. Troutpaw had been injured quite fatally, but was recovering well. In fact, he had almost fully recovered. He certainly seemed to be in a better mood than Cherrypaw was in. Then again, Cherrypaw was often in a not-so-good mood nowadays.

I'm a real grump now, Cherrypaw thought to herself disappointedly. Why couldn't she have been born with an optimistic personality like Silverpaw and Cinderkit? Life would have been considerably easier if she had been gifted with a virtue like that. Stop complaining! Be happy!

"Cherrypaw? May I speak with you for a second?" Lizardpaw poked his head in the den, his expression serious. Her heart leapt into her mouth. Was something wrong?

"Sure," Cherrypaw mumbled, hastily exiting the den and following Lizardpaw to a corner of the camp. She had grown amazingly accustomed to the Others's camp. ThunderClan's camp seemed like a distant memory to her, although it couldn't have been that long ago since she was last in it.

"Cherrypaw, we're going to leave today. Troutpaw is feeling well, and Rain says that he can make the journey without any trouble," Lizardpaw mewed quietly, sorrow in his eyes. Rain was the unofficial 'medicine cat' of the Others, and was almost as good as Gentlebreeze at healing.

"Why so sad?" Cherrypaw enquired in an equally quiet voice. She didn't know why she was whispering, but she was. "Is something wrong?"

"No... it's just that... I feel like I want to stay."

Cherrypaw blanched at that, her mind whirling suddenly. Stay? He wanted to stay? But... what about Magpieflight? She'd be heart-broken!

"What... what about Magpieflight?" Cherrypaw said tentatively, unsure of whether that was the best thing to say.

"I know... but what if she doesn't want me there any more? No, don't answer that. Don't worry, I'm not going to stay. Budrose has told me that that's forbidden. There are two other cats who are going to come with us, though," Lizardpaw informed her, his voice even lower than it had been.

"Who... who are they?" Cherrypaw asked in amazement and... delight. It shocked her that she would be so happy about it, but there was nothing she could do to change her feelings.

"Claw and Squirrel," as he said the latter's name his eyes shone with happiness that even Cherrypaw couldn't understand. She was delighted that Claw, one of the few cats who had been remotely nice to her, was going. But Squirrel? Why, it was almost as if... but no. She had to be wrong.

"Does Brownpaw want them to go? I thought Claw was one of her best followers," Cherrypaw asked, slightly concerned. If Brownpaw was against Claw going, then he couldn't go. But Lizardpaw had said that Claw was going... had Brownpaw softened up?

"He is, but she can't keep him here if he doesn't want to stay. Brownpaw's not stupid, and Budrose has told her that both Claw and Squirrel can go, because they were born here. They didn't end up here because of some crime they themselves committed, but rather because of a crime that their parents committed," Lizardpaw explained patiently, and Cherrypaw's confused expression cleared.

"Oh... so when are we setting out?" Cherrypaw felt an odd mixture of excitement and sadness at the thought of her home. Would she be welcome there still? Or would they refuse to allow her back into the Clan?

"Soon. You might want to get something to eat... after all, we don't know where we'll spend the night, do we?" Lizardpaw suggested as he padded off towards the fresh-kill pile himself.

Cherrypaw felt her stomach rumble at the thought of eating some prey, and reluctantly gave in. There was no point in starving herself, and Lizardpaw was right. She would need to get something in her belly before they went.

"Goodbye Claw, Squirrel," Brownpaw said stiffly, nodding briefly to the two cats mentioned. Cherrypaw could see a slight reluctance in the brown she-cat's eyes as her gaze fell on Claw. Truthfully, Cherrypaw couldn't blame the she-cat. Claw was a valuable member of the Others, and she couldn't fathom why he had decided to leave his home. She wouldn't have done it too willingly. Even if 'home' was the Place of the Exiled.

"Goodbye Brownpaw!" Silverpaw squeaked happily. At least there was one member of the group who didn't seem to have any problem with leaving the Others.

They were at the edge of the forest that signaled the start of the Place of the Exiled. Cherrypaw's eyes feasted on the site of huge open spaces, and a deep blue sky ahead. It was really an unusually lovely day. At least, it seemed unusual to Cherrypaw because she hadn't seen a blue sky since she had entered the Place of the Exiled.

"Silverpaw, Cherrypaw, Gingerpaw, Branchclaw, Troutpaw, Sunstream... and Lizardpaw," Brownpaw acknowledged each cat with another stiff nod, and then flicked her tail at them. The casual dismissal was extremely unusual for a cat with Brownpaw's personality, and Cherrypaw wondered whether Brownpaw really and truly had mellowed a bit.

And then they left the Place of the Exiled. Everyone except Lizardpaw, Claw and Squirrel were happy. Even Cherrypaw felt the urge to laugh and run with delight. It seemed that the adventure was over. Everything was back to normal. Or, almost everything. For the first time in days, Cherrypaw wondered how much had changed since she had left ThunderClan. Were there any new warriors? What about apprentices? No... Daisyflight's kits were only about two moons old at the most. But were there any more kits? Surely not! Unless... perhaps one of the cats was expecting kits right now. She wondered who it could possibly be, and found her paws itching to run and get home as soon as she could.

"Tell everybody I'm on my way! New friends and new places to see! With blue skies ahead, yes I'm on my way! And there's nowhere else that I'd rather be!" Silverpaw started singing, causing Cherrypaw to wince. Gingerpaw shot the silver she-cat a threatening glare that clearly said: 'If you don't shut up, I'll make you shut up'.

Well... some things haven't changed that much, Cherrypaw thought, looking at her cousin and friend as they once again launched into an argument. I knew the peace wouldn't last long with those two.

"Do you think that Perchpaw and Lillypaw have been made warriors yet?" Troutpaw asked excitedly, his eyes shining. "They must be nearly ready! They're only a few moons younger than me. Let me see... they must be about... eleven moons or maybe a bit more. How times flies!"

Cherrypaw heard Squirrel snort at the RiverClan tom's enthusiasm, and she studied the reddish brown she-cat carefully. She wondered what ThunderClan would think of the companions bringing home two rogue cats from a mysterious place nobody had ever heard of. She could just imagine Rockpaw gossiping away to the other apprentices about it. Rockpaw? He would be about the right age for a warrior now. Perhaps he was already one. Cherrypaw wondered what his warrior name was.

"What is your home like?" Squirrel asked Branchclaw curiously. "And which of your... Clans will we be joining?"

"Now that's an interesting question. Which Clan would let you join? Which Clan do you want to join?" Branchclaw answered with questions of his own, his eyes studying the reddish brown she-cat carefully, as if assessing how well she'd fit into each of the four Clans.

"Well... tell me about the four Clans," was Squirrel's simple reply.

"RiverClan cats are clever and strong and are amazing swimmers," Troutpaw promptly said, his eyes shining seriously. "And RiverClan is the best Clan. Ow!"

Gingerpaw glared at the tom she had just prodded. "No. He's wrong. Don't listen to him. ShadowClan is the best Clan. ShadowClan is wily and proud, and cunning and smart and very organized. Unlike some Clans around here."

"No, she's also wrong." Sunstream cut in, laughing. Whereas Troutpaw and Gingerpaw had been deadly serious about whose Clan was the best, Sunstream thought it was all a good joke. "WindClan is the best. WindClan cats are swift and loyal, and they are most definitely the easiest going out of all the Clans. You wouldn't want to end up in ShadowClan if your life depended on it."

"Excuse me?" Gingerpaw gaped at the WindClan she-cat angrily.

"Actually, all three of you are wrong. ThunderClan is the best. We're fierce and brave, and extremely loyal, too," Silverpaw cut in smoothly, looking triumphantly at Gingerpaw, who simply glared indignantly at the silver she-cat.

"Um...," Squirrel looked undecided, as well she might. The four Clans all sounded rather... good. And Squirrel didn't mean good in a nice way. Squirrel had been brought up to believe all cats that could have the word 'good' applied to them were weaklings. To Squirrel, ShadowClan sounded like the best Clan.

"I like ShadowClan," Squirrel said finally, purring slightly when Gingerpaw gave her a look of delight. Lizardpaw, however, looked marginally disappointed. Why? Cherrypaw thought to herself, puzzled.

"What about you, Claw?" Silverpaw asked eagerly, shooting a 'ThunderClan-will-get-the-better-cat' look at her rival, Gingerpaw.

"Well... I guess ThunderClan," Claw shrugged, managing to look so indifferent that Silverpaw gave a disappointed groan at his lack of enthusiasm.

"Well, now that that's settled... shall we pick up the pace? We're practically going the same pace as a snail! Look! That snail has been there all this time, and it's beating us!" Troutpaw pointed his paw in the direction of snail who was, indeed, going faster than them. Cherrypaw chuckled, and began 'picking up the pace'.

The journey home had really begun.

Um... was that okay? . I had a teensy bit of trouble with that chapter. I know, my chapters are really short now, but I canna help it! They choose the length they want to be, and there's nothing I can do about it!

Now... those lines that Silverpaw was singing... they're from Phil Collins's 'On My Way'. I know that the cats have never even heard of that song, but I felt that it was appropriate. In fact, and I've only done this once before, that's actually the song I'd choose to go with this chapter. I'm sorry if you don't like the song, but it's one of my all time favourites, so I had to!

R&R!