Reedstar flicked his tail as most of the cats were gathering. It would be one day from now that they would leave to go on the journey, and he wasn't sure how the Clans would fair against it. They were already weak from the eruption, and WindClan looked like they were on their last legs.

At least they've got their medicine cats, he thought as he looked at Woodpaw. The mottled brown tom had been brimming with excitement when Weaselstar returned with him. Weaselstar said that they had figured out what to do, after receiving a dream from StarClan. It was a good thing too, since they would have such a long and hard journey ahead of them.

"Reedstar, how are things going?" Grassfang asked. He looked pleased with himself. The white tom had shown the most annoyance when Reedstar announced Shellspots as his next deputy, but Grassfang had greeted her enthusiastically.

"Well thank you," he replied, though confusion was spreading through him. What exactly did Grassfang want?

But when the white tom padded away, Reedstar found himself relaxing. There was nothing to worry about; all of his Clanmates were loyal and trust worthy. He knew they would never harm each other unless provoked, and even then they would never do such a thing.

Shellspots was talking to Robinwing and Sneezepelt. Both cats looked mystified as she spoke, and Reedstar knew she was telling them a story about Hollystar. He just wished he could have gotten to know the former ThunderClan leader better.

He had seen for himself what she was like, but he never really knew her personally. In fact, Mistystar never wanted to talk about her. Reedstar wondered if his mother had been delusional than, but he shook the thought away.

"So how was your first day as a deputy?" Reedstar asked when he approached Shellspots. It was hard to believe she was younger then him. She was older and wiser looking, and she had more experience than he did with cats outside the Clans.

"It went well thank you," Shellspots purred as Robinwing and Sneezepelt padded away. "Though Bluefern was giving me a hard time about going on patrols," she added.

Reedstar hid the amusement that threatened to overtake him. Bluefern was as hot-headed as her father had been, Voletooth. And she had the elegant looks of her mother, Shellspots. But sometimes, he thought she got a little carried away when it came to taking out her anger on older cats.

"Well, I suppose we should all get ready for this journey," Reedstar finally murmured as he looked at the sky.

It was getting dark, and it wouldn't be long before the Clans started to hunker down for the morning. Cinderstar had told them it would be best if they left early, and he agreed with her. Predators would be more common during the day and darkness of the night, so the morning really would be the best time to leave.

The black tom started to pad over to his make-shift nest, when someone stirred nearby. Reedstar whirled around, only to see that it was Sandfang. The light brown tabby padded forward, though her eyes were gleaming with amusement.

"Scared you didn't I?" she mewed, flicking her tail gently over his ear.

Reedstar purred softly as she padded away. He would have welcomed her warmth any time, but now, he wanted to be alone. He wanted time to think of what was going to happen, and he would have to do this alone.