Chapter Thirty-five
It was well after sunhigh when Breezestar finally awoke from a sound and dreamless sleep. She felt much better, though still sore, as she padded out into the bright clearing. It was bustling with activity: a hunting party led by Cloudypelt had just returned, and Opalpaw was busily changing the bedding in the elders' den while Splitfoot, Mosspelt, and Featherflight chatted with Flowershell beside the nettle patch. Peachpaw was also in the clearing, checking the wounds of Aquastorm and Barkpelt, and Shadypelt emerged from her den, breathing in the cool air. She made her way to Breezestar's side.
"Galewind is awake," she mewed. "She ate, and now she's resting. I'm going to keep her in my den at least until tomorrow, but she should be perfectly fine. So how are you?"
Breezestar was relieved to hear about Galewind, but right now it was Peachpaw that held her attention. Something had come over the young apprentice these last two weeks. "How did you do it?" she asked Shadypelt. When the medicine cat didn't reply, she elaborated, "How did you get Peachpaw to… to…"
"Oh, that," Shadypelt laughed, "I talked to her like you suggested. And suddenly, she was all determined to get it right. And after last night's battle, she handled things without a single mistake- it really boosted her confidence. I think she'll make a good medicine cat yet, if only she would receive a dream from StarClan! That would really convince her that she's on the right path."
"Has she had any at all?"
"No. Not since her ceremony."
"Well, there's still time. StarClan will come to her."
"That's what I keep saying…. I thought the DesertClan cats were staying in the Moon Hollow?"
"They are."
"Then why's Dustflame still here?" Breezestar followed Shadypelt's line of sight to see Dustflame and Inkmoon emerging from the warriors' den, tails entwined. Inkmoon looked desperately upset, Dustflame just sad.
"I'll be right back," Breezestar murmured to Shadypelt, padding quickly over to the two young warriors. "You're just leaving?" she asked Dustflame, not unkindly.
"Sorry, we overslept," the black and copper tom mewed apologetically.
"It's fine," mewed Breezestar, unable to stand the looks on both of their faces. She cut right to the chase. "Look, I can see the two of you are close, but really, it can't work out. Dustflame, you are a DesertClan cat, and Inkmoon, you're a CallistoClan one. You can't be together."
Inkmoon looked close to tears as she mewed, "I know… but Breezestar, I love him!"
"I know you do, but… but it can't work."
Dustflame was now looking directly into Inkmoon's eyes, their gazes- silvery blue and soft brown- burning intensely. "Inkmoon, I love you too, but Breezestar is right. This is wrong- we come from different Clans. And what happens if my Clan doesn't even stay? I'm sorry. These few days since I met you… it was wonderful. And if my Clan stays, then we'll still get to see each other…"
"At Gatherings!" Inkmoon spat scornfully, now crying. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but closed it abruptly and dashed from the camp, flying out into the forest beyond.
Dustflame stared after her wistfully. "I'm sorry, Breezestar," he mumbled at last, staring at his paws. "I never should have… we both knew it couldn't last… I love her, Breezestar!" his gaze met hers, and she could see clearly how much this was costing him, how much pain he was in, seeing Inkmoon go, and knowing he had to leave.
"I know you do." Breezestar murmured. "But sometimes, if you love someone, you have to let them go…" she wondered if her own pain could be seen in her green eyes.
Dustflame nodded miserably. "I should go…" and he plodded from the camp, tail drooping and head hung.
Feeling worse than last night, Breezestar padded slowly back to Shadypelt, her own head down.
"What was that about?" the blue-gray medicine cat asked, concern evident in her eyes. "Is everything okay?"
"No," replied Breezestar flatly. "Inkmoon and Dustflame are in love, and Dustflame has to go… The way they looked at each other… Inkmoon really doesn't want him to leave, and he doesn't want to go. I wish there was something I could do."
Shadypelt understood. "I don't think there is, though," she shook her head. "I know it must be hard for them."
"Shadypelt… you're a medicine cat. Has there ever been anyone that you loved and couldn't be with?" Breezestar knew it was a personal question, but she had to ask. "You don't have to answer, if you don't want. I was only curious."
"Actually, no, there hasn't," Shadypelt purred in amusement. "I've been lucky in that way, I guess. I've never questioned if I made the right choice, being a medicine cat."
"Oh…" Breezestar's thoughts trailed off. She was still feeling bad about Inkmoon and Dustflame, but for some reason her mood had lightened considerably. "I think I'll go to the MoonFalls tomorrow," she mewed at last.
Shadypelt nodded. "Good idea. Do you want to see Galewind now?"
"Sure." Breezestar followed the medicine cat into her den, to find Galewind awake and washing her fur, which was still dirty from the battle.
"Hey, Breeze!" she purred when her sister walked in. "How are you?"
"I'm fine. You?"
"Feeling wonderful, but Shadypelt is an expert at making cats feel like that! I'm just glad my efforts paid off and that rogue didn't kill you! He didn't, right?"
"No, he didn't. You were just in time. I'm so glad you're okay, though. I seriously thought you were dead last night…" Breezestar shuddered, and so did Galewind.
"Well, I'm not," the creamy she-cat mewed firmly. "How did the other Clans fare?"
"DesertClan is fine- they're staying in the Moon Hollow now. FernClan and FlameClan both lost a warrior, and Maroonflower of FoamClan was badly hurt."
"Maroonflower? Oh, that's sad. She was really nice… will she be alright?"
"Fallenstar said Sapfur didn't know. He had his doubts, though."
"Well then StarClan be with her. And who did FlameClan and FoamClan lose?"
"Rockpelt of FernClan, and Lichenpelt of FlameClan." Breezestar felt a twinge as she spoke their names. Hopefully, both were happy among the ranks of StarClan- including Rockpelt, even if he was a mouse-brain.
Galewind echoed her last thought. "Wasn't Rockpelt one of the ones that attacked us?"
"Yeah," Breezestar nodded, "And Lichenpelt was that tom we met at our second Gathering. I think he was related to Lonewhisker."
"Was Lonewhisker at the Gathering? I didn't see him."
"I didn't either. He must have been at camp."
"I hope he's all right. He seemed thrilled to be going home." Galewind sat up straighter and winced. Her ears twitched towards the clearing. "I think Rapidriver just called you."
Breezestar had heard it too. "I had better go. See you later, then?"
"Yeah, see ya!"
Breezestar left Galewind to Shadypelt and headed back into the clearing. Rapidriver was waiting outside the entrance tunnel, and seemed relieved to see Breezestar coming. "Good, you're here," she mewed. "I was just out hunting, and there's rogue scent by the River, at the southern end. It might be from last night, but I thought I should tell you."
"Oh, wonderful," mumbled Breezestar. "Let's hope it is. But I do want to double patrols, all the same. These rogues are trouble. And I've no clue what's going to happen now- according to the prophecy, the 'forerunner' will arrive soon, now that Viperfang's dead."
"He is?" asked Rapidriver, startled.
"Yeah, he's the one that almost killed Galewind. He led those rogues here, I'm sure of it- he knew about Clan traditions, about the Gatherings. He knew all the leaders would be there. I bet he wanted us dead."
"No doubt," Rapidriver murmured. "Well, at least that's one rogue we don't have to worry about. Hey, you said you were going to the MoonFalls tomorrow, right? You should bring Rowanpaw. I was out hunting with he and Muddytail just yesterday, and he's doing really well. It shouldn't be long before he's made a warrior."
"I know, I need to talk to Muddytail about it, but I certainly think it should be soon. Bringing him is a good idea- I think I will. You didn't happen to see Inkmoon while you were out did you?"
"No. Why?"
"Oh, it's nothing. She's just upset, is all."
"Oh." Rapidriver seemed to understand. "Dustflame?"
"Yeah. He didn't want to leave her, she really didn't want him to go."
"I thought this would happen- those two have been inseparable since they met."
"I know." And Inkmoon's sadness hung like a fog over Breezestar the rest of the afternoon.
٭ ٭ ٭
The following day, Breezestar set out at sunhigh for the MoonFalls along with Muddytail and Rowanpaw. They arrived at the great waterfall at sundown, having met no one on the journey there, and soon Breezestar found herself once more on the ledge before the shimmering curtain of water. Positioning herself comfortably, she pushed her nose to the cool liquid and closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, what she saw was unusual. Instead of finding herself somewhere, she seemed to be floating, suspended in a haze that glowed with the soft peach light from another dream. "Moonfur?" she called out uneasily, but the starry warrior didn't appear.
Instead, only her voice responded, whispering, "Do not lose faith in the light of dawn, for only with it can the desert remain…." And then there was only silence.
"Moonfur!" she cried out again. "Moonfur, what do you mean? Where are you?"
Only silence.
"Moonfur? Moonfur, I need your help!" Breezestar called in growing desperation. "What are we supposed to do about DesertClan? Moonfur!"
And as suddenly as the dream had come, it ended abruptly, and Breezestar was back in the cavern behind the MoonFalls, more questions than answers running circles in her head, and without the solution she sought.
The trek back to camp felt long and monotonous to Breezestar, who was rather annoyed about her experience at the MoonFalls. She had said barely a word to either of her companions, and they didn't press her to talk: they could tell she hadn't learned what she hoped to. It wasn't even dawn yet when they reached the CallistoClan border- this had been the shortest trip to the MoonFalls and back that Breezestar had ever taken, not that that did anything to lighten her mood.
At the camp entrance, she left Rowanpaw and Muddytail, who had decided to get a head start on training for the day, and she herself padded through the sleeping camp in the direction of her den.
"Hey, Breezestar!" Shadypelt's head appeared from within her den. She looked excited, her eyes glimmering in the dim light.
"What?" asked Breezestar, still feeling crabby, but curios all the same.
"You're back early," the young medicine cat commented, but then went on, "Have I got news for you!"
"What?" Breezestar repeated, stepping towards the medicine den.
"Come with me!" Shadypelt disappeared back through the ferns, and Breezestar followed her, feelings of annoyance and excitement fighting for control in the pit of her stomach. Padding into the den, she didn't see anything unusual or exciting. It was empty save for the two medicine cats, who were both awake despite the early hour.
"Guess what?" Shadypelt mewed, in a voice bursting with excitement.
"What?" Breezestar repeated for the third time, growing irritated.
Shadypelt opened her mouth to respond, but Peachpaw cut her off in a high-pitched mew that sounded both thrilled and awed. "I had a vision! A dream from StarClan!"
Breezestar stared blankly. Peachpaw was unimpressed by her reaction, and her tail drooped a fraction. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"At least StarClan talked to one of us," she muttered in form of response.
"No luck at the MoonFalls?" inquired Shadypelt.
"No," Breezestar heaved a sigh. "So what was your dream, Peachpaw?" she asked, feeling guilty about her initial reaction. Peachpaw had been waiting what seemed like forever for this. The least she could have done was shown some enthusiasm!
"I saw the cliffs, out to the east," she mewed in a hushed whisper. "But not just the cliffs. There was an opening in the face of them, so I went through it, and I emerged in this sort of clearing. There was a boulder in the center, and it was lined with rock walls that extended to the sky, which I could see above me. And around the clearing, there were ledges on the rock walls. I jumped up on one of them, and there was a passage back into the rock that led to a cavern. Breezestar, I think I found a home for DesertClan! It would make a perfect camp!"
The leader stared blankly again, dumbly. Her brain was having a hard time processing this. A home for DesertClan… A cave in the eastern cliffs would make a perfect camp… "Congratulations, Peachpaw," she finally managed to stutter, gathering her thoughts. Here it was, a solution at last. If, that is, this cave actually existed. "We should send a patrol out to the east to check this up."
"Yeah, you should," Shadypelt agreed. "And that was wonderful, Peachpaw. See, I told you you'd have a vision eventually!"
"Can I come on the patrol, Breezestar?" the little apprentice asked. "I know where the cave is supposed to be. Please?"
Breezestar nodded. "I think you've earned it. We should set out at once: I'll leave Rapidriver in charge of the camp. Dusktail, Oakpelt, Runningbrook, Lavendersky, and Rowanpaw will come with us. Shadypelt, may we have traveling herbs?"
"Of course. Peachpaw, you know the herbs: get enough for everyone and bring them to the entrance tunnel. Breezestar will meet you there." At Shadypelt's command, Peachpaw hurried off to do as she was told, feathery tail fluffed up in excitement, all traces of the moody, unsure apprentice of a few days ago gone.
"We should be back by sunhigh tomorrow," Breezestar told Shadypelt. "But if we're a bit late, don't worry. I'll see you later."
"Good luck!" Shadypelt called as the leader left the den. Breezestar waved her tail in farewell and padded the short distance to the warriors' den. Pushing her way inside, she found Rapidriver awake and grooming herself, and others were awakening as well, most likely for dawn patrol.
"Rapidriver?" The deputy looked up, ears twitching. "Peachpaw had a dream. StarClan showed her a possible home for DesertClan. I'm taking a patrol into the eastern lands to have a look. We should be back by sunhigh tomorrow, and until then, you're in charge."
"Okay," Rapidriver nodded, and mewed coolly, "Don't worry, thing's here will be fine." That was one of the things Breezestar loved about having Rapidriver as her deputy: she handled things well and wasn't easily surprised by anything.
"Thanks," Breezestar responded gratefully. She set about waking all those for the patrol, and soon she, Lavendersky, Dusktail, Oakpelt, and Runningbrook were gathered at the mouth of the entrance tunnel, waiting for Peachpaw to finish bringing out the herbs. When each of them had eaten their share, they set out, Breezestar and Peachpaw in the lead. The medicine cat apprentice carried extra herbs for Rowanpaw, in case they met him on their way to the border.
The patrol had just passed the training hollow when Muddytail materialized out of the bracken, Rowanpaw a step behind him. "Where are you all off to?" he asked.
Quickly, Breezestar explained. "Want to come with us?" she offered.
"Sure!" Rowanpaw responded excitedly. Breezestar had known he would enjoy a chance to explore someplace new. "Can we, Muddytail?" he appealed to his mentor.
Muddytail nodded, clearly finding this as exciting as his apprentice did. "Sure thing. We're in."
"Here, eat these," Peachpaw divided the remaining herbs for the two toms, who ate them without complaint and fell into step with the patrol. The sun was still rising far off over the horizon when they reached the eastern border. The eight cats crossed over and walked into the light for some time, until they reached a clump of boulders that Breezestar recognized as the ones from which she had first seen DesertClan.
"My dream started here," Peachpaw mewed. "Follow me." The young apprentice took the lead, directing them northward, towards the looming cliffs.
They reached the cliff base shortly before sunhigh, and paused to rest, Dusktail, Rowanpaw, and Runningbrook each catching a mouse for them to share in the shadows of an overhang. "At least there's lots of prey out here," Lavendersky mewed, taking a bite out of one of the plump mice. "DesertClan certainly won't starve."
"But there aren't many herbs," Peachpaw pointed out, sounding concerned. "And there's very little plant life."
"True, but if this cave exists, then there's shelter. And we passed a stream not long ago, so there's water." Muddytail added.
"Plus, I haven't seen any snakes," Runningbrook added. "And besides, DesertClan is used to hunting out in the desert, right?"
Breezestar nodded, washing her ears with a damp forepaw. "C'mon, let's go. Peachpaw, lead the way."
The medicine cat apprentice took the lead once more, padding to the east, parallel with the cliff face. After only a short while, she stopped. "Look!" she exclaimed excitedly, gesturing with her tail to a dark opening a tail-length up the wall. "This is it!" she sprang up onto the ledge outside of the hole, disappearing from view. A moment later, she peered over the side. "Come on up!"
The other CallistoClan cats followed her, Breezestar springing up nimbly after Runningbrook to find herself in a dark tunnel that curved to the left. She padded around the curve, then down more tunnel and around more bends, the gray stone of the tunnel cool beneath her paws, until she found herself looking into a huge cave, if you could call it that. The walls of the cliff rose up on all sides of the chamber, sheer and uninterrupted. Far above the clearing, the sky shone blue and bright between the dark stone walls.
Looking down, Breezestar saw that she stood on a ledge a fox-length above the ground, which was sandy like the ground outside. As Peachpaw had described, a huge, flat-topped boulder stood in the center of the clearing, casting a pool of inky shadows below it. And ringing the clearing, ranging between one and two tail-lengths off the ground, were a series of ledges with dark openings yawning beyond them. Breezestar counted seven before Oakpelt nudged her from behind, and she dropped to the ground.
It was warm in the chamber, but not yet hot, and very bright. Her Clanmates had begun to explore: Rowanpaw stood atop the boulder, surveying his surroundings like a leader might his camp. Peachpaw and Lavendersky were both on ledges, peering into the chambers beyond, and Dusktail and Runningbrook were nowhere in sight, having moved off down passages. Oakpelt was still in the mouth of the entrance tunnel, looking around as Breezestar had.
Feeling adventurous, the young leader sprang up onto the first ledge to the left of the entrance passage. The sun lit up the space beyond, revealing a short length of tunnel and a small hollowed chamber. The floor was lightly dipped, and the walls and ceiling curved overhead. Bits of quartz and other minerals glinted in the half-light like drops of dew or fragments of rainbow. Leaving the chamber, Breezestar sprang across to the next ledge, in light spirits. Her Clanmates called out their findings to one another, playing around like kits, but she ignored their joyful cries: she wanted to see it all for herself.
The second passage she entered was a longer tunnel that ended with two bubble-like chambers, one large, the other smaller. In the large one, Breezestar found a puddle in one corner. A crack in the rock above allowed water to bubble out, and it flowed down the wall to the pool. Moss grew on the damp walls and around the pool, making the floor spongy and soft underpaw. If DesertClan were to move here, Breezestar thought, this set of chambers would make an excellent medicine den. It had soft moss, a water source, plenty of room for patients, and the walls were dimpled, creating perfect places to store herbs.
Heading back out into the bright sunlight of the clearing, Breezestar continued her search of the chambers: the next two openings led to spacious chambers that would make nice dens. The chamber beyond the fifth ledge was barely big enough for a cat to fit in, but would make a nice place to store fresh kill out of the sun. The sixth ledge was the closest to the ground and stood outside of a tunnel that wound around and opened out into the largest chamber yet. To Breezestar, it looked like the perfect nursery: large and roomy, protected by the curved tunnel that would be easily defended, and close to the ground so that kits would not fall if they wanted to play in the clearing.
The final ledge also led to a wide den-like chamber. Lavendersky was inside this one, and she exclaimed, "Look at this- it's a perfect den! Breezestar, this place is perfect for DesertClan!"
"I know, it really is wonderful." Breezestar agreed, following the young warrior back into the clearing. The rest of the CallistoClan patrol was gathered in the shadow cast by the boulder, each with an expression of awed joy on their face.
"Isn't this place awesome?" Runningbrook asked as Breezestar and Lavendersky joined them.
"Yeah, it is," agreed Rowanpaw. "It's perfect. Peachpaw, you did really well."
"I'm glad StarClan showed you this," Dusktail agreed. Peachpaw dipped her head to the older warriors, looking embarrassed.
"It was nothing," she murmured. "StarClan showed me it, that's all."
"But really, it is perfect," Breezestar purred. "Far better than I could have dreamed it would be. Almost too good to be true."
"So should we head home and tell DesertClan?" Muddytail asked. "We could bring them back here tonight- they could be settled in within days!"
Breezestar nodded. "There's no point hanging around here any longer- this is obviously the place StarClan intended for them. This is what we'll do: we'll go home first, then get Cometstar. He can decide whether he wants his whole Clan to come yet or not. Then we'll bring him back here, along with some fresh kill, herbs, and bedding for nests. Once DesertClan has the camp situated, I'll help Cometstar draw the borders and scout the territory if he wants me to. All that should take three days at most, I think. Probably less. How does that sound?"
Around her, her warriors were nodding their heads in agreement. "Sounds good," Dusktail mewed.
"Okay, then. If that's settled, then let's get going." It was late afternoon when the patrol returned to camp and Breezestar reported their findings to her Clan. Shortly after, she set out for the Moon Hollow along with Oakpelt, Runningbrook, Lavendersky, Peachpaw, and Dusktail. Even though it was close to dark, she wanted to tell Cometstar the good news right away.
The six cats entered the Hollow to find the DesertClan cats lounging about in the late sun, sharing prey and news. Cometstar saw them arrive, and joined Breezestar on the slope within moments.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?" the elderly tom asked graciously. "Good news, I hope?"
"The best," Breezestar purred. "We've found a home for your Clan!"
Cometstar's eyes grew huge with shock. "No way…" he whispered. "Seriously? That's wonderful! Where?"
"In the eastern lands." Breezestar explained all about Peachpaw's dream and her trip to the soon-to-be-camp. "And really, it has everything- dens, prey, water… all it doesn't have much of is herbs, but I spoke with Shadypelt, and she says that if there aren't enough growing there for you, she can bring Heatwhisker some each moon. She thinks the other medicine cats will be willing to help, too."
"This is magnificent," Cometstar breathed. "When will you bring us there?"
"As soon as you'd like," Breezestar offered. "Tonight, even. It would be cooler to travel now- the sand gets hot in the sun. But I suppose you're used to that, having lived in a desert."
"Yes, we've gotten used to the warm sand underpaw and the sun on our backs…" he sighed longingly. "Yes, tonight sounds fine." Cometstar looked thrilled, like an apprentice on the day of their warrior ceremony. With the step of a much younger cat, he bounded down the slope and called out to his Clan, hastily explaining about the camp in the cliffs to the east. The DesertClan cats erupted into cheers the moment he had finished speaking, and set about gathering together their bedding. Breezestar saw Heatwhisker piling together some herbs, and sent Peachpaw to help him out.
Turning to the rest of her warriors, Breezestar instructed, "Go help the DesertClan cats with moss and fresh kill. Lavendersky, find their queen and see if she wants help with her kits. I'll be helping Cometstar keep things organized. If you need me, find me." The four warriors went off to do as they were told, and Breezestar padded off down the hill to join Cometstar, but before she had reached the bottom, a voice called her back. Turning around, she saw Inkmoon and Dustflame.
"Breezestar, may we talk to you?" Inkmoon asked in a small voice, as if afraid of what Breezestar's reaction might be. Breezestar was too surprised about seeing her here, and the two of them together, to be angry. She simply nodded, and they padded down to her.
"Breezestar," Dustflame began, his voice dry. "I was- I wanted to know if… Breezestar, may I join CallistoClan?"
"Breezestar, please don't be angry," Inkmoon pleaded, but the leader barely heard her. Eyes wide in shock, she was listening to Dustflame as he continued, "I love Inkmoon, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I don't want to move off into the cliffs and only get to see her at Gatherings. I know we were born in different Clans, that we belong to different Clans, but my life is nothing without her in it. I have no one left in DesertClan; they may be my Clanmates, but I have no family left. My mother died of greencough when I was an apprentice, my father died before I was born. My sister and brother were both weak as kits and never lived to be made warriors. The closest cat to kin I had was my mentor, and he was bitten by a viper and died on the long journey here.
"I love Inkmoon. I want her to be my family. It says in the warrior code that if the love between two cats of different Clans is completely and undoubtedly true, the cats in love must speak with their Clan leaders. If the Clan leaders agree, the tom may join the she-cat's Clan. So I'm asking you, Breezestar, may I join CallistoClan? I will prove my loyalty to you, to your Clan."
"Please, Breezestar," Inkmoon begged. "And if he can't than I want to join DesertClan to be with him. Please."
Breezestar was silent for a long time, her gaze drifting from Dustflame to Inkmoon and back again. Both looked so hopeful, so desperate, so in love… Breezestar knew they would never be happy apart, this was the only way. "Have you spoken to Cometstar yet?"
"Not yet." Dustflame admitted.
"Well then do that. If he agrees… well, I can't guarantee my Clan will accept you. But if you're positive this is what you want, that it's a risk you're willing to take, then I will allow it." Inkmoon and Dustflame looked at each other, and then Breezestar, in utter disbelief.
"Really?" Inkmoon asked, and didn't wait for an answer: she and Dustflame took off, running down to Cometstar's side. Breezestar let them alone, watching as the three exchanged words. It took forever, and Breezestar knew Inkmoon and Dustflame had to be dying with impatience, fear, anticipation… but finally, Cometstar nodded. Inkmoon's cry of joy echoed across the Hollow, and then she and Dustflame were back at Breezestar's side, shaking with happiness.
"Thank you, Breezestar, thank you so much!" the young warrior cried, and Dustflame dropped into a low crouch, stretching his front paws out and bowing his head low in the sign of ultimate respect and humbleness. In a clear voice he mewed solemnly, "I, Dustflame, here and now sever my ties with my birth Clan of DesertClan, and vow my allegiance to CallistoClan, my chosen Clan. I swear that I will uphold the warrior code and defend and protect CallistoClan, even at the cost of my life."
Breezestar dipped her head and gave Dustflame's a lick, murmuring, "I, at least, accept you as my warrior. Now get up, and lend me a hand. Inkmoon, you too. Both of you, help DesertClan get ready to leave! We've got a new camp to settle!"
The warriors set off dutifully, but Breezestar did not move. A web of thoughts was being spun in her brain, like that of a spider. She had done the right thing. She was sure of it. And yet, her heart was heavy, for she could not help but think of her parents. They had been in love, like Inkmoon and Dustflame… and yet their love had not been true enough for either to give up their birth Clan. Breezestar fought off the bitterness. Why was this bothering her? And yet, she knew why. She had never met her father, never even heard of him except from Shellspots ages ago, and when she received her nine lives. If he had meant that much to Mosspelt, enough to break the Warrior Code for, then why didn't he mean enough to her to join his Clan? They would have had that choice. Unlike she and Flamesky…
Again, much thanks to all of my readers and reviewers! You guys make writing worthwhile!