a/n - apologies for the re-up - didn't show up for some reason(?)


Rusty strode out of the barn, passing by Yellowfang, who was carrying a crow in her jaws. She blinked at him and disappeared into the barn, and he sat down in a clear patch of ground, curling his tail over his paws. He fluffed out his pelt against the chilly air and simply listened to the noises around him.

He blinked when everything suddenly went white and he wondered if a squall had sprung up. Rusty shook his head and everything cleared, and he groaned when he saw a starry field materialize. He bit his tongue, letting out a soft hiss, before getting to his paws, idly wondering when he'd fallen asleep.

A broad-shouldered tabby cat padded by him and Rusty stared after him thoughtfully, feeling a nagging sense of familiarity, but nothing came to mind. He dismissed it and wandered around, watching StarClan cats quietly share tongues, hunt, and walk around lost in their own thoughts.

"Rusty!"

He came up short as a pale ginger tabby padded up to him, yellow eyes bright. White fur in the rough shape of a star glowed on his forehead and the two toms touched noses warmly. The other cat pulled back to scowl at Rusty.

"You've been avoiding me."

Rusty shook his head. "In all fairness, I was avoiding them." He gestured with his tail to the other StarClan cats and he frowned at the cat. "I wouldn't expect one of the Folk to be here though. I thought your hunting grounds were elsewhere."

"Our Ka goes where the Allmother wills it," the cat mewed, blinking at him. "You know this."

"I do," Rusty sighed, whiskers twitching in amusement, before he tilted his head. "Your singing has improved."

"I've had a lot of time to practice since departing the mortal coil, yes," the cat mewed dryly.

Rusty chuckled. "Better than you going nre'fa-o, cun're every other sentence." He smiled, before giving the other tom a longer touch with his nose. "It's good to see you though, really. I have missed you." He stepped back. "How're things back west?"

"Nothing's changed much. The sickness didn't spread as far as we feared, so the cats we sent away have come back and settled down." The cat furrowed its brow. "Yet you haven't. Why? If you don't mind my asking."

"I like it here," Rusty mewed simply. "There's prey, safety, plenty of pretty little felas…" He snorted. "Although that's likely to change soon."

The cat blinked at him, eyes gleaming. "Ah, congratulations."

"Was it like this with you and Roofshadow?" Rusty asked. "There's times I can barely think straight when I'm around her."

"She and I weren't particularly romantic," the cat mewed. "She wasn't really interested in a long-lasting relationship, but I stayed around and helped raise her vez'az… Kits, I think you call them here?"

"I thank you for that, otherwise I wouldn't be here," Rusty purred.

"You might be with me instead, and we'd be ranging far and wide over these silvery pelts," came the wry reply.

"Fair enough," Rusty mewed, tail twitching. "Have you seen your grandson at all? I keep hearing stories about him from the locals, but nobody seems to know where he went."

The cat hummed thoughtfully, claws flexing against the ground. "I'd know if he was dead," he murmured thoughtfully. "And my son hasn't seen him either. Although," he corrected himself, "we did see a ginger much like yourself a few seasons back. Nice kid, friendly enough. Said he wanted to see what lay beyond the hunting grounds of his ancestors, which is partly why I'm here now."

"Wanderlust seems to run in the family," Rusty mewed. "Or maybe it's a ginger thing."

The cat blinked at him. "You think you're related to him?"

"An ancestor, perhaps," Rusty mewed. "I know a few cats who resemble those here." He stared after the tabby, who had long since vanished and his tailtip twitched.

"Funny, that," the cat mewed, fur rippling in a breeze only he could feel. "You wander far from home and yet you keep running into old faces. With new souls."

Rusty blinked slowly. "What do you mean by that?"

The cat's whiskers twitched. "You know that cats die and their Ka returns to the Allmother, yet at times they fall back to earth and are reborn among the az-iri'le – the Folk, cats, whatever you want to label them as, and they can live again, as new cats."

"Reincarnation, rebirth," Rusty mewed, flicking his ears, then shook his head. "But nobody would know it was them."

"Of course not," the cat snorted. "Imagine if everyone you knew were the same cats you'd always known. The world had one Tailchaser already, it doesn't need another."

"Yes well maybe the world could do with another Tailchaser so that I don't have to worry about getting involved with whatever problem decides to rear its head next," Rusty mewed bitterly.

Tailchaser stared at him and blinked sympathetically. "That's fair," he mewed, dipping his head. "You came here to get away from problems, yet far as I've heard, you keep getting involved anyway."

Rusty narrowed his eyes. "Didn't take you for a gossip."

Tailchaser blinked innocently. "I merely happened to overhear some banter, nothing more."

"Unbelievable," Rusty mewed in exasperation. He smoothed his pelt and relaxed. "It's true that I've had it easy here, and have gotten more involved with these clans than I had ever thought I would, but I don't regret any of it."

"I don't imagine you would," Tailchaser mewed, wrapping his tail over his paws. "You have a draw about you, a natural ability to seamlessly enter the lives of other cats and help them, with or without being aware of it." He nodded. "A rare quality in one so young."

"Is this where you reveal that I'm the reincarnation of some great cat?" Rusty mewed sarcastically.

"I wouldn't know, nor would you. You are your own cat. Same as Jake, same as Firestar, same as every other cat you've met," Tailchaser mewed.

"…Firestar?" Rusty echoed. "Who's that?"

"Far as I can tell, he was a leader of a group of cats that lived around a lake a very, very, very long time ago," Tailchaser mewed. He tilted his head. "One of those green-eyed ginger cats everyone seems to hold in such high regard."

"Everyone keeps acting like that's a magic combo of greatness," Rusty noted with a frown.

"How many of your clan leaders are gingers?" Tailchaser pointed out.

"…Okay, touché, but you know what I mean!" Rusty snapped. "That's four of I know now. Me, Jake, Fireleap, and Firestar." He blinked. "…Please don't tell me Fireleap's going to become leader."

"I wouldn't know," Tailchaser mewed. "How does leadership work in the clans?"

"…I don't know for sure," Rusty admitted. "I know there's a leader, deputy, and medicine cat, and deputies usually take over if the leader dies, while medicine cats train up apprentices to replace themselves and keep the clan healthy, so…" He shook his head. "I could probably ask Spottedleaf to clarify next time I see her or something."

"Oho, so her name is Spottedleaf," Tailchaser mewed, tail flicking from side to side. "If she's half as lovely as her name, I quite envy you."

Rusty's pelt warmed and he looked away. Tailchaser nodded. "I'm glad you found someone you can be comfortable with, and I hope she'll make you happy."

"She does," Rusty murmured warmly. "More than I ever imagined."

The world began to fade and Tailchaser got to his paws. "Seems like it's time to move on. I wish you the best of luck, in this world and the next."

Rusty touched noses with Tailchaser. "Will I see you again?"

"If the Allmother wills it," Tailchaser mewed, brushing his tail over Rusty's shoulders.

Rusty jolted awake, scattering hay from his nest. Yellowfang padded by with a crow and stared at him.

"Thought so," she grunted, before dropping it in front of him. "Eat up. I can smell snow on the wind. It's only going to get worse from here."

Rusty blinked, before pulling the crow close. "It might, but I think we're strong enough to meet whatever may come, as long as we do it together."

Yellowfang stared at him, fur bristling slightly, then shuddered and padded away, grumbling under her breath.