"Where's Lionblaze?" Cinderheart meowed, her tail twitching. "Brambleclaw wants me to lead a patrol."

"I think he's with Jayfeather?" Poppyfrost answered her sister. "I saw him go in a while ago."

"Thanks!" The gray molly called over her shoulder as she hurried to the medicine-cat den.

Poppyfrost watched her go, sadly reflecting how happy Cinderheart seemed around the golden-furred tom. Cinderheart had Lionblaze, Honeyfern had Berrynose, but where did that leave her? She decided she didn't really want to find out.

She went out, weaving through the undergrowth. The leaf-fall air was crisp and clear, the sky as blue as the lake. Maybe a good hunt would take her mind off love, and though she doubted it, it wouldn't hurt to try.

She spotted a mouse shuffling and instantly dropped into a hunting crouch. On silent paws she stalked her prey, opting to get nearer before pouncing.

Big mistake. The mouse froze, then sniffed. She bunched her hindquarters and leaped, but not fast enough. The tiny brown creature skittered out from under her paws and eacaped.

Poppyfrost let out a narrow hiss of annoyance. Every piece of fresh-kill was precious duringthe last moon of leaf-fall, since leaf-bare would be here soon. And now the Clan had lost food because of her.

She headed back to camp after having found only a small shrew. The pitiful catch dangled from her jaws as she made her way to the pile. She dropped it with a heavy sigh. Though her stomach growled, she took no prey of her own. All she wanted to do was sleep, sleep and forget it all.

She found herself in a forest she'd never been in before, but she instantly realized it wasn't a normal forest. The grass glistened like moonlight, and the trees all had healthy limbs heavy with green leaves and white, star-like berries. Prey was more plentiful than she'd ever seen by the lake.

"Am I in StarClan?" She wondered aloud.

"Where else?"a voice, full of mirth, murmured behind her.

She found herself face-to-face with a gray tabby she-cat who looked strangely familiar. "Cinderheart?"

"Close," the molly purred. "I was your father's littermate, Cinderpelt. Former medicine-cat of ThunderClan."

"Why are you here?" The clearing was beautiful, but it was obviously an extremely remote part of StarClan.

"Maybe I wanted to talk to my niece?" Cinderpelt asked, waving her tail at Poppyfrost. "Walk with me."

There wasn't much of a choice but to follow.

"Why did you want to talk with me?" Poppyfrost couldn't imagine why a StarClan warrior, or, in this case, a medicine-cat, would want to talk to her.

"You're on the verge of losing yourself, Poppyfrost," Cinderpelt meowed, worry plain in her voice. "You're blaming yourself for everything, from leaking dens to fresh-kill! It's leaf-fall. Did you expect to find as much prey as you do in greenleaf?"

"No, but the other patrols brought home a lot more."

"There are more cats in a patrol, you mouse-brain! Of course they would've found more prey!"

"I'm still not good enough."

"For Berrynose? That arrogant furball?" Cinderpelt snorted. "Okay, I'll bite. But there are way more toms than Berrynose. Sure, he's handsome. He's also the most annoying being on earth. Even more than Jayfeather and Yellowfang, and that's saying a lot."

"Yellowfang?"

"Previous ThunderClan medicine-cat. My mentor, and the grumpiest cat in the world." Cinderpelt smiled. "Don't concern yourself with that... you've got an entire lifetime ahead of you."

Poppyfrost laughed bitterly. "You have it easy. Medicine-cats don't love or have mates."

"You're wrong there," Cinderpelt retorted coldly. "Everyone loves. Even medicine-cats."

"Like Leafpool?" Poppyfrost asked.

"Not just Leafpool. All of us. Well, Leafpool may have taken it a step further, but every cat has had their own crushes and loves, even mates. Medicine-cats are no exception. Yellowfang. Runningnose. Barkface. Mothwing. Brambleberry. Littlecloud. Leafpool. Spottedleaf. Featherwhisker. Goosefeather. Jayfeather. Willowshine. Kestrelflight. Echosong. Frecklewish. These are just the medicine-cats closest to your generation. Even the very first medicine-cat, Moth Flight herself had kits. None of us are immune to our instincts and nature."

Poppyfrost stared at the tabby she-cat in horror. "You mean that all those cats broke the medicine-cat code?"

"Not all of them," Cinderpelt amended. "Some of us have put our feelings behind for our duties. Some have broken the code. Leafpool, for instance. Or Yellowfang. But some are not wrong relationships. Spottedleaf...she and Firestar love each other, and Sandstorm knows it well. She also knows that Firestar loves her with all his heart, just in a different way. Half Moon, an Ancient, awaits Jayfeather in StarClan. Runningnose loved Hopeheart, another StarClan cat. There is nothing wrong there. And many cats have laid aside their hopes and dreams for their Clan."

"What about you?" Poppyfrost questioned. "Who did you love? Is he in StarClan?"

"Me?" Cinderpelt sighed, and said quietly, "I still love him, Poppyfrost. I have simply buried my love inside. He has plenty of cats who love him, and who he loves. His kits are a credit to ThunderClan, and his kin will be the saviors of the Clans. There is no place for me in his world of hope and happiness."

"Who is it?" Poppyfrost persisted.

The dark gray molly hesitated, then plunged on. "... Firestar."