1Riversong stared at Hex. The black cat was gazing up at her with friendly green eyes. Riversong shook herself. Just then, Weaver reappeared with Sunpaw behind him. The red-gold tom purred and raced towards Riversong. Riversong saw his scratches were gone. His pelt was smooth and sleek once more, as if the fight had never happened. He licked her flank and sat beside her.

"Well, it took a while, but I finally got through to him," Weaver mewed, "I tell you, Sunpaw, you have one stubborn body!"

"What is he talking about?" Riversong asked Hex.

"Weaver's full name is Weaver of Reveries. He Heals by reaching through a cat's body and speaking to it. He convinces the body that it's not really hurt, that it's just imagining the pain."

Sunpaw quivered excitedly. "It was cool," he told Riversong, "He made me sit down in this funny way, then he walked around me and started talking in this weird language."

"I told you not to tell anyone how I do it!" Weaver mewed indignantly. Sunpaw looked down at his paws.

"Sorry," he murmured. Spark padded up behind the small group of cats. She held some container in her jaws that smelled of Twolegs. She placed it on the ground.

"I found you something to eat," she meowed, "Pyre and I really are sorry for what we did."

Riversong studied the yellow she-cat carefully. Spark had had a hard time of life. Her ears were ripped and barely intact. Scars raced across her body. Riversong could see anxiety hidden deep within those golden eyes. Fear-scent came off Sparks body in ripples. She was afraid of Hex and what the she-kit might do to her for hurting Riversong and Sunpaw. Riversong purred and nodded thankfully. "What is it?"

Spark shrugged. Relief glittered in her gaze. She knew Riversong wouldn't let Hex do anything bad to her. "Just a bit of this and that," she replied, "I found you a few really nice scraps."

Sunpaw reached a gingery paw into the cup and pulled out a bit of chicken. He gulped it down, licking his lips. "Tastes bird-y," he mewed, "It's nice. What was it?"

Hex sniffed his mouth. "Chicken. It's a bird that humans raise and eat."

"Hyu...minns?" Riversong asked, testing the new word carefully.

"You know. Those big noisy things that walk on their hind paws?" Weaver prompted, "They take cats into their nests and try and make them tame?"

"Oh! You mean the Twolegs!" Sunpaw mewed, "We know all about them. They fish out Midnightsky Lake every greenleaf!"

"'Midnightsky Lake'?" Spark and the others had no idea what Sunpaw was meowing about. Riversong flashed her apprentice a glance before she explained.

"Midnightsky Lake is right by the LakeClan camp," she meowed, "It got its name because of the darkness of its waters. They're blue, but blue like the sky at midnight. The Twolegs come down there in newleaf, fish during greenleaf, and leave right before leaf-fall."

Spark nodded. Riversong peered into the cup she had brought. "Any more of that chicken stuff?" she asked.

"There should be," Spark muttered, poking around with a carefully cleaned paw. Riversong felt somewhat welcomed. Spark had washed before she touched another's food. The yellow she-cat pulled out another morsel of the pale meat. "Thought so! Here you go."

Riversong nodded her thanks before taking a bite. The meat was good and tender, but she could taste Twolegs on it. She felt like a kittypet, eating food from a shiny dish provided by her Twoleg masters. The gray she-cat could almost hear the rumbling of Twoleg voices and feel their big, clumsy hands patting her head. She glanced over at Sunpaw, who obviously felt the same. He was scuffling his paws ashamedly in the rubble.

"Something the matter?" Spark asked in a genuinely friendly tone.

Riversong looked at her paws guiltily. "It's nothing personal, Spark," she began in a soft voice, "It's just...Clan cats scorn this kind of food. We don't need Twolegs to survive, and we're proud of that fact. A warrior never eats their food, ever."

Spark nodded. "So, you're Hunters?" she asked with excitement. Hex and Weaver squeaked eagerly. Sunpaw shrugged.

"Well...I guess we are," Riversong murmured.

"Please!" Spark meowed suddenly, "We're tired of living off of human rubbish. Sometimes it makes us sick. If we knew how to Hunt for our own food, we could leave this wretched place far behind!" She cowered at Riversong's paws.

Riversong gazed down at the heap of golden fur at her feet. This was something she hadn't expected. She nosed Spark gently. "Get up," she meowed, "Don't grovel. It's not proper cat behavior." Spark sat up, tail bristling with shame. "I would love to show you how to hunt. Sunpaw is incredible. He's probably a better teacher than I am."

Spark turned to Sunpaw. "Please," she begged softly.

"Riversong and I are happy to help you," he meowed, "I can teach Hex and Weaver, and Riversong can teach you. When should we start?" He looked questioningly up at his mentor.

"How about tomorrow morning?" Riversong suggested, looking up at the darkening sky, "It's almost time we went to bed."

"The sun only set a few hours ago," Spark observed.

"And we're not that far into newleaf. It's late enough for Sunpaw to head to sleep." Riversong stretched and yawned. "Is it all right if we sleep high up? Somewhere with a view of the sky?"

Spark nodded and flicked her tail towards a high heap of rubbish. "Sleep up there," she meowed, "You can see so many stars from there."

"What about that big swath of stars?" Riversong asked, referring to Silverpelt.

"It's very clear up there. Why? Does it hold some significance to warrior cats like yourselves?"

Riversong nodded. "When a cat dies, their spirit joins the ranks of StarClan. StarClan lives in that patch of stars we call Silverpelt. Each star is a warrior. Every place Sunpaw and I have stayed, Silverpelt gazes down at us and StarClan watches over us."

Spark nodded. Riversong thanked her and headed up the slope. Once at the top, she cleared a space for her and Sunpaw and lay down. Sunpaw curled up beside her. The two cats said nothing, just stared at the heavenly stars. "Foxpelt is up there," Riversong meowed softly, "So are Shorekit, Coalkit, Lionkit, Starpaw, Cloudfur, Legendheart, Shiningstone, Icestar, and Leafgaze. DuskClan warriors all." Sunpaw nodded.

"All of them are watching over us," he mewed, "So we must be doing the right thing."

"I was wondering, Sunpaw," Riversong began, "You know how Hex says she talks to ghosts?" Sunpaw nodded. "She said she talked to Foxpelt. Maybe she knows about his death and could help us find more cats that could help us out."

Sunpaw purred. "Great idea! I'll ask her tomorrow."

Riversong nodded. She stretched and settled down in a comfortable position. Sunpaw snuggled up closer to her. The two cats were asleep in minutes. The creatures of the day slowly settled down and stopped their scurrying, squeaking, snuffling, and let the creatures of the night take over. Crickets chirped. Bats squealed in voices only they could hear. Mentor and apprentice slept on.

A breeze whispered through the cats' ears, smelling of the coldness of outer space, the winter ice, and the true essence of cat. Riversong sniffed in her dreams and half-opened her eyes. She sat up. A silvery being sat beside her. "Fox...pelt?" she mewed drowsily.

"That I am," the faint voice of the StarClan warrior replied, "That I am."

Riversong nodded. "Stay here with me, Foxpelt," she whispered, still half asleep, "I want you to stay like you did before."

"I have never left your side, young warrior," Foxpelt's spirit meowed softly as he faded into the night, "I have never left."

Riversong blinked her eyes fully open, leaping to her feet. "Foxpelt?" she called into the night, now fully alert, "Foxpelt?" The same space-ice-cat scented wind blew around her, stirring her blue-gray pelt. Never left...it seemed to whisper, Never left...