Ferntumble blinked, watching her kits, Honeykit and Vampirekit, closely, making sure they don't run off again. The cold leaf-bare breeze rustled Ferntumble's fur uncomfortably, frost-bitten leaves settling in her fur. Her fire-orange eyes scrambled to keep a close view on the two kits, the cold winds making it harder for her to keep her eyes open.

"Honeykit! Vampirekit!" Ferntumble called, smiling as the two snow-covered kits bounded their way over to her. "It's time to go to sleep, children." Ferntumble purred, and began bathing Honeykit, washing the white blanket off of the yellow-ginger she.

"But I wanna play more!" Vampirekit groaned, his black-and-ginger pelt dotted by snow.

"It's getting late," Ferntumble meowed "and you'd be frost-bitten by sunhigh if I let you play longer!"

"Fi-i-ine!" Vampirekit sighed reluctantly. Honeykit stayed silent. She never usually spoke unless spoke to.

Ferntumble purred as the two kits nudged their way through the moss bed to make themselves comfortable. They'd be apprentices soon...and, hopefully, their father in Starclan would be there to see it all.

Ferntumble closed her eyes, curling herself around her two little children, slowly letting the warmth of sleep overtake her.

Ferntumble's dreams were plunged into an elegant forest, tinted blue and sparkly, the smell of fresh prey surrounding her everywhere she turned… Starclan? Ferntumble looked around, jumping to her feet as the bushes before her rustled, a calico tom pressing his way through the leaves and brambles in front of her.

"Fangriver…?" She muttered, half shocked and half happy to see her dead mate, and the late-father of her kits. Fangriver nodded to her, his light green eyes shining like the tree leaves on a nice green-leaf morning.

"Starclan has sent me to talk to you, Ferntumble. It's important…" Fangriver meowed at once, breaking the silence.

"Wh-What? Talk to me? Why me? No, you must have this all wrong! Why not the medicine cat? O-Or Cedarstar? I'm just a queen!" Ferntumble squeaked, all the words tumbling out like a garbled, nervous mess.

"No, no, Ferntumble… to you." Fangriver shook his head, smiling politely. "It'll be more important to you than any other cat ever. You may share this to Heatherroot and Cedarstar if you like, but they will not care any more than you will…"

Ferntumble stood, confused. She didn't understand. Surely, any message from Starclan would mean more to the leader or medicine cat than a simple queen? Especially from a former deputy… but, she kept quiet. Fangriver stepped forward towards Ferntumble, taking a seat next to her, staring out into the deep forest of Starclan.

"Ferntumble… do you remember… when I left?" Fangriver began. "When I told you, there was a clan called Thunderclan, that I believed was still out there beyond highstones, that was just waiting to be returned to the forest? And you chuckled, and thought I was joking with you, and when I told you I was serious, you-... you got upset." Fangriver finished, glancing over at Ferntumble, who looked guilty and upset.

"You warned me not to go… and I went anyway… and I never came back…" He muttered. Ferntumble's eyes glazed over, her memories hurting her like a claw to the stomach.

"Yes… yes, I remember this. What importance does it have to this message?" Ferntumble hissed, her claws stabbing into the gracious grass below her with how uncomfortable she felt.

"Ferntumble," Fangriver hissed, seriousness sinking into his meow, "Thunderclan is real. I contracted a sickness on my journey, and they tried to heal me when I was there. They tried their best, and I died anyway. Theyre real, Ferntumble." He took in a shivering breath next to her, before continuing. "I believe your kits – our kits are the ones who will find Thunderclan and bring them home, along side the snake and the sand." He finished at once.

Ferntumble stared at the ground blankly, trying to process everything she had just heard. Our kits? The snake and the sand? "What do you mean, 'The snake and the sand'?" She asked, curiously, looking up at him. In response, Fangriver had shrugged.

"I'm not exactly sure, but when the time comes, our kits and the two will leave and return home with this clan. I swear they will." He meowed. "Trust me, Ferntumble." Once he finished speaking, he had faded out, leaving Ferntumble to wake up next to her kits.

The snake and the sand… Thunderclan… my kits? Returning a whole clan? She glanced down at the tiny bundles of black and yellow snuggled next to her belly. Well, whatever happens to them, I want them to be safe. Forever. She thought, casting a final look around, before falling back asleep to a normal dream.