That night, Root could hear the whispers again as he slept, until finally they fell silent, but then he felt a soft breeze ruffle his fur. Odd, there wasn't usually a draft in the old fox den. Was that… grass he felt underneath?

"Root."

He drew a sharp breath at the sound of that voice, soft as kit fluff, and sweet as honey. He opened his eyes and looked up, hardly believing what he saw.

"Mother?" he asked, taking in the light brown tabby she-cat, with her vivid green eyes, he was immediately seized with the desire to bury his nose in her soft fur and breathe in her scent, like he had as a kit.

"Hello my little one," she said softly, like a mother to her newborn kit.

Hesitantly, he moved closer, he needed to feel her, smell her, hear her heartbeat. She gave him an encouraging smile, and he pressed himself up against her, burying his face in her chest. She felt so much smaller, but of course, he had gotten bigger.

When he breathed in her scent it was a long forgotten memory returned, and when a rumbling purr started up in her chest, that too was a memory returned.

"You've grown so much," she said.

"I've missed you," he said, "But- but how are you here?"

He stepped back, taking in the sight of her again, and he realized now that her pelt seemed to glimmer slightly.

"You're dead…" he remembered.

She gave him a sad look, "Yes, and I have ached being apart from my kits, only able to watch from afar as you grew up without me, but I am so proud, and there is something that I must tell you."

He didn't know what to say. This couldn't really be happening, could it? He must be dreaming…

"You must take what cats you can, and journey northeast," she said.

"To the clans?"

"Yes, there are those who would follow you, find them, and lead them, that is your destiny."

"Lead them? You mean a clan, or just the expedition?"

She gave him a knowing smile and said, "As much as it pains me to say goodbye again, our time is coming to an end."

"No, please!"

"I love you, and Deer too, I'm very proud of the both of you," she said, her voice becoming distant.

In the next second, he jolted awake with a gasp, "No!"

Beside him, Deer flattened his ears and groaned, then opened his own eyes and peered up at Root, "What's gotten into you?"

"I saw- I thought-" he shook his head, "Nothing, it was just a dream."

"Seems more like a nightmare," Deer yawned.

"No, not at all," Root sighed, resting his chin on his paws.

Deer blinked at him thoughtfully, then shifted closer and laid his head on Root's back, "Then why are you upset?"

Root remained silent for a long moment, gathering his thoughts before speaking, "I dreamed about mom."

"Oh," was all Deer said in response, he knew that his brother would have his own feelings about it, they'd both lost her.

"It was so real," he went on, "I could see, smell, feel, and hear her so clearly… you're not falling asleep again are you?"

"Of course not," Deer said, then raised his head and began washing Root's ears.

"She even spoke to me."

Deer paused for a moment, then resumed without a word. Root knew that his brother wasn't going to say much until they both knew that he'd said everything that he had to say.

"Not that it was anything important…" he wasn't sure what his brother would think about it, and he suddenly felt a little embarrassed, Deer already thought that he was too obsessed with the clans.

Deer still didn't respond, and it made him want to squirm, his brother knew that he had more left to say, and neither of them were going to speak again until he'd said it.

"She said that she was proud of us," he said, his throat tightening, "That she was sad to have to watch us grow up without her."

His brother stopped grooming again, and this time he didn't resume, Root knew that he was too wrapped up in his own emotions.

"Was that all she said?" Deer asked, his voice barely more than a whisper.

Root hesitated, "It was just a dream…"

"Maybe," Deer replied, his tone noncommittal.

"It's stupid, it doesn't make any sense, you'll just laugh."

Again Deer just remained silent, and Root almost wanted to box his ears, but finally he relented, "She said that she had a message for me, that I need to find those who will follow and lead them to the clans."

He shifted so that he could see his brother's expression, expecting to see exasperation, or something similar. Instead, Deer looked thoughtful. Was he taking it seriously?

"Why?" Deer said, seemingly to himself.

"She said something about destiny, but it was just a dream."

"Maybe…" he said, frowning.

"What do you mean maybe?" Root flattened his ears, "Of course it was a dream, what else would it be?"

"Yes, of course it was a dream," Deer agreed, "But maybe it wasn't just a dream."

Root gave his brother a baffled look and waited for him to elaborate.

"I remember one time, after our father died, that mother told us about… about what happens to cats after they die, do you remember?"

"No."

"Well, if I remember correctly, she said that the stars are the spirits of our ancestors, and the sky is their hunting ground. No matter where we go, we can always see the stars, because our ancestors follow us wherever we go, and sometimes, rare and lucky cats get to meet with the spirits in their dreams."

"So you think that it really was her?" Root asked, hoping and fearing that his brother would say yes, but equally that he would say no.

"I think that it's a definite possibility," Deer said with hesitation, "I don't know how I feel about her message, but if it really was her… I think we should do what she says."

"It… it certainly seemed like her, but I don't know. What if it was just a dream, and doing what she said is a mistake?"

"I'll leave it up to you," Deer decided, "If you decide to stay, we'll stay, and if you decide to go, I'll follow."

"You didn't like the idea of the clans though."

"I'm still not so sure about them, but I believe what mother told me, and I believe in you too, have you ever had a dream as vivid as that one?"

"No, and to be honest, I didn't even remember her that clearly at all, not her appearance, or her scent, or the sound of her voice, but the moment I saw, heard, and smelled her… it was like going back to when I was a kit, it was all so clear."

Deer gave a bittersweet smile, "I envy you that."

"So… you think we should do what she says?"

"I told you, wherever you go, I'll follow."
Root hesitated, he thought he already knew, but he didn't want to say it, "Let's do it then, but before we go, we have to find the others that she spoke of."

"I know just the way," Deer said, getting to his paws.

"How?" Root asked, scrambling to get up as well.

"Come on, we're going to see old Parsley again."