Two moons later, in the middle of a warm afternoon, Snowfur gave birth to a single fluffy white tom. Her entire family was present for the birth of her son, including Thistleclaw, although it was rather crowded and uncomfortable in the nursery. As Lilyspark watched the two new parents admiring their son, she felt a twinge of what almost seemed like respect for Thistleclaw. Perhaps he really did love her after all.

"What are you going to name him?" Moonflower asked, giving the newborn's fur a gentle lick.

"His name is Whitekit," Snowfur answered, not taking her eyes off of her son.

Well, I certainly wouldn't give her any points for creativity, but it's not bad, Lilyspark conceded. Out loud, however, she meowed, "That's a great name, Snowfur."

"Thank you, Lilyspark," her sister purred.

Featherwhisker examined the newly-named Whitekit carefully. "He's strong and healthy," he announced. "Congratulations, Snowfur, Thistleclaw."

Ever since their discussion with Snowfur in the forest, Lilyspark and Bluefur had come to an uneasy truce with Thistleclaw. The spiky-furred warrior still made no secret of her dislike for them, but he didn't go out of his way to insult them anymore. In return, Lilyspark did her best to keep her temper under control whenever she was around him–no easy feat considering her tendency to explode at the slightest provocation. Bluefur had kept her remarks at bay as well, although Lilyspark suspected that it was easier for her since Bluefur had always been more even-tempered.

Maybe this would be the start of a new beginning for all of them. Lilyspark didn't understand what had drawn her sister to Thistleclaw in the first place, and she suspected that she might never fully understand. But if he continued acting the way he was now, she figured that she might be able to accept him. At the very least it would be a somewhat even trade. She would have to get used to his arrogance and he would have to get used to her temper and pranks.

And speaking of pranks, Lilyspark thought as Tigerkit's voice piped up sleepily, "Is it over yet?"

Padding over to the kit, she meowed in a low voice, "Yes, it is. It ended about a thousand moons ago, actually."

"Wait, really?" Tigerkit asked, letting out a yawn. "That can't be possible, right? You'd be dead."

"That's right, little one. I'm a StarClan warrior," Lilyspark meowed solemnly. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her family shaking their heads tiredly.

"Really? Wow! That's so cool," Tigerkit exclaimed, staring up at her with wide amber eyes. "What's it like in StarClan? Is it warm there? I bet it's not as warm as the nursery. Do you get to eat lots of prey? My favorite prey is a mouse. What's yours?"

Lilyspark stared at the little tabby. "How long can you keep this game going?"

"Wait, you mean you're not actually a StarClan warrior?" Tigerkit asked, his mouth gaping open in confusion.

"Did you really think I was?" Lilyspark asked in disbelief. Wow, kits really are gullible.

"Lilyspark," Moonflower meowed warningly, shaking her head. "That's enough. Don't pull pranks on the kits."

"Oh, come on. He's not hurt," Lilyspark replied breezily, flicking her tail. "Anyway, I should probably get going. It's getting a bit too crowded in here and I wanted to go hunting. I'll see you all later, I guess."

She turned around and pushed her way out of the nursery, followed soon after by Bluefur. Nobody else came, and Lilyspark guessed that her parents and Thistleclaw had decided to stay with Snowfur for a while longer. Together, the two sisters padded toward the gorse tunnel, intent on heading out for an afternoon hunt. Just as they were about to reach the exit, they were called back by Thrushpelt, who was bounding over to them from the other side of the clearing.

"Hey, you two. Want to go hunting?" Thrushpelt greeted them. His question was directed at both cats, but Lilyspark couldn't help noticing that his gaze was entirely fixated on Bluefur.

Looks like Snowfur isn't the only one with a cat padding after her, Lilyspark thought, biting back a laugh.

"I think we were just planning on going by ourselves today. Maybe next time," Bluefur answered quickly, turning around and guiding Lilyspark to the gorse tunnel. "See you later, Thrushpelt."

Lilyspark just shook her head and cast an apologetic look at her former mentor over her shoulder. The sandy-gray tom looked crestfallen, and she couldn't help feeling sorry for him. It wasn't really her problem either way if Bluefur wanted him as a mate or not, but Thrushpelt was a nice cat and she hoped that he would find someone to be happy with someday.

"That was a bit cold," she remarked to Bluefur once they were further out of earshot.

Bluefur's neck fur rose and she rounded on her younger sister, her blue eyes blazing. "Don't you start with that!" she snarled. "I've already got Rosetail pestering me about becoming mates with him, I don't need you doing it too!"

Lilyspark took a step back, flinching. "Alright, alright, calm down," she meowed.

"Sorry," Bluefur grumbled, a bit more calmly this time. "It's just annoying, that's all."

"Look, I get that, but you don't need to take it out on me," Lilyspark snapped back. "I wasn't even going to say anything about you being mates with him. Personally, I don't care one way or another. Just that it wouldn't have done any harm to let him come hunting with us. He's my friend, you know."

"It's fine," her sister meowed, exhaling slowly. "Just forget it."

"Sure thing," Lilyspark muttered, rolling her eyes. Honestly, the way she's acting, anyone would think I stuck thorns in her pelt!

The two sisters continued on their way in silence for several moments, the air between them crackling with tension due to their earlier argument. Lilyspark didn't make any attempt to strike up a conversation again, and she guessed that Bluefur wasn't in the mood to speak to her either. To try to distract herself, she allowed her eyes to wander around, taking in the sights and scents of the newleaf season.

A mouse scurried across her path. Quickly, Lilyspark dropped into a crouch and began creeping towards it, keeping her pawsteps light. Before the creature had time to sense her, she leaped, pinning it down with her claws and sinking her teeth into its neck. Sitting up, she buried the mouse under a small pile of dirt to collect later.

"Not bad," Bluefur remarked.

"Who cares?" Lilyspark replied harshly, still not looking at her sister in the eye.

Bluefur frowned. "Look, if this is about earlier–"

"Drop it," Lilyspark interrupted. "Isn't that what you wanted to do anyway?"

Bluefur opened her mouth to respond, then evidently thought better of it and kept walking instead. For a moment, Lilyspark was tempted to walk in the other direction and go hunting alone. After a few heartbeats, however, she let out a growl of annoyance and turned to follow her sister. When she caught up, Bluefur was stalking a robin that was busy pecking at some seeds on the ground. As she watched, the blue-gray warrior pounced, slicing the robin's neck open with her claws.

"That should be enough to feed at least the kits," Bluefur grunted. Lilyspark just ignored her.

Her sister frowned at her. "Are you still mad?"

"No," Lilyspark snapped. "You're just annoying and I wish you would shut up."

"Lilyspark, look, I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier," Bluefur meowed, exhaling. "Things are just stressful right now, that's all. I'm sorry for taking it out on you."

"I don't care," Lilyspark meowed irritably. She knew she was being mean, but she wasn't in the mood to speak to her sister right now. "If I knew you were going to be in such a pleasant mood today, I would have just gone by myself."

"You're not exactly a ray of sunshine yourself," Bluefur shot back, scowling.

Here we go again, she thought, rolling her eyes. Well, this time I'm ending it before it begins.

Turning around, Lilyspark stalked off in another direction, leaving Bluefur behind. A few heartbeats later, however, the sound of pawsteps told her that her sister had decided to follow her anyway. Scowling, she spun around and glared at the blue-gray molly, who took a step back.

"You do realize that I was leaving because I was planning on hunting alone, right?" she asked waspishly.

"Lilyspark, I said I was sorry. What more do you want me to say?" Bluefur asked exasperatedly.

"What do I want you to say? Nothing. How about you learn not to bother cats who clearly want nothing to do with you?" Lilyspark snapped.

She saw her sister's eyes flash with hurt and immediately felt guilty. For the most part, Bluefur had always been the cat she was closest with and she would never dream of not wanting her nearby. But two moons of keeping her temper under control was starting to take its toll on her, and it was all she could do to resist the urge to claw the fur off of all her Clanmates as it was.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that," she murmured, lowering her gaze. "I guess today hasn't really been a good day for me...or these past few moons, really."

"It's alright," Bluefur meowed gently, placing her tail on Lilyspark's shoulder. "Why don't I catch us a nice squirrel or something to share before we continue hunting? I'm sure we could both use some food right about now."

"Sure, alright," Lilyspark agreed, relaxing.

Taking a seat, she stretched out her legs as she turned to watch Bluefur scanning the forest, her ears and nose alert for any sign of fresh-kill. It was still fairly light out, so they had plenty of time to eat and hunt before they had to return home. If they were lucky, they might even be able to stock up the fresh-kill pile. For now, however, Lilyspark was content just to enjoy the warm sunlight and watch her sister hunt.

By the time Lilyspark and Bluefur returned to the camp with their jaws full of prey, Whitekit was already asleep. The two sisters deposited their load in the fresh-kill pile before taking a piece each over to where the warriors shared their meals. Rosetail and Goldenflower were sharing a thrush, and they waved Lilyspark and Bluefur over when they spotted them.

"Lilyspark, Bluefur, come eat with us!" Rosetail called out.

"Coming, Rosetail," Bluefur called back.

Lilyspark took a seat in between Goldenflower and Bluefur, taking a bite out of the rabbit she had picked. She ate in silence for several heartbeats, tuning out the sound of her Clanmates' conversations. While she was eating, her mind wandered over to Whitekit, sleeping peacefully in the nursery with his mother. It would be quite a while until he could eat fresh-kill, but she knew he would be well-fed on Snowfur's milk.

I wonder what his favorite fresh-kill is going to be, she mused, taking another bite.

A nudge from Goldenflower interrupted her thoughts. Looking up, Lilyspark realized that Rosetail was looking back at her expectantly, clearly waiting for an answer of some sort.

"Sorry, did you say something?" she asked apologetically. I really need to stop getting lost in thought all the time.

"It's fine. I was just wondering if there's anyone you had your eye on," Rosetail meowed, looking amused.

Lilyspark flicked her tail dismissively and shook her head. She wasn't completely opposed to the idea of having a mate the way Bluefur seemed to be, but none of the other cats in ThunderClan seemed particularly appealing. Not that there was anything wrong with them, of course; she simply didn't think that they would make good mates. Her main concern was fighting for her Clan; anything to do with having a mate and kits could wait.

"Not really," she meowed breezily. "I don't really want a mate or kits. Too much work if you ask me."

"I second that," Bluefur agreed.

"Well, I want kits someday," Goldenflower spoke up, a wistful look coming over her eyes. "They're so cute and the queens always look so happy. I want to know what that feels like too."

"Really?" Rosetail asked eagerly, turning to face the golden molly. "Are there any toms you've got your eye on right now?"

It was obvious that the two cats would be talking for quite some time, so Lilyspark decided to go back to eating her meal in silence. She was beginning to understand why Bluefur had been so irritated with her earlier. If the gray tabby was always this invested in other cats' personal lives, Lilyspark was almost tempted to avoid speaking to her again forever. Of course, she would never actually do so, but it was an option.

Later that evening, Lilyspark curled up in her nest on the edge of the den. As she settled herself down, she noticed that Thistleclaw's nest was empty and wondered if he was spending the night in the nursery with Snowfur. Letting out a yawn, she stretched her paws out in front of her before closing her eyes. The Clan was eating well, Thistleclaw had (temporarily, at least) stopped being an arrogant pain, and Whitekit was happy and healthy. Aside from her quarrel with Bluefur, all in all, it had been a good day.