I don't own Warriors.

Sparkfur stumbled over his words as he attempted to speak to Freya. He'd been trying to learn the wolves' language for three months now, and he could barely carry a conversation. All of Freya's words sounded confusing and alien.

"Be patient," Freya told him, switching back to cat-speak. "This takes time. Listen carefully, and join in when you're ready."

Freya began to speak in the angelic, beautiful wolf-language again. Sparkfur let out a breath, and listened. She was saying one of his usual lessons, and he joined in, drawing out the syllables to match hers.

A warm feeling of delight spread through Sparkfur. He was doing it. He had understood what she was saying, and could mimic her. The words were flowing naturally now; he didn't even need to think.

Freya stopped abruptly, and Sparkfur let his words fade out. He had done what had seemed impossible to him.

"You're still young enough that you don't have an accent," Freya said. "When we get to some of the harder languages you'll be old enough you'll have one."

"Oh," Sparkfur said. "When we were talking, it just seemed so, I don't know, natural. Why did that happen?"

Freya looked at him curiously. "There are several explanations to that. Some wolves, although I am not one of them, believe that after you die you're reborn again, as a different life form. If that is correct, then you could have been a wolf before in your past life.

"What I think may have happened, however, is that you have spent more time with us than a normal cat. You have been exposed to our beliefs enough that you're beginning to feel as if you are one of us. Humans—twolegs, that is—call it imprinting. If a young animal spends enough time with another they will believe that they are one of them. I doubt that you believe you're a wolf, but you may have taken on some of our characteristics."

Sparkfur blinked. "Okay. What language am I learning next?"

Freya smiled. "The key to learning fox is to lower your voice and shorten the vowels…"

xxx

Sparkfur padded back through the forest to the camp, still trying to mimic Freya's voice in his mind.

"Hey, Sparkfur!"

Sparkfur glanced over. "Hi Darkshadow."

"Have you seen Silentwind?"

"No, why?"

Darkshadow stared at his brother blankly. "Huh?"

"I asked why."

"What are you saying?"

"I said—" Sparkfur froze, hearing the wolf's language flow from his mouth. "I said why?"

Darkshadow blinked. "What were you speaking?"

"Um," Sparkfur's mind raced. "I heard it somewhere and was trying to see if I could mimic it."

Darkshadow looked at his brother strangely. "Yeah. Anyway, no one's seen Silentwind since last night. Firestar sent out a search party, but the lost her scent near the ShadowClan border. It mixed with another cat's. Firestar went over and said it was a cat named Ravenfang, and he's apparently pretty popular over there."

"So?"

"So I've been asking around, trying to figure out who he is, to figure out why he would be meeting Silentwind."

"And?" Sparkfur asked.

"He's Blackstar's son."

For everyone who doesn't know or remember, Blackstar was the villain in The Other Kit who tried to kill Sunwing.