Chapter 3

"Amazing..." He whispered. "The stories I was told as a small kit are true... You really do look exactly like her! But... We all thought you were dead..."

Pebble felt like she was going to fall over her head was spinning so much. "You... You must be a WaterClan cat," she stated.

"Indeed I am," the tom meowed. "I am Wolfstream. I was born shortly after the FireClan invasion. I was born in the camp that is now our new home." He looked at Pebble. He could tell she was upset. "Pebblekit, you must know that everyone tells me the only reason you were left behind was because we couldn't find you and we thought... you were dead."

Even though Pebble felt a wash of relief come over her, she was still upset. She hated thinking about that day. She turned away slightly.

"Pebble," she mewed sternly. "My name is Pebble."

Wolfstream bowed his head in respect. "Of course. I am sorry."

Pebble could feel the sadness make her heart ache. "When everyone left, I-I was so scared," she stammered, the bad memories coming back and hitting her hard like a boomerang. "I ran away from camp and, well, I didn't even look back. I was so tiny and young and helpless, I don't even know how I survived. I grew up without a mother, without anyone to take care of me or love me..." she mewed, choking back sobs.

Wolfstream sighed sympathetically. "I am so sorry," he mewed. He walked over and nuzzled her. Pebble smiled. She really liked this tom.

"You know, your sister is an incredible cat," he mewed. "She's one of the best warriors in our clan. Thunderstar is thinking of making her deputy!"

Pebble grinned; she missed her sister so much! "Gosh, I haven't seen my family or my clan in so long! I've missed them so much," she said. She jumped a little when she realized something.

"Wait, did you say Thunderstar?" she croaked. "What... what happened to Snowstar?" She already knew what answer was going to come, but she still needed to know.

Wolfstream looked down. "She lost her last life to a harsh battle with badgers when I was just an apprentice. I mean, she was getting old, but our clan took the news hard. She was our clan leader for ages, and she meant so much to all of us."

It was a hard fact to accept. Pebble remembered when Snowstar saved her life when the terrible, nightmare-haunting tried to kill her. She had pinned him down and took his last wretched life. Pebble wished the memory was just a bad dream. "I can't believe she's dead. She saved my life," Pebble stated.

Wolfstream curtly nodded in agreement. "Indeed, she was a beautiful, strong she-cat with much courage and a strong heart. She hunts among StarClan now.

Pebble closed her eyes and looked down. Ever since the incident, she had turned her back on StarClan, but she wasn't going to tell him this now. It would be disrespectful to his beliefs.

"Why are you so far from WaterClan anyway?" Pebble asked, changing the subject.

He fluffed up his feathery, gray fur. "Important clan stuff. It's sort of, um, complicated. It has to do with a rogue that's been bothering us. I'm supposed to be on a mission to find him, but honestly I think he won't be bothering us." Pebble nodded. She hadn't realized how much she had missed clan life.

Wolfstream noticed the sadness in her eyes. "You know, your mother dearly misses you, and same with your siblings. Bramblekit still believes you're still alive. I think he's one of the few cats who still have hope... I wish you could see them, but its just too dangerous. Cats will start to worry about the prophecy again."

Pebble perked up. An idea immediately flooded into her head as the words left Wolfstream's lips.

"Oh, but Wolfstream... I can!" said Pebble slowly.

He tilted his head. "What?"

"Take me back to WaterClan. Let me meet my sister. And then, we could switch places! I could pretend to be her!" Pebble was excited. She felt like it was a great idea!

Wolfstream thought otherwise. "I dunno," he mewed. "It could be dangerous-"

"Oh, forget dangerous. Let loose a little! It will be fun!" she yelped.

Wolfstream's eyes gleamed. "You know, just then, you really reminded me of Riverbreeze," he murmured. Pebble smiled. That was probably the best compliment she had ever heard.

"So will you take me?" she said, green eyes glowing.

Wolfstream thought about it for a few heartbeats, then nodded. "I think we can make that work."

Pebble giggled and began to bounce around excitedly.

"Lets go!"