Bird yawned and stretched. She had dreamed that dream countless times, but she wasn't sure if it was a memory or just a figment of her imagination.
"Bird? Sweetie it's time to wake up." A gruff voice meowed.
"Yes Clover, I'm already awake. What's there to eat today?" Bird purred.
"You're only six moons old and you're already eating constantly." Clover chuckled. Bird dipped her head in embarrassment. "Can you tell me about my mother again?"
"Sure. Your mother is a member of Windclan, the swiftest of all the clans. Her name is Moonfur and your father's name is Mothtail. Moonfur is a white she-cat with amber eyes and Mothtail is a very handsome brown tabby tom with lovely green eyes. Your mother's clan was nearly starving in the leafbare that you were born in. She decided that the only way that you were going to survive would be to give you to me. Someday we might go see your mother, but right now isn't the best time."
"Why?" Bird asked.
"Well, she told the clan that you died so if you just appeared, that would be too much of a surprise for most of the cats to handle. They might think you're a Starclan cat come back to life." Clover explained.
"What's Starclan?" Bird asked with a questioning gaze.
"Starclan is where clan cats go when they die. It's also called Silverpelt, and it's always sunny there. There are never any prey shortages. It's basically paradise!"
Bird nodded in understanding, but then tipped her head to the side. "How do you know so much about the clans?"
"I stayed with Windclan for a while, but decided that clan life wasn't for me." Clover meowed. Bird licked her foster mother's cheek gently. "You're a wonderful mother you know?"
"Thanks Bird, let's go hunting. Did you know that you would be an apprentice about now?"
Bird nodded vigorously. "Yes, I remember that from my time with the clans." Clover turned and padded out of the old fox den they were staying in. Bird followed her slowly. "What would my clan name be?" She stared at Clover with her intense yellow gaze.
"Right now you would be Birdpaw." Clover mumbled absently, she was focused on a huge squirrel in the distance. She twitched her tail for Bird to shut her mouth so Bird did exactly that. Clover was downwind to the squirrel so she already had an advantage. She crept silently through the undergrowth and pounced on the squirrel, killing it with a swift blow to the neck. She dragged the squirrel back to Bird and they dug in. After a couple of bites, Bird noticed that Clover was not a young cat. She had a graying muzzle and hse was really stiff.
"Clover?" She began. "I've been having this dream over and over again and I don't know what it means. There's a white she-cat and a tabby tom in it. They're what I think my parents look like, and they always talk about having to give a kit away."
Clover shot her a worried glance. "That's the story I've been telling you. It's probably just showing up in your dreams because you miss your mother."
"No!" Bird insisted. "I remember them talking about giving me to you."
"What did your mother look like? Give a detailed description of her." Clover sniffed disbelievingly.
"She has long white fur and she has amber eyes. They're golden though, they're not normal, and she has pink paws."
"Wow, you do remember her. I'm sorry I doubted you." Clover mewed. "I still think you just miss your mother though."
Bird chuckled and swatted playfully at the old cat's muzzle. She didn't miss her mom any more after that and the dreams stopped coming.