(Set after chapter 25 of Loner's Wild)

Bluestar stared at Sunningrocks for a few moments before circling them, taking in the changes that the quake had made to them.

There were still places for cats to rest, with plenty of room for two or more, and now there were also places that offered shade as well.

She smiled slightly. "Even from disaster, comes a new beginning," she murmured.

"Who's there?"

Bluestar froze in surprise as the familiar meow, and she leaped up onto the stones to see a dark reddish-brown tom with amber eyes crouched among the rocks below. The two cats locked eyes and stared at each other for a few moments.

"Crookedstar send you to ascertain the viability of Sunningrocks too?" Bluestar mewed as the silence grew awkward.

Oakheart coughed and composed himself, nodding stiffly. "I would have thought you'd leave this to someone else."

"I've considered it, and probably will, but I still wanted to see the damage for myself."

Bluestar's tail tip flicked to and fro and she crouched on top of the rocks. "How's Mistyfoot?"

Oakheart looked up at her. "May I join you?" Bluestar made room for him and he jumped up beside her, swiftly distancing himself once he was on the stone. Settling himself comfortably, he looked down at his paws.

"Stonefur's death hit her pretty hard, and we're thinking about making her deputy to give her something to do."

Bluestar's brows rose. "How's Leopardfur taking that?"

"She's the one that suggested it."

The ThunderClan leader blinked in surprise. "That's…unlike her."

Oakheart smiled slightly. "She wants to go out on patrol and make sure there's no rogues hiding on our territory, and as deputy, she has too many responsibilities to do so."

Bluestar snorted. "That's more like her." She shook her head. "I don't know if I'll ever understand your bizarre rotating deputy roster."

Oakheart shrugged. "It's useful experience for a cat. Helps them learn new skills and methods that they can pass on to apprentices and their kits."

Bluestar looked away, ears flat, and Oakheart glanced at her. "How are you holding up?"

Bluestar looked at him from the corner of her eye and looked out over the river. "I miss my kits, but know it's for the best this way." She turned to Oakheart. "Have they ever asked about their mother?"

"No," he meowed gently. "But they're sharp enough to guess she wasn't a RiverClan cat, and are proud of their parents, no matter what clan they're from." He chuckled. "Stonefur threw himself into his duties to make his mother proud, even if he and she never met or knew the other." He tilted his head. "Mistyfoot's a little more subdued about it, but the passion is still there."

Bluestar nodded, throat tight.

Oakheart looked down at his paws, kneading them against the stone. "I miss him too," he murmured. "He should've been a fine warrior and mentored many apprentices." He sighed heavily. "We know he wouldn't want us to mope, and we can always talk to him in StarClan, but…"

"The hole won't go away."

Oakheart gazed at Bluestar, gazed at her, and saw her as he did the first time they met.

"Bluefur…"

Bluestar twitched at the sound of her warrior name and she grimaced. "That was a different time," she meowed, shaking her head. "That cat…died when she became deputy, and had to give up her kits."

"And yet here she is, stronger now than she has ever been," Oakheart murmured, stepping closer to her. Bluestar looked up at him, a mix of emotions clouding her face, and she placed a paw on his chest.

She gently pushed him away.

"I'm sorry," she mewed, looking into his eyes. "I am not the cat you think I am."

He held her gaze for a few moments before nodding. "I can see that." He stepped back, sat down, and wrapped his tail around his paws. "I would like to get to know this new cat then."

Bluestar blinked in surprise, then narrowed her eyes. "What makes you think she's worth knowing?"

The RiverClan cat's tailtip flicked in amusement. "She bothered to stick around, rather than driving off the cat she was talking to, for starters. Meaning she thinks what I say is worth listening to."

"Perhaps she is humoring you."

"She is indeed a very humorous cat."

Bluestar glared at him, jaw working as she tried to form a response to that. Oakheart's gaze shifted and he looked towards the river. After a few moments, he glanced back at the ThunderClan leader.

"Are you ever going to tell her?"

Bluestar shook her head.

Oakheart sighed, shaking his head. "It's not going to go as bad as you think."

"Were she not a RiverClan cat in all but blood, I'd be inclined to agree, but her clan comes first."

"No it does not," Oakheart meowed, startling Bluestar. "The clans may have their territories, but there's no reason families should be unknown." His eyes softened. "Especially not now."

Bluestar looked down at her paws, curling her toes. "…I will think about it."

Oakheart watched her go, and stayed at Sunningrocks for a long while after.