"Woah! Did you really cross a river of mud!?"

"And the sky can rain poison?"

"How was mom so brave when she was just a kit?"

"I think it's all so romantic!"

"What?" An all-brown adolescent tom pushed his brown tabby sister. "How is poison and mud romantic?"

"Not that, mouse-brain," the adolescent molly mewed back. "The other parts. Mira met her future mate, and she didn't even know it! And mom met dad on the journey."

"They were just kits then. And that was, like, a little piece of the story. It was about adventure, and danger, and hope."

"No, it was a tale of love and loss and love again. How do you not see it?"

"Shut up!" A third littermate wailed. "I want to hear how it ends."

All four sat up straight and huddled together, eager to hear the end of Mira's tale. A gentle purr escaped her lips, the undisciplined youths reminding her fondly of that first day of travel with Yonder Five. She reminisced a little while longer before shrugging. "There isn't much of an end. I stayed for a few days and left when Proxima figured out what was going on with the star-monsters."

A collective groan escaped them. "What about building Yonder Five? Did we ever fight the Star Covenant again?" the tom squealed. "I have to know!"

"Sorry, I just wasn't there. You'll have to ask your parents."

"Ask us what?" The moment Hosta appeared from the dense bush hiding away the hill, the four young siblings scrambled together and stood at attention. Her own dark brown coat was well-kept, which made her scowl a bit at the pine needles and standing tufts of fur in theirs. "Are you bothering Mira again? You know she likes to watch the sunset alone."

"Oh, it's quite alright. They helped me up the hill." Mira said, scratching her deeply gray face. "I've been telling them about my journey across the ringworld. We're at the part where I was briefly in charge of Yonder Five. Next time, I'll tell you how I climbed a mountain and left this district."

"You climbed one of those mountains!?" the tabby molly mewed. "All the way up?"

"Up and over, with Proxima's help, of course. I may not be, now, but I was once quite strong."

The kits were at attention again when Hosta cleared her throat. But she couldn't keep her scowl forever. To her, the undisciplined adolescents were just her curious litter of kits. She sighed and shook her head. "The other elders told you what happened after Mira left."

"But I want to hear you talk about it," the tom said. "You're the leader. You'd know all of it, right?"

Hosta sighed and nodded. "You're old enough for all that, I guess. Groom yourselves and be ready for hunting lessons tonight. I'll tell you everything you want to know if you come back with prey. Deal?"

The kits collectively nodded as they ran down the hill and through the bushes, pushing each other out the way in the process. When their thundering paws disappeared in the wind, Hosta rested a paw on Mira's back. Mira stood and stretched as far as her legs would let her, gray sleeves vibrating ever so slightly at the exertion. It wasn't long before she sat and focused fully on the distant sunset, the ringworld rising up and beyond the horizon.

Hosta shook her head. "Even on litter four, I can't really get mad at any of them. Sorry if they bothered you."

"It's really alright," Mira nodded. "I wasn't in a mood for being alone, anyway. You'd think it'd be hard to get away from such large groups of cats."

"You should try leading them," Hosta scoffed. "Thank the Stars I have Leea in this. If those kits had even a shred of discipline…. Anyway, I should find the rest of the young ones for tonight's hunting lessons. They're probably bothering the Star Covenant side, too. Do you need help back to camp?"

Mira shook her head. "Farstrider always looks here when he can't find me."

"I didn't see him on my way here."

"Oh, you know how sneaky he is, even at his age. We're going to watch the stars together."

Hosta nodded and disappeared through the bushes. Mira sighed with a smile on her face and peered out into the horizon. The sky was growing darker as a shadow square beyond the clouds crept in the way of the pale sunset. Beyond her was the spire, the command center the twolegs had reclaimed on their return—Mira liked sleeping in the forest more, anyway. Parts of where the Shattered District once was had been filled in, baring no resemblance to the green forests or blue oceans of other sections. She was glad the twolegs only seemed interested in their own structures and left the forest, and her, alone.

The bushes and pine trees rustled with a gust of wind. Mira blinked and felt the presence of three StarClan cats approaching from behind. Littlestar had a smile on her face. Blackleaf seemed content, her tail held high and her fur gently tossed. Rye, still a kit in her eyes and still with the brightest stars in her pelt, stayed close to Blackleaf and dipped her head.

"It's been a little while," Littlestar meowed.

"Fifty-one rotations, to be exact," Mira scolded mockingly. The three gently sat around her. "This world was so foreign to you all, I thought you'd moved on the moment StarClan returned to normal."

"We thought to make sure it stayed that way," Blackleaf said. "For a time, at least. I didn't think anyone living would still remember us."

"We've all decided to move on, now," Littlestar nodded. "Most of our friends and kin did so, already. And I don't want to keep Fleetheart waiting forever. We promised to leave together."

"Excuse our interruption," Rye said. "We came to say goodbye. We would not have even been able to do this without you."

Mira purred, brushing Rye's fur since she was small enough to sit under her chin. "You've all deserved it for a long time, now. Thank you all, again, for everything you did for me."

Mira rested her chin on Rye's head, who gently folded into the embrace. Blackleaf and Mira sat on both sides of the larger old molly and pressed their cheeks against hers. The four sat in each other's warm embraces and purred with grins spanning their muzzles. Mira felt the same trance when she was surrounded by StarClan cats all those rotations ago. It was smaller, more intimate, a long embrace before a final goodbye. She relished every moment.

"Mira?"

The embrace faded with another blink. Just as Farstrider pushed through the bush and up the hill, the StarClan cats vanished as a mist against the now-dark sky.

"Rest well, you three," Mira whispered.

"Did I interrupt something?" Farstrider said, gently nuzzling Mira's cheek.

"I was just saying goodbye to some acquaintances." Mira shook her black fur clean of pine needles and turned towards the hill. "Ready to see the stars?"

"Always."

Farstrider let Mira prop against her down the steep hill, her own legs barely able to carry her a step. He helped her through the thick bush and lifted her on his back. She looked behind her as stars began peeking from their hiding spots. One glowed brighter to her than the rest. Mira nodded to it and hummed a purr.