"Now we'll be together forever," Fencerunner said, moving in on her mate's ear, "And ever. And ever. And ever. And ever. And did I mention forever?"

"OH! And ever."

The end.

"EarthClan... well, I'll be honest with you - in my time, EarthClan was a perfect storm. Risingstar was... an absolute mess. But he was a good cat. He held us together, he... he defined the EarthClan that I inherited. EarthClan was... it was a home. A chaotic, flawed, and perfect home."

Dieselstar gave Fencestar a droll look, but gave a nod as Fencestar gave her a convenient out.

"Behave yourselves," She warned the kits as she started out toward the street.

Dieselstar visibly bit back a comment and shifted uncomfortably on her paws-- she'd never had a proper conversation with the cat, but the longer he went on, the more she wondered if their fates had, in fact, been different, that he really was as responsible for his own death as the SunClanners said. StarClan, he's insufferable.

Glass turned his eyes upon Mosspaw, the star-filled orbs creasing at the edges as a smile danced across his features.

"No need for apologies - I'm not anything special, I'm well aware. I never needed to be - I'm an EarthClanner, and as one, I am no more than my clanmates, regardless of my title or suffix. Whatever your mother's told you about my 'perfect moral character', I assure you it's not the truth. I'm just as flawed as every other cat that walks this land - without those flaws, I'd have died long before I reached the clans. In the end, you may find that your flaws are no different from your greatest strengths."

"They all ended up looking like you- I had to give them Something. Why not a hopefully perfect moral character?" Fencerunner said with a laugh, Dieselstar's awkwardness putting her at ease. As Mosspaw approached, the she-cat took her tail and wrapped it around Oxalispaw's shoulder.

"Now's your chance to ask him as many questions as you'd like," she whispered encouragingly, looking up into her son's gaze with an unbeholdened emotion held there.

"Ah, the devil, am I?" Glass quipped, shooting Fencestar a light-hearted smile before his gaze turned upon Dieselstar and the apprentices.

"You raised them well, Fence." His gaze flickered back to the she-cat. "Thank you."

Mosspaw was so close to going off on oxalispaw, which included teaching him a lesson through a little battle training. She loved her brother and would do anything to protect him, but sometimes he annoyed the Fox dung out of her. The bright light accompanied by the supernatural presence of a new cat stopped her in her tracks. The young calico almost retreated behind her parents, pale olive green eyes narrowing at the starclanner. She couldn’t help but wonder if this was the cat they were talking about. Minus the glowy silhouette, he didn’t seem like much. “Really mom? Him?” She questioned allowed, forgetting that the glowing cat could hear her.

The dead were a peculiar thing. Throughout Glasswind's life, he'd found StarClan to be such even moreso. However, peculiarity was reality nonetheless - whether that reality was a mere hallucination or something more, could be determined only by the eyes of the beholders.

With a shimmering, ethereal light, the air seemed to fall suffocatingly still for a moment, as a faint starry figure leapt out of the void, alighting on the ground, though he seemed to hover a few hairlengths above it, by some strange, otherworldly force. The apparition flickered, dwindled, then seemed to find stability at a point just between visibility and invisibility - turn one's head at the right angle, and the celestial-pelted tom appeared to vanish.

It was questionable whether the dead breathed, but in this instant, the dead tom that stood before the EclipseClanners took in a visible breath, his clouded, faintly green-hued eyes trailing over their figures. A tension seemed to riddle the stars that made up his apparition - and then, he let out that long breath, as though he hadn't breathed since the day his last breath had left his form.

"Sorry I'm late - I had some business to take care of."

The words were dry and unremarkable in content, but the breathy murmur they were spoken in, overwhelmed with an odd symphony of pride, grief, regret, and amazement, said so much more.

"I wouldn't have!" Oxalispaw protested. "I've never even said anything about it!"

"That's not true," Mulleinpaw laughed, shaking her head. "Mom's right, this really doesn't matter. I'm just glad to know, since, well, we did have to wonder, at least a little bit."

"Why don't we just go back to camp...?" Dieselstar suggested.

Oxalispaw gave an audible sigh at Mosspaw's picture-perfect answer, thinking that she surely didn't actually believe that.

Mosspaw, having been forgotten by her parents and siblings some time ago, sat toward the side of the group. She listened intently to her mothers, grinning slightly to herself for having figured it out awhile ago. She hadn't known exactly who it was by she had known he'd been an outsider. Her pale green eyes flickered toward Oxalispaw, frowning at his words.

The young calico she-cat nudged her brother, rather harshly. "Don't be rude, we've got everything we need right here." She said, turning to smile at her parents.

"The only ones, as far as I know...?" Dieselstar sighed, glancing over at her mate. Mulleinpaw seemed hushed, thinking over the news, while Oxalispaw was as fit to burst with questions as he usually was.

"Why are you telling us now? Is he gonna come visit?" Oxalispaw asked.

"Well, we figure we probably won't have much of a chance for a while," Dieselstar replied. "And that is a threat, I better not see any of you for another few dozen seasons."

"But is he visiting?" Oxalispaw pressed.

"We don't know," Dieselstar admitted. "He's probably with EarthClan, helping them rebuild. He was killed by a SunClan patrol and may be trying to make peace with them, it seemed like a few cats were planning on things like that."

"But we're his kits."

"And he didn't have any paw in raising you."

"Why doesn't he want to see us?"

"We don't know that."

"But-"

"Look, kid, you have two parents who love you. That's more than most kits get-"

"-but most kits don't have three dead parents!"

"Oxalispaw, that isn't fair and you know it."

"Alright. Just throw the duckling into the middle of the pond. That'll work, I guess," Fencerunner rambled under her breath, bowing under support.

She straightened, "Or, more intimately, I've been meaning to talk to you about your father," Fencerunner said. She knew Dieselstar wanted to help, but in the end, it was Fencerunner who had made that choice.

"Though I wish you could be, I'm sure you've realized that two she-cats can't have kits. Dieselstar isn't related to you- by blood at least."

Dieselstar reflexively licked the top of Fencerunner's head and stepped into Origam's Palace, the location seeming to bear no particular ghosts for her, despite her history with it running nearly as deep as Fencerunner herself's. Oxalispaw followed after him.

"So, what are we doing here?" He asked, his nose wrinkling at the moldy smell.

"We've been meaning to talk to you about your father," Dieseltooth said, almost casually, as she sat down inside.

"Don't be bashful! Good job!" Fencerunner praised as she approached. The moment of jubulence faded quicker than she would've liked as the shaded alley of Origam's place seeped its way into Fencerunner's mood. She sighed, looked towards Dieselstar, and Oxalispaw as he finally peeked his head around to be marked as present in the scene.

She was unwilling to initiate the hard conversation and leaned on Dieselstar's stronger shoulder, waiting on the stronger cat to make the move to enter.

Mulleinpaw laughed as she tore out across the territory. Her legs had grown gangly as she entered the full thrust of her apprenticehood and she easily outpaced Dieselstar and Oxalispaw, who shared that mother's sturdy build. As Fencerunner slowed down, Mulleinpaw continued charging ahead, sprinting right past her and closing the short distance to Origam's Palace. She stood in the entrance, panting, and practically glowing with pride.

Dieseltooth slowed as she neared Fencerunner, panting as well, though not as hard as her daughter. "What do you want me to call you?"

Fencerunner's legs were beating to a two-pump rhythm, her spirit quick and her heart light.

"That's not my name anymore and you know it!" she said, having left responsibility at her grave. She realized Dieselstar had fallen behind and slowed to a trot to let her family catch up- stars, she had a family. The fact left her live performing with smiles. Death was great! Why hadn't she tried it ages ago?

Eaglepaw took a moment to digest Dovepaw's statement.

"I understand your point of view," she stated after a pregnant silence. "We are both strong clans- but in different ways. SunClan has tempered how many fights we've gotten into- and we have both benefited from each-other's territories. If two things come together to make such a strong whole, I don't see why they need to be apart in the first place. Perhaps I'm only being naive, but . . . I hope this alliance lasts a long time." she pondered. "Otherwise, things will just go back to the way they were when we were kits- remember all the bodies they brought back? Every day, it seemed. I hated seeing those cats killed."

Eaglepaw looked thoughtfully at Dovepaw, her yellow eyes fixed on her sister's mismatched ones. "Why do you think that, Dovepaw?" she asked. Eaglepaw had a way about her that made you feel listened to; when she spoke, her eyes were unwavering and compassionate yet stern. Her ears pricked forward with every word and her whiskers would lift and fall with the sentences of the passage. She paid even more attention to Dovepaw, who she cherished more than all in the clans.

Dovepaw grew quiet again, a thoughtful expression on her face. "We can't stay with SunClan forever, though." She didn't care much for politics. She only knew that staying with another Clan was uncomfortable, and, in her opinion, impractical.

(Did she come off as anxious to you? Or is that how Eaglepaw is interpreting her sister?)

"Sure, that sounds fine." Dovepaw meowed simply, though the subject piqued her interest. She looked at Eaglepaw, a question forming in her mind. "Do you think we'll be moving back soon?"

After a momentary consideration, Cheshire nodded, and they moved onwards towards Eclipse-Moon border.

"We don't really need to hunt, seeing as we get most of our prey from the abandoned two-leg nest. It's always nice to know though." The large tabby said, stepping closer to Snowleopard. He had to admit she was the prettiest she-cat he'd ever seen. Her fierceness and determination to never give up is what drew him to her.

Snowleopard smiled more, her purr deepening and a flush spreading over er face at his grin. She could tell she had some sort of affect on him, but she couldn't tell exactly what yet. "I'd like to think I'm a fair hunter." She replied, her tail flicking around to brush his, her eyes sparkling in the light.

Tigermask nodded in approval, glad she was getting the hang of it. From what he could tell, she didn't really need training. She got the gist of it and she probably wouldn't have to fight anyway. Her purring caught him off guard, but he recovered in time to send her a grin. "How's your hunting?"

Snowleopard smirked slightly and dropped into a crouch. Since Tigermask was such a large cat, jumping on top on him wasn't going to work, but maybe she could unbalance him with some quick moves that were low to the ground. She was careful not to let her eyes betray her plans, and shot forward like a white flash, headbutting him in the side forcefully enough to knock him off balance, her muscles tensed in preperation for a counterattack from him.

Tigermask stopped in the middle of a smallish clearing, gaze lingering on the path that would leader them to Eclipseclan's camp. Deep down- like way deep down- he missed the twoleg nest they called home. He grew up there, it was everything he ever knew. And now, being forced to live with the likes of Sunclan. He was far more agitated about this than his clan-mates seemed to feel. All the Sunclanners were so scrawny and weak, what good would they do in a fight?

He shifted his gaze to look at Snowleopard who seemed to be just as carefree as she'd been when she first joined the clan. He liked her fierceness and her caring nature. One of those traits would do her better within Eclipseclan's ranks than the other, unless she'd dedicate her purpose to the clan as a queen. "Which one do you think you'll excel at, hunting or fighting?" He question, clearing a spot of snow. I hate cold weather.

----

"Hey love, you seemed a bit off today. Is something wrong?" Winterjay question his mate, smiling slightly when she snuggled into his side. He was glad he'd decided to the join the clan, if he hadn't, he probably would have never met Moonsplash.

"Careful," Dieseltooth snapped, glancing back at the apprentice. She shook her head and continued on, finally turning a corner and hearing the scuffle.

"Go back to the camp and grab more warriors," She ordered Flickpaw and rushed forward, not certain how many gang cat there were but not willing to hold back until she could be certain she wasn't also running to her own death.

Missy lay dead on the concrete, while Blackrabbit had finally pinned down Dapple and sunk his teeth into her throat. Kudzuthroat had Max on his back and tried to buck off the kittypet, struggling under his greater weight.

(over 10... by a lot)

Dieseltooth followed her brothers' scent, her ears turning back with worry as she came across the first smattering of unfamiliar blood.

"If I give the signal, run back to the camp." She ordered the apprentice as she picked up the pace to follow further into the city.

Missy screamed as Waterfang's claws dug unto her, ripping through her shoulders as she was knocked back onto the concrete sidewalk below. Her breath escaped her as she slammed down, left gaping for air and unable to defend herself.

Dapple's kicks landed on Blackrabbit, but through moons of training he hardly seemed to notice them as he sunk his neck down into her shoulder then again, closer to her neck, aiming to quickly kill.

Kudzuthroat silently nodded in agreement as Blackrabbit walked in a few tight circles, catching the scent and starting off down the alley way, the damp roof above dripping water down on them as Kudzuthroat followed after, just barely catching the scent that his brother was able to follow. Finally, it grew stronger and even he could follow it.

"Blood," He commented, noticing a fleck of the stuff against the dumpster.

"It's the same she-cat as before," Blackrabbit confirmed and picked up his pace, following the trail.

Moonsplash nodded and smiled more, nuzzling him back. "Of course, my darling~" She turned, brushing against him lovingly as she heading back towards the camp. "Come on then~"

"Yes, we should." Blackrabbit answered.

Kudzuthroat gave his brother a sharp look, surprised, before Blackrabbit replied, "We need to let them know that we'll take a hard stance on this, before they continue."

"You're right, but don't attack on sight. We need to know how many cats are there before we become committed to fighting-- there's no sense in getting ourselves killed."

Blackrabbit felt a gnawing sense of worry deep in his stomach and whispered to his brother, "Let's take it slow, for now. They could have set up a trap."

"If they had, they would have made the she-cat's scent stronger," Kudzuthroat replied, annoyed at how cowardly his patrol had suddenly become.

Blackrabbit and Kudzuthroat stepped forward to sniff the bit of concrete.

"It is a cat," Blackrabbit confirmed answered.

"Kittypet, probably," Kudzuthroat nodded. "Let's just continue on to the border."

"Yes, let's go around the loner borders and see if we can pick up the scent there." Kudzuthroat decided, taking it upon himself to lead the patrol.

"We won't make it before nightfall," Blackrabbit pointed out.

"So be it, we'll stay alert."

Kudzuthroat walked in a few tight circles, the losing the scent trail. "If we know where she went, we'll have a better idea of which gang she might have been a part of... we haven't had issues with these borders in moons."

"And we've had a lot of trouble these past few weeks," Blackrabbit finished for him, raising his head as he gave up on the scent. "Waterfang's probably right, though, we've lost it."

"We'll need to double patrols to this border," Kudzuthroat meowed.

"That's Fencestar's call to make."

"Probably more than we'd like, if these two felt bold enough to go this far into the territory and then attack us," Blackrabbit grumbled, giving the corpse a frustrated look. He turned sharply and started back toward the clan at a quick trot. [EcC Camp]

She smiled more, eyeing Tigermask as he passed them, relieved when he didn't stop to make a comment. Moonsplash didn't think that he would, knowing that he wasn't really one to start a conversation and usually liked to keep to himself anyway, but looked back at her mate when he spoke. She nuzzled his face, purring softly. "That makes me so happy~"

Silhouettechase's ears only perk up slightly at the sound of her clanmate's voice, the car had not disturbed her as much as it probably should've. Her copper gaze studied the lifeless cat before she turned away and walked to Blackrabbit. Her stride was certainly not as graceful as before, it was rather obvious to see that she leaned against her right shoulder more. Her muzzle held drips of blood, but still, the Turkish Angora's face was mesmerising. She was surprised that Blackrabbit had even decided to ask such a question, as though she'd answer to anything else other than 'I'm fine.' Her gaze quickly faltered to the ground with a pain glowing in her gaze. Was it from her shoulder or killing the scrawny cat? Perhaps, both. "Y-yes...-" Silhouettechase mewed, her wispy voice shaking before she echoed. "Are you?"

Blackrabbit hardly noticed Silhouettechase and the lanky tom-cat fighting near him as he struggled to keep the large she-cat off of himself. Her attacks were fierce and unrelenting, but she was clumsy and not nearly so quick as him- finally he managed to pin her down for a moment and see a flash of silver along her muzzle- before she writhed away and landed a blow against his cheek that sent his ears ringing and a thin trickle of blood to drip onto the floor under him as he oriented himself and attacked her again, this time driving her forward into the street. A two-leg car passed and Blackrabbit felt the wind of its passing as he landed a final blow onto the she-cat's hind leg before she broke off at a run away from them. He pursued her a few steps, then slowed to look back at Silhouettechase.

"Are you alright?" He shouted over.

Silhouettechase's fur ruffled nervously at the sight of Blackrabbit being bit straight at the throat. 'Blackrabbit...He's strong...' She reminded herself and turned to face the skinny tom, her copper gaze widening at the fact that now there were two. 'How many more are on our territory? And why so close to camp?' The molly thought, drawing her teeth into a chilly snarl as she dodged the tom's attack and aimed to pin him down beneath her pointed claws and long legs.

The cat was a The cat was a massive molly with a ragged black pelt and chewed, ragged ears that matched a missing left eye and snaggly, yellowed teeth. She bit down onto Blackrabbit's neck, but he went limp and sent the two of them crashing down, causing her to hit her head against one of the dumpsters as her companion, a scrawny ginger tom-cat, emerged to pounce on Silhouettechase.

Blackrabbit scowled and broke into a run to follow Silhouettechase. In contrast to her gentle, quiet pace, he was lumbering and awkward, not bothering with stealth as he followed along. A shadow rose above him and his nostrils filled with an unfamiliar scent as a gang cat pinned him down, hissing.

Somehow he doubted her words. Eclipseclan was not like a giant family. They were all about power and growing their ranks, exiling cats who couldn't provide for the clan and ultimately coming out on top. He disliked how similar this clan was compared to his previous gang life. The only difference being that they didn't kill the useless members. He sighed, shifting his gaze to look at the she-cat. Her parents might have been kind to her, but the rest of the clan seems to be strict in their ways of raising kits.

Winterjay thought back to when Moonsplash had first told him she was pregnant. He'd been ecstatic, wanting nothing more to protect and love his children. He wanted to raise them to be strong, good cats worthy of a place in Eclipseclan. The night after Moonsplash gave birth to his son, Winterjay had a night terror. He woke up believing the gang cats had found him and murdered his family. The panicked tom-cat knew the only way to protect his kit would be to give him up. He was heart broken, but convinced himself it was for the best.

"I've never known my family. Taken from them when I was barely able to walk. It doesn't matter because I found my place with here in the clans with you. My family." He purred, brushing her side and nuzzeling her cheek with his nose. He die protecting her.

Silhouettechase kept her ears perked at they walked silently along the cold sidewalk. It was enough to send chills running along her spine, but then again, the silence was deterred by the wind that shuddered the glass and doors of the buildings around them. The Turkish Angora scented the air as they came to a halt, taking in the smells of gasoline and must, but focused on prey. Her copper gaze trailed to couple of trash bins farther down on the right, a wire fence on the other side of them, and she quickly brushed pass Blackrabbit, her long legs made for an undeniably quiet run. If he didn't know why she was in the clan, perhaps it would now be easy to see.

She followed him to the boundary, helping him to re-scent it as well as he spoke, tilting her head slightly as she thought of how to word her answer. "It was like growing up with the biggest family. Everyone always takes care of each other."

The silver tabby looked up at him, icy eyes glowing with affection. "I love you so much~" She purred softly, smiling.

Blackrabbit started northward toward the scavenging place, feeling no need to make conversation to fill the gaps made by the hollow thud of their paws against the gritty concrete. He turned the corner and stopped, opening his mouth to scent the air with his tail straight out and flicking, cautious.

She flushed more at the sound of his chuckle, but smiled happily, pressing closer. She loved how she could help him relax they way she could, take his mind off of the things that plagued him, especially when it seemed something was really bothering him.

Moonsplash giggled softly at his words, nodding slightly at the offer. "I would like that, love. And I'm sure my apprentice would appreciate the help~"