After a long, relaxing walk through WindClan, Willowpaw finally returned to camp. She slipped in quietly and padded to the apprentice den. The two dark shapes of Rook and Horizon were bundled together. Willowpaw couldn't help but watch them in the dark. She was sure that Rook was Stormkit. She didn't know how but there was no doubt in her mind. She walked slowly to her nest where Acornpaw was sleeping next to. Snailpaw was curled up the furthest away from them as they could. He snored lightly. Willowpaw settled down and Acornpaw's eyes fluttered open.
            "Hey. You ok?" he murmured sleepily.
             "Yes. Thank you. Much better," smiled Willowpaw, snuggling beside him. He slept once more, as they warmed each other up. Willowpaw fell into a blissful sleep. 

The air was still. The night sky seemed to envelope the world. It was peaceful. Quiet. Willowpaw sat, looking around, taking everything in. Although everything seemed silent, Willowpaw was aware of the swaying grass and the sound of peace. Willowpaw didn't move. She didn't need to. She liked it here. She liked this nice, serene place. There seemed to be no worries here. Nothing to plague her mind. Nobody that looked down at her like a disappointment. 
           "Do you know where you are?" a cat appeared. Willowpaw frowned. Something occurred to her. StarClan. Was she in StarClan? She had heard many cats talk about it. How they had seen StarClan and they hadn't realised it was StarClan until a cat had suddenly told them. To Willowpaw though, this seemed different. This was not how she expected StarClan to be. Plus, why would she be in StarClan? She had never really thought about StarClan. Who from StarClan would want to talk to her? It was probably a dream. Her imagination running wild once more. 
            "Yes," said Willowpaw to answer the cat. She did know where she was. In her own mind. Her thoughts. Her imagination. 
            "Do you know who I am?" continued the cat. The cat  was white with some patches of brown and orange fur on the head. He looked young and strong. He was a cat Willowpaw had never met before, how could she be imagining him.
             "No," answered Willowpaw truthfully. 
            "I am Splashclaw," the cat said nonchalantly. Willowpaw cocked her head. Splashclaw. She had never heard of him.  
             "Why am I dreaming about you?" asked Willowpaw. "I- I didn't know I could imagine such things." Splashclaw paused a moment, thinking. 
             "You are in StarClan," he finally said. 
              "Oh," Willowpaw frowned. StarClan. How weird. She had thought it would be day all day and cats would have plenty of food and they would be lounging lazily about or playing and chatting. She had not imagined it as so vast and quiet, lonely yet free.
              "I-I never thought I'd go to StarClan. Unless, I guess, when I died," Willowpaw wondered aloud. 
              "Yes. Well, here you are, do you like it?" Splashclaw inquired. He seemed to be in no hurry. 
               "Yeah. I mean, it's- yeah. It's not what I expected. It's very... calm," Willowpaw shrugged. 
              "I was a warrior of RiverClan. I died seven moons before you were born," explained Splashclaw. "I was going to be deputy, you know."
              "Oh. I'm sorry," Willowpaw frowned. She still did not believe she was in StarClan. Why would this dead cat want to talk to her? 
              "It's not your fault," sighed Splashclaw. "It's nice here though. I get to watch over my Clan too..."
             "H-how did you die?" asked Willowpaw, wondering whether it was rude to ask. 
             "Ah. Well, long story short, there was a fight at the border. With ShadowClan. I was not on patrol. So I was alone. Against three of them. They had tried to steal our prey. So of course, I dumbly confronted them," Splashclaw explained. "I was badly wounded when my Clanmates found me. It was Beetlejaw, who found me, you know. He is- was.... is..., I don't know but we definitely were best friends. He brought me to the medicine cat. He tried to heal me but I was weak and it was cold. Leaf-bare. Greencough finally got hold of me. And brought me here."  Willowpaw cocked her head, not knowing what to say. She had never talked to a dead cat before. 
              "Beetlejaw hasn't mentioned you....," Willowpaw said finally. 
              "Oh. Yes. Anyways, we're here to talk about you. Well, not you exactly but there is something I need to tell you," Splashclaw quickly said. 
               "What is it?" asked Willowpaw curiously. 
                "It's about Stormkit," explained Splashclaw. "i've been looking over you. All of you. RiverClan. And I know that that kittypet, Rook, is indeed Stormkit. I know you know that too though, don't you?"
               "Yeah. I mean, I had a feeling," agreed Willowpaw, unsure where it was leading to. Was it about her defying her mother's orders? about her choosing Acornpaw?
               "You're going to have to tell them. The Clan. That he was Stormkit. Remember, he was Stormkit. He is no longer Stormkit. He is Rook. He is a kittypet. And he won't- probably- ever be a warrior. It will be hardest on your mother and father. Trust me on that. I know you will be able to make it through. You've made it through most of your life without him. And your parents will need you. They will need you to be there for them. Even Mintspot. Because I know that they don't want Stormkit- Rook to be snatched away from them again. But you see, he will have to leave. His life is not here. Your parents need to understand that. The Clan needs to understand that Stormkit is gone. Rook is not Stormkit. He is not the kit that Mintspot thinks or still thinks him of. He has grown up to be a totally different cat," Splashclaw said, his eyes locked on Willowpaw. Willowpaw looked at her feet, unable to hold his gaze. 
              "Don't look down," Splashclaw's voice was gentle but firm. Willowpaw slowly met his eyes. "That's better. You need to learn to look cats in the eye. You are not meek little Willowpaw. You will grow to be a strong warrior. Don't look at your feet." Willowpaw nodded feebly. 
              "Do you understand what I'm asking from you?" demanded Splashclaw finally. 
               "Yeah," shrugged Willowpaw. 
               "Tell me," said Splashclaw. 
                "To tell the Clan that Stormkit- well that Rook is Stormkit. But he's not the Stormkit they remember. To help my parents get over it. Because Rook will have to leave," Willowpaw summarised. 
              "And?" prompted Splashclaw. 
             "Don't look at the ground," Willowpaw added. 
               "Good," smiled Splashclaw.  "I'll be watching from up here. If you ever think about looking at you feet when somebody is talking to you, remember I'm up here. And look up. I'll be here, watching you. You'll be alright. Have confidence. I have confidence in you." Willowpaw didn't know what to say. She felt the urge to look down in embarrassment at his words but she didn't, she held his gaze. 
             "You're ready to go," beamed Splashclaw. "Goodbye for now Willowpaw."