Mossheart awoke to see Fernbranch's green eyes staring directly at him. "Good morning," she mewed.

            "Good morning," Mossheart spoke.

            They headed outside into the morning light. It seemed morning patrols had already left, and mentors and their apprentices were beginning to head out.

            "So, what happened...while I was gone?" Mossheart asked.

            "What do you mean?" Fernbranch asked.

            "Like, who died? What cats gave birth? Who are the new apprentices?" Mossheart asked.

            Fernbranch smiled. "C'mon, I'll show you them. Let's go to the nursery first," she told him.

            Mossheart nodded, following her into the nursery. Inside he spotted familiar she-cats. Wavestorm sat in the den, flicking her tail. She did not look pregnant, and Mossheart tilted his head, confused.

            "She decided to be a permanent nursery queen," Fernbranch whispered.

            Mossheart nodded, and the other cats looked up, smiling. "Mossheart, you're here," Wavestorm said. "Last time you visited the nursery you were just a small apprentice."

            "I just came to check with everyone. It's been awhile," Mossheart said. He turned, seeing Dovewing in the nursery, her stomach swollen. It seemed she would give to Cloudfur's kits soon. He also recognized Dawnpool with three kits of her own. One was a ginger tom. The other was a white and ginger she-cat. The last was a gray tabby tom who resembled Dawnpool.

            "Oh, Dawnpool, I didn't know you had kits. Who's the father?" Mossheart asked.

            "Blazeheart," Dawnpool proclaimed. "The ginger tom is Hailkit, the white and ginger she-cat, Breezekit, and the gray tom is Marshkit."

            "Well, congratulations," Mossheart told her.

            Mossheart turned, noticing a ginger she-cat, one he had never seen before. The she-cat had three kits beside her. They looked as if they were to be apprentices soon.

            "Who are you?" Mossheart asked.

            "Flameclaw," the she-cat replied. "You obviously don't know me. I'm a RiverClan cat who joined this clan quite recently. These are my three kits," she spoke.

            "Who's your mate?" he asked.

            "A tom you would not know either. His name is Barkfern, and he's a LightningClan cat."

            Mossheart tilted his head, confused at all these cat and clan names. "Oh, well, nice to meet you," he spoke.

            He turned, noticing a familiar calico she-cat. She had three small kittens with her that looked newly born.

            "Leafpaw?" he asked.

            She smiled. "Leafwhisker now," she purred. "These are my three kits, Mosskit, Riverkit, and Shadekit. My mate is Darkjaw. I'm sure you remember him."

            Mossheart nodded. "Yes, I do. Well, it was nice to see all of you," he said, exiting the den with Fernbranch.

            "So who is Flameclaw?" Mossheart asked, confused.

            "She's got a long history," Fernbranch told her. "Apparently she was raised in RiverClan and got sent on a journey as an apprentice. Apparently she met Barkfern on the journey. They came back to RiverClan and their clan went missing. I guess she's been a rogue for awhile. She even talked about living with wolves. It sounds like mouse dung to me. Apparently she and Barkfern joined SnowClan because she was expecting kits."

            "She looks like an older she-cat," Mossheart said.

            Fernbranch nodded. "Yes, she is. Quite old to be having kits. But then again, Dovewing is too."

            Mossheart nodded. "So, who became a warrior?"

            "Well, a lot of cats," Fernbranch said. "I mean, I became a warrior as did Sunflash, Honeyleap, Moonstorm. And then there's Gorgeleap, Coalblaze, Rainfoot. A bunch of cats. Reedpaw and his siblings are being made warriors soon. And of course, Wavestorm and Snowtail's kits are apprentices. Applewhisker's too."

            "I forgot to ask about Applewhisker's kits," Mossheart said. "When were they born?"

            "Awhile ago," Fernbranch told him. "Two toms and a she-cat. Marshpaw, Pinepaw, and Honeypaw."

            "Wow, a lot of new cats," Mossheart spoke.

            Fernbranch nodded. "By the way, I wouldn't talk to Coalblaze if I were you."

            "Why not?" Mossheart asked.

            "Well, he was in love with Dawnpool, but she rejected him. Now Blazeheart's her mate and she has three kits, and well, Coalblaze is in some sort of depression. A lot of drama goes on between those two. Only Rainfoot and Featherwing can calm him."

            "Featherwing?"

            "Yeah, from Wavestorm's first litter? I think she's got a thing for him, though it's hard to tell," Fernbranch told him. "C'mon, let's go hunting. I can't wait to get into those woods with you again."

            "Alright," Mossheart said. Before he could move, however, Reedpaw burst out of the apprentice den.

            "Mossheart!" the tom screeched.

            "Reedpaw, you've grown," Mossheart said, seeing how the tom was almost his size.

            "I know," Reedpaw said. "You have too. I'm so glad you're back!"

            "Me too," Mossheart smiled. "How has your training gone?"

            "Great!" Reedpaw exclaimed. "Fabulous! Congratulations on becoming mates with Fernbranch. I always knew you two would end up together."

            "How did you know about that?" Mossheart asked.

            "The whole clan knows about it!" Reedpaw told him.

            Mossheart looked up at Fernbranch. "Probably Moonstorm telling the whole clan," she mumbled.

            "So, do you have any love interests?" Mossheart asked.

            Reedpaw blushed and looked down. "Not really," he said.

            "C'mon, yes you do," Mossheart laughed.

            "Alright, I like Mousestripe," he said. "Smokestar's other daughter. I think she likes me too."

            Mossheart smiled. "That's great! Well, I'm going hunting with Fernbranch. See you later," he said.

            "You're coming to my warrior ceremony this afternoon, right?" Reedpaw called.

            Mossheart nodded, padding away with Fernbranch.

            "It's nice for you to still talk to him," Fernbranch said. "He was sad when you went missing."

            "I'm sure he was," Mossheart said.

            "Not as sad as I was," Fernbranch murmured.

            "I'm sorry, Fernbranch. I didn't want you to cry over me. I thought I would be out there for less than a moon. I was wrong," Mossheart said.

            "It's alright, you're here now," Fernbranch said, licking his cheek. "And that's what matters."

            Mossheart smiled. "Remember when we were apprentices, and we came out here at night?" Mossheart asked.

            Fernbranch nodded. "It seems like yesterday."

            The two headed in the woods and hunted like old times. Though this time, it was different. He and Fernbranch were mates now, something Mossheart had always wanted. He still thought about Gloria though, wondering what she was up to now. She must've been enjoying her life as a kittypet.

            The two came back with three squirrels, a lot of prey since leaf-fall had taken its toll on the forest. It was nothing compared to all the prey they had gotten before.

            Fernbranch and Mossheart shared a squirrel as other cats chatted about the warrior ceremony that would take place shortly. Once they had finished, Smokestar's yowl rang across the camp as he invited the cats to come forward.

            Fernbranch and Mossheart padded towards the tall rock, Mossheart excited to see Reedpaw and his siblings become warriors. He still remembered the awkward conversation he had with Littlepaw that one day...

            "Reedpaw, Littlepaw, Larkpaw, and Swiftpaw, come forward," he said. The apprentices padded up the rock, their faces bright and smiling.

            "I call upon my warrior ancestors to look upon these four apprentices. They have trained hard to follow your noble code, and I grant them to you as warriors in return. Reedpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code even at the cost of your own life?" Smokestar asked.

            Reedpaw nodded. "I do."

            "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name of Reedtail," Smokestar announced.

            He continued on, giving Littlepaw the name as Littlepelt, Larkpaw the name of Larkheart, and Swiftpaw the name of Swiftstep.

            "REEDTAIL! LITTLEPELT! LARKHEART! SWIFTSTEP!" the clan cried. Mossheart cried with them, excited for them to become warriors.

            He watched as Reedtail rushed down towards Mousestripe. Mossheart couldn't help but smile. He turned to Fernbranch and smiled, nuzzling her.

            "I'm so glad you're back," she whispered.