A few days had passed since Lionstripe and Snowfeather had gone into the woods together, since she had fallen asleep beside him. After that, Lionstripe had been distancing himself from her. It was nothing big. He still spent time with her. Snowfeather just thought he was spending less time, and he did not look at Snowfeather the same.
            Snowfeather awoke early today before Rivertail. This event rarely occurred.
            Snowfeather felt guilt build up inside of her as she looked down at the sleeping she-cat. Snowfeather still had not apologized to her, but today, she planned to. She needed to. She couldn't lose her only friend.
            The sun was still rising now, and cats were beginning to wake. A few sat in the center of camp eating some fresh kill. Fishstorm was already out assigning cats on patrol. Snowfeather padded over to him like she did every morning, waiting for him to assign her to the morning patrol.
            "Snowfeather," he said, glancing over at the other cats. "You'll be going on afternoon patrol. We've got enough for the morning."
            This surprised Snowfeather. Normally she was always on morning patrol. Why was she moved to afternoon. Snowfeather opened her mouth to protest, but Fishstorm had already padded off.
            Snowfeather turned, spotting Lionstripe and Skyblossom sharing a squirrel. Anger flared in Snowfeather. It was obvious now that jealousy spiked every time she saw the two together, and she had to force herself to calm down.
            She moved a paw forward, about to join them, when she noticed Rivertail slowly padding out of the den.
            You need to apologize now, Snowfeather thought. Lionstripe doesn't matter. There will be time to talk to him later.
            With these thoughts, she padded towards Rivertail who gazed down as she came by. "Morning," she murmured, beginning to slowly pad by.
            "Rivertail, wait," Snowfeather said.
            Rivertail turned. "What? What do you want?"
            "I wanted to apologize," Snowfeather began. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you wanted to be deputy. I didn't think Nightstar would lose your trust. It was just a game. I can go tell her it's all my fault if you'd like. Will you please just accept my apology so we can be friends again?"
            Rivertail hesitated for a moment. "No, don't tell Nightstar. It was my fault too. I'd like to be an honest cat more than a liar. Yes, Snowfeather, I accept your apology. I've missed you."
            "I've missed you too," Snowfeather told her. "I've been having to wake myself up early, and it's torture."
            Rivertail laughed, and the two padded over to the fresh kill pile to share a robin. As they ate, Snowfeather noticed Lionstripe gazing at her. A smile was lit on his face, a smile that Snowfeather had not seen in awhile. He mouthed the words, "Everything better?"
            Snowfeather gave a nod, and he turned away shortly after, though Snowfeather noticed him gazing at her every few minutes.
            "How's everything between you and Lionstripe?" Rivertail asked.
            "I'm still unsure," Snowfeather told her. "He's sending me mixed messages. Sometimes, it seems he's in love with me. But then, it's like he just wants to be friends. I don't know what to think..."
            "Lionstripe is odd like that. He's very mysterious, and it's hard to read him," Rivertail told her. "I'm sure you'll find out eventually."
            "I hope so," Snowfeather told her.
            The day continued on slowly, and with nothing to do, Snowfeather paced around the camp, sometimes fixing her nest, sometimes cleaning up the camp. But with no morning patrol, there was hardly anything to do.
            At one point, Snowfeather turned to Rivertail who was also stuck in the same situation. It seemed Fishstorm had created an entirely new morning patrol, leaving the regulars to find something to do. "I'm going to go hunting," she said.
            "Do you want me to come?" Rivertail asked. "I was going to head over to the nursery to play with the kits, but I'd come."
            "It's fine. I think I  need some alone time," Snowfeather said. She then padded into the woods, the MoonClan camp disappearing.
            The woods were quiet, and all Snowfeather could hear was the crunching of dead leaves beneath her paws. The trees were now orange and red, such beautiful autumn colors. Snowfeather had never been able to see the colors like this before. At this time before, she had been just a young kit locked away in the nursery.
            Snowfeathed shuddered at her BloodClan memories. It had been so long ago, but she had remembered them so clearly. She no longer thought of herself as a BloodClan cat, but a MoonClan one. That was who she wanted to be.
            Her thoughts came to an end as she heard a crunch of leaves nearby. She turned quickly but spotted no cat. She carefully walked now, trying to be quieter. She was not sure what was in these woods, and she did not want to run into any dangerous animals.
            A flash of white came by, and Snowfeather stopped. "Hello?" she called.
            She saw the tip of an ear by a bush, and she slowly walked towards it. She held her breath as she came by, and she walked around the bush.
            She nearly fainted at what she saw. There was a younger tom, probably the age of an apprentice, with ginger fur and bright green eyes. But this did not frighten her. What did was the pure white she-cat who looked her age. Her sparkling blue eyes were so familiar, and Snowfeather swore she saw her past in them. Then it hit her.
            "ICEKIT?!" she screeched.
            The she-cat scanned and Snowfeather, and her eyes widened as well. "Snowkit?! Is that you?! I hardly recognized you...I thought I was seeing the ghost of our mother."
            "Yes, Icekit, it's me! Except now I'm Snowfeather. I took the name after our mother," Snowfeather explained.
            "I'm Ice now," Ice told her. "What are you doing here? Are you a warrior in another clan? How did you survive?! They told us you wouldn't."
            "I don't know how I did," Snowfeather spoke. As much as a pain her sister was, Snowfeather trusted her, and she began to tell her story of survival to Ice. She told her of how she was near death. She told her of the miracle, Oceankit and Wavekit, she even told her about Silverwhisker and Stonecloud. She left Bear out of the story, for she didn't want to speak of him.
            Ice's mouth gaped open, and the young tom who sat beside her looked confused. "I can't believe you're alive, Snowk-Snowfeather. It's a miracle."
            "Mother, who is this?" the young tom beside her asked.
            "Is this your kit?" Snowfeather asked.
            Ice nodded, though pain showed in her eyes. "Snowfeather, you don't know we've been through. Mother is dead."
            "I know," Snowfeather admitted. "StarClan told me. What was MoonClan like? Tell me everything! Where's Flightkit and father? Or aren't their new names Tooth and Bone?"
            "I have to admit, MoonClan got to me. I'm sure it got to every BloodClan cat, except Mother of course. I was a young warrior, Snowfeather, and I fell in love with an older tom named Rock. He had silky gray fur and a white chest. I loved him so. I gave birth to three kits..."
            "Where are the others?" Snowfeather asked.
            She could tell by the tears in Ice's eyes that the story did not continue well. "Fire," she said, pointing to the tom beside her. "And a black she-cat named Night, and a gray tabby tom named Rain. Oh, I loved them. Night and Fire were to become the best MoonClan warriors. Rain, he wanted to become a medicine cat apprentice.
            "But then the battle came. Rock was killed, as was Night. Yes, I killed another young she-cat in the process. SnowClan and FoxClan were good fighters, I have to say. After the battle, our father ended MoonClan. Rain fled to another clan. Fire and I are rogues now," Ice explained.
            Snowfeather shivered as Ice explained her killing a young she-cat. She knew her siblings were still vicious killers. "What happened to Tooth and Bone?"
            "Tooth was mates with Moonstar's daughter, Leopardtail. Leopardtail expected kits, but by then, a love triangle began to occur with Screechshade. Moonstar's son, Tigerstripe, loved this she-cat, and Tooth began to love her too. Screechshade, Snowfeather, was who killed our mother."
            Snowfeather felt pain deep inside her. She wanted to kill this cat, truly, but she knew it wasn't right, and she wouldn't.
            "Tooth and Screechshade became mates, and by the time Leopardtail's kits were born, she and Tooth were no longer mates. Tooth wanted to name the kits, but Leopardtail disagreed and decided to raise them. Tooth would've been a fool to ignore Moonstar's daughter. Leopardtail had two toms- Cloud and Fang. They both resembled Tooth with their white fur. Fang wanted to become a MoonClan warrior, but Cloud was different, similar to Rain. He wanted to be good.
            "The battle came, and Leopardtail was killed. Tooth then had full responsibility over his two sons. Screechshade went off without him, guilty she had taken him from his mate. Cloud went off with Rain. Tooth raised Fang, not in a good manner, of course. Fang is still young, though he's on his own now. He visited Tooth from time to time, but from what I heard, Tooth died very recently. Apparently he was a holding a she-cat and her young son captive. Typical..."
            "And our father?" Snowfeather asked.
            "He was sad about our mother for probably a few days. He then became mates with a younger she-cat in MoonClan. They went off together. I think they have kits now."
            Snowfeather felt rage inside her. How dare her father, who she thought truly loved her mother, now care about the death of his own mate?!
            "Ice," Snowfeather spoke. "Why don't you live here in this MoonClan with us? Everyone is so kind her. Fire could be an apprentice. I'd hate to see you leave."
            But Ice shook her head. "I've been raised evil all my life. I could never be in a normal clan. It was nice seeing you, Snowfeather. Maybe we'll meet again someday, but for now, I must go."
            "Wait," Snowfeather spoke as Ice and Fire turned. "Did you see any young apprentices while fighting against SnowClan?"
            Ice gave her an odd look. "There were so many cats, probably. All I know is that the one I killed was a light gray tabby she-cat with bright green eyes."
            Snowfeather felt her stomach churn. Was it possible? "Was that she-cat's name Oceankit, perhaps?" she asked weakly.
            Ice thought for a moment. "I do recall a young spotted tom yelling that. I guess so. Why?"
            "No reason," Snowfeather replied. She unsheathed her claws and dug them into the ground. "Good-bye, Ice. It was nice seeing you."
            Ice nodded and headed away. As soon as she was gone, Snowfeather let out a deafening scream.
            How had her sister killed that innocent young she-cat?! Snowfeather had been happy to know the she-cat had made it, but to know her own sister killed Oceankit?! It was horrifying. And how dare her father do that as well! Her brother was a no good tom either. Nothing had changed. Her family was still terrible.
            Snowfeather screamed again in anger, and she let tears fall down her cheeks. She sat for awhile until she heard fast footsteps approaching her.
            "Snowfeather! Snowfeather! Are you alright?!"
            She looked up to see Lionstripe with his green eyes, as always. But Snowfeather wasn't happy to see him. She just wanted to be alone. "I'm fine!" she wailed.
            "But you screamed a few times. What happened?"
            "I-I saw my sister, okay?! And I found out some things that I really wish I hadn't found out," Snowfeather growled.
            Rivertail came only moments later, and Snowfeather did not dare to look up at the she-cat. She was angry and depressed. It was like being in the woods all over again.
            "She saw her sister," Lionstripe explained.
            "That's good, isn't it?" Rivertail asked.
            "No, no it's not!" Snowfeather hissed. "My family didn't change at all. They're still evil, murderous cats! It's a miracle my sister didn't kill me!"
            Lionstripe and Rivertail both exchanged glances at each other. "What do you mean?"
            "Nothing," Snowfeather replied. "Let's just go back to camp."
            And so the three slowly walked back to camp. Snowfeather had two cats she loved on either side of her, though she didn't feel loved. She felt anything but loved. Sure, she had seen her sister, she had found her family, she had uncovered everything. But now, she wished she hadn't.
            As she fell asleep in the night, she awoke in StarClan, a place she had not been in moons. Her mother padded near her, a smile across her face.
            "What? What do you want?!" Snowfeather growled.
            "Snowfeather, don't be angry. What did you expect?" her mother gently asked.
            "I-I just thought you'd all changed. I thought they turned out like you, Mother! I didn't think Ice would kill that sweet Oceankit. I didn't think Tooth would be such a horrible tom. I didn't think my father would get over you so quickly and completely forget you!"
            "Hush, Snowfeather," her mother said, placing a light tail on her shoulder. "What you heard was not entirely true. Yes, Ice killed Oceankit. Your father did leave me. But Tooth changed, Snowfeather. After capturing that she-cat and your young kit, he fell in love with the she-cat. He became good. He no longer posessed that evil. That she-cat ended up doing wonderous things for him. She died for him, she died with him. And look at Ice. She is no longer the mean she-cat you saw in the nursery. We've all changed, especially you, Snowfeather."
            "What do you mean?" Snowfeather asked.
            "Just look at yourself. You're no longer the small and helpless kit in the nursery. You're a triumphant and strong she-cat. You've got cats who care about you in this clan. You have happiness. Why not let it in?" her mother asked.
            "I've never really felt happiness before," Snowfeather told her. "Every time I have, it's all been fake, or it's only lasted for so long."
            "Then try one last time. Maybe it'll be different. You love this tom, don't you? Maybe happiness will continue to flourish when you're with him, and your friend, Rivertail. Please, just listen to me, Snowfeather."
            "I'll try to let it in," Snowfeather told her mother.
            "That's my daughter," her mother said. "I'm sorry about the MoonClan confusion too. Though maybe it was all destiny..."
            With those words, her mother faded away, and Snowfeather awoke with a lot to think about.