Vixenstar felt unease grip her pelt like a sharp-clawed predator as she walked with her patrol, trailing behind the group unprofessionally. It'd been a few days after Oatfreckle had shared his troubling prophecy with her, and she couldn't stop thinking about it. Why now? Why did everything have to start going wrong the moment she became Queen?

The crispy, orange leaves blown from Fourtrees crunched satisfyingly beneath her paws. Leaf-fall was in full effect now, burning the leaves of the trees along the border into shades ranging from a deep brown to light yellow, and they were beginning to fall in large clusters. The sky was lightly clouded and pale blue in colour, a few geese honking loudly above as they flew past in a tight arrow formation.

All could be viewed as peaceful from an outsider – the patrol was walking in silence, admiring the changing season, merely remarking the border. But really, their apprentice-aged ruler was in pieces over the recent events, and her clanmates were doubtfully murmuring together quietly while she remained out of earshot.

Vixenstar assumed it would be a good idea to get out of her stuffy den and exercise, and quit worrying about.. everything. That last part wasn't working so well, but it was nice to smell the clear, fresh air and walk along a familiar pathway.

Gooseholly had assigned, a little awkwardly: Ivyweb, Boldheart and Duckpetal to her patrol – along with their apprentices: Oceanpaw, Stonepaw and Tulippaw. So far, they'd just avoided making eye contact or talking with her, the new divide between them fresher than the border with RiverClan being marked.

"Fox-dung." Duckpetal muttered as Vixenstar took her turn to mark the border. "RiverClan patrol heading our way – we should get out of here." She glanced apologetically down at Vixenstar.

Yeah, it would be best to avoid the other clans before the Gathering... She thought sadly.

Boldheart shook his head insistently. "Uh, no! They've already seen us now. Besides, it looks pathetic and suspicious to run from them when we're not doing anything wrong."

"Just don't mention the, uh.." Ivyweb trailed off. "Yeah, you know what I mean. Just like Gooseholly said – don't bring them up, and if they do, be vague."

The patrol was growing nearer, and the WindClan cats shuffled around in a tense silence – Vixenstar cringed at the RiverClan cats' baffled expressions. Guilt was radiating off them stronger than their own scent.

"Ah, Duckpetal, Boldheart, Ivyweb." The leading cat halted at the dividing river, calling out and dipping his head respectfully. His silver tabby pelt was slicked wet, most likely from swimming.

Duckpetal returned the nod stiffly. "Hello, Sneezestream. How are you?"

As the older warriors chatted idly, Vixenstar peered around Sneezestream to catch sight of his clanmates. Basspaw, Sneezestream's apprentice, waved his ginger and white tail friendlily at Oceanpaw – behind him sat a pretty tortoiseshell Siamese named Dappledcreek, and Vixenstar's older friend Pepperseed.

"Hey, Vixenpaw!" The white freckled she-cat greeted her warmly, and Vixenstar could practically feel her own clanmates tense as they continued their own conversations. "How's training going?"

"Er, pretty good, yeah." To be fair, that was true. Gooseholly was proud of her progress so far, especially considering the circumstances. "How are you?"

Pepperseed, bless her, didn't notice the tension. "Oh, I'm great, thanks! I already can't wait for the next Gathering to speak to you properly, though."

Vixenstar felt her heart crack – it was highly unlikely they'd get to talk at the next Gathering, or any further ones now that she was Queen.

"Well, we'd better be off now!" Boldheart broke into multiple conversations loudly, flicking his tail. "Good seeing you all.."

Struggling to ignore the now suspicious glances from the RiverClan cats, Vixenstar followed the older warriors away from the border and back to camp.

---

Back in camp, Vixenstar was left with little to do – all the patrols had been organised and everycat was getting by fine. The fresh kill pile was fairly full, and there'd been no strange surprise attacks since the first one before her parents' deaths.

It was times like this Vixenstar hated most.

She couldn't bare to sit around uselessly in the camp clearing, under watchful gaze from her clanmates, so would sit alone in her den quietly – but that's when her thoughts grew louder and more imposing, or depressingly hopeless.

The loss of Hawkstar and Dreamstar was something alike taboo in WindClan now – no-one mentioned them or spoke of them after their funeral, and in some ways that's how the dark she-cat liked it. No-one to remind her suddenly by mentioning their names, and bring on the heart-wrenching grief once more at an inconvenient time. She preferred the grief to work itself out naturally, coming and going like the lapping waves of the river against the bank – advancing and receding like clockwork. Sometimes she could go through an entire day without thinking about them, others they were her only thought.

But keeping all her grief pent up was growing more painful and harmful – she had no-cat to talk to about her loss. Tulippaw and Stonepaw were angry with her; Seapaw and Oceanpaw were sort of out of the question, already showing their hostility; Twitchpaw was a good option, but Vixenstar didn't want to resurface the traumas of his own losses. Oddpaw and Inkpatch were a little funny about how they acted around the subject, as if judging the other cat's mood before reacting.

Gooseholly and Chalkface, Dreamstar's brothers, were.. complicated. Chalkface she wasn't close with at all, and Gooseholly was just as busy and overwhelmed – bring up his deceased brother wasn't likely to help that stress. Hawkstar had no remaining relatives alive.

So Vixenstar often stewed alone for long periods of time, drowning in that damn den which smelt too faintly of her parents to be comforting.

Today, however, the young she-cat couldn't bring herself to retreat into her den – instead she moped about beneath Tallrock, watching her passing clanmates ignore her overshadowed form.

Then, she heard movement coming from the nursery den and spotted Teaflower and Flutterflower emerge. Behind them trailed three awe-struck kits – Spiderkit, Willowkit and Apricotkit.

Is it their first time out of the nursery? Vixenstar wondered, feeling a little guilty that she couldn't remember. As clan Queen, she should be forming close relationships with all her clanmates! Those long periods within her den had been wasted on moping when she could have visited Flutterflower and Ravensoar's kits, and welcomed them to the clan officially.

To be honest, she was half avoiding them purposely. The thought of kits made Vixenstar's heart clench with the memory of her lost siblings – she wasn't really ready to face a new litter, one which could be so similar to the one she lost along with her parents.

"Oh, wow!" One of the kits, a tall black she-cat with unique white markings, declared. "I had no idea there was that much out here!"

Teaflower smiled fondly. "If you think this is a lot, Spiderkit, then just wait until you're made apprentices!"

The other two kits, both toms, sat either side of their taller sister. One of them, a fluffy silver-grey tabby – Willowkit, I'm guessing – looked worried. "There's so many cats here!"

Vixenstar gazed around the half empty camp with amusement, but still felt that nagging sense of loss.

Apricotkit fluffed out his short orange fur threateningly. "Don't worry, Willowkit, I'll protect you!"

"No, I will!" Spiderkit retorted, swishing her cute little tail furiously.

At that moment, their father padded over with a large hare in his jaws and mud clogging his unsheathed claws.

"Daddy!" The kits cheered in synchronisation, storming him.

The large tom laughed loudly. "Come on, give me some room to breathe, little warriors! I've brought some fresh kill for your Ma and Aunty Teaflower."

His mate accepted the hare gratefully, and asked him to show the kits around camp while she and her sister ate.

"Of course, dear." Ravensoar assured her with a smile, nuzzling her.

Vixenstar felt a tug at her heart, and was so suddenly and violently thrust into a memory of her parents, not too long before their death. It was almost a perfect copy of Teaflower, Ravensoar and Flutterflower's positions – Dreamstar sat beside Gooseholly as Hawkstar brought over a rabbit for them all to share.

It was such a simple memory, of a time which had probably occurred multiple times before. But it made Vixenstar miss her parents many times more.

"Come along, kits, lets go explore!" Ravensoar called out cheerfully, jerking Vixenstar from her mournful state.

With a little anxiety, she watched as the kits explored the camp – slowly making their way closer and closer to her as they met other clanmates and investigated different nests and dens. Eventually, they reached Tallrock and spotted her lurking beneath it.

"Hey, another new cat!" Spiderkit called out boldly, hurrying forward to greet Vixenstar.

The dark ginger she-cat tensed anxiously, attempting to keep her ears from flattening. How can just three kits have such a powerful impact on me? I've met my lost siblings, and they're going to be happy in StarClan! I just won't be there to watch them grow with me..

Ravensoar grabbed her gently by the scruff, guessing the Queen's mood. "Come on now kiddos, lets leave her alone."

"Whyyy?" Spiderkit whined loudly, drawing the attention of the nearby cats. "I wanna meet everyone!"

Vixenstar shrunk beneath a few judgemental gazes being sent her way. What would the clan think if she couldn't bare to face a couple kits? Without letting her mind process what she was doing, the dark-blue eyed Queen stepped forward stiffly from the shadow.

"Hello-"

Spiderkit shrieked in delight, dodging around Ravensoar and colliding with the Queen happily. Vixenstar gasped in surprise, gazing down at the excitable kit, and felt a deep ache in her chest.

Willowkit and Apricotkit followed a little more warily, but looked just as pleased to meet another new clanmate. Spiderkit gazed up at Vixenstar. "Hello! Who are you?"

The young ruler looked up at the kits' father awkwardly before answering. "Erm, I'm Vixen..star."

"Woah!" Apricotkit gasped. "You're our leader? But you look so young!"

She chuckled, feeling herself warming to the three kits. "Well, yes, I am. I'm just over 8 moons old."

"But I thought kits were made apprentices at 6 moons?" Willowkit asked nervously.

Vixenstar sighed lightly, and settled into a sitting position – tucking her paws beneath her chest. "Would you like to hear how it happened?"

The kits nodded eagerly, and sat in a row in front of her. Vixenstar took a deep breath. "Well, around half a moon ago, I was out hunting." She began. "Then one of my clanmates found the patrol I was on, and told me that my mother, Hawkstar, had fallen into the river, and my father, Dreamstar, had to jump in to find her. We ran to the river and looked and looked and looked, but couldn't find them for ages. Then we spotted them at the bottom of the gorge, but they were dead." She tried to blink the tears from her eyes, omitting certain details.

The three kits gazed up at her with star-struck expressions.

"When we got home, Oatfreckle, the medicine cat, went to the Moonstone to visit StarClan and ask what should be done. Do you know why?"

Spiderkit stuck her tail up eagerly, "Because, um, both the King and Queen are dead now! And you were.. are.. too young to lead."

Vixenstar nodded. "That's right! But when he returned, he said StarClan wanted me to become the new Queen. So my training increased over the next few days, and I was given my warrior name – guess what it was!"

"Vixen.. uh.." Apricotkit hesitated. "Vixenpounce! Oh oh wait, Vixenclaw!"

"Vixenrunner! Or Vixenchaser?" Spiderkit offered.

Willowkit shook his head. "Nope, I think it was Vixengrowl!"

Vixenstar grinned at the pale kit. "Very close! I was Vixenhowl. Then, that night, I travelled to the Moonstone with Oatfreckle and his apprentice, my friend Oddpaw. There, I received my lives and my new name – Vixenstar – and came home again. Now I've been leading my clan ever since!"

"That's amazing!" The kits chorused, and Spiderkit jumped up and down. "I want to be a Queen just like you!"

Vixenstar smiled. "You would be brilliant, but you have to be born from the Royal Family or become mates with the heir or heiress for that to happen."

The kit was undeterred. "Then I'll be the advisor!"

The dark russet she-cat laughed to herself, and was surprised to hear the kits request to hear more stories. With some hesitation, she obliged – but soon found herself recounting story after story that she could remember. Some her own, some belonging to her own clanmates (who often overheard and joined them to tell the story) and some ancient stories of long-forgotten times. Soon, many other clanmates were gathering around and pitching in their own details of the stories – when Vixenstar's throat grew hoarse, other cats offered to continue stories and spin their own for the kits.

It was once Vixenstar was taking a break from talking that she realised that the whole clan was gathered around, sharing stories with each other and for the kits. Even Seapaw, Oceanpaw, Stonepaw and Tulippaw were getting involved!

Gazing upon her beloved clanmates, Vixenstar realised something very important. The strength of the bonds between cats, whether family or friends or 'foes'. WindClan was the strongest of the four clans due to these seemingly insignificant moments where they were brought together unexpectedly, sharing company and love and stories and pasts.

It was beautiful, and it restored Vixenstar's hope in their support.