"Here it is!" Fallingpaw called, looking back at her leader and medicine cat as they caught up to her. The three cats gazed out at the ancient willow tree, taking in its presence.

Hummingbreeze took a sharp intake of breath, her blue eyes full of wonder. "Wow... it's beautiful."

Quailstar only nodded. "Well, let's see what this is all about." He jumped onto the ground, Fallingpaw and Hummingbreeze quickly followed.

The three cats approached the tree, Fallingpaw walking ahead of her superiors. She approached the base of the tree, and turned to face her clanmates. "I just touched the wood and I passed out." She told them.

"Let's hope it wasn't just any dream." Hummingbreeze said.

The three drew closer to the tree, and all at once, pressed their paws against it. The same white light flashed as Fallingpaw remembered, and as it faded, Quailstar, Hummingbreeze, and Fallingpaw, were now standing in a misty clearing. Fallingpaw couldn't see more than a few tail lengths in front of her nose, it was as if everything was covered in a thick blanket of fog.

Out of the mist came Treestar, a look of pure delight on her face. "Thank you, Fallingpaw." She meowed softly, and Fallingpaw dipped her head in return.

"It was nothing." She replied, tail held high.

Treestar's deep green gaze shifted to the other two cats. "You must be Quailstar and Hummingbreeze, the current leader and medicine cat of TreeClan. I am Treestar, the first leader of your Clan. I'm pleased to meet you."

Quailstar's amber eyes were wide in shock and disbelief. "I-I'm honoured to be meeting you...."

Fallingpaw had never seen her leader stutter or slip up. She was only slightly surprised though- after all, he was meeting a cat from the nursery stories he must have been told as a kit.

Hummingbreeze took a shaky step forward. "I-I can't believe it... i-it's really you..." She then bowed her head so low, Fallingpaw thought she was going to fall over.

Treestar let out a mrrow of amusement at her action. "There's no need for that, young one."

The ancient brown tabby then gestured with her tail, and another cat emerged from the mist. It was a tom with a light build, grey and white fur, and deep green eyes- the same as Treestar's.

"This is Pigeon's Wing, my son, and the first deputy of TreeClan." Treestar introduced.

Pigeon's Wing dipped his head to the living cats. "It's nice to meet you."

"The pleasure's ours." Quailstar replied politely. He seemed to have relaxed again, but his eyes betrayed him, as they still held the tension of nervousness and excitement.

"Hummingbreeze, Quailstar, why don't you come with me?" Treestar offered, and the three cats disappeared into the fog.

Fallingpaw was left alone with Pigeon's Wing. She looked up at the tom, unsure of what to say. He looked young, and Fallingpaw couldn't help wondering how he died. He obviously didn't get to become leader.

"Fallingpaw, right?" Pigeon's Wing asked.

Fallingpaw nodded.

"Well, since you held up your part of the deal, I'm the one who's going to deliver ours. You can make your wish at any time, I'll always be listening." Pigeon's Wing explained.

"Okay..." Fallingpaw muttered. "So... I can wish for anything, right? There's no rules? Except for the changing myself part."

Pigeon's Wing hesitated, but gave a small nod. "Yes... but I'd advise you to use it wisely. This isn't a chance you want to waste."

*°*°*°*

"That was amazing!" Hummingbreeze exclaimed as they padded back to camp. "I can't believe you found that place, Fallingpaw!"

"I-I guess I was just lucky." Fallingpaw meowed modestly.

Hummingbreeze looked away from Fallingpaw, then gave Quailstar a stern look. "If you don't make her a warrior for this, I'll... I'll...." She trailed off, probably thinking of what to threaten him with.

Quailstar purred, "Don't worry about that, Hummingbreeze, the thought already crossed my mind."

"R-Really?!" Fallingpaw asked in disbelief, excitement bubbling in her chest.

Quailstar nodded. "Yes. You deserve it."

To say Fallingpaw was ecstatic would be an understatement. She felt like the happiest cat in the world, and almost fell out of a a tree because of it.

As they arrived back at camp, Fallingpaw couldn't wait to run to her brothers and tell them the good news. Sparrowpaw would congratulate her, whereas Elmpaw would be jealous and whine about how it wasn't fair. But as she entered through the carefully shaped branches, Fallingpaw stopped dead in her tracks, eyes going wide.

It was as if the world had stopped, and all Fallingpaw could see was the horrifying sight in front of her. She felt paralyzed, her heart started to beat faster with her growing fear, yet it hurt, like her quickly beating heart was being stomped on by a paw, claws unsheathed as shock shot through her body.

Laying in front of her was her mentor, his eyes wide as he gasped for breath, and a large, open, bleeding gash leading from his shoulder down to his stomach, where it was deepest.

At once, Fallingpaw couldn't hear anything but her own voice as she desperately cried out.

"Squirreltail!"