Fernstalk spent the rest of the day drinking this all in. She was now the deputy, and Treeleaper was now the Tree's Leaper. She was about to announce everything.

"Cats who are old enough to Uhm... swim, please come to the Telling Trees!" Treeleaper stuttered.

Pondkit, Poolkit, Streamkit, and Waterkit tumbled out of the nursery, thinking that they were going to be apprentices. And they were.

Cats gathered around and Fernstalk watched as Gorsesky didn't come.

Probably kit-sitting his newborn kits...

"My cats-"

"Your cats? What happened to Hail's fall, hmm?" interrupted a deep snarl.

Many eyes, including Treeleaper's and Fernstalk's, went to burn into a  brown she-cat's pelt.

"Grassblade, I was getting to that..." Treeleaper sighed.

Grassblade stuck up her nose and relaxed.

"I... um. She's dead."

There was a huge sob from the crowd, sort of beckoning Fernstalk's eyes to turn and see who it was.

Of course...

And, what she meant by "of course", was that it was Ficklepaws, Hailfall's older sister.

"What did you do to he-aarrr?!" The white-faced warrior cried, her voice cracking at the word 'her'.

Fernstalk shivered. She knew what that had felt like, and she had hated that moment for the rest of her life.

Wait a minute...

Fernstalk let her big blue eyes scan the crowd, looking for one particular muscular brown Tom.

He's not here.

He's not here.

Where is he,

If he's not here.

The gray warrior's thoughts accidentally turned into a little song that she mumbled through Ficklepaws's cries.

He's not here.

He's not here.

Where did he go,

Since he's not here.

Falconprowl,

Where is he.

He's 'pparently my father,

So where is he.

This is the time to be

With me.

I'm gonna be a

Dep-u-ty.

Fernstalk snapped awake when she heard Ficklepaws fall onto the hard ground of the earth.

Oh, nonononononono

She could feel the darkness rising in her. "Enjoy it", the darkness was telling her. "Enjoy the moment. Feel the glory. You are superior."

I am superior...

But to you.

Fernstalk gulped, and looked at the tempting black goo outside a weird force field. It wanted her to go. It was telling her to come.

But she stayed where she was.

"Ficklepaws! Ficklepaws, she killed herself, trying to blame Fernstalk!" Treeleaper—or Tree's leaper—called out.

Ficklepaws wasn't impressed.

"You killed her! Fernstalk really killed her! Gawwwaaaahhh!" Ficklepaws howled with a high pitched scream following.

Treeleaper turned to look at Fernstalk, her crystallized amber eyes darting all around.

Fernstalk nodded her gray-and-white head, telling the new leader to skip the bad part and go to the good one.

"Cough cough but we still have the good news?" Fernstalk meowed loudly, trying to signal to Treeleaper.

"Yeah, Uhm, we do!" This was Treeleaper's wavering voice.

They looked at each other cautiously.

"Fernstalk is now my deputy, and Gorsesky is the Co Deputy."

A few warriors had to hold Ficklepaws back from fighting, since Ficklepaws has never fought before.

"Fernsteel, whatever, you don't deserve to be the deputy!"

Ouch...

That hurt.

Fernstalk licked her chest fur out, trying to look superior.

But I'm not.

Why should I try to be something that I'm not?

Treeleaper looked around "excitedly".

"So... who's ready to start calling me the Tree's leaper?"

Silence.

"Uhhhh, you don't have to call me the Tree's leaper, only Treeleaper will do."

More silence.

Fernstalk coughed, signaling to end this... awkward... moment.

Treeleaper nodded, and ended the meeting by sending Ficklepaws, Peachwave, and Riverstone out on a hunting patrol, since Peachwave and Riverstone had been the cats to hold Ficklepaws back when she had wanted to attack.

The brown tabby she-cat was now distressed.

"Hail's fall never told me... that it's be so hard!" Treeleaper whined. "And as an extra, I have to take care of my kits!"

Gorsesky licked her. "No need, I can take care of them. You're the leader. I'll step down my rank and stay here with the kits. They are more important than me becoming a leader."

Wise Tom, even if he almost killed his mate.

The gray warrior's ears pricked up when she heard a little mew. She looked down. It was the white kitten who was mewing.

"Treeleaper! Oh, Treeleaper, look! Snowykit's eyes are open!" Gorsesky squealed, staring into the big blue eyes of the white kit.

"Gorsesky, all their eyes are open," Treeleaper laughed, nudging the other kits to their father.

And their eyes were open.

Gorsesky squealed like a kit, as if he was only a kit yesterday and not trying to kill his mate.

Fernstalk's muscles hardened, sending a chill throughout Fernstalk's body.

Snowykit looked at her.

She.

Looked.

At.

Her.

"Uh, bye! Have fun!" Fernstalk dashed out of the nursery, leaving Gorsesky and Treeleaper astonished and amazed.

Snowykit looked at meeeee.

Is this good or bad?

There is no darkness in her,

Probably making this good.

Eeek!

Wait a minute...

She looks like Dreamkit.

Her fur is fluffed up in the same way!

What happened to him?

Fernstalk ran up to the fresh kill pile to eat and think a bit. Think about Snowykit. Think about Dreamkit, who had disappeared in the night. Think about Falconprowl, who must have taken Dreamkit away. Think about Hailfall, and how she had wanted to kill her. And to think about stepping down from her rank.

It was a good idea, but not if you think that she might never get back. That's the bad part. If you had been told that tomorrow you might be a deputy again, then she might have done it. But nobody had said ANYTHING about going back to being a deputy, making it worse.

But Dreamkit...

Oh well

The gray tabby she-cat with a white face sighed, and bit voraciously into her magpie. It was just what she had needed after this extra-weird series of events.

"Fernstalk! There you are." A brown tabby she-cat licked the gray one's ear. 

"Why did you run away? From Gorsesky, Snowykit, and me and the others?"

Fernstalk's reply was short, quiet, and slightly... over... nevermind.

"Because I had too."

But I didn't have to, I could've stayed with them.

But Snowykit looked to much like Dreamkit.

It's an omen.

I can't stay here,

I must find my little brother.

I must.

He needs me most at this time.

Fernstalk got up and swiveled around from this side, to the other side.

Oh, Dreamkit, where are you?

She heard a loud "help" sound from the inside of her head. It echoed so loudly, Fernstalk thought that her ears would fall off. So loudly...

Dreamkit, is that you?

"Help!" 

There it was again, but still in her brain.

But this time, she heard sputtering water.

Dreamkit was drowning in the river.

And drowning, mind you, because he can go back to the Stars whenever he wants to.

So why is he still here?

On our world?

That was once his?