“No! There must be some mistake!” The cat looked up from where it crouched by the water’s edge, its fur glowing in the moonlight. “There is still so much I have to do!”
A broad-faced cat with blue-gray fur padded around the pool, her eyes soft with sympathy. “I’m sorry,” she meowed. “I know you expected many more moons with your Clanmates before coming to join us.”
The crouching cat looked down into the water. The moon’s reflection trembled like a floating leaf, and the surface of the pool glimmered with starlight cast by the countless shining shapes that lined the hollow. For a moment the only sound was the waterfall that splashed down the steepest part of the rocks. The cats of StarClan waited in watchful silence, as if each one shared the grief of the cat at the water’s edge.
“You have served your Clan more faithfully than some cats manage in a long lifetime,” the blue-furred cat went on. “It must seem very unfair that you should have to leave them.”
The crouching cat raised luminous eyes to face the starry warrior. “Bluestar, I know this isn’t your fault. There’s no need to apologize.”
Bluestar twitched her tail. “Of course there is. You should know how much your Clan owes to you.”
“All the Clans.” A black and white tom with a long tail rose to his paws and padded around the edge of the pool to stand beside Bluestar. “StarClan too. None of us would have found our new home without your help.” He dipped his head in a gesture of respect, and the starlight on the surface of the pool wavered.
