Dunepaw awoke. His head throbbed. His shoulders stung. The repulsive stench of blood filled his nostrils and he gagged. His eyes were shut tight, sealed by a thick, yellow crust. His jaws gaped in a pained moan and he rubbed his eyes. The crust slowly fell to the soft ground, and he opened his eyes.

    He was in the medicine den. Other strange, unfamiliar cats talked quietly beside and behind him, all in their own feather filled nests. He lifted himself to his shaky paws, his sore shoulders protesting. He glanced back at both of them. A sticky substance he recognized as cobwebs plastered them.

    "Good to see you finally awake," a strange, yet familiar voice rang through his ears.

    Dunepaw lowered himself down gently and faced the cream molly that spoke. Her soft green eyes were gentle, yet the held sadness.

    A low, deep growl rumbled from a shadowy corner of the den. "You don't have to talk to him, Sweetweb. His Clan killed Newtfang. Newtfang happens to be our mother if you've forgotten." The brown tabby had a torn ear; it was bleeding badly. Most of the unfamiliar cats in the den were; only cats he recognized had been treated.

    "I will talk when I wish, Spiderblaze," the cream molly hissed. "He did not kill our mother. Attacked us, yes, but kill anyone? No."

    Kill. The word rang in his ears. He pinned his ears to his narrow skull, attempting to shut it out. He couldn't take it. His own leader had trapped him in a cage of claws, told him to live in fear or he would be put in his place, and lastly murdered a cat who spoke of a strange thing; StarClan.

    What is StarClan?

    His head ceased it's seemingly relentless pounding, and the unsettling squelch of paws in moist ground alerted him. A familiar, musky scent filled the den, and he looked up to see Waspfire, a welcoming grin plastered on his features.

    "Waspfire!" Dunepaw cheered gleefully. He made an attempt to arise to his paws, but he couldn't quite stand. He was so shaky and so sore, so he allowed his mentor to come to him.

    "I'm glad to see my apprentice awake," the mottled brown and black tom stated with a bit of a chuckle.

    Dunepaw blinked. "How long have I been out?"

    Waspfire gave a careless shrug. "Only a day, but a lot has happened in that time. Care for me to explain?"

    Dunepaw nodded and he was nudged to his paws. Waspfire offered Dunepaw his shoulder, and with one last glance at the medicine den, the two entered the freshness of the outside world.

    Once Dunepaw was more sure he could walk alone, he picked his way carefully over to his faveorite place, a rock pile just outside of camp. Hot Stones, as they called it. Waspfire helped his apprentice up the rocks and together they sat while the mottled tom began his story.

    "The newcomers your patrol found have decided to join MoorClan. It turns out, this place is what they had been looking for. Your father and a cat named Finchlight I think it was have made quite the reunion. Your family in particular has welcomed these strangers. I suppose it is good news that they aren't complete strangers. That cream molly is a medicine cat.

    "Later on in the day, a few foxes were scented by Lone Tree, and a den was spotted. We have yet to make a move, but you should be ready to fight those foul beasts off. Alderfleck has given you the clear, and you know Dovestar at this time. She is relentless with training at the moment. Today is your day of rest, but tomorrow we start bright and early."

    Dunepaw nodded. The mentor and apprentice picked their way back to camp, their tails swishing lowly over the moist ground. When Dunepaw parted to eat with his denmates, Waspfire told him he was glad that Dunepaw was back to his normal self.

    But he was not. Two questions burned inside him. What was this StarClan and why did Dovestar hate it?

━━━━━━━━━━━

    Dunepaw finished his meal quickly. He tore at its flesh ravenously. He hadn't realized that not eating in a day could be so horrible. He said a farewell to his sister and limped his way over to the nursery. He needed answers to his questions, but he also wanted to say hello to his new siblings.

    When he entered the den, Dayripple gave him a hostile glare from the shadows. Her belly was no longer round, and a single kit suckled at her side. Dunepaw veered away. He didn't wish to fight at the moment, or any moment. He picked his way over to a more lightened spot of the den where his mother rested. Three kits suckled hungrily at her side and he couldn't help but grin.

    "Dunepaw? Thank goodness you're okay. I was getting worried, but I was unable to see you. As you can see..." Hollybloom stared lovingly at the three kits.

    One was a fluffy black tom, the second a sleek white and black molly, and the third a white and cream patched molly. Their eyes were still shut tightly and the squirmed against each other.

    "What are their names?" Dunepaw asked. Last time he had heard that they were yet to be named, and he wondered if they had been named yet.

    "For the fluffy black one, me and your father decided to name him Coniferkit. The black and white one was named by your sister. Her name is Hibiscuskit. And for the other one, we still don't know." Hollybloom sighed. "Would you like to name him?"

    Before Dunepaw could think, the pounding of paw steps interrupted him. Nightwatcher ambled in, a purr rumbling in his throat. "Glad to see you up, son. Are you naming the last kit?"

    Dunepaw nodded and continued to study his young sister as Nightwatcher took a seat by his mate. Creamkit? No. Splashkit? Meh. Sunflowerkit... Dandelionkit? Marigoldkit? Almondkit? Yes! Almondkit. "Almondkit," he decided at last.

    Hollybloom purred. "Almondkit it is."

    A purr rumbled in his chest. It was something he wasn't too familiar with these days. He was about to ask his questions until he looked at his parents. No, he thought. I shouldn't ruin their happy moment.

    With a goodbye to his parents and his younger siblings, he waved his tail and left the den.