The stars are shining bright tonight... (Solo)

A gray tabby walked towards the River. He hadn't been here for moons, due to the Righteous Few terrorizing the stars. And the last time he was here, well, there were bad memories that he would have rather not reflected on. "Isn't it funny how life works?" he said. "Even in the stars, I can never catch a break." It seemed like he was almost destined, not by StarClan, but by something else, to suffer.

He still remembered the feeling of shock he felt when she spoke about the clans. "No longer can we stand the impurities of the clans," she said. "It's a disgrace to the warrior code." Heronflight couldn't believe that his own mate would say something like that, to support the Righteous Few like that. She's no longer my mate anymore, he thought. That Righteous Few supporting fox-heart.

When a cat approached him from behind, Heronflight turned around. It was a brown she-cat, her green eyes sparkling in the moonlight. The gray tabby snarled at the cat, someone who he used to know. The gray tabby unsheathed his claws with hostility. "Wrenbreeze."

Wrenbreeze stared at her former mate, who didn't return the gaze. She realized the mistake that she made after Heronflight lashed out at her for siding with them. It caused enough tension within her to not actively support the Righteous Few, and consequentially, for StarClan to keep her here. But she realized how close she had been to crossing the line.

"I assume you are not happy to see me," Wrenbreeze said.

"I'm not," the gray tabby said bluntly.

The brown she-cat took in a deep breath. "I just want to say... I'm sorry. For betraying you, for hurting you, for what I did as a Righteous Few member." Wrenbreeze sat down. "I don't expect you to forgive me. But I do want to tell you, I still love you. Even if you don't love me back."

Heronflight paused. "And I d-" the gray tabby started, before pausing. "I don't-" Heronflight thought that he hated her, but another side of him, one that was under wraps for a while, still cared for her. "I don't know," he admitted. He was so confused by his inner feelings. He had always told himself that he hated her, never wanted to see her again, but while his body turned hostile to the brown she-cat when she arrived, his heart still loved her.

Wrenbreeze stepped towards Heronflight. He seemed vulnerable, weak, something she had never seen in him ever before. Almost like he was opening up in a way that he had never done to her before. The brown she-cat stepped closer, wary of Heronflight's anger at her. "If you need me to comfort you, I am here for you."

Heronflight stared at Wrenbreeze, then sat down. "You know what? I think I should tell you a story, Wrenbreeze. Many moons ago, when I was an apprentice, I rebelled against Ivystar. And you know how Spotfur and I were taught a 'lesson' by Ivystar before we were promoted?" Wrenbreeze nodded, not knowing where exactly the story would go next. "Well, the lesson I took away was that my opinion didn't matter unless I was a respected warrior, which caused me to go on more patrols and work extremely hard to achieve my goals. And that was that. Except for one tiny detail. Ivystar never was someone that I liked, and I only followed her because I was unwilling to get punished again." Heronflight realized that there was an alternate universe where he became a ThunderClan warrior, after leaving RiverClan due to Ivystar's reign. "I carried that inner hate for my entire life," he admitted.

Wrenbreeze blinked. How did he carry that for his entire life without snapping sooner? I definitely underestimated his inner strength. "So that explains some part of why you were so mad at me, I assume."

The gray tabby nodded. "Yes, you are correct." He started walking away, feeling somewhat better after talking to Wrenbreeze. It wasn't what he expected, but it was what he needed. "I guess we can talk tomorrow night," he said. He would probably like to talk to Wrenbreeze again, even though a few minutes ago he felt like he hated her. I guess that I can talk to Wrenbreeze more frequently now.

Wrenbreeze stared baffledly at Heronflight as he left. "Did you... mean that? Like, are we going to meet tomorrow night?" she asked confusedly.

The gray tabby turned around and broke a tiny smile, one that Wrenbreeze hadn't seen in moons. "I don't see why not."