you will always be every one of these [C]

As her white paws left deep prints in the snow of the riverbank, Perchstar found her thoughts drawn irrevocably back to the most recent time she had patrolled alone by the river. That had been... quite some time ago, now. Near the beginning of newleaf. With her lives newly received, the shadow gone from overhead, their Clan almost as large as it had ever been, and perhaps one of the only true moments of happiness she'd ever felt had been lingering in her heart. In that state of mind, she'd gone to stroll through the territory alone, as had always been her habit for moments of peaceful solace. She'd fallen out of such customs after the incident, though. Discovering her medicine cat's murdered body floating downstream. Dragging a waterlogged corpse back to camp with vengeance in her heart. Nearly getting attacked by Bloodstar for daring to demand justice for such a horrible crime. For some reason, recalling it no longer brought the blood-boiling anger it once used to. She just felt... empty. Beechfang and Bloodstrike had been gone from the forest, but nothing could bring Cloverheart back. It all seemed pointless. And now with Dovesight dead, and Sandyshell gone... was RiverClan cursed? Or was it just Perchstar's fault that all of her medicine cats had tragedy after tragedy befall them? What was she doing wrong?

Pensively, she found herself staring into the rushing ice-filled waters as she padded quietly beside them. The scent of SkyClan was strong in the back of her throat as she got closer and closer to the water's edge. SkyClan... probably the Clan with the most reason to hate her. She'd had slightly better relations with them after Briarstar had taken charge, but now the strong-willed leader was gone, with a relative unknown in her place. Birdstar. Poppyshine spoke well of the she-cat, but Perchstar had no clue what to make of her. The resemblance she bore to Beechfang sometimes made the RiverClan leader feel slightly on edge when their gazes met. And yet, the way she had handled herself so far was admirable enough to assuage any worries that the relations might be more than skin-deep. But what if they were? What if Birdstar harbored a grudge against RiverClan? Why did that idea make her feel so uneasy? It was none of her concern what other leaders thought of her Clan, as long as they remained on their own side of the border. And yet....

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a ghost on the other side of the bank. Perchstar's head snapped up. Was that-- No. No, it was no ghost, and no murderer either. As if summoned by her circular musings, Birdstar had somehow ended up on her part of the border at the same exact time as Perchstar had arrived there. Alone. What an odd coincidence. The gray and white she-cat recovered quickly from her momentary shock, dipping her head in a gesture of respect. "Greetings. I regret that we were not able to speak at the Gathering. I would have answered your question, but our time ended prematurely." It felt strange to speak across the river like this. The same place where she'd found Cloverheart. The same two rocks that had cradled the medicine cat's drowned corpse and lingered as evidence against the murder. Yet... strangely, Perchstar realized, there was no animosity in her heart toward the tabby whose eyes she met easily. Actions of the past had little to do with relations of the present. Birdstar was going through just the same thing that Perchstar was--the loss of Clanmates, the uncertainty of traps in the territory, the worry of what the next moon would look like. And there had never been a moment of impoliteness between them. The strange twinge of kinship passed, but left its mark on her. "How fares your Clan?"

Normally, Perchstar would rarely react to such humor. However, Birdstar's joke--though it wasn't a very good one--made her snort quietly. It vaguely reminded her of when she'd visited SkyClan camp, and Beechfang had complained that the stars targeting her with lightning had been Cloverheart's fault. Perhaps Birdstar was referencing the same story, and meant to blame another RiverClanner for StarClan's ending of misaligned Gatherings. It was funny. A few moons ago, perhaps it would have caused a bitter taste in the back of her mouth... but not right now. There was no ill will between her and the broad-shouldered she-cat.

An ear twitched when the other leader mentioned RiverClan's plight. Though she had done her best to keep the Clan looking strong, it appeared that any neighbors across the border were bound to notice when there were fewer and fewer warriors on patrols. Perchstar let out a silent sigh. "Unfortunately, yes. I suppose it may be our proximity to Twolegplace that has made these past moons so much the worse for us. Though of course, the lack of warriors means more food for the rest of us." What? Had she just said that out loud? It wasn't even a joke. It was just fish-brained. Somewhat stunned at herself, the leader blinked hard and decided to ignore her own oddness. Maybe the stress was just getting to her. "The medicine cats... I assume that your own received the vision as well? If not, then I can share the message with you now. I believe it was intended for all of the Clans. And while Poppyshine and I haven't been able to really make heads nor tails of it, I believe that it does bode well for news of both of our missing Clanmates."