"Spirit."

Shadow drew me aside with him, where no other cat or the members of his pack could hear. I had to push all the confused, swirling thoughts away- but what I still felt was gratitude for knowing that Hannah would be content, and that I'd seen my mother one more time.

When I sat down, the older brown dog with floppy ears sat with me and observed everyone else. Bronze had announced he was joining with Hawk's Pride, and that he would not need to search for territory. I was relieved that he now had somewhere to go where he, too would be safe. His sons could create a legacy in the group with young she-cats, and make Hawk's pride stronger as well.

Fallan hadn't left Diamond's side, and their heads were bent together now. Diamond's sadness had been lifted to a large extent after Fallan returning to her side but I knew she would miss her foster mother-cat for a long time yet. I knew me and Fallan had a lot of emotions to express together, about coming muzzle-close to Quri and saying little-to-nothing because of astonishment. But that was for another time.

Storm and Aspen were marveling over the battle and sharing the best fighting moves they'd used, and Midnight had gone to the river with Shine the pregnant cheetah, who had not taken part in the war. Perhaps they were fishing, and Midnight was letting the cheetah know just how bad the battle had been.

"I wanted to ask you something," Shadow said without turning his head, and instead fixed his eyes on the four dogs who were standing away from the mass of cats. They looked very different, in the way that this brown dog differed from my larger and longer frame. My paws were spotted and furry, while his were smaller and had blunt black claws.

"Go ahead," I ushered and hoped he wasn't about to say he must leave. It was such a selfish thought because the dogs were so wounded, but now I felt I wanted Shadow's company more than ever.

"I was wondering if I could join your Pride," he asked with a small thump of his tail.

"You don't have to ask twice. You were here with us, in my dreams."

Shadow smiled though I thought a dog smile was kind of odd, then nodded my head towards the pack members that were left.

"I know that isn't all of your pack. They must be back in the city- who will lead them now?" I hoped the question didn't sound rude, but those dogs had helped us in many ways, and been put through trials because of it.

"Most of them escaped when the wolves came, but it's okay. I'm having Ranger go lead them now, and gather the pack together again." I flicked my ears in response, knowing well that I had no idea how pack's worked.

"That's good," I murmured and longed for Storm to be by my side again, comforting me from loosing my sister and being left with more questions than I had before about my mother. What had her life been like before us? Were we the only litter she'd had in her shortened life-span? Why couldn't I ever ask her what my father-cat was like, and where he went before the wolves came?

"I know you are troubled," Shadow confided, allowing his fur to brush mine lightly. It was much stiffer, and cold from the night air.

"But this isn't the end- it's the beggining of something huge. You can establish this territory and make the hunting grounds your own."

"Our own," I corrected him and looked up at the night sky that would soon pale towards dawn. After my mother had came, I didn't feel the scratches on my pelt anymore. Only hope and loss at the same time.

"Thank you," Shadow said before he began to move away. I cocked my head, slightly embarrassed because he had nothing to thank for.

"For what?"

"For saving your species," he stated simply and trotted away with his floppy jaws swinging. I watched the older dog go and knew well that he'd make a great addition to the Pride. He could teach us things about humans, and how to stay hidden if we ever faced any more.

"Spirit!" Fallan yowled loudly, catching the attention of several cheetahs. I felt my face grow hot and hurried over to her immediately.

"Diamond wants to go hunting. Will you take her since-" Fallan stopped and stiffened as if she'd realized her mistake. What she'd meant to say was since Hannah can't anymore.

"Of course," I purred and tried to cover up for Fallan's mistake, but Diamond still looked crestfallen. She turned away and left me to follow, her eyes trained on the ground. Before I hurried after, I touched noses with Fallan and trailed after.

"You were the first one to think about hunting," I yelled at her kindly. But when she didn't answer, I felt her sadness piercing through me like it was my own.

She had to say something soon.

"There's forest up there. Do you want to hunt there, or in the grasslands?" I noticed the mass of tall and thin, shadened trees at the top of the territory that Bronze had mentioned, but the breeze carried a mouthwatering scent of gazelle from the tall grasses.

"The forest," she mumbles with her shoulders hunched. Suddenly a bit exasperated, I follow to reach the edge of the trees and stop her before she walks into the shadows. The Great Paw will soon be rising so it's easier to make out her face, which is twisted into grief at the moment.

"Diamond. What's the matter? You got to see Fallan and Hannah's real mother..." I tried to sound gentle at first, but it didn't sound that way. Diamond turned away from me and let her voice rise to a desperate wail. We both knew that wasn't the point, because Diamond's mother had not appeared.

"But I only got to see them once! And... Spirit, you know that my real mother-cat wasn't there! Neither was Hannah."

Her eyes were wide pools of stress and anguish as she raised her voice in pain.

"I'm destined to have no mother-cat!"

"Diamond-" I feebly tried to interrupt, but since I didn't have the heart to speak louder Diamond drowned out my words.

"And mine is still out there somewhere, alive! I don't know where but they wouldn't tell me."

Silently, I let myself gather her words and think about them whilst bending my head in grief.

Diamond was right about the fact that her mother could very well be alive, because she hadn't appeared like all of ours had in the end of the battle. No cat knew who Diamond's mother was, so it made sense she had asked Hannah and Midnight's sacred kin about it.

"What did they tell you when you asked?" I finally replied in an even tone.

"Nothing!" She whipped her tail around her front paws and sat down.
"I said, 'Do either of you know why my mother-cat isn't here?" And they didn't respond! What if my mother-cat doesn't care for me? I have to know!"

Diamond sounded faintly like the kit she had once been even though she was fully grown, but I couldn't blame her. So, I sat down patiently and waited for the calico who we'd rescued from the barn long ago, to explain. Her plummy tail lashed back and forth in distress.

"Hannah's mother was killed by wolves just like yours. I know that's horrible, but I never even got to see mine. I have no idea what mine looks like, and Hannah was the closest thing to a mother-cat I've ever had." She shook her head sadly.

"I love this pride, Spirit, but I don't know how I'll recover from never knowing. Now that Hannah's gone, I feel like I don't know who I am." She choked up.

"I guess I just feel like every blessing I've ever got always gets ripped away. Or that we receive the worst end of it. Like how we fought against the wolves but lost Hannah."

She sighs, her small pink nose wrinkled. A pang of regret hits me, for bringing Diamond from the barn all those 'Paws ago. There was no way she regretted what we'd done, but could she want to go back after all this time?

"And how we managed to cross the road but B-Blaze died." Her words shook on the words 'Blaze'. I drew the small cat closer with my tail, realizing again how vulnerable she was. She fought in such a rough battle, from being the runt of the litter at birth, to not having a true identity a she-cat should with someone's guidance. I wished I could take care of her, but that wasn't a promise I could make right now. I had to care for the pride as a whole, and couldn't offer as much affection as Hannah had.

Diamond hadn't been scared of anything, not even the wolves. But now she was scared about the future for us, about what else would get worse after it got better. I understood that. She needed a permanent blessing, something that wouldn't get taken from her again for a long time. She needed to know where she came from, or at least, what she was.

"They must have not answered because your mother-cat is alive," I began softly. Diamond sniffed and nodded, her large blue eyes glistening. The white piece of fur on her head began to grow brighter as a tiny part of the Great Paw broke the horizon.

"None of us- Hannah, Fallan, Midnight and you- ever really knew our mothers. That's why they chose to come to us, to give us a chance at something we've never had before. Diamond, I'm so sorry your mother-cat wasn't there. But if you ever need to leave..." I let the words hang for a minute, knowing I may regret what I said later. Fallan and Diamond were all I had left of Hannah now, and to have Diamond leave would be another blow to the Pride, and my life.

Diamond looked up, and turned her head back towards me. "What do you mean?" She urged.

"Well, I understand the urge of needing to travel to find yourself, and... If you ever feel like you need to go and find your mother-cat, I won't stop you." I tried to appear calm, but inside, my heart began pounding. I prayed that Diamond would never leave us, and that the Pride could offer her a full life without potential for a mate or kits for her. Aspen and Midnight were the only other cats within day's walking around here. Please don't leave yet, I begged Diamond silently as she mulled over the words next to me.

"Thank you, Spirit. If I ever feel the need to find my real mother-cat, I will ask for your guidance."

"Yes, we'll discuss that in the future if you wish." I agreed, choosing my words slowly so that I, too, could understand the weight of my promise to her.

"My mother-cat might not have been able to stay long, but she was telling us that we've made it this far. We made it past the war, to be able to see them in the living like no other cat has. They came to give us hope and share our success." I felt my chest growing tight with pain and dragged my claws through the ground, wishing it would relieve itself. The word success felt dry on my tongue as I imagined Hannah's head slipping underwater.

"We've had a lot of blessings ripped away, but not anymore. I think the Mother-cat's showed up to tell us that there are more blessings to look forward to, just like seeing them. Wasn't that one?" Diamond nodded, agreeing that seeing the Mother-cat's, even if none of them were her's, was very unexpected but a wonderful thing to happen at the same time.

"Let's return their gesture of showing up, and letting us know that Hannah is with Blaze, by being with each other. Hannah is with the cats who make her happy." I finished with a sigh and hoped that what I was trying to say had came out right. Diamond no longer seemed anxious as well as sad, and she stared down at her paws in thought like Midnight often did.

"You're right. We should do that, too." She stands up and waves her plumy tail, which is dirty and ungroomed. Instead of worrying about prey right this moment, I bend down and tug out a burr to begin grooming.  "Hannah said she was proud of me lots of times, before she died. And..." She took a deep breath and looked away, the memories of her foster-mother swirling through her head.

"And she said "I love you" right before she died. I didn't hear it because of the wolves snarling and barking, but I saw her mouth the words." I wrapped my tail tighter around Diamond for reassurance, feeling closer to the young cat than I had in a long time. She was so young, and this was just the beginning of her life. Quietly, Diamond murmured and stared down at her mud-stained paws.

"Hannah will always be my Mother-cat, even if I find my kin one day."

"She really will," I agreed instantly. "She was the one who took care of you, from that very first day when we took you from the barn. You're just like her, you know. Always washing your paws and keeping a clean pelt, reminding us all about her. You have large eyes and a dainty muzzle like Hannah as well."

Diamond turned around to look at me, then raised her eyes to the orange sky. It looked like that sentence had lifted her spirits, to know she was the one who had been closest to Hannah and could help us remember her every day.

"I know she's watching over us with Blaze now. She didn't come see us after the battle, but... Maybe that's how I know she's finally happy. She missed Blaze so much it was hurting her, and now she doesn't have to leave him ever again. They were meant for each other, and I hope I have a mate with that kind of bond one day."

"Well said, but you don't need to think anything about mates for a long time yet." I let a small purr burst through my chest and stroked Diamond with my tail to encourage her to stand.

When we resumed hunting, I could tell that Diamond was much more at ease now. Her muscles were looser and she kept her head raised. If ever Diamond had looked so grown and experienced, it was now more than ever before. I felt a twinge in my chest that was something close to pride, and padded alongside her underneath the towering trees. It didn't take long to catch two pieces of prey, but I wanted to get back to the rest of the pride and I could tell Diamond felt the same.

"We'll catch more prey later," I advised her. We picked up the pace until we were running full-stride but I outpaced the calico quickly. The wind streaming through my fur felt amazing, especially since it was full light now and the first day after the battle had come. Running was so important to a cheetah, so important that I felt freer than I had in a long time when my paws finally slowed.

I faintly realized that I hadn't slept at all for almost two days, and after I stopped the ache in my paws returned. My stomach growled so I said a goodbye to Diamond and trotted over to Midnight. The black cat was laying with her tail over her paws, her eyes slitted as she leaned against Aspen. Scars was beginning to develop on the light scratches covering Aspen's face, and some looked very nasty with dried blood caked around them.

"I wanted to give you guys this." I panted after I dropped the prey, the Great Paw's light heavy on my back.

"We already ate. You should eat it, and then go say bye to Bronze. He was waiting on you." She began to groom her mate's face, a mind reader at always to each thing I thought.

"Thanks, but I'll go do that now." I touched noses lightly with Midnight and turned away, feeling the pain in my paws and ribs with every step. There was a bad wound on my shoulder that would need cleaned again today, I could feel. Storm joined me as I trotted over to the rest of the cheetahs, who were half-hidden in the tall grass. We rubbed muzzles quickly before standing in front of Bronze and Hawk. I had to ignore the impulse to check Storm's gashes in that moment; they were deeper than most lot of others.

"Greetings," he said, nodding to both of us with kind amber eyes. They reminded me of Blaze's, just as Hannah's mother's had reminded me of her. Hannah's feminine face, framed by a beautiful array of soft hair and pinpointed by bright green eyes. It would never be forgotten.

"We are going to head to her territory, but until then I wanted to show you the side of the pool where I think you'll find a camp is preferable." Bronze led us away from the dip in the grasslands where we had been sheltering. As our paws led us upland, I saw the small, round collection of water we had slept beside two night ago, and the upright rocks that leaned next to each other were within sight distance.

"That used to be my den," he said as we moved around the pond, past the flat rocks, and over to the dens area. "It's very spacious inside. And if you look, you can see a hole up in that tree that might fit one or two of your cats. There's also a den below it that you can make wider, but most of us used the tall grass at the edge of this clearing." There was sand below my paws as I stepped into the middle of it, realizing how beautiful this setup was. It seemed like the Sky-cat herself had arranged the dens, and the water source close by, and the rocks to sun yourself and fish from.

"Spirit! We can fish for minnows in here!" Diamond raised her voice excitedly, her white tail-tip waving. Midnight stared up into the tree with wide purple eyes, pressing against Aspen and purring. The young tom returned the favor by licking her cheek and nestling closer. Aspen and Midnight were a match made to be, I thought. And now they had a den to look forward to, a proper one- and perhaps in the future even kits.

"This is great!" Storm said, eyeing the huge rocks that formed a den in-between them. He stepped closer to me. Suddenly I remember when we had been smashed together in the tree that first night, me seething and then coming up with a plan to escape the wolves. Gladly, I'd chosen to rescue Storm from the greedy flames, and he too had come to my aid many times. I would always regret my decision to ignore him in the early days that he'd joined our Pride.

I purred excitedly but wished Hannah were here to see it. Whatever the case, I imagined Hannah was more happy up there with Blaze than she would be here without him. To her, family was so important; one of her own making and love, which she had accomplished through Blaze and Diamond.

And one day, her closest loved ones would see her again. Her death was a horrible way to die, fallen along with the bodies of the wolves, and to be either washed up downriver or stuck underneath the water...

But I shook these dark thoughts away and turned to Storm. He rubbed his jaw along mine and caused a burst of happiness to bring energy to my paws that hadn't been there before. Greatfully, I fell into Storm's sturdy black frame and felt his thick fur cradle me. It was soft as the yellow grasses ticking your fur as you stalk through them.

"This territory is great!" Midnight was jogging somewhere alongside Aspen towards me and Storm. The young orange-and-white tom was panting as his mate threw him a knowing glance. His wounds were clean now, yet of course he stumbled with every step.

"Spirit, I'm sure the tom's are tired. Do you want to go on a walk with me to the river that reaches the forest?" I nodded, knowing which one she meant. On the corner of the top left line of scent-marks another smaller river reached through the territory, and turned into smaller creeks as it reached the forest. I hadn't been there yet but it seemed like a great idea to go, now that Midnight had mentioned it.

Neither of them denied staying, but I was pretty sure they would soon go out hunting again without sleeping first. As we left the toms behind I scented gazelle on the wind before we passed the herd, which was deep inside the grasslands of our new territory.

"Hunting is obviously easy here during Warm-Paws." I nodded to her, and swept my tail along the black cat's back to dislodge some loose hairs. When done, her pelt looked as black and sleek as a raven's feather caught in moonlight.

"We haven't caught something nearly as big since the mountain-goat," I mused, remembering how Storm had been the only one who could catch the silly creature back in the mountains.

"I know. He must have some mountain-cat in his blood," Midnight said. I halted suddenly, and leaned back on my toes in suprise. Neck fur rising, I whipped around and stared at her seriously.

"Storm isn't a cheetah? Then what is he?" Midnight shrugged, much to my dismay. But she could tell this bothered me, and threw me a sympathetic glance just a heartbeat after dismissing it.

"I'm sure he's a mountain or jungle cat, but he said he was left in the grasslands by his mother or father at a young age." I was nervous, suddenly. Why hadn't my mate told me this himself, and why hadn't I ever guessed he was more like a mountain-cat than a grasslands one? His paws and shoulder's were much more broad, with thorn-sharp clawtips and larger teeth than a cheetah. Plus his spots were different, and almost hidden on his black coat. Anxiety fizzled in my paws as I stared into the distance.

"Spirit, that doesn't mean anything. Storm probably didn't point it out because he never thought about it himself, and would it really matter if the kits you have together are half cheetah or half mountain-cat?"

After thinking for a moment, I decided Storm's origins and what kind of cat he was didn't matter. Besides, I was attracted to him for a number of reasons that included the way he was different from other male cheetahs like Blaze or Bronze. I was sure that Midnight felt the same way about Aspen, and how he had once been a human-cat that was sheltered from the life of a wild one. Its things like this that made them more compassionate to animals different from them.

We padded onwards to the river, which took many paw-steps to amble towards. My limbs were weary but when we finally sat down and looked into the low-lying river, I was content. There was soft sand here, with tiny pebbles and grit underneath the matter of it. I preffered to stay on the dry part, for now. Where the split-off stream reached the forest there was harder dirt, and moss all along the trees and rocks. But that was all shadowed by the trees, and Midnight clearly enjoyed the warmth on her pelt like I did, here on the bank.

"Diamond is going to love it here so much, once her grief lessens. Fallan, too." I turned to look at her, staring into the water at her paws. My old friend looked sad, so I went to sit closer to her and looked where she was looking. There was a small golden fish, barely on the edge of our shadow and clearly not afraid.

"Fallan can still have a full life here, and Diamond knows that Hannah is happy where she is."

"I can't tell if the losses were really worth it, though. I was so greatful to see my mother-cat, for the first time where I could make out her features, Spirit."

"I miss my mother-cat too, but it's better to live and see them once then die and never have a chance to believe they were watching us. Besides, we will see them again- and Hannah, too." It felt odd to be compforting Midnight when it usually was the other way around, but I knew what I said was true. Privately I could not confirm which way was better, but in my chest I felt the pull of needing Hannah here with us, too. We had gone through this all together. Too bad it couldn't end that way, too...

We sat for the remaining light, until the day would soon turn to darkness. When the Sky-cat's pelt began to turn a golden-red color that melted with the horizon, I heard voices in the distance raised in excitement.

"The Pride followed us here!" Midnight said, standing up and waving her tail. I narrowed my eyes as they appeared through the tall grass, Storm more than any other (because of his black pelt). They were all running full stride except for him, even Fallan whose leg was jerking around awkwardly. I saw her hit a rock and roll over the ground in a spotted heap, but all that earned her was outbursts of laughter and probably a bruise. She was unnerved as she fell far behind the other cheetahs, and I lost her behind a spotted pelt.

The Pride surrounded us immedinatly, next to the waterside. One of their forelegs slipped into the water, causing a splash to hit my haunches.

"We're going to hunt together; all of us," Storm said. He was purring and looking at me with love, causing my pelt to warm as well as my heart. I stepped forward as he wrapped his tail around me. It felt safe like this, each and every time.

"Even Fallan?" I asked in a low voice.

"Even Fallan. You know it'll be hard to catch anything with such a large group, but we should celebrate together."

"You're right," I said louder with a purr that vibrated through my whole body. Shadow shook his ears and tail out, lips flapping as he stepped forward.

"I haven't felt this young in years!" He excalimed, causing Fallan to give him a 'how old are you? Look' and Midnight to snort in laughter. The young cat gave me a knowing look, passing between us that we were happy Shadow had asked to join the Pride. Midnight especially knew what an asset that a seasoned animal in the Pride gave. Since I'd told Fallan about my dreams awhile back, she accepted this right away.

Fallan beamed next to Diamond, who walked close to her and practiced her pouncing along the way with Storm's tail. I watched Aspen with approval as he waggled his haunches and leaped on top of his mate, causing Midnight to jump away in a newfound tag game.

All the members of our Pride joined in, a crazy rampage through the forest that scared off all the prey. I wished Hannah was here with us, but knew that watching us do it was nearly just as good.

Diamond climbed the trees and daringly jumped from one to another, the skills that Blaze had passed on to her very visible. Thought over protective, he'd become an amazing teacher and father-cat before death.

My other sister loped behind every now and then but no cat or dog, especially Shadow, let anyone fall too far behind. Midnight and Aspen were looking into each other's eyes, no doubt just as in love with each other as I was with Storm. Their purrs pulsed through my ears, their tails twined so tightly you couldn't tell the difference if one cat weren't orange-and-white.

"Rabbit!" Some cat screeched, and suddenly four bodies were hurling through the trees away from us. Their paws kicked up leaves and shook the ground, before the air stirred and each leaf floated down in front of us calmly.

"I have an idea for our future now" Storm purred into my ear so that nobody else could hear. My fur tingled, and hope filled my heart for all the possibilities. What was he going to say?

"Yes?" I whispered and twisted to see his broad face, the fur along the edges frayed in the perfect way. His eyes were deeper than that of the moss-covered rocks around us, his pelt filled my whole vision.

"We'll make it one where we get to decide our own."