Spottedleaf: After one of those moonless nights, Sandstorm was his mate, and I knew that the invisible river between us had grown too wide to leap across. Did you know that he came looking for me in a dream, sought me out to explain that he had to move on and that he couldn't be in love with a memory anymore? I am not a memory! I wanted to wail, like a kit abandoned by its mother. I am here, I still love you. I will walk beside you forever. But what is that compared with the warmth that Sandstorm can offer him, the solid presence of a mate to help him lead the Clan, to give him beautiful children and watch their kin grow up together? I will still be young when Firestar grows old, but Sandstorm will match him step for step, reflecting his graying fur and slowing paws like a pool of clear water. Does Firestar love Sandstorm? Oh yes, I have no doubt about that.