Mother? Do you miss our old clanmates?

   Every day, Honeykit. I loved each cat as if they were my own family.

   I miss ThunderClan, too. Daisykit and Dockkit were fun playmates.

   Do you have any stories about how to say goodbye, Fawnpoppy?

   Yes, Honeykit. I know a particular tale about a young kittypet--

   Kittypet? What do those Twoleg toys have to do with nursery tales?

   She wasn't just any kittypet, dear. She was the sister of the great Firestar.

   Firestar has a sister? Who's a kittypet? Wow!

   Of course he had a kittypet sister! Don't forget, Firestar was once a house cat named Rusty.

   Well? Who is she?

   Patience, Robinkit. This cat was the one who may have had to bear the hardest goodbye ever.

   Who? Who?

   And her name was Princess.

__________

꧁꧂

   Princess stared out into the deep forest. The other house cats often questioned her for it, and she always had the same response:

   "I'm waiting for my kin."

   Somewhere, within the depths of the forest and beyond, her own brother and kit was out there. It made the tall oaks and towering pines seem almost intimidating, knowing that at any point, her kin could be slaughtered by the dangers of battle.

   Was it really worth it to give up my kit? What if Cloudtail has died?

   The pretty brown she-cat flicked her tail, brushing the tip of it on a vine tendril growing on the fence. She knew she would never be cut out to be a warrior, but she knew her son would protect his clan until his last breath.

   But...what if that day has already come?

   Princess still remembered the last time she had seen Firestar and Cloudtail. They had snuck off to say their goodbyes. Princess would never forget how scrawny and thin they looked, their eyelids heavy from countless sleepless nights.

꧁꧂

   "Princess! Princess! Mother, are you here?"

   Princess snapped up, recognizing the voice of her son. "Cloudtail? What are you doing here! It's moonhigh, and you should be resting," she reprimanded him, though she was glad for the rare visits where he would tell her all about ThunderClan.

   A flame-colored tabby stepped out from the shadows, sweeping his tail through the mossy grass. It looked like her brother, Firestar, but it couldn't be... This cat was much too skinny.

   "Yes, it really is us, Princess," Firestar mewed, guessing her thought. "Prey has been...not so well these past moons."

   Princess choked back a sob at the sight of her kin, their ribs sticking out of their pitifully scrawny frames. Yet, Cloudtail and Firestar's eyes still held the determined gleam she saw every time she met them.

   Cloudtail nuzzled his cheek into her shoulder, purring. "You're so skinny," Princess murmured. "You should take some of my food. It won't be like what you eat in the forest, but it'll keep your strength up."

   Firestar licked her flank, then dropped his gaze to a fallen leaf. "I'm sorry, Princess. It is against the warrior code to accept kittypet life. Even if it wasn't, it would be unfair to all the other cats in the forest."

   Cloudtail stepped back, spitting on the root of a tree scornfully. "There is no forest anymore! Twolegs have destroyed it all!"

   Princess gasped, already knowing the answer to her next question, "W-where will you live, then?"

   "Someplace else. This is why we came here. To say goodbye," Firestar said sadly.

   The brown kittypet bit back tears, digging her claws into the loose dirt. "No! You must stay! I can't bear not knowing what will happen to you! You can live with my housefolk, o-or find another Twoleg to take you in..." she trailed off.

   "We must think of the rest of our clan, as well," responded Cloudtail. Princess remembered the scarred she-cat Cloudtail had once brought along with him. He had given her the impression that the white warrior had grown to love her, despite her injuries.

   An owl hooted in the distance, the trees rustling its leaves. "I'm so proud of you both," Princess whispered.

   "Goodbye, mother. We must find another place for the clans to live, away from the Twolegs." Cloudtail's whiskers twitched as he touched muzzles with her one last time.

   "Perhaps we'll meet again," Firestar said wistfully, twining his tail through hers.

   "I love you," Princess murmured to the shadows as her kin stalked away, their paws barely touching the ground as they disappeared into the bracken.

꧁꧂

   "Princess! Princess!" called a voice from behind her.

   "C-Cloudtail?" Princess yelped hopefully, looking at the white tom in front of her. She tried valiantly to not let her tail droop as she realized that this was Oliver, her mate.

   "Thinking about the clans, again?" Oliver asked, putting his tail on her shoulder and leading them to the cool interior of the Twoleg nest.

   "...Yes," Princess admitted, curling up in her soft nest. "You look so much like our son..."

   Oliver licked his mate's ear. "You need to stop thinking about them so much. That was moons ago, you need to move on," he said sternly.

   "I don't even know if they're alive!" Princess wailed, burying her nose in the plush nest.

   The white tom opened his mouth to say something, but stopped as they heard the call of his Twolegs. "I gotta go. It's mealtime," he muttered, dashing off.

   The brown she-cat sighed, thinking about her kin, living who-knows-where. Perhaps Cloudtail had finally had kits with Brightheart. Perhaps Princess had more kin within the clans. Kin that she would never get to meet.

   Oliver's right. I need to move on. But I'll never forget you, Cloudtail and Firestar. Perhaps we'll meet again someday. And until we do, I must keep waiting for you.

__________

꧁꧂

   That was a sad story, Fawnpoppy...

   I agree, Robinkit. Princess had one of the hardest farewells to endure.

   Will Princess ever see Firestar and Cloudtail again?

   That, Honeykit, is something I do not know for certain. All we can do is hope.

   I still miss ThunderClan!

   It is natural to never forget you kin and those you grew up with. But unlike Princess, you will see your former clanmates again, when they make their journey to StarClan, like we did.

   We'll get to see them in StarClan one day?

   Correct, Honeykit. In the meantime, all we can do is wait.

   Like Princess!

   Good job, Robinkit! Now, hurry off and play with the other kits, a queen needs her sun, you know. Remember, if you ever need any help, I'll always have new nursery tales whenever you need a lesson on how to be a worthy warrior.