His clan probably found it funny that he had such an active night life, given that the wolves were a persistent threat. He had decided to take it upon himself to patrol late and ensure that all was secure, for the safety of his clan. Why spare the lives of his individual warriors, cats with friends and family, when he had nine lives of his own to sacrifice in their place? His parents had disowned him. His brother had died a gruesome death that made Stormstar hellbent on preventing deaths by consumption.

Before, the nights had felt lonely. The stars had offered no solace in his loss.
That was, before he met her.

Now when he glimpsed up at the stars, he did not feel alone. He was reminded of his long and meaningful conversations with Ravenstar, quite likely his first true friend. It made him long to stare into her eyes and see the stars reflecting back at him, to feel that warm and awkward fluttering sensation in his chest that he had once never understood. Even if StarClan turned their backs on him, he would not feel alone. Stormstar would always have her to turn to, her to trust, her to cherish.

She truly was his moon and stars.

The lengths around camp had seemed secure that evening. The wolves were more ravenous at first, immediately after the implementation
of the tunneling system. They had lost a part of their food source after the cats began to evade them. But overtime, they seemed to back off. WindClan suffered, and then they adapted. And now, they would thrive. Stormstar would see to that.

He moved calmly through the grass, feeling a strange sensation of serenity falling over him. Fallowbird and her family would be reunited now. The thought of kits- it'd always been curious to him. He could never make a good father, right? Ravenstar would never want...?

...What was he thinking?
It was impossible.

...But hadn't they already defied the odds?

The smoke leader had decided to head to the airpool to find his thoughts, to consider WindClan's next move. They needed to build back their defenses, now that RiverClan felt equally as threatening as the wolves. Their representative hadn't mentioned anything particularly threatening at the gathering, but nonetheless...

Stormstar abruptly stopped in his tracks, feeling as through he was no longer alone. "...Who's out there?"

Half of him thought that it might have been a wolf who had gone under his radar, or Primrose seeking space away from WindClan's camp for the evening. He hadn't seen Ravenstar in a while, and it deeply concerned him. Had someone in DarkClan found out? Was she ill? Had she...tired of him? The air around him had felt tense as something stirred, not the typical dream-state that he and Ravenstar shared whenever they met up. And so Stormstar shifted uncomfortably, seemingly taking up a prepared defensive stance in the event that he'd made a mistake.

But it was her voice, her familiar scent that greeted him. Something regarding the situation in which they were suddenly meeting made the tom feel uneasy, concerned, yet still he melted in her much-desired embrace. Stars how he missed her- he could lead WindClan and have the comfort of Primrose, and through it all he felt empty. It felt like his better half was missing whenever Ravenstar wasn't around. Gently the silver-and-black leader touched his nose to the top of her head, a shaky purr rumbling in his throat.

"...I-I was worried sick about you. I thought something might have happened- ThunderClan, you getting caught by your warriors, illness, I-" Oh here he was, such a foolish and awkward sap in her presence, rambling on and on... "I-I thought you might've forgotten about me, n-not love me anymore." Stormstar stumbled over his words like a flustered apprentice, bashfully casting a glance in her direction once more. He never felt the feeling that Ravenstar gave him, never before. No cat made him feel so comfortable, so at peace, so happy as she did. If she stopped loving him...well, he didn't know what he'd ever do.

Because he knew that he could never stop loving her.

Good news?
But also...bad?

Stormstar's eyes grew as round as the moon that protected them in the light of darkness, genuine concern gleaming in his pale greens. Good news, that was exciting as always- but the bad? Was DarkClan doing alright? Had ThunderClan elected to place the blame of their fires on DarkClan, and henceforth declare a bloody war? So many questions, so many concerns plagued his mind, but he did his best to hold his tongue. He needed to let her speak.

...kits?

He seemed to stumble slightly, like the ground slipped away beneath his paws. Them? Kits? Together? He sat in stunned silence for a moment, but once more that loving glow returned to his warm set of eyes. Could he be a good father? He wasn't sure- he never pictured himself having kits so soon, maybe even if he did think about it. But it had seemed so impossible, so the WindClanner never thought about it in-depth. Ravenstar made him a good cat. Together, they could....

Right...blast his element. Stormstar recalled DarkClan's rule, the one that his moon and stars had put into place: DarkClan was for the dark elements. "...I..." He didn't want her to see him in such a weak state, but Ravenstar knew him better than any cat. He didn't know what to do, what to think, but had they ever known before when they made their relationship happen? When they cursed the stars and stole destiny away into their own paws?

First and foremost, he needed to comfort Ravenstar, let her know that he'd be there to do anything in his power. The kits...to be frank, Stormstar was uneducated in kit-rearing and kit-bearing, so surely they had a while to go before they were born? Like, five moons, right? "...I don't care what element they carry, Ravenstar." He began in a gentle voice, once more stepping forward to place his head on top of hers. "They're ours, and I won't let even StarClan take them away from us. They can't take our love, nor can they have our little kits. I-I know I'm no mom, but..." He needed to think of something. Why wasn't he smart like her?

"...I can always take one or both and cherish them with all the love in my being until we can work something out. I...I really want to have a family with you, Ravenstar. I want you and Stormstar Junior and Ravenstar Junior to be apart of my life- always." He knew it was wrong of him to say, wrong in so many ways. He had a clan to lead, and a code to follow...but he meant it with all of his heart. This was what he wanted.

He hated feeling helpless when she needed him the most. These were his kits as well, he was their father, and therefore he was just as responsible for them as she was. Even if he wasn't the one baking them in his belly. You are a fool for letting your feelings get the best of you. Stormstar mentally scolded himself. You are a fool for not thinking of her situation first. But you'd be an even greater damned fool for letting her walk out of this without feeling any better.

Stormstar wished that he was smart, he wished that he had the intelligence of the she-cat before him, so that they could put their minds together to work out some sort of plan. But the situation they found themselves in was anything but simple. Not even the wisest of elders could easily come up with a solution in which all parties were happy. But that didn't mean that he wasn't going to try his hardest.

He needed to do this. For her, for their kittens, and for their future.

The leader couldn't resist curling his lip when she mentioned Spiderface seeing to it that the kittens were exiled. "...He has no right." It wasn't often that the diplomatic tom felt rage coursing through his veins- but this was one of those moments. "They're just kittens. It's not their fault, nor should they be punished for something beyond them. It's my fault. It's my stupid element." Stormstar felt his stomach twist in knots, to the point where he felt like wailing out like some frustrated kit. This wasn't fair. "...How heartless of a medicine cat, condemning kittens..."

He had no right to place all the blame on Spiderface. In reality, the tom was doing his job, although perhaps in a crueler fashion than Stormstar could swallow. "...We can't give them to RiverClan or ThunderClan, absolutely not. I...I couldn't bring myself to face them in combat some day." Abandoning his kits...it felt so painful to him. He wanted to cherish them, to watch them grow, to congratulate them on their first catch, to see their own kittens born. Stormstar hadn't met them yet, and already he loved them more than life itself. "...We have time to think about this. It'll be like, four moons before they're born, and then...they won't know they're air elements immediately, right? Spiderface will, but not the others."

It would seem odd to DarkClan for a dark element to miraculously have air element kittens. Think, think...inheritance. Stuff like that. Something would have to add up. "...Your brother, he was an air element, right?" Stormstar didn't mean to bring up all the family drama, but maybe they could make something of it. "It runs in your blood then, somewhere, somehow. We could try to cover it up with that. And..."

Oh, it pained him to think... "...Y-You...you can have someone stand as the father. Until we work everything out." He wanted to move on from that subject. "Giving them up to WindClan when they're older might make sense. They're air elements. They need air element mentors." It would give Ravenstar time with them, the opportunity to be a mother. "...Just...let them know how much I love them."

StarClan, he felt like a soppy mess in this situation. "...You'll make sure they know that I love them, right?"

Her words brought him a loose sensation of comfort. So long as they were out of the paws of ThunderClan and RiverClan, the kittens would have a good chance of being safe. If they could live in either WindClan or DarkClan, it would be even better. But the likelihood of the kittens being able to remain in DarkClan- slim to none. The smoked warrior shifted on his paws in an antsy manner, seemingly standing on the tips of his paws out of anxiety for his unborn kits. "...Will the rest of your clan react the same? I mean- would they be ok with driving out kittens just for being an air element? Words are one thing, but when it comes to action..." He could only hope that the elected stand-in father would love him just as much as he did. So much, that he could never bear to chase them out. Stormstar likely sounded desperate, spewing out all of these options no matter how insane they might have sounded. But who was he to try to trick her? He was desperate.

Although, he couldn't resist a light smile at her comment about Lynxstar eating kits. He seemed like the kit-eating monster type. "I'm shocked he didn't eat our missing apprentices." He was looking forward to that reunion, returning Eveningpaw and Mosspaw to Fallowbird. Especially now, knowing that he could relate to her situation in a sense. There was a chance that Stormstar would be alienated from his kittens as well.

Oh. So soon?

He continued to shuffle his paws around in the earth, like he was about to take Ravenstar out on their first "date" once more. "...I can't wait to meet them." Stormstar admitted with another bashful glance being sent in the formidable leader's direction. But the fact that he'd have to be away from Ravenstar for StarClan-knew-how-long...it made his heart sink. What if she forgot about him? For a moment as he stared into the depths of her eyes, Stormstar seemed to shed his awkward self and take up something a little more...poetic. "Then I'll wait for you like the lonely wolf waits for the moon."

But she thought of replacing him with a temporary stand-in father? So soon? Already? Was Stormstar...losing her? Immediately he felt panic set in, like something was tightening its grip on his heart and slowly crushing it. Crowthroat...he heard of that name before, he thought he recalled seeing the tom frequenting around Ravenstar during Gatherings. They were close, but just how close were they? Stop thinking of just yourself. He criticized himself through the emotional pain. You love these kits. This is the best thing for them, no matter how hard it might be on you. Do it for them.

He couldn't find the words, he couldn't muster a response to her statement regarding Crowthroat and already having the situation settled. Feeling like his heart had been fractured into a million tiny pieces, he leaned into Ravenstar as she nuzzled against him and promised that their kits would remember him. "...Just make sure you don't forget about me, either."

The more she spoke, the more impossible it seemed to have the perfect family together. Was it just her mindset at the moment? Perhaps there was a solution out there- there had to be a way, and maybe they just couldn't think of it at the moment. But he understood her words, as much as he didn't want to believe in them. DarkClan had been created with a purpose, and the concept of keeping their air-element kits within the clan broke its very foundation. And consumption...he winced at the word. No- not again. He wouldn't let the accursed element death take any more family from him.

He understood that it might be the last time he'd see her in a long while. He wouldn't have to wait five moons as he'd thought, at least, but that meant facing the problem with their kittens even sooner than he anticipated. But they'd find a way, they'd have to. He'd die trying if necessary.

Stormstar kept his beloved dark companion close as she groomed his silvered fur, his eyes slowly closing as he focused in on her voice, on her scent, on everything he loved about her. And he held onto that, just as he intended on holding onto it for the rest of his life and beyond. StarClan and its fate was cruel, but he refused to allow that to tarnish his love for Ravenstar and their family, no matter how wrong it was. "Our little family may be broken and imperfect, but I'll love it unconditionally for all of time." He thought about her sneaking off, of his kit-bound lady wandering through the perilous WindClan landscape just to visit him. "...Only visit me if you know it's safe. StarClan knows I'll miss you dearly, but I'd rather wait to see you than never see you again. I can't lose you, Ravenstar." Stormstar was reminded of one of their previous visits, of when Ravenstar trekked across the chilly land to admit her feelings for him, only to lose a life while doing so.

Now, the lives of their tiny unborn kittens rested upon her as well.

He didn't want to let her go. He wanted Ravenstar, to have and to hold, to grow old with until their kittens had kittens of their own. Stormstar wanted to rise with the sun, and see the dark-furred molly sleeping peacefully at his side. He wanted to pass away one day, knowing that life felt complete with her, knowing that he'd be waiting for her in StarClan to rejoin him in a world where nobody could tell them that what they were doing was wrong. "I'll wait a thousand moons for you if I have to, Ravenstar. I will always be here for you. I will always love you, even when we're old and tired."

He buried his nose into her fur for one last time, knowing bitterly that he had to let her return home.