- I'm sorry, Sky ... - the cat seemed to restrain himself. Is he telling her this? She remembered that it had happened before too - they were having a dialogue, but the Sky did not feel that there was a meaning behind his words. And if it's sincere... I'm sorry?

"Sorry"?!

It sounded so simple that the Sky even choked with indignation.

- I blundered... I failed.

- Yes, - she could not hide the reproach in her voice - You did it. You left us, left the tribe, left the Crystal Star.

Jumping up on her paws, the warrior began to pace the clearing. She moved away from the cat and walked in circles in front of him, her head lowered in thought.

- I'm glad to see you all the same, - Sky allowed herself to smile - I'm glad that you're fine.
***
- You did it. You left us, left the tribe, left the Crystal Star.

I froze. Literally. The sky moved away, and I sat there, unable to recover. And I was silent while she cut circles, mumbling under her breath about signs, about healers ...
That everything is fine with me.

I was silent until she stopped and looked at me. Only then did I slowly get up. And in the eyes there was a cold and prickly light at the same time.
A lousy character, as it was during life, remained after death.

- "Left"?... - I was moving towards her, slightly bending my head and flattening my ears. - " Good"? I'm dead, Sky. Died! - the voice rose. Anger and desperation were heard in it: not quite like how I grumbled and growled at my fellow tribesmen. - I gave my life so that Crystal Star wouldn’t lose all nine! I have lost the whole meaning of my life! I made a mistake, I did not have time to do something else!

I stood in front of her, straightening up.
***
It was very unpleasant - the cat's ears were pressed to the head by themselves. Sky grimaced as if every word was a slap in the face. It was as if she had returned to the apprenticeship when she could be reprimanded. Or at a time when her father could only look at her as if she had disappointed him. She hated letting down the ones she loved.

But if Holly was waiting for her to break under his mental attack, then he could wait a little longer. In any case, the Sky could no longer say for sure what this cat was trying to achieve. In moments of quarrels, emotions cloud your mind, and you say things to hurt, offend, hurt.

- It's good that you realize it, - the cat snarled, her eyes flashing coldly.
...
Do all Star Ancestors know how to do this? - Sky suddenly asked a question that seemed to have nothing to do with the subject of their conversation. - Tell me... tell me, have you seen... Hawk?
***
I sat. And stupidly looked up at her when she finished.

- The one who also gave his life, and "it's good that he realizes this"? - I grinned, standing up. I wasn't the type to forgive words so easily. Despite the fact that I myself have sinned badly. - Why do you need him? Would you like to tell him this too? If he were your father three times, - I took a step towards her, intending to bow my head to her ear. - I will not let you.

And I stepped back. There was such light and fire in my eyes, as if I wanted to burn it. Not a trace of the former sympathy and apology remained.
***

- How dare you?! You don't have - you hear - you don't have the right to come between us! - she furiously lashed herself with her tail - However, he probably did not want to come himself .. He left me, like everyone else, as you left!

- Oh yeah, I'm sorry. I rejected you, - as if "remembering", Holly held out and sat down. His fur has not become duller in the slightest. He struck at the cat's most wounded place, in her heart. A chill ran through her stomach, freezing the Sky from the inside. - Rejected, Heaven. And died. Do you know why? Would you like to deal with a cat that visits the Dark Forest, risking his neck, just to strengthen the tribe? Or what, I had to pull myself along like a complete egoist? Ah, well, yes. I'm a traitor to the tribe, that's for sure.

- I never considered you a traitor!
***


Holly is the Deputy of ThunderClan and Skye's former mentor.
His mentor - Hawk - was Sky's father and deputy to Holly. Sky has been in love with Holly since childhood.
Sky's past mentor couldn't train a cat. Then the Holly began to help the squire himself. He and his brother, Hurricane, were later tasked by Crystal Star to inspect and prepare the young. Still later, Holly was made the official tutor of Sky.
Nobody knew that the cat visited the Dark Forest and trained there. But Sky saw his wounds, which appeared on the mentor while he was sleeping.
Hawk died saving his Clanmate and a River Clan cat from a falling tree. Holly blamed himself for failing to save his master. Becoming deputy on the same day, he directed all his forces to the benefit of the Thunder Clan.
Holly died in a battle with badgers. The badgers captured the leader, Crystal Star, and took her first of nine lives.
So that the cat would not lose all other lives, being in the teeth of animals, Holly rushed to distract the enemies. But he miscalculated and was killed, although he saved the Crystal Star.
Until his death, he was considered one of the best warriors of his tribe. "He never lost." In the battle for the Sky Oak, he fought with the leader of ShadowClan - Toadstar. And he defeated him.
When Holly died, he could not find peace, because he did not learn how to live in peace. He helped his student and lover, from whom he hid his feelings, to survive the loss. And after a long stay in StarClan, he got a second chance. The cat was reborn in the native tribe as Sky's kitten. He retained all the features of his appearance and character, but lost all his memory.
He was named Needle - in honor of the deceased lover, although his rebirth was not known.
Later, when his twin brother and sister's eyes began to turn green, and the coat to acquire a clearer color, it became clear that the Needle is a spitting copy of the deputy who once lived. But only Heaven itself and a couple of other cats remembered him.