“Thornclaw.” Firestar’s voice was sharp as he addressed the senior warrior. “Why have you brought this cat here, into our camp?”

“I-I…” Thornclaw seemed lost for words, and Jaypaw sensed confusion clouding the warrior’s thoughts. He was no longer sure why he had led a perfect stranger to the heart of ThunderClan territory. It had just seemed like the right thing to do.

“Firestar.” Unexpectedly, the stranger broke in. “I am honored to meet you. I have long looked forward to seeing ThunderClan.” His mew was deep but his tone light, as though promising honesty.

“How does he know us?” Spiderleg hissed.

“Where’s he from?” Leafpool breathed.

“You’ve looked forward to seeing ThunderClan?” Disbelief edged Firestar’s meow as he echoed the stranger’s words. “What do you want with us?”

“What do we want with him?” Mousefur growled. “Send him away!”

“I want nothing from you.” The stranger’s mew echoed around the hollow.

Wariness flashed from Firestar. “Then why are you here?”

“I came because it was time.”

“Time for what?” Spiderleg called.

“Time to come,” the stranger replied. Jaypaw shivered. How did this cat make such simple words sound so powerful?

Firestar shifted his paws.

“He’s talking nonsense,” Mousefur muttered. “Tell him to leave.”

“But he just got here!” Toadkit skipped excitedly across the clearing. “Who are you?” he asked, stopping in front of the stranger.

A purr of amusement rumbled in the stranger’s throat. “I am Sol.”

Brambleclaw padded quickly forward. “You and Rosekit should be resting in the nursery,” he told Toadkit. “You couldn’t have gotten much sleep last night.”

“There was trouble?” Sol meowed.

“No.” The ThunderClan deputy followed Rosekit and Toadkit as they padded, grumbling, to their den. He waited while they scrambled inside, then called to Thornclaw, “Where did you find this stranger?”

“On the WindClan border,” Thornclaw explained. “He wasn’t stealing prey, or even trying to cross into our territory. He was just…waiting.”

“I was waiting for a patrol,” Sol told them.

How does a loner know about borders and patrols?

“Why?” Firestar sounded baffled.

“So that they could escort me here.”

Jaypaw focused on Sol, groping for a reason why he had come. But he still couldn’t make any sense of the glittering shoal of thoughts.

His Clanmates seemed to have been lulled into a bewildered, ruffled silence.

When no one spoke, Sol meowed again. “I have intruded.” The tip of his tail brushed the earth. “I thought that ThunderClan above all would welcome me.” His attention fixed on Firestar like a shaft of light. “You like to help cats less fortunate, don’t you?”

Firestar bristled. “We don’t turn away cats who are in need,” he meowed carefully. “But you say you need nothing.”