Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts.

The only thing that made me special, now my worst shame.

Shamed and embarrassed, the bright bird brought home with the sky unplumbed, wings clipped, song drowned into silence.

I was not used to shy. I was used to shame. Shyness is when you turn your head away from something you want. Shame is when you turn your head from something you do not want.

..s/oon youth would fade and bloom perish, if, in the cup of bliss offered, but one dreg of shame, or one flavour of remorse were detected; and I do not want sacrifice, sorrow, dissolution—such is not my taste.

And I was wrong. Kits should be precious to all Clans. After we have taken these three back to WindClan, I will ask Ivystar to suggest an addition to the warrior code: that kits should be protected by every cat in the forest, regardless of which Clan they come from. All our futures depend on them.