Chim had tried to help raise Swangrace's kits. He tried his earnest best but after all of the work he had to do running a clan, after all the emotional turmoil he had faced, after his own trepidation about being near kittens, he had been a less than stellar uncle to them. Sometimes it felt like they had been there for him for than the opposite had been true; when he was accidentally forming SwiftClan, his nieces had been the ones to convince cats to join him and stay at his side. He couldn't fathom why they were so loyal, but after all this time he had learned to accept that his family would never give up on him, even the younger members.

But he wanted to do something nice for them in return. He had asked Shatteredshine to take over training more of the apprentices, and she had gladly accepted; she had already been looking after his own apprentice for so long, and the exchange 'paws, it was an easy transition for her to take over more officially. Now he had an idea for Sliprabbit as well, but as he prepared to make him offer, he felt strangely nervous.

"Sliprabbit?" Chimerastar called as he spotted his niece, striding through the camp to meet her, "we need to talk. Meet me by that twisted elm when you have a moment." The strange tree wasn't far from their comely ditch, just far enough away the reek didn't reach your nose anymore.