Chapter 9

It was close to dawn by the time Ravenflight and Coal left the tree. Ravenflight's pelt bristled with unease as she crawled through the undergrowth. She wanted to get this mission done and over with so that she could return to that territory she had claimed. And having Coal by her side didn't make things any better.

His tail was fluffed out as he took in the opportunity to pad alongside her. She kept her ears flat against her skull while he let out a purr.

"How are you always so happy?" she muttered under her breath.

"Nothing like this have ever happened in Eden," Coal explained.

"You say that like it's a good thing," Ravenflight snapped.

From what she had seen everyone was worried about what would happen. The stranger that had gone through the Portal was bad news. She had seen the leaves on the Great Tree falling one by one. Coal had told her that the seasons never changed in Eden. That life was always in balance.

Ravenflight did her best to ignore Coal as they reached the stream that ran through the territory she had been in earlier. Something clenched in her belly as she looked at the forest beyond the stream. It was the same feeling she had felt when she first explored this territory.

This is home, she thought sadly.

She never got this feeling when she was back in the Clan.

"I know this place!" Coal nearly yelped when he stood beside her.

Confusion swept over Ravenflight when she picked up a familiar scent in the air. Her nose wrinkled in disgust when she recognized the stench.

"ThunderClan," she hissed. "And... rogue?" She added the last part in a question, unsure of the other scent that mixed in the air.

"What's ThunderClan?" Coal asked. His eyes widened when she glared at him. "Oh, you mean it's like RiverClan," he meowed.

"Sort of," she replied with a shrug. "They prefer living in the forest over the water any day."

Her tail whipped from side to side as she followed the scent trail. Coal's whiskers were twitching with worry as he followed her. Something was wrong. She could feel it in her bones. Coal suddenly stopped and glared at the wide path ahead.

"There's a Portal up ahead!" he exclaimed. Ravenflight looked at Coal in confusion before he went on explaining, "I... kind of have the ability to sense when a Portal is near. I can also close them."

That's why Ashia asked him to join her! Ravenflight's pelt bristled with unease at the thought.

What if he pushed her thought the Portal? There was no way she could return to Eden without his help. And as far as she knew his eyes were on Nellie.

"Whoever left that scent trail went through the Portal," Ravenflight muttered crossly.

"But balance in Eden isn't restored," Coal pointed out. "The intruder must have done something to throw it out of balance and knew they would be followed."

"Then we need to stop them."

Ravenflight's claws sheathed and unsheathed as she thought of where they would end up next. She took a deep breath before stepping through the Portal. Nothing could stop her from making this decision. Following or not, she would complete this mission on her own.

. . .

"Silverleaf, over here!" Silverleaf purred in amusement as she bounded after Thornpelt.

Two days had passed since Hawkstar became leader. Life in RiverClan went on, and Thornpelt and Foxfrost had finally become warriors. Now Silverleaf could spend all of her time with her love. And Thornpelt seemed just as content spending his time with her.

"This is a great spot to hunt," she purred after catching a water vole.

"Yeah, it beats cleaning out the elder's den all day," Thornpelt added.

He and his brother had ended up cleaning the elder's den for an entire day after playing a prank on Badgerclaw. Foxfrost had put a few fire ants in Badgerclaw's nest and ended up getting caught. Fortunately their warrior ceremony wasn't held off.

"I still can't believe your brother managed to get those fire ants without hurting himself," Silverleaf murmured.

"He got a few stings, but Robinwing didn't do a thing to help them," Thornpelt explained.

Silverleaf could imagine how angry the medicine cat must have been. Robinwing didn't have much patience for young cats like Thornpelt and Foxfrost. Ironically enough he wasn't that old.

"We should get back before it's too late," Silverleaf sighed when she realized that the sun was setting already.

It wasn't safe to go out at night. Lately an eerie howl could be heard in the distance every night. No cat was sure where it came from. Not even Sasha, who was a rogue, knew where it came from.

And she has more experience than any of us, Silverleaf thought with a shake of her head.

Whatever the sound was, it couldn't be anything good. Silverleaf knew that the howl likely belonged to a dog. Or some kind of large creature that could easily take a full-grown cat. Either way she wasn't willing to risk finding out.

Silverleaf followed Thornpelt back to camp after picking up her water vole. At least they had some kind of excuse for leaving camp. Prey was always a good thing to come back with.

Camp was buzzing with activity when they returned. Foxfrost was on guard duty when Silverleaf dropped her prey on the fresh-kill pile. She wasn't surprised when Thornpelt brushed his tail across Foxfrost's shoulder.

Those two were closer than any sibling Silverleaf had ever seen. They were always doing something that got them in trouble. And Hawkstar seemed to sense that Foxfrost was up to no good.

The dark brown leader approached Foxfrost and whispered something to the newly named warrior. Foxfrost's eyes narrowed in annoyance before he did as he was told.

"Someone's in trouble," Thornpelt whispered when Foxfrost disappeared into the elder's den.

Silverleaf rolled her eyes and wondered who'd really committed the latest prank. It didn't matter to her though. Being surrounded by friends and family was what mattered the most. She wouldn't trade this world for anything else.

AN: Okay, so this is going to be the last Silverleaf chapter you ever see. Next few chapters will be just Ravenflight's point of view, than back to Riverspirit. No I did not forget about Riverspirit, she's just taking a short break :) Thanks everyone for your reviews, they mean a lot!