"They can't do this!" Hawkfall snapped as the Clan listened to Rainheart's story. Blossomfrost and Bluedapple were on either side of him, sponging him clean with wet moss. After he'd given chase of Echospring, Wolfmask and the patrol had run ahead to camp to tell Maizestar what was happening. They had sent out a patrol to find her, but they'd only met Rainheart at the border with RiverClan as he'd padded back to camp to tell them what he'd seen. Rainheart highly suspected that Wolfmask hadn't expected Echospring to survive.

The deputy was sitting beside Maizestar now. He didn't look surprised by anything Rainheart had reported to him. If anything, his gaze was carefully blank. It was chilling to Rainheart that this cat, who was expected to lead the Clan in the future, was so cold about Echospring's predicament. It was like he was emotionally cut off from what was happening around him.

"They're doing her a kindness," Maizestar said to the warrior. Although his words indicated that there should be relief, his eyes looked troubled. "I would not think Falconstar one to offer a helping paw to a wounded cat of another Clan."

"They're holding her hostage!" Hawkfall snarled. "Didn't you hear Rainheart. Falconstar wouldn't allow for anything else to happen if it meant he wasn't in control."

Maizestar shook his head. "I agree it is troubling," the leader said patiently. "But we can't go rushing into conclusions. If what Rainheart said is true, then Falconstar risked his life, and the life of his warriors, to save Echospring."

"That's what I'm worried about," Wolfmask spoke suddenly from beside the leader. "Falconstar will see us owing him a debt. What will he expect in return for Echospring's life? Especially at the risk of his own life?"

"Exactly," Hawkfall spat. "We need to get in there right now and rescue her!"

The leader shook his head, golden fur waving in the breeze created by the movement. "We can't go charging in there like this is a battle, Hawkfall," he said. "I know you're worried about your littermate, but we have to tread carefully here. It sounded to me like Echospring is genuinely in need of Yellowblaze's care. And we don't know what it is that Falconstar will ask for. If we go blazing in there in full battle mode, SkyClan could do her some serious harm. We have to assume that Echospring will be safe until he chooses to name his price."

Hawkfall growled in response. He turned his piercing eyes onto Wolfmask, as though hoping the deputy would back him up. Instead Wolfmask looked thoughtful. "Let's not forget to mention that we've been having trouble getting prey because of the rain. With all this mud, there might be cave-ins in the tunnels, meaning that we can't go down there until after things dry out. Risking a battle right now would be foolish."

Hawkfall looked back and forth between the two of them. With a final snort, the warrior turned and padded away angrily, being swallowed up by his Clanmates. Rainheart watched after him apprehensively. He knew how hard it would be if Mouseleap had fallen in the water instead. But he also knew that Hawkfall wasn't always a rational cat. Rainheart had trained with Hawkfall a lot during his apprenticeship. What would his old friend do with all that fear and pain?

"I will take a patrol to SkyClan to request audience with Falconstar," Maizestar decided. "We will see just what he intends to do with Echospring, and see if we can't get her back.

"But I don't want to incite a war," he added. "So this will not be a fighting patrol. We are simply going to see what Falconstar's plan is."

The leader stood, surveying the Clan as if deciding who to take with him. At last, he said, "I'll take Sabortooth, Snowpaw, and Breezepaw."

Gasps went out from the watching Clanmates. "But Maizestar, they're only apprentices," Skycrest argued. "Sabortooth would be your only warrior."

"I'm doing it like this on purpose," Maizestar replied confidently. "I need to show Falconstar the least threat."

Rainheart got to his paws. "Well I'm coming too!" he declared. He glared at Maizestar, daring the leader to argue. The WindClan leader was not going to be taking both his kits into hostile territory without Rainheart. Surely Maizestar understood that.

The leader didn't even bother arguing, but simply nodded. "Okay then. Rainheart will come with us."

As the Clan meeting began to break up, Rainheart turned to Blossomfrost. His mate's eyes were worried. It was clear she wasn't happy about this arrangement. But something between them, some link that had developed over time, told him that she wasn't going to fight him. That she understood why he had to go. He touched his nose to hers, purring affectionately. Her smile lit up her face.

"Rainheart!" Maizestar called, his voice grumpy, from the camp entrance. "Let's go!"

Nodding to Blossomfrost, Rainheart joined the patrol at the entrance. With Maizestar in the lead, they followed the less treacherous path by to Fourtrees. There wasn't as much mud here as there was by the river. The ground was just as soft though, sinking with Rainheart's every pawstep.

The patrol quickly made their way past Fourtrees and into the forest on the opposite side. From here, they followed the border between ThunderClan and RiverClan all the way up. Rainheart could smell the faint trail he'd left behind on his wild race through the trees, desperately searching for his Clanmate.

When they got to the border with SkyClan, Maizestar veered into the trees. The leader must have known where he was going, because he lead confidently although there were no scent trails to guide them here. He steered them around huge trees, taller than any Rainheart had seen before.

"Is it true that SkyClan cats jump down from the trees?" Snowpaw asked suddenly. Rainheart jumped, looking down at his daughter. The apprentices had been unusually quiet the entire journey, though they had stared bug-eyed at the swollen river as they'd followed it's path through the trees. It was easy to forget that this would be their first real venture off of WindClan territory. "It's just that they're so tall…" she added quietly.

"Yes," Rainheart answered her. "It is true that SkyClan cats jump down from the trees. But remember, they've had generations of training and experience to teach them how to do it."

Snowpaw nodded, looking at the nearest tree. It was a mighty oak, at least twice as tall as those at Fourtrees. The lowest branch was taller than the Outlook Rock that apprentices trained on. "I could never jump that high," she whispered, more to herself than to anyone else.

"Well I could," Breezepaw boasted. "I could jump all the way to StarClan if I had to."

"You better hope you don't have to," Maizestar growled, cutting off the apprentice's bragging. "It is unbecoming of a warrior to talk about himself in such a manor."

Breezepaw paused, looking confused. Rainheart leaned down, whispering in his ear, "He means to stop boasting like that."

"I know that!" Breezepaw snapped, racing ahead to follow the Clan leader. Rainheart glanced up at Sabortooth, who shrugged.

They walked for some time in silence after that, wearily following after their leader. Suddenly the smells of SkyClan became stronger. Unlike if a patrol was coming, where individual cat scent would become clear as they approached, this was a mixed cat scent, where many many SkyClan cats must have been. Rainheart couldn't even distinguish Echosong's scent among the various odors. They had to have been approaching the camp.

They didn't get into the camp before being noticed. That would have been impressive on their part. But as they approached what had to be the opening, a patrol raced forward to meet them. Scorchgaze the deputy, followed by four cats.

"Halt!" Scorchgaze ordered. "What are you doing here?"

"Don't be stupid, Scorchgaze. I thought you were smarter than this," Maizestar scoffed. "Why do you think I'm here?"

A black and white warrior with gold eyes hissed, showing his teeth. "Don't insult our deputy this way!"

But Scorchgaze waved his tail. "Leave it, Darkmist" he ordered his warrior. Turning his attention back to Maizestar he said, "I know why you are here. Bring your warriors and come. Sunheart," he added. An orange tom with white flecks disappeared into the camp ahead of them.

The SkyClan cats surrounded the patrol, escorting them in through the entrance and into the camp.

SkyClan's camp was not as spread out as WindClan's, but despite it's thick brushes and shadowing branches, the camp still had the feeling of being spread out. It was less compact than Rainheart would have imagined a forest-dwelling Clan camp, and the extra space made room for airflow. Still, SkyClan certainly used up all their space. There were cats everywhere. Some Rainheart had seen at Gatherings. Others Rainheart had never seen before in his life. It struck him then that while the Clans were close as far as enemies went, there were actually cats in this very forest that Rainheart would never meet.

The apprentices were looking around with wide eyes. Snowpaw's fur was fluffed up and Breezepaw's bragging had certainly come to an end. It was clear that the sight of so many enemy cats had them both on edge.

Sunheart had disappeared, but he quickly reappeared from a den in the base of a large tree. From the depths of that tree, Falconstar himself appeared, followed by his medicine cats, Yellowblaze and Merrycloud.

Maizestar stopped a few tail-lengths from the other leader, dipping his head respectfully. "Maizestar," Falconstar said. His voice sounded pleased. "Welcome to our camp."

"You have done well with it," Maizestar said, standing upright. "Tanglestar chose well making you his successor."

Falconstar tilted his head. "It has not been without struggle," he said. His voice did not line up with his words. His words spoke of difficult times, but his voice sounded almost gleeful. He's playing along because he knows he has Maizestar's cooperation. "But you know all about that."

They stood in silence for a while. It seemed Maizestar either didn't want to answer, or didn't have one. Falconstar narrowed his eyes, his face showing barely suppressed elation.

"Well I suppose you want to know about your warrior," Falconstar said at last. "You can check on her. She's in the medicine den. Merrycloud can take you."

The medicine cat apprentice exchanged a look with her leader. "Come with me," she sighed. "But only one of you. I don't want her to be disturbed."

"I'll go," Sabortooth volunteered. Rainheart suspected he didn't want to make Rainheart leave his kits, to which he was eternally grateful. The half-blind warrior followed the medicine cat apprentice, disappearing into a thicket on the other side of the camp.

"Tell us about her condition," Maizestar demanded, speaking to Yellowblaze but looking at Falconstar.

Yellowblaze sat down, wrapping his tail around his paws. "She has a broken hind leg, which I've bound in rush. I gave her some thyme for the shock. She had some hypothermia at first, so I kept her awake for a while. I fed her yarrow to make her puke up the water she'd swallowed, and then had her take strengthening herbs. Once her temperature went back to normal, I gave her poppy seeds for pain. She's asleep now. When she wakes up, we'll give her some prey and water."

"Our medicine cat can do that," Maizestar said. "Do you think she's okay to travel?"

The medicine cat hesitated before he spoke. Rainheart wondered how much of what he said he was coached to say. "Maybe if her leg wasn't broken. But it is. She can't walk that far, and I doubt any of you can carry her that far. She really needs to rest and wait for it to heal before she can go anywhere."

Maizestar narrowed his eyes. "So what you're saying is that she is not allowed to leave."

"Not that she's not allowed. It's that she's not able to!" Yellowblaze looked almost miserable, looking distinctly away from his leader. His eyes met Maizestar's, and there was a glow there that Rainheart sensed was his inner confidence. "I'm a medicine cat, Maizestar, not a warrior. I do not hold hostages. I merely heal those who need healing. By the medicine cat code, I would not let any cat suffer. Echospring is too injured to travel right now. That is my final word."

The patrol was stunned for a moment. Rainheart had only ever seen the medicine cat from a distance at Gatherings. He kind of reminded Rainheart of his SkyClan friend Chillsnow. Distinctly awkward. Also like his SkyClan friend, it was clear the medicine cat didn't have many friends. Unlike Chillsnow though, Yellowblaze was the medicine cat. His Clanmates needed him as much as he needed them. Therefore, they were forced to interact on a daily basis.

At that moment, Merrycloud returned with Sabortooth.

"Well? How is she?" Maizestar said, sounding offput.

The warrior shook his head in amazement. "She seemed okay. She was well groomed, and sleeping peacefully in a warm nest."

"I did not lie," Yellowblaze snapped. Falconstar lifted his tail then, silencing the medicine cat.

"You see, Maizestar. Your Clanmate is well taken care of while she recovers. She welcome to stay until she is healed enough to return home. Of course…" Falconstar trailed off, taking his time.

"You expect something in return," Maizestar guessed dully. "What do you want?"

Falconstar got to his feet, pacing forward in a non-threatening manor. "That's just it. I don't want anything. In fact, the only thing I really want is for WindClan to stay within their borders."

His words rang with underlying message. Although Rainheart wasn't entirely sure what. There was no benefit to SkyClan if WindClan stayed strictly within their borders, was there?

"You understand what I'm saying, don't you Maizestar?" Falconstar murmured.

Maizestar stared at him with steely eyes. "I understand what you're saying."

"Then you'll agree with what I'm asking, won't you?" Falconstar asked. "After all, I risked my warriors saving her from the river. Your warrior is taking up SkyClan food, SkyClan herbs, our medicine cat's time and space. One of our warriors will have to be with her at all times. Plenty of resources are going into her wellbeing. And I'm only asking that you stay within your borders. That's pretty nice of me, don't you think?"

"I do," Maizestar answered. "With the exception that we can check in on her?"

"We'll update you at Gatherings," Falconstar said quickly. "No need to trek out here daily."

The SkyClan leader leaned forward, his stature changing subtly. This time he was making a demand. "Do you agree with what I'm asking, Maizestar?"

Maizestar hesitated just a second, thinking to himself. At last he said, "I do."

"Good," Falconstar answered. "I'll update you at the next Gathering then. Scorchgaze! Gather a patrol to escort them out!"

As the patrol followed the SkyClan cats out of the camp, Rainheart realized just what they'd agreed to. Falconstar was planning something. And he didn't want WindClan to interfere with whatever it was.