Chapter 16

Rainpelt's eyes widened with fear. "Tigerclaw!" She ducked, but realized Tigerclaw hadn't really been looking at her. She looked up as the large tom's body soared over her head. She heard a startled yowl and turned her head sharply to the right. Morningstar was on the ground, raking his claws into Tigerclaw's flank.

"What are you doing here!" Tigerclaw growled.

"No! Leave him alone!" Rainpelt's eyes flashed. "He is the WillowClan leader, Morningstar." Tigerclaw released the cat, staring at her with bewildered eyes. She calmly walked over to him. By now they had the attention of all the warriors in the den. Morningstar's yowl had certainly awoken her Clan mates.

"Rainpelt…it's good to see my deputy again," he purred, but she could still see a hint of hostility in his eyes from battle. "It's time to come home, Rainpelt. You, Sunfur, Dewflower, and all the rest of our Clan that survived."

"I knew it!" Frostfur stood in the entrance of the den, glaring at the WillowClan cats. "I knew this day would come and you'd leave our Clan. Now, ThunderClan, now you can see why I didn't trust her from the start! Now—."

"Shut up, Frostfur!" Rainpelt spat, turning her attention to Morningstar. She opened her mouth to speak, but was yet again interrupted.

"Rainpelt!" She looked over at Bluestar. "Who is this cat?"

"He-he is my old leader, Bluestar."

"Ah, you must be the ThunderClan leader. I am Morningstar, leader of WillowClan." He took a respectful bow before locking eyes with Bluestar's icy blue eyes. "I've come to take my warriors home."

"Rainpelt, is this true?" The leader's gaze traveled to Rainpelt. She slowly nodded. "Well, you'd better leave then. I somehow always knew this day would come." Rainpelt's eyes began to fill with tears.

"Rainpelt, please. Don't leave," she heard Graystripe whisper in her ear pleadingly. "Don't leave…"

"Morningstar!" She turned to meet her old leader's gaze. "I am home."

"You're making a mistake, Rainpelt," he hissed. He caught the surprised look on Bluestar and Frostfur's face.

"If WillowClan were ever to be reborn, I would lead the Clan. You have no business returning to your leadership," Rainpelt spat.

"Why not?"

"You certainly know as well as I do." Her eyes flashed a warning. Sunfur had a puzzled look upon his face, as well as all of ThunderClan. "Now leave before I have to show you out of our territory." Morningstar's face grew tense. He looked over at Tigerclaw, who had his eyes narrowed, obviously backing Rainpelt up. Morningstar hissed.

"I'm not leaving until my warriors return to me."

"Well, it appears your warriors would like to stay here," Bluestar meowed.

"We haven't heard from Sunfur and Dewflower yet." He turned his gaze to them. Dewflower looked away. Sunfur looked down at her, and then back up at his old leader. His eyes grew cold.

"Dewflower and I will stay here for now. I don't know about Dewflower, but my loyalty is with Rainpelt. She's right; if WillowClan were to be reborn, she should lead it. You have no business leading it. You were always too soft. I don't know why Rainpelt has such a grudge against you, but it must be something important, because if I know her correctly, she doesn't usually hold a grudge unless it's for the good of the Clan."

"Mouse-brained fools!" Morningstar spat. "I don't know why you take such loyalty in this naïve little twit! She's done nothing for you but lead you to destruction!"

"She lead us here, didn't she?" Dewflower mewed, looked up and straitening her spine bravely. Rainpelt suddenly realized the determination in the medicine cat. She knew that her friend would do anything for her; even fight, even though she didn't know how. "For your information, Morningpelt, since you are no longer a leader, we are doing absolutely fine right here. If you want proof, we'll give it to you." She unsheathed her claws in a rapid movement.

Rainpelt shook her head. "No, Dewflower. If anyone should fight him, I should. After all, I was his deputy." Her hostile glare fell upon Morningpelt. "Besides, Morningpelt, I thought you were dead."

"And I thought my whole Clan was dead. Look at you now; you've survived," he growled. Rainpelt unsheathed her claws and had him pinned to the ground in a flash. She bent over and then whispered in his ear,

"I thought I killed you."