They started on a trail to Fourtrees, loping through the woods at a proper pace. Fireheart had come a long way from mentally cursing out his mentor as he laid panting at the entrance to the camp with a long trek. The pathway to Fourtrees was easy and short- most of the grass had been trampled over generations into a straightforward pathway of the shortest journey.
As they reached the edge of the ravine, overlooking the path through the moor, they took a moment to pause and survey the area.
"Is it always windy up here?" Graystripe complained.
"Well there aren't any trees to stop it," Fireheart chuckled. "Hence the name I think."
"The clans are named after the founders," Graystripe corrected as they proceeded onto the moor. "But I have no idea why Windstar stepped on this windy patch of scraggy land and decided he liked his whiskers whipping his muzzle."
"I have the same question about RiverClan deciding they wanted wet paws all the time," Fireheart laughed, shaking his head.
He tried to look around, see if he could identify any landmarks but WindClan was aptly named. The wind blew into his eyes, forcing him to squint if he wanted to see at all and so he fell back on his sense of smell.
"Do you smell any RiverClanners?" Fireheart asked. "They'll probably try to monopolize the territory until WindClan returns."
Graystripe lifted his head sniffing the air, "No- should be keep checking?"
"Yes," Fireheart agreed. "Don't want to walk into an ambush."
They moved forward slowly across the steadily freezing ground, a small but distinct trail sheltered by the towering heather. As they stopped every few feet to scent for RiverClan or ShadowClan, he wondered if it was a good time to be bringing WindClan back. Wherever they'd gone, it probably wasn't the territory they're used to so they'd likely be hungry so maybe returning them in leafbare, just before it's about time to snow wasn't the best idea.
But then again, Fireheart mused. RiverClan and ShadowClan would be greenleaf strong and WindClan would be facing constant attacks.
"Fireheart," Graystripe whispered fiercely, dropping down.
"RiverClan," Fireheart agreed quietly.
Graystripe's gray fur blended in better with the frosted heather than Fireheart's ginger fur so he dropped down and let Graystripe peak above the heather.
"They're hunting," Graystripe said in a low voice. "They're not looking this way- you can probably stand now."
Fireheart cautiously rose and peaked over the heather. Sure enough it was a patrol of four RiverClan warriors attempting to catch a rabbit through the tangle of gorse. He recognized Blackear lunge at something with unsheathed claws and scramble at something out of sight. He must've stepped on a branch because even as far as he and Graystripe were, he still heard the crunch. The warrior sat up, empty jawed and flat eared, clearly frustrated. The rabbit must've had an escape burrow, Fireheart mused to himself shaking his head.
"These cats are bad rabbit hunters," Graystripe hissed. "It's like Ashfoot said- they don't even know what they're doing wrong."
Fireheart opened his mouth to agree when the scent of terrified rabbit flooded his mouth and was getting stronger. The RiverClan warriors turned tail and began running in their direction.
"Boar dung," Fireheart spat at the same time Graystripe muttered a curse on Slysoul and they both took off towards some small but visible holes in the side of hills nearly obscured by the gorse. He remembered what Tumblepaw had said all those moons ago about the tunnels WindClan used for hunting sometimes. Graystripe seemed to have the same idea as they headed towards one of the larger ones.
"I smell badger," Graystripe said with relief and dove for the hole.
"Is that safe?" Fireheart asked.
"It's stale and safer than attempting a 4 on 1 battle."
Graystripe had a good point so Fireheart dove in after him and huddled as far back in the den as they could. They crouched down as the crunching of heather grew louder as the RiverClan patrol approached.
They'll never catch a single rabbit hunting like that, Fireheart nearly scoffed aloud. He and Graystripe exchanged a glance- he hoped RiverClan wasn't depending on this single patrol because they'll be going hungry today.
"Badger set!" Fireheart heard one of the warriors announce and the paws came to a scrambling halt.
"Is it abandoned? Maybe the rabbit is inside."
Graystripe unsheathed his claws and prepared to pounce if they came in with Fireheart tensing beside him, flattening his ears.
"Wait," warned a cat and there was a gentle rustling sound. "The scent leads this way."
The RiverClan warriors charged off after the rabbit, their thundering paws growing fainter by the moment.
"Think they're gone?"
"Probably," Fireheart agreed. "But let's wait to make sure they don't circle back around."
They waited a moment longer, Fireheart strained his ears for any sound from outside the den. When he heard nothing but the rustling heather, Graystripe nudged him and they slunk out from the den back into the cool daylight. He rubbed his nose attempting to clear it of the badger scent as they looked around.
"Let's try to find the WindClan camp," Fireheart decided. "I don't think we'll run into any patrols by mistake- besides their scent will be strongest there."
"Right," agreed Graystripe.
They continued to stay low, keeping their mouths open and prepared for even the slightest hint of RiverClan scent. Eventually they came across a large sloped rock whose peak rose above the gorse bushes.
"I'll climb up and look around," Graystripe said. "I'll blend in better than you."
Fireheart nodded and crouched down as Graystripe slunk up the rock keeping his head down. His ears turned at the slightest sound before he leaned forward, squinting his eyes. Graystripe skidded down the rock back to him.
"I think I see a gap in the heather," he reported, flicking his tail to the side. "It's probably the only place around sheltered from all this wind."
"Could be the camp then," Fireheart agreed.
They set off in the direction that Graystripe pointed out and came to the edge of the hollow. Fireheart glanced over the edge. He remembered Tumblepaw proudly saying that Treesoul herself had taken a large scoop of peat from the land and instead filled it with gorse and on the ends leaving a slightly open clearing surrounded by thorns and felt inclined to believe him. Some of the edges even looked like they could've been claw marks from Treesoul scraping the earth free.
He opened his mouth, tasting the air and the faint scent of cats drifted from the edge. Fireheart clambered down the slope and though he was used to the tugging branches and bracken of ThunderClan, as the thorns scratched his nose and pulled at his fur he found himself cursing and hissing every few steps.
"Dirt of the souls!" snarled Graystripe. "Brokentail had to be blinded by whatever's infected Havoc to invade this nightmare of tangled branches and lost fur!"
They finally emerged from the brush and into a sheltered clearing, thankfully devoid of thick gorse. The sandy ground was trodden hard long ago by generations of paws and rock on one end of clearing, worn smooth over the passing cycles. He took in a breath and his mouth was flooded with the stagnant and almost gone scent of WindClan cats.
"They really put up a fight," Fireheart muttered looking around.
Everywhere he glanced there were clear signs of battle. He could see grass nests that had been dragged into the open and torn to shreds next to patches of fur that had been torn from the cats who laid in them and caught in the gorse. Old dried blood spattered the ground near score marks- likely from the use of soulsparks that missed. He could imagine the confusion and panic the WindClan cats must've felt, the fear and terror as kits were yanked from the nursery and elders dragged from their rest.
"Dear Moonsoul," Graystripe whispered in a haunted voice.
Fireheart turned and his heart sank at the sight of a corpse laying on the ground. Its long legs and tail identified it as a WindClan cat, mostly decomposed and crawling with maggots and flies. The body wasn't large, Fireheart guessed that the cat was- at most- eight moons old.
"We have to bury them," Graystripe said stiffly and Fireheart's only sign to the true fury his friend felt with the lashing of his tail. "I hope the cat who killed him is haunted by his spirit for never returning to bury him."
Fireheart nodded his silent agreement and started digging on the spot. Maybe this wasn't the right spot for it but he was fairly certain if they tried to move it too far it'd fall apart like cobwebs in the rain. Graystripe helped him gently push the young warrior into the hole. Fireheart sniffed around and found a small stone that he rested upon the impromptu grave.
"May you find peace in StarClan," Graystripe said somberly.
"Let's find the scent trail out of here," Fireheart said, shaking his head slowly.
He started sniffing around to see if they could pick anything out from under the scent of battle and ShadowClan. Fireheart poked his head into one of the visible dens and tasted the air.
"In here," he reported. "The scent is still strong here."
Fireheart pressed towards the back of the den sniffing around before poking his head out from a small hole.
"Must be an escape tunnel," Fireheart realized. "An emergency tunnel."
"Good thing too," Graystripe grimaced looking around. "Maybe ThunderClan should add escape tunnels to our dens."
Fireheart hummed in acknowledgement and started following the pungent smell of terrified and confused WindClan cats retreating. The trail was emphasized by the drops of dried blood that led away from the camp. Despite the moons that had passed since the attack, the signs of suffering were still evident. And confirmed further that they were forced out regardless of how Stormstar seemed to view their retreat.
This is definitely it, Firehear grimaced, a new flare of anger burning in his chest.
A tinge of worry nagged at him.
Is Tallstar okay? he thought anxiously. Maybe he shouldn't be so focused on the leader of another clan but in another life, he could've been a father to him. His father died unable to get over the kind leader from the uplands.
They passed from clan territory into the openlands in the general direction of where Bala lived on his small farm. Fireheart shook out his coat in an attempt to dislodge the cold as they trekked deeper into open territory. As they followed the trail, a sinking feeling entered his heart. He stopped when he noticed the scent veering away from the road to Highstones and the Moonstone.
"They didn't," said Graystripe in horror at the direction of the scent.
"They've gone into pack territory," Fireheart gaped. "Were they mad? Havoc could've ambushed them at any point!"
"I guess they didn't have much of a choice," Graystripe said, flattening his ears. "Fireheart, are we going to have to talk to dogs?"
"Probably- we can't just waltz into the heart of their territory after all. I'm in no mood to be hunted down by a pack of dogs for intruding."
As they followed the open trail, Fireheart noted further signs of WindClan's presence. Miscellaneous grass nests under the branches of some of the bushes and brambles with piles of prey bones swept neatly off to the side. Fireheart felt himself bristling further as the scent of dogs grew stronger and stronger with every step.
They must've sought sanctuary with the packs, Fireheart deduced. It made sense- not even Brokentail would be bloodthirsty enough to pursue WindClan into pack territory and risk being torn asunder by furious dogs.
"Another deer trail," Graystripe remarked, breaking him from his thoughts.
Fireheart faltered, hesitantly approaching it creeping along the shrubs and brush along the edges of it. He ignored Graystripe's concerned look and sniffed carefully for any scent of deer. When he smelled nothing but the stale scent still attached to the flattened grass, he quickly darted across the trail and stood shaking on the other side. Graystripe crossed just as quickly looking worried.
"Was your nightmare about the deer trail?" Graystripe asked gently.
Fireheart hesitated then nodded, "There was blood- and screaming."
Graystripe rested his tail on Fireheart's back, "Do you want to stop for the day? It's already getting late and we might need to rest soon anyway."
Fireheart shook his head, steadying his breath, "No- we need to get as far as we can before we have to rest."
"Okay," Graystripe said and licked his ear gently. "But if you start shaking like that again we're resting- alright finch?"
Fireheart sent him a slight smile and nodded, "Yeah that's alright."
They pressed on, sniffing at a series of high set bushes that smelled faintly of WindClan complete with more abandoned nests. This time though, Fireheart also made out of the scent of old prey.
"They tried to settle here," Graystripe deduced, tilting his head. "I wonder why they left."
"We're just inside of pack territory," Fireheart meowed. "They might've heard the dogs and gotten spooked. Or maybe it just wasn't a good location."
He glanced up at the sky, grimacing at StarClan warriors twinkling above them.
"You were right about stopping," Fireheart admitted. "It's clear that we'll have to go deeper into pack territory but I want to do that in daylight."
Graystripe shuddered, "Me too- let's look for somewhere else. If WindClan left this spot, it must not be any good."
"Are you hungry?" Fireheart asked and Graystripe shook his head. "Me either. I don't know if it's because of the herbs or the smell of so much dog."
It didn't take them much searching to locate a large den about the size of the warrior's den. The ground was covered with dead grass that was scattered throughout the den in a purposeful act like a cushion with several massive nests near the back of it close together. The smell of the dog was overwhelming but- much to his horror- so was the scent of WindClan intermingled and fairly fresh compared to the other scents they'd been picking up.
"I don't like this," Graystripe said, taking a step back.
"We don't have much of a choice," Fireheart retorted. "The only other option is to keep searching pack territory for dens in the dark."
"I like that idea even less," Graystripe sighed and slunk cautiously into the den as if the shadows would leap up and attack him.
Fireheart followed suit and gingerly planted his butt in one of the large nests and attempted to get comfortable while still being in a good position to run if he needed. Graystripe reluctantly padded over and clambered into the nest with him, wrapping his tail around him.
"I can't wait to be back home," Graystripe grumbled. "Safely in our warm den without dog everywhere."
"The sooner we return WindClan home, the better," Fireheart agreed.
He rested his head on his paws drifting quickly off to sleep under the gentle weight of his friend's chin sitting on top of his head.
"More cats? What in Canta's name is happening in those woods?"
Fireheart opened his eyes and lazily searched for the source of the voice. His eyes landed on a large set of paws with sharp claws and long legs. The scent of dog invades his nose stronger than ever and the events from yesterday returned to him. Instantly Fireheart scrambled to his paws, waking a startled and confused Graystripe as he did.
The dog was massive, thick, furred and visibly muscled with dark eyes surrounded by a black mask. To her left was an obviously pregnant dog and who FIreheart presumed was her mate with one other dog standing slightly behind them.
"...I apologize for our rudeness," Fireheart said, quickly bowing his head. His training as a prince returned to him in an instant as he raised his tail and made sure his ears were erect and facing forward. "My name is Fireheart of ThunderClan and this is Graystripe my clanmate- again, we apologize for intruding on your territory but we're searching for other cats."
The large she-dog in the front bowed her head in return with a slight smile on her face.
"A pleasure," she said. "I am Luna Kindred of the Caladamel. I have never seen a clan cat bear a collar before."
"I am also known as Soryn of the Shining Sun," Fireheart acknowledged. "I am the second son of Akire but currently reside in ThunderClan."
"A pleasure to meet you then prince," Kindred said. "I must ask you to leave the birthing den however- my packmate needs to rest and eat."
"Of course," Fireheart said quickly.
He alongside with a stiff and petrified Graystripe quickly fixed the nest they'd chosen to rest in and evacuated the den. The pregnant dog quickly darted in and sank down onto her side with a relieved sigh. The other two dogs quickly began working around her, setting up a second nest while the other appeared to be inspecting the pregnant dog.
"First the cats of the wind and now you- what is happening beneath the trees?"
Fireheart sighed a little and recapped the story of Brokentail and the revelation that WindClan had been driven from their territory by force. Kindred seemed just as disgusted as Fireheart had felt upon hearing the state of the elders and queens under Brokentail's rule and appeared visibly pleased when Fireheart recounted how he was driven out with his small squad of loyalists.
"Well," Kindred mused. "If it's safe for them to return home, that would be nice. Courage gave them a space on the far end of our territory although I haven't visited them personally. Follow me."
"Fireheart," Graystripe hissed wide eyed, his pelt fluffed out. "Is this a good idea?"
"It's better than wandering aimlessly," Fireheart said, running his tail over Graystripe's back. "Besides, this is the Caladamel- they're honorable and they don't eat sapient creatures."
"But what if we get mauled?"
"They won't," Fireheart soothed. "The Caladamel is honorable and kind."
"Thank you for your confidence," Kindred laughed aloud. "Rest assured young one- there will be no mauling or eating. At most you'd be carried from our territory and followed along to the border to ensure that you leave."
Graystripe nodded his timid acceptance of this and followed a little behind Fireheart who padded confidently after Kindred. He did his best to hide his nerves for Graystripe's sake and sent him reassuring looks, never removing his tail from his back.
The Calludamel's territory was wide and expansive with thick bushes and patches of gorse scattered across the treeless plain. Though Fireheart was sorely missing the dark canopy above that he was used to protecting him, he was amazed by the sheer amount of territory that the packs owned. Rabbits and hares barely reacted to their presence only darting off into a burrow when they were about a tail away.
Finally they came to tall alcove with soft bright green baby grass growing across the ground. He could see water falling down from the top of the alcove forming a pool that a couple of dogs were drinking from. In the center was a large rock much like the Highrock back in ThunderClan that a single dog laid on in the sunlight overseeing the dogs roaming around.
"Wait here," Kindred commanded. "I don't believe you're a threat but-"
"We understand," Fireheart said, dipping his head. "Your pups are in there- we'll stay right here."
Kindred smiled and calmly entered the alcove leaving Fireheart and Graystripe to settle down. Fireheart smiled taking in the scene of young pups wrestling each other in the center of the alcove clearing, barking, yipping and getting under the paws of everyone around them. Fireheart noted a few dogs licking their paws and legs while staring them down with sharp and serious eyes. A few dogs even gathered by the edges of the cavern watching them with suspicion.
Fireheart just tilted his head at the onlookers and turned his attention to Kindred who was approaching the lone dog on the Highrock look alike. They seemed to talk for a bit and then Kindred wandered off into one of the caves on the wall closer to the back. She returned to them with a small lanky dog who was mostly black with brown legs and floppy ears.
"This is Maluri," Kindred introduced. "He's one of our Scouts and he'll take you to the other cats."
Maluri quickly dipped his head when Kindred looked at him, "Follow me then."
"Thank you," Fireheart addressed Kindred as they trotted after Maluri.
The young dog seemed a bit nervous escorting them, tentatively glancing back at them as he led them through the bushes. He clearly wants to talk to them- maybe to ask questions- but he seemed to become frightened midway through and stayed silent. Finally they came to a halt in a rockier area where only rough grass seemed to be growing, a massive cavern before them.
"This is where Alpha has been keeping them," Maluri announced. "I'll wait out here."
"Thank you for your guidance," said Fireheart with a nod.
With that, he and Graystripe strode into the cavern.
