A/N: Whoop whoop! Another new chapter! x3

Chapter Twelve

The sound of rustling woke Shadowheart. Opening his eyes slowly, he waited for his vision to adjust. He was surrounded by smooth dirt walls, and the scent of herbs filled his nose. Shifting in his nest, he tried to sit up. Pain shot through him and he reeled in agony. Images of falling off the cliff side flashed through his mind. Slowly he began to recall what happened.

Where am I? The question caused him to freeze. After he lost consciousness, he had no idea where he was or how he even got here. All he could remember was running from Hawk's rogues with Firelight and Blackflame, before falling off the cliff. Staggering to his paws, ignoring the pain that throbbed in his head, Shadowheart started to make his way to the exit of the strange den. Wherever he was, the scent of herbs told him that the cat who stayed here knew how to heal.

As he approached the exit, a dark gray head blocked his view. Fur bristling, Shadowheart met the stranger's sharp blue gaze. "You're finally awake!"

Blinking away the light outside as the cat came into the den, Shadowheart looked at him. "Where am I? And who are you?"

"My name is Sootfur," the cat told him, shuffling through the herbs that lined the back wall. "I'm the BreezeClan medicine cat. You're in my den."

"BreezeClan?" Shadowheart blinked, recognition clearing his mind. He scarcely remembered seeing the dark gray tom at gatherings. "How did I get here?"

Sootfur dropped a mouthful of herbs at Shadowheart's paws. "Your friends dragged you here about two days ago. They said you fell off the side of a cliff."

"Where are they?" Shadowheart asked. "Are they okay?"

Sootfur gave a nod. "They both are fine. Skystar let them stay here while you recovered, not that he really had a choice mind you." His eyes glowed with amusement. "Gorsetail has made good use of them with hunting patrols. Of course, I'd like you to rest more. You had a nasty fall after all."

Gazing down at the herbs, Shadowheart leaned down to sniff them. "Are these for my head?"

"Yes. There's feverfew for the pain, along with some raspberry leaves to help take the edge off," Sootfur explained. "I also gave you some poppy seeds."

Hesitantly he lapped up the herbs, spitting in disgust as he swallowed. "Ugh, as bitter as ever."

"You'll be thankful for them later though!" Sootfur purred. "Now, go back to your nest. I'll go and let your friends know you're awake."

Head hurting, Shadowheart wearily went back to his nest and curled up. Thinking of LeafClan, he wondered what his Clanmates thought of their sudden disappearance. Were they worried? Or angry? Shadowheart knew they couldn't stay in the BreezeClan camp for too much longer. Head spinning with a flurry of thoughts, Shadowheart could feel the effects of the poppy seeds as he drifted off to sleep.

The next day, Shadowheart felt a bit stronger; his pain reduced to a dull ache. Slipping out of the medicine cat den, he flinched at the afternoon daylight. The BreezeClan camp looked different than the last time Shadowheart had been here. As an apprentice, the camp was under attack by Hawk and his rogues. However now it was peaceful, with no signs of the past struggle.

A white she-cat was sitting outside the nursery, watching her young kits scamper around at her paws. A hunting patrol of BreezeClan warriors were returning with freshly killed prey, as the apprentices all tussled outside of a den. To his surprise, a small ginger tabby she-cat noticed him and came running over; her green eyes wide.

"Shadowheart, isn't it?" she mewed, sniffing him curiously.

Blinking he backed up a little. "U-Uh yeah..."

Eyes glowing she let out a purr. "I guess you wouldn't remember me. My name is Birdfeather," she told him. "You saved me from that rogue when our camp was attacked."

"Oh!" Shadowheart instantly remembered his fight against Holly, where he and Birdfeather—then Birdpaw—had fought her off together. "It's nice to see you again."

Birdfeather purred. "You as well. I didn't expect to see you again like this, but even still, I'm grateful for what you did. That rogue would have killed me if you hadn't of jumped in."

Dipping his head, Shadowheart let out a small purr. "I'm just glad things ended well. Speaking of which," he looked around. "Have you seen my two Clanmates? I was hoping to see them."

"They left on a hunting patrol not too long ago," the BreezeClan warrior replied. "I expect they'll be back in a little while."

"Thank you, Birdfeather," Shadowheart nodded. "I'll wait outside Sootfur's den then."

Mewing her goodbye, the she-cat bounded off to rejoin her Clanmates across the camp. Shadowheart settled down outside of the medicine cat den, watching the entrance to camp. He couldn't help but feel hollow; having remembered his life before the Clans. All this time he had wanted his lost memories to come back to him, but when they did, Shadowheart had wished they never did.

He was a monster. A cat who would do anything to please Hawk, enough to blind his own campmate. Even then, he realized, Silversky had still watched over him. But had he really been worth it? Why didn't she bother to save Cinder, who had not been a cruel cat like him? Perhaps if she had, Cinder would be safely living among the Clans; her true kin. Regretfully he realized that Cinder had good reason to resent him, to hate him even. Unlike her, he had not been a good littermate. No matter what he did to make up for it now, he couldn't take back the past.

Feeling too depressed to wait up for Firelight and Blackflame, Shadowheart got up to go back to his nest. Tail dragging in the dirt, he had almost made his way back into the medicine cat den before he heard Firelight yowling his name.

"You're finally up!" that was Blackflame. His brother's eyes sparkled with glee as he rushed to touch noses with him.

Firelight's own eyes gave away her relief, even if she tried her best to hide it. "It's about time too. We were beginning to think we had joined BreezeClan!"

Shadowheart forced himself to purr. Even though he was happy to see his Clanmates, he still felt himself in low spirits. "Sootfur said I would be fit enough to travel back to LeafClan."

"That's great!" Blackflame chirped, his tail shooting straight up. "BreezeClan has been really kind to us, but nothing beats the forest. The moorland is a bit too open for my liking, plus with leaf-bare it's a lot colder!"

Firelight narrowed her eyes at Shadowheart, clearly guessing he was hiding something. "Yes, it would be nice to go back home."

I'll tell her about this later, Shadowheart decided. He didn't want to share his newfound memories while they were still with BreezeClan. "We can go back tomorrow. It's getting a bit late to travel today."

"Foxstar is probably going to skin off our pelts when we get back too," Firelight sighed. "Hopefully the Clan will understand why we snuck away."

Blackflame purred. "I'm sure Foxstar will understand."

And hedgehogs might fly! Shadowheart bit back the sharp reply. His wayward littermate clearly didn't understand the trouble they were in.

"So our guest is awake," a low rumble nearby startled Shadowheart.

Firelight dipped her head respectfully. "Skystar. We appreciate your Clans hospitality, but now that our friend is better we wanted to set out back home first thing tomorrow."

Shocked by his friend's formal tone, Shadowheart flicked his gaze to the BreezeClan leader. "As I would expect," the large silver tabby tom meowed. "Of course, Gorsetail and two of my warriors will escort you to the border at dawn."

"Thank you," Blackflame mewed. "Our Clan is most likely very worried about us."

Skystar nodded thoughtfully. "I won't ask why a patrol of LeafClan warriors were so close to my territory, however, I would appreciate this not repeating itself. My Clan have been kind this time, as your friend was injured, but the next time things will be different."

"We understand, Skystar," Firelight replied. "You won't have to worry about us this close to your border again."

"I should hope not," the BreezeClan leader rumbled, leaving the three LeafClan cats alone.

Blackflame gave a long stretch, yawning. "Well, we should get some rest then. We'll need the energy for tomorrow."

"R-Right," Shadowheart stammered, avoiding his friend's gazes. "I'll go back to my nest in Sootfur's den."

Firelight's tail tip twitched. "Not before you eat something," she argued. "You've been sleeping for three days. You need something to eat."

Before he could protest, Firelight whipped around to grab something from the fresh-kill pile in the center of camp. Blackflame gave a purr of amusement, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

"She won't ever admit it," he whispered to Shadowheart. "But she was super worried about you. Sootfur had to practically fight tooth and claw to keep her out of the medicine cat den."

Staring after his friend, Shadowheart knew he could believe it. "I don't doubt it."

Blackflame butted Shadowheart's shoulder affectionately. "Just make sure you eat and gather your strength. I don't want to lose you."

Giving a tiny purr, touched by his brother's words, Shadowheart licked his ear with affection. "I will. You don't have to worry, I promise."

A cold breeze blew across the camp, bringing the scent of snow. Shadowheart gazed up at the dove gray sky. Would LeafClan accept them back after being gone for several days? The ominous feeling in his chest felt as dark as the future ahead. With leaf-bare here, and the Clans weakened by hunger, Hawk's presence cast a feeling on unease on all the Clans. Shadowheart could only hope that he was able to put a stop to Hawk—and Cinder—if he had to.