A/N: Sorry for the late updates everyone! I was in the hospital for about a week due to mental health reasons, and I'm still trying to get myself well again. So updates may be very sporadic for a while. Sorry!

Chapter Thirteen

The morning brought a cold breeze, and Shadowheart shivered as they left the BreezeClan camp. Gorsetail, the BreezeClan deputy, was in the lead—Shrewfang and Snowflower, two BreezeClan warriors, flanked them on each side. Blackflame yawned as he brushed beside Shadowheart, his eyes drooped with exhaustion. Firelight, however, was wide awake, her every moment cautious and alert.

As they reached the forest line, Gorsetail turned to look at them. "This is as far as we'll go," he told them gruffly.

"Yes, thank you," Shadowheart dipped his head. "I'm sorry for imposing on your Clan like this as well."

"Just don't fall off any more cliffs," the black-and-white tom snorted, leading the two BreezeClan warriors away.

Firelight huffed. "He says that like you had every intention to just go flying off the cliff!"

Blackflame padded ahead. "Who cares? Let's hunt! I'm starved."

"Shouldn't we travel a bit more first? It's a long walk to camp," Shadowheart suggested.

"I agree," Firelight mewed, coming to stand beside him. "We need to get closer to our own territory before we stop. Although," she gave Shadowheart a pointed look. "We will rest if need be."

Shadowheart bit back a growl of protest. "I'll be fine! My head doesn't hurt at all. Sootfur gave me more herbs just before we left."

Blackflame's eyes sparkled mischievously. "I would just listen to her if I were you. After all, she-cat's know best don't they?"

Glaring at his brother, Shadowheart just stared ahead. The three cats walked in silence as they covered more ground in the forest. Relishing in the familiar smells of forest, Shadowheart's heart quickened at the prospect of being home. Even though it had only been a few days, it felt as if they had been away for moons. Firelight sniffed the air, raising her tail.

"Let's stop to rest here," she mewed. "I can smell a rabbit scent trail close by. Plus you need to rest." She added with a pointed look at Shadowheart.

Shadowheart felt a small wave of frustration. "I can hunt too, you know! I told you, I'm fine."

Firelight ignored his protests, instead turning her gaze on Blackflame. "You stay here with Shadowheart. Too many cats might alert the rabbit."

Blackflame sat on his haunches with a yawn. "Alright."

Growling with annoyance, Shadowheart sat beside his brother while Firelight bounded off into the bracken. Blackflame glanced at him out the sides of his eyes, amusement glittering in their silver depths.

"You know, she's only insisting you rest because she's afraid you'll be hurt again," he told Shadowheart. "When you fell off the cliff, she was horrified. I didn't think a cat like her was afraid of anything. But then I saw for myself that she fears losing you more than you realize."

Shadowheart twitched an ear in surprise. It was true that Firelight was braver than most cats. A part of him couldn't ever imagine his friend full of worry or fear; but then he remembered the moment she thought she was going to be blind, and the fear that came off her in waves. Was he being too hard on her by insisting he not rest?

Blackflame went on, stretching before laying on his belly. "She loves you, you know. Maybe you don't realize it because of everything going on. But to any other cat, it's very obvious. So, try not to cause her so much trouble. She doesn't show it, but she worries about you more than any cat."

Pelt hot with embarrassment, Shadowheart shifted uncomfortably. "I-I don't know about love," he started.

"Oh Shadowheart," Blackflame gave a snort of amusement. "Any cat can see it. She would follow you to the end of the world if she had to!"

Was that true? Shadowheart wondered. The two of them had been through so much together, and Firelight had always been a supportive friend; willing to help him any way she could. Shadowheart had always been glad to have her by his side. However it never really crossed his mind that she may be in love with him. And what about himself? Did he feel the same way towards her?

He couldn't deny that he was always glad to have her around. Or that she was definitely a pretty she-cat. The more he thought about it, the more his head hurt; on top of feeling very self-conscious with Blackflame watching him. Trying to push the thoughts away for the time being, Shadowheart just laid his head down in his paws.

Blackflame seemed content with this, and simply began to groom himself while they waited for Firelight to return from hunting. Shadowheart had dozed off for sometime, being awoken by the scent of fresh blood nearby. Opening his eyes groggily, he saw the fluffy body of the rabbit Firelight had tracked down. Firelight was sitting beside it, her eyes sparkling with triumph.

"Nice catch!" Blackflame purred. "It's a pretty plump one too."

Firelight drew a paw over her ear. "It was pretty easy to catch too. Didn't even see me coming."

Stomach rumbling with hunger, Shadowheart slowly sat up. "Looks like it'll be just enough for the three of us too."

Firelight pushed it towards him with her paw. "You eat first," she told him. "You'll need your strength before we head back home."

Meeting her gaze, Shadowheart could see that behind her stubborn expression was worry. Blackflame had been right when he said that his friend worried for him a lot; especially after his fall from the cliff. Pelt rippling with self-consciousness, Shadowheart quickly averted his gaze and took a bite from the rabbit. After a few bites, he pushed the rabbit away for them to eat. Once each of them ate their fill, they settled down under a nearby bush. As Shadowheart curled up between his brother and friend, he had never felt more content or safe. Despite everything that had happened, everything that had been going on, Shadowheart knew he could always count on these two cats to have his back. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Cold air awoke Shadowheart and he was nearly blinded by white light as he opened his eyes. Blackflame and Firelight were still sound asleep, their breath billowing like smoke. Staring curiously outside the bush, Shadowheart blinked away the sensitivity in his eyes as he focused on the strange white coat that covered the forest floor. Carefully climbing over his Clanmates, Shadowheart stepped out into the forest, jumping back in surprise as a cold wetness covered his paws. Gazing up at the sky, which was a gloomy gray, Shadowheart sniffed the air curiously.

The air smelled kind of like rain, but had a coldness to it that Shadowheart did not recognize. Gazing down at the white powder, he realized that this strange substance must be snow. He had heard about it from other cats; particularly the elders. However he had never seen it before; at least not that he remembered.

"Whoa!"

Shadowheart jumped and turned to look behind him. Blackflame had woken up and was staring at the snow with wide, excited eyes. Firelight was stirring beside him, opening her eyes slowly. The black tabby jumped to his paws and dashed out into the snow, squeaking like a kit at the cold. Huffing with both amusement and annoyance, Shadowheart glanced back at Firelight.

"What is that?" She asked, her eyes squinted as they adjusted to the brightness.

Shadowheart tipped his head to one side. "I think it's snow," he told her. "I've heard the elders complain about it before. Looks like we didn't make it back home before it came."

"Come check this out you two!" Blackflame called from outside. His pelt was fluffed out with speckles of white dancing along his fur. Ice covered his whiskers, making him seem like a giant snow cat than a LeafClan warrior.

"Honestly, are you a kit or a warrior?" snorted Firelight, her eyes shining good-humorlessly.

Blackflame leaped around the snow, shaking it off as it clumped into his fur. "It's cold, but so much fun!"

Firelight pushed past Shadowheart as she stepped out into the forest. "We don't have time to play around. We need to get back to camp before night fall."

Tail drooping a little, Blackflame shook his fur out again. "Alright, fine. But we should totally make some time to play around when we get back."

Rolling his eyes, Shadowheart came out to join his two Clanmates as they headed back home. Worry flickered along his pelt as they walked. What would they tell Foxstar? Surely their Clan has been worried about their sudden disappearance? And what would happen when Foxstar learned that BreezeClan had gotten involved? Shuddering at the thought of his angry leader, Shadowheart tried to focus instead on the freshly fallen snow as they walked. His pelt brushing beside Firelight and Blackflame, Shadowheart knew that whatever they faced next, he'd be ready for it.