Chapter 13
"The Return."
5/17/18 - 5/18/18 - 5/19/18 - 6/16/18 - 8/1/18 - 9/1/18 - 9/8/18 - 9/10/18 - 11/27/18 - 3/4/19 - 3/5/19 - 3/7/19 - 3/10/19 - 3/29/19 - 3/30/19 - 11/6/19 - 12/5/19 - 12/11/19 - 2/20/20
~ Raventalon ~
In the late afternoon, Raventalon and Puddlepaw lay down and watch a falcon circle overhead. Raventalon doubts that the falcon will overlook a chance to grab a cat as small as Puddlepaw, but it's exactly why he made her hide in an abandoned fox burrow to watch him.
If anything, Raventalon's black fur coat is enough to stand out, and the falcon swoops down, taking the bait. The black tom's hind legs tense up, and when the falcon's talons reach out to grab him, he lunges and grabs his claws on the bird of prey's neck.
The falcon flaps its wings out of terror, but Raventalon fastens his claws and bites down on the falcon's throat.
Puddlepaw's concern for her mentor is weighing on her, seeing the falcon refuse to surrender. She charges out of the burrow and jumps on to the falcon's back, digging her claws on its spine. The falcon screeches, falling down and thrashing around. Raventalon places his paw on the falcon's neck, and Puddlepaw keeps her weight on its back.
After what feels like moons, the falcon lays motionless under the two WindClan cats. Raventalon backs off, feeling proud of himself.
And the other Clans think WindClan is weak.
Puddlepaw climbs off of the bird of prey, her cobalt blue eyes wide.
"Is it playing dead?"
"Nope." Raventalon jabs his paw on the falcon's head. "It's gone, for real."
"Now, Puddlepaw." Raventalon's relief turns to stern, as he looks at his apprentice. "I had enough trouble bringing it down, it's just as dangerous for an apprentice to get in the mix of it."
"But I didn't attack it head on." Puddlepaw said quickly. "I just wanted to help."
"And you did." Raventalon agrees. "This bird didn't know what hit it."
~ Mothspots ~
The dappled golden brown she-cat shivers in the cold breeze. Mothspots wraps her fluffy tail around herself, but it provides small comfort for her against the drenching downpour. A strong gust of wind nearly knocks her off her paws.
Enough with the wind already!
Mothspots hisses over the fading winds and focuses on the moorland before her, she catches a stale scent of ThunderClan. Suspicious, Mothspots leaves her post to investigate. The dappled she-cat sees an unconscious cat laying on the grass.
Mothspots cautiously approaches the unmoving figure and pokes her paw on it, rubbing off the mud off the fur. Mothspots notices the ginger coloring on the cat, as well as deep claw marks on the flank.
Mothspots can smell the faint scent of ThunderClan on this one. She removes some of the mud from the cat's pelt, but the cat pushes it away.
"Don't… touch me."
Mothspots eyes widen as the cat tries to stand up. She turns around and yowls out for reinforcements as the cat falls on their side. Mothspots quickly make them stand up, to keep the wound from getting infected.
"Mothspots? Mothspots!"
Palepad, Flyfall, Orangewhisker race down the knoll where Mothspots balances the cat against her shoulder.
"Who is this?" Orangewhisker eyes the stranger on Mothspots side.
"A ThunderClan cat." Mothspots replies. "I think… the scent is faint."
"Thunder… Clan?" The muddy cat rasps. "Please… take me home."
Hearing the voice, Mothspots recognizes the stranger as a she-cat. Flyfall looks to Palepad. "What should we do?"
"... We tell Brackenstar. He will know what to do."
Mothspots nudges the she-cat. "Follow me, and watch your step."
The rain washes the mud away, revealing a brownish-red fur coat as they take her to the camp. Mothspots blinks the raindrops from her eyes.
I think I've seen her before…
"What is your name?"
"I'm… I'm Gingershine."
The rain passes by before the evening, all of WindClan is in an uproar of questions.
"Is it really her? Gingershine?" Hootnose whispers to Tansyshine.
"I believe so." Tansyshine replies.
"Mothspots said she had ThunderClan scent on her." Springfern says to Hawkflight. "Maybe it's truly Gingershine - I mean, how many cats with that kind of fur color do we know?"
Inside the medicine cat den, Pheasantpaw fastens the cobwebs on the chervil poultice. Softdawn holds three poppyseeds under her patient's muzzle.
"Eat these, Gingershine. You look like you've fought an entire Clan."
Gingershine looks up at the WindClan medicine cat, whispering.
"You know who I am?"
"Littlestar gave out a report about you at the last Gathering." Softdawn murmurs. "Your Clanmates are probably scared out of their wits."
"I didn't leave willingly!" Gingershine snaps.
"What happened then?" Softdawn asks.
Gingershine clenches her front toes, whisking her tail.
"I… don't know how to explain it. I prefer to speak of this to Littlestar…"
"Have you seen Hollyclaw?" Pheasantpaw puts in.
Softdawn almost reprimands her apprentice when Gingershine gasps.
"I did…"
The ThunderClan she-cat's green eyes gleam.
"Hollyclaw… and a ShadowClan cat, they were fighting with these cats when I was dragged…"
"Is she alive?" Softdawn presses.
"Alive, yes, but as of now, I'm not so sure."
~ Flashpad/Hawkfrost ~
From the first sign of sunrise, the very light grey tom can smell of heather as Hawkflight and Softdawn appear, a familiar orange she-cat trails beside them.
Flashpad blinks in surprise. "Gingershine?" He whispers in confusion.
Said she-cat looks up at Flashpad with wary green eyes. Flashpad narrows his eyes to her reaction, but forces himself to purr to the two WindClan cats.
"Thank you for finding her. I'll be sure to tell Littlestar…"
Hawkflight flicks his ear.
"That's nice and all, but Brackenstar made it specific that we were to escort Gingershine to her camp."
Flashpad itches to call his bluff, but he dips his head, reluctantly.
The moment they step into the camp, complete silence followed by gasps of shock greet them. Gingershine straightens her posture and gazes at her Clanmates unflinchingly.
"Oh my StarClan!"
Timberclaw sprints up to his mate with Cherrystem at his heels. The blue grey and brown tom rests his chin on her neck, purring, while Cherrystem nuzzles her mother.
Littlestar sighs in relief and dips his head to Hawkflight.
"Thank you for finding her."
"There's no need." Hawkflight says tightly. The WindClan deputy nods to Softdawn and both moorland cats leave the camp just as Aspenstone, Poppyflower and Hollyflame leave the warriors den.
Aspenstone pauses when Gingershine pulls away from Timberclaw, then his eyes glow bright. "Gingershine!"
The golden brown tom dashes towards Gingershine and presses his head against her neck. Gingershine pats her front paw on Aspenstone's shoulder as he weeps.
"It's okay, I'm not going anywhere."
Hollyflame and Poppyflower run to their foster mother, purring and welcoming her home.
Soon, the rest of ThunderClan gather around Gingershine right before Littlestar and Finchblaze could reach her.
"Welcome back!" Tumblefoot said.
"Why'd you leave ThunderClan?" Rainpaw asks bluntly. Aspenstone overhears the apprentice and flattens his ears, glaring at her.
"She didn't leave! She was stolen!" Aspenstone snaps, but Rainpaw ignores him.
"I'm so glad you're safe." Spottedberry whispers to her sister. "I couldn't bare it if I lost you, too."
Finchblaze makes his way through with Littlestar following behind him. The ThunderClan deputy dips his head politely.
"I'm sorry to break up this reunion." Finchblaze says to Gingershine. "But, we need to talk to you in the leader's den."
"She just came back!" Timberclaw protests. "Give her time to breathe!"
"It's fine, Finchblaze." Littlestar ushers his brother. "Gingershine can speak to us when she's well rested and recovered, but until then!" He turns to the crowd.
"Don't pester her with questions and let her catch up with her kin!"
The crowd slowly separates from Gingershine as the she-cat smiles to Timberclaw and Cherrystem, but she holds her gaze on Flashpad, who remains standing in the same spot.
"Don't be a stranger." She teases lightly.
Flashpad approaches the orange she-cat with apprehension in his belly. Sure enough, once he touches noses with her, suspicion is in her pale green eyes.
Hawkfrost's reincarnation tries not to react, but his blood freezes at the moment he realizes: Gingershine might know who he is.
~ Slatepaw ~
The pesky rain clouds return when Slatepaw is out on his assessment. He gingerly sniffs out any prey for him to catch.
Just one rabbit. It's all I ask for. Slatepaw prays to the sky.
With each step, mud squishes between his toes, Slatepaw shakes his paw with disgust. A faint yowl catches his attention, Slatepaw turns his attention to two shapes in the distance.
He squints as he spots a dark grey she-cat with a ginger tom leaning on her shoulder. Slatepaw gapes in shock as the two cats grow closer in view.
~ Brackenstar ~
"She's back!"
Slatepaw runs down the slope, causing cats to look at him incredulously even when he looks happy and spins around the camp.
"She's back!" He yowls. "Hollyclaw came back!"
Brackenstar looks up from the fresh-kill pile when two figures make their way down the slope with Harepounce guiding them. The WindClan leader stares in shock, seeing Hollyclaw shakily pads down to camp with - Weedclaw, Brackenstar realizes.
The ShadowClan warrior is glaring around the gathering WindClan cats, gazing at them in awe and surprise. Softdawn and Pheasantpaw were quick to look at Hollyclaw and Weedclaw as Brackenstar pads to them.
The white and brown tom locks eyes with Hollyclaw, who sighs in relief and dips her head. "I'm back."
"Thank StarClan for that." Brackenstar says. He looks at the ShadowClan tom beside her. "Weedclaw."
Weedclaw grunts as Pheasantpaw stops looking over the slash on his shoulder.
"You need to pass the message to ShadowClan about his return." Hollyclaw tells her leader. "As well as messengers to ThunderClan and RiverClan. We need an emergency Gathering."
~ Milkpelt ~
Milkpelt pads from ThunderClan territory after an unsuccessful visit to StarClan.
I know they told me not to return, but…
Her worries about Tigerclaw are beginning to bother her. Owlflight didn't receive any visions since the last meeting, and the rogues have been quiet.
I can't tell if it's a good thing, or a calm before the storm.
The noise of splashing catches her attention from such troubling thoughts. A ginger and white tom and Pheasantpaw approach her, almost breathless.
"Milkpelt!" Pheasantpaw says, looking at the tom next to her. "This is their medicine cat, Wildpaw."
"May I help you?" Milkpelt asks politely.
"We need to speak to Heatherstar." Wildpaw demands without missing a beat.
"Weedclaw is with us."
~ StarClan ~
A group of cats were huddling around the pool, their fur bristling with anxiety. The ones noticeably present were Firestar, Bluestar, Ivystar and Blackstar.
The young members were Graystream, Goldflame, Darkstar, and the Three, Jayfeather, Lionblaze and Dovewing.
"We're making a mistake." One speaks up. With rippling, bright ginger fur, Firestar looks at the crowd.
"We shouldn't be shutting the medicine cats out. Our Clans are unprepared for the war ahead."
"That's what I've been trying to say!" Darkstar growls, lashing his tail.
"Has it ever occurred to any of us that withholding important information from our medicine cats and any other Clan cat is going to send them in a panic?"
"Has it ever occurred to you that telling them of the danger will make them panic even more?" A very dark brown tom leers at Darkstar.
"Darkstar, Oakstar, be silent!" A bluish grey she-cat hisses. Bluestar glares at both toms. "This is the type of infighting that the Dark Forest is hoping for."
Oakstar maintains his stance while Blackstar says.
"We wouldn't be fighting at all if somebody didn't come up with the idea to shut the medicine cats out."
Blackstar glares pointedly at Goldheart and Ashenclaw. Goldheart curls his lip.
"Don't claw the messenger! We only did it on your orders."
"I agree with Darkstar and Firestar on this one." Rainstorm says. Oakstar gives an audible snort, to which Rainstorm gazes at ThunderClan's ancient leader.
"Despite whatever decision we make, the Clan will still panic, but they are looking to us to guide them. We've done it before, so why is this different?"
"The Three are dead!" Oakstar hisses, pointing his tail towards prophesied three.
"The only reason we've won is because we had them. Plus, Mapleshade has discovered a way to give them a chance to be reborn - Lionstar and Tigerstar are the prime examples."
"Hawkfrost, too." A golden dappled she-cat, Mothwing, adds, her eyes were brimming with anger.
"Wait, Hawkfrost is still there?" Darkstar blinks his heterochromia eyes. "I forgot about him."
"I'll never forget him." A golden brown tom declares, with a ginger and white she-cat sitting next to him, equally furious. A small, pale grey tom-kit is sitting next to the she-cat.
"He stole my grandson's body, robbed him of his chance to live his life! I want that crow-food eating scum wiped out from existence!"
"We need to find a better solution." Firestar says. "There's an oncoming threat prepared to invade the lake, and the Clans are still rattled by the death of one."
Blackstar grunts.
"Your cats may be scared, but Heatherstar will figure it out."
"Aside from the fact that she willfully refused to admit that Tigerstar was raised in her own Clan." Darkstar sniffs. Blackstar snarls at the black tom, but Darkstar ignores it.
"But I trust Littlestar to come up with a plan." He adds.
"As do I with Olivestar." Ivystar nods.
"But we still have the issue with the Stalker." A golden she-cat with white paws and yellow eyes says timidly.
Oakstar narrows his eyes on the she-cat. "Who said you could be here, Twoleg?"
Stealthfire knows that this type of hostility is waiting for her, but she still freezes with fear when Oakstar lumbers over her like a tall, intimidating sycamore tree.
Darkstar jumps on his paws with his hackles up. "Watch how you speak to our mother, you stick in the mud!"
Stealthfire almost buckles under Oakstar's glare, lowering her head when Firestar speaks up. "Easy, I invited her. StarClan accepted her into its ranks, so she has just as much of a right being here as we do."
Blackstar rolls his eyes. "Of course you did."
Oakstar glares at Firestar. "I've tolerated your bad habit of taking in outsiders, but I draw the line with this freak!"
The rest of the StarClan cats hold their breath, while Bluestar narrows her eyes at Oakstar as she watches on in silence.
She knows that the dark brown tom is from the harsher generation that values the warrior code above all else, but it gives him no excuse for him to treat Stealthfire this way.
Especially when she saved ThunderClan from demise.
A white tom stalks up to Oakstar before any cat could blink. Stoatfrost narrows his eyes unblinkingly, growling. "Call her that name again."
Oakstar stares at Stoatfrost as Stealthfire slowly stands up. When he's sure that the old leader is backing down, Stoatfrost gives Stealthfire a smile and lick on her ear.
"I'll be right beside you, hon."
Stealthfire nods before looking at the cats. "We're forgetting that we have another enemy on the loose. She's still a threat to them as much as Tigerstar is."
Bramblestar blinks in shock.
"Wait, that shadow? I don't think you could call it a 'she', Stealthfire."
The Stealthiest of Cats shakes her head.
"That's just the thing. You need to hear this."
Stealthfire looks behind her as a dark brown tabby tom pads forward. His blue eyes sweep the crowd, gleaming with misery, but also with determination.
"Hawkfeather." Bluestar announces.
Hawkfeather dips his head politely. "The Stalker, as Stealthfire calls it, was a StarClan cat. To put it bluntly, it's my mate, Mistpool."
"Impossible." Lionblaze exclaims. "How could it be Mistpool?"
Hawkfeather's claws dig in the soil. "Because I was there when she was stolen, I saw returning from my hunt when it happened. A ragged tortoiseshell dragged Mistpool behind the brambles of the Dark Forest."
"Mapleshade." Oakstar snarls, hatred lacing his voice.
From behind Ivystar, a creamy brown tom stiffens at the mention of Mapleshade.
"Just think, Mistpool disappeared from StarClan and then the monster shows up killing cats in the living." Hawkfeather pushes.
"I want to save her, but I'm afraid that the Clans might kill her spirit without even knowing."
"They won't." Jayfeather declares. "I'll gather the medicine cats of StarClan to speak to the current ones. Then I'll speak with one of the Paws of Nature."
"You don't honestly believe that they can fix the problem, do you?" Oakstar questions. "Hollyflame is too unstable for something important."
"I believe in her." Goldflame says, her amber eyes glowing.
"Rosefoot and Windstorm will help her control her powers, we just need to find a solution to save Mistpool before the war."
Stealthfire perks up. "Oh! How about we lure Mistpool to Moonpool?"
"... Why?" Oakstar sneers. Stealthfire looks at the dark brown tom evenly.
"It's a bit of a hunch, but Mistpool might snap out of it if she's pushed into it."
"Push her into Moonpool?" Jayfeather echoes incredulously.
"Why specifically that?" Dovewing asks.
Stealthfire ducks her head in embarrassment. "It's just something I remember in my old life… I just thought Moonpool has divine properties…"
Jayfeather shrugs his shoulders. "Fine. I'll be sure to tell them that as well."
"You're actually buying into this?" Blackstar snorts. Jayfeather gives ShadowClan's old leader a baleful glare in his light blue, glassy eyes.
"Look, this generation had a cat who used to be a Twoleg, four cats who can start fires and winds with the flick of their tail. I'll believe anything at this point."
Stealthfire seems happy that her idea is taken into account.
"In the meantime." Firestar begins. "With all this being discussed, we should be in agreement that we will open our borders to the medicine cats once Jayfeather completes his task."
"And afterwards?" Ivystar asks.
"We tell the current leaders to prepare themselves." Firestar says. "When they need us to join the fight, we'll be ready to help them."