Disclaimer: I based the Clan structure on the Warriors books by Erin Hunter.

Thanks for the overwhelming response to the previous chapter. It makes me happy how you connect with the characters and the story.

Now here is the next chapter. Enjoy and please review.

Chapter 15

"Talonwing, can you hear me?" Hawkfeather cried desperately and licked her mate's fur to rouse him. "Please, don't leave me." she pleaded.

The black tom began to stir and painfully lifted his head to look at the two MeadowClan she-cats that stood beside him.

"Hawkfeather, Falconstar, thank StarClan you found me." he whispered and collapsed again.

Hawkfeather circled around her mate and tore at the ground with her claws. She wanted to help him, but fear made her incapable of thinking clearly.

"We have to get him back to camp. He needs a medicine cat to look after him." Falconstar mewed briskly. "Stop pacing and help me, Hawkfeather." The black she-cat jumped at the sound of her name and darted to her sister's side.

"No." Talonwing's mew was barely audible.

"Don't be mouse-brained. You need help!" Falconstar became annoyed with the ForestClan warrior. He would die if he didn't get help immediately.

"I can't go back to my Clan." The tom answered. His voice was heavy with pain.

"What are you talking about? You'll die if you stay here." Falconstar answered.

Beside Falconstar, Hawkfeather started wailing again. Her sister couldn't think straight. Falconstar had to act quickly if they wanted to safe Talonwing and find out what had happened to him.

"Hawkfeather, clean his wounds. I'll be back in a heartbeat." The black-and-ginger she-cat left and searched for any traces of prey. Talonwing needed fresh-kill to regain his strength. He was a young cat; perhaps he would recover even without a medicine cat treating his wounds. The worst of leaf-bare was over, but prey was still scarce. Falconstar had to look much harder until she had found a mouse and a sparrow to take back to the injured tom.

Hawkfeather was leaning over Talonwing and she was licking his wounds. The black tom had a large wound on his shoulder and his flank was badly scratched, too. Falconstar dropped her catch at the tom's paws and told him to eat it.

"I don't think any of his wounds is infected, but we have to keep them clean. Cloudpaw told me that horsetail is good for treating injuries. Falconstar, could you go and look for some horsetail?" Hawkfeather mewed.

"Is our daughter a good medicine cat apprentice?" Talonwing asked. His ears had twitched when his kit was mentioned.

"Yes, Cloudpaw is a great medicine cat apprentice." Hawkfeather replied and Talonwing purred.

"I'll look for the horsetail, Hawkfeather. Make sure that Talonwing eats the fresh-kill." Falconstar mewed and vanished into the darkness of the forest once more.

xxx

Silverpelt shone above their heads and the moon stood high in the sky. Talonwing lay in a make-shift nest. His wounds were now covered with a poultice of horsetail pulp. When Falconstar returned with the herb, he had finished most of the fresh-kill. Falconstar and Hawkfeather crouched close to the ForestClan tom and listened to his words. He had regained enough strength to tell them how he had ended up beside the bramble thicket.

"Three days ago, we were attacked by HedgeClan. Leafstar thinks he can steal our territory. He is so mouse-brained. I led the patrol that drove them away. When we returned to our camp, I noticed that two of my warriors were gone. I was confused. No cat was severely injured in the battle. What had happened to them?" The black tom's green eyes glowed for a moment as anger burned up inside him. He was taken three days back in time.

xxx

A young black tom with one white paw led a patrol of four cats through a narrow gap between two thick hazel bushes. On the other side, well hidden from view and down a gentle slope, lay ForestClan's camp. A huge bramble thicket ran along one side of the camp and kept out the cold wind. Smalltail and Larchwing came out of the warriors' den which was made at the side of the brambles. The two she-cat warriors watched Flamepaw and her sister Mudpaw practicing their battle moves outside the apprentices' den. They were the only apprentices in the Clan at the moments. The two young cats looked up when the patrol returned to camp. At the far end, Willowstem the medicine cat, emerged from his den that lay past an abandoned badger's den. The brown tabby tom must have scented the wounded cats in Talonwing's patrol.

"Send the injured cats to my den, Talonwing." The medicine cat told the deputy.

The young warrior flicked his tail to Dustflower and Boulderheart and indicated the wounded cats to go with Willowstem. A brown-and-black she-cat emerged from behind a shield of lichens that hang in front of a small cave.

"Did you drive out Leafstar?" she asked the deputy. The black tom went over to the she-cat and dipped his head in respect.

"Yes, Hawkstar. We have driven HedgeClan out of our territory. Dustflower and Boulderheart were injured in the attack. Willowstem sees to them right now."

"Well done, Talonwing." Hawkstar praised her deputy.

"There is a problem, Hawkstar. Just as we entered the camp again, I noticed that Embershine and Oakstorm were gone." Talonwing's mew was filled with concern and confusion.

"What do you mean, they are gone? Were they injured as well?" the Clan leader asked confused.

"No, they weren't injured. It seems as though they have disappeared. Maybe HedgeClan set an ambush and caught them. But I didn't notice anything strange. I will lead a patrol to search for them."

"Not tonight. It will have to wait until dawn." Hawkstar looked up into the sky and saw only a few StarClan warriors. Clouds kept most of Silverpelt hidden from view. It would be a dark night.

"We might not be able to track their scents in the morning." Talonwing objected to his leader's orders.

"It is too dangerous to look for them now. Take a patrol out first thing in the morning."

xxx

Dawn was breaking. A pale red light crept along the horizon and turned the gloomy forest into a shadowy haze. Talonwing had taken three of his warriors to search for Embershine and Oakstorm. Pineflower, who was an excellent tracker, led the way.

"This is strange, Talonwing." The black-and-white she-cat mewed after stopping for several moments. "They seemed to have stayed here for the night. Their scents are much stronger near that hazel thicket, but I can't make out which way they went."

The deputy went to Pineflower and tasted the air. The she-cat was right. Embershine's and Oakstorm's scents were stronger right where he stood, but there was no scent line that left from the hazel thicket. It was as though the missing warriors had disappeared into thin air.

"Let's swarm out form here, but be very careful. Maybe there is a trap somewhere." Talonwing ordered.

Mousetail and Tinyclaw, two of the Clan's senior warriors, nodded at their deputy's words and spread out. Pineflower followed Talonwing around the hazel thicket. Suddenly they heard a shriek and furious hisses from further away and ran back to their Clanmates. Talonwing's blood ran cold in his heart at the sight before him. Embershine and Oakstorm loomed over Mousetail and Tinyclaw. Leafstar stepped out from behind on old oak tree.

"What are you doing here, Leafstar? And what happened to Mousetail and Tinyclaw?" Talonwing demanded.

"Oh, your precious warriors were weak and useless. I helped you get rid of them." The HedgeClan leader sneered.

"You killed them?" Pineflower asked her eyes wide with disbelieve.

"Embershine and Oakstorm took care of them. They want to make their Clan stronger again. There is no room for weak warriors." Leafstar told the shocked ForestClan cats.

"What did you do with Embershine and Oakstorm? They would never harm their Clanmates." Talonwing mewed.

Leafstar let out an eerie mrrow of laughter that ran a chill down Talonwing's spine. "You are so naive, little deputy. All this was their idea."

"You're lying." Pineflower's words echoed through the forest. The she-cat took a step toward Leafstar when Embershine attacked her and quickly killed her with bite to her throat.

"Your patrol is dead, Talonwing. What are you going to do now? Who do think our Clanmates will believe?" Oakstorm mewed. Embershine wiped off the last of Pineflower's blood from his paws and faced the black tom.

"Hawkstar is a useless Clan leader. We have to get rid of her and you. Oakstorm and I will make ForestClan powerful again." The pale ginger tom mewed.

Continues soon...