Chapter Eighteen

"We can't let them get any closer to the Clans!" Nightpaw flinched when he heard the voices dying in the distance. "This battle has gone on long enough, and we have already lost so much."

"Then we must tell them the truth."

Nightpaw's ears pricked forward. He recognized that voice. It was Streakfur, his father. His chest flared with hope until he recognized the faint outlines of his Clan. They were so badly injured that he couldn't stand it. One cat had a deep burn mark on their flank, while another was now missing an eye. And it looked like another had lost their leg to something, or someone.

What does this all mean? he wondered fearfully. I wish my visions were more helpful then annoying.

"Nightpaw." His eyes widened when he heard an all too familiar voice. He looked up in surprise to see Bumblewind staring at him. The ShadowClan medicine cat didn't look nearly as angry as he was expecting. "We need you back in the Clans, along with the other four."

"Four?" Nightpaw repeated. "But there are eight of us!" Technically seven if he didn't count Hailpaw. But for some reason part of him wanted to include her. She was an outcast now, but that didn't mean he had to treat her like one.

"Only four of you are meant to survive," Bumblewind meowed. "StarClan chose eight to see how you would fit in with the Clans. And we can now see that only four of you are strong enough to survive."

"What is that even supposed to mean?" Anger and confusion swept through Nightpaw. He wished that Bumblewind would stop speaking in riddles. "Are we supposed to go back to the Clans?"

But in the end he didn't get any answers. Nightpaw's claws kneaded the ground with frustration when he was left alone. It wasn't long before the forest around him dissolved into nothingness. Once he was back in the living world, Nightpaw's head shot up in surprise and anger.

"Just once I would like to go for one normal night's sleep!" he nearly yowled until Fadepaw appeared right in front of him. Nightpaw jumped at the sight of his sister and stopped himself.

"What's the matter with you?" she asked while fighting back a yawn.

"I just had another vision," he admitted, looking down at his paws guiltily. He hadn't realized until now that he must have woken everyone up with his yowling. And sure enough everyone was glaring at him. Only Fadepaw stared at him in concern.

"What exactly was this vision about?" Fadepaw asked, looking more worried than ever.

"I-I'm not exactly sure," he replied. "For a while I thought it was about the Clans – they're in some kind of danger. And Bumblewind came to me asking for help, but he said that only four of us should go back."

Fadepaw blinked as he said this, and her eyes widened in what he thought was horror. But then she started purring in amusement. Nightpaw narrowed his eyes in confusion when she finally stopped to catch her breath.

"Are you sure you haven't eaten too many mice?" she asked. "The Clans are the reason we chose to leave…. I mean, just look at what they did to Hailpaw and poor Hazelpaw."

Almost at once Nightpaw's claws dug into the ground at the mention of Hazelpaw. Twice already while she was with them she had tried giving up her life carelessly. Didn't she have any idea how much that would effect them? Nightpaw couldn't imagine what would drive her to making such heartless decisions. But whoever had done this to her should pay.

"I suppose you're right," he admitted after realizing she had some sense in her theory. "But what if my vision was a warning? What if we're needed by the Clans?"

Again his sister just stared at him coldly. "I imagine if this is StarClan's way of sending us back, then they better come up with a better excuse," she spat. "I'm in no hurry to have Wolfheart as my mentor again, if you can't remember what he did to us."

He flinched at the mention of Wolfheart. The ShadowClan deputy was the first cat to vote they be cast out, or hunted down. Nightpaw had no doubt that Wolfheart would try and kill them if they tried returning to the Clans.

"Okay, maybe you have a point," he grumbled after realizing what she was saying. "But what if this is what StarClan wants us to do? Maybe that's why I keep getting these visions."

"Or they're just bad dreams you keep getting," Fadepaw argued.

Nightpaw was ready to say something when he realized that he was wasting his time. Fadepaw had a good point in not wanting to return to the Clans. What had the Clans ever done for them? After all, they were the reasons the seven of them were stuck here in the mountains.

"What are you two arguing about?" Nightpaw flinched when he heard Blazepaw's voice. The ginger tom must have been woken up by their arguing. Nightpaw turned around to see him staring at them in concern.

"This mousebrain wants to return to the Clans," Fadepaw scoffed with a roll of her eyes.

Blazepaw narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "That might not be a bad idea," he murmured. Fadepaw stared at him in disbelief.

"What? Have you got bees in your brain too?" she asked.

"No, I just think that returning to the Clans might be the best option," Blazepaw snapped. "What's the point of staying here if we have the power to help the Clans?"

Fadepaw was ready to say something when she thought better of it. Instead she narrowed her eyes and disappeared right before their eyes. Nightpaw resisted the urge to strike at his sister, especially since he knew he wouldn't be able to see her. But somehow he knew that she was still there with them.

...

"I'm sorry, she doesn't know what she's talking about," Nightpaw meowed after watching her fade away.

Fadepaw simply rolled her eyes and stalked away, leaving the two behind. She wasn't in any hurry to return to the Clans. If anything she didn't want to go back because of Wolfheart. She knew that facing him would mean facing what he had done to her and the others like her.

I don't want them getting hurt because of him, she told herself.

She hadn't realized until now that her paws were carrying her to the cave. The very cave that led to the Tribe of Rushing Water. Fadepaw peered up and saw the waterfall that crashed down in front of the entrance.

Sunlight gleamed against the waterfall, reflecting a bright shine that made her blink against it. She thought for a moment that she had seen a cat or if it was just her imagination watching her in the shadows. Fadepaw dropped down to a crouch and avoided being seen by anyone.

The last thing she wanted was to start a war between the seven of them and the Tribe. Once she realized how far away she was, she padded away and decided to return to the group. She wasn't even sure what to call them at this point.

We're just born with abilities that no one else can do, she realized. Maybe we aren't too different, but cats are still afraid of us. I know we won't ever fit in with the Clans.

"Fadepaw!" She froze at the sound of her brother's voice. Fadepaw narrowed her eyes as she appeared in front of Nightpaw. "Everyone was worried about you, where were you?"

"I just wanted to explore," she replied, keeping her head held high. "And since when have you started becoming my protector? I'm more than capable of taking care of myself."

Nightpaw simply narrowed his eyes and stalked away, leaving her standing there. Fadepaw let out a huff of frustration and followed her brother. She really didn't need anyone defending her. She could just as easily take care of herself if need be.

"Look at what Blazepaw can do!" Otterpaw's mew made Fadepaw look up in surprise.

Fadepaw watched with a lash of her tail as Blazepaw created a ball of fire between his paws. He was careful not to set the grass underneath them on fire. She was well aware that the fire could just as easily destroy everything they had come to know during their time here.

"That's amazing," Hazelpaw breathed.

"Oh please, so he can make fire from his paws," Breezepaw retorted with a roll of his eyes. "I don't know what the big deal is."

"You're just jealous because you don't even know what you can do," Otterpaw pointed out with a sly look.

Amusement washed over Fadepaw as she watched the two argue. If returning to the Clans didn't work, they could always create one of their own. Though Fadepaw had a feeling that they would never get along well enough for that to happen.

"What? Why would you want to return to the Clans?" Poppypaw's yowl nearly made Fadepaw leap out of her fur.

She turned to see that Nightpaw was talking to the small tabby apprentice. Her eyes narrowed once again. Why was her brother trying to stir up trouble between all of them? For once they were finally getting along, like a family.

"It might not be a bad idea; what are we doing by staying here?" Blazepaw suddenly spoke up.

"Surviving," Breezepaw hissed. "I want nothing to do with the Clans, not after the way everyone treated Hazelpaw." He looked over at his Clanmate protectively. Hazelpaw didn't seem to notice though. She was staring off into the distance, her eyes thoughtful.

"And what about Hailpaw?" asked Otterpaw. "We have no idea what she's doing, or what's become of her."

Fadepaw didn't miss the look of fear flashing in Nightpaw's eyes. What sort of vision had her brother seen? Clearly he was hiding something, but of course he wouldn't share it with them. She wished there was some way of knowing whether or not staying was the right decision.

"As far as I'm concerned, that flea-brain isn't our problem," Breezepaw growled.

Faster than anyone could react, Otterpaw lunged at him. Breezepaw let out a hiss of annoyance and dodged to the side, but Otterpaw was much faster. Fadepaw watched on in annoyance as Otterpaw managed to land a blow across Breezepaw's right ear. Her webbed-like paws made it difficult for her to claw at anything, but she used her teeth with ease.

Breezepaw managed to send the smaller she-cat tumbling, but Otterpaw recovered quickly and jumped to her paws. She was ready to attack once again when Blazepaw stepped in between them. The two of them stopped in their tracks, glaring at one another as Blazepaw stood his ground.

"That's enough; fighting isn't going to get us anywhere," he snapped. "Maybe it's time we did move back to the Clans; I think we've had enough trouble here in the mountains."

A chill ran down Fadepaw's back when he said that. She knew there was no chance at keeping them from changing their minds. But if she had to choose she would stay here.

I'm not going back to the Clans. Not ever again, she told herself determinedly.

AN: Sorry for not updating in forever... I had a severe case of writer's block. Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long, especially with everything that's going on at that moment in the story :)

Blue1272000 - I'm glad I'm not the only one who suffers. Though truthfully I feel like it's my own fault for not writing enough chapters ^^ I really need to update more often. And thanks, Poppypaw is definitely one of the more interesting characters, alongside Hazelpaw :) If she survives I do plan on having her powers develop, but that's a big 'if'.

Nightfrost-of-Shadowclan - You'll have to wait to find out ;)

Leafdragon117 - Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying this story so much! And I try making sure there aren't any typos or grammatical errors. This story has definitely been the toughest to write so far. And they'll be back together soon enough, you'll just have to wait and see when that happens :)

boscyboo - Yep, Poppypaw's powers are starting to develop. And not to mention the others will be developing their powers as well :P

Foreststar of WindClan - Yeah, poor Hazelpaw definitely has one messed up life. I think that's why I enjoy writing about her so much; she just makes for an intriguing character.