NIGHTBIRD

The two warriors stooped low in the brush, watching between the leaves. Sparrowflight's apprentice ranged over the tumble of stones, sniffing furiously, kicking dust and dirt down as he clambered over the rockpile.

"My son's not the subtlest of hunters, is he?" Nightbird mewed under his breath.

"If he's got oafish feet, he got that from your breeding, not my mentoring," Sparrowflight answered in low tones, not taking her eyes off the apprentice. "Fighting's what he loves, and he's a fine hunter too. The best hunter out of all the apprentices, and I'm not just saying that to flatter you. I'd never tell him that. Nettlepaw's just a bit, as you say… easily agitated?"

"Mmh, ruffled that he's not part of the raiding party, I take it?"

"It's a big stick up his dirt-maker, I tell you," Sparrowflight practically hissed. "Won't shut up about it."

Nightbird watched Nettlepaw practically stick his entire head into one of the gaps in the stone pile, and then jump back with a furious hiss.

"Yes, I got you, you ugly slithering worm!" the apprentice yowled, clawing into the hole and flicking out a long, writhing snake. Nightbird and Sparrowflight jumped out of the bushes, tail and fur bushed out, but Nettlepaw was already on top of the serpent.

It twisted helplessly beneath the apprentice's claws as Nettlepaw stooped and chomped into its neck, the lifeless body still twitching and struggling in his jaws as he lifted it from the dirt. He spat it out, spitting a few extra times for emphasis.

"You weren't bitten and killed," Sparrowflight meowed. "Splendid work on that account. Next time, don't yowl at the top of your lungs while fighting your fresh-kill. Yowl when you're in an actual battle."

"What, but I killed it, didn't I?" Nettlepaw hissed. "Fresh-kill is fresh-kill."

"Yes, snake," Nightbird said, giving the adder a distasteful prod with his paw. "A LeafClan cat's favorite."

"If no one eats it, then let them starve," Nettlepaw said. "I'll put it in Sunpaw's nest."

Sparrowflight gave him a playful bat over the ears. "That is enough out of you—I'll make you eat it first. Go on now, find something more appetizing, and quietly this time."

Nettlepaw grumbled and scampered off, clambering over the rockpile and into the brush beyond. The two warriors followed at a slower pace.

"He'll have his warrior name soon, I have no doubt," Sparrowflight said once he was out of earshot. "There's not much more I can teach him, and Rosestar is wanting to fill those empty nests."

"Yes, and who emptied them?" Nightbird mused. "But it will make Nettlepaw cheerful."

"I think he wants to taste battle first," Sparrowflight said.

Another loud yowl pierced the air, and they came racing forward.

"Flea-brained apprentice! What does the word 'quiet' mean to you?!" Sparrowflight hissed, bursting out of the bush.

"Trespassers!" Nettlepaw hissed. "Do you smell them?"

"Rogues?" Sparrowflight asked.

Nightbird opened his mouth to taste the air, lowering his nose to the ground. The smell of Twolegplace, woodsmoke and horse-stench and stale straw, but something else masked beneath all that… A scent he had learned over a lifetime, and a clanmate.

He pursued the faint scent, but it seemed to already be lifting in the air. Nightbird was about to stop his search when he saw it: a fresh pawprint in the mud.

"Not a rogue," Nightbird mewed. "A LeafClan warrior."

Nightbird sat silent over Lionpelt's body, his pelt smeared with rosemary and watermint, sharing tongues with the elder one final time. It was moonhigh when most of the Clan had parted, returning to their dens.

He lingered nearby, head heavy with thoughts. Around the dead elder, Owlswoop and Hawkwing continued to hover, but not sharing tongues with the corpse. Speaking in low tones with each other.

Nightbird approached them with a solemn nod, a greeting they both returned.

"He was among the last of a great generation," Nightbird mewed, "and was among the greatest of them all."

"That's the truth," Owlswoop mewed in agreement.

"My heart breaks," Hawkwing said, "but not just for Lionpelt. Rowanthorn should have been here with him."

"Did you hear what he shouted at Rosestar?"

"Just bits and pieces, and elders' gossip…"

Nightbird absorbed it in silence. If they knew what he knew…

"It's his favorites that fill his ears with these misjudgments," Nightbird ventured. "Briarstalk, Greeneyes, Larkfeather, the rest."

"Why are we attacking MireClan, and not MeadowClan? Did they not murder our clanmate?" Hawkwing questioned.

"I heard a rumor we're giving away the border hills in some kind of bargain."

"I'll be a mouse if I give a whisker of LeafClan territory away."

Nightbird paced around them, glancing around camp, to the stars above, before leaning close to the two warriors. He touched the white tip of his tail to their shoulders in turn to bid their attention, speaking low and in deliberation.

"Can I trust you to keep our words between ourselves?"

The dappled and tabby toms exchanged glances before giving solemn nods of their heads.

"What if I said to you," Nightbird mewed, "that Rowanthorn has returned to LeafClan territory?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"Is he hare-brained? Returned before the end of his banishment?"

Nightbird lashed his tail. "We scented him just today," he whispered, "during Nettlepaw's assessment, and found his tracks near Tumblestone."

"You haven't told anyone about this?" Owlswoop mewed.

"I've been aching to hear one good word about him since his exile," Hawkwing admitted with a new enthusiasm now. "But why would he come?"

"To take action, I suppose. And I mean to give him a warm welcome home," Nightbird whispered. "I won't ask you to come with me. But when Rosestar leaves for the raid tomorrow, I will go and seek him out, and give him any help I can."

They both stood to their paws, tail upright.

"I'll be right alongside you," Owlswoop said.

"Thistles on anyone who fears," Hawkwing added. "Let's drop in on our old clanmate."

AN: Thank you for the review on the last chapter! Made my day. That's the first time I've had a stranger review my anything.

Someone also pointed out that I should bump the rating up to T for blood, so it's been adjusted accordingly.