Rising from the Ashes

Chapter 27

"It's no use, Wildbloom," Bramblestripe meowed. "We have to go back to camp."

Shadowheart had been assigned to lead a hunting patrol to hunt in the woodland in hopes of catching something under the shelter of the trees. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for them to realize that there was no point to the exercise. They had caught only one scrawny mouse as most prey had the sense to stay out of the storm.

"What about the elders?" Brightwhisker asked.

"That's not my call to make. Shadowheart is the patrol leader," Wildbloom meowed.

"Where is she?" Brightwhisker asked.

"I thought she was with you, Bramblestripe," Wildbloom meowed.

Bramblestripe shuffled his paws. "Shadowheart prefers to hunt alone."

"Alright, then let's try to find her."

The three of them split up but despite looking under every bush, around every fern and even up into the trees, there was no sign of their patrol leader.

"She can't have just disappeared!" Brightwhisker exclaimed, fur fluffed up from more than the wind and wet.

"She might have gone back to camp already," Bramblestripe suggested, hoping that it was true but also suspecting that there was more to the black she-cat's disappearance than that.

"I wouldn't put it past her," Wildbloom meowed. "Its high time we got back to camp."

Leaving the shelter of the trees where they had had their unsuccessful hunt they were immediately hit with the full force of the storm. Bramblestripe had never experienced anything like it. They walked with their faces bent and eyes slit against the wind and rain. Several times it felt like Bramblestripe would be swept off his paws. Thankfully, they made it safely back to camp.

Except camp was no better. The ground was mud and they rushed to the shelter of their den, Brightwhisker hanging onto their meager catch. They found most of their Clanmates inside.

"Shadowheart isn't here?" Bramblestripe asked, green eyes sweeping across the faces of his Clanmates. His heart dropped as he realized the black she-cat was still missing.

"No, why would she? She was supposed to be leading your patrol," Duskflower meowed, green eyes suddenly sharp with alarm.

"We split up but couldn't hunt in these conditions. We tried looking for Shadowheart but couldn't find her, so we came back," Wildbloom explained.

"You did the right thing," Thistletail meowed.

"But what if she's lost or hurt?" Bramblestripe protested. "We need to find her!"

"Shadowheart isn't dumb. She can take care of herself," Duskflower reasoned. "She's probably sheltering somewhere."

"We can't risk any more cats out in this storm," Thistletail decided. "If Shadowheart hasn't returned by the time its cleared, we'll look for her then."

"But-"

"Thistletail is right," Hawkstar meowed, entering the den. "Our Clan can't lose any more warriors." His amber gaze flicked over each warrior present as if to pour strength and calm into each of them.

His warriors responded with straightened shoulders, raised heads and eyes gleaming. They were GrassClan, born or volunteer, it didn't matter. They were here because it was where they were meant to be. This was just another challenge they would get through: together.

"Where's Bumbleflight?" Hawkstar asked.

"With Honeypool," Thistletail answered. "He didn't want his sister to be alone during the storm."

"Speaking of being alone, mind if I wait out the storm here?"

Thistletail snorted. "It's not like we don't have the space."

"In that case, I'll take Bumbleflight's nest."

"Just like old times, eh, Hawkflight?" Hareflight teased.

"You weren't even a warrior yet, Harepaw," Hawkstar shot back.

Hareflight nipped the forgotten mouse from Brightwhisker's nest and lobbed it towards Hawkstar. It ended up slapping wetly against Thistletail's side.

"Are we in the warrior's den or the nursery?" Thistletail groused.

"No harm done, Thistletail," Hawkstar soothed.

Thistletail heaved a sigh.

Swanflight plucked the soggy mouse from Thistletail's pelt and flung it to the furthest reaches of the den. Then she began grooming him. After Honeypool had cleared her for duty, she had moved her nest near Thistletail's.

The others also settled down to wait out the storm, some sharing tongues, others curling up deep into their nests to seek refuge in sleep. Never had Bramblestripe felt so exposed by a storm before. Yet, he felt utterly safe surrounded by his Clanmates. He drifted off, comforted by their sleepy purrs. This storm too would pass.

The next day dawned clear. The camp was a miry mess with large, deep puddles scattered around. The nursery, apprentice den and leader's den were all in tatters. The Meeting Stone remained untouched, save for a streak of mud across it.

Good weather restored, Thistletail got busy assigning cats to patrols. Stonesplash had just been put in charge of a hunting patrol when an excited yowl got every cat's attention.

"Shadowheart is back!"

The black she-cat slipped through a gap in the camp wall. "The entrance tunnel is collapsed."

"I'm so glad you're back! I-we were worried about you," Bramblestripe meowed.

Her cool gaze took in the ruined camp, unfazed by all of the eyes on her. "Looks like you all survived the storm."

"Welcome back to camp. You're just in time to get to work," Thistletail meowed. "Given you already spent time out of camp, you'll be working here to help clean up the mess."

Shadowheart briefly flattened her ears and Bramblestripe felt sure she would argue but she didn't. Instead, she gave a jerky dip of her head. "Very well."

"Hey, Bramblestripe! We want you to come hunting with us!" Wildbloom called.

Bramblestripe gave Shadowheart one last longing look before joining them. "This should be interesting."

"We might actually catch something today."

"Let's see what we can find!" Stonesplash exclaimed.

It proved to be a long day. While the sky was mostly clear with only patches of cloud, the meadow was not. The dead grass flattened to mud, which made walking unpleasant and difficult. The prey was still in hiding and with no shelter and no food, there was nothing to entice the birds to land. They spread out to search the meadow thoroughly and only came back as darkness fell. Despite all their effort, they only had a scrawny blackbird and a limp mouse to show for it.

"All that time and this is all you could find?" Thistletail asked, though he sounded disappointed rather than accusatory.

"We did our best, but the prey just isn't there," Stonesplash explained.

"Then take that to the elders. At least we can still feed them."

Darkness came early in leaf-fall. Weary to his core, Bramblestripe's belly rolled with so much unease that he wasn't even hungry anymore. While he had done his best on the hunt, he had been distracted the entire time. He had come to a terrible realization.

Shadowheart was up to something.

Despite all of his efforts to get to know her, Shadowheart remained frustratingly distant. She behaved like a visitor rather than a true part of GrassClan. She rarely talked to anyone. She disappeared whenever she got the chance, like the day before on their disastrous hunting patrol. Much as he wanted to and hoped differently, it couldn't be denied anymore.

Bramblestripe's heart was heavy for his Clan. He knew he would give everything he

had to see his Clanmates thrive. Even if that included letting go of any hope he may have had in pursuing a friendship with Shadowheart. If she really was a danger to GrassClan, he would do everything he could to prevent it. No matter what it cost him.