The Warrior's Return (A Shrouded Path book 3)

Chapter 2

The RiverClan camp was barely recognizable. Tufts of ferns and misplaced stones from the stream were scattered everywhere, and even the sparse trees of the territory had not been spared in the brutal battle. The scent of blood was thick in the air and Minnow saw it splattered all over the ground. Cats stood and lay all around, some heavily wounded. Minnow saw Nightwhisper and Silverheart tending to the wounded cats, and she noticed Troutleap among them. Even the elder had fought, and brandished a nasty wound on his foreleg. A still gray body lay in the center of camp, and Minnow knew it was Beechclaw. She had seen his body when she had first arrived at the battle, and his spirit had come with others to give her a farewell from StarClan. He was so young, and Minnow remembered him only as a carefree kit; now he had died in a meaningless battle.

The patrol, led by Birchstar, marched wearily into the camp, and Minnow ducked her head. At their approach, the rest of RiverClan looked up and began to crowd around them, fear and grief heavy in their gazes. Cloudsplash and Redblaze laid Sweetstripe and Bristlepelt's bodies next to Beechclaw, and a loud wail sounded from outside the nursery, a voice that Minnow recognized, and it broke her heart to hear. Ashflower pushed through the crowd of wounded warriors and fell down in front of Bristlepelt, pressing her nose into her mate's fur. The rest of the Clan gathered around, all shaken and numb.

"Birchstar." Twigtail's deep, grieved voice was the first to sound. The senior warrior stepped to the front of the other cats, his dark brown fur torn and tattered, littered with fresh wounds. "Tell me ThunderClan and WindClan will pay for this," he growled, a chilling anger in his tone. "They attacked the nursery! My son is there! All our kits!"

Cherryheart spoke up, her gaze locked on her son's body. "Beechclaw died defending them," she whispered. She managed to tear her eyes away to look at Birchstar, and Minnow saw a mixture of grief, horror, and fury in them.

Birchstar seemed at a loss for words, and Minnow couldn't blame him. "I..." he began, faltering for a moment. "This wasn't ThunderClan and WindClan," he went on, sounding almost unsure. "This was Copperfoot and Wasptail. I'd bet any of my nine lives that Duskstar and Featherstar had no part in this." He sighed, sounding weary and saddened. "All the same, I can't help but hold them responsible. This is madness."

"What are you going to do about it?" Poppywhisker's small voice piped up.

Sighing again, Birchstar shook his head. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "Nothing yet. We need to recover and honor our lost Clanmates. As much as I'd like to march to the ThunderClan and WindClan camps right now and demand answers, no cat here is fit to take on such a task."

"Birchstar is right," came the sweet voice of Silverheart. The medicine cat looked up from Mudpelt, whose wounds she was tending to. "We need to recover. Luckily our herb stores are full, and every cat will need to be seen. Just the same, every cat needs to take it easy while they recover." Minnow gazed at her old friend, noting the weariness and wisdom in her brilliant green eyes. She had missed Silverheart so much.

Birchstar dipped his head to her. "I will leave the warriors in your capable paws, Silverheart," he said confidently. "I trust you and Nightwhisper fully." The Clan began to disperse, and Cloudsplash moved to stand next to Cherryheart, grieving their son. As soon as he had stepped away from in front of Minnow, cats began to notice her presence, and gaped at her with wide eyes.

"Minnowpaw?" came a shocked whisper, and Minnow couldn't tell who had uttered it. As soon as it was said, the entire Clan turned sharply, staring at her and Apollo. Minnow felt the urge to duck and cower away, but she stood tall and faced them. It was hard to tell if they were happy to see her or not, and she was a little surprised that more of them hadn't noticed her during the battle. Then again, there had been so much going on. She picked out the face of Tawnyclaw, who had known she was there, as well as Sorrelstream sitting just outside the nursery. Sorrelstream's face was pure gratefulness, and Tawnyclaw's was a mixture of love, pride, and relief. Ashflower appeared shocked, and between the death of her mate and the return of her daughter, Minnow couldn't imagine how her mother was feeling.

Birchstar, having regained the Clan's attention, spoke loudly for them all to hear. "We have others to thank for the outcome of this battle," he declared, his deep voice tinged with pride. "I know that it would have ended very differently without Minnow and her friends." He turned to Minnow and beckoned with his head, inviting her to speak.

    Minnow gulped. She didn't want to speak to them all right now. What would she say? After a moment of hesitation, she felt a nudge from Apollo, encouraging her. She took a deep breath and looked at her former Clan, stepping forward to stand beside Birchstar. "Sorrelstream brought us," she began, looking towards her friend. "She ran into me a few moons ago, and she knew where I was. When the battle began, she came to find me, to ask for help." Minnow paused. "I couldn't say no. I knew I'd feel guilty for the rest of my life if I didn't come back to help. Luckily, I wasn't alone." She glanced at Apollo, and the rest of RiverClan eyed the strange black tom. He dipped his head to them. "Apollo, Jay, and Smokey were with me."

    A low purr came from Birchstar. "I can never thank the loners enough for coming to our aid," he meowed. "And now you've come home for good?"

    There were small gasps from the gathered cats, and Minnow wasn't sure if they were due to shock or fear of the curse. She realized that not every cat knew that it was over. "Yes," she said slowly, looking at Birchstar, then Apollo. "If you'll have us, we would like to join RiverClan."

    "Why now?" Minnow heard Nettlestep's voice. The lithe brown queen had come out of the nursery. "Why didn't you come home sooner?"

Minnow was a bit taken aback; Nettlestep had hated her before, and she'd been one of the first to turn against her. But according to Sorrelstream, none of them harbored any anger towards her anymore. "I couldn't," Minnow replied, shrugging. She was met with confused looks, and countless thoughts ran through her mind. She supposed RiverClan needed to hear the whole story. Trying to rally her thoughts together, Minnow took a deep breath and began speaking. "I went to Highstones that day, and I spoke with StarClan."

As quickly and concisely as she could, Minnow recounted the events that had happened since Flamepelt's death; her talk with Frostfoot and Hawkshade, her decision to flee from the forest, and meeting the barn cats and choosing to stay with them. She didn't give many details about her moons at the Twoleg farm; those memories were hers, and Apollo's and Jay's and Smokey's and Oliver's. She recalled her reunion with Sorrelstream, and how her friend had kept her up to date with Clan news, and eventually the call to battle. Lastly, she talked about her fight with Copperfoot, diving after Apollo in the river, and her recent visit with StarClan. The Clan watched her with mixed expressions, each one melting to pride and happiness as she finished speaking. Surprisingly, Minnow felt much better after saying it all.

When she was done, Birchstar looked at her, whiskers twitching slightly. "I'm glad that you've decided to return," he said. His gaze flicked between her and Apollo, and his next words were sweet like honey to Minnow's ears."Welcome home."