Warriors AU: The Darkest Hour

Chapter 30

The clearing fell silent. Blood glistened on the grass as cold sunlight sliced through the trees. Brightheart struggled to his paws and staggered over to stand beside Sandstar, looking down at Scourge's lifeless black body.

"You did it, Sandstar," he panted. "You saved the forest."

Sandstar gave the young warrior a lick. "We all did," he meowed. He thought back to the trouble his kin had caused when he first arrived in the forest. In those days, Sandstar would never have imagined he could have felt so proud of his wayward nephew. "Go and find Cinderpelt, and get yourself something for those wounds."

Brightheart nodded and limped off across the clearing.

Looking around, Sandstar saw that warriors from each of the four Clans were gathering around their medicine cats at the edge of the clearing. One had become four again; Lionclan was no more.

At first he couldn't see Fireheart, and he felt panic welling up inside him. He was not sure he could bear it if he had lost her. Then he saw her stumbling wearily across the clearing. The fur along one flank was stiff with drying blood, but Sandstar could see that her injuries were not serious.

"Thank Starclan!" he breathed.

He crossed the clearing in two bounds, and Fireheart turned her head to look at him, her green gaze filled with relief. "We did it," she murmured. "We drove out Bloodclan."

Sandstar suddenly felt light-headed, as if the whole of Fourtrees were spinning around him.

"Steady," urged Fireheart, supporting him with her shoulder. '"You've lost a lot of blood. Come and see Cinderpelt."

Sandstar staggered the rest of the way, drinking in Fireheart's scent and feeling comforted by the softness of her fur. When they reached Cinderpelt he collapsed on the ground, wondering if he was about to lose another life. Then he realized he could still hear the sounds all around him in the clearing, and the pain of his scratches throbbed instead of fading as Dustpaw started pressing cobwebs to the worst of his wounds.

"Is he okay?" That was Silverstream's voice. "Hey, come on, Sandstar—you can't give up now!"

"I'm not. I'm tired, that's all." Sandstar blinked up at the silver tabby warrior. "Don't worry; you won't have to be leader for a while yet."

"Sandstar." Fireheart gently prodded his shoulder. "There are more cats coming."

Sandstar sat up to see a group of Riverclan cats padding toward him, headed by Leopardstar. The Riverclan leader dipped his head toward Sandstar. Claw marks covered his pelt, but his eyes were clear and he carried his tail high.

"Well done, Sandstar," he meowed. "They tell me you killed Scourge."

"Every cat fought well," Sandstar replied. "We wouldn't have won unless all the Clans joined together."

"True enough," Leopardstar conceded. "But now we must separate again. I am going to take my Clan home. We must care for our wounded and grieve for our dead."

"And Shadowclan?" Sandstar inquired.

"Shadowclan must go back to their own home," Leopardstar replied firmly. "I have a new deputy, and enough warriors to defend our territory if Shadowclan doesn't respect our borders."

"Who is the new deputy?" Sandstar asked curiously.

"Blackclaw," meowed the Riverclan leader, a glint in his eyes.

As Sandstar stared in astonishment, Blackclaw emerged from the Thunderclan cats, followed by Featherpaw and Brookpaw. "I'm going with Leopardstar," she explained, fixing Sandstar with her mother's gaze. "I'll always be grateful for what you did, but I'm a Riverclan cat at heart."