Echoheart stood beside Whispersong, Bumblefrost, and Star that Shines Bright, looking across the river. Echoheart's heart fluttered in her chest. Just across the river was DawnClan territory! She could see the forest ahead of them; the green and yellow trees stood tall, leaves and pine needles rustling in the breeze. It was just as Echoheart remembered. They were nearly home!
The journey from the mountains had taken them nearly two moons, and along the way, she, Whispersong, and Bumblefrost had begun teaching Star basic battle moves, parts of the warrior code, and how to hunt in forest terrain.
This morning they'd reached DayClan territory, which had been difficult to go through without being spotted. They had to walk along the Thunderpath to mask their scent. Star had been absolutely terrified when she saw the hard black surface with the monsters racing past; it was the first time she'd seen one, since they didn't travel back through the Twolegplace like they had on their journey to the mountains; they'd taken a different, safer, although longer, path.
"I smell scents like yours," Star commented, looking around at the river. "It smells like both of you," she nodded at Echoheart and Whispersong, then Bumblefrost.
"Well, that's because Whispersong and I are from DawnClan, and Bumblefrost is from DayClan. You can smell both of the Clans' scent markers here; it's the border between the territories," Echoheart meowed. She sniffed DawnClan's scent, and memories flooded back to her. Her heart leapt again. She was so close to home!
Star sighed. "It's nice here, but... I miss home."
"You'll get used to it," Whispersong meowed comfortingly.
"What if your Clan doesn't like me? Or accept me? Will I have to be a loner? Or..." she gulped, "a kittypet? I don't want to live with those Twolegs!"
"DawnClan will accept you," Echoheart meowed determinedly. They'd better.
"You're not the only one worried," Bumblefrost murmured, his thick black tail twitching. "I used to be in DayClan; but I don't want to go back. They wouldn't be able to trust me anyway because I left with two DawnClan cats and deserted my Clan. And DawnClan probably won't want me because I was a DayClan cat." He sighed. "I don't belong anywhere."
"You do." Whispersong licked Bumblefrost's cheek.
"Sounds harsh," Star murmured nervously, staring at her paws.
"You two will be accepted by DawnClan. I'll make sure of it," Echoheart meowed in determination. "I'll make them see." Even Bumblefrost. He was growing on her; he'd saved her life twice on the journey to the mountains and had stood by them loyally the entire time. He'd always had her back even when he didn't truly like her. He was a good cat.
Star look up and blinked at her, her one pale green eye and one light blue eye shining warmly. "Thanks," she smiled weakly. Echoheart smiled back.
"Let's go!" Whispersong urged them, prancing on the spot as she watched the river flow by in front of them. Whispersong flicked her tail at Echoheart to go first.
Echoheart's stomach did an excited flip. She sprang off the muddy bank and onto the first stepping stone. The current lapped at her paws, then she jumped to the next one, hearing Whispersong behind her. When she leapt from the last stone, landing on DawnClan territory, her excitement spilled over. "We made it!" she squealed, prancing on the spot and lifting her tail high. They'd actually made it! They were finally home, on DawnClan territory again! After all those moons away from the Clans, they were finally back where they truly belonged! They were home at last!
Whispersong joined her a heartbeat later, racing in circles around Echoheart in the yellow and brown grass. "I can't believe it! We're home!"
Bumblefrost laughed as he joined them, batting playfully at Whispersong. Star smiled as she jumped to the grassy bank, tail swishing.
Echoheart purred loudly, paws kneading the ground and eyes closing in happiness. She looked up at the sky. Thank you, StarClan, for guiding us back home!
"Who are they?" Star meowed suddenly and nervously, looking at the silhouette of four cats running toward them. The sunlight shone from behind the four cats, making them all silhouettes, so Echoheart couldn't tell who they were. Echoheart's stomach plummeted. Were they being attacked? Or were they DawnClan cats? Echoheart was about to let out a warning hiss, but she began to see the colors of their pelts: white and tortoiseshell, black and dark brown, dark brown tabby, and gray- and white-patched. The gray and white pelt stood out to her.
She widened her eyes.
"Echoheart!" The gray- and white-furred tom-cat raced forward, calling her name. His blue eyes shone brighter than the sky above them, and Echoheart let out a gasp as he came closer. Her heart soared.
Hailstorm bowled her over, licking her fur. "Oh, great spirits of StarClan above! I..." He trailed off and let her go, shocked. "I thought I'd never see you again!" Tears of happiness welled up in his eyes, and he licked her again. "Oh, Echoheart, I've missed you so much! I... I don't even know what to say! Oh, you're home! Or is this only a dream?"
Echoheart could barely speak. She opened her mouth, and she managed to get out, "I'm... I'm sorry."
"Sorry?" Hailstorm choked in disbelief. "You're home! Oh, Echoheart, Echoheart..."
"I... I left you. I left you without telling you. I..."
Hailstorm rubbed his head on her shoulder, murmuring that he forgave her.
"Did... did Goldheart tell the Clan why... why we left?" Echoheart asked quietly.
Hailstorm blinked. "Yes. Did StarClan really send you?"
Echoheart nodded.
"And did StarClan send them?" a voice asked. Echoheart looked around Hailstorm, seeing for the first time who the other cats were. Eaglefeather, Meadowheart, and... was that Pinekit? Echoheart blinked, then turned toward the cat who'd asked the question. Eaglefeather was glaring at Bumblefrost, and eyeing Star with suspicion, and he asked again, "Did StarClan send them?"
Whispersong stepped away from Meadowheart, whom she'd been greeting. "Oh, well that's a long story. We'll tell the whole Clan."
"How do we know he hasn't been spying?" Eaglefeather growled, glaring at Bumblefrost.
Bumblefrost lashed his tail.
"Spying?" Whispersong exclaimed. "Spying on us while in the mountains?" She shared a look of disbelief with Echoheart, as if she thought Eaglefeather's question was completely mouse-brained. "Oh, yeah, because that's logical. DayClan sent one of their warriors to spy on two DawnClan cats heading for the mountains."
Eaglefeather narrowed his eyes in confusion at Whispersong, as if he couldn't believe she was talking to him like that.
Pinekit bounced forward. "You're Echoheart and Whispersong, aren't you?" he asked. "I've heard a lot about you."
Echoheart looked at the young tom. He'd grown so much! "Yes, I'm Echoheart, and that's Whispersong."
"I'm an apprentice!" he purred. "Pinepaw! And Needlepaw and Rosepaw are apprentices with me!"
Echoheart widened her eyes. Had they really been gone that long?
"So, why are these two with you?" Eaglefeather persisted, tail flicking in annoyance.
"We'll explain to the Clan," Whispersong replied, shuffling closer to Bumblefrost.
Eaglefeather had picked up the tiniest detail. He glared at Bumblefrost. "So Songtail was right! You are a traitor!" he exclaimed to Bumblefrost as he saw him and Whispersong closer together.
"Songatil said that I was a traitor?" Bumblefrost growled.
Meadowheart nodded, looking wary but curious of Bumblefrost. "She said she'd chase you off if you ever came back to DayClan."
Bumblefrost snarled, "Well I don't want to go back anyway."
"Then where will you go?" Eaglefeather narrowed his eyes.
"We need to get back to camp," Echoheart intervened. "Just let Bumblefrost and Star come with us."
"Star? What kind of StarClan-shortened name is that?" Eaglefeather looked confused, turning to Star. "And what happened to your eyes?"
Star narrowed her eyes. "I was born like that," she retorted. "And, in case you didn't know, I used to live in the mountains. Mountain cats name their kits differently than you do. Not all cats live the same way as you do." Echoheart froze at her retort to the large brown and black warrior, and she was afraid he'd attack her. Eaglefeather and Meadowheart exchanged glances, but didn't move.
"Let's go," Hailstorm urged the patrol, then lead the way back into the trees. Echoheart jogged to catch up and fell in step with him.
"So what happened while we were gone?" she asked, remembering Whispersong's first dream about herbs on the way to the mountains, and hers and Whispersong's same dreams while in the mountains. Both had predicted that bad things were happening in the Clans at the time.
Hailstorm sighed. "Well, there were two battles with DayClan."
"There were?" Echoheart exclaimed in shock, tail lashing. That was probably what the dreams were about! "Were they... were they bad?" she asked in a low whisper.
Hailstorm nodded. "First, well, I guess I should start with the beginning." He sighed. "Okay, Rainstar had four kits."
"What! She did?"
Hailstorm nodded. "Yes, the four of them snuck out of camp one day and ended up on NightClan territory."
Echoheart widened her eyes. That was a long way for a kit to walk!
"NightClan found them, and one ran straight onto the Thunderpath and was killed by a monster. Her name was Lightningkit. Rainstar found her kits there, and, seeing Lightningkit, she threatened NightClan and vowed that they'd pay; that was the most furious I've ever seen Rainstar. Well, she attacked NightClan's camp in revenge, and DayClan was fighting to kill. NightClan cats came to ask us for help as well as DuskClan, and we went into battle in the middle of the night. We won, but many NightClan cats were dead, including Bushtail and Brownear. Heatpool, Cougarfang, and Burningwood died from DayClan. None from DuskClan. But," Hailstorm choked, voice faltering. "Twigfoot... Twigfoot died at that battle."
"Twigfoot? D-Dead?" Echoheart exclaimed, heart plummeting. No! Oh StarClan, why? She couldn't believe her ears, wouldn't!
Hailstorm nodded, eyes shut tight in pain.
Whispersong, Bumblefrost, and Star had been listening too, and Bumblefrost looked appalled at what his Clan had done.
Hailstorm took a deep breath and continued. "Sunfur is now the deputy." He sighed again. Then after a long pause, he meowed, "Then what started the buildup to the next battle was when Sagetail woke up and found Cherrykit and Lilackit gone. DayClan had stolen them, along with kits from the other Clans."
"What?" growled Whispersong, lashing her tail.
Hailstorm nodded grimly. "They told us we could get our kits back safely if we agreed to give our territory up to them. NightClan and DuskClan refused, and she killed one kit from each of those Clans as punishment." Hailstorm took a deep breath. "Then she tossed the bodies over the borders for their Clans to find."
Echoheart was disgusted. "She did that?"
Hailstorm nodded grimly. "Before we could meet them and tell them that DawnClan wasn't going to give up its territory, Rayclaw brought back Stormpaw, one of Rainstar's kits," Hailstorm meowed quietly, leaping over a fallen log.
"Rayclaw?" Whispersong echoed.
"He got his warrior name a while ago. Anyway, Stormpaw had begun disagreeing with her mother and had been meeting Rayclaw in secret to tell him about it. She hated her mother's plans; and once she saw Rainstar killing those kits, she ran away, found Rayclaw, and told all of DawnClan about what Rainstar had done and what she was planning on doing. She helped us formulate a plan, and we raided DayClan's camp the next morning. Stormpaw came into the battle when every cat thought she was back at the DawnClan camp. But she attacked her mother, and... and Rainstar killed her."
"Killed her own kit? What kind of mother does that?" Whispersong exclaimed angrily.
Hailstorm shook his head. "I don't know. The good news is that we were able to get every remaining kit out safely, and we drive Rainstar out of DayClan."
"You drove Rainstar out?" Bumblefrost echoed in disbelief.
Hailstorm nodded. "Yes. And her deputy died at that battle, so DayClan didn't have a leader for nearly two moons, up until last night. At the Gathering, Lilyfoot announced that StarClan had told her which cat StarClan had chosen to be the next leader of DayClan: Nettleberry, now Nettlestar, I bet."
"Nettleberry?" asked Echoheart. She'd never heard that name before.
"She was one of the queens while I was in DayClan," Bumblefrost murmured. "She's nothing like Rainstar, which is good, I suppose. Who'd she choose as her deputy?"
"Clayfur," Hailstorm muttered.
Bumblefrost nodded thoughtfully.
Echoheart swallowed. "Is anyone else d-dead in DawnClan?"
Hailstorm sighed. "Prairiefoot died from an infected badger wound a few moons ago, but other than that, no," he murmured.
Echoheart walked along in silence. She didn't expect to find this news when she returned home. She walked closer to Hailstorm, thanking StarClan he hadn't been one of the cats to die at DayClan's claws. She shuddered. She'd never see Twigfoot or Prairiefoot again; and she'd left them. She hadn't been able to defend them, like she'd vowed at her warrior's ceremony. They'd died knowing she deserted her Clan. Echoheart felt a horrible knot of guilt tightening in her stomach.
Soon they reached the stream; Echoheart would have thought she'd feel excited to see the familiar shape of the water flowing below her, but she felt guilty and awful still about Twigfoot's and Prairiefoot's deaths.
Once they passed the Great Pine, the butterflies began fluttering in her stomach, from both excitement to be home, fear of what every cat would think of Echoheart and Whispersong deserting DawnClan, and worry of what they'd all think of Bumblefrost and Star coming into the camp. She swallowed nervously. She could see the brambles lining the camp entrance now.
Sunfur walked by, Gravelpelt and Sparktail following her. Sparktail glanced at the returning patrol and did a double take. She stumbled on her paws and froze in her tracks. "E-Echoheart? Whispersong?"
Sunfur and Gravelpelt turned at Sparktail's words. Sunfur widened her eyes and let out a gasp when she saw the returning cats. "Echoheart and Whispersong are back!" she yowled.
DawnClan cats rushed from their dens in shock, then raced to the bramble barrier, mouths agape and eyes wide.
"My kits! Oh thank StarClan you're safe! You're home! You're home!" Sparktail sprinted up to both of her daughters, covering them with licks.
Echoheart licked her mother in return, heart swelling in happiness. She backed up slightly to let Whispersong greet Sparktail, then she looked around. She saw all of her Clanmates, every single one of them, with smiles on their faces. Clovertail, Sparrowtail, Rustypelt, Goldheart, Yellowflower, Rayclaw, Bronzepelt, Twilightfoot, Rosepaw, Sagetail....
"Echoheart and Whispersong have returned!"
"They made it!"
"I can't believe it!"
"I thought they'd never come back!"
Echoheart shook her head, feeling overwhelmed as her Clanmate's voices echoed loudly throughout the camp.
"Wait, but who are they?"
"Is that Bumblefrost? Isn't he a DayClan cat?"
"Songtail did say that he'd gone with Echoheart and Whispersong."
"What's he doing here?"
"And who in the name of StarClan is that?"
"I've never seen her before!"
"Why'd you bring them here?"
Every cat backed away from the four returning cats, arching their backs at Bumblefrost and Star in both fear and anger. The clearing fell silent.
Eveningstar stepped forward, looking older than Echoheart remembered. He looked Echoheart and Whispersong over, then smiled. "Welcome home."
Echoheart blinked, still unable to form words, and dipped her head to her leader.
Creekfall spoke up again, stepping in front of Aspenleaf and their kits as if to shield them from the returning cats. "Who are they, and what are they doing here?" he demanded.
"Yeah!" growled Sagetail, Aspenleaf, Rustypelt, Moonshine, and Sparktail in unison.
"They don't belong in DawnClan!" added Eaglefeather with a snarl.
Eveningstar silenced the Clan then turned to Echoheart and Whispersong. "I'm sorry your first few moments back are like this, but every cat seems to be demanding information on these two cats." He eyed Star and Bumblefrost. "Why don't you four join me on top of the High-Stone and then you can tell the whole Clan what happened?"
"Alright," Echoheart meowed nervously, dipping her head.
Eveningstar lead the way, and Echoheart and Whispersong motioned for Star and Bumblefrost to follow. Eveningstar sprang from the ground and onto the lichen-covered boulder. Whispersong followed, then Echoheart, then Bumblefrost, and lastly Star.
Cats began gathering at the base of the boulder, looking up at the five cats above them.
Eveningstar nodded to Echoheart and Whispersong. Echoheart shared a glance with her sister, then stepped forward, raising her voice. "Um, it's good to be back," she began, and Sparktail let out a purr, leaning against Rustypelt in joy. "As Goldheart told you, we left you to go to the mountains, sent by StarClan. StarClan, well... they told us that there were cats that lived up in the mountains, cats who could help us figure out more about the prophesized danger."
"The prophesized danger?"
"Danger? What danger?"
"What prophecy?"
"What's the prophesized danger?"
Echoheart blinked in shock. Goldheart didn't tell them that there's a prophecy? She sighed and looked out over her Clanmates. "Well, there's a prophecy. Whispersong and I both had a dream where a StarClan cat showed us a vision and told us a prophecy." The clearing fell dead silent. "In... in the vision, there was a large, black creature, and it had the largest teeth and claws any cat could imagine. Three times as big as a badger, and five times as viscous. Then a voice spoke to us." She swallowed nervously. "And told us this prophecy: 'Darkness will veil the sky, but with the whispering voice of two, the forest, as one, will echo with light'."
No cat said anything. The silence lasted so long it made Echoheart shift uncomfortably.
Sparrowtail broke the silence, speaking in a voice barely louder than a whisper. "What does it mean?"
Echoheart avoided any cat's eyes. Should she tell her Clan that the prophecy was about her and Whispersong? She opened her mouth, then hesitated.
Whispersong spoke up instead, taking a deep breath, then meowing, "It means that a darkness, a danger, will come upon the forest, and with two cats, two cats chosen by StarClan, the Clans will be united against it."
"So...?" Bronzepelt meowed loudly. "Who are the two cats?"
Echoheart exchanged a glance with Whispersong.
"It's you two, isn't it?" Sparktail whispered.
Echoheart looked down sadly at her mother, then nodded.
"There's a prophecy about you?" Sunfur echoed. "But..." she trailed off, lost for words.
Whispersong nodded too, staring at her paws. "We should have told you, but we needed to leave to the mountains as soon as possible, and we... we were afraid you'd try to stop us from going."
No cat spoke.
Gravelpelt stepped forward. "Then why did Bumblefrost go with you?"
"He wasn't sent by StarClan, was he?" growled Twilightfoot.
Whispersong didn't take her eyes off her paws, and Bumblefrost looked uncomfortable.
"Was Songtail right?" Sparktail spoke up again, looking at Whispersong with disapproval. "Do you love him?" Sparktail was no longer purring in joy. She had stiffened, and her reddish fur was bristling. She narrowed her eyes. "WELL?"
Whispersong tensed and narrowed her own eyes. "Yes," she meowed defiantly.
"How could you be so mouse-brained?" Rustypelt sputtered, getting to his paws in a heartbeat. His ears were flattened and his tail was lashing as he stood at Sparktail's side. "My daughter, falling for a DayClan cat!"
Whispersong narrowed her eyes, sitting up taller. "He's no longer a DayClan cat. He hates what DayClan's done to the other Clans, and he'd no longer be accepted there if he tried! He is the nicest, most caring cat I've ever met! And if you can't learn not to judge him by his Clan's actions instead of his own, then you're the mouse-brain!"
Rustypelt hissed, claws unsheathed and teeth bared. Whispersong glared at her father, watching as he stormed from the Clan meeting and disappeared inside the warriors' den across the camp. Sparktail took one last look at Whispersong and Echoheart, anger and sadness in her eyes, then she dashed after her mate.
No cat spoke.
Bumblefrost leaned closer to Whispersong. "You didn't have to," he whispered in her ear, fur still bristled.
"I did have to," she sighed. "They need to learn not to judge someone by their birth."
Echoheart watched them sadly. It looked like Bumblefrost wasn't going to be accepted in DayClan or DawnClan. She sighed. She had hated Bumblefrost in the beginning, yes, but now she trusted him. All of DawnClan was acting just how Echoheart had started acting around Bumblefrost, so couldn't they learn to trust him like she had?
"Do you want to finish what you were saying about going to the mountains?" Eveningstar meowed awkwardly, looking between Echoheart, Whispersong, and Bumblefrost, then over the rest of the silenced Clan.
"Sure," Echoheart sighed, sparing Whispersong from having to speak. Echoheart turned to her gathered Clanmates once again and cleared her throat. "Umm..." She took a deep breath. "Once we... once we made it to the mountains, we met a group of mountain cats, called the Tribe of Rushing Water. Star," she nodded at the white Tribe cat, "was a to-be, I mean apprentice, in the Tribe. We stayed there for about a moon."
She paused and glanced at Star. "One day, Star lead us out into her territory and we found the creature: it's called a bear, and it's just as vicious as in mine and Whispersong's dreams." Echoheart shuddered. "And, as StarClan prophesized, it'll be here one day, sooner or later, and the prophecy will be fulfilled."
Cats looked panicked below her, but she continued on. "A few days before we left, the leader of the Tribe told us something strange: Star had been having dreams about different cats who were in danger, and dreams about different stars and ancestors unlike her own. She was dreaming about the Clans." Every cat stared at one another in disbelief. "So the Tribe leader told us what he thought of her dreams, and he believed that Star was destined to leave her Tribe and journey to the Clans with us. For what reason, no cat knows, but she came back with us, and..." she turned to Eveningstar, "well, I'm asking you if she can stay with us."
Eveningstar looked troubled. "I suppose since she doesn't know much about the Clans she can't use information against us..."
"I... I'm not a threat. I promise," Star insisted shyly.
"So you were an apprentice in your, uh, Tribe?" Eveningstar asked.
Star nodded. "We were called to-bes, but yeah." She shuffled her paws nervously.
"Then you can become an apprentice here. You can sleep with the other apprentices, and I will mentor you myself until I see you're fit to join DawnClan as a full warrior."
Star looked unsure. Echoheart nodded at her in encouragement, then the silver she-cat meowed, "O-Okay. But will I have to change my name like you Clan cats do? Because I'm proud I came from the Tribe of Rushing Water; I'm proud of my past. And... and even though I left, I want to keep the, uh, memory."
Eveningstar blinked, looking slightly confused at Star's request. "No, I guess we can make an exception. But you'll have to sleep and train with the other apprentices."
Star nodded, still looking nervous about Eveningstar speaking to her. "I will."
"Eveningstar?" Whispersong spoke up timidly. "What about Bumblefrost? Shouldn't he be able to join DawnClan if Star is?"
Eveningstar sighed, looking at Bumblefrost with narrowed eyes. "He can stay here, for now, I guess. But he needs to prove he isn't loyal to DayClan anymore before he can join DawnClan—"
"Which won't happen," Echoheart heard some cat mutter, but she couldn't see who.
The cats in the clearing muttered to themselves, seeming to not approve of a DayClan cat staying in the DawnClan camp.
"But keeping him here will be better than having him roaming the forest; we'll be able to watch him better here and make sure he doesn't go running back to DayClan with his secrets. I'm sure he learned a lot from Whispersong on their journey," Bronzepelt muttered with a snarl, and some cats nodded in agreement.
Echoheart flattened her ears at her former mentor's comment; she could understand his and every other cat's mistrust of Bumblefrost, because she had once been there, but couldn't they at least see that he couldn't possibly be that bad if Echoheart and Whispersong let him go on their journey with them?
"He can sleep in the apprentices' den too until he can prove that what you say about him, Whispersong, is true. But remember, both him and Star have to prove their loyalty, and will be watched, especially Bumblefrost, so that he doesn't cause any harm to DawnClan. Being a DayClan cat, he has a bad reputation already, so he'd better not go ruining it for himself," Eveningstar finished, narrowing his eyes and looking at Echoheart and Whispersong intently, not even making eye contact with Bumblefrost.
Bumblefrost looked about ready to retort, but held it back and muttered, "I...I'll prove that I can be loyal to DawnClan. DayClan is no longer my Clan. I have no respect left for them."