Shattered Roots #1: The Last Leaf

Epilogue

A small group of cats travelled in a line. They all sniffed the air, tracking something down. The moon had just risen, so the cats had to rely on their sense of smell to navigate the darkness.

The dark ginger she-cat at the front stopped walking. She lowered her nose and groaned with a frown, "How much longer must we go? I'm starting to doubt that this foreign scent you found even exists."

"I swear I can still smell it, Vinestar!" a black she-cat with white tipped paws promised.

"All I'm smelling is bear-dung. Are you sure we're not chasing a ghost, Rubblefall?"

"There's scent of FrostClan mingled with the bear-dung. Getting stronger this way," Rubblefall reassured. She continued her trail, ignoring her leader's doubts.

Vinestar rolled her eyes. "I know that your nose is as sensitive as a dog's but this is getting ridiculous. It's almost moon-high and the night air won't do us any good."

"No, no, I'm telling you we're almost there, I can feel it!"

Another cat from the group asked, "How are you so sure it's even FrostClan's scent? Those cats smell like anything for letting anyone waltz into their Clan!"

"Hush, won't you?" Rubblefall lifted her head to sniff the air again. Suddenly, her eyes widened and she darted away between the trees.

"Where do you think you're going?" Vinestar exclaimed.

Only silence answered her. The cats anxiously waited for a response as they tagged behind. After a few moments, Rubblefall ran back and yelled, "Told you there was a cat here!" She swished her tail, motioning for her Clanmates to follow her.

The patrol was greeted with the sight of a heavily injured she-cat. Her light orange fur had white and brown patches. Dried blood and scars covered her entire body. The cats looked on, horrified.

Vinestar immediately recognized her. 'That's Pebblestar's rat who attacked me at the gathering!'

"Isn't that Leafpaw? What in the name of LightClan happened to her?"

"That's Pebblestar's daughter, isn't it?"

"Oh my, is she okay? What's she doing on WillowClan territory?"

Frantic questions quickly spread among the cats. Rubblefall lowered her head to Leafpaw's chest to see if the apprentice was still alive.

"Hold on, I can hear her breathing!" she mewed.

Vinestar scowled, "She's clearly on the verge of dying. We shouldn't waste our resources on a foreigner. We can't even be certain if she'll manage to survive."

"Come on, Vinestar, if she were your own Clanmate you'd help her, right?"

"But she's not! The Warrior Code states that the actions of a leader is not to be questioned. Don't try to argue with me on this." The other cats whispered in agreement.

"And the warrior code says that taking the life of another cat isn't allowed. Not like there's no hope for her left! By not saving her we're going against the will of LightClan, aren't we?"

Tilting her head upwards, Vinestar gazed at the stars, completely deep in thought. 'What would LightClan ask me to do?' she thought. After pondering for a while, she finally accepted, "Fine! We'll take her back! Rubblefall, since you're so insistent on saving her, you're going to help Sunbright in the medicine den while she heals."

"Ugh, apprentice duties?" Rubblefall complained under her breath. She promptly lifted Leafpaw's limp body with the help of another cat. The whole group traveled back to WillowClan's camp, completely unaware of what took place earlier the same day.

A/N: This book is finally done!!! Thank you so much for all your support!!! I couldn't have made it this far without you all

As mentioned in the notes of the last chapter, I have 2 more books planned for this series. I also forgot to mention that I'm planning a super edition type book for Nightshade so stay tuned for that  ;)))

I just updated the book cover too so it looks 100000% better now