Warriors: Heronpaw's Secret (Complete)

Chapter 19

 When Heronfall opened his eyes, he was lying on a nest in the medicine cats' den. Confused, he got up and looked around. But then he remembered what happened. The fight!

 He rushed toward Cougarheart, who was lying in her nest without moving. He let out a relieved sigh when he saw one of her paws twitch. I must have fallen asleep, he thought, and padded out of the den.

 He was surprised to see the whole Clan back in camp, spread out in the clearing. Rosestar looked at him from her spot on the Tallrock. ''There you are, Heronfall! We have been waiting for you.''

 The tom tilted his head and padded forward, looking at the leader.

 ''I wanted to thank you.'' Rosestar dipped her head. ''If it wasn't for your bravery, we would have never found out about Hawkgrowl's true intentions. And you brought Cougarheart home again. WindClan thanks you, and we are proud to have you as our warrior.''

 As the cats around him started to chant his name, Heronfall felt proud of himself. He felt like he was going to burst with happiness. Soon, the cats fell quiet again, and Rosestar continued speaking.

 ''We have won the fight, thank StarClan, but not without two heavy losses.'' Rosestar sighed. ''Both Brownbranch and Wolfstripe were killed in battle.''

 Heronfall froze, and he looked at the two bodies in front of the Tallrock. His eyes fell on Wolfstripe's lifeless body, feeling like the ground shook underneath his paws.

 The kind medicine cat who helped him when he first joined WindClan was now dead. Regret nagged at his fur as he realized that he has hardly spoken to the medicine cat in his second life, and now he was dead.

 He was a very good medicine cat, and will be missed dearly. I just wish I got to know him better, and Brownbranch was a good warrior. May StarClan welcome both of them.

 ''However, we must move on.'' Rosestar meowed, her eyes glistening with grief. ''As most of you know, I lost one life in the battle. And thankfully, Shark was killed. The battle stopped after that.'' She explained, mostly for the cats who stayed in camp. ''After the fight ended, I exiled Hawkgrowl from WindClan. For the cats who don't know, he was the one who led the rogue group to our camp all those moons ago. He was using them to become leader. I only found out about this because I saw him fighting against us and chasing Heronfall and Cougarheart back home. He also tried to kill me, but Brownbranch gave his life to save mine. If any of you see him on our territory, you have my permission to kill him.''

 Then Rosestar raised her head, flicking her tail happily. ''I have no idea who the new leader of the rogue group is, but a gray rogue told me to stop the fight because it was pointless to continue fighting without Shark. I'm not sure if they left, but they said they would. I don't think they'll bother us again.''

 ''What happened to Hawkgrowl?'' Poppyflight hissed. ''That excuse of a cat better not return!''

 ''I'm sure he won't.'' Rosestar dipped her head. ''After he killed Brownbranch, a few cats attacked him. He wanted to go back to the rogue group after the fight, but they refused to accept him.''

 ''They refused him?'' Heronfall suddenly spoke out, surprised. ''But he worked for them!''

 ''Indeed.'' Rosestar nodded. ''One of their cats said that it was all Hawkgrowl's fault, and that Shark would still be alive if it wasn't for him. The last time I saw Hawkgrowl was when we came back to camp. He was walking alongside the river, far away from our territory. I have no idea where he wants to go, but I don't think he'll come back.''

 As the gathered cats let out relieved sighs, Rosestar continued. ''We need, however, a new deputy, and then we can hold a vigil for our lost Clanmates. I hope StarClan hears and approves of my choice.''