Warriors: Heronpaw's Secret (Complete)

Chapter 21

 Heronfall padded out of the warriors' den and looked around. The sun was at its highest spot in the sky now, and everyone was sitting in camp, either eating, talking, or listening to Whitelion's orders.

 He padded toward the fresh-kill pile and sat down, nodding toward Foggydream and Lightningstep. ''Hello there!''

 ''Oh, hello Heronfall!'' Lightningstep meowed. ''What was patrolling at dawn like?''

 ''Cold.'' Heronfall shivered and took a rabbit from the fresh-kill pile and started eating it. ''I can't wait for newleaf!''

 ''Me neither.'' Foggydream yawned. ''Also, you missed a lot of things while you were sleeping. Frostbreeze's kits arrived!"

 ''What?'' Heronfall blinked, surprised. ''Really?''

 ''Yes! She had two kits. She named them Snowkit and Dunekit. They're so adorable!'' Foggydream purred. ''Sandypelt is very proud of them.''

 ''I'm sure one day they will be good warriors.'' Heronfall meowed, then finished his rabbit and got up. ''Anyway, I think I'll go stretch my legs for a bit, then I'll come back to visit the kits. See you later!''

 ''All right, see you!'' Lightningstep meowed. 

 ''Don't get lost!'' Foggydream joked.

 Heronfall purred in amusement and turned around, padding out of camp. He hissed as he realized that the snow was melting even more, leaving behind puddles of water that were slowly turning into mud. It made the moor look messy and dirty, and he hated how the mud clung to his fur.

 He sniffed the air and looked around, wanting to hunt.

 ''Heronfall!''

 Heronfall's fur bristled and he spun around, but relaxed when he saw Cougarheart approaching him. 

 She purred. ''Why are you so surprised? Actually, I think you're still scared of everything that makes a sound, like you were when you were a kit.''

 ''Yeah, yeah.'' Heronfall purred, amused, then stretched. ''I was about to try to hunt a bird, since that was my dream when I was a kit. Do you want to join me?''

 ''Sure.'' Cougarheart meowed and got up, sniffing the air. Heronfall did the same, although he could hardly scent anything.

 ''You know, it must be weird, having lived two lives.'' Cougarheart suddenly meowed, looking at Heronfall. ''I didn't really ask about this, since we forgave each other a moon ago, but I've been thinking about it. Isn't it weird?''

 ''A bit, yes.'' Heronfall nodded, leaving the camp behind them as they padded away alongside each other. ''But I'm glad I was given a second chance.''

 ''Me too.'' Cougarheart sighed, looking at her paws. ''I've already told you, but I was so sad when you died.. well, when you lost your first life. You were my first friend, and finding you dead just.. hurt me. I thought I lost you forever.''

 ''I know.'' Heronfall sighed and looked at her. ''But I'm fine now, don't worry. I'm not going anywhere.''

 ''Yes, I know, but I didn't know that when I was a kit.'' Cougarheart confessed. ''I was always wondering if you were watching over me from StarClan, when you were actually sitting in camp. It's just that.. if you would have never returned from StarClan, I would probably still be grieving you. It hurts to lose a friend.''

 ''It surely does.'' Heronfall meowed, his heart piercing as he remembered how sad he had been after Meadow's death. ''I still get sad sad when I think about Meadow, and I still miss her, but.. I have friends here that give me company. You, Foggydream, Lightningstep, Mushroomspot, Nightshine, and Whitelion. Although sometimes I want to tell some of them that I'm Heronkit, I know I can't. But I wish I could.''

 ''You know, you were very brave when you told me the truth.'' Cougarheart purred, flicking her tail. ''I'm glad you did, but when I found out the truth, I was really angry. I'm sorry, I was just.. not thinking at all, and it came as a huge shock to me.. but you knew that you weren't supposed to tell anyone, and that you would suffer the consequences if you did. You almost lost your second life, but Featherwish, or whatever her name was, let you come back. But if you hadn't..''

 Cougarheart sighed. ''If you hadn't, I would not have forgiven myself.''

 Heronfall sighed, looking at her reassuringly. ''But I came back, see? You don't have to think about what would have happened, because nothing bad happened. It doesn't matter anymore. I'm still here.''

 ''You're right.'' Cougarheart took a deep breath. ''I'm glad you're my friend, Heronfall, and I'm very glad I found you when I did, and that you told me the truth. You're a really brave cat.''

 ''Thank you.'' Heronfall purred, surprised. ''But you're a great friend too, you know? Brave, as well. WindClan is proud to have you as one of its warriors.''

 ''I suppose so.'' Cougarheart meowed, but then froze. She got up and sniffed the air, then lowered her voice. ''You've been wanting to catch a bird since your kithood, right?''

 ''Yes, why?'' Heronfall tilted his head.

 ''Well..'' Cougarheart pointed with her tail toward a sparrow. The bird landed on a rock with its back at the cats, unaware of the danger behind it.

 Heronfall's eyes grew wide with surprise and instantly dropped into a crouch. He stalked toward the bird, locking his eyes on the prey. When he got close enough, he quickly unsheathed his claws and pounced on the sparrow. He killed it with a swift bite at its neck, then grabbed it and turned around, holding his prey proudly. ''I caught a bird!''

 ''It was about time.'' Cougarheart purred, padding toward him. ''Wanting to do something since kithood and not doing it until warriorhood is a long time to wait. Good job!''

 ''Thanks.'' Heronfall dipped his head and quickly buried it. ''What do you want to-''

 But Cougarheart silenced him with a flick of her tail. She crouched and looked at a rabbit, and Heronfall fell silent. Then, Cougarheart quickly sprinted toward the rabbit. The prey looked around and let out a squeak, trying to run away, but Cougarheart jumped on it, digging her claws in the rabbit's back. She then killed it and picked it up, turning around.

 ''Nice catch!'' Heronfall meowed. 

 Cougarheart padded toward him, purring. ''Thanks!''

 ''I think we should go back to camp now.'' Heronfall meowed, looking at the sky. The sun was about to set, and although he wasn't tired, he knew that it would be better to go back in camp. Although newleaf was right around the corner, nights were still extremely cold, especially out in the moor.

 ''I agree.'' Cougarheart nodded, shivering. 

 Heronfall turned around and gently digged through the snow where he buried his sparrow, picking it up. When he turned around, Cougarheart was looking at him mischievously.

 ''Let's race, you slow snail!'' Cougarheart joked, then turned around and rushed toward the camp. Heronfall ran after her, finally at peace.

 It wasn't easy keeping my first life a secret from the others, but I'm glad I told Cougarheart. Even if she was upset with me at first. I'm glad she forgave me. I'm sure the other cats didn't grieve my death as much as Cougarheart did, so she had every right to know the truth. And now that she forgave me, with Hawkgrowl and the rogue group gone, WindClan is finally at peace. I promise to protect Cougarheart and WindClan forever. I owe them my life, because I would not be who I am now without them.