Fawnstar's Return

Chapter 12

"Night?" Fawnstar meowed. "Are you okay?" The black tom was looking back at the tall mountain peak of his home. He sighed and looked at his paws.

"Well you see," he meowed. "It just feels wrong, leaving my home." Fawnstar murmured her agreement.

"That's exactly how I felt when we left Lightclan," she agreed. "But I knew it was for the good of my clan, and that I would return." Night nodded.

"But will I ever come back?" he murmured, half to himself. Fawnstar walked up and placed her tail on his shoulders gently.

"Time will tell," she whispered. "Come on, let's go help the others hunt." She led him over to the rocky dip in the hillside they had found the day before. Blossomshine bounded forward.

"Look what I caught!" she meowed proudly, holding a rabbit in her mouth. Fawnstar purred in delight. There was plenty of prey up here. "Hey Patchfoot!" she called to the young warrior. "Come share with me!" Patchfoot padded over and swiped his tongue around his muzzle. Suddenly Night shot away. He leaped and pounced onto a starling that was trying to fly away.

"Great catch!" Fawnstar meowed. Night nodded his thanks. Fawnstar padded past the rocky dip, and out onto the mountainside. She tasted the cool breezy air, and found the scent of some unusual bird she had never scented before. Guessing that it was a bird known to these mountains, the brown tabby she-cat crept up behind a boulder and scanned the ground. She saw no movement of any sort.

But there was the beating of wings above her, sending little puffs of wind down onto Fawnstar. She turned to look and saw the biggest bird she had ever seen in her life. It had huge talons, and big wings that were hooked in as it dived down towards the cowering leader. Suddenly, a yowl split through the air. A flash of red fur jumped and clawed at the bird.

"Watch out!" Dash screeched, digging his claws in to the giant bird. He held on sharply until Night came to help, and they took the bird down together. Fawnstar panted as she got up.

"What was that?" she meowed hoarsely.

"An eagle," Dash explained. "They like to roam these mountains and prey on cats. That one was young, so it was pretty easy to kill." He looked down proudly at the catch. 

"Yes," Night agreed. "Full grown eagles can snatch kits away in a single swipe. They carry them back to their nests and eat them whole." Fawnstar shivered at the thought of a wailing kit being carried away by one of those giant beasts.

"We should get back to the others and divide that evenly," she meowed, eyeing the two toms' catch. Fawnstar led Dash and Night back to the others, and showed them what they had caught.

"Whoa what is that?" Blossomshine exclaimed. Dash puffed out his chest proudly.

"An eagle," Night anwsered for him. "They're big birds that roam these mountains, and they could pick up a cat in their claws." As he took Blossomshine over to a shady spot under some bushes to continue the story, Fawnstar sat down beside Patchfoot, who was resting his chin on his paws.

"Are you okay?" she asked hesitantly. The black and white tom looked up.

"I don't know," he confessed. "I don't know what we're going to find back in the clans. What if it's trouble, Fawnstar? What if our clanmates are dead already?" Fawnstar gulped, knowing his words might be true.

"We'll find out when we get there," she assured him. "It's only a matter of time."

After the group of cats had finished up their meal, they began to descend the mountain once more, Night in the lead. His black pelt ruffled in the wind as he jumped down rocks and boulders. Blossomshine was right behind him, in case she slipped.

"Look!" she meowed ecxitedly. "I see the valley below!" Fawnstar looked, and knew instantly she was right. A huge valley spread below them, farther then they had ever seen. There were thunderpaths stretching far and wide, with monsters running along them. She put her paw up and faced one tiny thunderpath. The monsters looked so small, it seemed as if Fawnstar could snatch one right up with her paw.

"That's right," Night anwsered the tortoisheshell she-cat. "I reckon clan territory is just beyond there." He pointed with his tail past a large thunderpath to where a huge grassy field lay. Fawnstar nodded in agreement, coming up to stand beside him.

"That's the field we crossed on the way here." 

"Yeah," Patchfoot added with a shiver. "The sheep field." Fawnstar let out a snort of laughter.

"They were never gonna hurt you, ya know," she meowed, butting him affectionatly on the shoulder. He bent down to lick his chest fur in embarassment.

Piper and her kits were the last to come down the rocky trail that led to a ledge on the mountainside. Velvet and Patch were skipping along playfully. 

"We're having fun mama!" Patch told her.

"Yeah!" Velvet chimed in. Piper looked lovingly at her kits as they leaped down the slope. Fawnstar nodded at her with empathy.

"I used to have kits like those," she meowed, suddenly feeling older. Piper shot her a sympathetic glance. Kits were, well, kits. They were sweet but also bitter at times. Fawnstar adored kits, but knew she was too old to have more.

"Well, I'll cherish these precious moments, because before I know it, these two will be all grown up," Piper sighed.

"C'mon you two!" Night told them. "We have to get down this last part." Fawnstar nodded in agreement and followed him, racing, down the slope past the rocky part. The rest of the cats trailed behind them, Blossomshine and Patchfoot bringing up the rear. Fawnstar felt a chilly blast of wind in her face as she ran through long grass. The slope was gradually getting flatter, and soon, they had reached the field below.

"Whew!" Patchfoot huffed. "That was something!" Fawnstar nodded as he fell into step beside her.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" she asked him hesitantly. Patchfoot began to stare at the ground. Fawnstar sighed. She knew he was thinking of home, and how all of his clanmates might be washed away at this very instant. She knew he might be wondering about his family, and his friends, but at least he had Blossomshine. "Don't forget," Fawnstar added. "Blossomshine is still with you." He glanced fondly over at the tortoisheshell she-cat who was helping Piper's kits down the slope.

"Yes," he sighed. "I suppose you're right." Fawnstar bent over and gave him a quick lick on the head, then padded over to join Night at the front. 

"Is there anyway we can avoid Twolegplace?" she asked, pointing her tail to the towering nests. Night paused to think.

"Hmm, it stretches far, but I suppose we could go around it," he meowed.

"Okay," Fawnstar meowed. 

Soon enough the traveling cats reached the Twolegplace, and the forest that lay beyond it. Piper looked at Night wearily.

"Could we stop here for the night?" she meowed sleepily. "I don't think those kits could go another day without sleeping." Patch and Velvet were bearly even awake, trying to keep themselves on their paws.

"Yes," Night meowed. "We'll head around Twolegplace in the morning, and if we leave early enough, we should be able to make it back to clan territory by sundown."

"I'll hunt," Fawnstar offered, padding off into the trees.

So sorry for the delay everyone! I wrote the first half of this a little while ago but then started getting a million notifications, so yeah, I was busy. But here it is finally! I'll try to be more consistent if possible!

-IMTmystlcal_fawn