The War of the Forest - Shadows of Revenge Book 2

Chapter 18

Deerclaw stretched her back, the sunrise shining in her face. She felt sore from the thistle stems holding the nest in place. She longed for her mossy nest back in ValleyClan. Creekfoot was organizing patrols. "Deerclaw, you're on dawn patrol!" Creekfoot called from the clearing. "Go join Flamefoot, he's leading the patrol."

Deerclaw yawned before trotting towards the gorse tunnel. Flamefoot was waiting there, scratching behind his ear. Soon enough, Thistleheart trotted over. Spottail was sitting near the prisoner's den, talking to Flightwing. "Are there really coyotes on the valleys?" The tortoiseshell tom asked.

"Yeah, but only on the top. So they're not really an issue." Flightwing shrugged. "But they are very dangerous. I ran into a patrol of them when I was an apprentice."

"Woah, did you survive?" Spottail asked.

"Um, yes?" Flightwing tilted his head at the strange question.

"Spottail, stop talking to the prisoner and get on the patrol before I put Quarryflight on there instead!" Creekfoot hissed in frustration.

"Okay, I'm coming." Spottail huffed. "I'll see you later, Flightwing." The tom dipped his head and joined the patrol.

The four cats trotted around the moor, keeping their ears pricked. Deerclaw lagged behind as they approached the stream. She started overthinking the night before. Did she leave a tuft of fur on Firebrook? Was her scent there? Did she have blood on her pelt? Her thoughts paused when Flamefoot halted, lifting his tail up. He parted his jaws to taste the air. "There's blood nearby. Someone could've gotten hurt." The white tom hissed, before walking closer toward the stream.

They reached upstream and searched along it. It was Spottail who let out a yowl of surprise. "Flamefoot!" He called from downstream. "Flamefoot! I found Firebrook!" Flamefoot's head shot up, and he ran over. Thistleheart and Deerclaw quickly joined him. The patrol hurried downstream to see Spottail standing over the stream, his fur bristling.

"Where is she?" Flamefoot flicked his tail. His eyes followed Spottail's gaze. He froze when he saw his mother's body in the stream, her head leaning against the rocks.

"She must have slipped fell in." Thistleheart sighed. "Flamefoot, I'm sorry." The ginger tom tried to put a comforting tail-tip on the senior warrior's back, but Flamefoot just turned away.

"We should bring her back to camp," Flamefoot growled, grief clear in his mew. 

Deerclaw only pitied him for a heartbeat. The pain of losing her brother was still fresh. She knew that he was one of the warriors responsible for his death, so her pity turned to anger rather quickly. "It's not fair," Deerclaw muttered, her mind still on Fawnwind.

"What's not fair?" Thistleheart turned around, tilting his head.

"Oh, er," Deerclaw's ears grew hot. "Firebrook was so nice to me. She made me feel welcome. It's not fair how she died so soon." The white and silver she-cat mewed. Thistleheart nodded, and the patrol headed back to camp with Firebrook's body. 

When the patrol was in camp, Snowstar was having a conversation with her senior warriors. She turned around and froze at the sight of Firebrook's body. "What in StarClan's name happened?" She growled.

"We found her body in the river." Flamefoot huffed. "Her head was smashed on the rocks. She must have slipped and fell in." The white warrior's eyes misted.

Snowstar didn't move for another few heartbeats. After drinking in the information, she jumped onto the Cold Rock and called for her clan. "Firebrook's body has been found." Snowstar huffed. "She fell into the river and hit her head on the rocks. We shall hold a vigil for her."

Flamefoot carried his mother's body to the center of the clearing. His tail drooped behind him, quiet whimpers escaping his muzzle. Deerclaw struggled to pretend to sympathize. The clan then gathered around Firebrook's body, drinking in her scent. Some of them muttered fond memories with her to each other, others silently looked up at the sky, as if they were praying to StarClan. The vigil brought back haunting memories of Fawnwind's death. She shuddered and brought her attention back to the vigil.

A low growl from behind her made Deerclaw whip around. Shrewleap was standing behind her, the fur along her spine bristling. "You may be fooling everyone else," Shrewleap started. "But you're not fooling me! I know you had something to do with her death!" The brown she-cat hissed. "I'll be watching you." She glared at Deerclaw once more before trotting away to join the vigil.

Deerclaw's heart quickened. Did she know about her involvement with ValleyClan? Did she see her with Cinderflame? Deerclaw only hoped that if she did see her with Cinderflame, the only life that would be lost would be hers.