She thought she had lost everything. He thought he had everything. She wished no one loved her. He wished everyone would love him. She just wanted the battle to be over. He wanted it to go on forever. She wanted to give up. He never let her. She wa...
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For a moment, none of the cats moved or spoke.
Then Deadfoot growled, "Any of the Clans could see thoseclouds. We can't be sure that the message is for us."
Hopeful mews spread through WindClan however, I couldn't shake the feeling that something would go wrong.
Tallstar surveyed his Clan, then meowed calmly, "WhateverStarClan has planned for us, today we return to our home. I can smell more rain in the air. It's time we setoff."
The last thing they needed was hysteria at anominous prophecy.Tallstar led the way out into the chilly morning air. Fireheart, Graystripe, and I followed. The WindClanleader was right: the wind carried the promise of more rain, and soon.
"Shall we scout ahead?" Fireheart offered.
"Yes, please," replied Tallstar. "Let me know if you see dogs, Twolegs, or rats. My Clan is stronger thismorning, but we had trouble with dogs on the way out. We must stay alert."
I could see from theworried look in the leader's eyes that Barkface's warning had disturbed him more than his confident wordssuggested. His Clan might be stronger, but it was in no state to fight off attackers.Fireheart raced away with me and Graystripe at his heels. We took turns going back to the Clan, tellingTallstar that the way ahead was clear, or warning him to stay back while a Twoleg passed by with a dog. TheWindClan cats wordlessly obeyed their leader, plodding on heavy paws despite their night's rest.By sunhigh dark clouds had gathered once more, and the first drops of rain were beginning to fall. Theground began to slope upward, and when we pushed our way through a hedge, I recognized the reddirt track that led away from human territory and into WindClan's hunting grounds.
My spirits soared, and I met Graystripe's gaze with a look of triumph. Nearly there!The muffled tramp of pawsteps sounded behind the hedge. I spun around and darted back intothe field. The WindClan cats had caught up with us. Deadfoot was at the head of the group. He lookedstartled by my sudden appearance.
"This way," I meowed, showing him the gap through the dripping leaves. I was eager to seeWindClan's reaction when they glimpsed the uplands on the other side. With Deadfoot leading, the catsbegan to file slowly through. I followed close behind the last cat, but Deadfoot and two warriors had already leaped the ditchand crossed the track, and were pushing into the hedgerow on the other side. Their pace had quickened—they knew where they were. I had to sprint to catch up. I followed them through the hedge andkept up with them as they bounded toward the long slope that led to the uplands, and their home.
