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Breakaway

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Chapter 7

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Nearly a moon after arriving at the Keep, Fleetfeather was hunting in FireClan's territory alone. He had sent Smoketail, Olivepaw, and Amberpaw back to camp, but he felt like getting a breath of free air. He was busy as a deputy, even with Leafclaw's help. This was a bit of a break for him.

He caught scent of a rabbit and followed it until he saw its source. He lowered himself, preparing to pounce—when all of a sudden, there was a rustling in the bushes, scaring the rabbit away. Annoyed, Fleetfeather stood and went to investigate.

As soon as he neared the bush, a large, fluffy cat leapt out on top of him, bowling him over. The cat was a tom, with dark gray fur and green eyes. Hissing, Fleetfeather tried to fight back, but the tom had him too well pinned.

Afraid for his life, he hissed at the cat, "What do you want?!"

After a moment's pause, the tom growled to him, "Where is FireClan's camp?"

As the tom spoke, Fleetfeather suddenly recognized his scent. RiverClan. This tom was called Webtail. He had seen him at Gatherings before.

"I'll never tell," he spat at Webtail.

Out of the bushes, three more cats appeared. Two were toms, one a small speckled gray cat from WindClan, and the other a brown cat from ShadowClan. He tried to remember their names. Sleetfang from WindClan? No, it was Sleetclaw. And the ShadowClan cat was Owlstrike.

But the fourth cat was the one that shocked him the most. This was a dappled brown she-cat with familiar blue eyes. She was from ThunderClan. Fleetfeather knew this cat as well as he knew his own scent. It was Mothcloud, his own mother.

"Mother," he croaked.

She only glared at him with a frosty blue gaze. Fleetfeather flinched and looked away.

"Tell us where your camp is," Sleetclaw, the WindClan cat, pressed him. "if you tell us, we won't kill you."

"But you will try to destroy everything I love," he hissed back.

Webtail growled and tightened his grip on Fleetfeather's shoulders. "The Clan sent us to find your Clan of traitors and bring them back."

"We don't want to come back!" Fleetfeather yowled, struggling against his captor. We left for a reason. "We left for a reason!'

"We will bring all four Clans united against you and destroy you all if you do not," Owlstrike growled. "We will show no mercy."

"Take us to your camp," Mothcloud said in an emotionless voice.

"I'll kill you if you don't," Webtail snarled.

"And if I lead you there, won't our warriors just attack you and kill you?" Fleetfeather pointed out.

That made them pause and reconsider. "Go back home to your four Clans, and leave FireClan alone," he spat.

Webtail released him, a furious expression on his face. "We'll be back," he hissed.

"We'll bring the wrath of all four Clans down on you," Sleetclaw growled.

"StarClan has forsaken you," Owlstrike added.

"We have our own StarClan: EmberClan," Fleetfeather informed him, getting to his paws and brushing moss off his fur. "We don't need the Clans or their ancestors."

Spitting curses, the three toms turned and began to slink back to where they had come from. Only Fleetfeather's mother remained.

"Fleetfeather," she said, her voice breaking. "Don't do this. Come back to ThunderClan. We miss you. You belong with us."

Fleetfeather's heart filled with with sorrow. Mothcloud had to show a brave front to her companions, but she was really just desperate to get her sons back.

He shook his head. "No. I belong here, in FireClan. I'm happy now." He paused. "Why don't you join us? Go back with your friends, get Dad, and sneak back here. We'd welcome you. Did you know that Hollynose is expecting Smoketail's kits?"

Mothcloud sighed, slumping in defeat. "No. I belong in ThunderClan. I'm loyal to my Clan. To Eaglestar. Give...give Smoketail and Hollynose my regards. I must go."

"Goodbye, Mother," he whispered as she turned and left.

"Goodbye, Fleetfeather," she murmured back.

As soon as Mothcloud was out of sight, Fleetfeather turned and raced back to the Keep.

He burst into camp with his fur on end and his green eyes wide. "FireClan!" he called out. "I have news."

Everyone in the camp stared at him in shock as he explained the details of his encounter with the four-Clans scouts.

"They said the wrath of all four Clans would come upon us," he finished, staring worriedly at Firetail. "I don't know...that could kill us all. We're only one Clan. And a small one, at that."

Every head turned toward their leader, waiting for reassurance. Firetail took a deep breath, closed her amber-green eyes, and opened them again.

"We shouldn't worry about this," she said at last. "If the other Clans attack, we will reason with them. But we should be careful. We must start to train for battle, just in case. Sunstreak and I will ask EmberClan for guidance." She paused, taking a moment to look at each cat in the crowd. "We are FireClan. We are new, but we are strong. I believe in us."

She turned and disappeared back into her den as the rest of the crowd dispersed. Before Fleetfeather did anything, he was accosted by an upset Hollynose. His sister-in-code had swelled since her announcement and was now living in their brand new nursery. The two mothers in the Clan—Stonewing and Skyfur—visited her daily, giving her advice and reassurances. Fleetfeather knew she felt cooped up and restrained, but it was for her own good.

"Fleetfeather, it wasn't us," Hollynose near about wailed. "I swear by EmberClan, it wasn't us!"

"Hollynose, what are you talking about?" Fleetfeather asked in alarm.

"Smoketail and I—we're not spies anymore, we didn't lead them here!" she cried. "It wasn't us!"

"Woah, hold on, Hollynose," he said quickly. "Did anyone blame you?"

"Well...no," she sniffled, calming down. "But I thought..."

"It's okay, honey," a soft voice said from behind him. He almost jumped before realizing it was Stonewing. "Come here, Hollynose."

The older she-cat led the expecting mother away. Fleetfeather took a deep breath and went back to his duties as deputy.

Fleetfeather crawled into the nest he shared with Firetail late that night. Even though he was exhausted, his mind moved too quickly for him to sleep. After a while of tossing and turning, he gave up and went outside to look up at the sky.

The moon was full and white. The four Clans would be having a Gathering tonight. Doubtless they were discussing the imminent destruction of FireClan. Fleetfeather's belly twisted in knots at the thought.

He was so worried. Now that he was deputy, he had the responsibility to watch over and protect the Clan. This was added worries to his already fretful nature. He pawed the ground, unsure of himself.

"Hey."

There was a voice behind him: Firetail. He turned to see her walk up to him. "Can't sleep?" he asked.

He shook his head. "I'm worried. About the Clans."

"It'll be all right," she said instantly.

"But we don't know that," he pointed out. "They could obliterate us in a single blow, if they wanted to. Kill us all. Wipe us from memory."

"No, they won't," Firetail insisted. "I have faith in our Clan. I have faith in you."

Fleetfeather sighed and leaned against her. "I wish I could believe that."

"I know that you won't believe it until you have proof," she said softly, "but try not to dwell on it. We have a life ahead of us. We have friends and family here. Who knows? Maybe we could even start a family of our own."

"I met my mother today," he said suddenly. "She was on that patrol. I offered a place for her here, but...she said her home was with ThunderClan."

"FireClan isn't a place for everyone," Firetail said quietly. "Your mother doesn't belong here. But you can still love her. She was just following what she believed in—the Warrior Code. Her Clan. Her leader. We disagreed, so we went our own way."

"I know," he admitted. "But it still hurts."

Firetail pressed herself against him. "I know. But remember that I'm here for you."

"And I'm here for you," he murmured in return.

"I'll always love you, Fleetfeather," she said softly, "through the good and the bad. I'll get us through this, I promise."

Words couldn't express what Fleetfeather felt at that moment. Instead of speaking, he pressed himself against his mate and purred.

"I know," Firetail whispered. "I know."

THE END