“Come. It’s time for us to return home,” she meowed. With a last glance at Dodge and Stick, she led her Clanmates out of the battered camp, across the ditch, and into the woods.
While they were still among the trees, Cora raced to catch up to them.
“Thank you,” the black she-cat panted, running alongside Leafstar. “For everything.”
Leafstar nodded. “It was our destiny.”
A pang of regret shook her as Cora turned back to return to the Twolegplace. If things had been different, we could have been friends. But Cora’s paws lay on another path, she knew, helping her friends to rebuild their lives after the devastation of the battle. That is her destiny. And this is ours.
The SkyClan cats traveled slowly that day. Every cat was injured: Cherrytail was the worst, with scratches on both flanks and a wound to her neck which kept oozing blood. Shrewtooth was limping from where he had pulled out a claw, but he held his head proudly. Egg had a shredded ear, and patches of Sparrowpelt’s fur had been wrenched out.
Leafstar made camp early, under the roots of a tree; with Sharpclaw and Waspwhisker, who had the least injuries, she hunted for the rest of the Clan, and found cobwebs to put on Cherrytail’s neck wound.
“We’ll soon have you home to Echosong,” she promised.
The tortoiseshell she-cat flicked her tail. “Don’t worry about me, Leafstar. I’ll be okay.”
The next day dawned fine, with a warm, sleepy breeze brushing the grass and ruffling the cats’ fur. Leafstar glanced around approvingly as they set out again. Well-fed and rested, her Clanmates were already starting to recover. Her paws were tugging her home, but she set an easy pace, mindful of their wounds.
In the heat of sunhigh they rested beside the river where marigold grew thickly at the water’s edge. Leafstar chewed up leaves to make a poultice for Cherrytail, while the rest of her Clanmates treated one another’s scrapes and bruises. Egg caught another fish for them to share, and started to teach Rockshade how to do it; a close friendship seemed to be springing up between the two young cats.
SkyClan will be stronger for all we have been through together, Leafstar thought with satisfaction.
On the final day of their journey, Leafstar realized that Sharpclaw had fallen into step beside her. She had been waiting for this moment, and was mildly surprised that it had taken him so long. Is he going to make one final challenge to my leadership?
“I want you to know that I’ll fight to the end of my nine lives to keep my position as leader,” she vowed quietly, before Sharpclaw had the chance to say anything. “Not because I think I deserve it, but because I am loyal to my Clan, and to the warrior code, above all else.”
Sharpclaw widened his eyes. Leafstar’s voice grew sharper as she continued. “The code says that as leader my word is law, and my Clanmates must be loyal to me. If any cat cannot be loyal to me in this way, they cannot be part of SkyClan.”
Sharpclaw just nodded. “I never expected anything else,” he meowed.
“What?” Leafstar was outraged. “When you challenged me at every turn? When you took patrols into the Twolegplace without telling me? When—”
“But I’ve never doubted that you should be our leader,” Sharpclaw interrupted. “I’ve always believed that, ever since Firestar took you to the Skyrock to receive your nine lives. I challenged you, yes, so I could be sure of your conviction that you were doing the right thing.” His green eyes flashed. “What SkyClan needs more than anything else is a leader who has faith in herself. Because only then could other cats have faith in her, too.”
Leafstar stared at him, stunned. I thought he was a traitor! But all he cares about is making our Clan strong!
“Then you have to accept the daylight-warriors,” she told him, scrambling her thoughts together. “They are our Clanmates as much as any cat, and they have equal roles to play.” Realizing how deeply she believed what she had just said, she added, “So Frecklepaw will be apprenticed to Echosong, just as she wishes, and we’ll offer night training to all cats, not just those based in the gorge.”
“Even in the Twolegplace?” Sharpclaw asked with a glint in his eyes.
Leafstar let her neck fur bristle up, but inwardly she was rejoicing at the new relationship that seemed to be unfurling between them. Maybe I shouldn’t have expected him to respect me when I didn’t have enough respect for him. “You’ll have to let me think about that. But you will show respect to the daylight-warriors and include them in all the Clan activities. They are a worthy part of SkyClan.”
Sharpclaw gave her a sideways glance. There was an edge to his tone as he murmured, “That’s our destiny, right?”
Leafstar halted and faced him; the other cats gave them curious glances as they padded past.
“SkyClan’s destiny is that we will never live in isolation from other cats,” she meowed. “We’re not like the forest Clans; we can’t shut ourselves off entirely from kittypets or rogues. And visitors will be welcome.”
“Just like that?” Sharpclaw queried.
Leafstar recalled the havoc that Stick and his friends had almost caused in her Clan. “No, there must be conditions.” Excitement tingled through her as she realized that she was expanding the warrior code itself to fit the conditions in which SkyClan had to live. Are these the “deeper roots” that the prophecy spoke of?
“Visiting cats must hunt every day,” she continued, “but we won’t train them for fighting until they have spent one moon with us. And if they bring danger to the gorge, they must leave. SkyClan does not offer itself to the highest bidder as a fighting force.” She lifted her head. “We are a proud, independent Clan with a code and honor of our own.”
Sharpclaw let out a small sigh; then he nodded and touched his muzzle to the top of Leafstar’s head. “I am proud to be your deputy,” he murmured. He gave her a long look from sparkling eyes before turning away to pad after his Clanmates.
Leafstar stayed where she was for a moment, watching him go. Sharpclaw would never be an easy cat, she knew, blindly following her orders. He would always be a tough, challenging presence at her shoulder, with ideas of his own, and he would never be afraid to argue. We’ll have many more quarrels to come, I’m sure, Leafstar thought. And that’s good.
Watching her Clanmates pad away from her along the riverbank, Leafstar narrowed her eyes. There’s one more part of my destiny that I need to take control of. With energy flooding into her paws she bounded forward until she caught up with Billystorm.
The ginger-and-white tom turned to look at her, his gaze warm with welcome. Leafstar reveled in the sensation of being close to him. He was so strong, so brave, so loyal in the battle… She knew that he loved her, but he had accepted her destiny to be the leader of SkyClan, and nothing more. He was still prepared to go into battle beside her, and forge a path for other daylight-warriors to follow.
But Leafstar wanted more than this. If she could choose her Clan’s destiny, she could choose her own. She had a deputy and a medicine cat she would trust with her eight remaining lives. Even if she had to step down from her duties while she nursed a litter of kits. In her Clan, her warrior code, there was no law against leaders having a mate, and a destiny of their own.
“Will you walk with me a while?” she asked him. “We need to talk…”
TURN THE PAGE TO READ
AN EXCLUSIVE SKYCLAN
MANGA ADVENTURE…
CREATED BY
ERIN HUNTER
WRITTEN BY
DAN JOLLEY
ART BY