“You caught it?” Palebird mewed in surprise.
Talltail glanced over his shoulder. “You might want to send some warriors to fetch it. It’ll provide food for the Clan.” He padded past his mother, dipping his head. “It’s good to see you again, Palebird,” he muttered. Ducking through the heather, he headed into camp.
“Talltail?” Barkface was carrying a bundle of dripping moss to the elders’ den. He dropped it and bounded over the tussocks. “You came back!” A loud purr rumbled in his throat.
Talltail nosed his old friend’s cheek. “Yes.” His gaze flicked around the camp.
In the cold leaf-bare light, the heather looked dull. The grass had wilted in the frost. The bracken patch where the tunnelers made their nests was bent and shriveled. Only Tallrock seemed the same, looming above the Meeting Hollow.
The bracken stirred as Hickorynose got to his paws. “Plumclaw, come see who’s here.” He nudged his denmate, keeping his eyes fixed on Talltail.
Whiteberry peered out of the elders’ den. “Where’s that moss, Bark…” His mew trailed away as he spotted Talltail.
Lilywhisker pushed past him. “I smell Talltail’s scent!” Her eyes lit up. “You’re back!”
“Who’s back?” Shrewclaw padded sleepily from the long grass.
Ryestalk followed him out. “Is that Talltail?”
“Talltail?” Stagleap scrambled out of the Meeting Hollow and raced past Aspenfall and Cloudrunner as they emerged from the shadows at the edge of the clearing.
“Did you find him?” Barkface’s urgent whisper sounded in Talltail’s ear. “Did you kill Sparrow?” His eyes were dark with concern.
“I found him,” Talltail told him. “But I let him live.”
Barkface closed his eyes. “Thank StarClan.”
“Sandgorse died saving him when the tunnel collapsed,” Talltail went on. “How could I kill him, knowing that?”
“Talltail!” Stagleap nudged Barkface aside. “You look well!”
Shrewclaw caught up to him. “The wormcat’s back?” He looked Talltail up and down. “I thought you’d left for good.” There was a taunt in his mew.
“No, I’ve come back.” Talltail glanced around the camp. “If Heatherstar will let me.” Where was she? He strained to see into the gloom of her den beyond Tallrock.
“She’s leading a hunting patrol,” Stagleap meowed.
Ryestalk stopped beside Shrewclaw. “It’s good to see you, Talltail.”
“And you, Ryestalk.” Talltail tipped his head. Ryestalk’s pelt was touching Shrewclaw’s. Their whiskers brushed casually. Were they mates now? It was strange to think that life had carried on in the Clan while he’d been away.
“Talltail!” Dawnstripe leaped from the Meeting Hollow. “You came back!” Delight lit up her eyes.
Talltail stood still as she raced to meet him. “I couldn’t stay away.”
She stopped in front of him and gazed warmly into his eyes. “Then my training wasn’t wasted.”
“It was never wasted,” he meowed softly. “Not once.”
Behind him, Palebird was shooing Wrenkit and Flykit crossly through the heather. “I can’t take my eyes off you for a moment!”
Bristlekit and Rabbitkit came haring from the nursery. “Where did you go?” Rabbitkit demanded, glaring at Wrenkit. “Why didn’t you let us come?”
Bristlekit nudged his brother, his gaze fixed on Talltail. “Who cares? He’s back!”
Larksplash padded into camp. “You would have lost Wrenkit and Flykit if he weren’t.” She flashed another stern look at Palebird.
Ryestalk pricked her ears. “What happened?”
“Talltail saved them from a hawk,” Larksplash explained.
“Impressive!” Stagleap nudged Talltail with his shoulder.
Larksplash nodded toward the entrance. “Why don’t you and Cloudrunner go get it? There’ll be fresh-kill for everyone tonight.”
“Don’t bother.” Heatherstar’s mew took Talltail by surprise. He spun around as the WindClan leader padded through the entrance with Reedfeather at her heels. “Redclaw and Hareflight are carrying it back.” She narrowed her eyes. “I thought I smelled your scent on it, Talltail. It seems you’ve learned new skills while you’ve been away.”
Reedfeather stopped beside his leader. “Let’s hope he’s learned more than skills,” he muttered.
Talltail kept his gaze on Heatherstar, his heart quickening. Would she let him rejoin the Clan?
Shrewclaw stepped closer. “What are you doing here, Talltail? Was the land beyond the Clans too scary for you?” But there was curiosity and affection in his mew, underneath the teasing.
“My heart wanted to be home.” Talltail dipped his head. “And my paws carried me back.”
Heatherstar blinked slowly. Branches rustled behind her. Grunting with effort, Hareflight emerged, dragging the hawk carcass through. Redclaw followed, a taloned foot in his teeth as he helped Hareflight heave the bird into camp.
Whiteberry padded around the body as they laid it on a tussock. “You caught this by yourself?”
“I surprised it,” Talltail confessed. “The hawk thought it was the hunter, not the hunted. It was easy to knock it out of the sky.”
Whiteberry sniffed its bloody neck. “You must have been quick to kill it before it escaped. These wings could crack a warrior’s spine.”
Talltail hadn’t thought about the danger, only saving the kits. He swallowed, relieved that StarClan had been kind to him. Was it a sign that he was welcome home? He glanced at Heatherstar.
She flicked her tail toward the entrance. “Walk with me, Talltail.” She turned, pausing beside Reedfeather. “Organize the dusk patrol while we’re gone, please.”
Heatherstar didn’t speak as she led the way upslope. She weaved through the bushes, following an old rabbit trail. Talltail trotted after her, relishing the feel of familiar stems brushing his pelt, his tongue steeped in scents he’d known since he was a kit. As he emerged onto the moor-top, the wind buffeted his face. It promised rain. He opened his mouth and tasted the distant tang of Highstones. Gray clouds dragged along their peaks, hiding the mountains beyond. Heatherstar kept moving, head high, pelt smooth. She’s heading for Outlook Rock.
The familiar crop of stones jutted from the moor, pale gray against the dark gray sky. Talltail padded onto the ledge and felt the smooth stone underneath his paws. He’d spent so many moments here, dreaming of traveling farther than he could see. Now he’d been beyond the horizon that had once made him feel trapped and suffocated. And still he’d come back.
Heatherstar sat at the edge of the rock and stared across the valley. “Are you glad to be home?”
Talltail stopped a muzzle-length behind her. He opened his mouth and let the wind wash his tongue. He’d traveled far, far away, where every paw step was strange and new. Now he was walking on WindClan land once more. His kin had walked this moor since the dawn of the Clans. Sandgorse and countless others had tunneled beneath it. This was home. He belonged here. His Clan needed him. Even if they didn’t know it, he knew it, as surely as he knew that daylight would bathe the Highstones every sunrise.
“Yes, I’m glad to be back,” he murmured.
“Good.” She kept her eyes on the distant peaks. “You always loved it here.”
“I did.” Talltail had never felt more free than when he was sitting on the rock, the sky high above, the land far below.
“Did you find what you were looking for?” Heatherstar’s question sounded casual, but Talltail guessed from the stiffness in her shoulders that she knew exactly what she was asking.
“No.”
“So Sparrow is alive.”
Talltail swallowed. “Yes.”
“Couldn’t you find him?” Heatherstar’s mew was soft.