Besides, she had more important things on her mind. Even though she had told Finpaw she was sure ThunderClan would be pleased to see them, she couldn’t help wondering how they would really react when she and her friend walked into their camp. They will be happy, right? Surely they’ve missed me since I chose to go with my father?

Twigpaw’s father, Hawkwing, was the deputy of SkyClan, and every cat had expected she would stay in the newly settled Clan with him and her sister, Violetshine.

But I wasn’t raised there, she told herself. It took me a while to realize how big a part ThunderClan has played in my life, right from when I was a kit.

As they rounded a bramble thicket, a familiar scent drifted over Twigpaw; she opened her jaws to taste the air more carefully.

“What is it?” Finpaw asked. “Is it prey? I’m starving!”

“No,” Twigpaw replied. “It’s the ThunderClan border scent markers. We’re almost home! Come on!”

She bounded forward, with Finpaw pelting along enthusiastically at her side. The ThunderClan scent grew stronger as they approached the border, and as they reached the line of scent markers, Twigpaw began to distinguish another familiar scent, this one of a single cat.

“That’s Sparkpelt!” she exclaimed. “You must have met her when SkyClan was living in the ThunderClan camp. She’s Alderheart’s sister. She must be somewhere around here. Sparkpelt!” she yowled, leaping up onto a small boulder that lay on the border line. “Hey, Sparkpelt!”

A clump of ferns rustled, and the fronds parted as Sparkpelt charged into the open. To Twigpaw’s amazement, her orange tabby pelt was bristling, and when she halted at the border, she arched her back and slid out her claws as if she was facing an enemy.

“Twigpaw! What’s going on here?” she demanded. “Why are you so far away from your camp, without your mentors? Has SkyClan been attacked? Is it more rogues?”

“No, no, everything’s fine,” Twigpaw meowed reassuringly, feeling almost amused at Sparkpelt’s urgent questions. “There’s no trouble in SkyClan.”

Sparkpelt relaxed slightly, her fluffed-out fur lying flat once more. But her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she glanced from Twigpaw to Finpaw and back again. “So what are you doing here?” she asked.

Once again Twigpaw felt the enormity of what she was doing, like a huge cloud gathering over her head, ready to release a storm. There’s no going back, she thought. Leafstar would never take me in again, after this. What will happen if ThunderClan sends me away?

“I’ve come home,” she replied, leaping down from her boulder. It was hard to form the words, as if her mouth were full of prey that she couldn’t spit out. “I want to be part of ThunderClan again.”

“And I’ve come with her,” Finpaw added cheerfully.