Warrior Cats/The Rescue/Recap



Several moons after the end of the manga of SkyClan's Destiny, Leafstar is expecting Billystorm's kits. Clovertail's kits are now apprentices: Sandypaw, Honeypaw, Birdpaw. Billystorm is still a daylight-warrior, as are all the others from SD. Everything's going along well: the apprentices are learning (despite Birdpaw falling and injuring her eye), Leafstar's healthy in her pregnancy (although bored), the Clan is gossiping about Cherrytail and Sharpclaw, and SkyClan is safe. However, Leafstar has begun to notice that the apprentices and younger warriors are sneaking off outside Clan territory, and one of those times they seem full-fed. It especially gets suspicious when Birdpaw comes back with her eye nearly healed, when Echosong's herbs weren't working well. Leafstar follows them, and it turns out that they're taking food from an elderly female Twoleg. Leafstar yells at them. Not long after, she has her kits.

Soon afterward, the female Twoleg is wandering the gorge with a picnic basket. The Clan hides, but three kits are a pawful for Leafstar, and one of them falls out of the den. The Twoleg picks it up and places it in the basket as Leafstar rushes out of the den, and she gets picked up too, as well as her other two kits. Leafstar is able to shout to her Clanmates where she'll be. She stays in the den for at least a night and a day, disgusted by the food and missing her Clan. She is not locked in, but there's no way she'll be able to take all three kits. The Twoleg's kittypet Harry, a tortoiseshell tom, is at first scornful of the way Leafstar is such a great leader having been captured, but is also very curious about Clan life and her Clanmates' loyalty in getting her out.

Eventually, Fallowfern feigns injury outside the next, and the elderly Twoleg takes her inside. Fallowfern, Leafstar, and Harry each take a kit and run outside to where the Clan is waiting. A SkyClan cat takes the kit from Harry, and they leave him as they return to the gorge. Leafstar and Billystorm name their kits: the ginger she-kit is Firekit (for Firestar), the gray and ginger she-kit is Stormkit (for Sandstorm), and the gray tom is Harrykit (for the kittypet that helped them escape). That night, Leafstar holds a Clan meeting, thanking her Clanmates for their loyalty and bravery. Harry comes, saying he wanted to try Clan life, since the things Leafstar told him sounded wonderful. She agrees that he can stay, explaining that he must be willing to give everything to his Clan, even his life. He understands. She introduces him to Harrykit. He then explains that "Harry" isn't his real name; that's just what the Twoleg called him. His real name is Sol.