Warrior Cats/Return to the Clans/Recap



Shortly after the ending of Escape from the Forest, Sasha's kits have been born: Tadpole and Hawk, both toms, and Moth, the only she-cat. Sasha isn't doing well, though; she's becoming tired and weak from caring for her kits and the poor winter hunting, and she constantly dreams of Tigerstar. While hunting one day, Sasha accidentally strays into ShadowClan territory. Only Russetfur recognizes her, but she does not give any sign of it to her Clanmates, simply warning Sasha away.

Russetfur finds Sasha's den the next day while the kits are outside playing. She tells Sasha about Tigerstar's death, but also suggests that Sasha leave the forest, because if any Clan cats knew the kits were Tigerstar's, they'd want them as warriors. Sasha becomes a bit more depressed over the next few days because of Tigerstar's death, she misses her housefolk, and the weather is horrible and the hunting is just as bad. Her kits notice how sad she seems, so they decide to cheer her up by finding Ken for her, sneaking out when she's away. They make their way to Twolegplace. Sasha's friend Shnuky greets them, but they simply continue onward, saying that they have important places to go.

Sasha arrives back at her den to find the kits missing. She follows their trail to Twolegplace, and Shnuky tells her where he last saw them. He offers to help her search. Meanwhile, the kits get into no end of trouble, running into some BloodClan cats and then dogs. They decide to hide in the basement of an abandoned Twoleg nest, and the window slams shut behind them.

Shnuky and Sasha meet up with those BloodClan cats, and by pretending she's a Clan cat she threatens them into telling her where the kits went. She finds them - but a pipe has burst in the basement, and it's flooded. Moth and Hawk are able to climb out, but Tadpole drowns before they can get to him. They head home and grieve. Pine finds Sasha shortly afterward. He describes the battle with BloodClan, which he observed from up in one of the Fourtrees. He asks how she's doing, and when she tells him how down she is, he offers to bring her and the kits to a farm where they'll be able to live comfortably.

Things don't go quite as nicely as planned. The she-cat who lives in the barn isn't ready to share it with a filthy, homeless rogue and her kits. After Pine leaves, she warns them away, setting her healthy kits to attack Hawk and Moth, and to top it off, she taunts Sasha by saying that she knows nothing about motherhood. Sasha does not take this well. She attacks the she-cat and wins easily. She considers kiling her, but decides not to. They leave the barn, and Sasha comes to the realization that perhaps she and her kits are meant to be Clan cats after all. They go to RiverClan territory. She finally tells him about their father, making them promise to never say his name.

RiverClan finds them and agrees to take them in. Leopardstar offers Sasha a warrior name, but she claims that she's not ready. Before long, Hawkpaw and Mothpaw are named apprentices. They show great promise, but then one day the two watch some kits playing. One is pretending to be Tigerstar, killing everybody. The kits ask Sasha about it, but she simply says that the RiverClan cats only saw one side of Tigerstar. Leopardstar once again offers Sasha a warrior name, and again she says she's not ready.

Then the kits find the remains of the Bonehill. Leoparstar explains to them what it is, and that's when Sasha realizes that Tigerstar was closely involved with RiverClan. Fearing that they're just as vulnerable in the Clan, she tells Hawkpaw and Mothpaw that they have to leave, but they don't want to go. She realizes that if she doesn't stay in the Clan, then no cat would recognize her at Gatherings, and if the kits don't tell anyone who their father is, then no cat will ever know. She agrees to let them stay, and finally tells Leopardstar that the warrior code isn't for her. As Sasha leaves the Clan, she hears Tigerstar's voice. He says that he is proud of his kits, and that he will always watch over them.