Dark River

Chapter 1

“Look out!” Lionpaw lashed his tail. “ShadowClan warriors behind us!”

Hollypaw whipped around, her black pelt standing on end.

“I’ll take them!”

Lionpaw glanced at his brother. “Scent anything, Jaypaw?”

“More warriors coming!” the gray tabby warned. His blind, blue eyes were round with alarm. “Prepare for attack!”

“We’ll ambush them as they come through the camp wall!”

Lionpaw ordered. He jerked his head toward Hollypaw. “Can you handle those three?”

“Easy!” Hollypaw rolled onto her back then sprung to her paws, claws glinting in the afternoon sun.

Lionpaw darted forward and crouched behind the prickly wall of thorns. “Quick, Jaypaw! Beside me!”

Jaypaw scooted over and dropped into an attack crouch.

“They’re coming!”

A tabby warrior trotted through the entrance.

“Now!” Lionpaw screeched. He hurled himself at the warrior. Jaypaw scrambled between the enemy’s paws. With a grunt of surprise, the invader tripped and tumbled onto his side. Lionpaw was on him in an instant.

“Enough!” Squirrelflight’s sharp mew rang around the small clearing.

Lionpaw stopped pummeling Brambleclaw’s back with his hind legs and stared at his mother as she hurried through the gap in the bramble wall. “But we’re pretending ShadowClan are attacking!”

Jaypaw skidded to a halt. “We’d almost won!”

Brambleclaw got to his paws, shaking Lionpaw off. “Good ambush,” he purred. “But you know you’re not meant to be playing here.”

Lionpaw slid to the ground. “It’s the only good place to practice a surprise attack,” he mewed sulkily. He looked around the half-finished den; its bramble walls jutted out from the side of the warriors’ den. Once branches had been pushed over the top to form the roof, an opening would be made to join the old den with the new one.

Hollypaw padded toward them, leaving her imaginary foes behind. “We’re not getting in anyone’s way,” she pointed out.

She fluffed out her fur against the wind. Newleaf sunshine had taken the chill from the hollow, but the afternoon had brought with it a breeze from the mountains that reminded Lionpaw that leaf-bare was less than a quarter moon behind them.

“What if every apprentice decided to practice their battle moves here?” Squirrelflight demanded. “The walls would be broken in no time and all Birchfall’s and Graystripe’s hard work would be wasted.”

“We need to expand the warriors’ den before you and the other apprentices become warriors,” Brambleclaw added.

“It’s already too crowded.”

“Okay, we get the point!” Jaypaw lifted his chin. His fur was ruffled and bits of leaves were sticking out of his pelt.

“Look at you!” Squirrelflight licked Jaypaw roughly between the ears. “You’ve made yourselves filthy,” she scolded, “and we’ll be leaving for the Gathering soon.”

Lionpaw began to wash the dried leaf-dust from his chest before his mother started on him.

Jaypaw ducked away from Squirrelflight’s tongue. “I can wash myself, you know,” he complained.

“Leave them be,” Brambleclaw meowed to his mate. “I’m sure they’ll smarten themselves up before we leave.”

“Of course we will,” Lionpaw promised. There was no way he was going to let the other Clans see him looking like a hedgehog. This would be the first Gathering the three of them had attended together. “We’ve been looking forward to this for ages. Haven’t we, Jaypaw?”

Jaypaw flicked his tail. “Yeah, right.”

Lionpaw flexed his claws. Why did Jaypaw have to be grumpy all the time? This would be his first Gathering ever.

He must be looking forward to it. He had missed the last two, once as a punishment and once because his medicine duties had kept him in camp. Lionpaw knew his littermate well enough to know how important it was to be able to do what the other cats did, despite his blindness—and that included going to Gatherings.

“Hurry up! Out of here, before Firestar notices!” Squirrelflight ordered, herding her kits toward the gap in the wall.

“Go and find something on the fresh-kill pile. You’ve a long night ahead.”

Lionpaw’s tail pricked with excitement at the thought of the Gathering. He could almost smell the pine scents of the island.

But Hollypaw’s eyes glittered with worry. “I hope the other Clans don’t pick on us again. Do you know if Millie’s coming? Perhaps she should stay behind this time.”

When Graystripe had returned to the Clan two moons ago, he had brought with him his new mate, Millie, a kittypet whom he had met while the Twolegs held him captive. He had trained her as a warrior and in return she had helped him make the long, perilous journey to the lake in search of his lost Clan. Her kittypet roots made her an easy target for the other Clan’s jibes, and she wasn’t the only ThunderClan cat who was taunted for not being Clanborn.

“Millie can take care of herself,” Squirrelflight pointed out.

“Besides, the contest seemed to have smoothed things over a bit,” Brambleclaw added.

“But for how long?” Hollypaw mewed. Lionpaw knew his sister had never been entirely convinced that the daylight Gathering would heal the rifts between the Clans. The four Clans had competed in friendly contests to test their skills, pitting their apprentices against one another in an effort to put aside growing distrust and border tensions. Lionpaw remembered the day for a different reason, though: He and the WindClan apprentice Breezepaw had fallen into an old badger set and nearly suffocated in choking sand before Jaypaw had found them.

“You’re always fretting about something,” Jaypaw snorted at Hollypaw. “It’s like living with an anxious owl.”

“Newleaf is here now,” Squirrelflight pointed out. “There’s more prey running around, so the Clans should be less prickly.”

Hollypaw glanced at Jaypaw. “Some cats are still prickly even with a full belly!”

“Hush.” Squirrelflight nudged her with her nose. “Go and eat.”

“I was only telling the truth!” Hollypaw started forward, but Jaypaw barged past her. She let out a yelp, glaring after Jaypaw, who was already halfway to the medicine den. “He nipped me!”

Lionpaw’s whiskers twitched. “You can fight off three ShadowClan warriors single-pawed,” he teased. “But one nip from your brother and you squeal like a kit.”

Her soft tail flicked his nose. “You’d have squealed, too!”

“I haven’t squealed since I left the nursery!”

Hollypaw narrowed her eyes mischievously. “How about I nip you and see how brave you really are?”

“You’ll have to catch me first!”

Lionpaw darted away, Hollypaw pounding after him.

“Here!” He skidded to a halt beside the fresh-kill pile and tossed a mouse at Hollypaw as she caught up. “Nip this instead.”

The full moon floated in a clear blue-black sky. Ahead, the island rose from the lake, its trees lifting brittle branches to the stars.

Lionpaw walked beside Hollypaw, following his Clanmates along the pebbly shore. He glanced at Jaypaw again. His brother was padding beside Leafpool, nose twitching as he scented the unfamiliar ground. Occasionally, Leafpool’s flank would graze Jaypaw’s, steering him around sharp stones or protruding roots.

Should he warn Jaypaw about the tree-bridge? It was surprisingly slippery; Lionpaw had almost fallen off on his first crossing.

Hollypaw mewed beside him. “It’ll be good to see Willowpaw.”

“Willowpaw?” he echoed distractedly. There was only one apprentice Lionpaw was hoping to see at the Gathering: Heatherpaw, the pretty WindClan apprentice with smoky blue eyes. He let out a small sigh.

“What are you thinking about?” Hollypaw nudged him.

“You’re moons away.”

“Er, Jaypaw,” he mewed quickly. “I was wondering if he could make it over the tree-bridge.”

“Don’t let him hear you say that,” Hollypaw warned.

Lionpaw suddenly felt cold water seep over his claws.

Firestar had led them onto the marshy shore at the edge of RiverClan’s territory. Sandstorm picked her way after him.

Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight padded beside Millie and Graystripe while Birchfall and Dustpelt followed, talking quietly. Hazelpaw was listening to her mentor while Berrypaw dodged from side to side, sniffing among the clumps of grass as though any moment he might flush out prey.

“This is RiverClan territory,” Hollypaw hissed, reminding him that hunting on another Clan’s territory was forbidden.

“I know,” Berrypaw retorted. “But there’s no harm in looking.”

“So long as you just look.”

Graystripe let out a loud purr. “Firestar?” he called. “It sounds like Hollypaw’s preparing to challenge you for leader-ship.”

Lionpaw glanced at his sister. Was this the gray warrior’s gentle way of telling her not to be so bossy?

“She can challenge all she wants,” Firestar purred back. “I don’t think I have to worry until she gets a bit bigger.”

“Hey!” Hollypaw fluffed out her fur indignantly. “I was just telling him!”

Firestar halted among the snaking roots of the fallen tree that crossed the water between the shore and the island. The scents of WindClan and ShadowClan were fresh on the bark; they must be here already. Lionpaw pricked his ears. Faint mews drifted from the island. Sandstorm jumped up nimbly and wove her way between the stumps and knots until she reached the other side. One by one, the others followed.

Lionpaw stood back as Hollypaw leaped after Hazelpaw.

“Aren’t you coming, Lionpaw?” she mewed, steadying herself.

“Of course,” Lionpaw hissed back at her.

“He’s waiting to make sure I don’t fall in,” Jaypaw mewed from behind him.

“Only because I nearly fell in the first time,” Lionpaw explained quickly. “It’s tricky if you don’t know where to put your paws.”

Jaypaw reached up into the tangle of roots, feeling his way with his forepaws.

“Here,” Leafpool meowed, jumping up past him onto the trunk. “It’s not too high.”

Jaypaw lifted his nose and sniffed, judging how far away his mentor was. Then he pushed up with his hind legs and clawed his way onto the trunk beside her. Instantly, his forepaws slid from under him.

Lionpaw’s heart lurched as Jaypaw shot sideways. Leafpool darted toward him but Jaypaw had already dug his claws into the rotting bark and steadied himself, his tail lashing as he fought to regain his balance. Beneath him the dark water lapped at the shore. Lionpaw fought the urge to jump up and help as Jaypaw began to pad past his mentor and along the trunk. Leafpool crouched, tense and silent, ready to spring if Jaypaw slipped again. One slow paw step at a time, the blind apprentice felt his way along the bridge.

“Jump this way, Jaypaw!” Hollypaw called from the shore on the far side. “The sand’s a bit soft, but it’s clear.”

Jaypaw leaped down, landing a little clumsily, but straightened up at once.

Lionpaw felt a wave of relief.

“Hurry up, Lionpaw!”

Berrypaw was trying to push past him. Lionpaw leaped onto the trunk to block his way, but the tree trembled as Berrypaw leaped straight up after him.

“Come on!” Berrypaw urged.

Lionpaw felt his denmate’s breath on his heels, hurrying him forward. Clutching tightly with his claws, he scrambled along the tree.

“There’s no need to rush.” Brackenfur’s warning mew sounded a tail-length behind them. But Berrypaw kept pressing up behind Lionpaw.

“Stop hanging arou—”

The apprentice’s mew suddenly turned to a yelp. Lionpaw glanced back to see him sliding off the trunk, his cream pelt plummeting toward the black water.

Brackenfur lunged forward and grasped Berrypaw by the scruff. Berrypaw jerked and dangled, his paws churning the air, the tip of his thick, cream tail rippling the surface of the lake.

“Hold still,” Brackenfur grunted through clenched teeth.

Muscles straining beneath his pelt, the golden warrior heaved Berrypaw up onto the trunk. “I told you not to rush!”

Lionpaw blinked. Thank StarClan it wasn’t me! He turned and padded the rest of the way, glad that Berrypaw wasn’t still trying to shove past him. The fresh scent of RiverClan drifted from the shore; their patrol must have been heading down to the lake. Lionpaw scanned the edge of the water but saw no sign of them.

“Is everyone ready?” Firestar called as he, Berrypaw, Brackenfur, and finally Ashfur jumped down onto the beach.

The cats nodded. Firestar signaled with his tail, and the party began to head into the trees.

Lionpaw watched Hollypaw’s black pelt disappear into the bracken. His paws tingled with excitement as he prepared to spring after her. But Jaypaw wasn’t moving. He was just staring into the trees. Is he nervous?

“It’s only bracken,” Lionpaw reassured him. “Just push through. The clearing’s not far.” He rested his tail on Jaypaw’s flank and felt his brother’s muscles, strong and lean, beneath his pelt.

“Come on, you two!” Hollypaw came crashing back through the bracken. “Why are you dawdling?”

“Just planning our entrance.” Jaypaw flicked his tail and padded forward.

The brittle fronds of bracken scratched Lionpaw’s nose as he followed his littermates toward the clearing, but he could feel soft baby fern leaves curled under his paws. New leaves for newleaf.

“ShadowClan and WindClan are waiting in the clearing,” Hollypaw called over her shoulder. “But RiverClan haven’t arrived yet.”

“They’re on their way,” Lionpaw mewed. “I smelled them from the tree-bridge.”

Jaypaw lifted his nose. “You’re right.” His whiskers twitched. “But there’s something odd…”

Lionpaw opened his mouth and tasted the fresh scent of RiverClan again. It seemed the same as usual to him.

“Probably just been eating too much fish,” he guessed.

“Let’s make sure we beat them.” Hollypaw urged them through the bracken and out onto the edge of the clearing.

As they emerged into the open, Jaypaw stiffened. “Are there always so many cats?” he whispered.

Lionpaw gazed at the warriors, apprentices, and medicine cat who crowded the clearing. It looked like an ordinary Gathering to him. Was Heatherpaw here?

“Hey! Kittypet!”

Whitetail, a WindClan she-cat, was rushing toward Millie.

Whitetail’s apprentice, Breezepaw, hurried after her, ears flattened. Lionpaw unsheathed his claws, ready to defend his Clanmate.

“Hi, Millie!” Whitetail rubbed muzzles with Millie and twined her tail with hers as if they were old friends.

Lionpaw let his claws slide back in.

“Do they know each other?” Hollypaw gasped.

Lionpaw shrugged.

Breezepaw stared wide-eyed as his mentor stepped away from Millie and blinked warmly at her. “Thanks for the rabbit you gave us at the contest,” she purred. “You share like a Clan cat.”

Millie dipped her head. “It was a day for sharing,” she meowed.

“It looks like the contest did some good after all,” Hollypaw whispered to Lionpaw.

But another WindClan warrior, Tornear, was staring at Millie through narrowed eyes. He clearly didn’t like the sight of his denmate talking with a kittypet. Russetfur was watching, too, pelt bristling as she leaned forward to whisper something into a Clanmate’s ear.

Breezepaw didn’t say anything, just padded away from his mentor and pushed his way through the busy clearing. Berrypaw and Hazelpaw were chatting with a crowd of ShadowClan and WindClan apprentices. As Breezepaw joined them, Lionpaw’s pelt bristled with expectation. Was Heatherpaw’s pale tabby fur anywhere among the jumble of pelts?

He couldn’t see her.

“What are you so disappointed about?” Jaypaw asked.

Lionpaw stared at him. “D-disappointed?” Jaypaw always had an uncanny way of guessing what he was feeling. “I’m not disappointed!”

“A mouse on the moor could have heard your tail hit the ground,” Jaypaw mewed.

“I was hoping to see someone,” Lionpaw admitted.

Hollypaw flicked her ears anxiously. “Heatherpaw?”

“Well, you want to see Willowpaw!” he retorted, his fur bristling at her accusing tone.

“It’s not the same.”

“Yes, it is!” Lionpaw protested. “We’re just friends.” As he spoke, he smelled a warmly familiar scent. Heatherpaw was racing across the clearing toward him.

“Lionpaw! You’re here!”

He felt his heart skip, then glanced nervously at Jaypaw.

Was he listening to his heartbeat, too? As though burying prey ready to taste later, Lionpaw pushed his excitement away. “Hello, Heatherpaw,” he mewed coolly.

“You don’t sound very pleased to see me.” The WindClan cat’s ears twitched. “I’ve been on my best behavior all moon so that Crowfeather couldn’t possibly leave me behind.”

Lionpaw felt a flash of guilt about his lack of enthusiasm.

Then anger pricked his paws. Why should he feel guilty? She was just a friend. “I’m glad you made it,” he mewed.

Hollypaw stepped in front of him and lightly brushed muzzles with Heatherpaw. “StarClan have given us fine weather again,” she mewed politely.

“You brought your brother!” Heatherpaw’s eyes shone as she noticed Jaypaw. Jealousy ran like cold water along Lionpaw’s spine. He wished she hadn’t been around to watch Jaypaw rescue him from the collapsed badger set.

He was almost grateful when Jaypaw snapped at her hotly, “Nobody brought me! I came with my Clan!”

“Of course,” Heatherpaw mewed at once. “I’m sorry. I know you can travel by yourself. It’s just—”

“Jaypaw!” Leafpool’s call rescued Heatherpaw from her flustered apology. “Come and join us!” She was sitting with Barkface and Mothwing.

Lionpaw watched Jaypaw weave his way over to the other medicine cats. “Take no notice of Jaypaw,” he mewed to Heatherpaw. “He’s as grumpy as a badger.”

“Who’s grumpy?”

Lionpaw jerked around to see who had spoken. His heart plummeted when he saw Breezepaw padding toward them.

“You’re not going to waste your time chatting to these two, are you?” The black-pelted WindClan apprentice sat down beside Heatherpaw. “Ivypaw and Owlpaw have just challenged Berrypaw to a competition to see who can jump the highest.”

He licked a forepaw and drew it over his ear.

“Why don’t you go and watch it, then?” Heatherpaw replied.

“Why don’t you come with me?” A challenging glint sparked in Breezepaw’s eye.

Lionpaw heard the ferns rustling and smelled a familiar tang. “RiverClan is here,” he mewed.

Hollypaw stretched up on tiptoe beside him to watch RiverClan file into the clearing.

Something seemed wrong. Their tails were down and their ears were flat back. Jaypaw’s words buzzed in Lionpaw’s ears. There’s something odd…

Hollypaw narrowed her eyes. “Leopardstar doesn’t look very happy.”

The golden tabby she-cat was touching muzzles with Firestar, but her tail flicked impatiently, her gaze flitting around the clearing.

“Hollypaw!” Willowpaw broke away from her Clanmates and hurried to greet Hollypaw. “I can’t stay.” The RiverClan medicine cat apprentice was out of breath. “I have to join Mothwing. But I just wanted to say hello.”

“Is everything okay?” Hollypaw asked. “With your Clan, I mean. It’s just that you all seem a bit—”

At that moment, Crowfeather padded over to join them.

Lionpaw’s whiskers twitched with frustration. Would he never get a moment alone with Heatherpaw?

“Heatherpaw,” the WindClan warrior greeted his apprentice briskly. “Why don’t you go and talk to some of the apprentices from the other Clans? This is a good chance to get to know different cats.” His gaze flickered over Lionpaw and Hollypaw.

“Come on,” Breezepaw urged. “Let’s see if Ivypaw out-jumped Berrypaw.”

Heatherpaw glanced at Lionpaw, then shrugged. “Okay, then.”

Lionpaw’s tail stirred the needle-strewn earth behind him as he watched Crowfeather and Breezepaw guide her away.

“Let all the Clans gather beneath StarClan!”

Blackstar’s loud meow sounded from the Great Oak. The four leaders were lined along the lowest branch, silhouettes in the moonlight, their eyes shining in the dark. Lionpaw hurried after Hollypaw as she pushed her way in among her Clanmates and sat down beside Brackenfur. Lionpaw squeezed in front of her and sat beside Ashfur.

“Hey!” Hollypaw hissed. “Keep your head down. I want to see.”

Lionpaw ducked, suddenly realizing that he was larger than his sister now, outpacing her in size if nothing else as they grew with the passing moons.

“ShadowClan brings happy news,” Blackstar announced.

“We have three new kits born to Tawnypelt.”

Meows of congratulations rose from the crowd, the loudest from Squirrelflight. “Well done, Tawnypelt!”

Blackstar went on. “They are named Flamekit, Dawnkit, and Tigerkit!”

The meows died in the throats of the older warriors at the name Tigerkit. Lionpaw blinked. How could Tigerstar still frighten them when he was nothing but a memory from long ago and far away? They were as superstitious as owls!

“If they’re Tawnypelt’s kits,” he whispered over his shoulder to Hollypaw, “they’ll be our kin!” It felt odd to have kin in another Clan. For the first time he tried to imagine how his father must feel about Tawnypelt. She was Brambleclaw’s sister, yet she had found her destiny with another Clan. Had he ever had to face her in a fight?

“Anything else to report?” Firestar’s voice jolted Lionpaw from his daydreaming.

“Did I miss anything?” Lionpaw glanced back at his sister.

She shook her head, but her eyes were shaded with worry.

Blackstar had tucked his tail over his paws and was looking satisfied. Onestar turned his head from the ThunderClan leader, signaling he had nothing to say.

Firestar nodded. “All has been well with ThunderClan, too.” He turned to the RiverClan leader. “Leopardstar? You’ve shared no news.”

“There’s no news to share,” she meowed curtly. “The fish are returning to the edge of the lake. Hunting is good. My Clan is well.”

“I’m pleased to hear it,” Firestar replied.

“Then the Gathering is over,” Leopardstar declared.

The Clans began to pad away from the Great Oak as their leaders bounded down from the low branch. Lionpaw stretched, feeling cold from sitting still.

Hazelpaw nudged him with her muzzle. “Three new ShadowClan cats!” she mewed. “We’re going to have to train harder than ever!” She began to follow her Clanmates across the clearing.

Lionpaw hurried after her. “But they’re only kits.”

“Kits become warriors!” Hazelpaw reminded him.

Lionpaw felt Hollypaw pressing beside him. Her pelt was bristling. “Do you think we’ll ever have to fight them?” she whispered anxiously.

“Let’s not talk about fighting now.” Squirrelflight had joined them and overheard. “Three kits are a blessing to any Clan.” She was clearly pleased at Tawnypelt’s news.

Leafpool caught up, Jaypaw at her side. “I noticed Tawnypelt was expecting last time I saw her.”

Squirrelflight looked surprised. “You never mentioned it.”

“It was not for me to say when it still lay in the paws of StarClan,” Leafpool answered.

“Besides, it was none of your business!” A gruff mew startled the cats.

Lionpaw turned to see Rowanclaw, a ginger ShadowClan warrior, staring at them with narrowed eyes. He must be the father.

Squirrelflight returned his gaze. “Congratulations, Rowanclaw. You are blessed to have three healthy kits.”

Rowanclaw curled his lip. “Three healthy Clanborn kits,” he growled.

“That is only a blessing if they remain loyal to the Clan they were born to,” Squirrelflight pointed out sharply, letting her temper flare.

Rowanclaw let out a low growl.

Leafpool stepped between the two warriors. “There’s no need to argue.”

“He was only speaking the truth.”

Who said that? Lionpaw snapped his head around. Breezepaw!

The WindClan apprentice was standing beside his father.

Crowfeather was staring at Leafpool, his eyes glittering.

“Don’t forget, Breezepaw, ThunderClan actually celebrates mixed blood.”

Leafpool jerked her head backward as though Crowfeather had raked his claws across her muzzle. She turned quickly and hurried away.

“He’s acting like there’s something wrong with ThunderClan!” Lionpaw unsheathed his claws, then felt his mother’s tail run along his flank.

“Come along, Lionpaw. Don’t forget the truce.” She pressed against Lionpaw and padded toward the edge of the clearing, steering him away from Crowfeather, Breezepaw, and Rowanclaw.

Lionpaw glared over his shoulder at the three cats, wishing he could ignore the stupid truce and rip a piece of fur from each of them.

“Lionpaw!” Heatherpaw was bounding toward him.

“What?” Lionpaw stopped and faced Heatherpaw.

Squirrelflight paused beside him.

Heatherpaw gazed up at her. “Can I speak to Lionpaw, please?”

Squirrelflight’s ears twitched, but she nodded. “Don’t be long.” She padded into the bracken after Leafpool, Hollypaw, and Jaypaw.

“Please don’t be angry,” Heatherpaw begged. “Crowfeather’s always bad-tempered. It’s just his way. And Breezepaw thinks he’s a warrior already.”

“But you heard what they said about mixed blood in ThunderClan! They just can’t let it go, can they?”

“Maybe they can’t, but can we forget it?” Heatherpaw’s eyes were shining. “I’ve got a plan.”

“To get back at them?”

Heatherpaw’s eyes widened. “Of course not! They’re my Clanmates!” She flicked her tail. “My plan is something else entirely.”

Lionpaw tipped his head to one side. “What, then?”

“Instead of waiting till the next Gathering, why don’t we meet up before?”

“Before?” Lionpaw echoed in surprise. Wasn’t it against the warrior code to meet with cats from another Clan without permission?

“Tomorrow night,” she whispered.

“But how? Where?”

“At the boundary in the woods. Near the yew tree. We can slip away while our Clanmates are sleeping.”

“But—”

Heatherpaw’s whiskers twitched. “Come on! It’ll be exciting. And it’s not like we’d be hurting anyone.”

Lionpaw felt guilt and worry tug at his belly, but Heatherpaw’s blue eyes were sparkling at him hopefully. It did sound like fun. He could always say he’d been practicing his night hunting. And Heatherpaw was right. They wouldn’t be doing any harm, like stealing prey or spying. No cat would even know if they were careful about it. I’ll still be loyal to my Clan and I won’t fall behind in my duties.

He blinked at Heatherpaw. “Okay.”