Hawkwing’s Journey

Chapter 28

Hawkwing crouched beside Pebbleshine in the milky warmth of the nursery. He was so full of joy that he thought it must burst out of him like a stream in greenleaf overflowing its banks.

His mate looked exhausted, but her eyes shone with love for the three new kits who lay snuggled against her belly, protected in the curve of her tail.

“They’re so beautiful… ,” Hawkwing whispered.

“The little gray tom looks just like you,” Pebbleshine murmured.

Hawkwing gazed down wonderingly at the fluffy gray fur of his son. “And the speckled white she-cat is just like you,” he added. “And the speckled gray tom… well, he’s like you and me.” He touched his nose to the tiny kit’s head. “It’s like seeing the best of us both combined into one cat.”

Pebbleshine let out a small mrrow of laughter.

A shadow fell across the entrance to the nursery and Cherrytail padded in, a mouse dangling from her jaws. “I thought you could do with some fresh-kill,” she meowed, dropping her prey beside

Pebbleshine.

“And I brought some wet moss,” Cloudmist added, creeping softly in beside her mother, with Blossomheart just behind her. She blinked in wonder as she looked down at the kits. “They’re just perfect!”

Hawkwing spotted more movement at the nursery entrance and looked up to see his father, Sharpclaw, poking his head inside. “Is everything okay?” he asked.

“We’re all fine, thanks,” Hawkwing replied.

“Let me know if you need anything,” Sharpclaw continued.

“Hawkwing, you can take a day or two off from patrolling to be with Pebbleshine.”

“Thanks,” Hawkwing meowed.

“Just wait until their eyes open,” Sharpclaw gave a snort of amusement. “You’ll have your paws full then!” M ore seriously, he added, “I know you’ll be a good father, Hawkwing.”

Their visitors withdrew, leaving Hawkwing to curl up beside

Pebbleshine, matching his rhythmic purr to hers. This is perfect…

, he thought drowsily.

From somewhere outside the nursery, Hawkwing heard a harsh, repetitive sound. What can that be? he wondered, turning to look through the nursery entrance. Pebbleshine’s head was still bent over her kits. And why doesn’t she hear it?

SQUAAAAAAWWWWK!

Hawkwing jolted awake to the sound of a raucous screech coming from outside the warriors’ den. Normally the sound would have alarmed him, but he was so furious at being awoken from such a happy dream that he charged recklessly out into the open, searching for the source of the noise.

The screech came again from the direction of the lake.

Hawkwing pounded through the trees until he reached the edge of the forest. In the pale light of dawn he spotted a brown-and-white bird swooping across the lake. A big, stupid water-bird.

Hawkwing watched as the bird dived down, dipped its talons under the surface, then rose into the sky again, gripping a wriggling silver fish.

A small part of Hawkwing’s mind was interested to watch a bird he had never seen before, but that was overwhelmed by the hatred he felt because it had broken into his dream.

Hawkwing let out a deep sigh. Stupid bird. Stupid lake. Stupid life. I know this isn’t the right place for us to stay.

SkyClan had been living beside the lake for a quarter moon, making their camp in the hollow M acgyver had discovered on the first day. Every cat had been busy, arranging the dens, exploring their new territory, and collecting herb stores, but none of the activity had lightened Hawkwing’s grim mood.

Now that he and his Clanmates were no longer traveling, he had time to confront the fact that he was still alive, even after losing his mate and everything they’d planned for their future. M isery engulfed him like a dark fog, and he had no idea how to find his way out of it.

I have my whole life ahead of me—but what can the future possibly hold that would ever make up for what I’ve lost?

Blossomheart appeared at Hawkwing’s side, looking still ruffled from sleep. “What on earth was that noise?” she asked with a yawn.

Hawkwing only grunted in reply, waving his tail at the stupid bird.

Blossomheart shrugged. “We never had to deal with that in the gorge,” she mewed.

Her words stung Hawkwing like a thorn in his pad. He knew that his sister wasn’t scolding him, but he could never forget that in a way he was responsible for SkyClan being driven from the gorge.

If I’d never trusted Darktail… Or what would have happened if I’d stayed and tried to take revenge? I might have done that if I’d known that I’d lose Pebbleshine on this journey.

Hawkwing dragged himself away from his dark thoughts to realize that Blossomheart was speaking to him. “I’m sorry… what?”

His sister heaved a sigh. “I said, why don’t we take Bellaleaf and Curlypaw and go exploring on the other side of the lake? We haven’t hunted over there yet.”

“Yes, good idea,” Hawkwing responded, making an effort to be more positive. He wanted to be a good mentor to Curlypaw, but he knew he hadn’t spent enough time with her since he lost

Pebbleshine, and even less since they arrived at the lake. “I’ll check with Waspwhisker, and if he doesn’t want us for a dawn patrol, we’ll go.”

There were fewer trees on the far side of the lake; the ground was covered with smooth grass that stretched as far as the row of small Twoleg dens.

“I don’t like it as much over here,” Blossomheart mewed, with a wary look at the dens. “The Twolegs are too close for comfort, and there’s not as much cover. I’m glad we settled on the other side.”

“Waspwhisker led a patrol over here yesterday,” Bellaleaf responded. “Rileypool went with him, and he told me all the Twoleg dens are abandoned. There’s not even the scent of Twolegs there.”

“Weird…,” Hawkwing murmured. Why would Twolegs build dens here and then just go off and leave them? Then he shrugged.

“It’s not as good for prey over here, either,” he added. “There aren’t as many places for them to hide. Still, we can get in some practice. Come on, Curlypaw, let’s see your stalking. Pretend Bellaleaf is a mouse.”

Bellaleaf crouched down in the grass. “Oh, I’m only a tiny little mouse,” she mewed in a squeaky voice. “Please don’t eat me!”

Curlypaw flattened herself against the ground and began to creep forward, one paw at a time.

“Oh, no—no,” Hawkwing interrupted before she had gone many paw steps. “You’re putting your paws down far too hard.”

His apprentice looked dejected, her head and tail drooping.

“Sorry.”

“You have to remember that a mouse will feel your paw steps through the ground before it hears you,” Hawkwing told her. He couldn’t remember whether he had actually told her that before. It’s one of the first things an apprentice learns… I’m not being a good mentor at all. Everything’s gone wrong since Pebbleshine disappeared.

“Try it again,” he told her.

Curlypaw gave him a nervous glance before flattening herself to the ground again. Hawkwing took a deep breath. He knew his frustration was coming out in his tone. But it’s not you I’m frustrated with, Curlypaw; it’s me.

This time, his apprentice’s stalking was perfect. She seemed to glide over the ground as if her paws were hardly touching it.

“That’s much better,” Hawkwing meowed, trying to put some warmth into his voice. “Bellaleaf, you’re doomed!”

During the lesson, Blossomheart had been poking around among the reeds that fringed the lakeshore. Now she beckoned Hawkwing over with her tail.

“There are voles here,” she murmured when her brother padded up to her. “Shall we take some fresh-kill back for the Clan?”

Hawkwing peered into the reeds and spotted movement among the stems. “Good idea,” he responded, gesturing with his tail for Curlypaw and Bellaleaf to join them.

Spotting a vole, Hawkwing began to creep up on it, remembering what he had told Curlypaw about setting her paws down lightly. His prey was nibbling something, seeming quite unaware of danger.

Completely focused on the vole, Hawkwing was bunching his muscles for the final pounce when Curlypaw suddenly let out a loud caterwaul. The vole gave a start of terror, then scrambled to the water’s edge, jumped in, and swam away.

Furious, Hawkwing swung around. “Curlypaw, what—?”

He broke off as he heard the same raucous screech that had woken him from his dream. Looking up, he saw the brown water-bird above his head, diving straight down at Blossomheart. His belly lurched and his shoulder fur bristled at the sight of the creature’s powerful beak and claws.

With a challenging yowl, Hawkwing raced over to his sister. As the bird swooped over her, Blossomheart reared up on her hind legs and managed to swipe her claws over its eye. The bird let out another screech, raking its talons over Blossomheart’s shoulder.

Hawkwing leaped up and sank his claws into the bird’s shoulder, catching it off guard. As the huge head swung around toward him, glaring with a malignant yellow eye, Blossomheart got in a harder blow, digging her claws into the eye she had scratched.

At the same moment Bellaleaf leaped up from the other side, only to be swatted away by a flap of the bird’s wing. She hit the ground with a thump and lay there half stunned.

Screaming again, the bird began fighting valiantly to free itself from Hawkwing and Blossomheart, flailing with wings and claws and stabbing with its hooked beak. As they fell back, it rose unsteadily into the air and circled around a few tail-lengths above the ground.

At first Hawkwing thought that they had scared it off. Then with belly-churning dread he realized that it was swooping in for another attack, and this time its target was Curlypaw.

“No!” Hawkwing yowled.

He lunged toward Curlypaw, reaching her just as the bird gripped her with its talons and began flapping its wings to take off again. “Help!” she wailed, digging in her claws in an effort to cling to the ground. “Hawkwing, help me!”

Using all his strength, Hawkwing hurled himself upward and managed to snag his claws on the bird’s leg. The extra weight unbalanced it, so that it flopped back to the ground, and Hawkwing was able to sink his teeth into its back.

With another screech the bird loosened its grip on Curlypaw, who twisted around and slashed her claws at its underbelly, even though the bird still had her hind legs pinned. Blossomheart came charging up, blood from her wound spattering the grass, but before she reached them Hawkwing dug his teeth deeper into the bird’s back and wrenched his head around, tearing out a chunk of the bird’s flesh.

Shrieking furiously, the bird let go of Curlypaw and awkwardly flapped its way back into the air. Blood dripped from its wound onto the grass as it flew slowly away.

Hawkwing turned to his sister. “Blossomheart, are you okay?”

Blossomheart twisted her head to get a good look at the wound on her shoulder. “I’ve been better,” she panted. “But I’ll be fine.

Hawkwing, that was amazing! You really lived up to your name.”

Glancing around to check on his Clanmates, Hawkwing saw

Bellaleaf stagger to her paws and pad shakily over to join the others.

“Are you hurt?” Hawkwing asked.

Bellaleaf gave her head a shake as if to clear it. “No, I’m okay.

Just a bit stunned. That bird was really strong!”

Reassured, Hawkwing turned to Curlypaw and gave her scratches a good sniff. He was thankful that they all seemed to be shallow, hardly bleeding at all. But the apprentice was still shivering, her eyes wide with the memory of fear.

“Hawkwing, you saved my life!” she exclaimed, her voice shaking. “Just like you did in the Twolegplace. If you hadn’t been here…” Her eyes grew dark, as if she could see herself being carried away in the grip of the enormous bird.

Feeling her terror as if it was his own, Hawkwing bent his head and began to lick Curlypaw’s wounds. “Don’t think about it anymore,” he mewed between strokes of his tongue. “You were very brave, and you’re safe. That’s what matters. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you.”

Curlypaw nodded and gave her pelt a shake. “I’ll try.”

As he comforted his apprentice, Hawkwing remembered the kits in his dream—his kits. They’ll have meaningful lives, too, he thought, even if I never get to see them. I wouldn’t want them to give up because they don’t have a father.

“And now we’d better go home and get Echosong to check us out,” Bellaleaf meowed.

The cats skirted the edge of the lake as they made their way back to their new camp. Hawkwing kept a watchful eye on the sky, in case the fierce bird returned.

“Hawkwing, that was good advice you gave Curlypaw,” Blossomheart murmured. “I’ve noticed you’ve not been yourself lately. Of course, you have good reasons, but you can’t live your whole life like that. You have to believe what you told Curlypaw, too. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you, you know?”

For a moment Hawkwing considered how he should respond. I wouldn’t want my kits to give up, so maybe I shouldn’t, either. “I’m trying to believe,” he replied at last, even though it was a struggle to get the words out.

Blossomheart touched her nose to his. “All of SkyClan needs to believe that we have a future. If this isn’t the right lake, then we have to believe we will find the right one, where the other Clans live. If we don’t find it soon, surely StarClan will send us a sign…

.”

Hawkwing dipped his head, almost overcome. “I hope so,” he managed to mew.

He watched Bellaleaf and Curlypaw padding ahead of him; now that the danger was over, they were excitedly discussing the encounter with the water-bird. They’re so young and brave!

Hawkwing knew that they were the future of SkyClan—the

SkyClan that must live on, for seasons beyond counting, and prosper.

Blossomheart is right.