Hawkwing’s Journey

Chapter 1

Hawkpaw let out a drowsy purr, enjoying the sensation of warm sunlight on his pelt. He lay curled up at the base of a rock, his dark gray tail wrapped over his paws. His whiskers twitched as he sank deeper into sleep, imagining himself stalking prey among the bushes at the top of the gorge.

“Mrrow!”

Hawkpaw startled awake as a bundle of ginger fur landed on top of him and paws prodded him sharply in the ribs. He breathed in the familiar scent of his littermate Duskpaw.

“Get off me!” Hawkpaw yowled, pushing Duskpaw away as he sat up and shook out his ruffled fur. “What’s gotten into you? I was enjoying my nap!”

“Well, it’s time to wake up, lazybones!” Duskpaw meowed.

“Cloudpaw and Pebblepaw and I have come up with the best plan ever!”

Still half asleep, Hawkpaw narrowed his eyes in annoyance.

What is it this time? Duskpaw is always bugging me with some amazing plan, and usually it’s, “Hey, we’re going to steal some Twoleg food!” Since he was a kit, Duskpaw had loved the taste of Twoleg prey, and was often willing to do some very silly things to get it. Honestly, Hawkpaw thought, twitching his whiskers. I think he must have bees in his brain.

“Okay, then,” Hawkpaw murmured, then stretched his jaws in a massive yawn. “What’s this great plan?”

“Pebblepaw saw some Twolegs carrying woven twigs to the Twoleg greenplace,” Duskpaw explained, bouncing up and down on his paws. His eyes rounded with excitement. “And you know what that means, right?”

Hawkpaw gave a weary sigh. I saw this coming. “Twoleg food.”

At the same moment, Duskpaw let out an excited squeal.

“Twoleg food! It’s been a while since Pebblepaw saw them,” he continued. “They must be long gone. But their leftovers will still be there!”

“I think you’re going to turn into a Twoleg if you’re not careful,” Hawkpaw teased, grinning. “Your fur will get thin, except on top of your head it’ll be all puffed up and messy, and you’ll start walking on your hind legs and riding about in monsters…”

“Don’t be a stupid furball!” Duskpaw protested. “Like that would ever happen!”

“You’re so crazy about their food, and it’s not even that exciting!” Hawkpaw responded. “Besides, how do you plan on getting away without Waspwhisker finding out? Not to mention Billystorm and Plumwillow. They won’t like their apprentices sneaking off without permission. Ebonyclaw would rip my pelt off if I was idiotic enough to join you.”

“They won’t find out,” Duskpaw mewed with a dismissive wave of his tail. “All the warriors have stuffed themselves with fresh-kill, and now they’re snoozing at the bottom of the Rockpile—just like you were, a moment ago. We’re going straight there and we’ll be right back, before our mentors even wake up to miss us.”

Hawkpaw noticed that his sister Cloudpaw and the speckled white she-cat Pebblepaw were standing a few tail-lengths away, just out of earshot. Pebblepaw was scraping impatiently at the ground, clearly tired of waiting for Duskpaw.

“Get a move on!” she spat. “Let Hawkpaw stay here if he’s too much of a scaredy-mouse.”

Hawkpaw growled deep in his throat at the insult. “Like I’d go if she’s going.”

“Look, I know you don’t like her,” Duskpaw meowed, lowering his voice and casting a quick glance between Hawkpaw and Pebblepaw, “but you should get to know her better. You know, the two of you are a lot alike. You’re both as difficult as a fox in a fit. So are you coming or not?”

Hawkpaw let out an irritated hiss at the thought that he was anything like Pebblepaw. She had to be the most annoying cat in the whole Clan. She struts around like she’s so great, when she’s just an apprentice like the rest of us. “No thanks,” he snapped.

“Just leave me alone, okay?”

“Keep your fur on!” Duskpaw protested. “Your temper will get you into trouble one day.”

That made Hawkpaw even more angry—being scolded by the brother who spent so much time messing around. “No, you’re the one who’ll get into trouble, for sneaking out to steal Twoleg food.”

Duskpaw shrugged, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “It’s worth it! Twoleg food is delicious. But you can suit yourself.

We’re going.”

“Fine!” he huffed. “Have fun.” And good luck explaining when you get back.

Hawkpaw let his annoyance ebb as he watched his brother scuttle off with Pebblepaw and Cloudpaw. He yawned, reflecting thankfully that at least his other sister, Blossompaw, had the good sense not to get involved. Curling up again, he wrapped his tail over his nose and closed his eyes. Maybe now I can finish my nap in peace.

Some time later, a stiff breeze rustled the branches of the trees at the top of the gorge as Hawkpaw followed the paw steps of his mentor, Ebonyclaw, through the undergrowth along the SkyClan border. The sun was dipping down below the topmost branches; Hawkpaw fluffed out his pelt against the sudden chill.

Ebonyclaw’s lithe black figure halted and she glanced at Hawkpaw over her shoulder. “Wait here while I renew the scent marker,” she instructed him.

Hawkpaw did as he was told, his ears pricked for the sound of prey. He wondered what had happened to Duskpaw and the others; they hadn’t returned from their expedition by the time he and Ebonyclaw had left camp.

Probably they were so excited by the food that they lost track of time. Mouse-brains.

A secret thrill crept through Hawkpaw at the thought of Duskpaw getting into trouble. He’s always fooling around and bending the rules! I love him, but he needs to get serious if he wants to be a warrior.

It didn’t seem all that fair to Hawkpaw that he always worked as hard as he possibly could, but Duskpaw kept getting away with his stupid behavior. Maybe if he has to deal with the elders’ ticks for a few days, he’ll decide to make more of an effort.

When Ebonyclaw returned from setting the scent marker she was sniffing the air, a suspicious expression on her face. “Can you smell that?” she asked.

Hawkpaw opened his jaws to taste the air, and an unfamiliar scent flowed into his mouth. “Great StarClan! What is that?” he exclaimed.

“I don’t know.”

Hawkpaw blinked in surprise. I thought Ebonyclaw knew everything, even if she is just a daylight warrior! “Do you think there’s some new kind of animal near the gorge?” he asked, trying not to let his voice quiver with the sudden apprehension he felt.

“There could be,” Ebonyclaw replied. “I’ve picked up this scent once or twice before, near the place where my Twolegs put their rubbish, but this is the first time I’ve caught it on our territory.”

“What are we going to do?”

Ebonyclaw’s ears twitched. “Nothing, for now. You can’t fight a scent. But we’ll report it to Leafstar, and tell all the others to be on the lookout for a strange animal. You never know—it might not be dangerous.”

Stinking like that, it can’t be good! Hawkpaw was drawing in more of the tainted air, trying to commit the scent to memory, when he noticed another smell, something strange and bitter, that made his nose wrinkle. Glancing at Ebonyclaw, he saw that she had her ears perked up and her nose stuck in the air.

“What’s that? Another animal?” he asked.

Ebonyclaw shook her head. “I think it’s fire, but I hope it isn’t.” She sniffed the air again. “It must be coming from the Twolegplace. They’re such mouse-brains, they always like to start fires to stick their food into. We should go check it out to make sure they have it under control. Follow me.”

Anxiety fluttered in Hawkpaw’s belly like a whole nestful of birds. That’s where Duskpaw and the others went! Will they still be there? Surely they would have left by now… right?

Hawkpaw had never seen fire before, but he had heard enough stories from the elders to know that it could be a serious threat.

“Will it reach the camp?” he asked, padding alongside Ebonyclaw as her paws turned purposefully toward the Twolegplace.

“Probably not,” Ebonyclaw reassured him. “The Twolegplace is quite a way from the gorge. But the scent is quite strong, so it’s best to make sure that we’ll all be safe.”

As they emerged from the bushes, Ebonyclaw picked up the pace until she and Hawkpaw were racing across the stretch of dry grass that separated their territory from the Twolegplace. The scent grew stronger with every paw step, and Hawkpaw’s flutter of fear grew stronger too.

I really hope Duskpaw has gone back to camp!

To his surprise, Hawkpaw spotted movement in the grass and realized that small creatures—mice and shrews—were pelting through the stems toward them, away from the source of the smell.

One mouse practically ran into his paws, then veered away at the last moment.

Hawkpaw’s jaws watered. “Hey, look, Ebonyclaw,” he mewed.

“Easy prey!”

“There’ll be time for hunting later,” Ebonyclaw told him, racing on without a pause. “Right now we have to make sure that everything’s safe for our Clan.”

As they drew close to the Twoleg greenplace, the air grew thick with a gray swirl that billowed around the two cats. The acrid scent was overwhelming, catching Hawkpaw in the throat so that he had to cough.

“Stay back,” Ebonyclaw warned him.

At the heart of the gray swirl, Hawkpaw could just make out a red glow that began to grow as he watched it, reaching up into separate licking tongues. He stared at the scarlet flames as they spat out gray puffs of air. They seemed to be feeding like some greedy animal on a kind of Twoleg rock made from flat sticks.

Hawkpaw had sometimes seen Twolegs sitting on it with their kits, eating the weird food Duskpaw was so crazy about. Now the fire blazed up, crackling orange sparks leaping up into the low-hanging branches of a tree.

Duskpaw, Cloudpaw! he thought, gazing around in terror as he looked for his littermates.

But there was no sign of them. They must have left by now, Hawkpaw reminded himself. I wish I could leave, too!

The gray air was making his eyes sting, and his lungs burned with every breath he took. “Ebonyclaw, can we—” he began.

Suddenly the gray air swirled again. The wind shifted, blowing harder from the Twolegplace. The fire surged, and the low-hanging tree branches burst into flame. For a few heartbeats they blazed, then with a loud crackle the lowest branch fell right next to the burning Twoleg rock.

Ebonyclaw let out a gasp, and pushed Hawkpaw back. Every muscle in Hawkpaw’s body tensed. He had never heard a warrior sound so terrified before, let alone his own mentor.

But Ebonyclaw’s gasp was instantly drowned out by the sound of terrified yowling from beneath the Twoleg rock. It was hard to hear over the rushing and crackling sounds of the fire, but the yowling sounded dreadfully familiar to Hawkpaw.

“StarClan, no! There are apprentices in there!” Ebonyclaw screeched.

Oh, no! Hawkpaw felt as if his belly was dropping out. His littermates were still there—and in grave danger. Duskpaw…

Cloudpaw!

“Stay back!” Ebonyclaw snapped, then raced toward the fire and smoke, her belly fur brushing the grass and her tail streaming out behind her.

Hawkpaw crouched, staring at her, his claws digging hard into the ground. The shrieking came again, louder than before, and now he could make out separate voices. Duskpaw, Cloudpaw, and Pebblepaw are all in there!

Ignoring Ebonyclaw’s order, Hawkpaw sprang forward and hurled himself toward the blaze. “I’m coming!” he yowled.

As the smoke thickened around him, Hawkpaw found it hard to see what was going on. The gray tendrils stung his eyes and caught him in the throat. Coughing, he groped his way forward until he spotted Cloudpaw trapped between the burning branch and the Twoleg rock. A heartbeat later he managed to make out Pebblepaw crouching underneath the strange rock, while Duskpaw scrabbled on the ground at the far side of the blazing branch.

Guilt flowed over Hawkpaw, hotter than the flames. I wanted Duskpaw to get into trouble—just a bit—but not for something like this to happen!

Then Ebonyclaw appeared through the smoke, fighting her way to Cloudpaw’s side. Hawkpaw froze for a moment. Do I try to help Duskpaw, or Pebblepaw?

Pebblepaw seemed to be in more danger. Flames had burned through parts of the Twoleg rock, and pieces were starting to fall off; Pebblepaw cringed away from them, letting out a wail of terror.

Beyond her, Duskpaw was still scrabbling around as if he was trying to get to Pebblepaw. He yowled something. Hawkpaw couldn’t hear the words through the roaring of the fire, but when he saw his brother turn his head, he understood.

He wants me to help Pebblepaw.

It did look like Pebblepaw was in more danger—but Duskpaw was his kin. I wish I could ask Ebonyclaw for advice, but she’s busy saving Cloudpaw!

Hawkpaw thought he had been standing motionless for moons, but it couldn’t have been more than a few heartbeats before he flung himself through the flames toward Pebblepaw. All his instincts were telling him to run for safety in the other direction; burning grass scorched his paws and hot sparks landed on his pelt.

But he kept going until he reached Pebblepaw and grabbed her by her scruff.

“This way, furball!” he growled through a mouthful of her fur as he dragged her away from the fire and onto a clear patch of grass.

Ebonyclaw approached as Hawkpaw let Pebblepaw flop to the ground, pushing Cloudpaw in front of her.

But where’s Duskpaw? Hawkpaw couldn’t understand why his brother hadn’t followed them out of the blaze.

Peering through the smoke, Hawkpaw saw that Duskpaw was still where he had been, next to the burning branch. But now he was slumped over, unmoving.

A chill of terror gripped Hawkpaw. “Duskpaw!” he yowled.

With Ebonyclaw at his side, Hawkpaw raced back through the smoke and flames. When they drew closer, Hawkpaw saw that one of his brother’s paws was trapped underneath the thicker end of the branch, where the fire still hadn’t reached. For a moment he felt his heart stop, and he couldn’t take a breath.

Duskpaw wasn’t telling me to save Pebblepaw: He was asking me to help him !

Together Hawkpaw and Ebonyclaw thrust at the branch with their forepaws until it rolled off Duskpaw in a billowing cloud of sparks. Then Ebonyclaw grabbed him by his scruff and dragged him out to where they had left Pebblepaw and Cloudpaw.

Hawkpaw followed, pushing his littermate from behind.

Duskpaw’s legs were limp and his head lolled; he didn’t seem able to help himself.

Pebblepaw and Cloudpaw still lay slumped on the ground, coughing and letting out whimpers of pain. Hawkpaw could see that patches of their fur were scorched, giving off a strong scent of burning. But to his relief, neither of them seemed to have life-threatening injuries.

However, Duskpaw was hardly moving. Now and again he would feebly try to lift his head, and let out a weak cough, but then he would slip back into unconsciousness. Hawkpaw gazed at him in horror, and shook his shoulder with one paw.

“Duskpaw! Duskpaw, wake up,” he begged.

“What were the three of you doing out here?” Ebonyclaw demanded.

Cloudpaw let out a mournful wail. “Duskpaw said we should sneak over here and look for scraps of Twoleg food.”

Hawkpaw couldn’t take his eyes off his unconscious littermate. And I might have been with you—if I hadn’t said no. He remembered his earlier hope that Duskpaw would get into trouble with a shudder of shame.

Ebonyclaw didn’t seem to notice. She lashed her tail at Cloudpaw, clearly frustrated. “If Duskpaw told you to jump off the cliff, would you do it?”

“I know it was our fault too,” Cloudpaw whimpered. “But when we got here, the fire was just over there, in that shiny thing.”

She pointed with one paw.

“The trash can, yes,” Ebonyclaw meowed. “And you didn’t have the sense to go back to camp and report it?”

“It seemed safe enough then.” Pebblepaw continued the story.

“Duskpaw said that the fire must have driven the Twolegs away, because Twolegs are scared of everything, but we were brave enough, and we shouldn’t let the fire keep us from the best scraps of tasty food.”

“There was stuff under there.” Cloudpaw pointed at the Twoleg rock, now collapsing into a smoldering heap. “But then the wind shifted, and the Twoleg rock caught fire, and then the branch fell and trapped us. We never should have listened to Duskpaw!” she finished with another miserable wail.

“You should have thought of that sooner,” Ebonyclaw snapped. “It’s too late to feel sorry, and we need to get Duskpaw back to camp so Echosong and Frecklewish can help him.” She flattened herself on the ground beside Duskpaw. “Hawkpaw, help me to get him onto my back,” she directed.

Hawkpaw worked his shoulders under Duskpaw and began to lift him onto the black she-cat’s back. Duskpaw revived a little and hooked his claws into Ebonyclaw’s fur. When he was settled, Ebonyclaw staggered to her paws and set off slowly back toward camp, with Hawkpaw steadying his brother on one side, and Cloudpaw and Pebblepaw limping behind. As they left the Twoleg greenplace they heard Twoleg monsters screeching in the distance, the sound growing closer as the cats trekked across the stretch of grass and into the bushes at the top of the gorge.

Gazing anxiously at his brother, Hawkpaw could hardly believe what had happened. “Hang in there, Duskpaw… ,” he whispered.

But now Duskpaw’s eyes were completely closed, and he didn’t respond at all to Hawkpaw’s urging. His legs were hanging limply and he had lost his grip on Ebonyclaw’s fur. Hawkpaw could barely manage to steady him and keep him on the black she-cat’s back.

Hawkpaw felt as if all his strength had leaked out through his paws, and there was a hard knot in his belly as if he had swallowed crow-food. He was sick with guilt. He couldn’t believe he’d wished that Duskpaw would get into trouble. Even worse, he could have saved Duskpaw from the fire, but he hadn’t.

Did I make the wrong choice, saving Pebblepaw first? he asked himself. And what if I lose Duskpaw because of it?