Moonrise

Chapter 18

All night the Clan had kept vigil for Dappletail, and now, in the pale dawn light, the elders were bearing her body out of the camp to be buried. The clearing was wreathed in mist and the leafless branches of the trees dripped rain from a sharp shower during the night. Leafpaw watched in silence. The old cat had been part of her life, and with her passing it seemed as if everything else she had known would slip away too.

As the elders departed through the gorse tunnel, the other cats gathered together in little groups, mewing urgently and casting anxious glances at one another. Leafpaw could not hear what they were saying, but she didn’t need to. She knew they would be discussing the disappearance of Cloudtail and Brightheart. That made four cats that were missing from ThunderClan, but Leafpaw could not believe that StarClan had summoned Cloudtail and Brightheart away too—unless the others had already failed on their quest, and would never return. If you can’t help us, StarClan, she thought desperately, why are you taking our cats away?

Cinderpelt broke into her thoughts, pushing her nose into Leafpaw’s fur in wordless comfort, then limped forward a pace or two to meet Firestar and Graystripe. Leafpaw spotted Mousefur loping across the clearing after them with Thornclaw and Ashfur just behind her.

“I’m taking out the dawn patrol,” Mousefur announced as she came up. “Do you still want us to look for Cloudtail and Brightheart?”

“Not that there’s much point, if they left on purpose,” Ashfur added darkly.

Leafpaw’s heart sank even further as she remembered the Clan’s efforts the day before to find the two cats. Patrols had covered the entire territory, picking up a scent-trail leading toward the place where the Twolegs had destroyed the forest.

It had broken off abruptly near one of the huge tree-cutting monsters, and after that there was nothing.

“Keep your eyes open,” Firestar replied. “That’s all you can do.”

“I wouldn’t put it past Cloudtail to have gone back to the Twolegs,” Mousefur growled. “With so little prey in the forest, even Twoleg food must look tempting.”

“And he ate it often enough when he was an apprentice,” Ashfur put in.

“Yes, don’t forget the time he left us,” Mousefur mewed.

“Cats were put at risk, rescuing him from the Twolegs.”

“That’s enough!” Graystripe hissed.

“No, she’s right.” Leafpaw couldn’t believe how tired her father sounded. “Cloudtail has always had a paw in the Twoleg world. But I thought he was loyal to his Clan now.”

“Of course he is. You’re not being fair to him.” Cinderpelt’s voice was sharp. “It’s been a long time since Cloudtail ate kittypet food. He was young and stupid then.”

“Besides, Brightheart would never do that.” Graystripe supported his missing Clanmates with a flash of his amber eyes. “And Cloudtail wouldn’t go off without her. We have to figure out why they’re both missing.”

“And why they left Whitepaw behind,” Thornclaw meowed. “She’s their only kit.”

Mousefur grunted. “True. I wonder if they went over to RiverClan?” she suggested. “Stealing fish?”

“Now I wouldn’t put that past Cloudtail,” Cinderpelt agreed, but there was no hostility in her voice.

Graystripe thought for a moment, then shook his head.

“No. If RiverClan caught them they’d just chase them off.

There’d be trouble at the next Gathering, but our cats wouldn’t just disappear.”

Unless they fell in the river, Leafpaw thought, not daring to put words to the idea. She couldn’t forget the surge of flood-water when she nearly fell off the stepping-stones, on her way to help Reedpaw.

“Their scent trail didn’t lead toward RiverClan,” Firestar pointed out. “I can’t help thinking it’s strange that it ended so close to the Twoleg monsters. Suppose…”

He let his voice die away, but Leafpaw saw the anxiety in his eyes, and she could guess what his thoughts were. She had seen how the first Twoleg monster turned from the Thunderpath and began to tear up the forest. If a cat got in its way it could be crunched in those powerful jaws without the monster even realizing it. She shivered, and her gaze met her father’s. They were both fond of their wayward kin Cloudtail, and Leafpaw loved Brightheart fiercely for her courage in coping with the terrible injuries from the dog pack. The two cats would be a great loss to their Clan.

“Just carry on as usual, Mousefur,” Firestar decided. “And report if you see anything odd.”

“I always do.” Mousefur hurried off with the two younger warriors behind her.

Firestar shook himself as if he was pushing useless thoughts away. “Cinderpelt, has StarClan shown you anything at all about Cloudtail and Brightheart?”

“No,” Cinderpelt replied. “Nothing at all.”

“Or any signs about more warriors going missing in the forest? It’s… it’s not all that long since Brambleclaw and Squirrelpaw disappeared.” He choked the words out like half-eaten bones.

Again Cinderpelt shook her head. “StarClan is silent. I’m sorry.”

Yet again, Leafpaw struggled with the urge to tell her father and mentor what she knew, that Brambleclaw and Squirrelpaw had been summoned away by StarClan to discover something that would help the forest. But she hardly knew what to say anymore. Whenever she tried to reach Squirrelpaw she had nothing but confused, terrifying impressions of rushing water, darkness, and raking claws—blood, rock, and water churned together. She couldn’t reassure Firestar that Squirrelpaw was all right, nor give Graystripe hopeful news of his missing children from RiverClan.

“Perhaps I ought to make a trip to Highstones,” Firestar meowed. “StarClan might speak to me, if—”

He broke off as Brackenfur came up, his apprentice, Whitepaw, just behind him. Leafpaw’s heart went out to her.

The young cat’s head was bowed, and her tail trailed in the dust. She was obviously grieving for the loss of her parents.

“Firestar, I think you ought to have a word with Whitepaw,” Brackenfur mewed worriedly.

Firestar’s ears flicked up. “Why, what’s the matter?”

Whitepaw looked up at him. “I want to be excused from training,” she begged, her eyes burning with the intensity of her plea. “I want to look for Cloudtail and Brightheart.”

“I’ve told her she can’t go off on her own,” Brackenfur continued. “But she—”

“Please,” Whitepaw interrupted. “I’m only an apprentice.

The Clan can do without me. I’ve got to find them.”

Firestar shook his head. “I’m sorry, Whitepaw,” he meowed gently. “Apprentices are important to the Clan, just as much as any other cat. Besides, Brackenfur is quite right.

You can’t go wandering off by yourself, especially now, when we don’t know what the danger is. In fact, no cat should leave camp alone.”

“We’ve searched already,” Graystripe added. “We did everything we could.”

“But it wasn’t enough!” Whitepaw wailed. Leafpaw knew that Whitepaw would never have spoken to the Clan deputy like that if she hadn’t been driven out of her mind with worry.

“StarClan will be with them wherever they are,” Cinderpelt murmured comfortingly, pressing her nose into Whitepaw’s fur.

“Brackenfur, take out a hunting patrol,” Firestar meowed.

“StarClan knows, we can use the fresh-kill. Whitepaw, go with him; you can keep your eyes open for Cloudtail and Brightheart as well. But you’re not to leave your mentor, is that clear?”

Whitepaw nodded; she was looking a little more hopeful.

“I’ll go with you,” Graystripe offered, “and I’ll get Sandstorm to come as well. If any cat can find them, she can.” He hurried off into the warriors’ den.

“Thank you, Firestar,” mewed Whitepaw, dipping her head respectfully before following her mentor toward the camp entrance.

Leafpaw watched until Graystripe and Sandstorm came to join them, and all four cats disappeared into the gorse tunnel.

“We aren’t safe in our own territory anymore,” Firestar murmured. “But surely four cats can’t go missing without—”

He broke off as a low, feeble wail rose up from the nursery.

Leafpaw whipped around to see Dustpelt emerge. He staggered forward for a couple of tail-lengths and sank to the ground as if his legs would not hold him up.

With a glance at her father, Leafpaw dashed across to him, visions of disaster rushing through her head. Firestar and Cinderpelt followed, and came to a stop in front of Dustpelt.

“Are you hurt?” Firestar demanded.

The brown tabby warrior gazed up at his leader with eyes as dull as pebbles. “It wasn’t her fault,” he whispered. “Ferncloud did her best. But she hasn’t been eating enough to keep herself alive, let alone three kits.”

As he finished speaking, Leafpaw heard the wail break out again, echoing with enough grief for the death of a whole Clan.

“What is it?” she cried.

Dustpelt gave her a long, hopeless stare. “Larchkit is dead.”

Instantly, Cinderpelt whisked past Dustpelt, on her way to Ferncloud in the nursery. Firestar rested his tail-tip on the brown warrior’s shoulder, in a vain attempt to comfort him.

Dustpelt briefly pushed his nose into his leader’s flame-colored fur. Leafpaw felt her throat tighten to see the two cats, who had never been friends, brought close together by their shared grief.

“What next?” Firestar meowed, lifting his head to the gray morning sky. “StarClan, what trouble will you send to ThunderClan now?”