Thunder Аnd Shadow

Chapter 7

“Sparkpelt! Sparkpelt!”

Pride surged through Alderpaw’s pelt as he called his sister’s new warrior name. His Clanmates cheered around him.

Graystripe’s mew sounded farther around the clearing. The elder was m urm uring to Millie. “I thought they’d choose Sparkfire for her warrior name. She looks more like Firestar than any cat I ever saw. It would be a good way to remember him.” He sighed. “But I suppose Bramblestar is leader. He must know what he’s doing.”

Sparkpelt stood beside Bramblestar in the center of the clearing, her chin and tail high. Joy shone in her bright green gaze. The bright half-moon shone in a clear black sky, lighting the camp and striping the Highledge with shadow.

Bramblestar brushed his m uzzle along Sparkpelt’s chin. Squirrelflight hurried forward and touched noses with her. Alderpaw shifted uneasily. He was try ing to ignore the envy pricking in his paws. Sparkpelt deserved her warrior name. She’d been a great apprentice from her first day of training. Cherry fall and Brackenfur had announced that she had perform ed brilliantly during her assessm ent, catching a pigeon and two m ice and outwitting Cherry fall in a m ock fight with a battle m ove she’d thought up herself. And y et Alderpaw couldn’t help wishing that he were standing in the clearing beside her instead of watching.

He glanced at the moon. Would StarClan speak to him at tonight’s m eeting at the Moonpool?

Perhaps they would tell him that his apprenticeship was nearing its end. Longingly he im agined Jayfeather giving him his medicine-cat name while his Clanmates looked on. Would Jayfeather finally stop telling him what to do?

“Alderpaw!” Sparkpelt’s mew called him from his thoughts. Their Clanmates were drifting to the edges of the camp, back to the prey they had left so they could witness the nam ing cerem ony.

He hurried to m eet her. “Congratulations!”

She looked as happy as a kit. “Thanks.” She touched her m uzzle to his cheek. “It’ll be y ou next,” she prom ised softly.

“I hope so,” he sighed.

Jayfeather stom ped past them, his tail flicking. “Stop wishing and hurry up, Alderpaw. We don’t want to be the last cats to arrive.”

Sparkpelt’s gaze followed the medicine cat toward the camp entrance. “I think y ou’re great,” she whispered to Alderpaw. “The way you put up with him. I’d have thrown all his dum b herbs into the lake by now.”

Alderpaw swallowed back a purr. “I’ve been tem pted.”

Sparkpelt nudged him away. “You’d better go.” Jayfeather was already disappearing through the entrance tunnel. “I’ll see you when you get back!” she called as Alderpaw turned to follow him. Sparkpelt would be sitting vigil in the clearing until dawn, to honor her new name.

At least Alderpaw didn’t envy her that. The clear sky meant a chilly night. There was probably frost on the m oor. “Don’t get cold!” he called over his shoulder.

“My new name will keep m e warm!”

Alderpaw purred as he ducked through the tunnel.

Jayfeather was already halfway up the rise. Alderpaw hurried to catch up with him.

They m et Mothwing and Willowshine at the border and followed the stream as it cut between m oor and forest, tracing it back toward the hills where it rose.

Alderpaw scram bled up a boulder after Jayfeather. The stream tum bled over rocks beside them. “Should we wait for Leafpool and Puddlepaw?”

“They’re already there,” Jayfeather answered without pausing. “Can’t you sm ell their scent?”

Alderpaw opened his m outh, tasting the faint trace of Leafpool am ong the tang of water, stone, and heather.

“I wonder how Puddlepaw’s training is going,” Mothwing called out behind them.

“What’s the point in wondering?” Jayfeather answered gruffly. “We’ll find out when we get there.”

“We’d probably get there quicker if a blind cat weren’t leading the way,” Mothwing mewed fondly. She hurried to catch up to Jayfeather. “He’s as grum py as an elder,” she breathed, rolling her eyes as she bounded past Alderpaw.

“I heard that,” Jayfeather huffed. “And you know I can follow this trail as well as any sighted cat.”

“Sorry, Jayfeather,” Mothwing purred. “I forgot you have the hearing of a bat.”

Willowshine fell in beside Alderpaw as the older cats chatted. “How’s your training going?”

“I think I’m doing okay,” Alderpaw whispered. “I’m not sure if Jayfeather agrees.”

“I don’t think Jayfeather’s agreed with any thing his whole life,” Willowshine purred. “You’ll be a great medicine cat, though. You’re being trained by one of the best.”

Alderpaw swallowed back a sigh. Jayfeather might be one of the best, but there were day s when being trained by a badger might be easier.

He was out of breath by the time they’d clim bed the last rocky ridge. He hauled him self over the edge, his heart lifting as he saw the Moonpool below. It lay at the bottom of the shallow hollow, ringed by sm ooth cliffs. Tonight the water was so still that the moon reflected in it without a shim m er. He let Willowshine lead him down the slope, dim pled by countless paw steps. At the bottom he saw Leafpool.

She was hurry ing to m eet Jayfeather as he reached the water’s edge. “How’s the Clan? Are they well?” Leafpool’s eyes glittered eagerly.

“A few belly aches and thorn pricks,” Jayfeather told her. “Nothing to worry about.”

Alderpaw j oined them, happy as he sm elled Leafpool’s fam iliar scent. “Every one misses y ou,” he told her.

Leafpool’s eyes rounded with longing. “I miss you too.” She glanced toward Puddlepaw, who was staring into the moonlit water blankly.

“How’s the training going?” Jayfeather asked.

“We’re m aking progress,” Leafpool told him.

Alderpaw searched her gaze. Did that mean Puddlepaw was doing better than when he’d visited her in camp? Before he could ask, three shapes appeared at the edge of the hollow.

In the moonlight Alderpaw could make out Kestrelflight. He was flanked by two WindClan warriors. Gorsetail and Sedgewhisker followed him stiffly down the paw-worn path.

Jayfeather and Leafpool exchanged glances.

“Why’d he bring them?” Leafpool hissed.

Mothwing called out. “This m eeting is for medicine cats!”

“We’re not stay ing.” Gorsetail halted as Kestrelflight reached the water’s edge.

Leafpool blinked at Kestrelflight. “Is every thing okay?” She nodded toward his Clanmates.

“You don’t usually bring com pany.”

“Onestar’s orders.” The WindClan medicine cat sounded apologetic. He nodded to Gorsetail and Sedgewhisker. “I’ll be fine now. You’d better go.”

“We’ll wait outside the hollow until y ou’ve finished,” Sedgewhisker growled. She turned and clim bed up the slope. Gorsetail followed.

Alderpaw’s pelt prickled uneasily. The warriors seem ed edgy. Kestrelflight’s fur was ruffled.

“What’s happened?” Mothwing padded closer, her eyes round with curiosity.

“Onestar is worried about the rogues,” Kestrelflight explained. “He’s ordered every cat to have an escort if they leave camp.”

Jayfeather’s ears twitched. “Doesn’t he trust StarClan to watch over y ou?”

Kestrelflight shifted his paws. “Since the fight with the rogues, he doesn’t seem to trust any one.” He frowned. “If only I’d been there when he was hurt. I might have helped him.”

“There was nothing you could have done,” Jayfeather told him gruffly.

Alderpaw blinked sy m pathetically at the WindClan medicine cat, remembering his own guilt over Sandstorm’s death. Is this what it means to be a medicine cat? To always regret the lives you couldn’t save?

“Poor Onestar,” Mothwing m urm ured. “Losing a life must be hard.”

Alderpaw blinked at her. How did a RiverClan cat hear about Onestar losing a life?

Bramblestar had hinted at it in his conversation with Rowanstar, but no more. Had some cat in Lionblaze’s patrol spoken out of turn?

Jayfeather snorted. “At least he had more than one life to lose. Furzepelt probably found dy ing harder.”

Leafpool leaned closer to Kestrelflight. “Why were Gorsetail and Sedgewhisker so prickly?”

Kestrelflight lowered his voice. “Onestar’s acting strangely. He sends scouts ahead when he goes on patrol. He’s set a perm anent guard at the camp entrance. He’s enforcing every rule. Half the Clan is on punishm ent duty for breaking one code or another.” He glanced over his shoulder.

“Every one’s scared they’ll be reported. The warriors are so tense they hardly speak to one another, and the apprentices act like they’re walking on quails’ eggs.”

Jayfeather flicked his tail impatiently. “The sooner Onestar pulls him self together, the better.

Have you thought of slipping a few poppy seeds into his prey? It would give the Clan a break while he slept them off.”

Kestrelflight’s whiskers twitched with am usem ent. “I might try it.” His shoulders softened for the first time since he’d arrived.

Leafpool still looked worried. “Has there been any sign of the rogues on the m oor?”

“Not so far,” Kestrelflight answered.

Mothwing sniffed. “They must have m oved on by now. Why would they stay in territory that’s already been claim ed?”

Willowshine nodded. “Fighting us for every m orsel of prey will be way too much trouble.

They’re bound to have left.”

“Let’s hope so,” Leafpool agreed. “Rogues are usually happy to travel. It’s what makes them rogues.”

Alderpaw’s belly tightened. She didn’t know these rogues. They’d driven Sky Clan from their territory and m ade their home in the gorge. And Darktail had vowed they’d see more of him.

Should he warn the others? He glanced at Jayfeather. His m entor had overheard the rogue leader’s threat too. But the blind medicine cat was padding around Puddlepaw, sniffing the apprentice’s pelt.

“You sm ell of herbs,” Jayfeather grunted. “Leafpool must be teaching you something.”

Leafpool hurried forward. “Puddlepaw is a fast learner.”

“Good,” Jayfeather mewed. “Because we need you back in ThunderClan. Is he ready to become a full medicine cat y et?”

Already? Alderpaw’s pelt prickled with indignation. I’ll be training until I’m an elder if Jayfeather gets his way.

“A full medicine cat?” Leafpool looked at Jayfeather in horror. “After one moon’s training?”

Mothwing whisked her tail over the stone. “I’m sure you and Alderpaw can m anage to take care of ThunderClan without Leafpool for a while longer. If you ever need help, send for me or Willowshine.”

Jayfeather snorted dismissively. “We won’t need help.” His blind gaze fixed on Puddlepaw.

“But it would be good to know how long you will be wasting your talents on ShadowClan.”

Leafpool’s ears twitched crossly. “Shared knowledge is never wasted.”

Anxiety sparked in Puddlepaw’s eyes. “I appreciate every thing Leafpool has taught m e, and I’m learning as fast as I can.”

Alderpaw felt a sudden surge of pity for the young cat. Perhaps training too quickly was worse than training too slowly. In another moon Puddlepaw would be expected to take responsibility for the welfare of every cat in his Clan. “I’m sure you will be a great medicine cat,” he assured him. “It just takes patience.”

Jayfeather snapped his head around. “And the ability to tell the difference between chervil root and leaves.”

Anger pricked through Alderpaw’s pelt. “That’s not fair—”

Leafpool interrupted him. “At least we know that Alderpaw has plenty of patience.” She stared meaningfully at Jayfeather.

As though he could see her fierce gaze, Jayfeather turned away and padded to the edge of the pool. “Since there’s little else to say, let’s share with StarClan.” Crouching, he touched his nose to the water’s sm ooth surface.

Alderpaw pulled his nose tip from the chilly water, disappointed.

“Did StarClan speak to y ou?” Leafpool was looking at him hopefully.

He shook his head, straightening. He’d seen nothing but his own thoughts. Jayfeather, Kestrelflight, and Willowshine glanced at each other. Puddlepaw stared at the ground.

“Didn’t any one speak with them?” Leafpool pressed.

Jayfeather shook out his pelt. “I guess there was nothing to share.”

“What about the rogues?” Leafpool looked worried.

“They must be no threat,” Willowshine guessed.

“I told y ou,” Mothwing j erked her head up. She lay by the water, but she hadn’t dipped her nose to it like the other medicine cats. How could she share with a Clan she didn’t seem to believe in? Even though she’d witnessed the great battle with the Dark Forest, she’d never truly believed that those cats were their own ancestors, but sim ply thought of them as rogues from bey ond Clan territory. “They’ll have m oved on by now.”

Alderpaw wished he could believe her. But that wasn’t the worry that worm ed in his belly.

He’d been hoping for StarClan to give him a clue about Sky Clan. The more he thought about it, the more convinced Alderpaw felt that the sky that would clear in the prophecy referred to Sky Clan.

And surely StarClan knew where the lost Clan had gone. Why couldn’t their ancestors send word?

Or at least give a clue about whether Twigkit and Violetkit were part of their prophecy? With a twinge of pity, he thought of Twigkit snuggling in beside him, shivering after her fall in the lake. If I am an ordinary cat, the Clan won’t want me anymore. He pushed the thought away with a shiver.

Of course the Clan would want her, whether she was special or not.

“Are you ready to return?” Sedgewhisker’s mew sounded from the rim of the hollow. She stood silhouetted in the moonlight.

Kestrelflight hurried toward her. “I’m coming.” He glanced back at the others. “May StarClan light your paths,” he called as he j oined his Clanmate.

Mothwing and Willowshine followed him up the slope. “See you at the Gathering,” Mothwing mewed over her shoulder.

Willowshine dipped her head as she passed. “Take care.”

Jayfeather was inspecting Puddlepaw again. “Tell m e what herbs you know,” he quizzed the young cat.

“Waterm int, horsetail, m arigold…”

As Puddlepaw began to list them, Alderpaw noticed Leafpool gazing anxiously at the moon’s reflection in the water.

“Were you hoping that StarClan would tell you if Rowanstar has m ade the right choice in Puddlepaw?” he asked softly, padding to her side.

“I know he has,” Leafpool answered quietly. “Puddlepaw is quick to learn and has sy m pathy for his patients. He’s going to make a fine medicine cat.”

“Then why do you look so worried?” Alderpaw recognized the dark shadows in Leafpool’s eyes.

“I’m worried about ShadowClan,” she m urm ured.

“Is som ething wrong?” Alderpaw leaned closer.

“Not exactly wrong,” Leafpool meowed hesitantly. “Not y et, any way. But it’s so chaotic.”

“Perhaps ShadowClan is just like that. Not all Clans are the sam e.”

“ShadowClan has always had its own sense of the warrior code, but at least they respected it.”

Leafpool m et Alderpaw’s gaze anxiously. “These day s, the younger cats show their elders no respect. They ignore som e rules com pletely. I had to hunt for Grassheart yesterday. The apprentices aren’t bringing her enough food to keep her m ilk flowing. Flowerkit, Whorlkit, and Snakekit are growing fast. Grassheart needs all the prey she can eat.”

“Why don’t the warriors send their apprentices out hunting?” Alderpaw was confused.

“Mentors don’t seem to be able to tell their apprentices anything. Sleekpaw talks back to every one, even Rowanstar. And Needlepaw’s not much better.”

Alderpaw’s hackles pricked as Leafpool criticized the young she-cat. “She’s still looking after Violetkit, though, isn’t she?”

Leafpool blinked at him. “If you mean does she have Violetkit trailing every where after her, y es. She takes her out of camp to StarClan knows where.”

“Out of camp?” Guilt warm ed Alderpaw’s pelt. Is that my fault? It was me who encouraged her in the first place. “Doesn’t Rowanstar punish her?”

“I don’t think he even knows,” Leafpool sighed. “There are sim ply more apprentices than the Clan can handle. Beepaw and Yarrowpaw have been say ing that we shouldn’t bother with StarClan. They ask why should they believe in a bunch of cats they’ve never even seen.”

Alderpaw interrupted, shocked. “They mustn’t rej ect StarClan!”

Leafpool went on anxiously. “Sleekpaw say s dead cats are dum b. She say s StarClan can’t possibly understand the forest any more. They’ve been living in their own hunting grounds too long.”

Alderpaw leaned forward. “Can’t you tell them they’re wrong—what y ou’ve seen with your own eyes?”

“I’m a ThunderClan cat.” Leafpool stared at him helplessly. “Any thing I say will just make it worse. And the warriors have stopped arguing with them. It’s like they don’t see the point any more.”

Alderpaw’s heart quickened with fear. “Perhaps that’s why StarClan didn’t share with us tonight. They might be angry about ShadowClan.”

Leafpool closed her eyes. “Or m ay be StarClan doesn’t know what to do.” She blinked them open, as though pushing away worry. “Perhaps it’ll pass. These are young cats. They’ll grow out of this nonsense.” She fluffed out her pelt against the chilly night air. “I’m probably worry ing over nothing. Like you say, ShadowClan has always been different. It could be that every new set of apprentices is the sam e and the warriors are doing the right thing by quietly waiting it out.”

Before Alderpaw could com m ent, she padded toward Puddlepaw, interrupting Jayfeather, who was questioning Puddlepaw about how to treat an infected claw. “Come on. It’s time we were going.”

Puddlepaw looked relieved. He nodded to Leafpool and headed for the top of the hollow.

“I’ll be home in a moon or two,” Leafpool told Jayfeather as she followed him.

“I wish it were sooner,” Jayfeather huffed.

“So do I.” Leafpool caught Alderpaw’s eye as she went on. “Be patient with Alderpaw. Cats learn far more from kindness than anger.”

Alderpaw glanced nervously at Jayfeather, wishing Leafpool hadn’t said any thing. Never poke your claw into a bees’ nest.

Jayfeather’s whiskers twitched with am usem ent. “If I start being gentle with him now, he’ll worry I’m getting soft in m y old age.” He followed Leafpool up the slope. “It sounds like y ou’re doing a good j ob with Puddlepaw. At least he seem s to know what chervil is for.”

Alderpaw hardly heard his m entor’s j ibe. He was worry ing about ShadowClan. What if Leafpool was wrong? What if the bad behavior of the apprentices didn’t pass? What would happen to Needlepaw? His heart lurched. How could Violetkit learn to be a true warrior in a place like that?