Chapter Three
Leafpool lifted her head, mouth open to catch the scents of the forest. She wondered if this secluded region could ever be their home; a place for them to settle down and start a family... It smelled rich enough... But it felt wrong somehow; and they hadn't passed any suitable dens. She was glad that they would be at the other end of the valley (and the forest) in another day.
She pricked her ears at the faint sound of scrabbling mouse steps. It was close; she could see a leaf trembling on the forest floor... the creature must be sheltering there! She crept forward, the mouse continuing its search for seeds, completely unaware. She placed her feet lightly within pouncing distance, her leg muscles coiled and... Released! She flew towards the leaf, knowing that soon the mouse would be hers. She landed hard and to her confusion the mouse was not in her paws! She had missed! Furious, she looked around and realized she had hit the wrong leaf! Luckily, the mouse was still oblivious, caught up in its search for food. She sprang again, this time hitting her mark and screaming in horror as two iron bars flew at her face.
Pov
Squirrelflight swallowed nervously; why wasn't Firestar answering? And then relief swept in as Sandstorm came padding out, gesturing with her tail for Squirrelflight to enter. Squirrelflight stepped through the moss curtain, eager to hear Firestar's opinion. Her father lay curled up in his bedding, obviously awaiting her entrance. She didn't quite know where to start, and for an awkward moment they looked at each other curiously.
Squirrelflight managed to break the silence, "Um... Can I ask you a question?"
Ugh! What was she thinking?! What a way to begin this conversation; "Um" indeed! But it was too late now; she had to forge ahead. Firestar spoke first, "Of course Squirrelflight. You're always welcome to speak with me."
Something in his words sounded weary and sharp. Squirrelflight hurried on, eager for the ordeal to be over, "I've been thinking about Leafpool a lot lately..."
"We all have."
"Anyway, now that the camp is nearly finished I've come up with a plan..."
"What kind of plan?"
Squirrelflight wished he'd stop interrupting her! "Well, it's not really complete yet, but the plan is to find Leafpool and Crowfeather and bring them back home. I think we can track them, I know I can persuade them, and I have to try to help them..." Squirrelflight petered off under Firestar's fierce glare.
"So you just think we can go out and find them? It's all that easy?" Firestar stood now and began to pace. "Being a leader is hard. And it's time like these that I question Bluestar's decision on my leadership." Squirrelflight stared, open-mouthed. What could have gotten him in such a state?! "And now you want to find them; now that we're weak and vulnerable, now that your mother is heavy with kits!" Squirrelflight gasped. Sandstorm was having kits?! This conversation was getting stranger by the second!
"I... I didn't know... It's just that I miss Leafpool so badly and I want her to come back and if we don't go soon there'll be no scent left at all!" In a blinded rush Squirrelflight let the words spill out.
Firestar's shoulders suddenly sagged. " I know you're right of course; I just never thought it'd come to this... my own daughter..."
Squirrelflight looked at her father, who had lost himself in his own thoughts. Did this mean they could go, or that it was forbidden? She looked at him expectantly.
Abruptly, Firestar raised his head and stared into her eyes, his expression blank; then folding into one of relief. "Of course... You can go Squirrelflight; you and Brambleclaw and... Well, maybe it would be best if only you two went. I'm trusting you Squirrelflight."
Squirrelflight looked into her father's bright eyes, "You can depend on us."
Firestar turned around and headed back to his nest, looking very tired and frail. Squirrelflight crept back out of the den, dismissed.
POV
The bars of iron with ragged teeth flew at her, snapping shut... on her front legs. She felt bones crunch, suddenly compacted together by harsh metal teeth. She felt tendons snap, felt the serrated metal tear through her exposed skin, felt her own terror a moment to late... She could feel everything; from her skin and fur peeling away like a used wrapper to her blood welling up through her mangled veins. But the pain didn't kick in until a moment later in excruciating tremors that made her tremble and moan in fear. Through the fuzzy blackness that was veiling her eyes she saw Crowfeather running towards her, almost in slow motion, a look of sheer terror upon his face and a horrifying yowl tearing from his lips.
POV
Squirrelflight galloped towards Brambleclaw, "He said yes!!!" The overwhelming joy on her face said everything he needed to know. "We can go! And alone too!"
Squirrelflight blushed suddenly; realizing what she had just blurted. Brambleclaw tactfully changed the subject, "That's great! Have you thought about provisions? And... when do we leave?"
Squirrelflight started; once again she had forgotten to think ahead, "Well... It's just a rough plan; I mean all the details..."
"I get it," Brambleclaw began in a laughing mew, "You're pretending to be scatter-brained prey!"
Squirrelflight pounced playfully on Brambleclaw's tail and they rolled around in the dust, laughing joyously until Brambleclaw rolled onto Firestar's foreleg. In an instant Brambleclaw was on his feet, licking his chest sheepishly. Firestar just stepped around them, leaping onto High rock and giving the customary summons, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather at High Rock!"
Squirrelflight was one of the first cats to sit at the foot of the rock, settling next to Brambleclaw, entwining her tail in his. Ashfur was glaring at her again; Squirrelflight felt another pang of guilt, but it was interrupted by Firestar's words, "As you all know, Leafpool has disappeared with Crowfeather into the wilderness." There was a general murmur of consent before Firestar could continue on.
"Now that the camp is on its way to complete repair it is time we dealt with the consequences of Leafpool's actions."
The murmur became a roar. "Let her rot out there, the traitor!" "Organize a search party!" "Get our medicine cat back!" Firestar waited patiently, finally cutting them off with a swish of his tail.
"I understand that you may be resentful, but she is my daughter and a medicine cat and she is valuable to our clan. Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw have offered to head a search party north of Windclan's outer boundaries, where they were last seen."
Once again the crowd raised its voice and Firestar listened carefully. There were several offers to join the search party and a few petitions to disband it. Finally the crowd grew silent.
"I understand what many of you must be feeling, but I feel that it's best if we spare only two warriors on this mission. If they aren't back in three moons we send a search party... if everyone can be content with this than they will leave tomorrow at dawn."
There were a few grumbles, but no one spoke out for a moment. And then Ashfur's voice rose from the calm, "Squirrelflight... how could you do this to me? I can't stand the thought of you leaving me here like a helpless kit! Can't you see my love for you?"
There was a loud gasp from the clan and several hushed conversations began. Squirrelflight stared at Ashfur in horror. How could he do this to her?! Especially now that she had her chance to rescue Leafpool!
Her mouth couldn't form the necessary words but it didn't need to; Bramble-claw's voice rose with her words in a deeper tone, "Of course she can see your feelings. You've been trailing after her like a lovesick apprentice for weeks now! Can't you see that she is happy with the way things are? Why... How could you change this now, when she can finally rescue her littermate? And of course she's upset! She has a right to ignore you when you act like this!"
Squirrelflight almost let out a purr she was so happy to have Brambleclaw! Ashfur's tail drooped in defeat. She hated the look of disappointment and despair on his face; it spelled the hopelessness of a broken heart. But she liked them being friends. Why did it have to go any further? She padded over to her father, looking for the instructions on their trip.
POV
Crowfeather heard Leafpool pad away in hunter-stealth. He watched as she prepared to pounce on a quivering leaf, feeling the pride that came with his mate and the trembling anticipation of fresh kill. She sprang, gliding through the air so gracefully; her lithe body an expression of elegance, an asset to all cats... He watched her gentle landing; whisper soft, her front paws snagging the leaf. But it was the wrong leaf! He couldn't believe it! She shook her head angrily, and then pounced again, harder this time. He watched her land thickly on the correct leaf and stared in helpless horror as bars of metal came to kill his mate. He began running, faster than he had ever run before, faster than any Windclan cat; any ancestor in the starry skies... but it was not fast enough. Only tail lengths away from his goal he let out a yowl of desperation as the iron fate sliced into his vulnerable love.
POV
"You'll need traveling herbs of course, Lea- Barkface can help you with that. You'll each need plenty; then you can make it as far as possible without stopping to hunt. Like I told the clan, you'll leave at dawn... with everyone's well wishes." Firestar was all business now, not the sad cat he'd been in his den. Leafpool watched her father stride briskly towards the medicine den and return with two packets of strongly scented herbs.
"Here. Eat these tomorrow, just before you leave," Firestar spat out the words and the herbs. Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight each grabbed their packet and then headed back to the warrior's den; they would need a long night of sleep before the journey and the sun was creeping towards sunset now. The settled into two nests not to far from the entrance and curled up together, already slipping into a sweet sleep.
POV
Crowfeather was panicking and he knew it. His thoughts jumped wildly and no actions made any sense... Calm Crowfeather... Calm. Great. Now he was hearing her voice in his head... and that's exactly what she would have said. He took a deep breath and truly surveyed the damage. Leafpool's front legs were both crushed beyond recognition, glistening with pints of precious blood. The bars had missed the vital areas, but there was no way she would walk again, even if she didn't die from the massive blood loss. How could things have gone so wrong so fast? One moment he was smiling with pride, the next he was wondering if his life mate would survive at all. He watched her in case she stirred. She didn't move that hour. Or the next. Or the next. He could feel his own spirit withering with hers. He began yowling. So hard, so long it hurt. His throat rasped, his body felt stiff, but he howled vigil for the next two days.
POV
Mmmm... Fresh kill... She could smell it so strongly, but everything was red. Her body felt hot and sticky. Was that... Spottedleaf? The sweet scent wreathed around her, dancing on the wind. Yes... there she was, a clear spot in her red-drenched vision.
"Sp... Spottedleaf?" Her throat hurt; so dry...
"Yes Leafpool, I'm here," so that was her name... Leafpool. It was so pretty.
"Snap out of it Leafpool!" the red vision fled and everything came back to her.
"Is... Am I dead? Where are we?" Wow. She was surprisingly calm.
"You're not dead Leafpool. This is still only a dream. You need to stay strong. Pull yourself together. Crowfeather will not survive without you."
"Crowfeather! Where is he?" Leafpool looked around wildly. Her surroundings were blurry, but they resembled the forest she'd been walking through. And there was Crowfeather... far below her. He was yowling, full of pain and anguish. She sensed hunger, and something beside him, barely alive. It was... her. She stared down in horror.
POV
Squirrelflight stirred weakly in her sleep. Something was wrong... Someone was dying. Her dream seemed to have gone dark red. She mumbled Leafpool, but the word didn't register and she slipped back into her previous dream.
POV
Tom sighed. He had come across another of Jeremy's sick traps. There had been a fox in this one, front paw crushed mercilessly. He had put it in a cage and gave it anesthesia, but he wasn't sure that the poor thing would come through.
It was six in the morning and already he was preparing to walk the trap line. He was determined not to let his sick neighbor gather more disgusting prizes from the peaceful woodlot. The running shoes fit, but barely. He needed to go somewhere other than the mill on his trips to town... ugh. It was so cold this morning... He hoped the cold hadn't finished the animals off...
The leaves crackled beneath his feet as he ran down the line of empty traps. By now he could just recognize the slight imprint in the dirt or leaves that indicated a hidden trap. So far so good. They were all empty and now snapped shut. Then he heard it... a faint yowl further up the line. What could be making that noise? Most of the animals caught in traps only whimpered softly, or lay silent, already dead or unconscious. He sped up with no real thought. The noise grew steadily louder. What waited for him ahead?
