Chapter 7

Stormfur wasn't sure when he first felt it, but it grew stronger with each passing day.

He didn't belong there.

Feathertail had Cedarheart now—now matter how Stormfur tried to tell her to leave him she wouldn't be swayed. She loved the former-ShadowClan warrior. Stormfur loved her kits, and they loved him, but Cedarheart would always mean more to them, too.

But Stormfur couldn't bring himself to hate the other warrior. He was strong and clever, and no matter how Stormfur disagreed with him he always did have at least a somewhat valid point. So no, Stormfur couldn't hate him. Still he couldn't help but to feel that they couldn't coexist. Their care for Feathertail brought them to mostly peaceable terms but he knew it wouldn't last, and Stormfur knew he couldn't keep acting as if he felt Cedarheart was a Clan-mate.

Foxtail was physically trembling under the weight of the responsibility that had been thrust upon him when they chose him to lead. In an attempt to help his closest friend, Stormfur had started taking more responsibility himself. In doing so, the feeling grew and molded into something new. Something frightening.

Stormfur wanted to lead.

He wasn't sure if it was to relieve Foxtail's stress—to cast some light into the shadows of his dark blue eyes—or simply because he was comfortable at the head of patrols now. He looked forward to making decisions; he longed to separate patrols his way, to try a different method of training for the apprentices. Whatever the reason, Stormfur couldn't decide how to breach the topic. Would Foxtail think of it as a betrayal if he offered to take the lead? Would the others follow him as they followed Foxtail?

How will I ever know if I never find a way to talk to some cat about it?

"Stormfur, could you come here for a second?"

The gray warrior gave himself a rough shake. "Coming." He padded quietly to Foxtail's side. "What is it?"

The red-furred tom flicked his ears. "I want to cross that ridge there by nightfall," he told him. "Do you think we can make it?"

Stormfur narrowed his eyes and gauged the distance. It was a barren stretch of land. If they couldn't make it to the mentioned ridge by nightfall they'd be sleeping in the open. "We don't have much choice, do we?"

Foxtail sighed. "I suppose not. I was hoping you might see something I missed."

"Sorry," Stormfur touched his nose to his friend's shoulder. "I wish I did."

The sun rose slowly, bringing a faint light to Foxtail's midnight eyes. "We should get moving."

Stormfur nodded. "I'll go wake everyone." He flicked his tail in farewell and turned back to the Clan. Smokepelt and Whitetail were already awake, slowly picking their way through the ranks and nudging their Clan-mates awake. Stormfur gave Sootfur a nudge.

"It's time to go," he explained as the black warrior blinked up at him. When he got a nod, Stormfur moved to Thistlepaw. The prickly apprentice was curled close to Volewhisker's side.

"Wake up, you two." He prodded both cats with a wide forepaw. "Thistlepaw, wake Sagepaw, would you?"

"Sure, sure," Thistlepaw rolled her eyes as she stretched.

"It could be worse," Volewhisker mewed brightly. "You could have to wake Crowflight!"

Thistlepaw snorted, but her eyes were without scorn. Volewhisker's cheery sense of humor had taken the edge off of Thistlepaw's tongue, even if only when she was talking to him.

Feathertail was already awake, bathing Mintkit as the kit wailed in protest. Stormfur joined his sister, pleased to see Cloudkit standing steadily on all four paws. "Good morning."

"Stormfur!" Shadowkit bounced to his side, his black fur already sleek and shining in the dawn light. "Will you play with us?"

"Please?" Cloudkit added, her dark green eyes glowing as she craned her neck to look up at him.

"No, little ones, we don't have time to play this morning," Feathertail released Mintkit with a satisfied nod. "Foxtail is calling for us to go now."

"I'm sick of traveling," Mintkit spat. "We never get to play and we have to spend all day walking or being carried…"

"We'll be done travelling soon," Feathertail promised softly. Stormfur could tell by the exhaustion in her eyes that she was trying to convince herself as well.

Stormfur licked her shoulder. "We will," he affirmed. "I can feel it."

It seemed he wasn't the only one; once they got moving a new tension started filling the air. No cat asked to stop and hunt at sunhigh, all of the kits bounced eagerly through the ranks, filled with energy they hadn't had in half a moon. Hailfall seemed the most affected, loping along at his brother's side with his ears pricked and his tail-tip flicking restlessly.

Stormfur's heart started to beat faster. His paws moved faster, and he picked up speed until he was at Foxtail's side. He just barely heard Hailfall's choked whisper.

"We're here." The medicine cat raced ahead, the fur along his spine bristling in excitement. Foxtail pelted after him, and Stormfur kept pace with the red-furred warrior. They reached the top of the ridge as the sun touched the horizon. Ahead of them stretched the most beautiful sight Stormfur had ever seen. To the left was a huge forest, its trees tall and filled with new-leaf growth. A waterfall fell from the forest over a sheer cliff. It seemed to catch fire in the light of the setting sun as it tumbled down into the pool below. From the pool, a valley sprawled between the grand walls of the canyon that had to have been cut by the waterfall over countless seasons.

"This is it," Hailfall breathed. "This is the place StarClan showed me."

"We should rest here for the night," Foxtail couldn't keep still, shifting his weight from paw to paw. "We can take a patrol down tomorrow to find a camp."

Stormfur blinked curiously at his litter-mate, taken aback. "Down?" He echoed.

"Did you see the size of that valley? There's bound to be a camp down there somewhere." Foxtail's tone was eager and confident.

"But what about the forest?" The dark gray warrior longed to sleep beneath the trees as he had in their old home. "It's more sheltered, and I'd bet anything there's fish in the river that makes that waterfall."

"I can smell the rabbits in that valley from here," Cedarheart's voice set Stormfur's claws scraping at the ground beneath his feet.

"Since when did ShadowClan hunt rabbits?" Stormfur challenged him.

"Since when did ThunderClan fish?" For the first time in a long time, Rowanclaw came to his Clan-mate's defense.

"Enough," Foxtail looked alarmed. Stepping between the quarreling cats, he raised his voice to address all of LostClan. "We'll rest here tonight," he announced. "Split into patrols and hunt. Tomorrow we have to decide where to make camp."

Stormfur cast one last glare at Rowanclaw and Cedarheart before he rejoined the rest of the Clan. He called to Thistlepaw and Sootfur and set to clear his mind with a hunt. They had each caught something when Thistlepaw finally spoke up.

"It's like home, isn't it?" Her green eyes were on the forest. It seemed to be glowing in the steadily fading sunlight.

"It is," Sootfur purred. "I'm sure Foxtail will want to make it our new home."

"I know I do," Stormfur agreed. "I can taste the squirrels already."

Thistlepaw's whiskers twitched. "Volewhisker offered to teach me to fish." Her eyes glowed at the prospect. "I'm sure he'd like to live there, too."

Stormfur curled his tail in amusement, and exchanged a knowing glance with Sootfur. It was clear that Thistlepaw didn't realize how transparent her feeling for the young warrior were.

When they returned, Stormfur ate in silence, listening to his Clan-mates' chatter. He could see it—there were going to be problems tomorrow.


Sleep didn't come easily to Stormfur that night, and he woke before the sun was in the sky. Foxtail and Hailfall sat at the crest of the ridge, looking across the vast land they had found. Stormfur joined them quietly.

"Good morning," Hailfall mewed softly.

"Morning," Stormfur's eyes wandered to the left. "Have you thought about where we'll search for a camp?"

Foxtail shook his head. "I want to let the Clan decide."

Unsettled, Stormfur glanced at his friend. "But where do you want to find a camp?"

The red warrior sighed. "I'd like to give the valley below a try," he finally admitted. "It's not the forest that I'm used to, but I've seen large birds circling the lower ledges, and the rabbit scent is strong."

Silence fell between the three cats. Hailfall glanced between the warriors, thoughts swimming like minnows in the depths of his eyes.

"Foxtail, everyone's awake already," Tawnypelt's voice reached them easily from the throng of cats behind them.

"Alright then." He pressed against Hailfall's side for a moment, as if drawing strength from his brother. "Let's go." The three toms padded back to the other cats together. The huddled anxiously, their eyes bright with anticipation.

"Cats of LostClan, we have found the place StarClan meant us to settle. Now we just have to decide what territory we'd like to call home." Foxtail's voice was even despite the tremble in his paws.

Stormfur raised his tail immediately. "I think we should search for a camp in the forest," he announced. He saw Tawnypelt nodding, and caught the excited glint in Volewhisker's eye as he bent to murmur something in Thistlepaw's ear. "There's plenty of shelter and a river full of fish."

"The river flows through the valley below as well," the quiet objection came from Whitetail. The small queen met Stormfur's gaze evenly. "The open hills suit rabbit hunting."

"I'll never be comfortable under trees," Crowflight put in testily.

"I'll never be comfortable in the open," Sorreltail countered. "Especially not with kits."

Whitetail blinked at the younger queen, seeming surprised. "My kits have never been in danger."

"I'd feel better if mine were near water," Mosspelt spoke up, her eyes wandering to the waterfall."

"There's water in both places," Foxtail assured her, speaking for the first time on the matter. "And perhaps there's more shelter in the canyon below than we can see from here."

"Then you think we should live down there?" Loudbelly's tone was dubious.

Cedarheart's tail lashed. "He's not the only one. I think we'd be better off there as well."

Of course you would, Stormfur ground his teeth together, because I think otherwise.

"I think so, too," Smokepelt stood beside his mentor. "It reminds me of home."

Before long, arguments were erupting through the Clan. Fur bristled and tails lashed. Stormfur felt his own hackles raising.

Why can't we make a decision? We held together so long… Surely if this was where StarClan intended us to be it would be easier to make a decision?

"Stop!" Foxtail's authoritative yowl brought quiet, however tense. "The sun is up and the queens need to be fed. Split into patrols and hunt. We'll discuss more once everyone has eaten."

"Let's climb down," Cedarheart beckoned to Foxtail with his ears.

Stormfur opened his mouth to object, but his litter-mate was already meowing an eager agreement and bounding away. The gray warrior snapped his jaws shut and spun to find a patrol of his own—one to take into the forest. He saw Loudbelly, Volewhisker, and Thistlepaw waiting for him.

"Are you coming?" His apprentice called tauntingly.

Whiskers twitching, Stormfur hurried to join them. Energy sparked like lightning in his paws the closer to the forest they got. No matter what it takes, he thought to himself as they slipped into the tantalizing undergrowth. This must be our home.