Chapter Eight

"We didn't mean t—" Hollypaw began, her eyes round with fear and realization.

"Sure," the tom growled, and he lunged for Hollypaw, who let out a shriek.

"Crowfeather" the gray she-cat snapped. Crowfeather landed softly and spun around to face the she-cat. He hissed softly.

"Stop, don't do anything," she continued.

"What?" he growled. "We're just going to let them get away? Ashfoot, surely you're less mouse-brained than that!" The gray she-cat looked shocked, but then spoke again.

"No," she said. "We're not going to let them get away, but we're also not going to kill them! Surely you're less mouse-brained than that," she added, a challenging glint in her eye.

"Then what are we going to do with them?" Crowfeather asked, unsheathing his claws slightly.

"Well, they're spies," Ashfoot assumed. Hollypaw couldn't help but let her mouth hang open.

"We're not spies!" she argued. Lionpaw silenced her by resting his tail over her mouth. Seeing what she had just done, Hollypaw sunk to the ground.

Ignoring her, Ashfoot continued on: "So we have to bring them back to camp. Who knows how much they know?" Hollypaw was astonished that they would accuse two apprentices of being spies!

"Come with us," Ashfoot demanded, and then gestured for the WindClan cats to surround their captives. Hardly able to walk, Hollypaw managed to make it back to the camp with them. She knew she was going to be in huge trouble when she got back to ThunderClan—if she ever did. Not too long ago, she had been accused of being a spy in RiverClan, she really, she had tried to help out her friend, Willowpaw. Now, she had dragged her brother into her problems.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to Lionpaw, but he didn't so much as look at her.

When the group reached WindClan camp, the rain was falling hard and steady, but still cats began to peak their heads out from their dens, speaking to each other in hushed tones. The pale tabby she-cat that had been on the patrol passed Lionpaw to go to one of the dens, and brushed him with her tail, making his whole body tense. Heatherpaw

"Onestar!" Hollypaw heard Ashfoot call out, as she bounded off towards a brown tabby tom. She couldn't hear the rest of their conversation, but she knew it couldn't be good, because Onestar looked angry with every word he said.

"Come here," he finally ordered to the two ThunderClan apprentices. They did as they were told and stood in front of him.

"How much do you know?" he asked.

"I told you we weren't spying," Hollypaw mewed.

"Don't play games," Onestar hissed. "We already found you, so there's no use to hide anything anymore!" Hollypaw flinched, and was glad when Lionpaw spoke up.

"Hollypaw fell in the river," he explained, "so I went in to rescue her. It was a mistake that we crossed the border, and if you let us go, we'll be sure not to do it again." Hollypaw was surprised at how maturely he was handling it, and her ears got hot at the thought of how she had defended herself like a kit.

"Those are some strong words," Onestar admitted, but then his fur bristled. "Almost as if rehearsed." He took a step forward, and Hollypaw sunk to the ground again.

"I'm sorry to say this," Onestar meowed, "but until we work it out at the next gathering, we can't let you go." Hollypaw's heart pounded. That's a half moon from now! "Tonight you will sleep in the middle of the clearing, so that I can keep an eye on you. And if we suspect you of any more spying, we might just have to—"

"Onestar!" Ashfoot warned. "We can't go that far—it could arouse a battle!"

"Fine," he muttered. "But you'll be watched at all times," he meowed to Hollypaw and Lionpaw. Onestar glared at them and then stalked off to his den, bringing Ashfoot with him. The cats began to go back in their dens, and Heatherpaw made her way to the fresh kill pile, glancing at Lionpaw out of the corner of her eye.

A light brown tabby tom then came out of Onestar's den, and padded up to Hollypaw and Lionpaw.

"Owlwhisker will keep an eye on you two for now," Onestar hissed, coming out of his den as well. "So you better be good." Hollypaw's heart thudded in her chest, and suddenly, she felt dizzy. She wanted to go home, curl up in her nest, and sleep under the shade of the trees. She just wanted to wake up from this nightmare.

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That night, back at ThunderClan camp, Jaypaw had some trouble sleeping. Leafpool had sent Cinderpaw out to get the catmint since Hollypaw hadn't returned, and now, Jaypaw was starting worry about his sister. When Cinderpaw had come back, Jaypaw asked if she had seen her, but Cinderpaw said no. Jaypaw knew something was wrong—the last time Hollypaw had disappeared for this long was when she was held captive by RuverClan. And this time, it wasn't only Hollypaw—it was Lionpaw, too.

Jaypaw rolled over in his nest, trying to get comfortable, but no position seemed to work. He tried curling himself up in a ball, but it only made things worse. He knew it was at least midnight by now, and the whole Clan was probably sleeping by now. Rain pattered down hard on the ground outside the den, making Jaypaw's ears twitch.

Aggravated, Jaypaw rolled over again. A blurred image came to his mind, but he couldn't make out what it was. A strange scent found his nose, but disappeared as quickly as the picture had. He was about to get up when he heard a noise.

He listened closely and found that someone was coming into the medicine cat den. He buried his nose in his paws and pretending to be asleep. He then felt something wet press itself against his pelt. Lifting his head just a little, a sweet scent reached his nose—Cinderpaw.

Despite the coldness of her fur, when her breathing became soft and steady, it soon lulled Jaypaw to sleep.