Chapter Twenty-Eight
"Is Snaketail in there?" Snaketail heard Silverfire ask Tigerpaw just outside her den.
"I'm here." Snaketail called before her apprentice could answer. "What'd you need?"
"To talk to both of you; somewhere we won't be overheard by the Dark Forest cats."
"We're low on mallow root." Tigerpaw mentioned. "And the largest patch is kind of far from camp."
"All right, Tigerpaw, will you let Snowstar know our general location in case we're needed. I need to put these away, then I'll meet you at the camp entry." Snaketail requested. Tigerpaw ran off right away and Silverfire waited just outside the medicine den while Snaketail cleared away the herbs she was sorting. In silence, the two older she-cats met up with Tigerpaw and Snaketail led them both to the patch of mallow that Tigerpaw had previously referred to.
"So, what did you need to tell us?" Tigerpaw asked, sitting down to face his mom.
"We're trying to gather as many loyal warriors of Enigma as possible in the tunnels next new moon to hear something Blackfoot has to say." Silverfire informed them.
"The two of us shouldn't both go." Tigerpaw commented, looking over at Snaketail. "Once of us needs to be able to be found."
"Yeah," Snaketail agreed. "Do you want to go, Tigerpaw? I'd just as soon stay near Snowstar right now."
"All right, that'd be fun." Tigerpaw agreed. "I'll tell you what Blackfoot has to say."
"Thank you. Have you told anyone else yet, Silverfire?"
"No, not yet. I just got back from there a little bit before I looked for you."
"I can tell the other apprentices." Tigerpaw offered, standing up to dig at the mallow plants.
"Kestrelpaw, Gingerpaw, and Amberpaw have been kept out of Enigma." Snaketail warned him.
"Why?"
"Gingerpaw's close bond with her mentor, Kestrelpaw's bond with Gingerpaw, and Amberpaw's interest in the ways of the Dark Forest."
"Snaketail, Gingerpaw and Amberpaw are my sisters. They aren't evil!"
"I don't think they are, Tigerpaw." Snaketail responded sharply. "But I can't be certain they'll keep Enigma secret the way we have to either."
"Mom, you can't agree with keeping them in the dark?"
"We need to make sure we've got the best chance of winning," Silverfire hedged. "For all our sakes."
"It's not right." Tigerpaw reiterated.
"If you wanted to tell Tornadoclaw and her family, I'll let Snowstar, Eaglewing, and Pebblefur know." Snaketail suggested to Silverfire.
"Oh, Snowstar can know, but Gingerpaw and Amberpaw can't?"
"Snowstar already knows about Enigma." Snaketail told him. "And there's no way we could sneak out all the warriors and apprentices we know to be loyal to our cause without her help."
"And what about our newest apprentices, huh? Do you plan on bringing them?"
"If we can get them on our side before the Dark Forest cats earn their loyalty, we'll be that much stronger." Snaketail explained.
"Yeah, I'll tell Tornadoclaw's family." Silverfire promised, making her escape from Tigerpaw's argument.
"Aside from my sisters and Kestrelpaw, are there any living warriors you're keeping this from?"
"My mother." Snaketail said with a hint of a snarl. "I haven't told her, Hazelwood, or Spruceheart."
"And has Eaglewing kept it from his parents? His daughter?"
"Kestrelpaw refused to learn about Enigma when she found out she couldn't tell Gingerpaw."
"She- really?"
"She is very attached to your sister. And vice versa. Eaglewing hasn't told her. I don't know if he's told Hazelwood or Spruceheart. Tigerpaw, if you truly believe they'll keep Enigma a secret from the Dark Forest, I'll trust your judgement. But don't make this decision because you want it to be true, or out of affection for your sisters."
"I'll think on it." Tigerpaw reluctantly agreed, returning to his task. Snaketail joined him in digging up roots in silence. It was just past sunhigh when they returned home. Snaketail helped her apprentice lay the roots out to dry in the sun, then ducked into the nursery to find Snowstar.
"My Queen?" Snaketail asked quietly to see if she was awake.
"Mrr?"
"The cats of Enigma have called for as many loyal cats as possible to come hear Blackfoot of Shadowclan speak. I figured you and I should stick around camp."
"Okay… How many apprentices are going?"
"The only ones who shouldn't are Amberpaw, Gingerpaw, and Kestrelpaw. Though I'm not sure Ryepaw would like to go. He doesn't care for crowds."
"Okay, good. I'll have three training groups – four apprentices and three warriors each. No one will question why they're not with their apprentice if no one is. Those four can actually train with Ravenwing, Tawnyheather, and… Smokesparrow. Ravenwing won't complain about not going to this meeting if Meadowpelt or Cliffshade tells her what was said." Snowstar thought out loud. "Send Moonleap to me so I can discuss this with him."
Snaketail dipped her head in consent before leaving to find the deputy. She had to ask the elders and leave the camp to search but Snaketail finally found Moonleap hunting with Eaglewing, Owlpaw, and Ryepaw near the lake. She waited for him to catch the squirrel he was persuing before speaking.
"Moonleap, once you're done hunting, Snowstar would like to talk with you."
"Okay. Um, we won't be out much longer. Do you know what it is she wants to talk about?"
"Patrols for the next new moon. But I'm going to let her explain further."
"Ah, alright. Thanks for letting me know."
Snaketail dipped her head in acknowledgement of the dismissal and left the patrol to finish their task.
"So, if we're not actually training, where are we going?" Hawkpaw asked quietly as he, Dovepaw, Rowanpaw, and Owlpaw followed Meadowpelt, Cliffshade, and Silverfire.
"We probably will train some." Rowanpaw assured him. "But we're going to go see Enigma first."
"Enigma?"
"A group of cats and one gray fox living underground." Dovepaw explained. "A lot of cats from different clans hide in their tunnels to train so we can fight the cats who don't work with Enigma."
"Overall, that kinda makes you guys sound like the bad guys." Hawkpaw observed, looking sideways at the smaller white apprentice.
"We're not going to fight every cat that doesn't train in the tunnels." Cliffshade clarified, falling back to speak with the apprentices. "Only some of them. The cats that were originally from the Place of No Stars have begun a war with us and they won the first battle but we're not ready to just roll over and let them change our way of life."
"That's why we have to keep it a secret from anyone in camp." Owlpaw commented. "Dovepaw and Rowanpaw can't tell their mentors about it and we can't risk being overheard on such public ground. Jaypaw's going to have to be careful not to say anything to his mentor also."
"But it's okay for me to talk to Eaglewing about it?"
"Yeah, Eaglewing is going to meet us there with his patrol." Cliffshade answered. "Not every apprentice can be told either. Amberpaw, Kestrelpaw, and Gingerpaw might not be as careful about keeping the secret as they need to."
"We're at the tunnel." Silverfire looked back to tell them. "Owlpaw, you first. Follow Meadowpelt. Hawkpaw, stay close to Owlpaw. Cliffshade, follow them. Rowanpaw, you next. Then you, Dovepaw. I'll bring up the rear."
In the order Silverfire had dictated, her clanmates slipped down into the shadows after the pale tortoiseshell and she followed behind.
"Hey, Silverfire." Darkflame greeted her as she arrived in the cave.
"Hey!" She responded happily. "Bring anyone new?"
"Nah, just people who've been here before. Why, did you?"
"Yeah, this is Hawkpaw. He and his siblings were invited into Winterclan about three weeks ago. His siblings, Jaypaw and Snowpaw, are coming with Tornadoclaw's patrol. They'll be here soon."
"Nice to meet you." Darkflame said politely.
"Hi." Hawkpaw responded, somewhat shyly.
"Come on, you should meet the Fireclan apprentices." Dovepaw suggested, leading Hawkpaw away. Rowanpaw and Owlpaw followed them and Meadowpelt and Cliffshade went to greet Panther and Rosethorn, leaving Silverfire with Darkflame.
"Is everyone who's coming here?" Blackfoot asked from the stone ledge above the others.
"Tornadoclaw's bringing a patrol in soon." Silverfire responded.
"And Sorreltail's on her way." Brackenfur added.
"Where's Windclan?" Mistyfoot asked.
"They're slowly recovering from an illness." Dovepaw answered the former Riverclan leader.
"We can't wait much longer." Rabbitstride complained. "I need to be on dawn patrol with a couple of those fleas. We can fill everyone else in later."
"We're here!" Tornadoclaw called, leading Pebblefur, Eaglewing, Jaypaw, Quailpaw, Snowpaw, and Tigerpaw in.
"Good." Blackfoot acknowledged. "I know that this war has gone long but we must stick diligently to our secret training. Our only chance at victory lies in working harder than our opponents. Let them grow lax in this time of false peace; we must train every day, harder and longer than the intruders, until we can chase them back to the Place of No Stars!"
"We need to find a safe place on the surface to train." Brackenfur suggested. "Training in the tunnels is a good start but we won't be fighting every Dark Forest cat underground. We need to practice is a habitat similar to the one we'll be fighting in."
"There's a place we go outside the borders when heavy rainfall makes the tunnels uninhabitable." Mousewhisker affirmed. "We could train there."
"Show us where it is." Blackfoot commanded, jumping down to the ground. In silence, Mousewhisker led the crowd through several tunnels until they reached the surface.
