Chapter Thirty-Two

A thin wail broke the silence of the camp, waking Fawnpaw abruptly from a deep sleep. She whipped her head up, glancing around her. Pebblepaw's icy blue eyes glinted back at her.

"What's going on?" Her brother's voice was low, but she could hear the edge in his mew.

"I don't know." Fawnpaw got to her feet, padding unsteadily out of the apprentices' den. She could hear Pebblepaw on her tail. Thistlepaw still lay in the medicine cat's den, being carefully monitored by Vinepelt. It was nowhere near dawn, the moon still shining high above the camp, but she could hear murmurs coming from the pine tree where the remaining sick cats were being isolated.

She started as a black shape pelted across the camp, then relaxed when she realized it was only Vinepelt. The tom's fur stood in sharp contrast to the bright snow, and he skidded to a stop a few tail-lengths from Willowleaf, who was hunched by the tree.

He looked down, and without saying a word, laid his tail on the she-cat's shoulder.

"He's dead!" Her voice wavered as she called out, filled with grief. "Pinekit is dead!"

Fawnpaw felt Pebblepaw sag at her side, filled with sadness at the loss of another clanmate. He pressed against her, and she thanked StarClan that her littermates were still with her.

If we can't protect our kits, who can we protect? Fawnpaw nudged her brother, herding him back towards their den. "Come on. We'll leave her to grieve. There's nothing we can do now."

They returned to their den, curling up in their soft nests. Fawnpaw's paws tingled with the knowledge of her own mortality, and thoughts of death plagued her until she finally plunged into sleep.

She awoke with the sun, padding outside while the sky was still tinged with pink. Snow fell from the sky, adding to the drifts that already carpeted the forest floor. Looking around the clearing, she headed to where she could see Deerleap talking with some of the warriors, organizing patrols.

"Fawnpaw," Sundapple flicked her ears at her apprentice. "Just in time. You'll be on a border patrol with me, Cricketcall, and Eagleclaw."

Fawnpaw felt a stir of apprehension in her belly at the mention of the tan tom. Their encounter the other day had made her realize how vindictive the tom was. He may hide it better than Finchstripe, but he's just as nasty, she thought.

She matched pace with her mentor, feeling her legs wobble as they walked quickly out into the forest. Eagleclaw walked in front of them, his tail flicking back and forth.

"We'll start at the MossClan border," he meowed gruffly, veering towards the hill that led in the direction of their ally.

They needed to patrol their borders more carefully now that SmokeClan had returned. Both RainClan and MossClan had become lax in protecting their borders, as they rarely saw any serious trouble, but now there was a real threat in the forest.

Fawnpaw struggled to keep up with the other cats, her forepaws churning in the snow as she tried to maintain her balance. Irritation struck her as she realized that Eagleclaw was purposely speeding up, trying to leave her behind. He knows I can't move as quickly as he can, she thought angrily.

Sundapple maintained herself a few cat lengths in front of Fawnpaw, glancing back every few heartbeats to make sure she still followed.

Fawnpaw huffed and puffed as she careened after the patrol, feeling completely unbalanced. The trees whisked past her, and she didn't know if she'd ever moved this fast in her life. It didn't help that the snow was swirling around them, pushing back against her as she moved forward. She tried to focus on every pawstep, determined to prove herself to the warriors. I don't need help, she thought. I'll be just as competent a warrior as the rest of them.

They finally slowed at the border, Sundapple signaling for her to be quiet with her tail.

"Nettletail!" Eagleclaw called out into the forest ahead. Fawnpaw couldn't see who he was speaking to. "Can we speak with you?"

A slender brown and white tabby slipped out from where he blended against the snowy bushes. He dipped his head to the patrol. "How can I help you?"

Three other cats trailed behind him, looking curiously over the border.

"Have you seen SmokeClan?" Cricketcall blurted the words out before Eagleclaw could speak, flinching when the older tom gave him a scathing glare.

"SmokeClan?" Nettletail exchanged a worried look with a gray tabby who had moved to stand at his side. "What are you talking about?"

"They have returned to the forest." Eagleclaw's voice was the most emotional that Fawnpaw had ever heard. She couldn't tell if he genuinely meant what he was saying, or if he was simply trying to make the MossClan cats feel bad for them. "RainClan were forced into a devastating battle, and we lost Sparrowstar. Heronstar is the leader of our Clan now."

Nettletail once again shot a glance at the tom next to him, but his eyes were filled with more than just concern. Is that fear?

The gray tabby bowed his head to Eagleclaw. "MossClan grieves for you. We haven't seen SmokeClan, but we will be sure to tell our patrols to be wary."

Fawnpaw pushed past Sundapple to stand in front of the two toms. "Have you seen a calico she-cat? She went missing after the battle."

Eagleclaw hissed quietly at her. "Ignore her," he muttered. "She's just a stupid apprentice, speaking out of turn."

"Don't speak to my apprentice that way!" Sundapple moved forward until she was nose to nose with Eagleclaw, her ginger fur fluffed out. "Let her ask the question." She let her fur fall flat again, but continued to glare at the tom.

The gray tabby tom looked cautiously between the quarrelling clanmates, his ears pricked with concern. "We have not seen your missing cat," he mewed to Fawnpaw. "I'm sorry."

Flashing a glance at the rest of the cats in his patrol, Needletail gestured for them to go. "We must continue our patrol. I'll pass on what you've told us to the rest of our Clan." Without another word, the cats disappeared into the snowy forest.

Cricketcall, obviously uncomfortable after the exchange, shook the snow off his black pelt. "Is it just me, or were those cats acting strange?"

Sundapple turned away from Eagleclaw, obstinately taking the head of the patrol. "They certainly were. And we're going to find out why."