Chapter Five
"Where are they?" wondered Whitepaw, sitting up, her fur bristling with worry. She looked at me. "Thornclaw, Cloudtail, and Mousefur should have been back by now."
I took my eyes off Spiderpaw and nodded thoughtfully. "You don't think the rogues got them?" I mewed.
"I hope not," mumbled Spiderpaw. He sounded so worried…so cute. Before I knew what I was doing, I padded over and pressed my side against his.
Whitepaw watched us for a few moments before exclaiming, "Look! There here!"
I leapt to my feet, nudging Spiderpaw with my head. It was true; the three warriors were pushing through the bushes, looking exhausted. But Thornclaw carried something that made my stomach clench with horror – it was a dead cat.
"No!" yowled Firestar, leaping from his den to examine the dead cat. It was a black and white tom that was ripped apart, literally. I could barely tell it was a cat. "It's Barley, isn't it?" gasped Firestar hoarsely.
Thornclaw bowed his head, dropping the cat on the ground. I had never met this cat before, but judging by the way the Clan was mourning so deeply over him, he must have been important.
Barley was buried late at night. Firestar, Graystripe, Sandstorm, Dustpelt, and some other cats sat beside his grave for the entire night. I was tempted to join them, to prove myself loyal, but Whitepaw had already padded into the apprentices' den. I walked up to her.
"Don't we join them?" I asked, flicking my tail toward the cats with Barley.
Whitepaw shook her head. "We never knew Barley all that well," she answered, and let out a yawn. "He would be so much happier with cats like Firestar."
"What about Ravenpaw?"
"He can sit vigil with Barley when he's better. If he's better," added Whitepaw grimly.
I didn't like the sound of that.
The next day, Cinderpelt reported that Ravenpaw was awake, and his wounds were healing well. The Clan still had not told him about Barley, and we were saving that until Ravenpaw was better. I couldn't help thinking that that was the last thing we could do, but I wasn't about to argue with the ways of my Clan.
To add to that, my training sessions were getting much more interesting. Since most of the warriors were spending time patrolling the borders for the rogues, Mousefur, the most experienced warrior and mentor, was taking all the apprentices – except Leafpaw, of course – to the Sandy Hollow for training. It would be my first lesson ever with my friends – Whitepaw and Squirrelpaw and Shrewpaw and best of all Spiderpaw.
So about three days after Ravenpaw's incident, those training sessions started. The black tom was healing quickly, and we would be able to tell him about Barley soon.
Mousefur paced in front of us, her paws kicking up sand. "Your mentors have told me you are all doing quite well," she mewed. I felt as though I was in the army, and this was the guy screaming at me to stand up straighter. Only Spiderpaw stayed calm – he was her apprentice, after all. "Right now, I will teach you more on the hunting crouch and the stealth crouch – and individual hunting where I will be watching all five of you."
We exchanged excited glances. I had never been given a task like that before!
The hunting crouch was basically review about the stuff Brambleclaw had taught me. I stayed as close to Spiderpaw as I could, until I caught sight of Whitepaw watching me, and I moved away, embarrassed.
The stealth crouch was a little harder. We were sent into the bushes to see if Mousefur could pinpoint our location on our scent or the sounds we accidentally made.
Finally, Mousefur stood in front of us, explaining where we had to go for the individual hunting patrols.
"Now, I'll send you rather close together so I don't have to run around ThunderClan territory for days…" She let out an amused purr. "Spiderpaw, you can go to the area just behind Snakerocks, behind the Twoleg nest. Glacierpaw, you go to the Tallpines close by."
Close by! I thought with joy. Maybe Spiderpaw and I would run into each other.
"Squirrelpaw, you can hunt by the Snakerocks. Shrewpaw, in that direction over there." She flicked her tail. "And Whitepaw, to the Great Sycamore for you."
Tallpines, I thought. Right. I know where those are.
As the apprentices separated, I saw Mousefur slink off toward the Thunderpath, most likely to watch Whitepaw and the Great Sycamore. I padded quickly through the trees, sniffing for Spiderpaw, but I didn't scent him anywhere.
Quiet as a mouse, I crept through the Tallpines – it was very easy to go through this area of the forest. Sniffing a mouse, I instantly dove behind a tree. The mouse looked nervous and had pricked its ears at the sound of my dashing. Mouse-brained! I cursed. What if Mousefur had watched me?
Hastily, I launched forward, killing the mouse in my claws. I buried it hastily and continued looking for more.
I got the hang of hunting in the Tallpines by hunting in the bushes and tall grass only, and using the open space as an advantage. I was feeling very pleased with myself as I buried my tenth mouse, ears pricked for signs of Mousefur.
And then…
"RowwwRRR!"
An explosion of brown fur tackled me, bowling me over. Hissing and spitting, I leapt into the battle position and faced my attacker.
It was a dark brown she-cat – one that was terribly familiar.
"Hershey?" I gasped.
"Ahah!" she crowed. "I found you! No one enters my house!"
A kittypet challenges me? I thought, purring with amusement. I neatly dodged a blow that her large paw swept at me and tackled her with all my strength. I managed to pin her down beneath my paws.
"Why did you try and tell my housefolk that you were trapped as a cat?" hissed Hershey, struggling. I froze. She had heard that? Where had she been? "Why?"
"I…" My voice left me. I let out a ferocious howl filled with anger and bit Hershey's neck. The kittypet yowled in pain and turned to claw me, but I was too quick. I delivered several scratches to her flank before she was sent yowling into the bushes.
I stood there, fur fluffed out, feeling rage build inside me. How dare she! I felt horrified that she had heard me talk to Dad about that – but basically, she had challenged my loyalties as a ThunderClan cat. And no one does that.
And that was when my day got even worse.
I heard a small scuffling in the bushes, and I pricked my ears up.
"Who's there?" I snapped.
A black apprentice stumbled out of the bushes.
It was Spiderpaw.
"Spiderpaw?" I gasped.
"I'm so sorry, Glacierpaw!" he exclaimed. "I was chasing a squirrel and I went too far into your sector. I didn't mean to spy on you…" He is so cute, I thought. I'm the one who should be sorry.
"It's all right," I mewed, nudging him. "What did you hear?"
"Well, I saw you fighting with a kittypet and I prepared to help, until I heard what the kittypet said to you." His voice shook. "You told a Twoleg that you were trapped as a cat? Or tried to? Glacierpaw, what –"
"Shhh!" I hissed. "I'm sorry, Spiderpaw, really. But I'll tell you when we get back to camp, okay? I don't want to risk Mousefur hearing. Now go back to the area behind Snakerocks."
Spiderpaw nodded in understanding in left me to my thoughts.
When I returned to the Sandy Hollow, Mousefur, Whitepaw, and Squirrelpaw were already there.
"About time," grumbled Squirrelpaw. "And you might as well have brought back a decent catch."
"Squirrelpaw!" snapped Mousefur indignantly. "As far as I can see, she did better than you!"
Squirrelpaw scowled and looked away, just as Shrewpaw and Spiderpaw returned, carrying prey.
"Time to go," announced Mousefur, rising to her paws. She too had caught a bit of prey while she was watching us. I couldn't help wondering if she had seen me hunting, or fighting Hershey.
We padded quickly back to camp. It was late in the day when we returned, and as soon as Firestar spotted us, he leapt up on the Highrock.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join me beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!"
Most of the cats were already there; our hunting patrol dropped our prey in the fresh-kill pile and walked over to where the rest of the Clan was.
"Since Ravenpaw has no place to go after rogues have taken over his farm and killed Barley," began Firestar, "he has agreed to be a warrior of ThunderClan."
Yowls of approval rang through the clearing. I was among them. ThunderClan was getting so many new warriors every day!
Firestar waited for silence. "Since Ravenpaw does not fully remember the ways of Clanlife, I will be his mentor for about two moons until he does." He purred with amusement and faced Ravenpaw, touching noses with him. The cats yowled more approval, chanting Ravenpaw's name.
I heard Firestar say to Ravenpaw that he could sleep in the warriors' den with Graystripe and Sandstorm, because he might not feel comfortable in the apprentices' den. For some reason I felt offended by this.
I padded quickly over to Spiderpaw, remembering what I had told him. "Let's go hunting together," I mewed. Spiderpaw seemed to understand and nodded. I could not ignore Whitepaw's watchful green eyes as she watched us leave the camp.
"Right," I meowed once we were far enough away. "Listen, Spiderpaw. When I tell you this, you have to promise me that you won't run and tell Firestar."
Spiderpaw looked at me with curious amber eyes. "I'm your friend, Glacierpaw, even though I don't know you that well. I promise I won't tell Firestar."
I dipped my head. "Thank you, Spiderpaw, thank you. Now…" I hesitated for a second longer. "I…I'm not a cat."
Spiderpaw stared. "What?"
"I'm a Twoleg," I confessed.
Spiderpaw leapt back in shock. "Great StarClan!" he breathed.
I sighed and nodded. "I know. Listen – I woke up in my house – I mean, Twoleg nest – having fallen asleep as a Twoleg – but woke as…this. A cat."
Spiderpaw stared at me.
"I managed to escape the house after their new kittypet – Hershey – chased me. She heard me trying to tell my father that I was trapped as a cat before she attacked me. I came to ThunderClan territory and have been here since."
Spiderpaw recovered himself. "Glacierpaw…" he mewed in sympathy.
"You need to know about Hershey – and Firestar," I added. "Firestar used to be our kittypet," I mewed, "which is why I think is because I was the one turned into a cat. Anyway, I did not want to go back to my house because my parents hated me, ignored me, ever since Firestar left. We called him Rusty."
This was so much for Spiderpaw to take in that he just stared at me for a few seconds before mewing, "This is really weird, Glacierpaw…"
"I know," I agreed.
"You think it's the will of StarClan?"
"StarClan?" I had never thought of that. "Well…maybe. I don't know."
Spiderpaw purred and pressed his nose against my flank. "I won't tell a single cat, Glacierpaw," he whispered.
I purred as well. "Thank you, Spiderpaw. Now, let's hunt."
The next day was an important one. Some of the cats in the Clan were going to the Gathering – a meeting between all four Clans that takes place in the Fourtress, which is four great oaks surrounding a clearing. I was quite sure that I would not be chosen to go – I had barely been in training for a moon. Squirrelpaw and Whitepaw were chosen of the apprentices to go, but before Whitepaw left, she padded up to my side, alone.
"So," she mewed, her eyes sparkling with amusement, "you and Spiderpaw kind of like each other, eh?"
I choked on the magpie I was eating and faced her with a mouth full of feathers.
"Wa 'cho talkin' 'bout?" I mumbled.
Whitepaw rolled her eyes. "Don't pretend I don't notice, Glacierpaw," she meowed. "I've seen you with him. Always watching him."
I swallowed. "Jealous?"
I saw a true flame of anger in Whitepaw's eyes. "No!" she snapped. "I just think it's funny." She purred, her fur lying flat again.
"You could choose Shrewpaw," I suggested. "He's okay."
Whitepaw shrugged. "He gets annoying, but…"
"Whitepaw!" shouted Cloudtail, her father. "We're leaving!"
"Coming!" she called after him. With a final look at me, Whitepaw took off after the Clan.
I stood up, whiskers still twitching with amusement, and looked around the camp. Graystripe had been left here, as well as Mousefur, Dustpelt, Brackenfur, Thornclaw, Ashfur, Sorreltail, Sootfur, Spiderpaw, Shrewpaw, and me. We figured that would be enough to protect the Clan from rogues.
After I came back from a hunting task, I noticed that the Clan seemed to be crowded in a circle. Wondering what in StarClan was going on, I padded toward them and stood next to Spiderpaw.
"What's going on?" I mewed.
"Two new cats have been found," he answered. "They're kittypets."
"We are not!" snapped a ginger-colored she-cat that looked remarkably like Squirrelpaw. "Not anymore!"
The other cat had an unusual-colored pelt: gray and black and ginger around the head. At first I thought it was a calico, but there was absolutely no white on it. She looks like a dragon, I thought, a dragon breathing fire. She sat with her paws beneath her chest, calmly watching her friend, or sibling, or whatever shout at Spiderpaw.
"They're six moons," hissed Sorreltail. "We should ask Firestar if he'll take them in!"
"Yeah!" chimed in Mousefur. "Two cats have already been proven loyal: Firestar and Glacierpaw. Two more can't hurt!"
The Clan yowled their agreement.
"Okay," mewed Graystripe. "But we do nothing until Firestar returns."
More murmurs of agreement.
"Spiderpaw, Shrewpaw, Glacierpaw, can the three of you keep an eye on them?" added Graystripe as the Clan padded away.
"Sure, Graystripe," I mewed, dipping my head respectfully. He nodded and stalked off.
"We don't need cats to keep an eye on us!" snarled the ginger she-cat.
"Of course you don't," I mewed, my voice gentle. "I know that you're perfectly capable of looking after yourselves, but I have to obey my deputy."
The she-cat snorted and looked away.
Could they be Twolegs, like me? I wondered. Is it possible?
The cat that whose pelt I thought looked like a dragon padded over to me. "You'll have to forgive my sister," she mewed. "She's in a bad mood because I went with her to escape my housefolk."
"You two are sisters?"
The she-cat nodded. "Yes. We both lived happily, with our housefolk caring for us. But then Auburn – that's her name – wanted to be part of something bigger. She found her life tedious. So she told me that she was going to leave."
"And you went with her," I guessed.
"I did," agreed the she-cat. "Auburn did not want me to go, of course. She said that it was much too dangerous. But I told her that she would not go anywhere without me." She let out a sigh. "To be honest, the idea did not appeal to me very much, either. I liked my comfortable life. But like I said, where Auburn goes, I go." She yawned. "I'm Aurora, by the way. Who're you?"
"Glacierpaw." I drew myself up proudly. "I used to be a loner, but then I found this Clan. I had no where to go."
"Glacierpaw? Interesting name." She purred. "Does this Clan take in outsiders often?"
"Not really," I answered, not wanting her to think bad about our Clan. It's not like our leader was a kittypet, I thought.
Aurora shrugged. "Well, I'm beginning to like this place already. The cats seem friendly enough."
"You'd be called Dragonpaw, I'd bet," I mused.
"Dragonpaw?" Aurora paused and looked at her markings. "Well, I suppose I would, wouldn't I?"
"Yeah," I mewed, purring with amusement.
Firestar came back about two hours later. He froze in shock at the sight of the two new cats in the Clan.
"Firestar, it's all right," mewed Graystripe. "They're kittypets, but they're willing to be warriors of ThunderClan."
Firestar narrowed his eyes. "We will be known as the Clan that brings in outsiders," he mewed. "Blackstar was not pleased to hear about Glacierpaw."
"No. But maybe they will see it makes us stronger."
Firestar nodded thoughtfully. "Who found them?"
"Ashfur and Sorreltail, out on a patrol."
Firestar leapt up on the Highrock and didn't bother summoning his Clan – most of them were already there anyway.
"Sorreltail and Ashfur found two kittypets wandering the forest today," he mewed. Firestar looked down at the two warriors. "Do you think they are fit?"
"They are young, and strong, for kittypets," answered Sorreltail.
Firestar nodded and flicked his tail. "Come up here."
Auburn and Aurora obidiently padded up to the Highrock where Firestar sat. The leader of ThunderClan leaned down and whispered something in Auburn's ear. Then he straightned up and announced, "From this moment on, until she has earned her warrior name, this apprentice will be known as Flamepaw."
Flamepaw looked smug about being given her warrior name. Now it was Aurora's turn.
"From this moment on, until she has earned her warrior name, this apprentice will be known as Dragonpaw," he yowled. I purred with amusement. I had been right!
"Both of you need mentors," he added. "Graystripe," he mewed, "you will mentor Dragonpaw."
Graystripe's tail flicked with pleasure as he walked up to touch noses with Dragonpaw.
"Sootfur," continued Firestar, "you have done well with the disappearance of Rainwhisker and with your sister's injury. You will mentor Flamepaw."
I couldn't help feeling sorry for Sootfur as he touched noses with his new apprentice. Flamepaw certainly seemed like a right handful to me!
I padded quickly over to Dragonpaw. "Congradulations!" I mewed. "Graystripe is a good mentor."
"Thanks, Glacierpaw," she mewed, her tail flicking in appriciation.
I purred, and the two of us headed over to the apprentices' den.
Okay, those two are the last new cats I will bring to the Clan. I promise. Really. They are really important for the coming events of the story.
Also, Flamepaw and Dragonpaw were requested by my best friends.
Anyway, review!