"Fox-dung!"
Heronpaw's claws closed over nothing. His quarry, a starling, had lifted off moments before and was now filling the forest with a loud alarm call. Heronpaw stepped back, tail thrashing.
"Great, every piece of prey from here to the lake will have heard that." Talonscore hissed. Heronpaw just kicked at a wilting fern and didn't respond.
"Any cat can have bad luck." Kestrelfeather shot back.
Heronpaw's ears were hot with embarrassment and anger. He didn't need Kestrelfeather to defend his sloppiness.
"We can try by the PineClan border." Crowpaw offered quietly.
Heronpaw felt every cat's gaze burning into his pelt.
"We should split up." Kestrelfeather said. "I'll take Heronpaw to the lake. Maybe we can get a fish."
"And lemmings could fly." Talonscore snorted, but didn't argue. "Come on then." He growled to his apprentice.
Crowpaw hesitated, still looking towards Heronpaw. Heronpaw pointedly avoided his brother's gaze. Eventually Crowpaw gave up and followed Talonscore away.
"Don't take Talonscore seriously." Kestrelfeather said with a half-hearted purr. "Everycat is on edge with this WillowClan thing."
Heronpaw only grunted. He turned and began padding in the direction of the lake, kicking stones aside as he went. Kestrelfeather bounded over and blocked Heronpaw's way. He fixed Heronpaw with an irritated gaze.
"What is the matter with you?" He growled.
Heronpaw stood his ground and met Kestrelfeather's gaze.
"I don't know." He said, narrowing his eyes. He felt petulant. He didn't want to give Kestrelfeather the satisfaction of being right.
Kestrelfeather lashed his tail in annoyance.
"I know you're angry about what I told you. He said in a calmer, quieter voice. "But you can't let it get in the way of your training."
Heronpaw snorted. How could it not interfere? He said nothing.
"I didn't tell you about Cranewing to make you angry." He said after a moment.
Heronpaw flattened his ears. How else did Kestrelfeather expect him to respond? "Then why did you tell me?" Heronpaw demanded, fresh anger rising in his chest.
"If you hadn't run off, I could've explained!" Kestrelfeather shot back.
The pair stood facing each other, neck fur bristling. Heronpaw didn't want to hear what Kestrelfeather's excuses were. He wanted to go home.
Kestrelfeather closed his eyes and his neck fur flattened.
"Heronpaw, you're the spitting image of Cranewing, yes." He opened his eyes and met Heronpaw's gaze. "But you are nothing like him."
"I don't care! It doesn't matter." Heronpaw spat.
Kestrelfeather took a step back, his ears flattening.
"As long as I look like Cranewing, Falconstorm will never see past my pelt." Heronpaw whirled around and stalked through the bracken, anger pricking at his fur. Stupid Kestrelfeather. Why couldn't he see? Falconstorm hadn't even bothered to get to know his son to see if Heronpaw deserved the coldness he had shown him. Why would he bother now?
Heronpaw stomped through the brush, not caring that he was probably scaring away prey with the clamor. He couldn't hear Kestrelfeather following. He was probably still standing there trying to decide what to do. A grim sense of satisfaction filled Heronpaw at the thought.
Suddenly the ferns parted in front of Heronpaw and a squirrel shot through the gap. Heronpaw's instincts kicked in and he pounced awkwardly to one side, trying to pin down the creature's fluffy tail. The surprise took its toll, however, and Heronpaw's claws missed their mark for the second time that day. He cursed as the squirrel scooted up the young pine behind him. A heartbeat later, Crowpaw emerged from the undergrowth, his black tail twitching.
"You scared it away." He said.
Heronpaw's ears drooped in shame. "I tried to get it." He offered lamely. Crowpaw shook his head.
"It's fine."
Heronpaw knew that it wasn't fine. Leaf-fall was reaching its second moon. Soon the snows would come and force prey to burrow and hide. The Clan would go hungry. They needed to eat well this next moon if they hoped to survive.
"I'll help you find more." Heronpaw offered. Crowpaw's ears twitched.
"What about Kestrelfeather?"
Heronpaw winced.
"We split up." He said quickly. It wasn't a total lie. "He was fed up with me."
Crowpaw shrugged. "Let me ask Talonscore."
Together they made their way back the direction Crowpaw had come from. Along the way Crowpaw dug up a mouse he had caught earlier. It took a while to find Talonscore. They kept following his scent back and forth through the trees. Eventually they caught up to the warrior as he was taking down a fat magpie. Talonscore straightened up, his mouth full of black and white feathers. He narrowed his yellow eyes at the apprentices and set down his catch.
"I thought you were supposed to be hunting prey, not apprentices." He said with a lash of his tail. Crowpaw nodded his head. The mouse in his jaws did a little wiggle, forcing Talonscore to notice it. He shrugged.
"Well, I guess you've done both." He snorted.
"Crowpaw and I wanted to work together." Heronpaw said for his brother. "We want to practice team hunting."
Talonscore glanced in the direction of camp and churned his paws. Heronpaw could tell that the grumpy warrior was thinking about his mate, Quailstep. She would be kitting anytime now. Heronpaw imagined that going back to camp early would be tempting.
"All right." Talonscore finally broke. "Just be back before sundown, and stay clear of the WillowClan border."
"Can you takth ny nouth?" Crowpaw mumbled around his catch. Talonscore rolled his eyes and took the prey from his apprentice. The ginger warrior gathered up the magpie and took off through the bracken.
Crowpaw turned to Heronpaw. "Lead the way."
Heronpaw paused to think. He mapped out CedarClan territory in his head. Kestrelfeather would be downhill from here; between them and the lake. If they went north, they could avoid running into the warrior, but that would lead them towards the WillowClan border.
Heronpaw snorted. There would be a churning river between them and WillowClan in that part of the territory. How could there be any trouble?
"Come on." Heronpaw said. He waved his tail to Crowpaw and took off through the trees.
They cut their way through CedarClan territory without incident. They almost ran into a patrol of five warriors heading to the lower WillowClan border, but to Heronpaw's relief none of the older cats noticed the apprentices.
Crowpaw followed Heronpaw's lead silently. He must have figured out where they were going by then but thankfully, he didn't raise any concerns.
Heronpaw let his mind wander as they slipped through the undergrowth. He thought back to his argument with Kestrelfeather, and then to the day Kestrelfeather had revealed the truth. Heronpaw had seen the white cat in a way he had never seen her before. Was she trying to warn him of another disaster?
Why can't she just tell me? Heronpaw thought angrily. Why visit if there is nothing to warn him about?
He suddenly realized he was assigning behavior to the apparition like she was a real cat. When had he decided she was warning him of something? When had she become a she? He slowed his gait, trying to remember.
The rushing of the river announced the nearing of the border. Heronpaw slowed his pace to a walk as he approached the tree-line. The river here was faster, narrower, and rockier than where Heronpaw had fallen in. The tree-line came much closer to the water's edge and there wasn't much bank to speak of. According to everything Heronpaw knew about forest prey he wouldn't want to hunt here.
Heronpaw didn't care about hunting right now. The more he thought about it he didn't really know why he had wanted to come this way. Maybe it was because someone had told him not to.
"Are you okay?"
Heronpaw jumped. He had forgotten Crowpaw was even there. The black apprentice moved up so he was shoulder to shoulder with his brother. He was looking at Heronpaw with concern in his blue eyes.
Crowpaw's earnest gaze made Heronpaw's pelt crawl. He dropped his eyes to his paws and didn't say anything.
"You've been acting strange today." Crowpaw said. He looked out at the river between the trees.
Heronpaw grunted. He briefly considered telling Crowpaw everything, but what good would that do? Crowpaw couldn't make Falconstorm respect him. Crowpaw couldn't make the visions stop. Telling Crowpaw would only make his brother feel just as helpless. No. Crowpaw didn't need to know.
"It's WillowClan." Heronpaw growled. He hadn't meant to sound so angry, but it helped sell the lie. It was true that he shared his Clan's indignation over WillowClan's actions, but Heronpaw knew that wasn't what Crowpaw was getting at.
Crowpaw hesitated for a heartbeat. "They think they can get away with it." He said quietly.
Heronpaw nodded. Real anger at WillowClan bubbled up in his belly. It was followed by a feeling of helplessness that made his stomach clench. He couldn't do anything to avenge Spottedfur. He was just an apprentice who couldn't even catch prey for his Clan. He gripped the chilly dirt with his claws. Why was he so useless?
"Blizzardstar won't let them." Crowpaw's calm voice drifted to Heronpaw's ears.
Heronpaw looked up at his brother, a biting remark at the tip of his tongue. It died away as Heronpaw saw the fire in Crowpaw's eyes.
WillowClan needed to pay, but what could two apprentices do?
Heronpaw looked back over the river and drew his lips back in a snarl. The snarl faded as he caught sight of several tiny brown shapes flitting over the rocks.
"I have an idea." Heronpaw said without thinking.
Crowpaw looked at him. His ear twitched but he said nothing.
Heronpaw forced his paws to move before he had a chance to really think through what he was about to do. He paused at the tree-line and looked up and down either side of the water's edge. No cat was visible. Heronpaw grit his teeth and slipped out from the cover of the trees.
On quick paws he crept up to the water's edge. Large stones jutted out from the river and along both banks. It would be easy for a cat to jump from one side to the other. His heart skipped a beat as he imagined doing it.
Crowpaw joined him a moment later. "What are you doing?" he hissed. He looked around, his tail twitching.
"Keep an eye out for me." Heronpaw said without making eye contact. His heart thumped painfully in his chest but he ignored it. "I won't be long."
Before Crowpaw could protest, Heronpaw crouched down and readied himself for a leap. He was about to jump when a sound from behind him startled him into performing a sort of half-leap against the side of the rock. Once he had his balance back, he whirled around to see two cats approaching from the forest.
Slatefang was stalking forward with purpose while Dawnheart followed with more hesitation in his steps. The warriors hadn't noticed Heronpaw and Crowpaw yet. They were too busy arguing.
"Slatefang, you can't." Dawnheart was saying. His blue eyes were wide with fear.
Slatefang's eyes were fixed on the WillowClan side of the river. He took another stride forward and his gaze drifted to the left. The gray warrior froze as he spotted Heronpaw.
"What are you two doing?" The question rang less of accusation and more of genuine confusion.
Dawnheart caught up to his denmate and stared at the apprentices as well.
Heronpaw's heart skipped a beat. He had been caught. It was obvious what he was about to do. There was no other explanation for being so close to the border like this. He was stupid.
"We thought we smelled a rogue." Crowpaw said, raising his voice over the churning river.
Heronpaw forced himself not to gape at his brother's easy lie. Instead, he nodded. "It was an old scent. Probably nothing."
Slatefang and Dawnheart exchanged glances.
"It's not safe near the border." Dawnheart said slowly. He didn't take his eyes off of Slatefang the whole time. "You should go."
Heronpaw and Crowpaw nodded and hurried away into the trees. Heronpaw paused to look back and saw that the warriors had left. He also saw something that made his blood run cold.
A patrol of WillowClan warriors had appeared on their side of the border. They were sniffing every rock and plant as they passed and their eyes stared across the river with suspicion.
Heronpaw swallowed hard and turned to follow Crowpaw deeper into the forest.
The littermates spent the rest of the evening hunting as they had promised to do. A sharp chill came with a cutting wind as the sun dropped lower and lower in the sky. The sudden cold drove prey into their burrows and by the time the sun had set Heronpaw and Crowpaw only had a mouse and a scrawny blackbird between them.
They returned to camp in silence. Heronpaw was sure that Crowpaw wasn't going to tell anyone what Heronpaw almost did, but he couldn't help but feel uneasy as they padded through the entrance.
To Heronpaw's annoyance, Kestrelfeather was pacing at the mouth of the fern tunnel. He bounded forward, his green eyes flashing with anger.
"I thought Talonscore said to be back by sundown!" he snapped.
Heronpaw kicked at the ground. "We didn't want to come back empty-pawed."
"Maybe you would've had more time to hunt if you weren't messing around at the WillowClan border." Kestrelfeather hissed.
Heronpaw's stomach lurched. He looked up, confused.
Kestrelfeather narrowed his eyes. "I followed your scent. You can't just run off like that."
Heronpaw relaxed a little. Kestrelfeather hadn't seen his near-trespass. His relief soon became overshadowed by embarrassment and annoyance. He didn't have an excuse to give Kestrelfeather for running off or for wasting time at the border.
"Put your catches on the pile." Kestrelfeather ordered.
With a low growl, Heronpaw stalked over to the fresh-kill pile. Crowpaw followed without a word.
"Don't growl at me." Kestrelfeather hissed as he came up behind them. He flicked his auburn ears at Crowpaw. "Talonscore is busy, but I'll let him deal with you."
Dismissed, Crowpaw nodded and backed away from the fresh-kill pile.
Kestrelfeather rounded on Heronpaw. "You're on tick duty for the next quarter moon." He said through gritted teeth.
Heronpaw opened his mouth to argue but one look from Kestrelfeather silenced his complaint. Instead, Heronpaw snatched up his scrawny bird and stalked away from his mentor. To his horror, Hawkpaw and Specklepaw were sitting outside the apprentice's den a few tail-lengths away. They were openly staring at him.
Heronpaw avoided their eyes and plopped down to eat.
"Tough hunting?" Hawkpaw said after clearing his throat.
Heronpaw shrugged and crunched on his bird.
Hawkpaw tried again. "It's getting colder. Must be hard for everyone."
Specklepaw murmured in agreement. Heronpaw ignored them. Eventually they gave up and started chatting about Quailstep's kitting. Apparently, she had been laboring since sunhigh.
Heronpaw avoided entering the conversation. He was perfectly happy stirring in his own sullen attitude. As he ate, he found his gaze wandering to the nursery entrance. He sat there watching well past the time that Hawkpaw and Specklepaw had gone to their nests.
Eventually Petalpaw emerged from the medicine clearing with a bundle of leaves in her jaws. She bounded across the clearing and disappeared into the nursery. A few moments later, loud wails began drifting out of the den. Heronpaw's ears pricked. Did that mean the kits were here?
Movement at the corner of Heronpaw's vision caught his attention. A white shape was slinking along the camp's outer barrier. Had Blizzardstar come to see how the kitting was coming?
No.
Heronpaw's breath froze in his chest. It was her again. He watched her flit behind dens, as if she was afraid of being seen. Heronpaw didn't move. He only tracked her with his eyes. She appeared in more detail than Heronpaw had yet seen her. She was sleek and beautiful. Her plumy tail was long and brushed lightly over the ground. Her ears and paws were small, and her movements were that of a warrior stalking its prey.
Eventually she stopped and turned to face Heronpaw. Her eyes reflected starlight. Heronpaw stared, unnerved. The she-cat held his gaze for a heartbeat, then turned and looked straight at the nursery.
Inexplicable panic gripped Heronpaw.
"No." he said quietly. "Don't you dare."
She took a step forward, then looked back at him. Heronpaw rose to his paws.
"Stay away." He warned. His entire body was shaking. Another yowl of pain echoed through the camp. The she-cat took another step. Heronpaw slid out his claws.
"They're here!'' The cry of triumph came suddenly, making Heronpaw jump. In an instant the white cat was gone, scattered into a thousand drops of starlight. Talonscore pushed his way out of the nursery, his tail hooked over his back in joy.
Murmurs of woken warriors drifted around camp. Several cats, including Kestrelfeather and Whiteshade, slid out of the warrior's den to congratulate their denmate.
Behind the group of celebrating warriors, Heronpaw spotted Petalpaw slipping out of the nursery and making her way back to the medicine clearing. Heronpaw jumped up and intercepted her.
"Heronpaw!" she said, surprised but pleased. "Did you hear? Quailstep's kits are here!"
"Are they healthy? Is Quailstep okay?" Heronpaw asked. He tried to keep the panic out of his voice. The question still came out sharper than he had intended.
"Oh yes. Every cat is healthy as can be." Petalpaw chirped, seemingly unaware of Heronpaw's tone. "It was amazing, Heronpaw! It was just like my dream. I helped bring kits into the world!" Petalpaw rubbed her cheek along his, purring loudly. Heronpaw was startled by her sudden act of affection. Petalpaw herself seemed to realize what she had done only after she had done it. She took a step back from him, her eyes wide.
There was an awkward silence.
Petalpaw cleared her throat. "I should go, Quailstep needs borage."
Without waiting for a response, Petalpaw dashed off to the medicine tunnel.
Heronpaw stared after her, but not because of what had just happened. No, he stared at the entrance of the medicine tunnel because the white cat had reappeared there.
She met his gaze with calm, empty eyes. She raised her tail and put it to her muzzle.
A breeze cut through the camp, freezing Heronpaw to his core.