Chapter 21

The next morning was crisp and touched with a chill that Mistyfoot hadn't felt in a while. As she stood and stretched her muscles, she relished it, recalling the clinging heat that had permeated the forest back home and how miserable that had been. Has the drought fully ended there, I wonder?

She wasn't the first to awaken – Stoneheart and Crowpaw were up and alert, grooming themselves and chatting quietly. Mistyfoot blinked in shock at how easily Crowpaw seemed to fit in to the group now. Nowhere in the forest, beyond a Gathering, would a ShadowClan and WindClan cat talk to one another so readily.

Mistyfoot felt her belly rumble, but she wasn't starving, not after yesterday's big meal. Still, Nightpaw and Stormfur were perusing the prey pile, picking at its remnants for anything still worth eating. Just a few steps away, Shadepaw was burying the bones of the prey they'd eaten the night before, speaking reverently to StarClan over the remains.

We're like a Clan, Mistyfoot thought. The group had only been traveling a pawful of days, but they had quickly come together through trial and tribulation and necessity. A warm feeling spread in Mistyfoot's chest – was this StarClan's intent?

Still, some part of her feared that closeness. There were good reasons the Clans kept to themselves for the most part. The warrior code demanded loyalty to one's Clan above all.

"Share?"

Mistyfoot blinked out of her own thoughts. Stormfur was standing before her, one of the mice they'd caught together yesterday in his jaws.

He laid it at her paws. "It's a little cold, but it'll do for the first part of the day, at least," he reasoned.

Mistyfoot nodded in agreement. They bent their heads together and shared the mouse meat between them. When their muzzles brushed, Mistyfoot felt a shock of electricity course through her pelt. She pulled away, perhaps a little too quickly.

Stormfur didn't seem to mind. "Feathertail is sleeping in, I think," he decided.

Mistyfoot glanced over at his sister, glad for the deflection. The silver tabby she-cat was still curled up in a tight ball, twitching in her sleep. "Should we wake her?"

Stormfur glanced up at the gray dawn. "Not just yet," he decided. "Everyone else is still shaking off sleep, after all."

Mistyfoot's gaze lingered on Feathertail. The silver tabby had been quick the change the subject away last night, even though she'd been the one to bring it up in the first place. She was a puzzle – eager and kind, but there was something deeper that she was having a hard time hiding. Mistyfoot could not forget just how swift she had been to believe Mistyfoot's dreams, not to mention how she had dodged every question Mistyfoot asked about why Stormfur had come along.

"Is Feathertail okay?" Mistyfoot asked quietly. "Did something happen in RiverClan?"

Stormfur's eyes clouded. The big gray tom looked down at his paws, and Mistyfoot guessed that he was fighting with whether or not he ought to tell her the truth. "Being half-Clan is hard," was all he said in the end. "We've all got our reasons for coming along."

Mistyfoot swallowed. "I'm sorry for pressing," she said.

Stormfur touched his muzzle to her ear. "Feathertail would claw my ears off if I told," he said. "Otherwise, I would never dream of keeping secrets from you."

Mistyfoot blinked at him, the warmth in his tone chasing away the chill in the air.

"Oh!"

Feathertail's mew cut through the quiet murmurs of the other cats. Mistyfoot's ears pricked as Stormfur padded away to stand beside his sister, who was awake – Feathertail's eyes were wide, and she looked as if she'd woken with a shock.

"I saw it!" she mewed, quietly at first. Her eyes locked with Mistyfoot's, wide and dazzled. "Mistyfoot, I saw it!"

"Saw what?" Shadepaw wondered.

The group gathered around Feathertail, ears flicking and tails twisting in curiosity. Mistyfoot blinked at Feathertail, confused. The silver tabby she-cat got to her paws and shook out her pelt. She looked at them all eagerly.

"I saw the lake!" she proclaimed. "The same one that Mistyfoot saw – a big stretch of water, all filled up with stars!"

"Really?" Stoneheart breathed, his eyes wide.

Mistyfoot's heart raced. Her dream of the lake had nagged in the back of her mind, a worry that perhaps this was a wild goose chase after all. But Feathertail saw it too, and validation filled Mistyfoot from ears to toes.

"Did anyone else have a dream last night?" Shadepaw asked, her tail flicking.

Stoneheart shook his head, and Crowpaw only grunted.

"Did you learn anything new?" Nightpaw asked Feathertail, his eyes sparkling.

Feathertail shook her head. "No," she answered, "but I did hear the prophecy again." She looked up at Stormfur. "It sounded like Brambleclaw," she added sadly. Stormfur touched his nose to her cheek.

"It's better than nothing," Crowpaw decided.

Shadepaw nodded. "It must mean we're on the right track!" she said. "StarClan is still watching us!"

"Then we should keep moving!" Stormfur purred, looking up from his sister. "There's another Twolegplace ahead; I want to get away from it as soon as possible."

"Crowpaw, do you know our heading?" Stoneheart asked.

Crowpaw nodded, raising his chin. His tail flicked. "The Father points that way," he meowed.

Mistyfoot followed the direction of his tail. Like Stormfur had said, there was a Twolegplace ahead, and regrettably it seemed like the Father was pointing them in that direction. This Twolegplace was bigger than the last, and after what happened before Mistyfoot wasn't encouraged by the idea of this one.

We're closer than before, though, Mistyfoot thought, looking over the group. Her eyes rested on Stormfur, who was so comfortably leading the way. We can do this, together.

"Well, I thought we could sneak by," sighed Stormfur. The big gray tom turned to look at the others. "Seems like this place goes on forever, though."

"That's all right," Shadepaw offered. The small she-cat looked nervous. "I'm sure we can do it."

Mistyfoot frowned. The Twolegplace was looming not far ahead – but what had stopped the group was a thin Twoleg fence, penning in some more sheep. From Crowpaw's sharp eyes, it seemed like that from here on it was paddock after paddock until they hit the Twolegplace proper.

"We'll have to be careful," Stoneheart meowed. Regrettably, the posts of the fence were thin posts of some hard Twoleg material – tall and impossible to grip with claws. Between them were strings of more Twoleg stuff, with sharp, spiky bits at regular intervals. "I'm sure there's a way around this mess."

The big gray tom padded up to the fence and gave it a sniff. "It's like some of the fences around the Carrionplace," he decided. "Those little spiky parts can rip out an unsuspecting cats' belly."

Mistyfoot grimaced. Feathertail's eyes widened. "Is there any way around it?"

Stoneheart nodded. He padded up and down the lengths of the fence, sniffing occasionally. Mistyfoot felt worry prick her pelt. How many times had Stoneheart had to deal with a deadly fence like this?

"Here we go," Stoneheart decided, a few paces down. He carefully gripped one of the lowest fence strings in his jaws, just between two of the spiky bits. The ground beneath was soft and lower, and when Stoneheart lifted upward, there was enough space for even Stormfur's fluffy body to squeeze through. "Hurry!"

Nightpaw, Shadepaw, and Crowpaw squeezed through first, with ease – they were the smallest of the group. Mistyfoot went next, nerves making her legs tremble. She felt the barest hint of the barbs against her flank and she shot into the field, bristling.

Feathertail came next, cursing as she left behind a clump of her own fur. Then came Stormfur, who, in an effort not to get stuck under another fence, emerged with dirt-clogged belly fur rather. "At least I kept my pelt!" he chuckled, which made Feathertail bristle.

Stormfur took the fence from Stoneheart, who squeezed through easily. Stoneheart checked his shoulders, and then checked Feathertail's pelt. He turned to the others and meowed, "Sometimes cats get really sick when they get cut by these fences. It's best just to not let it happen at all."

Shadepaw blinked. Mistyfoot wondered if she was aware of the sickness that Stoneheart was talking about – but she gave nothing away, only nodded in understanding.

"That was easier than it seemed!" Nightpaw assured, waving his tail.

"Only because you're the size of a mouse," Crowpaw grunted.

Nightpaw gave him a playful shove. "I'll bet supper that I can cross these fences better than you!"

"Nightpaw!" chided Shadepaw.

"You're on," Crowpaw decided, muzzle curled.

Shadepaw bristled. "Both of you! I swear!"

Mistyfoot's whiskers twitched in amusement. At least Nightpaw seemed eager to make things entertaining, rather than succumbing to worry like the older cats seemed to be.

Stormfur led the way across the paddock, avoiding the sheep that were grazing off of the dewy grass. When they reached the other side Nightpaw practically slid underneath the fence, with Crowpaw following.

"One down," Stormfur sighed as the rest managed to slip through. Shadepaw chased after Nightpaw and Crowpaw, chastising them for the risks they were taking. Stormfur's whiskers twitched. "Too many more to go."

"Maybe we can go around once we're through these sheep fields?" Stoneheart suggested.

"Maybe," Feathertail agreed. Her tail swished close. "I really don't want to go through that Twolegplace."

Mistyfoot grunted her agreement. Crossing sheep fields were one thing – trying to wrangle this many cats through Twolegplace, with all the noise and dangers, was entirely another. No amount of experience could prepare any Clan cat for what lay inside the stone walls where Twolegs tread.

The group kept on track, covering the length of ground between paddocks with ease and good conversation. The day began to heat up, so they took refuge underneath some trees near sunhigh to beat the worst of the heat. Crowpaw and Nightpaw immediately began to wrestle, battering one another with their paws in a friendly practice duel.

It was all fine until the wind changed.

The smell crossed their noses, thick and strong – fox.

Suddenly the earth beneath the trees erupted with the barking snarls of foxes. Three of the russet-colored creatures emerged from their den below the trees, narrowing angry, beady eyes down their pointed snouts at the warriors.

"Up the trees!" screeched Stormfur.

Immediately the cats scattered. Mistyfoot's claws dug into the nearest tree and she pulled herself up, her heart beating in her ears. She crouched on a branch, trembling as the entire tree shook with the force of the foxes throwing themselves against the trunk.

Stoneheart and Feathertail were just a branch above her. Feathertail whimpered every time the foxes barked. Stormfur had managed to get himself up one of the other trees. Shadepaw was with him, helping Crowpaw up to her branch.

"Nightpaw?" Mistyfoot called. "Nightpaw, where are you?"

There was a yowl of fear.

Mistyfoot's heart clenched. She turned her head. Nightpaw was trying to make his way up the tree with Shadepaw and Crowpaw and Stormfur – but his claws couldn't hold the bark.

"Come on, Nightpaw!" Stormfur called.

"Please!" Shadepaw cried. "You can do it!"

The foxes surrounded the tree, barking and bristling and slavering as Nightpaw began to slide. One of the foxes leaped up and grasped its jaws around Nightpaw's legs, pulling him down with a screech of pain. The red-furred creatures surrounded the small black cat, only his tail poking through the mass of them.

Mistyfoot sprang.

It felt as if she were floating outside of her body. She watched herself fly off of her branch and land down below, heard herself scream in defiance at the creatures. Her mind flashed back to Snakerocks, to Shrewpaw and Nightpaw cowering in the face of the badger. She shoved her way through the foxes and rounded, bristling and snarling, Nightpaw beneath her.

I lost one of you, I won't dare lose the other!