Chapter 16

The night of the quarter moon came quickly. The couple of days following Rainstar's decision was a flurry of activity as Thorncloud endured preparations for the journey. It was becoming apparent that SnowClan was very short on warriors; with Thorncloud and Copperfur gone, there would only be 5 remaining, seeing as Tigerfang still hadn't been reinstated as a warrior yet.

The good news was that newleaf was turning into greenleaf, and it was getting warmer every day. Leafkit and Daisykit were nearly ready to be apprenticed, and Owlpaw and Twigpaw were likely only moons away from becoming warriors.

Before leaving camp, Thorncloud ate the travelling herbs that Tallfeather had prepared. "Couldn't you sneak some yarrow into Copperfur's to make him sick?" she whispered, earning her a playful shove from the medicine cat.

When they were ready to leave, it was as if the entire clan had come to see them off. Thorncloud had said a proper goodbye to Tallfeather earlier, when no cat could spy on their affectionate interactions, but all of the other cats were eager to wish her luck. Most of all the apprentices, Springfoot, and Blizzardpelt were intent on giving her proper goodbyes. As predicted, Springfoot spent most of the time grooming her (as if she wasn't just about to get dirty again on the journey), and Blizzardpelt gave her some sage advice, while the apprentices mainly ran around yapping about whether or not Thorncloud had the chops to make it back in one piece.

It seemed that she had spoken to just about everyone when Tigerfang padded up to where Thorncloud sat at the gorse tunnel. "Er, I just wanted to say…" she said, kneading the ground awkwardly with her paws. "I know you probably don't need luck, but good luck anyway. You're the right cat for the job."

Stunned by her sister's words, Thorncloud didn't reply for a moment. Then she smiled sadly. "Thank you, Tigerfang," she said, making sure to use her warrior name instead of calling her Tigerpaw like everybody else was.

Tigerfang lit up, but didn't dare edge forward for an embrace. Thorncloud's paws itched to jump toward her, but she kept her composure. Tigerfang's ears twitched as Copperfur came up next to her. He cleared his throat. "Are you ready to go?" he asked.

Thorncloud's throat tightened, and she pushed away the emotional thoughts that Tigerfang's words had brought. "Just about," she said. She smiled softly at her foster sister. "I'll see you soon," she promised.

Tigerfang nodded, and then nervously edged forward to touch noses with Thorncloud. She quickly stepped back. A few paces away, Thorncloud could see Rainstar watching from afar. When I get back, she thought, I'll tell her to make Tigerfang a warrior again. It had been a moon since her punishment had started, and Tigerfang's old nest was dusty and cold in the warriors' den. It was time she reclaimed it.

Last of all the cats, the SnowClan leader approached. Tigerfang retreated to the rest of the clan, taking her place beside Springfoot. Copperfur came to sit beside her, facing Rainstar.. Thorncloud tried her best to ignore him, and met the eyes of her leader.

"I know you'll both make SnowClan proud," Rainstar said. Thorncloud and Copperfur both bowed their heads respectfully. The day before, Rainstar had given them both an extensive list of instructions for the journey, mostly about how to interact peacefully with the other clans and how to minimize the need for a fight if they came into contact with Sunstream and his rogues. There wasn't much else to say now; Rainstar just nodded, and Thorncloud took that to mean it was time to go.

They ducked through the tunnel, hearing the encouraging shouts of the cats behind them. Thorncloud couldn't help but smile. For the first time in a while, she felt of use to her clan.

Copperfur walked stiffly next to her as they got farther away from camp. Thorncloud kept a few paces ahead of him. She had no desire to talk to him, and hoped he felt the same way about her.

Unfortunately, about halfway to Fourtrees, Copperfur caught up with her. "I hope we can be civil on this mission," he said evenly, keeping his eyes trained on the path ahead of him.

"I will if you are," Thorncloud replied, trying to appear indifferent.

"We used to be close. Let's just pretend that hasn't changed."

Thorncloud just barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes. "I treat you like a fellow warrior, nothing else," she said. "As long as you don't pick any fights in front of the other clans, I'm happy."

"I'm not going to pick any fights!"

"Good." Thorncloud sped up, practically breaking into a run to keep ahead of him. She was panting by the time she reached Fourtrees, and hovered at the top of the ravine.

Down below, two CloudClan warriors were waiting by the Great Rock. She recognized Duskfur by his silver tabby pelt, but the other cat sitting next to the deputy was unfamiliar to her. She waited until she heard Copperfur walking up behind her and then she plunged down to meet them.

As she got closer, the CloudClan cats looked up. The unfamiliar she-cat's pelt was solid black on top, from nose to tail, while every fur on the bottom half of her body was white. Thorncloud waved her tail in greeting.

"Good evening, SnowClan warriors," Duskfur said. "I don't think we've met officially. I'm Duskfur, and this is Ebonystreak."

"Hi!" Ebonystreak said. The greeting was all it took for Thorncloud to realize this must be an inexperienced warrior. She had a youthful gleam in her eye, and seemed to be shivering with excitement.

"I'm Thorncloud, and this is Copperfur," Thorncloud said, and realized a moment too late that Copperfur, as the more senior warrior, probably should have been the one to introduce them. Quickly she said, "I'm surprised that CloudClan decided to send their deputy."

"It was important to Galestar to have the clan well-represented," Duskfur said. "Look, there's StormClan arriving now."

Thorncloud turned to see two cats running down to meet them. Thorncloud recognized Flameclaw, the white tom with ginger accents who she'd met a few moons ago. The other cat had long, dark grey fur.

"Hello Flameclaw, Shadepool," Duskfur greeted.

Flameclaw, the more senior warrior, just nodded. Shadepool was quite composed, her amber eyes flickering around the group suspiciously, as if afraid one of them might attack any moment. She certainly wasn't as young as Ebonystreak; Thorncloud guessed that StormClan had wanted to send two experienced warriors.

RainClan arrived last, and Thorncloud had to contain her joy when she saw Bumblestripe's mottled pelt streaking down the side of the ravine. Pebblefoot was with him. She was glad to know at least a few cats on this mission, so that she had others to talk to instead of Copperfur.

As soon as all of the introductions were done, the eight cats sat looking at one another. Duskfur moved first. "Let's go on, then," he said, and began leading the way up towards CloudClan territory.

"Shouldn't we go through StormClan territory?" Flameclaw said as they walked. "There's a more direct route to Highstones."

Duskfur shook his head. "If we went that way, we'd have to cross the Thunderpath twice," he pointed out. Flameclaw looked like he wanted to protest, but he kept silent. Thorncloud realized it was a smart move for Galestar to give her deputy as one of the chosen warriors. That gave Duskfur the most authority of any of them.

There was an air of awkwardness among the group as they walked. Thorncloud made sure to stick close to Bumblestripe and Pebblefoot so that Copperfur wouldn't have a chance to talk to her. The red-furred warrior was walking with Flameclaw and Shadepool, keeping his distance from her. Not used to travelling as allies, nobody in the group seemed sure of how to act.

Thorncloud, however, was entirely comfortable walking next to Bumblestripe. She must have been the only cat there with a proper friend in the group who wasn't from her own clan. Sure, cats met under a truce at the full moon, but most didn't consider one another friends by the end of the night.

What does it mean that I'm more comfortable around RainClan cats than my own clan? she wondered as they neared the Thunderpath. She wasn't even threatened by Pebblefoot, as muscular as he was, because of the friendly glint in his eye. They walked along the side of the path for a while. Thorncloud had rarely gone across the Thunderpath, and she couldn't help flinching whenever a raging monster sped past.

Eventually, some of the tension eased and the cats began chatting to one another. "How are things in RainClan?" she asked Bumblestripe.

"Not bad," he answered. "Twolegs have started visiting the river more often to catch fish, so that's made it harder to hunt. But we're still doing alright."

Thorncloud noticed Pebblefoot glance at his clan mate in surprise. Usually cats of enemy clans didn't share their weaknesses so nonchalantly with one another. She wished she could tell Bumblestripe to be less friendly, or else the more experienced warrior might realize just how familiar they were with one another.

"So, Pebblefoot," she said quickly, changing the subject. "Do you have an apprentice?"

"No," said the older warrior. "Goldenstar thinks I'm best suited to leading hunting patrols at the moment."

"Pebblefoot is one of our best fishers!" Bumblestripe said. "It's those big paws of his. No fish could escape those!"

Pebblefoot let out a snort of laughter. "Thank you, Bumblestripe," he said coolly.

"I'm sure you'll get an apprentice soon, though," Bumblestripe said. He looked at Thorncloud. "Did you know my mother Blossomheart had another kit a few moons ago? I have a little brother! I'm sure you'll apprentice Treekit, Pebblefoot."

"You have a lot of confidence in me." Pebblefoot looked amused by the younger warrior's enthusiasm. "But you know it's Goldenstar who makes the decisions."

"Who else is going to mentor him? Old Hollyclaw?"

"You should learn to respect your elders, Bumblestripe."

"I do!"

Thorncloud watched them squabble with amusement. She couldn't remember the last time she had such a fond conversation with a warrior from her own clan, and couldn't help the burning jealousy she felt at seeing such a bond between clan mates.

By the time the sun began to rise, the group had reached the edge of CloudClan territory. The Thunderpath stretched in front of them, and beyond it, the rocklands. It was hard to make out any details across the landscape, just rock mounds and the occasional tree or shrub. Even farther away, mountains taller than the biggest oak tree at Fourtrees rose high into the sky, stretching towards the clouds.

Thorncloud had only been to Highstones once before, on the mandatory journey that all apprentices had to take before becoming a warrior. She couldn't suppress a gasp at how beautiful it looked now, with the rising sun casting light across the jagged rocks, and long shadows swallowing the horizon. "It's beautiful," she breathed.

"From now on we should tread carefully," Pebblefoot said.

"Once we cross the Thunderpath, who knows what we'll find," Duskfur agreed.

"We can take a few rogues," Ebonystreak mewed.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," said Copperfur.

A monster roared past, ruffling their fur. Its stench filled the air and disrupted the peaceful morning glow. Flameclaw and Shadepool were the first to approach the strange black surface. StormClan warriors were generally more experienced with crossing the Thunderpath.

"Let's go in pairs," Pebblefoot suggested.

"Each clan will go together," Duskfur said.

Thorncloud frowned. "Isn't it a better idea to mix up the pairs?" she asked. Eyes turned to her. She shrunk under the gaze of the senior warriors. "I just thought… maybe…"

But Pebblefoot was nodding his head. "I can see the value of that," he said. Thorncloud breathed a sigh of relief at having a more experienced warrior's support. "In case something happens, it would be terrible to have two cats of the same clan injured or worse."

"So I'm supposed to risk my pelt crossing with a cat I don't trust?" Shadepool asked.

"No, I agree with Pebblefoot," Copperfur said. Thorncloud narrowed his eyes at him. It was her idea in the first place. "Let's say, StarClan forbid, that a monster hit two cats of the same clan when they were crossing. That clan wouldn't have anyone to return to their camp and tell them what we discover."

Duskfur and Ebonystreak nodded in agreement. Flameclaw reluctantly agreed as another monster rumbled past. Only Shadepool looked unhappy, but she didn't voice her concerns.

"Alright," Duskfur said. "Flameclaw, you go first with Ebonystreak. Then Bumblestripe and I will go, followed by Copperfur and Shadepool. Last will be Thorncloud and Pebblefoot."

There was a murmur of agreement, and everyone took up their positions. Ebonystreak looked the most nervous, standing next to the seasoned Flameclaw, who looked as if he could do this in his sleep. He watched the Thunderpath carefully, letting two monsters run past, before he snapped "Now!" and lunged out of the grass. Ebonystreak followed right on his heels, and moments later, they skidded to a halt on the other side.

"Good luck!" Thorncloud said to Bumblestripe as he took his position next to Duskfur. He twitched his ears to show he'd heard, and waited patiently for an opening to cross. Thorncloud watched with bated breath as they ran, reaching the other side just in time for a snarling monster to streak past.

Copperfur and Shadepool went next, crossing with plenty of time to spare before the next monster. The six warriors waited impatiently on the other side while Pebblefoot and Thorncloud stepped up to the warm, smooth surface of the Thunderpath.

Thorncloud glanced sideways at Pebblefoot. The older tom's whiskers were twitching nervously. She guessed that he was just as nervous as she was. "I've only crossed the Thunderpath once before," he confessed, glancing left and right nervously.

"Me too."

With the sun rising higher, more and more monsters were beginning to arrive. The Thunderpath was always more active the higher the sun rose, and Thorncloud suddenly wished they had met at Fourtrees earlier.

"Come on!" Flameclaw meowed from the other side. Shadepool was grooming her long fur impatiently, while Copperfur was pacing just a few pawsteps away.

"You can do it!" Bumblestripe called encouragingly.

Thorncloud nodded and took a deep breath. One, two, three more monsters roared past. Thorncloud watched carefully as one more appeared in the distance. "After this one," she said, and Pebblefoot nodded in agreement. "Ready…" she murmured as it came closer. It thundered past their faces, and Thorncloud shouted, "Now!" She would have sworn by StarClan that her paws had never moved faster as she galloped forward.

Her lungs heaved with the effort of sprinting. She kept her eyes ahead at her destination, her heart thudding wildly in her chest. Moving so quickly, she didn't see the sharp stone in her path. She stumbled as the stone sank into the soft pad of her paw, and she let out a hiss of pain.

"Look out!" Bumblestripe's voice called. A roaring filled the air that Thorncloud recognized as the sound of an approaching monster. Fear tugged at every hair on her pelt.

Limping towards the grass on the other side as fast as her three paws could carry her, fear engulfed her. The roaring got louder. Pebblefoot had already reached the other side, and his head swung wildly to the side to watch the approaching beast.

"Hurry!" Ebonystreak meowed, her eyes wide with fear.

Thorncloud didn't dare look up to see how close the monster was. Her paw felt split in two. She paused to shake the rock out, and a spot of blood splattered onto the dark surface beneath her. She would never make it across limping, she knew; rearing back on her haunches, she prepared to jump the last few tail-lengths across.

Teeth closed around the scruff of her neck, and she felt herself being hauled forward. She tried to get a grip on the ground, but whoever had her held on tightly. She landed roughly on the side of the Thunderpath just as a swerving monster bolted past.

Her breath came quickly, her eyes wide with fear at just how close she had come to being hit. She looked up – Pebblefoot stood over her. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Weakly, she nodded, and lifted her paw to lick her wound. Her whole foot throbbed dully. "Thank you," she said between licks.

Bumblestripe rushed to her side. "I thought you were monster-kill for sure!" he exclaimed.

"Pebblefoot saved my life," she said, gingerly setting down her paw. The pain had eased slightly, but blood dappled the sandy dirty she sat on.

"Mouse-brain!" Shadepool said, her voice frothing with anger. "Why'd you slow down?"

"A sharp stone cut my pad," Thorncloud said, suppressing her annoyance. "I was going to jump the last part because my paws couldn't carry me fast enough."

"It's a good thing Pebblefoot stepped in," Duskfur said, looking shaken. "That monster would have swallowed you whole."

The group lingered by the Thunderpath for a while longer, catching their breath. Thorncloud wished she had some cobwebs to stop the bleeding on her paw, but all she had was a small patch of grass by the Thunderpath's edge, so she used that.

"I don't like sitting out here in the open," Flameclaw said after a while.

"Me neither," Duskfur agreed. "We need to start looking for signs of Sunstream. Thorncloud, can you manage walking?"

Thorncloud nodded. "The bleeding's stopped, so I'll be okay," she said, wincing as she set her paw down on the dusty ground.

Copperfur was wandering away from the group. He stooped to sniff a clump of ferns several fox-lengths away. "Hey! Someone put a scent marker here!" he said.

Duskfur and Flameclaw followed him to sniff the ferns. "He's right," Flameclaw said. "It smells vaguely like RainClan, but…. different?"

A gust of wind blew through, bringing the scent towards the rest of the group. Pebblefoot and Bumblestripe were both nodding. "I recognize that scent," Pebblefoot said. "That's Scorchback, one of the cats that left with Sunstream. But you're right, it's slightly different."

"Maybe they have their own group scent now, like any of our clans," said Shadepool.

Copperfur scented the air, and began walking farther away. "They went this way," he said, picking up the scent on a small patch of grass. The group began to follow, Thorncloud limping along at the back next to Ebonystreak.

"Let me know if you need a shoulder to lean on," the she-cat meowed quietly, and Thorncloud gave her a thankful look. She was liking the CloudClan cats more and more.

Bumblestripe moved to the front of the group to walk with Copperfur. He followed the trail expertly, and Thorncloud thought he must be a great tracker to look so confident. "There was another cat with him," he said, sniffing a flat rock. He looked at Pebblefoot. "It's Dawnstrike," he announced. "And I think she had her apprentice with her, Eaglepaw."

"How many cats did Sunstream take with him?" Shadepool asked, her nose wrinkling as she sniffed the scent marker.

"Four," Pebblefoot said. "Scorchback, Dawnstrike, Eaglepaw, and Sunstream's own apprentice, Turtlepaw."

"So there's only five of them," Flameclaw said, shrugging his shoulder. "We can take them, no problem."

"We may not even have to fight," Copperfur said. "If we just spy on them, and report back what we find…"

"We're not going all this way just to watch," Shadepool snapped.

"Hey!" Bumblestripe called. He was much farther ahead now, where the two diverging Thunderpaths met. Across the road from them was StormClan territory. "There's a scent here I don't recognize!"

Duskfur, Flameclaw, Pebblefoot, and Copperfur bounded after him to investigate. Thorncloud tried to limp as fast as she could beside Ebonystreak, while Shadepool sulked ahead, not as eager to join the others.

By the time they reached the other half of the group, they were deep in the heat of an argument. "No, those definitely aren't RainClan cats," Pebblefoot was saying.

"Well, they carry a similar scent to Sunstream and his friends," Copperfur said. "They must be part of the same group."

"Rogues and clan cats together?" Duskfur asked, looking unconvinced.

"When have StormClan cats ever found rogues this close to the rocklands, anyway?" Flameclaw pointed out. "Around Carrionplace, sure, or near the border with SnowClan. But I've been to Highstones a few times, and never seen rogues around here."

"They could have come from up there," Bumblestripe said, pointing his tail to where the Thunderpath disappeared far past the rocklands and StormClan territory. "Or even from the farm at CloudClan's north border. There are Twoleg nests beyond there."

"Sunstream never seemed to have interest in rogues," Pebblefoot pointed out. "He always wanted to lead RainClan."

"Maybe trying to lead a bunch of rogues is second best," Ebonystreak suggested. "If their scents are mingling, they're probably spending a lot of time together."

"Making a new clan," Pebblefoot murmured. He let out a deep sigh. "Up until he attacked Goldenstar, Sunstream had been such a noble warrior. None of us would have known he had such ambition."

Thorncloud listened intently to the whole conversation. In her mind, the words a sapling grows at Fourtrees kept repeating, over and over. "There can only be four clans," she said. "If Sunstream really is trying to build his own, we have to stop him."

Both RainClan and CloudClan cats, as well as Flameclaw, nodded their heads somberly. Shadepool glanced around, her eyes narrowed. "We shouldn't sit here like fresh-kill waiting to be spotted," she said. "If they have a dawn patrol, they might come by here."

All in agreement, the group delved deeper into the rocklands, ears perked for signs of any other cats. Thorncloud couldn't shake the horrible feeling that clung to her pelt. If Sunstream was teaming up with rogues, the forest clans would have to go up against more cats than they first thought. All at once, her dream was coming true, and the implications were far worse than she had imagined.