A/N: Thanks for the reviews, everyone!
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"Pinefur!" cried Sunfire, standing. "What–?"
Cries of surprise and relief were rising from the Clan; Sunfire started up towards her friend, but was nearly bowled over by a flash of heavy gray fur. Badgerclaw shot up the stone slope, startling Pinefur, who stumbled backwards with a yelp. Sunfire watched silently as Badgerclaw, now moving slowly, picked up his son with utmost care. Then, without looking at Pinefur, he turned and stepped down the slope, Granitekit dangling from his jaws.
"Granitekit!" mewled a groggy, confused voice. Nightwhisker was staggering out of Treeshadow's den, her fur disheveled. Something had woken her from the effects of the poppy seeds, and she now struggled against the drug-induced drowsiness as she moved towards her mate and son. Badgerclaw, apparently knowing a she-cat's need to have her kit, set Granitekit down before Nightwhisker. The black queen crouched over her kit protectively.
"Who was it?" she asked. No cat answered, not knowing whether Nightwhisker meant who had taken her kit or who had brought him back.
Pinefur, still at the slope's peak, called down, "The Tribe stole him. I brought him back."
Badgerclaw and Nightwhisker stared up at Pinefur, their eyes brimming with gratitude. Sunfire looked over at Pinefur; the mottled she-cat was nodding slowly, understanding the silence of Granitekit's parents.
"How did you come by him?" growled Hawkclaw aggressively, baring his teeth. "Perhaps you stole him in the first place!"
"And then she brought him back after less than a day?" retorted Sunfire hotly. Icestorm laid his tail on her shoulder, either to comfort or give warning–or both.
Lightningstar waved his tail for silence. "I think we'd all like to know–" he paused to sneeze, "–how Pinefur came by Granitekit." He beckoned with his tail. "Come, good warrior," he said to Pinefur. "You will not be harmed here." As Pinefur slunk down the slope, looking quite uncomfortable under the watchful eyes of the Clan, Sunfire saw Treeshadow slip over to Lightningstar and place a bundle of herbs before him.
Pinefur stood uncertainly at the foot of the Hightree, trying to decide whether or not she would be welcome to stand upon it like a Clan leader. After a moment, she sat where she was, wrapped her tail around herself, and began.
"You all know that a few moons ago, Lightningstar graciously allowed me to stay here. You also know that I soon left, feeling that I was endangering your camp by living here, because I felt Nero would come for me." She took a deep breath. "I told Sunfire what I intended to do. Since I believe she is the only one who knows, I will say what I have done." The Clan began shifting towards the Hightree, as though it was a Clan meeting. Sunfire, with Raintail and Icestorm flanking her, looked over at the former Clan cat.
"I knew that there was empty land a bit beyond RiverClan's old territory. I planned to go there–become a loner. I was highly successful. For moons now, I have lived there quietly. I am happy with my new life." She sighed and shuffled her paws. "A small part of the Tribe has recently come to live very near me. That splinter of them alone is about the size of ThunderClan; maybe six cats fewer." Uneasy murmurings rustled through ThunderClan at the prospect of a "small part" being the size of ThunderClan.
"Anyway, if I climbed a certain tree, I was able to see them where they made camp, but they could not see-or scent–me. A few dawns ago, a patrol came back carrying two kits. I was too far away to be certain, but I think the kits were WindClan."
"The kits Breezeflower told me about," hissed Morningcloud.
"Yesterday evening," continued Pinefur, "another patrol came back; they carried another kit. This one," she added, pointing at Granitekit with her nose. "There was a good breeze that evening, so I could smell him–and I recognized the ThunderClan scent." She paused for breath. "I waited until the kits–there were three, with him and the two WindClan–were left relatively unguarded. When I had an opportunity, in between a change of guards, I got down from my tree and snuck over to where they were keeping the kits. They did catch my scent–there was no avoiding that–but only one cat actually came to try and drive me out. I gave him a knock on the head to confuse him, scooped up your kit, and ran here." She said all this as though it was no different from catching a mouse.
Silence greeted the end of her speech. Then Quickriver commented, "It's nice that you brought him back, but did you consider that the Tribe can follow your scent trail here? You've endangered us. Again."
Silence still hung over the camp, tense and uneasy: the pale brown warrior had a point. It was Nightwhisker who spoke up: "Then I suggest we prepare to fight. I will fight to death if they come here. I will not let Granitekit get stolen again."
"Lightningstar?" called Mudspeckle. "Do we form the line?"
Every head turned towards the old leader, who shook his head. "If the Tribe intended to attack us to try and recover Granitekit, they would have come by now. It must not be worth it to them to risk lives and injuries for a single kit." Sunfire, despite the respect she held for Lightningstar, curled her lip; the Tribe would never let themselves be humiliated, much less when a single cat had done the humiliating. Looking around, she saw that most of Clan looked like they were having similar thoughts.
Sensing his Clan's agitation, Lightningstar looked over at Mudspeckle and said, "Organize patrols to sweep the territory. No more than three cats to a group; we should have warriors in camp in case we are attacked." With that, he turned to Pinefur and added, "You are welcome to stay or leave as you like." He dipped his head to her. "ThunderClan will long remember your kindness and bravery in returning Granitekit." He then padded unsteadily back under his willow; Sunfire felt a twinge of fear as she heard him give several dry, rasping coughs.
As Mudspeckle began ordering out patrols, Pinefur slunk over to Sunfire, keeping her body low to the ground as though she expected to be assaulted. "Any troubles in the Clan?" she asked when she was close enough.
"None, now that you brought back Granitekit," answered Raintail. The white she-cat bowed her head in respect as Lightningstar had done. Pinefur acknowledged this with an uncomfortable nod, looking sheepish; loners were rarely, if ever, given such a respectful gesture. "So," she said crisply after a moment, "how's Softpaw?"
Pride swelling within her, Sunfire looked over at her apprentice, who sat with Dewpaw. "She's great. Very strong and talented for a cat her age."
"She has a brilliant mentor," said Icestorm softly.
Pinefur nodded in agreement. Sunfire remembered Pinefur had once told her that before Waterstar allied with the Tribe, there had been a kit, a tom, whom Pinefur had wanted to someday mentor.
As though hearing Sunfire's thoughts, Pinefur asked, "Has ThunderClan heard anything about Waterstar?" She said her old leader's name with a grimace.
Sunfire frowned. "No," she said slowly. "She was getting old when the Tribe first showed up," she added. "Is it possible she's dead?"
Pinefur shrugged. "Maybe. I know she only had three lives left when she joined the Tribe; she could've lost them all by now. Old leaders don't hang onto their final lives for long."
Glancing at Lightningstar's den, Sunfire repressed a shiver. It might have been the growing sunlight seeping into the camp, but Sunfire would have sworn on her life that there was a prophetic glint in Pinefur's eyes as she said the latter.
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Sunfire had forced herself to stay awake throughout the day so as to get in Softpaw's training; by sundown, both mentor and apprentice were dragging. Pinefur, feeling odd about being surrounded by an entire Clan yet hesitant to return to her own territory, accompanied Sunfire and Softpaw on their training session. Near sundown, the loner had decided to leave. Touching Sunfire's nose, she'd said, "Fetch me if you need me. I'll always stand by the Clans."
Now, back at camp after the evening meal, Sunfire wanted nothing more than to groom herself and flop in her nest, but a visit to Treeshadow was required. Softpaw was small, but she was swift, and muscular–half the time she got the better of Sunfire during battle training. A dull ache had crept through Sunfire's ribs and shoulders, areas where Softpaw struck hard and often. Her name could not be more ironic, Sunfire thought with affection and a definite wryness.
"Treeshadow?" she called, padding through the twilight shadows towards the fallen tree. She hoped the tabby tom was there; in addition to wanting a poppy seed to ease her soreness, she needed to ask him something that she doubted Rootpaw could answer if her mentor was not there.
A gray-striped head poked out of the tangled branches. "Sunfire? You've never come to my den before. Is anything wrong?" He slipped out of the shelter and into the growing moonlight, his amber eyes inquisitive.
"I want a poppy seed," Sunfire meowed, wincing slightly as she sat down.
Treeshadow stared at her with mock astonishment. "The great warrior Sunfire admits she is in pain?" he mewed teasingly. Without waiting for an answer, he turned back into his den and called over his shoulder, "Training session with Softpaw, I take it?" He came back out, clutching a poppy head in his teeth.
Sunfire nodded. "She really banged up my shoulder today," she admitted. "Which is good, actually–means she'd got good muscle." She gratefully licked up the seeds Treeshadow had shaken out for her.
The medicine cat nodded. "Lightningstar is getting better," he said. "I gave him herbs this morning; they did the trick. He's still breathing a little weakly, but if he stays put in his nest and doesn't exert himself he'll be fine." He yawned, then added, "He had whitecough. Rootpaw and I will have to keep a close eye on him this leaf-bare."
Sunfire nodded, relieved. She knew Lightningstar would someday die, but she wanted to postpone that day for as long as possible. Treeshadow, having nothing more to say, bade her goodnight and started to turn away. Remembering her other purpose for visiting him, Sunfire called, "Wait–I..." she hesitated, unsure of what to say. A strange nervousness fluttered in her belly. "I hope you'll be able to tell me something," she eventually said, stepping over to Treeshadow. He smiled at her gently.
"I've been expecting this visit from you, Sunfire," he meowed. "It would mean great news for the Clan if you are expecting kits."
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The future is always beginning now. --Mark Strand, Reasons for Moving