Chapter 9

"Where could they have gone?" Tinyclaw wondered.

"The only thing we can do is find out," Sandstorm suggested. "Unless you want to leave."

Tinyclaw shook his head. "Of course not," he told her. Sandstorm didn't bother waiting for his reply – she was already trotting towards the hole. Tinyclaw swallowed, staring at the blackness. His paws trembled. StarClan, help me!

The tunnel was lined with pale cream Twoleg stone, about two cats high. Moss grew on its sides, and the ground obviously ran with water at some points in the year – right now, though, Twoleg rubbish littered its sides. Tinyclaw flicked his tail uncomfortably. He'd never felt right in small spaces like these tunnels – it felt as if the walls were closing in around him.

Yet he couldn't show any fear in front of Sandstorm – he didn't dare. He followed behind her as they padded down the slope and to the entrance of the dark, damp tunnel. Thankfully, Sandstorm didn't walk in – from the scents, it was clear that this is where the ShadowClan cats had gone.

"Have you ever seen this place before?" she wondered.

Tinyclaw shook his head. "No," he replied, swallowing again. A monster roared on the Thunderpath overhead, rattling the earth. He peered down the tunnel, to the point of light that was its end. It didn't seem to go very far, but regardless – on the other side was ShadowClan territory.

"This must be their way to Fourtrees," Tinyclaw realized. "Using this, they wouldn't have to cross the Thunderpath." Tinyclaw didn't dare mention that ShadowClan must also use the tunnel for crossing into other Clan's territories. He didn't want to think of how Brokentail had used this tunnel, during his time as ShadowClan's leader.

Sandstorm sniffed. "No wonder Littlecloud wanted to be left alone," she grunted. "This must be a ShadowClan secret!"

"We should tell Tigerstar," Tinyclaw decided. "Let's head back."

Sandstorm didn't seem eager to stay. Together, they hared back into the trees. Sandstorm kept pace with him, and Tinyclaw couldn't help but feel relief as they crossed ThunderClan scent lines. The tunnel meant danger – but the weak scent of ShadowClan told him that this sickness really was bad, if they couldn't even keep up proper border patrols.

Tinyclaw was hot and tired when he returned, too breathless to bother talking to anyone else. He headed straight for Tigerstar's den, calling out to his leader before being invited in.

"Yes?" Tigerstar wondered. The den in the Highrock barely sheltered from the heat of the day, and it was stifling in here. Tigerstar looked comfortable, though, his paws tucked under his chest. He looked levelly at Tinyclaw.

"We found a tunnel into ShadowClan territory," Tinyclaw reported. "It leads under the Thunderpath."

Tigerstar's eyes narrowed. "I hope you didn't follow it," he grumbled.

Tinyclaw swallowed, taken aback. That he wasn't excited at the news was startling. Any leader would be grateful to know of a place like this. Tinyclaw meowed, "Of course not."

"You took too much risk being there at all," Tigerstar went on. "We can't afford any trouble with ShadowClan."

Tinyclaw frowned. "Tigerstar," he reasoned frankly, "I don't think we'd get a lot of trouble from ShadowClan if we walked right up to their camp and marked our territory there. This sickness is clearly wearing on them."

"I want no antagonizing," Tigerstar grunted. His eyes were hard. "Understand?"

"Of course," Tinyclaw offered. "I was only stating my thoughts."

Tigerstar's muzzle worked, as if he had a piece of fresh-kill caught in his great teeth. "Are the ShadowClan cats gone?" he asked.

"Yes," Tinyclaw replied. "That's how we found the tunnel."

"I see," Tigerstar mused distantly.

Tinyclaw swallowed. Tigerstar's eyes showed no hints of compassion, only their now-usual emptiness. Didn't he care at all about ShadowClan's sickness? "Did we do the right thing, sending them away?" Tinyclaw wondered.

"Of course!" Tigerstar insisted, his neck fur ruffling. "We don't want sickness in the camp again."

"No," Tinyclaw agreed heavily, "we don't."

He turned to go – but Tigerstar's voice stopped him: "Don't tell anyone about the tunnel just yet, Tinyclaw," he asked.

Tinyclaw agreed; then left the den. Why keep it a secret? Awareness of the tunnel would make patrolling more effective, and should any cat need to go to ShadowClan territory it would be safer than the Thunderpath. Surely such a thing could only be a tactical advantage? Tinyclaw sighed outside of the Highrock.

"What did he say?" Sandstorm wondered. Tinyclaw hid a flinch of surprise – he hadn't noticed she'd dashed up to him. "Was he excited?"

"He said not to say anything about it for now," Tinyclaw told her dimly.

Sandstorm's ears pricked in surprise. "Why?" she wondered.

Tinyclaw opened his jaws, but he had no answer for her, as Tigerstar hadn't explained himself. He only shrugged, and then padded towards the warrior's den. Sandstorm followed, keeping pace well, with concern in her voice. "Are you OK? Is it Tigerstar?" she wondered quietly. "Are you in trouble?"

Cursing himself, Tinyclaw realized that he had let slip his anxieties, even if he hadn't said anything. He lifted his head and sighed, putting on a more confident air. Forcing brightness into his tone, he said, "There's nothing more, no – I need to go. I promised Cloudpaw I'd hunt with her this afternoon."

Sandstorm's eyes flashed. Her tone wavered only a little: "D-Do you want me to come with you?" She was still clearly concerned. Tinyclaw swallowed at the offer, trying not to leap to say yes. Sandstorm went on, "It'd be fun! We haven't been hunting together for ages."

She glanced at Cloudpaw, who was lying out in the sun beside the apprentice's den. Her belly rose and fell in the heat. Sandstorm commented, "It looks like she could certainly use the exercise – she's getting to look like Willowpelt! She must be quite the hunter."

Tinyclaw stared at his apprentice. She was larger than normal, even for greenleaf. Frustration boiled in his pelt. What was she doing? What was she thinking? No matter how much he wanted to hunt with Sandstorm by his side, Tinyclaw shook his head. He couldn't let her see how frustrated he was with his niece.

"I've been neglecting her lately," he reasoned. "We should go alone. Can we hunt together another time? Just us?"

Sandstorm's eyes glimmered. "Of course," she mewed. She turned away, making sure to flick Tinyclaw's muzzle with her tail before chuckling, "I'll catch you a rabbit, like last time… unless you've learned how to do it yourself…"

Tinyclaw swallowed, glancing back as she padded away. A warm, happy feeling prickled his paws as he recalled the snowy patrol that seemed like ages ago – just the two of them, in the cold quiet, finally getting along. He pushed the memory away before it distracted him further. Cloudpaw needed to be dealt with.

He padded over to Cloudpaw. The sleepy apprentice stretched and yawned, her legs quivering, before looking up at her mentor with bleary eyes.

"Have you been out of camp today?" Tinyclaw wondered. Don't needle her, he told himself. It won't do any good.

"No," Cloudpaw replied, not meeting Tinyclaw's eyes.

"We're going hunting," Tinyclaw decided. He looked over Cloudpaw's form and suppressed a wince. She was large – not so large as Willowpelt, but clearly overfed, even in greenleaf. There was no way she had earned the right to eat that much prey. "You must be hungry."

"Not really," Cloudpaw replied softly.

Tinyclaw flicked his tail in frustration. Did she think she could just lie about and do nothing all day? Did she forget that even apprentices had duties, or was she too busy stealing from the fresh-kill pile, and the cats who had earned their meals? "Well then," Tinyclaw decided tautly, "we'll start in the training hollow. Maybe working on your fighting moves will give you an appetite."

He gave her no chance to object. He was turned around and padding out of camp before she had even registered what he'd said, and one glance back before entering the thorn tunnel told him that she was wobbling to her sleepy paws. Tinyclaw didn't look back after that, nor did he slow his pace – not until he was up the ravine and in the training hollow.

Cloudpaw thumped after him, moving at her best pace – but Tinyclaw did not let her rest. When she slid down into the training hollow, her pelt clinging with dust, Tinyclaw ordered, "Attack me."

"What?" Cloudpaw mewed incredulously. "Just that like?"

"Yes," Tinyclaw told her. "I am an enemy warrior, invading your territory. Attack me."

Cloudpaw nodded and took a deep breath. The, she charged. Her paws sank easily in the soft sand, and Tinyclaw had plenty of time to simply get to his paws and move out of her way. Cloudpaw skidded to a stop in the sand, panting and puffing.

"Too slow," Tinyclaw meowed. His nose wrinkled at the dust and sand rising in the air. "Try again."

Cloudpaw got to her paws and faced him. This time she was crouched properly, her blue eyes staring intently. It seemed as if she was finally giving her attack some sort of thought. When she leaped, she flew at Tinyclaw, her body twisting so that she might kick out Tinyclaw's legs as she landed.

Tinyclaw kept his balance well, then swept to the side and clouted Cloudpaw with one paw. She stumbled on her landing and wobbled onto her side. "A good effort," Tinyclaw decided, "but you broadcast your attacks too easily. Next time – Cloudpaw?"

She lay still on the ground, not moving. She was breathing, but… had his strike hurt her? Tinyclaw hadn't meant to. "Cloudpaw?" he asked. Her ear twitched.

Tinyclaw approached her cautiously – this could be a trick, or she might be seriously hurt. Yet when he looked over her, he saw that one of her eyes was wide open, and she looked to be in no real pain.

"You've killed me!" she gasped. Then, she rolled onto her back, flailing her paws feebly.

Tinyclaw snorted, narrowing his eyes. "Stop fooling around!" he growled. "This is serious!"

"Alright, alright," Cloudpaw sighed. She got to her paws, shaking out her thick coat of dust. "But… I'm hungry now. Can we hunt?"

Tinyclaw frowned. Already? Yet he looked at her puffing, and she seemed genuinely tired. I really must have been neglecting her battle training if that attack took all her breath from her. He wanted to argue, but he recalled Whitestorm telling him that she would learn when she was ready. Arguing has been a waste of time so far, Tinyclaw thought. Letting her go at her own pace might work better.

"Come, then," Tinyclaw decided. Together, they padded out of the training hollow and into the woods.

It wasn't long before Cloudpaw stopped and meowed, "I smell a rabbit." Tinyclaw took a sniff and realized she was right – not far away, a white tail was bobbing in the ferns. Tinyclaw nodded to Cloudpaw – she could catch it.

She dropped into a crouch, her belly bulging against the earth. The rabbit twitched, then hared off – but Cloudpaw charged after it, her paws thudding through the woods. Tinyclaw's tail bristled in disbelief, and he followed at a slower pace, watching the white patches of Cloudpaw's pelt dart from bush to bush. Finally, Cloudpaw stopped chasing.

"It got away," she puffed, disappointment in her tone.

Tinyclaw frowned. "Coudpaw, what's gotten into you?" he demanded. This time, he had to know. "You hunted better when you were kit, in the middle of leaf-bare!" He recalled that snowstorm vividly, Cloudpaw returning to camp defiantly with an ice-crusted vole between her jaws. Then she had the makings of a fine warrior, but now? "It's a wonder you've gotten so well-fed hunting like this. You know rabbits can't be outpaced – you need to cut them off!"

Cloudpaw sighed. Tinyclaw was glad Sandstorm hadn't come. What would she think if she'd seen this spectacle? Yet Tinyclaw forced himself to lose most of his frustration – Cloudpaw looked upset. She really had tried to catch that rabbit.

She didn't argue. "Sorry," she muttered. Tinyclaw swallowed. Have I really let her down? He wondered. I've been so busy…

"Can I… Can't I just hunt on my own?" Cloudpaw wondered. Her voice was still low. "I do a lot better that way."

Tinyclaw frowned, studying her. She wasn't meeting his eyes, and she was scuffling her paws. Her belly gurgled. She can't' be a bad hunter all the time, he reasoned. Not looking like that… In a breath, he resolved to follow her. There had to be something he was missing. "Very well," he agreed. "But be careful; and be back by mealtime."

Cloudpaw's eyes lit up. She raised her tail. "Thanks!" she purred. "I won't let you down!"

Tinyclaw watched her turn away and bundle through the woods at an easy pace. He felt a prickle of guilt at plotting to follow her, but he needed answers. He needed all the help training her as he could get. They were kin, but she never tried doing anything but arguing with him. She was well and gone before Tinyclaw followed.

Tracking Cloudpaw through Tallpines was easy – her bright white, fluffy tail gave her position away. Tinyclaw kept himself at a safe distance. The woods here were thick with wildlife and birds – rich pickings, but Cloudpaw took no part in it. She padded on, and Tinyclaw's stomach clenched with worry.

Her pace was surprisingly swift, considering her belly – she carried on through the oaks and pines, oblivious to the teeming prey all around her. She carried on until the trees abruptly stopped, and Tinyclaw frowned as she padded into the open field behind Twolegplace.

Is she visiting Fiona? Tinyclaw wondered. He kept his side against the Twoleg fences as he followed her. She was ahead, still oblivious. Why didn't she say anything? Yet Cloudpaw passed right by Fiona's fence. Tinyclaw swallowed and followed.

Cloudpaw ignored every prey-scent that crossed her path until she reached a tall birch, far along from Fiona's home. She pulled herself up claw-by-claw, having a little difficulty with her swaying belly. She perched upon a branch for a moment – Tinyclaw pressed himself against the shadow of a fence, hoping his black pelt would shield him – before she leaped down into the Twoleg garden below.

Tinyclaw frowned and followed. He pulled himself up the birch she'd climbed, and tried to ignore the fact that her scent was layered on this tree several times over. He pulled himself onto a higher branch and looked down, his claws digging into the soft wood.

Cloudpaw was trotting through the garden, tail high. Birds hopped away from her, but she made no move to catch them. Tinyclaw wished she'd at least try, even if it would make Dustpelt's jeering true. Yet Cloudpaw continued up the yard until she was climbing up the Twoleg's back porch and sitting before their door.

Tinyclaw willed her to turn away – what in StarClan was she doing? – but that will drained as Cloudpaw began letting out a shrill, pitiful wail.