Chapter 13

"I-Is Cloudpaw OK?" Ashpaw wondered.

Tinyclaw blinked as his mind searched for the right words to describe what had happened to Cloudpaw. Ashpaw would not want to know that Cloudpaw had been taken away against her will – that would only make him more distraught. But there was no point in trying to hide what had happened.

"I believe she has left the Clan," Tinyclaw said quietly, "to become a kittypet."

Ashpaw's eyes grew wide with shock and bewilderment. "L-Left…?" he echoed. "But… but she never… She would have told us! I-I never thought she'd want to stay there!"

"Stay where?" Runningwind wondered, his tone sharp. The lean warrior was on his paws. "What's going on?" Ashpaw flinched guiltily, and Tinyclaw felt a flash of sympathy for the apprentice – he'd never meant to betray Cloudpaw's secret.

"Go back to your supper," Tinyclaw soothed Ashpaw. "There's no need for secrets any more. Please. I will tell everyone what has happened." The last thing he wanted was for poor Ashpaw to have to tell the whole Clan he'd lost his littermate to the life of a kittypet. Let me bear that shame – I bear so much of the responsibility already.

"I just… can't believe she's really gone and done it," Ashpaw murmured. His eyes were pools of misery. "I'll really miss her." He turned and plodded back to the apprentice's den. Tinyclaw had a feeling Ashpaw wouldn't be feeling very hungry.

"Where has Cloudpaw gone?" Runningwind demanded, when Ashpaw was gone. Tinyclaw turned to face the warrior.

There was no real strength in his voice anymore. Tinyclaw replied, "She has gone to live a kittypet's life." Each word stung like a blow – but what else could he say? The entire Clan had watched Cloudpaw grow fat off of kittypet food. No one would believe she had been taken against her will, even if her cries for help echoed in Tinyclaw's ears.

Runningwind only frowned. "Some cats will only be too happy to hear that," he muttered.

Tinyclaw glanced around and saw Ashpaw with the other apprentices. They were huddled together, tails low at the news. Then, Brightpaw darted off to the elder's den. Longtail saw his apprentice scurry, and got to his paws to follow, his long, striped tail flicking back and forth. Tinyclaw sighed.

"Are you going to let them spread the news?" Runningwind wondered. "Are you going to at least tell Tigerstar yourself?"

Tinyclaw muttered, "Too late." It had only taken a moment in the elder's den. Once Brightpaw had spread the news to the elders, whom were so close to Cloudpaw, Smallear was up and out, heading for Tigerstar's den. Longtail was following.

"You should speak to the Clan, at least!" Sandstorm hissed. "Tell them what really happened!"

Tinyclaw could only give her a sorrowful look. "Even if I wanted to, there's no point in hiding the truth. Cloudpaw rejected this life the moment she started taking food from Twolegs. There's nothing I can do to convince the Clan that she didn't just walk into their arms."

Yet Tinyclaw couldn't help but be a little frustrated – Tigerstar was having a peaceful night, for once, and thanks to Smallear and Longtail, his evening would be disturbed. Yet the more he thought on it, he was more frustrated with Cloudpaw – not the Clan.

"You might as well eat, then," Sandstorm sighed. Her tone was gentle – but no matter how much Tinyclaw wanted to curl up to her and eat, he had no appetite now. The news was spreading around the camp now, thanks to the elder's loose tongues, and he could only meet the stares of his Clanmates scattered around the clearing.

Runningwind's tail flicked against Tinyclaw's flank. "Look out," he grunted.

Longtail was approaching, unable to hide the swagger in his step. He stopped before Tinyclaw, his pale eyes beaming, and said haughtily, "Tigerstar wants to see you!"

Tinyclaw only sighed. He got to his paws and made his way to Tigerstar's den, cursing Longtail's big mouth all the way. At least it wasn't Darkstripe, he thought. Darkstripe would never have let me live this down.

He hesitated at the entrance. Tigerstar's mood swings were so unpredictable – what if this news had put him into one of his bad moods? What if he saw Cloudpaw's leaving as a sign that none of his warriors would be loyal? The thoughts tumbled in his head until a sharp growl came from inside:

"Come in Tinyclaw," Tigerstar growled. "I smell you lurking out there!"

Tinyclaw flinched, but he entered regardless. He tried to put up his best front, but the sight of Tigerstar and Whitestorm sitting tall together, their pale eyes boring into him, only made Tinyclaw sigh again. His ears twitched.

"Seeing if I was hungry indeed," rumbling Tigerstar. Tinyclaw was shocked by the amusement in his leader's mew. "You only try to feed me if you think I'm on my way to StarClan! You had me worried for rumors of my dying spreading around camp."

"I-I'm sorry," Tinyclaw responded, feeling taken aback. "I didn't want to disturb you. You seemed so… happy. I was going to tell you about Cloudpaw, I swear, but -"

"But you didn't want to spoil my mood," Tigerstar finished. Tinyclaw nodded. Tigerstar eyed him, then rumbled on, "Tinyclaw, I appreciate your concern – but I am not made of cobwebs. My moods may have been… unpredictable, but I need to know what is going on in my Clan – regardless of whether you think I'll like the news or not."

"Yes, Tigerstar," Tinyclaw agreed.

"Now, Smallear and Longtail tell me that Cloudpaw has left the Clan to live with Twolegs," Tigerstar meowed. "Did you know this would happen?"

Tinyclaw nodded. "But only recently," he explained. "I only found out the other day that Cloudpaw was visiting Twoleg nests for food."

"And you thought you could sort her out by yourself?" Tigerstar guessed.

"I should have been able to," Tinyclaw insisted. "I tried. But she…" He trailed off, acutely aware of Whitestorm's eyes on him. The old white warrior would miss nothing.

"You cannot tell a cat how their heart should feel," Tigerstar rumbled. "If her heart longed for a kittypet life, then not even StarClan could change her mind."

"I know," Tinyclaw agreed. "But it's not so simple as that." He knew there was no excusing Cloudpaw's behavior – but someone in the Clan had to know the truth of what happened. "She was taken against her will!"

Whitestorm narrowed his eyes. "Taken away?" he echoed. "How do you know this?"

"I was there when it happened," Tinyclaw explained. "I wanted to talk to her again, but she was taken by the Twolegs and stuffed into a monster. She was screaming for help the whole way! I tried to chase after her, but I couldn't catch up in time."

"But she has been accepting food from those Twolegs for some time," Tigerstar puzzled.

"Yes," Tinyclaw meowed in confusion. "But when I spoke with her, she seemed adamant about being a warrior – not a kittypet. Like getting food from Twolegs was some sort of benefit to the Clan in her eyes! Her heart seemed to be with the Clan." Tinyclaw swallowed. "I don't think she realized how far she was breaking the warrior code."

"Then are you sure that she is the type of warrior ThunderClan needs?" Tigerstar asked.

Tinyclaw swallowed again, a lump in his throat. Shame flooded over his pelt. "S-She's still young," Tinyclaw meowed, remembering Sandstorm's words. "She has the heart of a Clan cat – even if she doesn't realize it."

Tigerstar frowned, but it didn't seem like he was losing his good temper. "Tinyclaw," he meowed, "ThunderClan needs warriors like you – loyal, dependable, honest. If Cloudpaw was taken, then perhaps this was what StarClan intended. She was here long enough to find her way in our life – wherever she is, StarClan will see to it that she finds happiness."

Tinyclaw raised himself to meet Tigerstar's eyes. "Thank you, Tigerstar," he meowed. He wanted nothing more than to believe StarClan had Cloudpaw's best interests in mind when they let this happen – that they were only looking out for her, and not signaling their disapproval with the kittypet life. Yet he wasn't entirely convinced.

What he was glad for was that Tigerstar had not taken Cloudpaw's leaving as a sign that StarClan was destroying ThunderClan, one warrior at a time.

That night Tinyclaw dreamed again. He was standing atop the Great Rock, looking down at the clearing of Fourtrees. The rock was strong and ageless beneath his paws, and the wind felt as if it were lifting him up towards the stars, not pulling him down to the ground. When Redtail appeared, Tinyclaw felt it coming – along with relief that the tortoiseshell warrior stayed rather than disappearing so suddenly like last time.

"Tinyclaw," the former deputy meowed. His voice was so close that Tinyclaw could have imagined them standing side by side – but when Tinyclaw looked, there was no Redtail.

"Redtail?" Tinyclaw wondered. Where was he?

"Tinyclaw," Redtail went on, his voice quiet and stern in Tinyclaw's ear. "Beware an enemy that seems to sleep."

Tinyclaw's chest tightened. What? "What do you mean?" he asked the wind. "What enemy?"

"Beware!"

Tinyclaw jerked awake in the darkness. All around him were the sounds of cats sleeping in the warrior's den, dark mounds highlighted by dim moonlight filtering through the leaves of the den. He pushed himself up and weaved his way out of the den, careful to not disturb the other warriors.

Beware an enemy who seems to sleep. Redtail's words were jarring around in Tinyclaw's mind, loud and insistent. A warning, clearly – but of what? It didn't take long for Tinyclaw's mind to come up with two options – Bluefur and Darkstripe, who had all but disappeared since their exile, and the ShadowClan warriors, who were literally sleeping on ThunderClan territory right now.

The clearing brought silvery moonlight down onto Tinyclaw's pelt. He could do nothing about Bluefur or Darkstripe, since he did not know where they were now – he would warn the patrols to keep a lookout in the morning, maybe send an extra cat or two out with the regular parties for the next few days. But the ShadowClan warriors… Tinyclaw took his paws to the medicine cat's den. He could try and ease his mind on that front at least before he went to bed.

How could I have let them stay? He hissed to himself. Bats flitted between the trees up above. Occasionally an owl hooted. Tinyclaw slipped into the medicine cat's den, keeping his paws quiet. I trust Brackenfur, yes – but those warriors could be up to anything! Brackenfur's heart was just too kind to worry about that sort of thing.

Yellowfang's snores echoed through the clearing from inside her den in the crack in the rock – but Brackenfur was sleeping soundly outside, his injured leg sticking out awkwardly. Tinyclaw gently prodded his former apprentice. "Brackenfur!" he hissed.

Brackenfur was awake immediately. "Yes?" he wondered.

"Are you certain that you've cured the ShadowClan warriors?" Tinyclaw kept his voice low, though he knew Yellowfang could not hear them outside her den.

Brackenfur's expression twisted into frustration. "Yes," he meowed tersely. "They will need a little more time, but -"

"They need to go," Tinyclaw insisted, interrupting the medicine cat. "As soon as possible."

Brackenfur eyed Tinyclaw. "What is with this urgency?" he wondered tiredly. "Tinyclaw, they're recovering, but they're not completely cured yet. And I'm fine, too. What is this about?"

Tinyclaw frowned. "I had a dream," he meowed.

Brackenfur's face turned serious. "A dream," he echoed.

"Redtail came to me, and said to beware an enemy that seems to sleep," Tinyclaw explained. If any cat could understand the importance of this dream, it would be Brackenfur – who placed so much faith in StarClan's messages himself. What else could these dreams be? "I intend to bolster the patrols tomorrow morning to keep a lookout for Bluefur and Darkstripe but the only other threat I can think of is the ShadowClan warriors."

"He told you no more?" Brackenfur asked – but he did not wait for an answer. "No, of course not. StarClan are often vague." He shuffled in his nest. "Very well," he meowed.

Tinyclaw was stunned. "Very well what?" Have I won just like that? He wondered.

"I will see to it that the ShadowClan warriors leave tomorrow," Brackenfur meowed.

"Thank you," Tinyclaw breathed.

Brackenfur shot him a stern look that made Tinyclaw bite down on his relief. "I will see that they leave, but know this, Tinyclaw – I take no pleasure in possibly turning them back to their deaths. ShadowClan is rife with that sickness, and it's likely that my work will be undone."

"But you'll teach them the cure, won't you?" Tinyclaw wondered.

"I will do my best to," Brackenfur meowed, "yes."

"Then thank you," Tinyclaw meowed, gratitude brimming in his voice.

Brackenfur frowned. "I hope Redtail is right."

"He too often is," Tinyclaw meowed quietly.

The silence stretched between them. An owl hooted outside before Brackenfur stretched and curled himself back up into his nest. "Go back to your den, Tinyclaw. I will ensure that the ShadowClan warriors leave as soon as I can – but you should get back to sleep before Sandstorm misses you."

Tinyclaw flicked his ear. "Sandstorm?" he repeated.

Brackenfur shot Tinyclaw a wry look. "Surely you've noticed that she is as fond of you as you are her?" he mewed with amusement. "You can't be that blind."

Tinyclaw swallowed, heat flooding his pelt. Sandstorm, fond of him? Sure, she respected him like any other warrior, but… She moved her nest closer to mine, he thought frantically, his mind buzzing. And she hunts with me and the things she says and how she acts… How she reacted when I snapped at her! Oh StarClan. His gut roiled. Is she really… fond of me…?

Brackenfur chuckled, "Good night, Tinyclaw."