"I think Crowpaw wants to join WindClan."
Feathertail jerked her head toward Squirrelpaw, surprised at her announcement.
"What?" Her voice was hushed, her breath heavy. They were walking again, closer to the center of the WindClan warriors. Squirrelpaw glanced at the warrior.
"He keeps talking to me – and Leafpaw, but both of us, and he's being weirdly nice." She continued, "I think he's scared."
"Why Leafpaw?" Squirrelpaw made sense but why not go to Feathertail or the others? The apprentice shrugged.
"She's my sister?" Squirrelpaw suggested, "I mean, you and Stormfur weren't originally with us since we all reconnected and he's scared of Brambleheart." Feathertail nodded. This just made her more worried for the TigerClan apprentice.
This just made Feathertail feel angrier at Tawnyclaw. Her reassurances had meant nothing already but this just solidified it more. No matter how truthful the other she-cat was, she was not the one in charge.
"We should talk to Firestar," Squirrelpaw hissed into the warrior's ear, glancing at Bounceheart, who was just ahead of them. "He'll help a cat in danger!" Feathertail stiffened at the apprentice's optimism.
"I don't know," Feathertail meowed. Firestar did not seem to be in a place right now to trust anyone from TigerClan, not to mention welcome them into their Clan.
"Why not?" Squirrelpaw gave the warrior an incredulous look. She spoke as they started up a sheer ledge. "Firestar is a kind cat – he would help a cat in need. He already has!"
"It's not –" Feathertail cut herself off, hissing a curse. They had gotten up and she was panting more than before. Squirrelpaw's eyes widened.
"Let's rest." Feathertail shook her head.
"Squirrelpaw, I'm – fine." She took a deep breath.
"Feathertail, rest." Attention went to Cloudtail, who had been just behind them. He touched his tail to the younger warrior's side. "There's no shame in it – it'll be a way before all of WindClan is up."
Feathertail's ears went back but she stepped aside, crouching as Squirrelpaw sat next to her. Cloudtail continued and Feathertail looked at her paws. She did not want to see the looks her Clanmates gave her as they passed. The conversation she and Squirrelpaw had was certainly over for now.
"Feathertail." She looked up at Mistyfoot's voice. The warrior moved to her side, wrapping her tail around her paws as she crouched. "Are you alright?"
"She just got winded," Squirrelpaw responded. Feathertail gritted her teeth.
Mistyfoot nodded. "Do you want me to stay with you?"
"We're just going to continue with Stormfur," Feathertail replied. "You don't need to."
"You're not troubling me," The older warrior assured her. "Do you want me to stay?" After a moment, Feathertail shook her head. This ledge was small and Squirrelpaw was already with her.
Mistyfoot licked her ear before stepping back. Feathertail watched after her.
She rose as Stormfur came across them. Her brother purred fretfully as the she-cats moved to him. "Are you alright?" He asked.
"I'm fine," She insisted. "Just needed to rest." She looked ahead, ignoring the cats behind them as she recognized Leopardstar was near. "Let's go."
They continued on, further across the mountains. There was a pause as a deep sound came from the valley below.
Warriors froze. Feathertail could smell fear in the air as she recognized that sound. It was as haunting as it was when they had first heard it on their way home.
That was a wolf howling.
"Let's keep moving," Stormfur glanced over his shoulder at the TigerClan warriors as he raised his voice. "It can't get us here."
Warriors turned as a commotion came from behind. Feathertail's eyes widened, alarmed as Squirrelpaw darted back, weaving between the off-put warriors. She shot Stormfur a look, starting toward the enemy warriors. They could not leave her alone.
"Keep moving," Stormfur looked at a warrior. "Just – move past us." The look the tom gave the littermates made Feathertail's skin crawl. He stepped ahead.
"I can get him," Squirrelpaw was speaking as they made their way through. They weren't quite at the commotion but could see what was happening. Feathertail followed where others were looking.
A ginger kit had fallen down the side about two fox lengths. He had landed on a small ridge. A tortoiseshell queen's fur was on end, a dark tabby dangling from her jaws, and another kit between her legs. Squirrelpaw blinked at her, "It's going to be too small for a grown warrior – I can get him. Just, pull me back up."
The queen looked to Leopardstar, who seemed startled by the WindClan apprentice. The RiverClan leader nodded.
"Yes," She looked to her warriors. "She knows the mountains better than us – she can do it." Feathertail held her breath as Squirrelpaw began her descent.
Rocks tumbled and the kit curled himself closer to the cliff as she slid down.
Squirrelpaw made it to the small ledge. She had to be talking to the kit because there was a pause before she grabbed its scruff. She took a step back, looking back up at the enemy warriors. Leopardstar exchanged words with a ShadowClan cat and they both looked down. Squirrelpaw braced herself before she sprang.
The apprentice grabbed onto the mountainside, holding herself close to the wall. Her tail was pressed against the rocks as she pulled herself part of the way up. Feathertail let out a breath as she was pulled up.
"Stars," Stormfur's voice was at Feathertail's ear as both watched the apprentice. "She's really grown, hasn't she?"
He was right, Feathertail realized. Squirrelpaw was not the kit that had followed them two moons ago.
"Yeah, she has."
Brambleheart yelped as paws slammed into his side. He jerked around, surprised. Squirrelpaw dropped part of a hare haunch as she demanded, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"You finally escaped Firestar?" They had stopped for the night and everyone had heard about Squirrelpaw's triumph with the TigerClan kit. Last Brambleheart had seen, Firestar had been fussing over his daughter. The warrior swatted her away. "Tell you what?"
"About Stormfur and you!" She lay at his side, "I had to hear from Feathertail." Oh, Brambleheart was surprised. Why did she care? "Stormfur told her but you didn't tell me."
"I don't see why it matters." Nothing had really happened. They weren't mates. Not truly.
"Because you talked," she jabbed him with her paw again. "I told you, didn't I?"
"Sure." He stuck his muzzle toward the haunch, his mouth watering at the scent. The apprentice batted his nose.
"You ate yesterday," She reminded him. "I didn't."
"I need more food than you." Despite this, he rested his head down. There was not enough food to feed everyone every day. "Did you just come over here to rub this all in my face?" He asked.
"No," Squirrelpaw took a bite. "I was talking with the others about this earlier – I think Crowpaw wants to get out of TigerClan."
"And go where?"
"With us," She answered like it was obvious. "He keeps talking to me and is being nice."
Brambleheart shifted, giving the apprentice a puzzled look. That was strange. "Does he seem alright?" He did not want Crowpaw to get hurt but joining WindClan was impractical. Not with Firestar the way he was.
"He's scared, I think." Squirrelpaw looked at the warrior, "He's talked with me and Leafpaw – we're shared a few meals now." Leafpaw? That was strange. Something about this did not sit right with the warrior.
"I was telling Feathertail, we should talk to Firestar about this."
"Maybe." Squirrelpaw shot him a look.
"Why are you both against that?" Her tail flicked. "I know Firestar isn't doing well right now but it's not like he's lost his sense."
"Crowpaw's TigerClan," Brambleheart responded. "It's difficult." The apprentice huffed.
"We don't know unless we try." The warrior was silent for a moment. Something about this sat wrong with him.
"Why'd he talk to just you?" Brambleheart asked. Squirrelpaw shrugged.
"I've been around, unlike Stormfur and Feathertail and it's not like he trusts you." Something sunk low in the warrior's belly.
"Yeah, I suppose so." Squirrelpaw eyed him.
"He really can't shake his association with Tigerstar with you," she commented. "It's weird, I think his whole thing with Tawnyclaw is different than with Tigerstar. It should be with you too – it's not your fault he looks like you."
"It can be a hard thing to shake," Brambleheart's answer came out low. "It's not his fault he can't – sometimes cats get stuck. And, technically, I think it's that I look like him. Tigerstar came first, after all."
"No, it's not." Brambleheart turned to her, surprised. "Not for me," she meowed, "I've known you longer, therefore he looks like you. You don't look like him." Brambleheart's chest warmed at her words. He chuckled.
"Thanks, Squirrelpaw."
Leafpaw glanced over to Squirrelpaw and Brambleheart as Crowpaw set the hunk of fish down.
Blue eyes looked up at her.
"Thanks," She mewed. This was strange but he had been fine when they had eaten with Squirrelpaw before.
"Sure." They both settled. Leafpaw glanced at the surrounding warriors. No one was presently paying attention to them. She hoped Firestar would not notice. He was already frazzled after Squirrelpaw today.
Leafpaw glanced at the dark gray apprentice as he started the chew his bit of trout. His nose had scrunched up. "Is it that bad?" The medicine cat asked tentatively, swallowing her own.
"When we were with Purdy in Twolegplace," Crowpaw muttered, swallowing his bite. "We caught these golden fish – they were much worse than this." He eyed the trout, "It's not bad, considering. Do you like fish?" Crowpaw looked up at the tabby.
"It's not my favorite, but I grew up with it," She replied. She had heard about those gold fish before. How strange it was, but she knew trout when she saw them. "I like it well enough. My…mother's not a fan, though."
"She's ThunderClan," Crowpaw pointed out. "They don't eat fish."
"Graystripe likes it well enough." Leafpaw meowed, "And we're all WindClan now." Crowpaw looked like he wanted to say something but stopped, shrugging.
"Everyone's got different tastes."
"What do you like?" Leafpaw asked after too long of a pause. "Hare? Rabbit?" The TigerClan apprentice glanced at her.
"Actually," His voice was low. "During late newleaf, we hunt lapwings – they're these birds that nest on the moors." Leafpaw looked at him, surprised. She had not expected this. "When I was a kit, my mother would head out on the moors and catch them for me." His voice had shifted, "We don't hunt them any other time but they were good."
"Oh," Leafpaw had heard of these before from her Clanmates. "I didn't mean to assume." The tom shrugged.
"I see where you get that from." Leafpaw opened her mouth, making to respond when a voice called out.
"Crowpaw!" Terror came across the other apprentice's face. Leafpaw followed his gaze over to a dark tom. The warrior spoke lowly, "Come here."
Crowpaw did not say a word, rising to his paws. The fear was gone from his face as he headed over. Leafpaw watched after him until he disappeared into the crowd.
She carefully picked up what was left of the fish, a shudder running down her spine as she stepped toward her Clanmates.
"What is wrong with you?"
Crowpaw's tail tucked between his legs as he crouched. Harsh amber eyes glared down at him, "Could you be more obvious?"
"I was trying to do as you told me," Crowpaw began. Claws dug into his side and the apprentice fell silent. It was dark now. After Mudclaw had called him over, he had been brought before Tigerstar. They were away from the Clans.
"What you were doing was bringing attention to yourself." Crowpaw had to force his pelt flat as the TigerClan leader growled. "If the kittypet had noticed, everything would be compromised."
"I'm sorry." Crowpaw cleared his throat as his words almost came out as a squeak. Claws dug deeper into the gray tom's side. His heartbeat quickened.
"You'll do better in the future." Relief filled Crowpaw. He was going to live? "Remember, you've brought this upon yourself." The apprentice nodded. Claws tore down his side.
"What happened?" Tawnyclaw eyed the wound on Crowpaw's side. It was no longer bleeding but the scratches were obvious. As he did not respond – Tigerstar had told him no one was to know of this, Tawnyclaw continued. "Who did this?"
"Tigerstar." The warrior sighed, her tail flicking.
"Don't do whatever it is you did again." Green eyes narrowed at him, "And if it's anyone else, tell them that I want to speak with them first, okay?" The apprentice nodded.
"Yes, Tawnyclaw."
"Yeah," Brambleheart looked ahead again. "We took this path heading back to the old territories – we'll be walking through forest soon enough. It took us about a day and a half to get to here." Mothwing's ears were pricked as she looked to where he had indicated. They had left the colony three days ago and the end of the mountains was in sight! It was morning, they were about to set out.
"Did you all happen to see anything which would work as territories?" Goldenflower asked. Brambleheart shook his head.
"The mountains are about half a days walk from the sun-drown-place," he explained. "We'll have to veer off away from Twolegplace – see what we can find over there." He indicated with his tail.
"How will we know when we've found it?" Mothwing asked. "You haven't gotten a sign, have you?" She had not heard anything from Tawnyclaw. Brambleheart looked at her, shrugging.
"Maybe based on how it looks?" He suggested, "Or we'll get a sign from StarClan later. I don't know. Midnight just said that there is certainly a place." Goldenflower nodded.
"Brambleheart!" Mothwing turned at the sound of Rusty's voice. He stopped in his steps a few fox lengths away, Leafpaw had followed him over. He was tense and Mothwing realized he was not looking at Brambleheart. Rather, at Goldenflower.
Brambleheart hurried over to the enemy warrior, pressing against him as he moved around him. Goldenflower was stiff, looking back at Rusty.
"Goldenflower," Rusty began. She interrupted.
"I'll talk to you later, Brambleheart." She started to step away and Mothwing followed her lead.
"Wait – I owe you a lot more, but let me give an apology." Mothwing turned back to the leader, shocked by his tone. Leafpaw was looking up at her father and Brambleheart had stopped behind him, his nose pressed against the older tom's shoulder. "Please."
The older queen regarded Rusty. "There's nothing you can do now." Her voice was low.
"I know," He replied. "I had a scare with my daughters when they were kits," He looked at Leafpaw. "Nothing could make me forgive what had happened and I am not asking for forgiveness." He turned back to the warrior.
"I apologize for the pain I put you through. However, I do not apologize for my actions." Mothwing's eyes widened, what did that mean? "He's grown into a brilliant warrior – a fantastic cat. I'm proud of him." Rusty dipped his head to the enemy warrior, "And I hope he is someone you can be proud of, too."
Brambleheart was looking at Rusty, surprise lighting up his amber gaze. Goldenflower's face was still hardened. "I am proud of him," She answered, stepping away.
Mothwing followed her lead, realizing for the first time that the conversation had garnered more attention from surrounding warriors. She paused in her step as Hawktalon came to her side.
"Can you believe that?" Shock lit up his icy blue eyes.
"He was…" She trailed off. Rusty had seemed sincere. Mothwing almost wanted to believe him.
"He's full of it!" Hawktalon's tail lashed. "If he truly cared about Brambleheart in any way, he would not have taken him from his kin, twice."
"Right," Mothwing shook her head. "Of course."
They were stumbling now but Leafpaw's heart quickened as they moved down the last mountain.
This was it. They were through the mountains.
They would need to actually find a home, of course, but this was the hardest part. The ground seemed to level and Leafpaw slowed in her step, looking at the green canopy above. "Wow," She breathed. "It's not much different, is it?"
"There are some differences," Squirrelpaw replied. Leafpaw looked at her sister, whose tail was bristling excitedly. "Certainly – you'll come to see."
"How far until the sun-drown-place?" Leafpaw asked. The ginger she-cat nodded ahead.
"You saw that open space, right? That leads right up to the sun-drown-place," She explained. The sun was low in the sky. Squirrelpaw trotted ahead. "Come on," She meowed. "There'll be meetings soon – they'll want us." Leafpaw nodded, following after her sister.
The Clans stopped. Leafpaw headed over to the other medicine cats as Squirrelpaw headed to the journeying cats. There was an excitement in the air that had not been there before.
Their journey was almost done.
