The River
Hollypaw wakes up one sunrise with the kind of hunger that can't be satisfied.
She comes up at sunup when Lionpaw slops beside her, soaking wet. The oaf's nest is supposed to be on the apprentice den's other side, but apparently, old habits from the nursery die hard. They haven't even been apprentices for a moon, yet Lionpaw has already shoved his nest flat against hers, leaving her with no reprieve from his snoring or wet hide.
"You're getting my fur wet, Lionpaw," she mumbles in an attempt to get him to move. That fails, and Hollypaw turns in her nest frantically to escape her brother, rolling over to the other side of her nest.
"Sorry," Lionpaw meows back.
Hollypaw cocks one of her eyes open and looks at her brother. Somehow, he's wide awake already and covered in rainwater.
What has he been doing outside this early?
"Did the rain wake you up?" Cinderpaw mews from her other side. A deep yawn splits her muzzle as everyone begins to start their sunrise.
"No, my brother," she meows. "The bee-brain has already gotten himself wet."
"Hey! I resent that statement! My brain is only half made of bees," yips Lionpaw. They all hear the smile in his voice, and as such, Hollypaw only rolls her eyes.
"Don't come inside when you're soaked!" she meows, already trying to groom her unpleasantly wet fur. Her right side is sprinkled with cold rain droplets, and she can't shake her pelt dry inside the apprentices' den.
Hollypaw flicks her tail, signaling that she isn't going to hear Lionpaw's reply, and then stretches her paws outwards. Her limbs feel achy, and the cloudiness in her mind isn't just from using her power. There's nothing to it; she needs to start her sunrise. Brackenfur is waiting for her.
The rain lets up, stopping during the moonrise. Still, the stone hollow remains muddy, slick drops of water covering everything. Luckily, the dens, shrouded in carved-out stone, remain dry.
Lionpaw was definitely up to something last moonhigh.
Hollypaw pushes herself out of the apprentices' den and into the wet-smelling air. Before she starts her sunrise, she needs food, and the freshkill pile is piled high, though it hasn't been spared from the rain. Cinderpaw follows her out with the same intent.
"Ugh, who dipped all the fresh prey in mud water?" Cinderpaw complains.
"A little water and mud never hurt anyone's whiskers," Hollypaw meows back. The wren she grabs from the pile is soaking wet, and she hides her grimacing teeth behind its feathers. Despite setting an example, she still taps Cinderpaw with her tail to hurry up with her pick, waiting for her to grab a fat squirrel.
They awkwardly settle outside the apprentice den to avoid the wet dirt and stone. Hollypaw waits for the sun to come out before sticking her head out. She and all of her Clanmates have been dealt a soggy paw. Lionpaw, still bouncing with energy inside the apprentice den, finally leaves with a cute tail flick. His limitless energy is almost enough to convince her he wasn't sneaking out of camp during the moonrise. Almost.
"Any idea what your brother was up to?" Cinderpaw meows, her ears perking up after their comfortable silence.
"I have no idea. I want to find out, though," Hollypaw meows back. She wants to know if he's found a way to get extra hunting or combat practice. It wouldn't be the first time he had snuck out over the moonrise - they'd done it together before.
"We should ask him," Cinderpaw meows. "I'm sure he'll tell us if we ask."
He better.
"We'll follow him tonight when he sneaks out." She spots her mentor in the stone hollow. Brackenfur is waiting for her near the camp entrance, finishing his morning vigil. It's about time for her hunting patrol.
Cinderpaw is about to speak up when Hollypaw leaps out and begins to make her way across the clearing. Hollypaw gives a turn of the head and yells back, "I'll see you tonight, Cinderpaw!"
"You forgot to clean up after yourself!" Cinderpaw yowls. Hollypaw doesn't hear her as she's already halfway across the clearing. "Oh, forget it!"
As Hollypaw crosses the clearing, she sees Firestar conversing with Cloudtail and Spiderleg over sunhigh patrols. Midway through, Firestar pauses, and while Cloudtail and Spiderleg are distracted, he stares at her. Hollypaw gives him a quick ear flick, but she doesn't see his response as Brackenfur catches her and meows: "Good morning, Hollypaw. Are you ready to go on a hunting patrol?"
"Yeah. Clanmates need to be fed," she meows, eager to return to the territory. She'll visit Jaypaw when she gets back to ensure he's doing alright and then wait for Lionpaw to sneak out during moonrise.
Brackenfur gives a curt nod and smiles. "Excellent. We'll follow the old thunderpath up north and carve around the territory to sweep up prey. We'll sharpen up your hunting crouch throughout the journey."
It's going to be a good sunrise.
At sunhigh, Hollypaw finishes hunting and sparring for her Clan. Despite Tigerstar's broken promises to train her, she excels at it.
By sundown, everyone knows about Daisy's cough. Hollypaw realizes she has the perfect excuse to visit Jaypaw and wastes no time padding toward the medicine den.
She steps into another world, past the brambled entrance that muffles sound and gets blasted by stuffy, herby air. Every crevice is stuffed with plants, seeds, and berries – none of which Hollypaw has a name for – and she ignores it all for the smoothed-out rock that Daisy is resting on, fast asleep. Daisy reeks of a sickness that, combined with the miasma of the medicine den, creates a scent that is whisker-curling. She has no idea how Jaypaw deals with it.
Past the stench, she tastes the air for Leafpool. Her eyes flit around the darkness, but don't spot her.
"Hollypaw. Leafpool is out right now," Jaypaw meows from the back corner of the cave. "She's collecting some plants. She'll be back later. She didn't trust me to do it myself."
Hollypaw shuts her mouth, watching Jaypaw sort some sort of herb. She shuffles on her paws, swallowing her pride, and forces a friendly mew, "Happy dusk, Jaypaw. Is Daisy okay?"
"Minor case of whitecough. She'll be fine," he rasps with a scowl. "What did you what?"
"Do you know what Lionpaw has been up to recently? He came in earlier today all wet from the rain," Hollypaw asks, ignoring Jaypaw's terminal grumps. Clearly, Leafpool wasn't enough.
"One of Lionpaw's denmates might know, so maybe Foxpaw, or Icepaw, or… wait, yourself," Jaypaw sarcastically answers, moving a rabbit-length further away from her. He'll become part of the wall if he moves farther from Hollykit. "Now, you'll excuse me. I need to sort these herbs." In the darkness, she can see that the berries he's looking at are perfectly sorted.
Hollypaw glares, grinding her teeth. "How many times have you sorted those berries? You're just trying to get rid of me." She flicks her tail in agitation and the back of her neck spikes.
Jaypaw rolls his eyes, a gesture he stole from her. "Like I have anything else to do here. Leafpool does most of the work. Can't have the blind apprentice wandering through the territory, can we?"
"You stepped down!" she complains. "I gave you a chance to become a warrior before you tossed it away!" I gave you a chance, and you gave it up.
"Like I had a choice!" Jaypaw hisses back. "You're not the only one with 'Starclan powers,' and Starclan wanted me to be right here."
"You can choose to not listen to them!" she replies, hearing the blasphemous comment from her lips. She adds: "Starclan can't be forcing you to become a medicine cat."
"This coming from you?" Jaypaw scoffs. "Miss Warrior Code? Disrespecting Starclan?"
Daisy on the floor stirs, and the two quiet down in response. Hackles lowering in forced silence. Hollypaw waits for Jaypaw to give the signal. "She's asleep," he meows after a heartbeat, allowing the conversation to continue.
We shouldn't be screeching at each other.
"I'm sorry. We shouldn't be arguing. I've… been grumpy recently," Hollypaw mews. She offers as an excuse, thinking of Tigerstar. "Bad dreams. After you… stepped down, I removed my power from Firestar and our parents. It didn't feel right."
Jaypaw blinks and then shakes his head like he's clearing up cobwebs in his brain. "Yeah, well, Starclan has been less than helpful recently. Leafpool and I should be traveling to the moonpool in a couple sunrises. Maybe we'll get some answers about this whole prophecy business."
"Starclan will have answers," meows Hollypaw, more conviction in her voice than she believes. "Let me know when they tell us what we're supposed to do." Jaypaw's tail crinkles, and Hollypaw knows he's mad at her.
"I'll keep an eye out on Lionpaw. He's up to something, and we still don't know his power yet," she continues, trying to get Jaypaw's mind off to other things. The prophecy is the most important thing, and Jaypaw is the only one able to find the answers. Tigerstar might know, but she isn't planning on telling her nightly friends about the prophecy.
"If Lionpaw has powers, we're all doomed," Jaypaw jokes with a sneer. "The lump of fur wouldn't know what to do with himself."
"Don't be such a fox-heart to your brother," Hollypaw meows. She kneads the ground in frustration. Jaypaw can't leave it alone for even a heartbeat.
"Tell me again when he becomes less of a pain in the tail," meows Jaypaw. He turns away from her and heads deeper into the den. He can't hide, but it's an apparent end to the discussion.
Hollypaw breathes deeply to calm herself and chokes on the scent of herbs. It's gross. She gave Jaykit a chance to be a warrior, and he decided to become a medicine cat instead. If he also wanted to have the personality of a badger for the rest of his life, that was his choice.
Jaypaw's dug his own grave.
Things don't go well with Lionpaw.
At moonhigh, her brother sneaks out of camp, and Hollypaw immediately tails him. He's not getting additional training, evidenced by the Windclan border she's forced to skirt. The receding treeline gives way to the moor, parse grass, and Windclan smell.
She almost loses Lionpaw's scent trail multiple times. She considers tagging him with her power solely to keep an eye on him, but his complete immunity ruins that idea. More evidence that Lionpaw has a power of his own.
She finds them in the cave.
The entrance is concealed, but the scents give it away: her brother and a Windclan molly she doesn't recognize. Loose rocks hide the entrance, but Hollypaw climbs and slips into the darkness. The tunnel opens up and stretches down into a significant slope. Stalagmites and stalactites are everywhere, but there's still a lot of room to run around. Dim light comes from somewhere above.
"I challenge you, deputy, to a duel! Only the finest warriors can serve Darkclan!"
"I live to serve Heatherstar!" Lionpaw meows. He tumbles into a lithe, light brown tabby with claws sheathed, and the two roll across the stone floor in a mock fight. Their laughter splits the cavern.
"What are you two doing!" hisses Hollypaw. Hot anger overcomes herself, knowing her brother willingly breaks the Warrior Code. "Lionpaw, are you playing with a Windclan apprentice?" The question is rhetorical. Hollypaw already knows what her brother has been up to.
There's a heartbeat's pause as the two realize they have a guest before there's a rapid untangling of limbs and feet. They take position on the bottom of Hollypaw's descending slope. Lionpaw pulls his ears back in shame before the Windclan molly smacks him the ear, leveling Hollypaw with her own glare and spiked fur. Lionpaw pulls himself up tall and puffs out his chest. She can see the Windclan apprentice riling him up.
"Heatherpaw and I are friends! Which is allowed!" he meows. "You followed me out here! That's breaking the rules as well!"
"You're the one sneaking out of camp at night. Not exactly subtle," Hollypaw meows back. She's on equal footing with him now, having reached the cavern's floor, and she matches his bulky frame in height.
She stares him right in the eyes so that he gets this next part.
"You're a Code Breaker, Lionpaw. You can't be meeting Windclan apprentices!"
Finally, Heatherpaw speaks up. "We were just having fun. If Thunderclan's apprentices didn't have bees for brains, they would know you can have friendships outside your Clan."
Heatherpaw reminds Hollypaw of a badger and presses against her brother like she's already his mate. It boils Hollypaw's blood.
"My brother is sneaking out at night to be with you! If that somehow isn't a violation of the spirit of the Warrior Code, then I don't know what is," she hisses back. Heatherpaw is already getting on her nerves.
"Heatherpaw is my friend," Lionpaw mews. "Stop trying to manage everything I do. Are you trying to call me disloyal to Thunderclan 'cause I've made a friend?"
You don't need friends.
Hollypaw sucks in air through the nose – that's Tigerstar - and lets it go with a deep breath. She shouldn't be listening to advice from her dead grandfather and, in an attempt at peace, tries to release her anger and bristling coat.
"Fine," she mews, "but warriors don't typically have friends from other Clans. What are you going to do when we grow up? When you're enemies fighting over the border?" She knows her brother well enough to know that he wouldn't have thought this through. "That's why you shouldn't be meeting Heatherpaw."
"We'll be fine," meows Heatherpaw. "At moonhigh, we'll visit each other in these caves, and during the sunrise, we'll be loyal warriors to our clans. Stop being such a badger."
"You're the one being such a badger!" meows Hollypaw. She turns to look at Heatherpaw, and the Windclan apprentice gives her a death glare. Hollypaw is twitchy and angry, and Hollypaw is tempted to shut Heatherpaw up with her powers. Instead, she settles for ordinary persuasion. "You're the one who's a bad influence on my brother. If you get caught meeting Lionpaw, it'll be war. Windclan nor Thunderclan would stand for it."
Heatherpaw just snorts, carrying her disrespect in the whiskers. "Yeah, so what?"
The uncaring attitude of Heatherpaw shocks Hollypaw. The casual disregard for the lives lost at battle. "The last thing we want is a war between Thunderclan and Windclan. A battle between the two would be bloody," she meows as if it's obvious. The Windclan apprentice has fox-dung for brains. Hollypaw almost can't wait to see her on a border patrol, a chance to beat some sense between her ears.
"Save me the lecture. I get that enough from my own mentor. What does a thundercat know about war anyway? All the Clans know that Firestar is a pacifist," Heatherpaw growls as if it's an insult. Her grandfather knew an honorable warrior didn't need to kill to win battles.
"My brother is a Thunderclan apprentice!"
"Hollypaw! Heatherpaw! Please! Stop it!" Lionpaw butts in, trying to force himself between the two with moderate success. Both shecats hiss at him, glaring fire into each other's eyes.
…first is… defend your clan with your life, though friendships with other clans are allowed…
Hollypaw looks up at her brother, and maybe it is because it has been a long sunrise, or perhaps it's because she just came out of an argument with Jaypaw earlier, but the following words out of her mouth come with burning, righteous fury: "Your crowfood Lionpaw! You'll get caught and drag us all down with you. You and Heatherpaw have fleas for brains!"
Lionpaw flinches back like he's physically struck, and Heatherpaw hisses at her, fury under her tongue. Within the cavern's entrance, Lionpaw looks at her like she's someone else.
She regrets her comment for seasons to come. However, she can only think she would never be caught sneaking out of the camp to consort with enemies.
Then, sunrises later, Jaypaw dreams of Riverclan being in danger. He doesn't tell her all the details, but the image of cats' bodies drifting down the river into the lake is enough.
"Mosspelt and Voletooth died this dawn in their sleep," meows Minnowpaw. "Voletooth was my mentor."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Hollypaw meows. She doesn't know what else to say. How do you give your condolences to someone you've never met before? "How did he die?"
Minnowpaw digs her paws into the ground, anger obviously present. "That's the thing. No one knows. Which is a bunch of fish-guts if you ask me. Our medicine cat Mothwing says their bodies had signs of drowning, but that's ridiculous. You can't drown in your nest. So I think they're hiding something."
"I"—her head throbs, and she loses her thought. Thick strands reach from her to Minnowpaw, and more reach outwards to the border patrol members she encountered earlier. It's not enough to have strands of her power on the Riverclan deputy; she isn't wanted here.
She burns more of her power, the pool dips, and again, with it, energy is sapped from her bones. The strand attached to Minnowpaw thickens. The pain will be worth it.
Tell me more, Minnowpaw.
"Along with all the twoleg problems recently, it's been a little crazy," Minnowpaw whispers. "Leopardstar has to be hiding something. You can't tell me everyone's clueless about how two respected warriors died in the middle of moonrise."
"Twoleg problems?" Hollypaw meows, tail curling in curiosity. Riverclan warriors dying in their sleep and twolegs invading?
Minnowpaw nods excitingly. "Yeah, they've been coming into our camp recently. We're considering moving out temporarily. But don't worry, we've got it handled."
Hollypaw, for some reason, doesn't believe her.
There's a yowl from some tom behind them in the warrior's den. "Minnowpaw! You better not be telling that Thunderclan apprentice about Riverclan's secrets!"
Minnowpaw's eyes open wide like an owl. For a moment, Hollypaw thinks her power is gonna fail her. Then Minnowpaw whispers to her, "You have to promise you won't tell anyone this!"
"Of course," Hollypaw meows with conviction, "I promise." She kneads the ground and then meows: "I… can I see Mosspelt and Voleteeth? I can help." The comment sounds mouse-brained even to her.
"May all cats old enough to fish join us for a clan meeting!" yowls Leopardstar, ending Hollypaw's discussion with Minnowpaw. "We will be discussing our guest this sunhigh. Who our border patrol so graciously decided to bring to camp." Leopardstar sneers down at Hollypaw atop her fallen tree, and Hollypaw decides she doesn't like Riverclan's leader.
Minnowpaw opens her mouth, and Hollypaw's ears snap towards her, but then the Riverclan apprentice quiets down. Both of them feel Leopardstar's eyes bore into their pelts.
"A Thunderclan apprentice this far away from Thunderclan territory? We assumed that she had something important to tell us," yowls one of the warriors who had picked her up on the border. Leopardstar looks to her deputy, and Mistyfoot nods, confirming the story.
Leopardstar flicks her ear to show that she heard her warriors but otherwise turns back to Hollypaw without much gesture. "Well, what does Thunderclan have to say?" she meows. "Or did you honestly think you could just wander into our territory for a sightseeing tour? Thunderclan's apprentices have always been bold, but I did not think they had fish for brains."
The word of a Clan Leader is law.
"I came to help," Hollypaw meows, and great Starclan saying it out loud makes her sound like she has bees for brains. What was she expecting to do? Mind control the dead cats back to life? "I didn't mean to cause any problems."
Hollypaw's plan may have been short-sighted, and Hollypaw can see Leopardstar scoffing right now. "One of Thunderclan's half-breeds then has decided to stick her nose in places she doesn't belong. As if Riverclan can't handle its own problems." Riverclan hisses in agreement. Hollypaw's tenuous hold over them isn't enough.
Hollypaw's temper flares, her fur bristles, and she hisses: "My brothers and I aren't halfbreeds—" distantly we are, "—and two of your warriors died last moonrise!"
There's a shift in Leopardstar's stance that Hollypaw can't make out. Jaypaw would know, and Hollypaw now regrets not bringing him. He would've liked to come. Probably. The doubt paralyzes her.
Leopardstar sneers. "My dead warriors are of no concern for a Thunderclan apprentice. You can believe a ghost murdered them if you wish. My medicine cat will identify the real cause of death, which neither you nor Thunderclan will be privy to."
"You expect me to sit idly by when two cats have been murdered?" Hollypaw meows.
There's hiss nearby in the crowd, and Hollypaw can feel the tension in the air raise itself. Riverclan doesn't want foreign apprentices talking about murder. Hollypaw takes a moment to remind herself she's in an unfamiliar territory, surrounded by hostile warriors, and that she's still an apprentice.
"Yes, I do," Leopardstar meows. "Reedwhisker and Beechfur, watch her and make sure she doesn't wander off. Thunderclan will owe us a favor for finding their lost kit. Riverclan is dismissed."
Flanked by Reedwhisker and Beechfur, they pull her towards the warriors' den, and it's with trepid relief that she realizes the two warriors are the ones she meant earlier on the border patrol, who have thin strands attached to them. She has to get back to Thunderclan.
Minnowpaw waves and cheers her a "Goodbye!" before doing the wise thing and deciding to take her chances elsewhere. Hollypaw gives her a kind tail flick in response. They'll see each other again.
Between Beachfur and Reewhisker, Hollypaw is the first to speak. "I should probably head home now—" She immediately regrets opening her mouth when Beechfur raises his eyes questionably in response. She can do better than this. Her strands pulse, commanding them to let her go. Beechfur gives her a flick of his ear, but Reedwhisker is more responsive.
"Why are we watching this Thunderclan apprentice? Surely Leopardstar has better ways to use our time," he meows with a flicking tail and pulled-back ears that give away his agitation. Hollypaw can tell that the black tom is bristling from being in charge of a Thunderclan apprentice.
"Because the kit would get lost. And Thunderclan will owe us a favor for saving their lost apprentice," Beechfur meows back. The brown tom is seemingly unaffected by her manipulations.
"I'm right here, you know," Hollypaw meows between them. "No need to talk as if I'm not listening." The mouse-brains have no respect for her.
"We're aware."
Beechfur meows, "Now be quiet so we can pretend that we shouldn't dump you at the border of Windclan and let them tear you apart."
Reedwhisker, with a smirk, meows, "When you run back to Thunderclan, kit, you can tell them that Riverclan is going to borrow the island for a bit until these twolegs back off. I'm sure Firestar will have a fit when you tell him that."
"You're going to borrow the island?" Hollypaw meows. "That's against the Warriors Code! You can't just turn the gathering location into your camp." Forget Firestar. Hollypaw's going to have a fit.
Reedwhisker is about to reply when Beechfur silences him. She gets an ear flick from both of them, and she gets the impression that their discussion is over, along with her attempts at powered-assisted persuasion.
This whole thing is pointless. No one knows how Voleteeth and Mosspelt died, and everyone is too distracted with the twolegs to let her help. If she could look at the bodies, maybe she could figure something out, but she wouldn't have a chance now.
The sun is already descending the horizon, and Hollypaw knows she will be in massive trouble if she doesn't return to camp soon. She has to go home despite her fatigue; she already feels bone-tired, but she has to do something.
Lightning strikes her. She pulls back on all of the strands she's dispersed in Riverclan, and instead of feeling spread thin, Hollypaw feels bloated. Before any warrior can figure out that something is up, energy pooling in the back of mind, she unleashes it all onto Beechfur and Reedwhisker.
The headache remains, but when Hollypaw opens her eyes, thick strands attach to her guards. Taught fur stretches across lean muscle, blood pumping through veins, and Hollypaw feels them better than her own paws. Their minds are easy to influence.
Starclan, forgive me, but I have to return to Thunderclan…. Lead me to the edge of the camp, and then let me leave.
The prayer comes easy to her, and then she pushes her will down into Beechfur and Reedwhisker. Reedwhisker shakes his head as if clearing cobwebs and then meows, "Come on, Hollypaw. We'll show you around the camp."
Beechfur smiles and follows suit. "Let's."
They lead her around the edge of the camp, surrounded by hazel and brambles and parted by duel streams. The reed tunnel, used primarily by non-Riverclan cats and used by Mistyfoot's patrol when Hollypaw was escorted in, gleams as they approach. Hollypaw feels eyes on the back of her head, but Beechfur and Reedwhisker don't react, so she doesn't either. Needles spear her muscles - every cat not under control, a prying eye - and the journey to the reed tunnel feels like an eternity. Mere rabbit-lengths turn her into a twitching mess.
Beechfur is chatting something into her ears when she glances back and sees no one watching. She sucks in her breath and then, with twitching legs, calmly walks out of the camp.
She ducks behind the natural reeds and what hills are available and then bolts. She can feel a moment of panic from Beechfur and Reedwhisker, an odd sense of confusion that tapers out. Their actions sweep over them, but her implanted loyalty wins out.
Hollypaw's whiskers feel numb long after passing the Windclan border, where she hugs the lake's shoreline all the way home. It isn't until she crosses the Thunderclan border that she relaxes and pulls back on her strands on Beechfur and Reedwhisker. She rolls in catmint to hide her scent.
She's back, and everything is going to be okay.
"You're not leaving the apprentice den for the next moon," meows Squirrelflight.
Upon returning to the stone hollow in the evening, Mom immediately finds her. Hollypaw's fresh mouse isn't enough to trick Squirrelflight.
"You can't do that!" mews Hollypaw. "I'm not a kit anymore! Don't you need permission from Brackenfur or Firestar or even Dad?" She can't be grounded for an entire moon with a Riverclan murderer still on the loose.
"You, Hollypaw, won't tell me where you've been all sunrise. Everyone has been worried sick, and you wander back into camp in the evening without having the decency to explain," Squirrelflight meows back. Her large, bushy tail kicks up a racket, and Hollypaw can see they attract an audience.
"I—" if she tells Squirrelflight that she snuck into Riverclan, she could be in even more trouble, "—I got distracted." Hollypaw's ears pull back in shame when she catches herself in the lie. There's a face of disbelief from Squirrelflight, and Hollypaw can't blame her. Her excuse sounds weak even to herself.
"You got distracted?" Squirrelight mews. She pauses to retake Hollypaw's scent. "You smell like catmint! Oh, Starclan, don't tell me my daughter is sneaking out to see Windclan toms!" Squirrelflight's body heaves from a variety of emotions.
Indignity and embarrassment flood Hollypaw's coat, and even she can feel a blush run through her face. Only her fur, thank Starclan, saves her from even more embarrassment. "What? No!" she meows back. "I—" she breathes deeply and realizes she can't have her mother think she's consorting with Windclan toms, "—I was in Riverclan. I heard they were in trouble from Jaypaw, and I wanted to help. They didn't want any help, obviously, which is fox-dung. They've got twolegs all over their territory, and two of their warriors are dead. I'm sorry for sneaking off, but we need to help them!"
Squirrelflight's eyes pop, a loud hiss coming from her teeth, and Hollypaw can tell her mother is mad. "That's even worse, Hollypaw!" she meows, tail curling into the air. "You snuck into Riverclan to spy on them!"
"You're not listening!" Hollypaw meows. "We need to help them! Riverclan is in trouble!"
"You're in trouble!" Squirrelflight meows with exasperation, lips pulled back in a snarl. "Go back to the apprentices' den and stay there! I'll talk with Firestar about your actions, and he'll decide an appropriate punishment."
"What!" Hollypaw yowls are loud enough that their audience can hear her. "You can't do—"
"Now, Hollypaw, before you embarrass Thunderclan and me any further," Squirrelflight meows, eyes filled with disappointment. With a huff, Hollypaw turns, tail between her legs, and scurries back to the apprentice den, glancing shamefully at the muttering crowd. Lionpaw is at the apprentice den waiting for her, eyes wide open from the spectacle – having seen the whole thing. It's cold welcome back.
"You snuck out to Riverclan days after badgering me about—" he meows before cutting himself off. They both know what he's talking about.
"I'm sorry," Hollypaw meows, tail low. "I messed up. Riverclan needs help, and no one will listen to me, and now Squirrelflight, our own mother, hates me. Jaypaw is still mad at me for our argument sunrises ago, and you're mad at me for our own argument and—" She doesn't finish.
"Just…" Lionpaw mews; he pauses for a moment before continuing, "Why? Isn't this enough? Just the three of us, growing up, becoming warriors. You can save Riverclan or whatever senior warriors do when you're older."
"The prophecy states—" Hollypaw mews.
"We don't even know what the prophecy means, not even Jaypaw, and he's not getting answers from Starclan. So just… let's not get in trouble for a while, okay?" Lionpaw meows.
Hollypaw shifts to his left side, lying in the shared bed of dried moss. Dusk casts a dim light over the stone hollow, and the two are having an evening conversation alone.
"You always said I was going to do great things when we were younger," Hollypaw meows.
"Yeah, I guess it always felt distant, you know. Not you sneaking off to Riverclan during our apprenticeship. Then.. things happened," he meows, trying to dig up the words. "I thought we would've had more time."
"Time?"
"Yeah, together."
More time together sounds pretty good right now.
"Okay," she whispers, thoughts awhirl. "I'll try not to get us into trouble for the next moon."
Lionpaw snorts, but the smile on his muzzle betrays his feelings on the matter. Then, surprisingly, he's the one to pull her into a sideways hug. They smush into a giant black and golden blob for the rest of the moonrise.
They don't say much after their talk, but they don't need to.
Hollypaw knows that she'll always have her brothers.
She comes too by the river.
It curdles and bubbles like some sort of mythical marsh. The mud around it, which Hollypaw is lying in, is cold and sticky. It's nothing like Riverclan's rivers. Their rivers are clean and fast flowing, nothing like the dredge that Hollypaw can see out of the corner of her eye.
Laying on her back, Hollypaw looks up and sees the empty black sky.
"Hate this place," she mutters. Then, with a heaving pull, Hollypaw rolls to her side and onto her belly. She pushes herself to her paws. The mud reluctantly lets her go, and a sticky-sounding slurp echoes in the immediate vicinity.
Further visits to the Dark Forest have given her an appreciation for its namesake. There is no light. Only the absence of it and shadow - and in the absence of light, the trees look like looming spirits. The river beside her is so darkly lit that it seems more like a void - the darkness between the stars.
Hollypaw kneads the mud to hold herself up when she realizes she's slowly sinking. The soil isn't strong enough to hold her weight.
"You're late," meows a voice behind her. "To make up time, we'll skip the warm-up."
Hollypaw twists and spots the unfamiliar tortoiseshell that's snuck up behind her. Her amber eyes glow with a faint menace, and Hollypaw takes a slight gulp to calm her nerves.
"Tigerstar won't be training me tonight?" Hollypaw meows. Her twitching tail betrays her nerves, and Hollypaw calls herself a mouse-brain beneath her breath.
The tortoiseshell smiles. "No, Tigerstar is busy this moonrise but wishes his granddaughter could begin training. As such, I, Mapleshade, will be overseeing your training." Mapleshade pulls her over to the river's edge, close enough for Hollypaw to feel fresh water lapping at her toes. "We'll be practicing swimming. Inspired by your adventure today in Riverclan. I wish I knew how to swim properly when I was your age." Mapleshade looms over her. Everyone down here looms over her, and Hollypaw is sick of it.
"Let's try breathing exercises first," Mapleshade meows, and with a flourish; because Hollypaw lets Mapleshade get too close to her, Hollypaw's head is underwater. Mapleshade kicks Hollypaw's forelegs out from under her, and Mapleshade's left foreleg slams down onto Hollypaw's head.
The water is ice-cold, and Hollypaw gasps. She sucks up water and chokes just as her eyes begin to sting. Her scruff is pulled on before Hollypaw can regret her choices, and Mapleshade heaves her out of the water with her jaw and forelegs.
Hollypaw spits out mud water and curses, "Great Starclan! What is wrong with you?"
Mapleshade's response is muddled with her tight grip on Hollypaw, but Hollypaw can make out her words. "Hold your breath this time. I expect better."
Hollypaw is screeching out her response when Mapleshade dunks her head-first into the water again. Pinned down in the currents by Mapleshade's jaws. She remembers to hold her breath this time, and her heartbeat and stinging eyes become the only measure of how long Mapleshade holds her underwater.
Her lungs feel like they're about to burst when she's once again heaved out of the water by Mapleshade. Hollypaw is sucking in musty air when Mapleshade speaks, "Much better. This time, control your breathing and release air bubbles to last longer."
"This is torture, not training. How is Tigerstar let—" Hollypaw meows, indignation rippling through her frame, when Mapleshade dunks her again underwater.
Hollypaw spits out water and immediately realizes that she's low on air. This time, she struggles even harder. She writhes underwater, trying to find solid ground, but her forelegs sink into liquid mud. Her hindlegs kick out but connect with nothing. Mapleshade's jaws pin her down with surprising dexterity, and when she's out in the air, she realizes Mapleshade might kill her.
Sparks appear on the edge of her vision, and panicking, Hollypaw releases strands of her power onto Mapleshade. They sink in, but it's not enough to pierce the mind. Mapleshade shakes, and the strands dissipate harmlessly – the energy returns to Hollypaw, and Mapleshade notices none of this.
Just like Tigerstar.
Mapleshade pulls her out of the water at the last moment. Hollypaw gets a chance to breathe before Mapleshade mews, "Again." Hollypaw drowns.
Once again, Hollypaw realizes she has no control over anything.
With it comes not rash anger but collected fury; her wrath crystallizes, and her focus reorients itself to the here and now. She sucks up the remaining air in her lungs until it pushes against her chest and then breathes out. Slowly, bubbles form in front of her, and the burning pressure in her chest abates.
The next time Mapleshade pulls her up, Hollypaw doesn't waste time with words and just glares while sucking in the air. She imagines Mapleshade burning under her glare, but her thoughts scatter when she's thrust underwater again. The ice-cold sludge around her attempts to suck the life from her.
Even with her new focus, it's almost impossible to endure the heartbeats that Mapleshade pushes her underwater. Every time she feels like she's improving, Mapleshade goes farther, burning her lungs against the impossible river.
At some point, Mapleshade kicks out Hollypaw's hindlegs and pushes her deeper into the water. Mapleshade lies on her, an immovable rock that pushes her underwater. Mapleshade's new vantage point allows her to precisely torque Hollypaw's neck and head. Hollypaw's head never entirely leaves the water, and it's with Mapleshade's teeth on her neck she gets opportunities to stick her nose out of the water and breathe in air.
Her previous training sessions with Tigerstar are nothing compared to her first with Mapleshade.
At some point, her disguised torture ends, and Mapleshade heaves a wet, muddy sack of fur onto the shoreside. Every inch of beautiful black fur is caked in mud, and Hollypaw feels like a skinned squirrel. She's breathing in beautiful, moldy air when Mapleshade speaks.
"Tigerstar has been going easy on you due to your age. No longer. From this point on, your real training begins now." Mapleshade pulls herself up from the mud, her fur caked in the sticky mud. "You'd be surprised how many warriors have problems regulating their breathing underwater, especially over long periods. Even Riverclan cats have problems with it. As a result, many assume invincibility in their home territory and never push their swimming capabilities beyond casual dives. You'll be able to use that against them."
You'd be surprised how many warriors have problems regulating their breathing underwater… Even Riverclan cats have problems with it.
With washed-away thoughts and a burning mind, Hollypaw finds the pattern in how Mosspelt and Voleteeth died. The Dark Forest is drowning warriors in their sleep. She gasps.
Mapleshade continues talking, even though Hollypaw isn't really listening at this point, "We'll be testing your swimming in a moment. Don't care if you only know it as a Riverclan skill. You'll learn to swim under my teachership or die. Tigerstar sees something in you, and you have his favor, but you're my apprentice now. So don't expect my sympathies."
If Mapleshade can get away with murder, she must be stopped.
My power doesn't work on spirits. So how in Starclan am I supposed to avenge Riverclan?
She doesn't have an answer.
"'—You've been murdering warriors in their sleep. Framing it as mysterious suicide," Hollypaw meows, cold anger seeping into her voice. "You think I'll let you get away with this?"
Mapleshade pauses, then laughs. Her tortoiseshell coat shakes in mirth and, with two long steps, stands over Hollypaw. She leans down muzzle to muzzle. "Down here, Hollypaw, you are powerless—" Mapleshade says this with the confidence that almost makes Hollypaw think she knows about her powers, "—And no one will believe you up there either. So yes, I think you'll let us get away with it. After all, the concerns of Riverclan are of no concern for any loyal Thunderclan warrior."
Anger ripples through Hollypaw, and she wipes Mapleshade's smirk off her face by cutting her with a clawed right paw. Jaypaw thinks she is rash, but she uses that rashness to spill ethereal blood.
Her second uppercut is blocked when Mapleshade retaliates by biting onto Hollypaw's head, grabbing fur, and chucking her to the side before Hollypaw's forepaws can bite into Mapleshade's soft underbelly.
Hollypaw is spitting up mud when Mapleshade tackles her. Hollypaw tries to roll with momentum but ends up sinking into the mud as Mapleshade slams her head into the ground. Luckily, Mapleshade's attempts at giving her a concussion are foiled by the soft mud. It doesn't matter how familiar Mapleshade's fighting style is; she's too fast for Hollypaw.
Mapleshade settles for trying to suffocate her instead, Hollypaw's face deep in mud.
Hollypaw's training comes back to her. Instead of panicking, she controls her breathing, and with the taste of mud on her tongue, she kicks back with her hind legs. This time, something connects, and Mapleshade screeches.
The pressure on her back abates, and Hollypaw is free. The mud wants to suck her down into the cold earth, but she rips her legs free and charges Mapleshade. Rage bubbles in her throat, and it comes out as a deep growl that surprises both of them.
Hollypaw takes her first swing at Mapleshade, and then Mapleshade destroys her.
If Mapleshade is slowed down by the mud, she doesn't show it. She dodges Hollypaw's clumsy blows and bites like a dancing viper. She strikes out at Hollypaw with deadly precision that Hollypaw can't match. Hollypaw learns she has hundreds of holes in her defense, and halfway through her beating, when Mapleshade successfully turns the entire fight's momentum back onto Hollypaw, she realizes that Mapleshade isn't even using her claws.
One of Mapleshade's paws catches Hollypaw on her throat. The air is forced out of her lungs, and Mapleshade does something with her hindlegs and all of a sudden, Hollypaw can feel the soul-stealing air on her back flip. She hits the ground hard on her back; not even the soft mud is enough to prevent Hollypaw from feeling bruised. In an instant, the fight is over.
"Brackenfur's teachings will never be enough to face a warrior like your grandfather or me," Mapleshade meows. "There are things only we can teach you."
"Brackenfur has honor!" Hollypaw spits.
Mapleshade smiles wide and unnervingly, and Hollypaw can taste the venom in her words. "Do you know why I volunteered to train you, Hollypaw? Tigerstar talked at great length about you. He thinks you might have greater potential than your battle prodigy of a brother Lionpaw—" Hollypaw chokes out a muffled "Huh?" when she mentions Lionpaw, "—And for a while, I didn't get it. But then I figured it out: you moral exemplars are always much more malleable."
"Your crowfood," Hollypaw whispers.
"Tigerstar is missing a great opportunity, focusing on Lionpaw. If you think this is rough, then you understand very little. I'll break you over the next couple of moons, Hollypaw." Mapleshade again grabs her by the scruff, which is becoming embarrassingly familiar, and drags her to the waterside. "We'll see how strong you are, Hollypaw, when you're built back into something ancient Lionclan would be proud of. We can't, after all, have the granddaughter of the legendary Tigerstar and Firestar be weak."
What are you going to do, Hollypaw? Use that magical power of yours to make things better?
Strands of energy leap out but once bounce off of Mapleshade. Bitterness floods through Hollypaw, anger at Starclan for giving her a power that's useless against the true enemies of the Clans.
Mapleshade grabs her scruff again, dragging her to that Starclan-forsaken river. "Now swim!"
The icy cold water floods away any clever thoughts.
She spends the following sunrise picking out fleas from Longtail's fur, though her punishment is kept private, sparing her humiliation.
Lionpaw shares a smile, and she tries not to imagine him training with Tigerstar. Lionpaw tries to say something, but she ignores him, escaping to the medicine den. She sneaks into the medicine den, trying to collect more mouse bile for the elder. The medicine den smells as terrible as ever.
"Thank you for coming, Hollypaw. Could you take Jaypaw to the lakeside? I would do it myself, but I need to attend to some matters," Leafpool mews. The sweet brown tabby manages the herbs in the back while a tired-looking Jaypaw stands in front. Her aunt is unaware of her punishment. It's a perfect opportunity.
"Sure, Leafpool. The lakeside?"
Jaypaw is the one to intercede, already on board with her plan. "I need to pick up some daisy leaves. There's a patch near the lake." Jaypaw's entire body is agitiated, and she knows Jaypaw has more on his mind. It's enough to make her dread interacting with her brother, but this is the best chance she'll get at getting Jaypaw on his lonesome.
"Right," Hollypaw meows now reluctantly. "Let's head down to the shoreline before sundown."
Jaypaw grunts and shoves himself out of the den as Leafpool yowls, "Grab some alder bark while you're out, please!" Jaypaw gives no sign that he hears her.
Hollypaw sprints to catch up to her brother, who's already gone ahead into territory she's unsure he can navigate. "Let me take the lead," she commands, trying to step in front of him.
Jaypaw's scowl lights up his whiskers as his ears pull back. "I don't need your help to get to the shore." Hollypaw can hear his teeth grind.
"Sorry," she meows, deciding to give her brother his space. She slows down, deciding to hug her brother's right flank instead.
They follow one of the warrior trails to the lake border. The forest is not as dense here, and Hollypaw ensures no warrior patrols are around before continuing their conversation. She launches right into it when she's confident no one is spying on them.
"I've been having dreams," Hollypaw mews. "They've been… intense."
Jaypaw flicks his ears, gesturing that he doesn't care and is ignoring her. He speaks, "I need to collect something at the shore. Beyond Leafpool's dung-filled herbs and bark." The furball wants to be difficult.
"I'm not technically supposed to be out of camp. I don't think Leafpool was informed," Hollypaw meows back. "I can leave if you don't need me, and we can continue this later. You would have to visit me, though."
Jaypaw scoffs, finally dignifying her with a response, "If you're still mad at me from our last discussion, I don't give a mousetail." He adds, "You're not the one dealing with overbearing Leafpool. She was bad enough when we were kits."
"We're supposed to be working as a team," she meows, feeling her coat bristle. "The prophecy involves all three of us, and you're not interested in my dreams?"
She can see Jaypaw internally scoffing. His head darts forward, ears perking forward and tail raising high. Hollypaw follows him - trying to see what he sees. The lake is laid before them, with course sand, rocks, and shrubbery littering the area.
What did he say his power was again?
Hollypaw's temper flares, grinding her own teeth now. The fox-hearts in the Place of No Stars are raising an army - she's trapped with them in her nightmares - and Jaypaw continues to ignore her. Starclan wants them to stop the Dark Forest.
"There's this stick—"
"You brought us out here for a stick!"
"It's important!" Jaypaw hisses. "Listen, I need to retrieve it right off the shoreline. I'll make a quick dive, and then we can do Leafpool's errands."
Hollypaw digs her paws into the grainy sand before flicking her claws into the air. The sand slides between her toes irritatingly. She'll never enjoy sand getting caught in her claws. Finally, she sighs in defeat. "Must we do this now?"
Jaypaw's paws sink into the water. "Yes. I won't have a chance for the next couple of sunrises after Firestar sends out the battle patrol to deal with Windclan. Every warrior will slink into the medicine den for their wounds, making fools of themselves and bothering me."
Thunderclan is going to fight Windclan? How could he possibly know that?
There's a splash as Jaypaw's head goes underwater, and Hollypaw prepares herself for a rescue by beginning her count. Bubbles breach the lake's surface, but her brother is obscured by murky water.
Hollypaw doesn't hesitate when her count is five heartbeats too long and leaps into the water. Jaypaw, her fox of a brother, is in danger. Unlike Jaypaw, who has no experience swimming, Mapleshade's training is already like muscle memory, and Hollypaw digs her way into the lakebed.
Jaypaw writhes in the water like a panicking kit. She wastes no time, grabbing his scruff and heaving him towards the surface. Hollypaw breaths through her nostrils and kicks her squirming brother into the sunlight. Last moonrise's torture reminds her to twist around to her brother's backside as her head surfaces, and then she's churning the water with her paws until they hit the shoreline.
Both of them cough up water, though Hollypaw handles it more gracefully.
"The stick was nearby. If you hadn't pulled me out, I would've found it," Jaypaw hisses, though his soaked-through pelt and blind eyes are the opposite of intimidating. His frame is stick thin, capable of being knocked over by the wind, let alone capable of fighting the lake currents. She can handle Mapleshade; she can handle her brother.
"You would've drowned, fleabrain!" Hollypaw meows. "Next time, make sure you can swim." Hollypaw doesn't have time to waste. She has questions only Jaypaw can answer. "Let me find the stick," she meows. "I can swim better than you."
Jaypaw growls, wet fur shifting in agitating. He's about to lash out again when a wracking cough hits him. He coughes up lake water, and then Jaypaw just sighs. "It's about twenty tail-lengths off the shoreline, half-buried in the sediment. It has distinctive claw marks cut into it, even intervals."
Hollypaw nods. She can ask how he knows what it looks like while he's blind later. She turns and faces the shoreline, leaping into the familiar cold. The water once again washes away any clever thoughts.
Sticky mud and plants make latching onto the lakebed this time a struggle, but Hollypaw is born of a different breed and heaves herself into darkness. Ten tail-lengths in the murky water and darkness swallows her sight; Hollypaw relies on her training in the Dark Forest to guide herself, feeling for the lakebed with her paws. Fifteen tail-lengths, and she steps on a sharp rock. It slices into her left paw, and the stinging pain follows the bleeding.
Eighteen tail-lengths out, and Hollypaw draws on memory to focus.
I am Hollypaw. I have two brothers. Born of Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw. My parents are heroes. My grandparents are heroes. I come from two great lines. My life is just beginning. One sunrise, I will be…
She begins to feel lightheaded.
She has no choice but to open her burning eyes, letting murky water scar her eyes as she peers into the dark lake water. She's surrounded by mud and rock, half-decomposed wood floats around her, and she begins scanning for Jaypaw's stick.
Where is it?
On her second sweep, Hollypaw notices it. The stick really is half-buried, and its distinctive claw marks are obvious. She has no idea how Jaypaw knew where it was without ever being this deep and unable to see.
She bites down on the stick, and her teeth go numb. Light buzzing fills her teeth like little fireflies in her gums, and the stick feels solid in her grip, unlike the rest of the floating, decomposing drift-weed. The feeling spreads upward into her skull, and Hollypaw feels the pool of energy that makes up her power hiss like some sort of snake.
The stick is not normal.
Hollypaw kicks upwards, not wasting any more time as her breath and bubbles deplete. She breaks the lake's surface a heartbeat later. For the second time this sunrise, Hollypaw kicks back towards the shoreline.
Jaypaw is waiting for her on the sand, tail flicking in excitement, and when Hollypaw hits the shoreline, she first hears, "You're bleeding."
"I'm fine. Just a small wound on my paw. I'll ask Leafpool to take a look when we get back to camp," Hollypaw meows and tries to ignore the slight wince across her snout when the sand aggravates her paw. "I've got the stick. What is it?"
Jaypaw grunts, his gaze flickering one last time at her injured paw before he paws at the ancient stick. "Some artifact from the cats that lived here at the lake before us. I'll… tell you more when I figure more out."
"Right," she meows, deciding not to push. Jaypaw will tell her more when he's ready. "Now that this is taken care of, what about Windclan?"
"Battle patrol tomorrow. Some of Windclan's bee-brained kits got lost, and Windclan blames us," Jaypaw meows. "Leafpool and I visited Windclan last sunrise. Onestar isn't backing down, so Firestar has no choice. We can't just let Windclan stroll into our territory uncontested. Besides, your disappearing act didn't help ease tensions either."
Jaypaw picks up the stick with his mouth and turns, ready to finish the rest of the tasks assigned to them, but Hollypaw's thoughts are awhirl.
Because, of course, Thunderclan assumed I had been captured by Windclan when I disappeared for an entire sunrise across the Windclan border. I knew there were rising tensions between the two Clans, and I still decided to wander into Riverclan. The battle is going to be my fault.
It comes to her in an instant.
"We have to stop the battle," Hollypaw meows.
"We," Jaypaw meows, emphasizing that we, "don't have to do anything."
Jaypaw has no idea of the stakes. Hollypaw couldn't have picked a worse time to wander through Windclan territory, and now both clans will pay for it because some kits went missing. They have to stop the battle somehow.
She won't be helpless again.
"The Warrior Code states that warriors don't have to kill to win their battles," Hollypaw meows. Her bleeding paw stings in the sand when she shifts her weight, but her paw can wait. She needs to knock some sense into her brother.
"No one is going to die this upcoming sunrise," Jaypaw meows. "Leafpool and I will be there to prevent the mouse-brain's from killing each other." Jaypaw, in his casual disregard, begins to walk away, but Hollypaw sticks to him like a spider on a web.
"Cats could die, and there's still the missing kits to consider. If we could find them—" she meows but is interrupted.
Jaypaw rolls his eyes scornfully. "The kits are probably just playing somewhere on Windclan territory, and the hare-brains have too much fluff in their heads to find them. Besides, even if they are lost, where would we, Thunderclan apprentices, even begin in a search?"
Hollypaw pauses. Her mood begins to reflect the slow, overcast sky that's already started to cover the sun. Unfortunately, her brother is right. Where would they start a search?
Jaypaw takes her silence as a defeat. "Help me collect this daisy leaf. It'll make Leafpool less unbearable for both of us," he mumbles through his stick. The local patch is just ahead of them. Hollypaw flounders for a reason and a way to find the Windclan kits.
Lionpaw comes crashing out of the forest like a badger, bringing with him salvation. He yowls, "Hey! Did you hear about the lost Windclan kits? I think I know where they are!"
Hollypaw blinks, and she can see Jaypaw sigh.
Didn't Lionpaw want her to stay out of trouble for a while?
It doesn't matter. Lionpaw starts yapping about the cave system and how Heatherpaw had mentioned the kits had been spying on her. The kits must be lost in the caves.
Hollypaw remembers her promise to Lionpaw not to get in trouble for the next moon, but the opportunity is too good to pass up. Starclan is smiling upon her. Lives are in danger.
Jaypaw seethes, already knowing what comes next.
Hollypaw, looking at her brothers, opens her mouth and works her magic.
The echoing boom hits them from fox lengths away, shaking the cavern and splashing water widely. She curls her whiskers and tries to hide her fear scent. The impact reverberates across the cave floor, and Hollypaw almost loses her balance from the shock wave. A deluge of water scatters down from the center of the cave. It overflows the center rivet, coming up to their toes like a miniature river.
The force of the water almost lifts her up off her paws.
"The cave towards Windclan has been blocked! Boulders!" yowls Breezepaw.
"What!" Lionpaw yowls back.
The seven of them bolt around the corner to catch up to Breezepaw, who rushes ahead to check Windclan's tunnel. They turn the corner, massive boulders blocking their way, and Hollypaw sees how much her latest bad idea has cost them. It's cost them another escape route and drenched paw pads.
"The entrance to Windclan has collapsed! It's like a waterfall here. We'll never get out this way!" Breezepaw hisses.
"We have to try something!" yowls Heatherpaw. Hackles raised and the shecat is visibly fuming. It seems to be her default state, and she doesn't understand what Lionpaw sees in her.
"Rabbit-brain shecat! If we try to climb the rockslide, the kits will drown! Not even accounting for the fact that the hole is too small!" Breezepaw replies.
"Arrogant tomcat!" Heatherpaw retorts.
Thistlekit presses into Hollypaw's side, shivering from the cold and fear. Breezepaw and Heatherpaw start ripping into each other with words. All the while, Hollypaw and her brothers watch powerlessly. Fatigue fills her body, and she knows that Jaypaw feels the same. Lionpaw is Lionpaw.
Jaypaw tries to say something over the rushing water, but she can't make it out over the rushing water and yowling. Anger fills her.
"Everyone be quiet!" Hollypaw yowls. Strands of energy shoot out to everyone in the cave, and the radiating pulse of silence hits. Her strands bounce off her brothers, failing to attach to the scared Fallen Leaves, but everyone else gets nabbed, and with Hollypaw's final yowl, silence.
"Finally! Jaypaw?" she meows. "You were saying?"
Jaypaw and Fallen Leaves are on her left with Swallowkit. The ancient spirit presses into her brother's side, supporting him in the quickly rising rapids.
"There's a way out," Jaypaw meows. "I just need a moment to think." His blank eyes jerk wildly. Fallen Leaves, seen only by Jaypaw and Hollypaw, shuffles nervously, unsure if he should speak.
"Thinking won't help us move boulders," hisses Heatherpaw.
Jaypaw just hisses back, his tail skimming the water, which is halfway up their legs. They're running out of time. Everyone just needs to let Jaypaw focus. She drains the well inside her mind and reinforces her strands. Heatherpaw and Breezepaw shut their mouths.
"Are we going to die?" mews Sedgekit, next to Lionpaw.
"Nonsense," he whispers. "Jaypaw's got the sharpest brain in Thunderclan, and Hollypaw always has some scheme going. You'll be eating rabbits in Windclan again in no time."
"You're just trying to comfort me be…"
"Hollypaw, look at the cave's roof," Jaypaw meows. "It's too smooth."
Hollypaw looks, ignoring Lionpaw's discussion with Sedgekit. The rock ceiling is very smooth, but she doesn't know how that helps them. What does smoothed-out rock do with them getting out of here?
"I see it. That doesn't help us, though, Jaypaw," Hollypaw replies.
Jaypaw rolls his eyes. "The water has worn down the ceiling. This whole cave system floods from top to bottom. Where does it all go?"
"Down, dungface," hisses Breezepaw. "It goes down underground!"
Jaypaw hisses back, "It all can't go down. That doesn't make sense! It has to go out back into the lake. The water can carry us out."
"Fallen Leaves, do you know if Jaypaw's right?" Hollykit meows, ignoring Breezepaw's and Heatherpaw's continuing stares of disbelief that a spirit is following them. They had that discussion ages ago. Fallen Leaves has been down here longer than any of them. He has to know.
Fallen Leaves doesn't stop trembling, but his ears perk up. His voice, though, remains sad. "I don't know. I've never tried to let the water carry me out. The caves go deeper, though. I'm sorry, Hollypaw, Jaypaw."
Hollypaw curses on instinct and the others catch her in the act.
"We're going to die," whispers Heatherpaw. "There's no way out."
"Don't say that!" Hollypaw meows back, her strands pulse and Heatherpaw shuts her mouth again. A headache begins forming in the back of Hollypaw's head, and she realizes she's again reaching her limit. A flash of irritation courses through her pelt. Her power is always useless when she needs it the most. Never enough time, never enough influence.
Their arguing will be the death of them all!
"Jaypaw?" she asks. Is this the only way? Are you sure? Are you reading my mind now, brother?
Jaypaw's ears pull back, giving her no idea whether he understands her. He grimaces and then meows: "We have to jump into the water."
There's a cacophony of yowls as Thistlekit presses her side into Hollypaw's flank. Breezepaw hisses like a mad fox, and Heatherpaw follows up with gulps and shivers. Willowkit looks like she wants to bolt, but Breezepaw is there a moment later to stop her. Lionpaw has Sedgekit and presses into Heatherpaw's side. It's like their mates already.
Hollypaw breathes deep, and pulses of energy flood out through her strands. She has to calm the riot as the group begins to move again, following the water.
Sorry, warriors. I'll remove the strands once we're out of here.
The cave roof above them cracks, with thick strands of water pouring from the ceiling. It hits them along the back, soaking them to the bone, and Hollypaw begins to feel the chill from the spraying ice-cold waters. It's like the cave is a thunderstorm.
They meander, trying to find another escape route where the water is sucked away, but even walking takes effort now. The water rises to their legs, and its raging rapids nearly pull them off their paws, even on the safer cave ledges. The central rivet has devolved into a raging rapid, so loud and noisy that Hollypaw imagines a lion roaring in her ear.
Willowkit slips in the current, Hollypaw catching her within a heartbeat. Hollypaw knows they're out of time.
"We don't know how to swim!" Thistlekit mews.
Lionpaw beats her to it. "Oh, that's easy," Lionpaw answers, "just practice this motion when you're in the water." He churns the water with her paws, almost paddling in the swamp they're currently in. "We'll hold you by your tail as we'll breathe in too much water by scuff."
Hollypaw can see the kits about to make a fuss. Calm. Please calm down.
They calm down. Their eyes are wide with fear and panic, but they stay silent.
Hollypaw nods towards Lionpaw, and with an unspoken command, they move. Fallen Leaves leads the way, knowing these tunnels the best, but it isn't hard to follow the rushing current. It's going somewhere, hopefully towards the lake.
They start to lose traction halfway through the tunnels. Lionpaw and Breezepaw resort to carrying Willowkit and Sedgekit. Hollypaw helps Thistlekit brace herself during the trek. The water touches their bellies when they reach a seeming end to the cave. Hollypaw looks down to see the water being sucked down into what she imagines is an oily void.
"Everyone line up on the edge," Hollypaw commands, careful not to betray a heartbeat of doubt. "Lionpaw, take Sedgekit, Breezepelt, Swallowkit, and I'll take Thistlekit. We'll jump in that order."
"What about me?" mews Heatherpaw.
"Bite onto my tail. We'll go first," Jaypaw meows, and Hollypaw thanks him for not arguing.
Hollypaw gives them a nudging nod, and the two take their positions at the front. Thistlekit stands in front of her, and Hollypaw takes hold of her tail. There's a tightening in her gut, and Hollypaw braces herself.
"The caves go deeper."
Fallen Leaves words echo throughout her mind, and with a gulp, she shouts "Yes!" to Lionpaw, asking if everyone's ready. Jaypaw hurls himself into the raging river, and Heatherpaw follows shortly behind. Within a heartbeat, Lionpaw is next alongside Sedgekit.
Time to be a hero. Be brave, just like mom and dad.
Breezepaw jumps with Swallowkit, and then it's just Hollypaw, Fallen Leaves, and Thistlekit surrounded by the madness. A strange sort of serenity comes to her.
Fallen Leaves is across from her. Their silent guardian. He chokes a "Good luck!" and Hollypaw wonders if she'll ever see him again. She wants to say sorry for leaving him behind, ashamed that she can't do anything to help him, that he's stuck down here forever while she has the power of the stars. Instead, she doesn't say anything.
Thistlekit jumps. Hollypaw has no choice but to follow; the raging rapids suck her down. In a heartbeat, Fallen Leaves is gone from her sight, and the two of them are sucked into the earth.
The roar of the water takes her. The tunnel tightens, and Hollypaw begins to think they made a terrible mistake when she smashes into stone, twists a paw, and spins in raging watery gloom. She chokes on water and tastes blood in her mouth. Whether it's hers or Thistlekit's is unknown. Her lungs scream for air, and she desperately needs to breathe.
There is only darkness, roaring water, and uncontrolled momentum.
Then, the tunnel turns upwards. Thistlekit fights it, but Hollypaw lets the current carry her upwards. They explode out of the cramped space of the tunnel, dirt and driftweed flung everywhere with their exit. The two float in the cold, and Hollypaw sees lights in the distance. If she doesn't move, Starclan will welcome her.
She pushes. Churning the water with her paws. Her only lifeline is Thistlekit's tail. She pushes, churning water, trying to swim, and it feels so long that Hollypaw starts giving up on hope. Her lungs burn hotter than fire, and she feels like she's dying.
Then glorious contact with the surface! Hollypaw and Thistlekit explode from the lake's surface. Hollypaw gasps. Air, sweet air, pours down into her lungs.
Thistlekit thrashes in front of her, and Hollypaw lets go of her tail to grab her by the scuff. Hindlegs push to keep them above water, and Hollypaw takes control of the situation.
She hears joyous yowling nearby as the others surface to swim to shore. Despite the overwhelming fatigue in her bones and lungs that still sting, rapturous joy overtakes Hollypaw.
They've done it! There will be no battle with Windclan. No innocent lives lost!
Hollypaw gets her first taste of heroism. She finds that she likes it quite a lot.