Birdpaw sculpted a ball of snow in her paws and lunged it at the dark ginger-and-brown tabby tom who was leaping from bush to bush to avoid Birdpaw's throws. Her snowball hit him squarely in his flank, and he turned on his heel and clawed another snowball before tossing it at Birdpaw. Birdpaw ducked before it could hit her and it landed on the ground. Purring with triumph, Birdpaw curled her fluffy tail and lifted her head.
"Surrender, Leafshade!" Birdpaw demanded.
"Never!" Leafshade's deep green eyes glowed with humor. "You can't make me!"
"Can't I?" Birdpaw scooped up some more snow and aimed it straight for Leafshade's face. Leafshade ducked but some of the snow still landed on his head. He got to his paws and shook his thick pelt, purring in amusement. He bounded over to Birdpaw, and the she-cat ducked before he could land on top of her. She rolled to the side, remembering one of Stormbrook's battle moves that he had taught her.
Leafshade's whiskers twitched in amusement. "It's like you think I'll hurt you."
Birdpaw got to her paws. "I know you wouldn't," she said. "But I won't let you get any snow on me!"
Leafshade arched an eye whisker as his deep gaze looked Birdpaw up and down. "I'd say you have enough snow in your pelt for both of us," he commented, a purr rumbling from his body.
The ShadowClan medicine cat apprentice shook out the clumps from her fur and watched as they landed on the ground. Since Robinwing had regained consciousness, Luna, and Comte watched over her like she was their own kit, she had time to spend with Leafshade, and Stormbrook never suspected a thing. At least, I hope he doesn't. It's not like I've fallen behind in my duties or anything.
The bushes shook as Leafshade padded over to the roots of one of the pine trees. He gazed up at it steadily. "I remember Hopflight teaching me how to climb trees," he said. "I thought I'd never make it. But when I landed on the branch, I never wanted to get down."
Birdpaw brushed against Leafshade's thick pelt. "I'm glad you did," she said quietly.
"You keep me grounded," Leafshade meowed. "If it weren't for you, I'd have flown away by now."
What? Birdpaw glanced at Leafshade, sensing there was a deeper meaning among his words that he did not want to disclose. He shot her a soft glance, full of affection and love. Birdpaw brushed her muzzle against his, breathing in his warm scent. She snuck a glance at the sky and saw that the dawn lights were painting the sky. She let out a sigh. It always ends so soon.
Leafshade saw it too. He got to his paws. "We better go before we're missed," he said, his voice hesitant as if he did not want to leave. And neither do I.
"Yeah," Birdpaw meowed. "Luna wants to pick some herbs with me, today, so I'd better get going."
The tom's ears twitched. "All right. We're quite a far way from camp, so let's get going."
Birdpaw nodded. She didn't realize how far they had traveled from the hollow in the pine forest, but now that she tasted the air, she realized she could make out the musky scent of ThunderClan. We must be near their border, she thought. Sure enough, when she narrowed her eyes so the rising sun could silhouette the forest, she was able to spot the stream that marked the border between ShadowClan and ThunderClan. We came that far?
As the two cats started the trek to ShadowClan's camp, carefully watching their paw placement to prevent any falls into ditches covered by snow, Leafshade suddenly froze. Birdpaw glanced over at him, baffled at his sudden behavior. He sniffed the air and his ears flattened. Birdpaw wondered what he scented, and when she followed his lead, she realized the scent of ThunderClan was much, much more prominent than it had been on the border. They're trespassing!
Leafshade waved his tail in fury and tossed his head over his shoulder. Birdpaw slid her claws out of her sheathes, unable to hide the fear that was making the fur on her shoulder rise. She was sure that Leafshade noticed the stench of her terror, but he said nothing. Instead he rested his tail on Birdpaw's shoulders before drawing it back and looking around for the intruders.
At the last Gathering, Flintstar had announced that Sootfall had passed away and that Rootberry was now ThunderClan's deputy. This had worried Birdpaw greatly—she had never forgotten the omen given to her that indicated Rootberry was the great danger that would be brought to ThunderClan. The black-and-white tom being appointed deputy only emphasized the meaning of the omen. With so much power in his paws, he will have the ability to destroy us. Is this him? Is he starting his invasion?
Just as Birdpaw had expected, two cats lunged at them from the bushes behind them. Birdpaw spun around and yowled in fury as the cats—a golden tom with a white flash on his chest and a tan tabby tom with pale eyes—landed on top of her. Birdpaw hit the ground with a thump as the two cats clawed at her. Briskheart and Berrypaw! Birdpaw recognized them from the Gathering, but if they knew she was the ShadowClan medicine cat apprentice, they gave no indication of it. Pain seared through her body like a burning flame as her skin burst open.
"Stop!" Leafshade yowled, fury making his voice echo through the pine forest as he threw himself onto Briskheart. Tufts of golden fur were torn out by Leafshade's long claws as he shredded Briskheart's fur. "You are attacking a medicine cat! Don't you know that?" He hauled Briskheart off Birdpaw and slashed his claws across Berrypaw's face. "Where is your honor?!"
The two toms scrambled off Birdpaw and she got to her paws, panting heavily. There was a burning sensation in her shoulder, and when she looked to examine it, she saw a deep ragged wound, coursing with blood. Briskheart's green eyes widened as he took in Birdpaw's face, and a glimmer of recognition sparkled in them. Berrypaw let out a gasp and the two toms exchanged horrified glances when they realized what they had done.
"You were supposed to find a patrol!" Briskheart barked at Berrypaw, his blue eyes blazing with rage as he whirled on his brother.
"I didn't know!" Berrypaw exclaimed. "We need to get out of here before they retaliate. Come on!" He tugged on Briskheart's shoulder, who opened his mouth to complain, but Berrypaw nudged him forward. The two cats shot off away from the pine forest, casting one more look of utter terror behind them, and Leafshade scrambled over to Birdpaw.
"Are you okay?" he demanded. His green eyes widened with horror as he stared at Birdpaw's shoulder. "They hurt you…!"
Birdpaw shook her head, even though it was spinning and she was beginning to feel dizzy from blood loss. "It's not worth it," she gasped out as Leafshade's body trembled with rage. "You don't have to do anything."
"I must teach them a lesson." A vein above Leafshade's eyes quivered. Birdpaw wanted to call him back, but the gold-and-brown tom shot off across the stream into ThunderClan territory. Birdpaw gasped as he disappeared into the oaks, and every muscle in her body forced her to go after him, but with her injured shoulder, she could not move as easily as she wanted to. Instead, she was forced to watch from the stream as Leafshade disappeared into the territory of an enemy Clan.
Where did he go? Birdpaw thought miserably. I should follow him, but I can't with this shoulder. I'd never be able to get back in time before Stormbrook questions me. Oh, Stormbrook! What would he say when he sees this? She glanced over at her shoulder. And Leafshade? What is he going to do to Briskheart and Berrypaw? He'll get himself killed there!
Her body heavy and her legs shaking, Birdpaw collapsed into the snow, watching as the blood still streaming from her wound stained the ground around her crimson. Shards of ice pierced through her blood as she dug deeper into the snow, but she didn't have the strength to move. Emotionally and physically, she was drained. Her wound ached with throbbing agony, and she didn't know what Leafshade was doing. It had barely begun to register in her mind that two rogue ThunderClan cats had attacked her.
Birdpaw shut her eyes, wanting to forget what had happened, but a shrill cry of her name brought her back to reality. Leafshade? But the voice did not belong to a tomcat. She knew who it was, and as she looked up, she saw the cat's white fur blend in with the snow around her, but the silver on her face was a stark contrast to the pure white around her.
"Luna…" Birdpaw groaned her friend's name.
"What are you doing here?" Luna exclaimed, her voice frantic. "Bleeding out in the snow?" Her blue eyes were shadowed with worry. "You weren't in the den when I woke up, so I came to look for you. I followed your scent, and I could smell blood…" Her voice trailed off and she picked up Birdpaw by the scruff, hauling her on her back. Birdpaw grunted at the bolts of pain that struck through her at odd intervals, and Luna trekked through the territory. Birdpaw looked over her shoulder, wondering if she would see Leafshade's orange-and-brown pelt in the distance, but there was no sign of him as Luna brought her through the pine forest and into the camp.
Luna ignored the worried expressions on her Clanmates as she brought Birdpaw straight to the medicine den. In an extra nest, she gently draped Birdpaw down on the moss and licked her wound clean. Then the white she-cat turned and headed into the herb store. Birdpaw caught a glimpse of golden fur out of the corner of her eye and spotted Comte padding over to her.
The tom sniffed Birdpaw's wound. Concern blazed in his eyes as his sharp, keen gaze studied the tear in her skin. "It looks as if it hit muscle," he told Luna. "We're going to need more than marigold and goldenrod for this to heal nicely. I didn't see it in Stormbrook's herb store, but Luna, we're in a pine forest. There should be some elm bark and strawflower around here. Find those. In the meantime, I'll stop the bleeding with cobwebs."
Luna nodded immediately at Comte's orders and headed out of the medicine den. Comte, skilled and in control as always, picked up some of the cobwebs stacked neatly in their herb store and pressed it on Birdpaw's wound to staunch the bleeding. His eye whiskers were furrowed.
"Where is Stormbrook?" Birdpaw rasped.
"He went to speak to Lionstar, to update him about Robinwing," Comte replied softly. Before Birdpaw could tell him what she wanted to say, he seemed to predict it already and meowed, "There's no use hiding this from him. He'll find out eventually. You will just have to tell him the truth."
The truth! Birdpaw's fur bristled. He'll give me a worse wound than this! Comte had no idea of what the truth would do! The golden tom gave her a narrowed glance as he continued to press the cobwebs into Birdpaw's wound. She hoped that Luna would come back with the herbs soon—even if she had never heard of them in her life. The pain was intense and all-consuming, claws piercing every inch of her hot skin.
The moment she had been dreading happened. Birdpaw caught a trace of Stormbrook's strong, fresh scent, and she saw the gray-and-black tom enter the den. He stopped to check on Robinwing, who was at the corner of the den, in a deep slumber. When he lifted his nose to sniff the air, Birdpaw guessed he had noticed the blood. Shock and worry gathered in the tom's smoldering amber gaze as he turned his head to see Birdpaw in a patient's nest.
The fur on his spine rose and his ears flattened as he bounded over to Birdpaw. Comte stepped aside so Stormbrook could examine the wound. The ShadowClan medicine cat's tail lashed in anger and worry as he growled at her, "How did this happen? Are you all right? What's your pain like?"
"I sent Luna out for herbs," Comte said steadily.
Stormbrook frowned at the golden tom. "We have plenty of marigold and goldenrod here to treat her."
"Whoever attacked her tore into muscle. Using goldenrod and marigold may work, but it will be a longer and much more painful healing process. I sent Luna to search for strawflower and elm bark. Those remedies will ease Birdpaw's pain and heal her faster and more efficiently." Comte's voice was calm even as Stormbrook glared at him. Birdpaw wished for the ShadowClan medicine cat not to argue with his guest—Comte had knowledge beyond Stormbrook's years, and she would take anything that would lessen the pain. But Stormbrook did not argue. Instead, he pressed his nose into Birdpaw's uninjured shoulder and started to take away the blood-soaked cobwebs.
When he returned, standing over her, his gray-and-black fur glossy and sleek when the sunlight hit it through the shafts in the brambles, he mewed softly, "How did this happen?"
Guilt burned in the pits of Birdpaw's stomach, just as intense as the pain from her wound. "I was collecting herbs near the ThunderClan border, and two cats attacked me," she explained. Not all of it was a lie. She was attacked by two ThunderClan cats, but she hadn't been collecting herbs near there. "I don't think they recognized me as the medicine cat apprentice. When I told them who I was, they immediately retreated."
Stormbrook's tail lashed furiously. "You were on ShadowClan territory, right?" he asked.
Birdpaw nodded. She and Leafshade had been on ShadowClan territory. Even if what they were doing broke the warrior code, they had never trespassed. "I didn't cross ThunderClan territory, I swear."
"I believe you," Stormbrook said. "But Lionstar must know."
No! Birdpaw wanted to jump to her paws to protest, but the agony in her muscles prevented her from moving. "Stormbrook, no!" she pleaded. Comte flinched at the intensity of her voice. "He'll start a battle, and I could never live with myself if I'm the cause of the death of our Clanmates!"
"Do you think this can go unpunished?" Stormbrook hissed at her. "ThunderClan cats attacking our medicine cat? That is unheard of. No cat with honor would ever do this!" And, without listening to Birdpaw, he stormed off and headed back across camp. Birdpaw watched him go, knowing that she couldn't change his mind once he had it made up.
Comte said nothing. Birdpaw guessed that he wasn't keen on the idea of a battle either, but she had no idea just how much he knew about the Clans and how they worked. Does he know we're at war? she wondered. That all the Clans are enemies and are fighting for power? She rested her head on the moss, biting her lip to stop a groan of pain from escaping her. Sympathy flashed on Comte's face but he said nothing.
The brambles that draped the entrance of the den rustled, and Birdpaw feared it was Stormbrook. But the cat who popped in didn't have the broad shoulders or thick pelt that Stormbrook did. It was Luna, with her petite figure and her long, snow-white fur. She held the herbs that Comte had ordered her to collect in her jaws. Comte gave her an approving nod when she gently draped them next to Birdpaw and started to chew it into a salve.
"Apply that to the wound every couple of hours," Comte ordered Luna. "In a week or two it should be nothing more than a scab."
Luna nodded as she chewed the herbs up. When she had made the chewed-up herbs into a salve, she rubbed it gently on Birdpaw's open wound. Birdpaw groaned at the sudden intense stinging, but when the salve worked its way into the torn skin, the pain started to ebb and she found herself relaxing. It also helped that Luna's tail brushing against her spine was calming, reminding her of her mother when she was just a kit in the nursery.
Birdpaw fell into a fitful sleep.
When she slowly started to come to, she caught the glimpse of golden fur near her and wondered if it was Comet. But Comte was a solid golden tom. The fur she saw had stripes and was much brighter than Comte's. There was only one cat in the Clan with that coloring. Lionstar. Birdpaw shut her eyes again, hoping to fool the golden tabby tom into thinking she was sleeping. She could smell Stormbrook next to him.
"She told you ThunderClan did this?" Lionstar was asking Stormbrook.
"Yes," Stormbrook replied. "She's not lying, either. I could smell ThunderClan on the wound when I came in here."
"Did she say what ThunderClan cats?" Birdpaw could feel the rage ebbing off Lionstar in waves.
Stormbrook said nothing, but she could imagine him shaking his head in response, considering Birdpaw had not disclosed the names of her attackers, even though she knew who they were. Tension rolled off from both cats, and Birdpaw wondered where Luna and Comte were. Were they listening to this discussion?
Lionstar's voice was a low growl in his throat. "I will not allow the attack on our medicine cat apprentice to go unavenged. ThunderClan is as low as rogues if their warriors stoop to attack medicine cats, cats who are beyond the rivalries of the Clans!"
"I agree," Stormbrook said, even though his voice was heavy. "ThunderClan must be taught a lesson."
"I will send a patrol to catch one of theirs," Lionstar decided. "I do not think it is wise to start a battle with them. Just an ambush should get the message across. It's not as if we're unjustified in this matter, either. I could hardly think StarClan would approve of another Clan attacking a medicine cat apprentice!"
There was a murmur of agreement from Stormbrook, and she could hear fur rustling as one of the cats got up. She wasn't sure which one it was, but when Lionstar's scent started to fade, she guessed it was him. She rolled over on her side but didn't dare open her eyes in case Stormbrook talked to her.
Guilt weighed heavily like a stone in her heart. Am I going to be responsible for a war between ShadowClan and ThunderClan because of the choices I made?