Эрин Хантер: The Silent Thaw

As Bristlefrost reached them, her ears grew hot. She’d only been a warrior for a moon. Was she allowed to approach her leader and offer help? She hesitated and looked nervously at Squirrelflight. “Excuse me.”

The ThunderClan deputy dragged her gaze distractedly from Flipclaw. “Can it wait?” she asked. “I’ve got more patrols to organize.”

“I—I just wanted to know if there was anything I could do to help,” Bristlefrost’s mouth felt dry as she met Squirrelflight’s gaze.

“I suppose you can join your brother’s patrol,” Squirrelflight mewed thoughtfully. Her gaze was flitting around the camp, as though wondering who else to send hunting.

“Sure.” Bristlefrost lifted her tail eagerly.

Bramblestar’s eyes flashed with sudden interest. “Why send her out on patrol?” he mewed suddenly. “Leave that to the other warriors.”

Bristlefrost chest tightened. Didn’t he think she was good enough to hunt with her Clanmates?

Squirrelflight looked at him quizzically. “But she wanted to help,” she mewed.

“She can help in a much more important way than that.” Bramblestar’s gaze rounded with warmth as he stared at Bristlefrost. Her pelt prickled self-consciously. What was he going to ask her to do? “She’s clearly an intelligent and loyal warrior,” he went on. “Who else has offered to help?” He flicked his tail dismissively. “Bristlefrost is the kind of warrior we want. We should give her more responsibility.” He glanced critically around the Clan. “Rewarding her initiative might encourage her Clanmates to offer help when it’s needed.”

Squirrelflight’s brow furrowed as she looked at Bramblestar. “She hasn’t been a warrior for long,” she cautioned.

“Then she won’t be stuck in old warrior ways,” Bramblestar meowed breezily. “From now on, Bristlefrost will organize the daily patrols.” He looked at Squirrelflight. “After all, why should you waste your time on such mundane things? You’re Clan deputy. You should learn to delegate, and I’m sure Bristlefrost will be great at it.”

Bristlefrost flinched as his eager gaze switched back to her. Did he mean it? It seemed too good to be true.

“I s-suppose.” Squirrelflight didn’t sound as eager as Bramblestar.

At the edge of the clearing, Thornclaw got to his paws. “Do you think it’s wise to give a young cat so much responsibility?”

“Of course,” Bramblestar told him. “How else will our young Clanmates grow into warriors as strong and capable as you? Surely you see it’ll be good for the Clan?” He held Thornclaw’s gaze until the dark tabby dipped his head.

“I guess,” Thornclaw murmured.

Excitement pricked through Bristlefrost’s paws. “Thank you, Bramblestar!” she mewed before any of the other warriors could object. “I just want to help my Clan any way I can.” She purred happily, ignoring the doubt shimmering in Squirrelflight’s gaze.

“See?” Bramblestar blinked at Squirrelflight. “Energetic, enthusiastic young warriors will make ThunderClan stronger.”

Squirrelflight returned his gaze. “Okay,” she mewed softly. She looked at Bristlefrost. “Do you think you can handle it?”

Bristlefrost whisked her tail. “I’ll do my best!”

Chapter 3

“Come on, Shadowpaw! The moon’s rising and your Clanmates are waiting to see you off.” Puddleshine blinked at Shadowpaw from the medicine-den entrance, his pelt fluffed with pride.

Inside, Shadowpaw kept his eyes on the chervil he was shredding. He was supposed to be traveling to the Moonpool to receive his medicine-cat name. He knew he should be excited, but he couldn’t help feeling he hadn’t earned it yet. “I want to finish stripping these stems.”

“They can wait.” Puddleshine’s tail twitched eagerly.

Shadowpaw’s pelt itched with worry. He’d wanted to tell his mentor for days that he was uncertain about receiving his medicine-cat name, but the time had never seemed right. “But I’m not ready.”

“Of course you’re ready,” Puddleshine sounded impatient. “You have your whiskers and tail. What else do you need?”

“I mean I’m not ready to be a medicine cat.” Shadowpaw didn’t dare look at his mentor. Was he letting Puddleshine down? “I haven’t learned enough.”

“You’ve learned plenty,” Puddleshine told him.

“But there’s so much I don’t know yet.”

“Medicine cats never stop learning. That doesn’t mean they’re not ready to help their Clanmates.” Puddleshine padded nearer, until Shadowpaw felt his mentor’s pelt brush his flank. “You’re bound to be nervous, but it’s okay. You can do this.” He caught Shadowpaw’s gaze warmly and held it. “I know I haven’t always been sure about your visions in the past, Shadowpaw, but I’ve always believed that you were special. And now that you’ve saved Bramblestar, every cat knows it.”

Shadowpaw’s belly tightened as he remembered the dreadful vigil he’d sat beside the dying ThunderClan leader. StarClan had told him the only way to save Bramblestar from the fever that held him between life and death was to take him onto the frozen moor and expose him to the cold. The treatment had killed him, but it had made way for his next life. Now Bramblestar was healthy and strong again, and ThunderClan had its leader back. As his thoughts drifted, Shadowpaw realized that Puddleshine was still speaking. He jerked his attention back to his mentor.

“Your Clanmates feel lucky to have you as their medicine cat,” Puddleshine mewed.

“I don’t see why.” Shadowpaw looked at the ground. “I’m just the same as I always was.”

“But you’ve made ShadowClan special with your connection to StarClan. Our ancestors haven’t spoken to any other medicine cat while the Moonpool’s been frozen. After so many troubled moons, it feels as though ShadowClan has StarClan’s blessing again. It’s made all of us feel proud.”

Shadowpaw shifted his paws self-consciously. “ShadowClan should feel proud without me.”

“I know it must feel like a big responsibility, but StarClan clearly thinks you’re special, or they wouldn’t have chosen you. They must think you’re ready to be a full medicine cat.”

Shadowpaw returned his gaze. “But are you sure?”

“I am,” Puddleshine told him gently. “And you’ll be sure too after tonight. The Moonpool will be thawing, and we’ll finally be able to share with StarClan once more.” He leaned closer. “Everything is going to be fine, once you’ve spoken with our ancestors—once we’ve all spoken with them again.” Puddleshine padded to the den entrance, his tail fluffed happily. “Don’t tell any cat I said this, but I was starting to worry that we’d offended them. But if we had, they wouldn’t have spoken to you, would they?” He blinked brightly at Shadowpaw.

“I guess not.” Unease wormed in Shadowpaw’s belly as he followed his mentor out of the den. Would Puddleshine be so proud of him if he knew he was holding something back? Bramblestar’s fever cure wasn’t the only thing StarClan had shared with him. They’d also warned him about the codebreakers. The Clans have forgotten the code, a voice from StarClan had whispered. It has been broken time and time again, and because of the codebreakers, every Clan must pay a price. They must suffer. Images of Twigbranch and Lionblaze had flashed before him. Crowfeather, Squirrelflight, Mothwing, Jayfeather . . . Remembering this, Shadowpaw was frightened, his breath catching in his chest as he pictured again the last cat who’d appeared in his vision—Dovewing. How could his mother be a codebreaker? She was a good cat, wasn’t she?