Erin Hunter - The Fourth Apprentice

Firestar shook his head. “I don’t think any Clan leader should go,” he meowed. “Our Clans need us here. Besides, when we made the Great Journey, no cat was in charge. We learned to cooperate then, and there’s no reason why we can’t do that again. What do you think?”

Blackstar kept silent, apart from the sound of his claws scraping the bark on his branch. Onestar exchanged a glance with his deputy, Ashfoot, who was sitting on a root below, then gave a decisive nod. “I agree. It makes sense to involve all the Clans. WindClan is with you, Firestar.”

“And so is ShadowClan.” Blackstar fixed Firestar with a hard stare. “You’ll be trekking through our territory, and you’re not doing that without ShadowClan cats to keep an eye on you.”

“Thank you, both of you.” Lionblaze thought Firestar was trying to hide his surprise that he had gained the two leaders’ consent so easily. “Leopardstar, what do you think?”

The RiverClan leader was gazing across the clearing as if she hadn’t heard any of the discussion above her.

After a few heartbeats of awkward silence, Littlecloud rose to his paws. “If I may speak,” he began, with a courteous nod to the leaders, “the situation now isn’t quite the same as it was last time. The cats who went on the first quest were summoned by a prophecy.” His gaze swept across the Clans until he found Brambleclaw, Crowfeather, and Tawnypelt. All three cats nodded; Lionblaze thought he could see memories flickering in their eyes.

Squirrelflight glanced across at Brambleclaw, and there was deep regret in the look she gave him. Lionblaze knew she hadn’t been chosen by StarClan, but she had insisted on going with the others; she must be longing for that time before the lies and betrayals had come between her and her mate.

“StarClan deliberately chose those cats, one from each Clan,” Littlecloud went on. “Who will choose these cats?” He paused to glance around at the other medicine cats, then added, “Has StarClan given you any hints about who should go?”

The other medicine cats, even Jayfeather, shook their heads. Lionblaze felt his belly tighten. Dovepaw knew that the big brown animals had blocked the stream. StarClan hadn’t told them anything. We can’t wait for our warrior ancestors to save us! They know less about this than we do!

For a moment, Lionblaze was afraid that Firestar would agree to wait for signs. Then the ThunderClan leader dipped his head to Littlecloud. “That’s an important point,” he meowed. “But if StarClan were going to send us signs this time, I think they would have sent them already. Each Clan leader is capable of choosing which cats should go to represent their Clans. StarClan trusts the four of us to do our best for our cats; that’s why we received nine lives.”

Murmurs of agreement rose from the clearing; Lionblaze saw that Onestar and Blackstar were nodding, too.

“The cats who go on the journey must be brave and strong,” Firestar continued. “They must be capable of seeking out something they know little about, and willing to set aside Clan rivalry for the sake of every cat. I trust that all the leaders will make the right choice.”

Lionblaze heaved a sigh of relief. That had gone much more smoothly than he had expected. The stream wouldn’t be blocked for much longer! Then Leopardstar raised her head.

“Just like you, Firestar,” she rasped. “Always coming up with a plan. Do you think I don’t know what you really have in mind?”

Firestar looked down at her with bewilderment in his green eyes. “I’m not hiding anything,” he assured her.

“Fox dung!” Leopardstar spat. Her thin, patchy pelt bristled along her bony spine. “This is a trick! You’re just trying to cheat RiverClan out of our fish. You want to get rid of some of our warriors so that we can’t keep up the patrols anymore.”

“That doesn’t make sense.” Firestar didn’t sound angry, just sympathetic. “Leopardstar, I can see you’re not well-”

“I’m not a fool, Firestar.” Leopardstar rejected the ThunderClan leader’s pity with a snarl. Struggling to her paws, she swayed on the branch as if she was about to lose her balance and fall off. “I know you’d let RiverClan starve to save your precious Clan!”

“No, he wants to help,” Onestar protested. “We all do.”

“You all want our fish,” Leopardstar snarled. “But you won’t get it. RiverClan will not join this patrol.”

The other three leaders glanced at one another in dismay, but before any of them could speak, Mistyfoot leaped up to her leader’s branch. She crouched next to Leopardstar and spoke quietly into her ear.

Lionblaze strained to hear what she was saying and managed to pick up a few phrases. “They’ll weaken themselves if they send their strongest warriors away… We benefit more than the others if the lake is refilled.”

Tension rose in the clearing as the other cats waited; Lionblaze could feel his pelt prickling as if a storm was coming. Leopardstar snapped at her deputy once or twice, but Mistyfoot persisted, her tail-tip resting gently on her leader’s shoulder.

At length Mistyfoot rose to her paws, still keeping her tail on Leopardstar. “RiverClan will send cats with this patrol,” she announced.

A few yowls of protest rose from the RiverClan warriors. “That’s for Leopardstar to say, not you!” the elder Blackclaw spat.

“She already made her decision,” Mallownose added. “Now you’ve made her look weak!”

Birchfall, sitting a couple of tail-lengths away from Lionblaze, let out a disdainful sniff. “Leopardstar couldn’t look much weaker if she was dead,” he commented.

Mistyfoot didn’t try to argue; she just waited for the noise to die down. Then she dipped her head to Leopardstar and the other leaders and leaped to the ground again.

“Thank you, Leopardstar,” Firestar mewed, stepping forward once more. “I promise, you won’t regret this decision.” He paused to give his chest fur a couple of thoughtful licks, then went on, “Each Clan must send two cats to the mouth of the dried-up stream on the second sunrise from now. The Clan deputies can escort them.” His green eyes glowed in the moonlight and his voice rang through the clearing. “We will find the water! The Clans must survive!”

As soon as Jayfeather woke on the morning after the Gathering, he could feel excitement buzzing around the camp like bees disturbed from their nest. Yawning and trying to shake off the dark dreams that had troubled his sleep, he pulled himself to his paws and swiped at a frond of fern that was clinging to his nose.

Don’t they realize that the cats who go on the journey might never come back?

He stumbled drowsily out into the clearing and scented Firestar emerging from his den onto the Highledge. The Clan was gathering around to listen even before their leader yowled the words that would call a meeting. Jayfeather felt Mousewhisker brush against his pelt, and he heard the thump of paws as Blossompaw, Briarpaw, and Bumblepaw rushed past him. Padding forward, he found a place for himself close to Lionblaze and Dovepaw.

“Cats of ThunderClan,” Firestar began when the excited murmuring had died into silence. “At the Gathering last night, all four Clans decided to send two cats to explore the stream and find out if it really is blocked. I’ve decided that Lionblaze and Dovepaw will go to represent ThunderClan.”

Even before Firestar had finished speaking, yowls of indignation rose into the still morning air.