Эрин Хантер - Thunder Аnd Shadow

Squirrelflight’s tail twitched irritably. “She’s probably wandering through the woods feeling sorry for herself.”

Ivy pool bristled. “And I suppose you never did that when you were young?”

Squirrelflight m et the silver-and-white she-cat’s eyes, her gaze softening. “I’m sorry. You’re right. She must be upset.” She nodded to Blossom fall. “Will you lead a patrol to search the lakeshore, Blossom fall? Lionblaze.” She turned to the golden tom. “Take two warriors toward the ShadowClan border. Ivy pool can take Storm cloud and Holly tuft to the WindClan border.”

Alderpaw felt a glim m er of relief. It felt good to be doing som ething. “Can I j oin a search patrol?” he asked.

Bramblestar shook his head. “You’ll be more use here, getting on with y our medicine-cat duties.”

As he spoke, Jayfeather padded from the medicine den. His blind gaze scanned the clearing.

“Alderpaw?”

Alderpaw’s shoulders drooped. Jayfeather must be able to read m inds. There was no way the grum py medicine cat would let him roam the forest when he could be counting poppy seeds or rolling herb bundles. He slouched toward the medicine den. “I’m coming.”

“We’ll find her!” Ivy pool called after him.

He glanced back at her. “Thanks.”

Jayfeather shooed him into the medicine den. “What’s the fuss about? Has one of the apprentices forgotten how to hunt?”

Alderpaw ignored the medicine cat’s sarcasm. He padded past Briarlight, sleeping in her nest, and reached into the medicine store. “Twigpaw is missing.” He pulled out a j um ble of leaves and began to sort them into piles.

Leafpool was dipping leaves into the water collecting beside the rocky wall of the den and lay ing them out to dry. “Missing?” She stopped and blinked at Alderpaw.

“Let’s hope she hasn’t gone swim m ing again,” Jayfeather grunted.

Why did every one keep say ing that? Alderpaw turned on him, anger sparking though his pelt.

“Don’t you care about any one except y ourself?”

Jayfeather stiffened, his blue eyes fixing on Alderpaw as though he saw him as clearly as an ordinary cat would. “Of course I do!” he snapped. “I can sense every cat’s feelings in the camp.

From their mew, from the way they walk, from the swishing of their tails. The noise of it never stops. If I took every feeling seriously, I’d never be able to focus on m y work.”

Alderpaw stared at him, shocked. Was Jayfeather really that sensitive to his Clanmates’ moods? “Did you know Twigpaw was upset?”

“She trudged into camp yesterday like there was a badger sitting on her shoulders,” Jayfeather replied. “Of course I knew she was upset. But I didn’t know she was going to run off in the m iddle of the night. I can’t read thoughts.”

Alderpaw turned back to the herbs. “Do you think she’ll be okay?”

“I’m sure she’ll be back soon,” Leafpool reassured him.

“Fresh air and exercise will do her good,” Jayfeather mewed briskly. “She’ll probably come home once she’s caught som e prey. Twigpaw’s the sort of cat who can’t enj oy fresh-kill unless she’s sharing it with her Clanmates.”

Alderpaw glanced at him, surprised. Had Jayfeather actually said som ething kind about Twigpaw?

Briarlight stretched in her nest, waking. She y awned. “Is the sun up already?”

“It’ll be above the hollow.” Jayfeather padded toward Alderpaw and swept the herbs away from him. “I’ll sort these. You can help Briarlight with her exercises.”

Relief shim m ered through Alderpaw’s pelt. Helping Briarlight would be more distracting than sorting dry old herbs.

“Is som ething wrong?” Briarlight frowned as he approached her nest.

Alderpaw didn’t try to hide the worry that was m aking his fur twitch. “Twigpaw is missing.”

He hooked his paws under Briarlight’s and helped her stretch them.

“For how long?” Briarlight rolled her shoulders to extend her stretch.

“She disappeared in the night.”

“Are there any signs of a struggle?” Briarlight’s eyes sparkled with worry.

“No.” Alderpaw m oved to her hind legs and grasped one between his paws. Pulling it, he worked the weak m uscles. “There’s no sign a fox has taken her. Or scents of strange cats. I think she decided to leave on her own.”

Briarlight j erked her gaze toward him. “Do you think she’s gone for good?”

“I don’t know.” Alderpaw didn’t want to think about it. And y et Briarlight’s words j abbed his heart. Could the realization that her mother was dead have m ade Twigpaw rethink her place in the Clan? Surely it would have m ade her understand that the Clan was her only fam ily now. His belly tightened. Or it made her think that she doesn’t truly belong anywhere. He grabbed Briarlight’s other hind paw and began working it back and forth. As he felt the stiffness in her m uscles ease, Jayfeather cleared his throat.

“She’d be a fool to turn her back on her Clan now,” he grunted. “And Twigpaw is not a fool.”

Alderpaw prickled with irritation. “You’ve called her one often enough.” Perhaps if Jayfeather hadn’t been so hostile toward Twigpaw, she’d have felt more at home in the Clan.

“I call every one a fool.” Jayfeather placed a fresh bundle of herbs with the others. “Twigpaw wouldn’t have wanted m e to tiptoe around her like she was a newborn kit.”

How do you know? As Alderpaw m oved Briarlight’s leg back and forth, a y owl of surprise sounded from the clearing.

He dropped Briarlight’s leg and pricked his ears.

Jayfeather was already tasting the air. “ShadowClan cats.”

“In our camp?” Alderpaw’s heart lurched. He headed for the entrance and barged through the brambles.

Foreboding gripped him as he saw Crowfrost, Scorchfur, and Tawny pelt in the clearing. Did they have news of Twigpaw?

Lionblaze, Dovewing, and Bum blestripe flanked them. Graystripe stood outside the elders’ den with Millie, while Larkpaw, Leafpaw, and Honey paw whispered excitedly beside the fresh-kill pile. Rosepetal and Molewhisker paced the edge of the camp, their hackles high.

Bramblestar was already hurry ing to m eet them. “Why have you come?” His eyes blazed as he stopped in front of Crowfrost.

Lionblaze stepped forward. “They were waiting beside the border. They approached us as soon as we neared. They want to speak with y ou.”

Crowfrost dipped his head. “We thought y ou’d like to know that Twigpaw is safe.”

Alderpaw darted forward. “Where is she? What happened to her?”

Crowfrost didn’t take his eyes from the ThunderClan leader. “We found her in our camp in the m iddle of the night.” His tail twitched. Alderpaw suspected that the ShadowClan deputy was enj oy ing this. “Does ThunderClan teach its apprentices to invade other Clans’ camps while they’re sleeping?”

Bramblestar narrowed his eyes. “Of course not,” he snapped. “I don’t know what she was doing there.”

Alderpaw hurried to his father’s side. “She probably went to see Violetpaw. She was upset about her mother. She probably just wanted to talk—”

Crowfrost spoke over him. “Do none of y our apprentices have m anners, Bramblestar? Or is it usual for ThunderClan warriors to take advice from the youngest cats in the Clan? Perhaps y ou should check the nursery in case a kit has any thing to say.” His mew dripped with sarcasm.

Graystripe snorted. “Don’t lecture us on our younger cats,” he growled. “At least they don’t abandon their Clan to fight for rogues.”

Crowfrost’s hackles lifted. But he ignored the ThunderClan elder and went on. “Twigpaw will be stay ing with us for a while.”