Эрин Хантер - Thunder Аnd Shadow

He padded down the dim pled stone path. The Moonpool shone at the bottom. The half-moon’s reflection was rippling in the wind, which spiraled down between the sheltering cliffs. It ruffled Alderpaw’s fur, but he didn’t feel cold. Newleaf had finally loosened the stone grip of leaf-bare.

The night air was fragrant with scents.

Willowshine was sitting beside Mothwing and Puddleshine, but as the ShadowClan medicine cat spotted Leafpool, he hurried forward.

“How’s Twigpaw?” he asked as she reached the pool.

“She’s fine.” Leafpool dipped her head politely.

In the day s since the ThunderClan patrol had brought her home, Twigpaw had been quiet, her thoughts drifting easily. When Alderpaw had asked her about her time with ShadowClan, she’d told him that they’d treated her well but she was glad she didn’t have to live in such a disorganized Clan. Sadness had tinged her gaze as she’d said it, and, when he’d pressed her, she’d adm itted that even though she didn’t miss ShadowClan, she wished she could still be with Violetpaw.

“It felt good to have kin close by,” she had m urm ured.

Alderpaw had touched his nose to her cheek, wishing there was som ething he could say to com fort her.

In the hollow, Puddleshine’s eyes flashed with gratitude. “Twigpaw was am azing.”

Alderpaw blinked at him as he reached the pool. What had Twigpaw done that had im pressed the medicine cat so much? “Am azing?”

“She helped m e with the sick cats,” Puddleshine explained. “She knew which herbs to give and how to make even the sickest cats swallow them.”

Jayfeather grunted. “I suppose all that time she spent getting under m y paws wasn’t entirely wasted.”

Alderpaw ignored the grum py medicine cat, relishing the pride warm ing his belly. “Twigpaw loves to help.”

Leafpool leaned forward anxiously. “How are the sick cats?”

The glow faded from Puddleshine’s gaze. Alderpaw suddenly noticed how weary he looked, his pelt dull and unwashed, his tail drooping. “Kinkfur died a few day s ago,” he mewed.

Kestrelflight shifted his paws uneasily, avoiding the ShadowClan medicine cat’s gaze. Had he known about Kinkfur’s death before the m eeting? Did he feel responsible?

Puddleshine went on. “No cat has shown signs of im provem ent. Snakekit is just fur and bones, and Rowanstar’s lives are ebbing away.” He lowered his voice, one eye on Harespring, still standing at the top of the hollow. “And now Crowfrost has been taken ill.”

Alderpaw saw Leafpool swap anxious looks with Kestrelflight. His heart lurched. ShadowClan had no leader now. They would be more vulnerable than ever.

Mothwing padded forward. “We’ve scoured RiverClan territory for lungwort, but we’ve found nothing that fits y our description.”

Willowshine pricked her ears. “We wondered if birch sap might help. There’s a young tree near the river. The bark is soft enough to score into. We can gather sap and bring it to you if y ou like. Its sweetness will give the sick cats energy when they can’t eat.”

Jayfeather tipped his head curiously. “Birch sap? Does it cure coughs?”

“We don’t know y et. We’ve only just discovered it,” Willowshine told him. “But it won’t do any harm. It might be worth try ing until Onestar changes his m ind.”

Alderpaw’s belly tightened. From what he’d seen of the WindClan leader, Onestar was never going to change his m ind. His thoughts quickened. And if he doesn’t? How many ShadowClan cats will die? Would there be any cat left? Anger surged through him. “Why don’t the Clans j oin together and make Onestar give ShadowClan the herb?”

Kestrelflight’s fur rippled uneasily.

Leafpool blinked at Alderpaw, clearly surprised by the anger in his mew.

Puddleshine’s ears twitched. “If only it were that easy.”

“It is that easy!” Alderpaw’s pelt bristled. “We need to stand up to Onestar.”

Leafpool’s tail swished over the stone. “You’re right, Alderpaw. But we need the support of our leaders. I’m not sure they are ready to start a war over this y et.”

Alderpaw growled. “They should be! Don’t they care that ShadowClan is dy ing? Aren’t all cats’ lives im portant?”

Kestrelflight glanced at Harespring. He nodded to the warrior, who turned and disappeared over the edge of the rim. “I think I have a more peaceful solution.”

The medicine cats swung their heads toward him.

Alderpaw’s heart leaped into this throat. “What?”

Kestrelflight padded to the pool. “I need to share with StarClan before I tell y ou. I need to know that what I want to do is right.”

Alderpaw watched the WindClan medicine cat crouch at the edge of the pool and touch his nose to the water. Curiosity gnawed in his belly. “What do you think he means?” he blinked at Leafpool.

“Let’s share with StarClan,” she mewed softly. “And then he can tell us.”

Alderpaw followed Leafpool as the cats fanned out around the pool. Mothwing lay down by the pool to wait. Closing his eyes, Alderpaw crouched and touched his nose to the water.

Sun-drenched m eadows opened in front of him. A warm breeze ruffled his pelt. The stone beneath his paws turned to soft grass, tickling where the wind set it rippling against his fur.

A broad-faced gray she-cat padded toward him, stars sparkling in her thick, long fur. She purred as she neared. Alderpaw dipped his head, wondering who she was.

“I am Yellowfang.” She stopped in front of him.

Yellowfang. Alderpaw had heard stories of the brave she-cat who had killed her own son to save her Clan. He blinked at her, his heart quickening. “Have you come to tell m e if Twigpaw and Violetpaw are what we were meant to find in the shadows?” He’d come to the pool with the sam e question burning in his thoughts every half-moon.

Yellowfang’s whiskers twitched with am usem ent. “Haven’t you wondered whether finding out for y ourselves might be part of the prophecy?”

Alderpaw leaned forward eagerly. “Does that mean they are?”

Yellowfang gazed at him steadily. “It means I’m not telling y ou.”

Alderpaw frowned, frustration pricking through his fur.

Yellowfang purred louder. “I’d forgotten the impatience of y outh.” She padded around him, letting her thick tail trail across his flank. “I cam e only to praise you for speaking out.”

“When?” Alderpaw m et her gaze, puzzled.

“Just now. With the other medicine cats.” She stood still. “I wondered at first if you had what it takes to be a medicine cat, but now that I see that you are willing to say what you believe, I trust that StarClan m ade the right choice after all.”

After all? Alderpaw frowned. “Didn’t you choose m e?”

“StarClan does not always speak with one voice.”

Alderpaw remembered many dream less moons. “Sometimes you don’t speak at all.”

“Would you rather we guided y our every paw step?” Yellowfang tipped her head. “Wouldn’t y ou rather walk y our own path?”

“I guess.” Alderpaw glanced past her, wondering if any other StarClan cats were here. “But there are som e paths that are too hard to walk alone. And we can’t see som e paths at all.” He thought of the missing Clan. “You never m ention Sky Clan. Do you know where they are?”

Yellowfang blinked at him, giving nothing away. Alderpaw flexed his claws irritably. “Then what about ShadowClan?” He thought of Onestar and ShadowClan and the dy ing cats. “Why tell

Puddleshine where to find lungwort without telling Onestar to let him gather it?”

“What lesson would any cat learn from that?” Yellowfang began to fade, her pelt growing translucent in the bright sunshine.