Erin Hunter - Sign of the Moon

Suddenly he sensed a familiar presence at his shoulder.

“It is nearly time,” Rock whispered.

Jayfeather tensed, and for a heartbeat he considered ignoring the ancient cat’s warning. Then he sighed. He knew there was no use fighting destiny. Glancing around, he spotted Half Moon and made his way to her side. “Come on. Let’s go out for some air,” he murmured.

Half Moon nodded and followed him along the path and up the rocks beside the waterfall. To Jayfeather’s astonishment, he saw that the short leaf-bare day had ended and the moon was shining, a little brighter and plumper than the night before.

Standing at the edge of the cliff, her fur ruffled by the breeze, Half Moon looked up at the thin crescent. “It’s still there,” she whispered.

“Yes, and it will always be there,” Jayfeather responded. “Just as your descendants will be here. It’s up to you to make them stay, Half Moon, to persuade them that they can survive with their new ways of hunting. You must use all your skills with herbs to look after them.”

Half Moon’s green eyes were worried. “I don’t want to be a leader,” she protested.

“Then call yourself their Healer.”

The she-cat looked away as if she didn’t want Jayfeather to see the pain in her eyes. “You truly believe this, don’t you?”

Jayfeather stepped closer to her and touched the tip of her ear with his muzzle. “Yes, I do. This is all meant to be. However much I wish things could be different.”

Half Moon let out a long sigh. Closing her eyes, she leaned against Jayfeather. “You’re going to leave me again, aren’t you?”

Jayfeather nodded. “I’m so sorry. I wish I could stay.” He gave her ear a lick, but there was little comfort in it. “You will be a great Healer,” he went on. “Let the moon and the stars guide you. I promise everything will be okay.”

Half Moon looked up at him. “I believe you, because I trust you,” she whispered.

Jayfeather stepped back, the light of the slender moon spilling around them, turning Half Moon’s white fur to silver. As if there was a voice prompting him from inside his head, he knew what he had to say. “From this moment on, you will be known as the Teller of the Pointed Stones. Others will come after you, moon upon moon upon moon. Choose them well, train them well, and trust the future of your Tribe to them.”

“Tribe?” Half Moon echoed.

“Yes,” Jayfeather replied. “You are a Tribe now, united in loyalty to everything you represent. It won’t be easy, but the other cats will understand what needs to be done to keep you safe here forever.”

“I’ll miss you.” Half Moon’s voice was desolate.

“And I you. I won’t ever forget you, I promise.”

Jayfeather leaned toward her, and their noses touched. If only…Jayfeather thought.

Half Moon was the first to break away. Jayfeather watched as she jumped neatly down beside the waterfall, paused at the end of the path for one brief glance at him over her shoulder, then vanished into the cave.

“Good-bye, Stoneteller,” Jayfeather murmured. “May the Tribe of Endless Hunting light your path, always.”

“Mouse dung! Which cat thought night training would be a good idea?” Thornclaw muttered, pulling away from a trailing bramble tendril and leaving a tuft of tabby fur behind. “I can’t see my own paws!”

Lionblaze suppressed a mrrow of amusement. “That would be Firestar,” he meowed. “You know he wants us to keep all our skills sharp.”

Thornclaw let out a snort of disgust as he headed after the rest of the patrol. Lionblaze brought up the rear with his ears pricked, but all he could hear was the faint pad of his Clanmates’ paw steps and the rustle of branches in the breeze. The forest was cool and quiet, with only a thin sliver of moon to light the cats’ path.

Brackenfur, who was leading the patrol, halted in the next clearing. “Right, this is the exercise,” he began. “We split into two patrols. I’ll lead one, with Thornclaw, Bumblestripe, and Birchfall. Sorreltail, you can lead the other, with Ivypool, Lionblaze, and Berrynose.”

“So what are we supposed to be doing?” Berrynose asked, scuffling his paws through the dead leaves.

“Each patrol has to approach and seize control of the old Twoleg nest,” Brackenfur explained. “And stop the other patrol from taking it, of course. Even better if we can track down and capture some of the opposing patrol.”

“Sounds like fun!” Bumblestripe exclaimed.

Sorreltail raised her tail. “Brackenfur, we don’t want to get into serious fights, do we? If one of us jumps on your patrol, then we’ve won, right?”

“In your dreams!” Brackenfur blinked at his mate with warm amber eyes. “But yes, good point. If you’re jumped on, you surrender. This is an exercise in night tracking, not fighting.”

When there were no more questions, Brackenfur waved his tail as a signal to his own patrol to move off. Sorreltail watched them go, her eyes narrowed; Lionblaze guessed she was trying to work out which route they would take. Then she summoned her own patrol with a flick of her ears and led the way into the trees.

The undergrowth was thicker here; it was hard to move quietly and harder still to see the other cats. The thin claw-scratch of moon and the weak starlight were hardly any use at all. Trying to creep down a slope covered with bracken, Lionblaze crashed into Sorreltail’s rump and realized that she had halted.

“Sorry!”

Sorreltail gave him a brief nod, then twitched her tail to summon the others. “Any suggestions?” she whispered. “Ivypool?”

Ivypool’s eyes were shining in the dim light. “We need to stick to the shadows,” she meowed, “and try not to brush against the undergrowth. We should think how we find prey while we’re hunting.”

Sorreltail gave an approving nod. “Very good.”

Lionblaze had felt a chill of unease as Ivypool spoke. Training in the Dark Forest had given her an edge on stalking by night.

“Why are we sitting here?” Berrynose demanded. “The others could be at the Twoleg nest by now.”

“I don’t think so,” Sorreltail murmured. “I know how Brackenfur thinks. They’ll make a wide circle and try to come at the nest from the other side, so that we can’t track them down.” Her eyes gleamed. “At least, that’s what he hopes will happen. Let’s go!”

The patrol headed down the slope and through a hazel thicket. Lionblaze watched how sure-footed Ivypool was, winding her way through the undergrowth like a passing shadow, seeming to know instinctively when to duck low beneath overhanging branches and when to slip almost unseen from one patch of darkness to the next. Admiration battled inside him with apprehension. Were the tactics of the Dark Forest becoming part of ThunderClan’s skills? Was that what Tigerstar thought would happen?

Or will Ivypool be in trouble on her next visit to the Dark Forest, for giving away their secrets? Lionblaze sighed. At least she’s here now, and not training with our enemies in her dreams.

“Hey! Mouse-brain! Are you asleep?”

Lionblaze jumped at Berrynose’s irritated hiss, and spotted the cream-colored tom a few paces ahead, glaring back over his shoulder.

“Okay, I’m coming,” he whispered back, hurrying to catch up.

Sorreltail halted again on the edge of the old Thunderpath; the Twoleg nest was on the other side, several fox-lengths farther down but still out of sight. “We’re going to win this, no question.” Her voice was a soft murmur, barely audible. “Berrynose, you’ll come with me, and we’ll take the nest.” The young tom puffed his chest out. “Lionblaze, you and Ivypool are going to capture one of Brackenfur’s patrol. If I’m right, they’ll be somewhere over there.” Sorreltail pointed across the Thunderpath with her tail.