Эрин Хантер - The Fourth Apprentice

“Don’t be too hard on her.” Graystripe flicked his tail at Spiderleg. “We all played games when we were apprentices.”

“Maybe she’s confused,” Millie added kindly. “It could be the heat. Did you have a dream?” she asked Dovepaw.

“I didn’t dream it, and it’s not a game!” Dovepaw’s anger was giving way to distress, her forepaws working in the earth of the camp floor. Why are they all pretending they don’t know about the stream?

“Come on.” Hazeltail got up and stretched. “Let’s find a shady place to sleep. Maybe we can all dream about big brown animals.” She padded off toward the edge of the clearing, followed by Spiderleg and Mousewhisker. Birchfall skirted the fresh-kill pile and halted in front of Dovepaw. His eyes were serious.

“If you’re making things up for fun, then stop it and say you’re sorry,” he meowed. “If you’re feeling ill, then go ask Jayfeather for some herbs. But stop bothering warriors who have better things to do than listen to nursery tales.”

“It’s not a nursery tale!” Dovepaw wanted to wail like a lost kit. Even my own father is joining in!

Birchfall exchanged a glance with Lionblaze, then padded away with Whitewing. Graystripe and Millie headed for the warriors’ den. Cinderheart rose to her paws. “Get some rest now, Ivypaw. When it’s cooler, I’ll take you for some battle training.”

“Thanks,” Ivypaw mewed, watching her mentor as she followed the other warriors. She gave Dovepaw a hard shove. “Stop showing off.”

Dovepaw stared at her, incredulous. “But, Ivypaw, you—”

“You’re only doing it to get attention,” Ivypaw hissed. Before Dovepaw could respond, she bounded away and vanished into the apprentices’ den.

Dovepaw stayed crouched beside the fresh-kill pile, her head down, feeling utterly crushed. Every cat in the Clan had treated her like a piece of dirt, just because she knew about the brown animals. Why are they pretending they don’t know? At least Lionblaze must have heard them; he was beside her when she sensed them, far upstream on the border with ShadowClan. Maybe it was some big secret that apprentices weren’t supposed to know about? He shouldn’t have taken me to that empty stream, then!

After a few moments, she felt the light touch of a nose against her ear, and looked up to see her mentor gazing down at her. His amber eyes were unreadable.

“Follow me,” he meowed.

Dovepaw followed Lionblaze through the thorn tunnel and into the clearing just outside the camp. Is he angry with me as well? she wondered.

Lionblaze halted in the shade of a hazel thicket at the edge of the clearing and turned to face his apprentice. “Tell me what you can hear,” he mewed.

Dovepaw was startled. Was this her punishment? “Waves lapping at the edge of the lake,” she replied. “And the dawn patrol is on its way back.” Brightening up a little, she added, “Berrynose trod on a thistle earlier. He was trying to balance on three paws while he pulled the prickles out with his teeth.”

“Was he now?” Lionblaze murmured. “And where did this happen?”

“On the WindClan border, near the stepping-stones across the stream.”

As Dovepaw spoke, the bracken at the other side of the clearing parted, and Dustpelt led his patrol into the open. Rosepetal, Foxtail, and Berrynose followed him; the cream-colored warrior was limping.

“Hey, Berrynose!” Lionblaze called. “What happened to you?”

Berrynose didn’t reply, except for heaving a long sigh.

“He stepped on a thistle,” Dustpelt snapped. “You would think no cat ever had a thorn in his paw before.”

Lionblaze was silent until the patrol had vanished into the tunnel. Then he turned back to Dovepaw. Her fur prickled under the intensity of his gaze.

“Wait here,” he ordered.

Dovepaw crouched down as he padded across the clearing and followed the patrol into the tunnel. Her belly was churning uncomfortably. I don’t understand what all this is about!

A few heartbeats later, Lionblaze returned; Dovepaw stiffened when she saw that Jayfeather was with him. Does Lionblaze think that I’m sick, too? Does he think I need a medicine cat?

“This had better be important,” Jayfeather grumbled as he crossed the clearing beside Lionblaze. “I’m in the middle of making a yarrow poultice.”

“It is important,” Lionblaze assured him, halting in front of Dovepaw. “I think she’s the one.”

“One what?” Dovepaw’s nervousness made her voice sharp. “Don’t talk about me like I’m not here.”

Lionblaze ignored her. “She hears things,” he explained to Jayfeather. “Not from StarClan. I mean from really far away.” Turning to Dovepaw, he added, “Tell Jayfeather about the brown animals blocking the stream.”

Reluctantly Dovepaw repeated the story she had told to her Clanmates around the fresh-kill pile. When she had finished she waited for Jayfeather to make fun of her like the others. Why is Lionblaze making me go through all this again?

Jayfeather was silent for a moment; when he spoke it was to Lionblaze. “Do you think she’s telling the truth?”

Dovepaw’s frustration spilled over. Before Lionblaze could reply, she sprang to her paws and confronted Jayfeather. “I don’t understand why every cat thinks I’m making this up! There are animals blocking the stream; are you telling me that you can’t hear them?”

Jayfeather answered her with another question. “Do you just hear them?”

Dovepaw shook her head; then she remembered that Jayfeather couldn’t see her. “No, I know what they look like, too.” Confusion swept over her. “I mean, I can’t really see them, not like they’re in front of me. But—but I know what they look like. They’re brown, with stiff fur and flat tails. Oh, and they have big front teeth, which they use to cut the trees and branches.”

“She saw Berrynose treading on a thistle, too,” Lionblaze added. “While his patrol was at the other end of the WindClan border.”

Jayfeather’s whiskers twitched. “So, you saw him and heard him,” he mused. “Anything else? Did you feel his pain?”

“No,” Dovepaw replied. “But I saw him stumble, and I heard him complain about the thorns in his pad. And I knew he was trying to pull them out with his teeth.”

“That doesn’t sound like messages from StarClan,” Jayfeather remarked, turning to his brother. “It’s more as if she can see and hear things that other cats can’t.”

“We need to test her,” Lionblaze meowed.

“Do you mean I’m different from other cats?” Dovepaw asked, her brain whirling. Couldn’t all cats tell what was happening around the territory? How did they know when trouble was coming, then? She felt her fur beginning to fluff up in panic. “Is there something wrong with me?”

“No,” Lionblaze assured her, giving her a calming touch on her shoulder with the tip of his tail. “It—it means you’re special.”

“Can Ivypaw sense the same things?” Jayfeather asked.

Dovepaw shrugged. “We’ve never spoken about it. But…maybe not.” Now that she thought about it, she had always been the one who commented on things happening far away, not her sister. A worm of fear crept into her belly. I thought every cat could see and hear the same way I can. I don’t want to be the only one .

“We need to test her out,” Lionblaze repeated. “Is that okay?” he added quickly as Dovepaw began to bristle up again.