Erin Hunter - Long Shadows

“Do you think any more cats will have crossed into our territory?” Spiderleg asked.

Lionblaze didn’t listen to Sandstorm’s reply. He padded over to meet his sister, who waved her tail at the three ShadowClan apprentices and led them across the clearing.

“Come with us,” Hollyleaf said. “We need to talk to you.”

Suspicion glimmered in Tigerpaw’s amber eyes. “This isn’t just about cleaning our pelts, right?”

“No, but it’s nothing to worry about,” Lionblaze assured him. “We’ve thought of a way to help your Clan.”

As they passed the entrance to the medicine cats’ den, Hollyleaf paused. “Hey, Jaypaw! Meet us in the usual place.”

The only reply was a bout of exhausted coughing.

“Is that the medicine cats’ den?” Flamepaw asked curiously.

“Can I look inside? I really wanted to be a medicine cat,” he added.

“Not right now,” Lionblaze replied. “It’s a bit crowded in there.”

The sound of more coughing drifted through the bramble screen. Dawnpaw’s eyes stretched wide. “Gee, those cats sound sick!”

Lionblaze exchanged a glance with Hollyleaf. It was natural to hide problems from a rival Clan; if he told the apprentices there was greencough in the camp, it would make ThunderClan sound weak. Still, the young cats were hardly likely to launch an attack. That could only happen if ShadowClan started to believe in StarClan again. Lionblaze sighed. Everything led back to the fake sign…

“Jaypaw?” Hollyleaf called again.

“Okay!” Jaypaw sounded irritable. “I heard you the first time. I’ll come as soon as I can.”

Hollyleaf led the way to the space behind the warriors’ den. It was sheltered from the wind, but it felt even more cramped with the three apprentices in there. “You’ll manage better if you clean each other up,” she advised. “Get all the twigs and burrs out of your fur; then you can give yourselves a good wash.”

“This is such a pain,” Dawnpaw sighed, tugging at a stubborn knot in Tigerpaw’s fur. “I wish we were back on nice soft pine needles.”

“With any luck you will be,” Lionblaze promised.

“What do you mean?” Flamepaw asked.

“Wait until Jaypaw comes,” Hollyleaf meowed.

“I’m here.” Jaypaw appeared around the edge of the warriors’ den. “Great StarClan, it’s more crowded than ever,” he added, shoving his way in beside Lionblaze and wriggling until he’d made himself a space.

“Lionblaze says we’ll be back in our own territory soon.”

Dawnpaw was quivering with curiosity. “But I don’t see how we can be.”

“We’ve had an idea,” Jaypaw began, “but we haven’t much time. The longer Sol stays in ShadowClan, the harder it will be to get rid of him.”

“No cat can get rid of him,” Flamepaw mewed dejectedly.

Jaypaw tensed his muscles. “ We can. We’re going to make a sign from StarClan to persuade ShadowClan that Sol is lying to him. Blackstar—I mean Blackfoot—will kick him out pretty quickly after that.”

All three apprentices stared at Jaypaw with baffled faces.

After a few heartbeats, Flamepaw whispered, “Won’t that make StarClan angry?”

“I doubt it.” Jaypaw flicked his ears. “StarClan themselves asked me for help. They can’t object to how I go about it.”

The three young cats’ eyes stretched wide. “Wow!” Dawnpaw breathed.

“We want to know the best place to create a sign.” Lionblaze took up the explanation. “And we have to bring Blackfoot and Littlecloud to see it, so they’ll be convinced StarClan is still watching over them.”

“And don’t forget, your Clan will know by now that you’ve left,” Hollyleaf reminded the apprentices. “Any plan we make will have to take that into account.”

“I get it,” meowed Tigerpaw. “A place near the border would be best, so that you don’t have to trespass too far on our territory.”

“Maybe that marshy place near the edge of the territory,” Dawnpaw suggested. “Not many cats go there. We don’t want to be disturbed—”

“No, I think by the lake would be best,” Tigerpaw interrupted. “Then you could have a StarClan cat coming out of the water and—”

“Great,” Jaypaw grumbled. “And how do you suggest we do that?”

“And how do we get Blackfoot and Littlecloud to come and see it?” Dawnpaw added.

“We could tell them we saw cats trespassing,” Flamepaw suggested.

“Or a fox,” Tigerpaw put in. “We could lay a trail of fox scent.”

“What?” Dawnpaw’s neck fur fluffed up. “Are you mouse-brained? Are you just going to ask the fox nicely if—”

“We could use fox dung,” Flamepaw meowed.

Dawnpaw’s whiskers twitched in disgust. “ You can. I’m not going near any fox dung, thanks very much.” Then her eyes sparkled mischievously and she added, “Why not feed them poppy seeds and carry them to the place?”

“No way!” Tigerpaw protested. “Blackfoot’s a seriously big cat. I’m not lugging him across half the territory.”

“There are useful herbs growing near the oak tree by the stream,” Flamepaw pointed out. “Littlecloud would come for those.” His tail curled up in amusement. “Then we could pelt Blackfoot with acorns, and he’d think they came from StarClan.”

“That’s stupid !” Dawnpaw exclaimed, leaping on her brother.

They wrestled together; in the confined space one of Flamepaw’s hind legs jabbed Hollyleaf in the belly.

“Watch it!” she snarled. When the two apprentices sat up, she went on more calmly. “You’re not taking this seriously.

This isn’t a game. It’s about preserving the warrior code. Do you want your Clan to break up and become a collection of rogues? Because that’s what will happen if we can’t make them believe in StarClan again.”

Serious now, wide-eyed with anxiety, all three apprentices exchanged uncomfortable glances. “Sorry,” Tigerpaw muttered.

“Well, what about that marshy place?” Dawnpaw went back to her original idea. “Not many cats will be anywhere near, especially after all this rain. We wouldn’t be disturbed there while we were setting up the sign. And Sol never goes that far; he doesn’t want to get his paws wet.”

“That sounds pretty good,” Lionblaze meowed. “What do you think?” he asked his littermates.

Hollyleaf nodded, and Jaypaw murmured, “It’s worth checking out.”

“But what will the sign be?” Flamepaw mewed eagerly.

“We’ll work that out when we get there,” Jaypaw replied.

“We’d better go right away.”

Lionblaze stuck his head out into the open. Watery sunlight was gleaming through the clouds. Outside the warriors’ den, Sorreltail and Brackenfur were sharing tongues, with Squirrelflight drowsing in the sunlight nearby. The four remaining kits were playing at the entrance to the nursery, with Daisy and Ferncloud looking on. Otherwise, everything was quiet; Lionblaze guessed that most cats were sleeping in their dens, either sick with the cough or building strength for the next patrol.

“All clear,” he reported. “Let’s go.”

“But I’m hungry,” Flamepaw complained. “Can’t we eat first?”

“There’s barely enough for ThunderClan,” Jaypaw growled.

Seeing the guilty looks on the faces of the apprentices, Lionblaze rested his tail-tip on his brother’s shoulder. “It’s not their fault,” he murmured. “There’s no time to eat now,” he told Flamepaw, “but we’ll see if we can pick up some prey on the way back.”

Seeing the shock in Hollyleaf’s green eyes, he added, “Okay, I know, the Clan must be fed first. But faking a sign from StarClan isn’t exactly part of the warrior code, is it? Anyway, we’re not a hunting patrol. I reckon the territory can spare a few mice.”