Erin Hunter - Long Shadows

“The trial in the caves isn’t supposed to take sharpclaws away from us,” he went on. “It’s supposed to be the making of them, the sign that they’re fully grown and the equal of any other cat. And that’s not all. Prey is disappearing, scared off by Twolegs or taken by foxes and badgers. Even the ground is being torn up by Twolegs, with endless noise and quaking. This isn’t our home now; it’s a place that doesn’t want us anymore.”

More nods and murmurs of agreement followed Stone

Song’s speech. A black-and-white cat called out, “But where can we go?”

Jaypaw’s heart sank when he saw Stone Song turn toward him. He could guess what was coming next.

“Jay’s Wing has had a dream,” the tabby tom announced.

“He saw a place where we can live: stone hills teeming with prey and shelter, and free from any enemies.”

Jaypaw bit back a protest. He hadn’t made the mountains sound as wonderful as that! But Stone Song had a point; the Clans had made the Great Journey when Twolegs made the forest impossible to live in. And cats had settled in the mountains, long, long ago. If these cats were the ancestors of the Tribe, then perhaps it was Jaypaw’s responsibility to encourage them to go there.

“It sounds a lot better than here,” Dark Whiskers commented.

Rising Moon nodded. “I don’t want to lose my kits down those dreadful tunnels.”

“And we’d be far away from Twoleg monsters,” Whispering Breeze added. “We wouldn’t lose any more cats like my sister was lost.”

Jaypaw saw that Dove’s Wing and Fish Leap were gazing at him expectantly; their glances scorched his fur. They were waiting for him to lead them! Then he realized that all the cats were looking at him in the same way. For a heartbeat his head spun. I can’t do this! I want to go home to ThunderClan!

When his head cleared, Jaypaw saw that the cats had formed into a ragged line, leading up to Furled Bracken. Their gaze was fixed on the ground in front of the line. Jaypaw padded forward to see what they were looking at.

At Furled Bracken’s paws was a circular patch of bare ground, about the size of a tree stump. Beside it was a pile of small, round pebbles that looked as if they came from the lakeshore. Furled Bracken stretched out his claws and drew a line in the earth across the bare patch, dividing it into two halves. Then he pushed one of the stones into the center of one half.

“This side wishes to stay,” he announced. He stepped back to let the next cat choose.

Stone Song padded up. He pushed his stone into the opposite half of the bare patch. “This side wishes to leave.”

Jaypaw stared at the circle of ground in astonishment.

These cats were casting the stones themselves! There were no omens, no sharing tongues with StarClan, no obeying the word of the leader. Furled Bracken was allowing the cats to make their own decision. “What sort of way is this to run a

Clan?” he murmured under his breath.

And what’s going to happen when all the stones are cast?

The elder Running Horse stepped up and placed a stone in the “stay” half of the circle. “My bones are too old to climb stone hills,” he grunted. “Come on, Cloudy Sun, you know what to do.”

The frail she-cat padded up beside him. “The sun warms me here, and that’s all I want now,” she murmured, pushing a stone to rest beside Running Horse’s. She touched her nose to his ear. “We’ll stay together.”

Stone Song and Dark Whiskers led Broken Shadow up to the circle. Distractedly, as if she hardly knew what she was doing, she set a stone in the “leave” half, and Dark Whiskers added his own with it.

Jagged Lightning padded up, hesitating for a moment while he glanced at Owl Feather. But Owl Feather was absorbed in watching her kits, who were wrestling at her paws. Jagged Lightning voted to stay, and turned away.

Jaypaw realized that Owl Feather had been aware of her mate all the time. As soon as Jagged Lightning had moved off from the circle, she cast her own stone, to leave, without looking at him once.

His belly churning, Jaypaw stepped up to make his own choice, but Furled Bracken held him back with a flick of the tail. “As the newest sharpclaw, you cast the final stone,” he meowed.

Jaypaw’s belly churned when he saw that two straight lines of stones were forming in the half circles. They looked equal; what would happen if there was no clear decision?

Rising Moon was the next cat to step up; she paused for a moment, then took a deep breath and pushed her stone into the “stay” half. “I’ve reared kits here before,” she murmured, “and I’ll rear them again.”

Her mate Chasing Clouds gave her a long, sorrowful look, but cast his stone to leave. Whispering Breeze followed him.

The line for leaving was growing longer, but then Fish Leap, Dawn River, and Shy Fawn all went up together and set their stones to stay.

Dove’s Wing padded up slowly, glanced at her friends’ stones, then at Jaypaw, and finally voted to leave. Only Half

Moon and Jaypaw were left. Half Moon stepped forward, gazing straight at Jaypaw as she pushed her stone into the “leave”

half of the circle.

The lines were equal! Now what do I do ? Jaypaw wondered, aware that every cat was staring at him. How can it be fair that I have to make the decision? I don’t even belong here!

His paws trembled as he walked up to the edge of the bare patch and stretched out a paw to draw a stone toward him. It felt sun-warmed under his still-sore pad. “They have to go to the mountains,” he whispered. “They will become the Tribe of Rushing Water.” Closing his eyes, he pushed his stone to the end of the line that voted to leave.

A gasp like the wind in the trees rose from the cats around Jaypaw.

“No! No!” Broken Shadow wailed. “Fallen Leaves, I didn’t mean it! I want to stay with you!”

Another wail of distress rose from some other cat; Jaypaw felt a claw of guilt tear briefly at his heart, but he did his best to ignore it. I know that this is the right decision for them .

He padded away from the circle, aware of the glowing look in Half Moon’s eyes. “We’re going to travel together!” she whispered.

Furled Bracken stepped forward. “The stones have been cast,” he announced. “I can no longer be your leader. Stone

Song, it is only fair that you lead us into the mountains.” His gaze traveled around the assembled cats. “If any cat thinks

Stone Song should not be our leader, speak now.”

They choose their leaders? Jaypaw wondered, astonished. Leaders can retire, and become ordinary sharpclaws again?

Silence followed Furled Bracken’s words, except for the muffled wails of Broken Shadow. Rising Moon was beside her, comforting her by licking her ear. “Everything will be all right,” she encouraged the grief-stricken she-cat. “Fallen Leaves won’t know you’ve gone.”

You’re wrong, Jaypaw thought. Fallen Leaves will live in the tunnels for moons and moons and moons, in agony that he was abandoned .

Stone Song dipped his head to Furled Bracken. “I will do my best to lead our cats to safety,” he promised. Then he glanced around at the others, meeting the expectation in their eyes. “We shall rest until dusk,” he ordered. “We will leave while the Twoleg monsters are sleeping.”

Cats looked at each other, a flurry of confusion arising even among those who had wanted to leave. “So soon?” Chasing Clouds asked.