Эрин Хантер - Dark River

“Good morning, Leafpool.” Sandstorm paused from her washing. Her voice softened as she addressed him. “Good morning, Jaypaw.” A twinge of resentment stabbed his belly.

She still thinks I’m a kit.

“I had a dream—” he began.

“—about RiverClan.” Leafpool quickly finished his sentence. “Jaypaw dreamed they were in trouble. There seemed to be a problem with their home.”

Firestar’s tail swished over the ground. “Was there any message about ThunderClan?”

“ThunderClan wasn’t involved,” Leafpool meowed carefully.

“And there was no clear sign about what their problem is?”

Firestar queried.

“Not exactly,” Jaypaw admitted.

“Then I don’t see what we can do,” Firestar concluded.

“Shouldn’t we try to help them?” Leafpool’s mew was brittle with surprise.

“If they need help, they’ll ask for it.” Firestar shifted his paws. “It’s none of our business.”

“Why not?” Jaypaw bristled with frustration.

“I haven’t forgotten the last time you came to me with a dream,” Firestar growled. “It’s not part of the warrior code to attack every Clan that seems weak!”

Jaypaw’s ears burned. “I never said anything about attacking them! We could help them.” If ThunderClan helped now, RiverClan would be in their debt.

“Perhaps we could pay them a friendly visit,” Leafpool suggested.

“No.” Firestar was firm. “We have our own Clan to worry about. I don’t know why StarClan can’t send you dreams about us instead of announcing every other Clan’s problems!”

Leafpool took a step forward. “You could send a patrol though, just to see. If they stayed near the shore, it wouldn’t break the—”

“They live on the other side of the lake!” Firestar cut her off. “I think Onestar has had enough of our meddling. And Blackstar is always looking for an excuse to get even with ThunderClan. StarClan knows why! I’m tired of acting for the best and then finding I’ve only made ThunderClan the focus of every resentment and jealousy in the other Clans.”

Jaypaw felt disappointment pulse from his mentor. Her paws scuffed the earthen floor of the cave as she padded out.

He followed her, scrabbling down the rockfall.

“Aren’t you going to argue with him?”

“I tried,” Leafpool sighed.

“But he has to listen to you! You’re the medicine cat.”

“He’s the leader.” Leafpool started to pad away. “I want to check on Daisy,” she meowed. “You go and sleep.”

Jaypaw flicked his tail. He wished his dream had been clearer. Then Firestar might have acted. Warm sunshine dappled his pelt as he padded toward the medicine den. He was tired after the long trek to the Moonpool. He needed rest before he could think of doing anything.

“Jaypaw, wait!” Hollypaw’s voice rang from the apprentice den. She skidded to a halt beside him. “Was Willowpaw there? Did you talk to her?”

“No.” Jaypaw wanted to sleep, not chat.

“She wasn’t there?” Panic edged Hollypaw’s mew.

“She was there. I just didn’t talk to her.”

“Did you find anything out? Perhaps Mothwing told Leafpool something.”

“RiverClan is definitely in trouble,” Jaypaw mewed.

“What’s wrong? How can you be sure?” Hollypaw paced around him.

“I saw Willowpaw in a dream. She’s worried that she has to find a new home.”

“A new home !” Hollypaw froze. “That’s dreadful! What’s Firestar going to do?”

“Nothing,” Jaypaw reported. “He doesn’t want to interfere.”

“But he must!” Hollypaw gasped. “RiverClan is in trouble.”

“Firestar says it’s their problem.” Jaypaw’s pelt itched with annoyance as he remembered the way the Clan leader had dismissed him. Again .

“So we have to stand by and watch?”

“Look, I’m tired.” Jaypaw began to pad toward the medicine den. “Go and argue with Firestar. He’s the one that makes the decisions.”

He left Hollypaw, feeling her gaze follow him across the clearing, sensing the indignation prickle from her pelt, hearing her shift her paws as she wondered whether to confront Firestar or not.

It wasn’t like Hollypaw to be so indecisive. Would she be more certain if he shared what he knew about the three cats who held the power of the stars in their paws? Not yet .

Something held him back, some pleasure in saving the knowledge for himself, some fear that speaking his destiny out loud might change it.

Right now all he wanted to do was rest his aching paws and sleep.

“I’m still really tired,” Jaypaw complained.

Leafpool was leading him down to the lake. “But sunhigh’s the best time to collect mallow, when the leaves are dry.”

Jaypaw yawned. His paws were still sore and he felt as if he’d hardly closed his eyes before Leafpool nudged him awake. At least the day was warm. There was no chance of newleaf being driven back by the long claws of leaf-bare now.

The sunshine striking through the new foliage was hot enough to make his pelt itch as they padded through the trees. Birds called to one another, and far off he could hear the shrieks and splashes of Twolegs playing in the water.

Jaypaw shivered, remembering his fall into the lake when Crowfeather had rescued him. He wasn’t going to get his paws wet again if he could help it.

Water babbled nearby. He had only been this way once before. A brook ran down out of the forest and into the lake.

Like the stream that led up to the Moonpool, it carried the scent of the mountains. Leafpool led him along the edge, weaving around the trees that lined its path. The grass felt soft and cool on his pads and he was sorry when Leafpool veered off the grassy bank and down onto the pebbly shore.

“The lake’s higher than I’d hoped,” she meowed, stopping.

“We won’t be able to collect all the herbs I wanted, but I can see a clump over there.” She darted away toward a sweet scent, and Jaypaw began to pad after her.

Suddenly, in the forest behind him, leaves fluttered and paw steps beat quick and light on the forest floor.

A squirrel!

Tiny paws skittered along the bank of the stream behind him and scrabbled up a tree, rustling its leaves. Then splashing. A hunting patrol was plunging toward him, down the shallow stream.

“Did you hear where it went?” Birchfall’s excited mew sounded from the trees.

Jaypaw flicked his nose toward where the squirrel was leaping along a low branch.

“I’ll get it!” Pebbles rattled and water splashed as Mousepaw scooted from the stream and up the tree trunk. Jaypaw ducked and blinked as shards of bark sprayed him, gouged out by Mousepaw’s eager claws. The branch overhead creaked, and Jaypaw heard a surprised squeal.

But it wasn’t the squirrel. It was Mousepaw.

The apprentice tumbled off the branch and crashed onto the pebbles beside Jaypaw.

“Fox dung!” Mousepaw scrambled to his paws, embarrassment flashing from his ruffled pelt.

“Catch it?” Jaypaw inquired.

Leaves rustled above them as the squirrel made its getaway.

“Nice try!” Spiderleg called from the stream.

“Next time, I’ll get it!” Mousepaw called back to his mentor.

The scent of the stream had confused Jaypaw, but as the ThunderClan patrol clambered out, shaking water from their paws, he recognized their distinctive smells. Ashfur and Lionpaw were with Birchfall, Spiderleg, and Mousepaw.

Lionpaw bounded down onto the shore. “Hi, Jaypaw.”