Эрин Хантер - Dark River

“Where in StarClan did you find them?” Onestar’s eyes stretched wide.

Lionpaw’s fur was prickling along his spine. He glanced at Heatherpaw and stepped forward. “They found their way into—”

Hollypaw cut him off. “They were down on the shore,” she mewed. “They’d made themselves a camp to shelter from the rain.”

What was the point in giving away Lionpaw’s secret? The tunnels between the two Clans were blocked now. Any tactical advantage was lost and it would only get Lionpaw into trouble.

She glanced at the others, silently praying that they would agree.

Heatherpaw nodded. “They were just inside the ThunderClan border, right down on the beach.” Her gaze fixed on Breezepaw. “Lionpaw, Hollypaw, and Jaypaw saw us looking for them and called us over when they picked up their scent.”

“What scent?” Onestar meowed. “We didn’t find one.”

Breezepaw blinked. “The rain must have washed it away,” he mewed.

Onestar beckoned the kits toward him with his tail.

“Come here!”

Gingerly, Sedgekit, Thistlekit, and Swallowkit approached the border, ears flattened and tails down, and stopped at the edge of the gully.

“Why did you leave camp without permission?” Onestar growled across the gap.

Sedgekit lifted his chin. “We were exploring.”

“Exploring?” Onestar echoed. “We’ve almost fought battles with RiverClan and ThunderClan looking for you.”

Swallowkit hung her head. “We’re sorry.”

“We didn’t think,” Thistlekit added.

“It seemed like fun to build our own camp on the beach.”

Sedgekit’s gaze darted toward Hollypaw with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. He had no idea how important it was that the tunnels remain a secret.

Lionpaw padded to the scent-line. “You said almost fought RiverClan?” he mewed to Onestar.

Hollypaw’s pelt rippled with hope. “There hasn’t been a battle yet?”

“We gave RiverClan till dawn to return the kits.” Onestar gave an exasperated sigh. “But now it looks like we need to apologize for falsely accusing them.”

“Apologize?” Tornear lashed his tail. “Don’t forget they crossed our border!”

“They were chased by a dog,” Onestar reminded him.

“That’s what they said last time,” Crowfeather growled.

“I smelled the dog scent myself,” Onestar snapped. “We have to trust what our eyes and ears tell us.”

Crowfeather bristled. “But they still might invade.”

Onestar narrowed his eyes. “Or they might return to their old camp as they’ve promised. We’ll find out at the next Gathering. Until then we patrol our borders as usual. And if we see that dog, we’ll teach it to stay on its own land.”

Hollypaw felt weak with relief. The threat of battle was over. The WindClan kits were safe. She noticed Firestar staring at her.

“It looks like you were right, Hollypaw,” he meowed.

She dipped her head. “It was never about being right,” she mewed.

Brambleclaw ran his tail along her flank. “You look exhausted. We should get you all home.”

“Yes,” Onestar agreed. He hopped across the border and lifted the kits, one by one, over the gully. “I’m sorry that our kits caused so much trouble.”

“We have kits of our own,” Firestar replied, a hint of warmth in his voice. “So we know what it’s like.”

Tornear snorted and grabbed Thistlekit by the scruff. He turned sharply and padded away through the trees. Owlwhisker picked up Swallowkit while Crowfeather lifted Sedgekit.

“Thanks for bringing us back!” Sedgekit squeaked as he was carried away.

Brambleclaw glanced at Jaypaw, who was hanging back beside the undergrowth. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Jaypaw assured him. He began to wash his tail.

Hollypaw blinked. Didn’t he care they had stopped a battle? It was as though his quest had ended the moment they’d left the lake.

“I’d better go too.” Breezepaw nodded curtly at Hollypaw and Lionpaw. “Are you coming?” He stared at Heatherpaw, who was lingering on the ThunderClan side of the border.

“In a moment.”

Breezepaw snorted and hurried after his Clanmates.

Heatherpaw padded to Lionpaw and entwined her tail briefly with his. “Thanks for helping.”

Firestar narrowed his eyes and Hollypaw stiffened. She stared at her brother, claws itching as she waited for his reply.

One battle had been averted, but was another one still looming?

“We would have done the same for any cat,” Lionpaw mewed flatly.

Pain flashed in Heatherpaw’s eyes. “You’re going to be a great warrior, Lionpaw.”

Lionpaw watched as she leaped the gully and disappeared into the shadows. Then he blinked at Firestar, his eyes expressionless. “Are we going home now?”

Firestar nodded and began to lead his Clanmates away.

Hollypaw dug her claws into the soft, wet earth. Lionpaw had learned his lesson. The warrior code was more important than any friendship. It guided their paws in everything and it stopped more battles than it started. Jaypaw could get away with testing the code’s limits—he had his own mysterious relationship with StarClan—but she and Lionpaw were warriors. Without the code, they were nothing.

I’m not a medicine cat anymore. I can’t be friends with Willowpaw, not like we used to be. Obeying the warrior code is all that matters; if we do that, the Clans will be safe.

Muscles aching and paws weary, she followed her Clanmates into the forest. She could sleep soundly tonight.

Lionpaw’s muscles still hurt from the race through the tunnels and the long swim to the shore, but he couldn’t rest in the den any longer. He had slept till midday and Ashfur had refused to take him training until he’d had another good night’s sleep.

But Lionpaw’s heart ached to the point of making him fidget and shuffle his paws in the dried-up moss in his nest. Finally, he gave up trying to get comfortable and pushed his way through the barrier of thorns, into the forest.

“You need to stretch your legs?” Brook’s mew surprised him. Lionpaw had been lost in thought as he padded out of the camp entrance. The evening sun was glittering through the trees as it sank toward the horizon.

“I’m bored with resting,” Lionpaw told her.

“You look better,” she commented. “Last night you looked like you’d been as far as the mountains and back.”

Lionpaw looked at his paws. “The kits were hard to find.”

“But you found them,” Brook reminded him.

“Yes,” Lionpaw murmured. He began to pad up the slope, treeward.

“I’ll watch for you!” Brook called after him.

“I won’t be long,” Lionpaw promised.

He headed for the tunnel entrance, weaving slowly through the trees. As he saw the brambles that guarded the tunnel entrance, the pang in his belly grew stronger. He wriggled beneath the prickly branches and climbed the slope, pausing in front of the small burrow where Heatherpaw had once called to him. He imagined her now, her blue eyes shining with excitement.

He would never see her again in that way. As a friend. As a fellow member of DarkClan with their own hidden territory.

He couldn’t have all that and still be a loyal ThunderClan warrior.

He closed his eyes, imagining he could still smell her scent drifting from the tunnel entrance. He knew that was impossible. A mudslide blocked the way now. It marked the end of the most precious friendship he’d ever known.

“Good-bye, Heatherpaw,” he whispered into the tunnel, hoping the wind would carry his words through the darkness, picturing her waiting at the other end…