Erin Hunter - Twilight

Leafpool’s heart sank. An escort was the last thing she wanted. Once she might have considered taking Sorreltail, who had shared adventures with her in the past, but the young tortoiseshell had to rest now for the sake of her kits.

“I’ll be fine,” she promised Cinderpelt. “That old nest is right in the middle of our territory, and we know the fox has gone.”

“Okay. Be careful, though. Keep on the lookout for badgers.”

“I will.”

She hurried across the clearing to the thorn tunnel before anyone else could ask what she was doing. She had never been to the abandoned nest before, but she knew it was near the overgrown Twoleg path that led away from the stone hollow.

Brambleclaw thought that Twolegs had once taken stone out of the hollow, leaving their marks on the cliffs, and used the path to carry it away. Leafpool didn’t know if he was right, but the stony path made a good clear space where she could race along without being held up by undergrowth.

The morning light was still casting long shadows through the woodland when she came to the Twoleg nest. It was set back from the path, half hidden by sparse trees and thickets of bramble. A shiver went through Leafpool; though Brambleclaw had described it to her, she hadn’t known until now just how sinister the nest would feel.

I’d rather face wild foxes than go in there ! she thought.

Warily she examined the tumbledown walls and the sagging piece of wood that once had blocked the entrance.

Nothing moved, and when she tasted the air there was no scent of Twolegs. However, she could pick out the scent of catmint, and she followed it until she found the clumps Squirrelflight had mentioned, not far away from the wall of the nest. Several stems were long enough to take now, and there would be plenty more later in newleaf. Leafpool bit off a few stalks and padded away from the Twoleg nest.

Instead of following the path back to camp, she cut through the woods in a wide arc until she came to the stream that marked the border with WindClan. She told herself this was the best way around the lake because ShadowClan were more likely than WindClan to be hostile if they found her on their territory.

Slipping along in the shelter of bushes, with her ears pricked for patrols from either Clan, Leafpool followed the stream until she came to the shallow place where ThunderClan had crossed when they first arrived in the territory.

Before she went any farther, Leafpool paused to hunt. She soon brought down a vole that was scuffling in the reeds. She devoured it in a few bites, still listening for the sound of other cats, then she crossed into WindClan territory.

She followed the stream on the other side until she was within two fox-lengths of the lake. Now she could breathe more easily. She was on medicine cat business so she shouldn’t encounter any trouble, even if WindClan warriors saw her.

Wishing for the wind in her paws, she raced along the lakeshore. At first she cast anxious glances behind her, in case she was spotted by ThunderClan cats patrolling the stream.

Then a fold of the hill hid her from her own territory. She slackened her pace to a brisk trot and began to think about what she was going to say to Mothwing. Suddenly she stopped dead, her heart pounding.

Would Mothwing take the warning seriously, when she didn’t believe StarClan existed?

She has to , Leafpool told herself, forcing herself to keep going. Feathertail would be watching her from StarClan, and she had to keep her promise.

Leafpool kept one eye on the moorland slopes, but there was no sign of any WindClan cats. There’s no point in looking for Crowfeather. What could you even say to him if he were here ?

There was no sign of the kittypets at the horse place, either, but almost as soon as she passed the new RiverClan scent markings Leafpool spotted a patrol approaching her from the higher ground beyond the marsh. Mistyfoot was leading it, with Mosspelt and an apprentice Leafpool hadn’t met before.

“Hi, Leafpool” Mistyfoot meowed as she came up. “Is everything all right?”

Leafpool set down her stems of catmint. “I’ve brought some herbs for Mothwing.”

Mistyfoot gave the leaves a good sniff. “Catmint,” she mewed approvingly. “Thanks, Leafpool. I think Mothwing’s in camp. You can come with us—we’re just on our way back.”

Picking up her catmint again, Leafpool followed the patrol along the lakeshore until they came to a stream. They turned inland and padded beside the swift-flowing shallow water until a smaller stream joined it on the far side. The land between the two was fringed with reeds and thick with bushes. Even through the scent of catmint, Leafpool could pick up the scents of many cats.

Mistyfoot splashed across and jumped onto the opposite bank. “Welcome,” she meowed.

Leafpool picked her way more cautiously through the stream, wishing she were as confident in the water as Mistyfoot and the other RiverClan cats. They passed a bramble thicket where Dawnflower, one of the RiverClan queens, was sunning herself with three tiny kits scrambling over her flank; she acknowledged Leafpool with a wave of her tail.

Farther on, a couple of apprentices were wrestling in the shade of a clump of bracken.

Leafpool spotted a well-stocked pile of fresh-kill. “You’ve settled in well,” she commented to Mistyfoot, around the stems of catmint.

Mistyfoot gave a satisfied nod. “This is a good place.”

She led Leafpool to a spot where a thorn bush overhung the narrower stream. The bank had fallen away, and the current had scoured out a small round pool beneath the bush’s roots. Where the earth had been washed away, a smooth-sided hole had been left in the bank; from the piled leaves and berries Leafpool could see inside, she realized this must be Mothwing’s den.

Mothwing was crouched on the bank above the pool, sorting through a pile of horsetail.

“Mothwing, you’ve got a visitor,” Mistyfoot meowed.

The golden tabby glanced up and then sprang to her paws with a mrrow of delight. “Leafpool! What are you doing here?”

“I brought you this.” Leafpool jumped down and laid her catmint stems in front of Mothwing, glancing back to thank Mistyfoot as the RiverClan deputy padded away.

“Catmint!” Mothwing exclaimed. “That’s great—I haven’t found any in our territory yet.”

Leafpool looked around to make sure Mistyfoot had really gone, and that no other cat was in earshot. This was her chance to pass on Feathertail’s warning. But her fur prickled and her mouth felt dry. Something about this didn’t feel right.

Drawing closer to Mothwing, she mewed, “Actually, the catmint is only one reason I came. I have a message for you from StarClan.”

Mothwing’s blue eyes stretched wide. Leafpool suddenly wished she hadn’t come. It might look like she was suggesting Mothwing couldn’t be a proper medicine cat because the warning hadn’t come to her directly. But Mothwing said nothing, just pricked her ears as she waited for Leafpool to finish.

“I had a dream,” Leafpool told her. “Feathertail came to me.”

She hesitated as she saw Mothwing’s eyes flood with grief.

Of course, since Feathertail had been a warrior of RiverClan, Mothwing would have known her well.

“She… she told me she couldn’t get through to you. She asked me to bring you a message. RiverClan is in grave danger from Twolegs.”

The RiverClan medicine cat sat in silence for several heartbeats, her eyes thoughtful.

“Twolegs?” she meowed at last. “But there aren’t any—”

She broke off and sprang to her paws. “Leafpool, it’s been so quiet along the small Thunderpath that we haven’t bothered with it much. Maybe something has happened there. Will you come and check it out with me?”