Erin Hunter - Twilight

Leafpool was nowhere to be seen, but it didn’t take long for Squirrelflight to pick up her scent. The trail skirted the top of the hollow, then set off into the forest.

Squirrelflight followed, pausing every now and then to taste the air. She wanted to believe that Leafpool had left the hollow on medicine cat business, but as far as she knew, there were no herbs that had to be gathered by moonlight. Besides, the way Leafpool had sneaked out of camp, and the mingled guilt and excitement Squirrelflight picked up from her, meant that she must be doing something she shouldn’t.

You could have told me , Squirrelflight thought crossly. Maybe I could have helped .

Leafpool’s scent trail wound around hazel thickets and clumps of fern. After a while Squirrelflight realized she could hear the gurgling of the stream that marked the border with WindClan. She stopped and thought for a moment. Could Leafpool be going to the Moonpool? If she were, she would be furious that Squirrelflight was intruding on a medicine cat ritual. But if that were the case, why sneak out of the camp?

Leafpool wouldn’t mind if every cat in the Clan knew she was going to share tongues with StarClan.

Squirrelflight went on, doing her best to follow the trail, but the woodland was full of the smell of newly bursting leaves and rising sap. Mouthwatering hints of prey crossed and recrossed Leafpool’s scent, until Squirrelflight could hardly distinguish it from all the others that flooded her senses. Several times she had to stop and take deep, gulping breaths before she could go on. Once she thought she had lost the trail on a bare patch of ground where rock pushed up close to the surface, but she picked it up again on the other side. Then the scent vanished completely in a patch of marshy ground, and though Squirrelflight padded all over it with her nose to the ground she couldn’t find it again.

“Huh!” she grunted. “Call yourself a hunter?”

She could still hear the sound of running water, and she slid silently through the trees until she came in sight of the stream. The breeze brought WindClan scent to her; could Leafpool have crossed the border into WindClan territory?

For a heartbeat Squirrelflight thought of crossing to see if she could pick up her sister’s scent on the other side. But there was always the chance that some WindClan cat might have felt like hunting at night. If she were spotted on their territory there would be big trouble, with Onestar feeling the way he did about ThunderClan. Squirrelflight decided she would have a better chance of finding out what Leafpool was up to if she went back and waited outside the hollow until she returned.

She crouched among the ferns above the place where the cliff had crumbled away, guessing Leafpool would return the same way she had left. Her belly growled with hunger, but she didn’t want to hunt in case she missed her sister.

The sky was growing milky with the first sign of dawn when she heard a cat approaching through the undergrowth.

Squirrelflight drew in her sister’s scent; rising to her paws, she saw Leafpool coming toward her, her head lowered and her tail brushing the grass.

“Where have you been?” she demanded.

Leafpool’s head shot up and she stared at her sister in dismay. “What are you doing out here? Have you been spying on me?”

“No, you daft furball.” Squirrelflight padded up to her sister, wanting to brush against her fur and reassure her, but Leafpool drew back a pace, and her eyes were wary. “I saw you leave last night, that’s all, and I’m worried about you. I know something’s wrong. Can’t you tell me what it is?”

The strength of Leafpool’s emotions almost swept Squirrelflight off her paws. She could tell her sister longed to confide in her, but a barrier stronger than thorns blocked her way. Squirrelflight’s belly clenched. Leafpool’s problem must be even more serious than she had thought.

Leafpool shook her head. “Nothing’s wrong. Leave me alone.”

“I’m hardly going to do that now,” Squirrelflight scoffed.

“Leafpool, this isn’t like you, sneaking off—”

“Sneaking!” Leafpool hissed, her tail fluffing out in fury.

“You’re a fine one to talk! Why is it okay for you to sneak out and follow me?”

“I didn’t!” Squirrelflight protested. “I only wanted to know what was wrong.”

“It’s none of your business! If you trusted me, you wouldn’t ask all these questions.”

“Fine!” Squirrelflight snapped. “My sister’s in trouble and I’m supposed to ignore that?”

“If I wanted your help I would ask for it!” Leafpool flashed back at her.

“You know you need help.” Squirrelflight made a huge effort to control her fury. “If it’s medicine cat stuff, why don’t you talk to Cinderpelt?”

“Cinderpelt never listens to me.” Leafpool’s voice was sad.

“She’s got Brightheart to help her. She doesn’t need me.”

“That’s the most mousebrained thing I’ve ever heard!”

Leafpool let out a hiss. “And you’re so wise and clever all of a sudden? I suppose you’re going to tell Firestar about this, too.”

Squirrelflight’s anger died away. Her sister seemed so desperate, it was impossible to go on challenging her. Wherever she had been, whatever she had been doing, it hadn’t made her happy.

“I won’t tell any cat,” she mewed quietly. “You’d better get back to your den before you’re missed.”

Leafpool nodded and brushed past, then turned and gave her such a sorrowful look that Squirrelflight felt a pang pierce her heart, as sharp as a thorn.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, her voice so low that Squirrelflight could scarcely hear her. “I’d tell you if I could, I promise.”

Without waiting for a reply, she disappeared over the edge of the hollow.

Squirrelflight stayed where she was, shaking like a leaf in the wind. She knew there was no point in going back to her den and trying to sleep. Her belly growled again, reminding her how long it had been since she had eaten. She would hunt for a while: a vole for herself, maybe, and then as much prey as she could catch for the fresh-kill pile. She turned to plunge back into the forest, and jumped as the undergrowth rustled and Brambleclaw stepped out.

“Was that Leafpool I saw just now? Where had she been?”

“I’ve no idea,” Squirrelflight replied, her pelt prickling.

“She doesn’t need permission to leave the camp.”

Brambleclaw’s eyes narrowed; he clearly guessed Squirrelflight was hiding something from him. “It’s not safe for cats to wander around alone at night,” he commented.

“I think it was medicine cat stuff.” Squirrelflight automatically lied to protect her sister. “You know, looking for herbs.”

Brambleclaw blinked; Squirrelflight wasn’t sure she’d convinced him. He might have noticed that Leafpool hadn’t been carrying any herbs when she vanished into camp. And why would she have climbed down the cliff instead of using the tunnel? Squirrelflight’s tail twitched in her eagerness to get away before the tabby warrior could go on questioning her.

“I’m going hunting,” she mewed briskly.

“So am I.” Brambleclaw hesitated as if he were about to suggest they hunted together.

That was the last thing Squirrelflight wanted. “Well, I’m going this way.” She swung around and headed in the direction of the ShadowClan border, glancing over her shoulder to add, “See you later.”

She could feel the tabby warrior’s gaze following her as she plunged into the undergrowth, and she couldn’t stifle a pang of regret, deep within her belly. Once, she would have told him everything about Leafpool, trusting him to do everything he could to help. Now she didn’t trust him at all—especially not to keep her sister’s secret, whatever it was.