Erin Hunter - Dawn

Leafpaw raked through the fur at the base of her tail, scraping out the troublesome flea. She cracked its fat body between her teeth, tasting with some satisfaction the blood it had stolen from her. “Got it!”

“Don’t tell the others you had an extra piece of fresh-kill,” Squirrelpaw joked. “They’ll all want one.”

Leafpaw’s belly growled. The vole she had just shared with her sister had barely touched her hunger. They were lying side by side in a shallow dip in the stone, watching the sun sink behind Sunningrocks. The clouds had cleared, and a perfect half-moon hung in the blue evening sky.

“Has Cinderpelt decided whether you’re going to make the journey to the Moonstone tonight?” Squirrelpaw meowed.

“She’s speaking with Firestar about it now,” Leafpaw replied. The medicine cats of every Clan met each half-moon at Mothermouth to share tongues with StarClan.

They didn’t need the half-moon to secure a truce—medicine cats lived outside the differences between Clans that sometimes led to quarrels—but it was an important time for sharing concerns and advice about treating their Clanmates.

Leafpaw saw Cinderpelt emerge, and she clambered to her paws, keen to find out if they would be going to Highstones in spite of the dangers that lurked in the forest.

But Cinderpelt shook her head as she came over and stood at the edge of the hollow. “Firestar agrees with me,” she reported. “We can’t risk the journey with so many Twolegs and monsters about.”

“But we need to share with StarClan now more than ever!”

Leafpaw protested.

“Firestar says he cannot risk losing us, and he’s right.

Where would the Clan be without a medicine cat?”

Leafpaw sighed and scraped at the rock with her claw.

“StarClan will share with us if they wish to,” Cinderpelt mewed.

Leafpaw shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re not going,” Squirrelpaw meowed as Cinderpelt padded away. “I nearly lost you to the Twolegs once. I don’t think I could bear it again.”

Leafpaw gave her sister a quick, fond lick on her head and settled down again. “Do you think the RiverClan cats will go to Highstones?” she wondered out loud. It was strange to think that the other medicine cats might be making the journey without them. Would StarClan think Cinderpelt and Leafpaw were being cowardly?

“I doubt they’ll risk it,” Squirrelpaw told her. “Last time Brambleclaw and I saw Stormfur, he said Mudfur was pretty sick.”

“I was just hoping that, if the medicine cats from all the Clans traveled to the Moonstone together, it might bring us closer,” Leafpaw admitted.

Squirrelpaw nodded. “I know. You’d think trouble like this would unite us, like it did when BloodClan attacked, but instead we seem forests apart.”

“Each Clan seems to have its own idea about what to do.”

Leafpaw sighed. “If only StarClan would give us a sign!”

“Were you hoping that StarClan might share something with you tonight?”

Leafpaw gave a small nod, avoiding her sister’s gaze. She didn’t want to betray the fear that had made her heart pound all day: the cold dread that they would go all the way to the Moonstone and find StarClan silent even there.

“It’s stupid that the Clans should find it so hard to come together.” Squirrelpaw’s mew interrupted her thoughts.

“They have far more in common than they think.”

Leafpaw looked thoughtfully at her sister, suddenly wondering what Squirrelpaw was hinting at.

“After all, ShadowClan, RiverClan, and ThunderClan even share kin,” Squirrelpaw went on.

“You mean Tawnypelt and Stormfur?”

“Not just them.” Squirrelpaw’s tail twitched as she spoke.

“There are other cats linked to ThunderClan by blood.”

With a jolt Leafpaw wondered if her sister had discovered a secret she had known for a moon and kept to herself. “Are you talking about Tigerstar being Hawkfrost and Mothwing’s father?”

Squirrelpaw stared at her in astonishment. “Have you been sharing my dreams again?”

Leafpaw shook her head. “I’ve known for some time,” she admitted.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Squirrelpaw demanded.

“I didn’t think it mattered. Not right now, when all the Clans are in danger. Why should it make a difference if Tigerstar is Hawkfrost and Mothwing’s father?” Leafpaw knew she was trying to convince herself. The last thing the Clans needed was another cat with Tigerstar’s hunger for power.

“A warrior like Hawkfrost can’t be trusted,” Squirrelpaw insisted.

Leafpaw felt an uneasy knot twist in her belly. “But Tigerstar is Brambleclaw’s father too,” she pointed out.

“And Brambleclaw is a loyal warrior.”

“Brambleclaw has nothing to do with this,” Squirrelpaw snapped.

“Of course not,” Leafpaw agreed quickly. “I only meant that having Tigerstar as a father doesn’t mean a warrior has to follow in his pawsteps.” She prayed this was true.

“Good.” Squirrelpaw nodded. “Because Brambleclaw is completely different from Hawkfrost. They have nothing in common. Nothing.”

Leafpaw curled into a ball beside her sister and buried her nose under her paws for warmth. Squirrelpaw’s words had sounded like an echo—were they Brambleclaw’s, perhaps?

“Good night, Squirrelpaw,” she whispered, curling up close to Squirrelpaw, their sharp words forgotten. Leafpaw did not need a visit from StarClan to tell her that her sister was falling in love with Brambleclaw. Amid everything else that was going on, and however much Leafpaw missed the connection that once only the two of them shared, this felt right and good for the whole Clan.

She closed her eyes. I wonder if StarClan will share my dreams , she thought as sleep tugged at her like a gentle river. It was a half-moon, after all; that had to count for something, even if they weren’t at the Moonstone.

Leafpaw felt the insistent nudge of a nose prodding her awake. “Who is it?” she whispered sleepily.

“It’s me, Mothwing.” The young cat’s voice trembled with fear.

Leafpaw blinked open her eyes and saw the RiverClan apprentice outlined in the pale moonlight.

“Come quick; I need you,” Mothwing mewed under her breath.

Leafpaw felt her sister stirring beside her. “What’s going on?” Squirrelpaw yawned.

“It’s Mothwing,” Leafpaw told her.

Squirrelpaw was on her paws in an instant. “What are you doing in our camp?” she hissed.

“I need Leafpaw’s help,” Mothwing explained. “Mudfur is very ill.”

“And you thought you’d just creep in here in the middle of the night?”

“Be quiet, Squirrelpaw, before you wake the whole Clan,” Leafpaw growled. She wanted to tell her sister to stop seeing Tigerstar’s daughter standing in front of them, and see her instead as a medicine cat in trouble, but she didn’t want to make Mothwing feel uncomfortable. “Wait here, both of you,” she meowed. “I’ll go and tell Firestar and Cinderpelt.”

“But—” Mothwing began.

Leafpaw silenced her with a glance. “I’ll come with you, but I have to tell them where I’m going.” Leaving the two cats in uneasy silence, she hurried up the slope to the overhang. She crept into the shadowy cavern and followed her father’s scent.

Firestar lifted his head drowsily. “Is that you, Leafpaw?”

Beside him, Sandstorm shifted but did not wake.

“Mothwing’s come to ask if I can go and help Mudfur. He’s really ill.”

She saw a shadow moving toward her from the back of the den, and scented Cinderpelt.