Эрин Хантер - Tigerheart’s Shadow

Rippletail blinked at him in surprise. “What?”

Blaze hurried closer. “Are you talking about Spire?”

“Yes.” Tigerheart watched his kits pad to a halt. They looked tired, but they were safe. “Spire saved Lightkit from the Thundersnake and Pouncekit from the river,” he meowed. “He was as brave as any warrior, and we should honor him as a warrior.”

“How?” Cloverfoot frowned.

Sparrowtail tipped his head. “Should we sit vigil for him tonight?”

“A vigil is not enough to thank him for what he has done.” Tigerheart glanced at his Clanmates. “He was loyal and brave. He should become one of us.”

Rippletail glanced at the stars. “How?”

“Let’s have a warrior naming ceremony for him now and give him a warrior name.”

Blaze pricked his ears. For the first time, grief cleared from his gaze. “A warrior name?”

“But he’s dead,” Cloverfoot pointed out. “It’s too late.”

Tigerheart stepped from the shadow of the trees and let moonlight wash his pelt. “StarClan knew him. They will be watching. They will know, and once he has his warrior name, he’ll be able to walk among them as the warrior he has always been, even though he never had the chance to live as one.”

“But you’re not a leader,” Sparrowtail meowed. “How can you give a cat their warrior name?”

Dovewing padded forward. “Tigerheart is leader of this patrol.”

Berryheart sat down wearily. “How can a cat who’s never known ShadowClan be a ShadowClan warrior?”

Blaze blinked at her. “He’s known you, and Tigerheart and Ripple—”

Cloverfoot cut in. “It’s true. He has known our Clan through us. And by finding us and protecting Tigerheart’s kits, he’s done more for ShadowClan these past moons than we have.” Exactly, Tigerheart thought. Guilt sparked in Cloverfoot’s gaze as she looked from Berryheart to Rippletail and Sparrowtail. Then she blinked expectantly at Tigerheart. “I think he deserves a warrior name.”

Rippletail dipped his head. “Okay.”

Sparrowtail and Berryheart nodded in agreement. Tigerheart lifted his muzzle to the stars. “I, Tigerheart, deputy of ShadowClan and leader of this patrol, call upon my warrior ancestors to honor Spire. He never knew the warrior code, and yet he lived by it. He healed the sick and protected the weak. He gave his life to save another. I commend him to you as a warrior of ShadowClan, and from this moment forward, he will be known as Spiresight, for his visions and his wisdom.”

“Spiresight.” Blaze breathed his friend’s new name.

“Spiresight!” Dovewing called out, her gaze sparkling as she looked at Pouncekit.

“Spiresight! Spiresight!” The cries of the patrol drowned out the evensong of the birds as they celebrated Spiresight’s warrior name.

Tigerheart looked once more toward the river. As the cries of the others died away, he prayed silently to StarClan. I hope he is safe among you now. Honor him. One day I hope to walk beside him.

He opened his eyes and looked at the gathered cats, all of their eyes alight with excitement—it felt good to be enacting a Clan custom after so long.

Ant shifted his paws self-consciously. “Should we hunt now?” The brown-and-black tom furtively scanned the undergrowth around the clearing.

Tigerheart could hear the rustle of prey. Squirrel scent touched his nose. The kits would be hungry. “Yes.”

“I’m staying here.” Blaze fixed Tigerheart with a solemn stare. “Sparrowtail said you honor fallen warriors by sitting vigil. I want to sit vigil for Spiresight.”

Tigerheart dipped his head. “Once the kits have eaten and have warm nests to sleep in, I will sit vigil with you.”

As Blaze blinked at him gratefully, Berryheart grunted with pain.

Dovewing hurried to the queen’s side as Berryheart sank to her belly. “What’s wrong?”

Berryheart gave an anguished moan. “The kits! I think they’re coming.”

Tigerheart kept out of the way while Berryheart wailed and grunted through the night. He sat with Blaze a little way from the nest Sparrowtail and Cloverfoot quickly made for the queen and watched Rippletail and Ant hurry back and forth, soaking moss in a nearby stream, fetching sticks, pacing anxiously while Dovewing and Cinnamon crouched around Berryheart, trying to help with her kitting. Cinnamon looked a little nervous.

Blaze did not speak as the moon moved above the trees. The young tom seemed lost in thought, making his silent vigil for his friend while the others bustled nearby.

Tigerheart’s thoughts wandered between grief for Spiresight and worry for Berryheart. How could the kits come now? They were not even close to ShadowClan’s borders; the landscape was unfamiliar, the journey ahead uncertain without Spiresight to guide them. He waited for worry to deepen into fear. And yet, as the night wore on, his anxieties unraveled into relief. Spiresight was in StarClan now, safer than he’d ever been in life. Berryheart’s kits would be with them by morning.

There was no use in worrying. He knew what must be done. Newborn kits could not travel. The patrol would stay here until Berryheart’s young were strong enough to finish the journey their mother had begun. This wooded hillside was not a bad place to wait; the stream Ant had found ran nearby, bubbling down from the hilltop, fresh and clear. The forest had the clean crisp smell of wildness, untainted by the Thunderpath, which was too far away even to hear. Prey would be fresh, and the trees would provide shelter even if the weather hardened from frost to snow.

When he heard the mewl of Berryheart’s first kit, a sense of peace enfolded Tigerheart for the first time in a moon. He remembered the first happy days with Pouncekit, Lightkit, and Shadowkit. Since there was nothing to do but wait, he might as well relish the comforts of their temporary home. As dawn began to lighten the sky beyond the hill, he climbed higher to see the rising sun. A rabbit strayed across his path, and he tracked and hunted it with a simple relish he’d not felt since he’d been an apprentice. He laid the rabbit at his paws and lifted his gaze to watch the orange crown of the sun lift above the distant hills.

“Tigerheart?” Dovewing’s mew sounded between the trees.

He didn’t move, but shifted to make room as she joined him. “How is Berryheart?”

“She’s well. The kitting was hard, but she was brave.” Dovewing sat down. “She had three kits. She’s suckling them already.”

“Has she named them?”

She leaned against Tigerheart, her flank warm against his. “Hollowkit, Sunkit… and Spirekit.”

“Spirekit?” Tigerheart stared at her.

Dovewing stretched her forelegs. “Berryheart insisted; no other name would do.”

Tigerheart pondered this. It was not very common for kits to be named after dead cats, but when he thought of bringing another Spire back to ShadowClan, he purred happily. “I think that’s a perfect name. Have you told Blaze?”

“Yes,” Dovewing murmured. “He went straight to Berryheart’s nest to see them.”

Tigerheart looked anxiously into Dovewing green eyes. “Do you think Blaze will be okay? Spiresight cared for him ever since he was born.”

“He will grieve,” Dovewing told him gently.

“Do you think he regrets coming with us to ShadowClan?”

“Not for a moment.” Dovewing turned her gaze toward the rising sun. “Spiresight wanted him to come, remember? I think Blaze will feel he is honoring his best friend’s wishes as well as his own.”

Tigerheart touched his nose to Dovewing’s cheek. She was gentle in her wisdom.

Dovewing purred for a moment, then paused. “It’s strange how Spiresight found Berryheart and the others.”