Bluestar's Prophecy

I don’t want to think about anything else! Moonflower’s not a thorn in my paw to be plucked out and forgotten! Bluepaw jumped down from the root, her paws so numb with cold that she landed clumsily.

Sunfall glanced around at her. “Are you okay?”

“Of course!” She straightened up. She’d show him. She’d be the best apprentice he ever saw. But she wouldn’t forget Moonflower.

As he led her through the trees, Sunfall glanced at the sky. Though the sun had not yet set, the moon hung, round and mottled, in the pale blue sky. “I’ll take you to the Gathering tonight,” he meowed. “Though I’m not sure you deserve it.”

Don’t bother, then. Bluepaw bit back the words.

“It’s good for you to see the other Clans and to get to know them in peace as well as battle.”

Yeah, right! Get to know them! The other Clans were hardly talking to them. Since the battle they’d watched ThunderClan like distrustful owls, rebuking them every chance they got for the “cowardly” attack and the destruction of WindClan’s medicine supplies. ShadowClan had even suggested they pay WindClan in prey for the damage.

“I don’t know why we bother going,” Bluepaw muttered. “The other Clans hate us.”

Sunfall paused at the edge of the ravine. “Let them sneer.” The fur lifted along his spine. “We suffered as well. Stonepelt has moved to the elders’ den, and Leopardfoot’s wound has only just healed.”

And Moonflower died. Bluepaw silently dared him to say it, but the ThunderClan deputy only slid his paws over the edge of the ravine and began to bound down the cliff.

“Don’t worry,” he called over his shoulder as Bluepaw leaped down after him. “Something will happen soon, and they’ll forget the battle. Nothing stays the same for long.”

Bluepaw followed him down the ravine and along the path to the gorse barrier. As they padded into camp, the familiarity of her home soothed Bluepaw. The clearing felt sheltered, shielded from the breeze, and after the trek through the woods she could feel her paws again.

Maybe Sunfall was right. Maybe Moonflower was watching her from StarClan, willing her to be the best and bravest warrior. So what if Stormtail ignored her? She’d make Moonflower proud instead. She’d be just as brave, just as loyal, and just as willing to die for what she believed.

For the first time in moons, some of the weight in Bluepaw’s heart lifted. She took a deep breath and felt the icy air sear her lungs, reminding her that this was leaf-bare, when her Clan needed her most.

Chapter 11

Bluepaw’s ear tips ached with cold by the time they reached the edge of the hollow. At least she’d been able to scamper across the brittle surface of the night-frosted snow instead of struggling through soft drifts. Her paws were like ice, but the race through the forest had warmed her blood.

Sunfall paused beside Pinestar and stared down the slope with his ears pricked and his breath clouding in front of his muzzle. “RiverClan’s not here,” he meowed.

Bluepaw tasted the air. “ShadowClan and WindClan are.” Their scent was sharp on her tongue.

Pinestar’s nostrils twitched. “They haven’t been here long, by the smell of it.”

“I can’t imagine any cat wanting to be out long on a night like this,” Featherwhisker commented. The medicine cat apprentice stood beside Goosefeather with his fur fluffed against the cold.

Lionpaw slid his paws back and forth over the rim of the hollow. “Can we go down yet?” he mewed.

This was Lionpaw’s and Goldenpaw’s first Gathering, and Lionpaw had been ahead of the patrol most of the way, only giving way to Pinestar when the ThunderClan leader called him back and told him to stay beside Swiftbreeze.

Isn’t he nervous at all?

Goldenpaw was shivering, and Bluepaw guessed it wasn’t just with cold. She tried to catch the apprentice’s eye to reassure her, but Goldenpaw’s gaze was fixed on the cats below, milling between the four great oaks like shadows dappling water.

“I didn’t think there’d be so many,” she breathed.

Dappletail ran her tail down her young apprentice’s spine, smoothing her fur. “Don’t worry. The truce holds, so long as the full moon shines.”

Bluepaw looked up. Not a cloud dotted the blood-dark sky, and the stars shone like chips of ice around the great milky moon.

Snowpaw circled Thistlepaw, her paws crunching the snow. “If any cat says anything about the battle with WindClan, I’ll shred them,” she vowed. “I’m bored of hearing about it.”

Pinestar flashed her a stern look. “No one will shred anyone,” he warned.

“They must be bored of it by now, too,” Windflight growled.

Adderfang snorted, his breath billowing. “Any excuse to provoke us.” He beckoned to Thistlepaw with his tail. “Stay with me,” he told his apprentice. “You nearly fought with a ShadowClan apprentice last time.”