Darkest Night

I don’t want to leave him until I know he’s all right.

CHAPTER 5

Alderheart narrowed his eyes against the sunshine as he padded from the medicine den. Crisp, brown leaves littered the clearing. A soft wind lifted his fur.

“And don’t forget borage!” Jayfeather called after him. “We need more borage. But not today. Remind me tomorrow.” The blind medicine cat had been fussing over herbs since sunup, worrying about getting new supplies picked and dried before the rain came.

Alderheart had promised Jayfeather he’d gather comfrey today, but he hadn’t eaten yet and his belly was rumbling. He padded to the fresh-kill pile, a little disappointed that none of the hunting parties had returned yet. A stiff mouse and a cold sparrow were left from yesterday. He glanced around the camp to check that no one else was heading for the pile. He didn’t want to deprive any of his Clanmates of a meal.

Out of habit, he looked toward the apprentices’ den first. Even though a half-moon had passed since Twigpaw had left with SkyClan, Alderheart expected her to pop out, with bright eyes, excited about the day’s training. He tried to imagine her in SkyClan. She was probably a warrior by now. Wistfully, he hoped that Leafstar had given her a name worthy of her spirit. He missed her questions and enthusiasm and endless ideas.

“Hi, Alderheart.” Leafpool’s cheerful mew jerked him from his thoughts. She was padding beside Briarlight as the crippled cat dragged herself around the edge of the clearing. “We’re doing laps today. I think Briarlight’s getting faster.”

“I’m not getting faster.” Briarlight puffed beside her, her forepaws holding her up while her useless hind legs splayed out behind her. “You’re getting slower.”

Leafpool meowed with amusement. Then she turned toward Alderheart and nodded at the pitiful fresh-kill pile. “Why don’t you wait until the hunting patrols return?”

Alderheart rolled the mouse closer. “I hate to waste prey.”

“Waste it while you can.” Briarlight paused to catch her breath. “Leaf-bare’s coming. You’ll have plenty of time to eat stale prey then.”

“Thanks.” Alderheart sighed. “But I’m so hungry, this old mouse will probably still taste sweet.”

Briarlight began her slow progress around the clearing once more.

Leafpool trotted after her. “Just one more lap,” she encouraged. “Let’s see if you can get around without stopping this time.”

“You’re the one who keeps stopping,” Briarlight retorted. “Do you have to speak to every cat in camp?”

As Alderheart leaned down to pick up the mouse, Squirrelflight’s mew rang across the clearing. She stood on Highledge, where Bramblestar was sniffing the air. “Cloudtail, Thornclaw, Poppyfrost. I want you to come on border patrol with me.” As she leaped down the tumble of rocks, the three warriors hurried to meet her. They followed her to the entrance.

Poppyfrost’s pale tortoiseshell-and-white fur was prickling. “We have three borders to patrol now,” she complained. “ShadowClan, RiverClan, and SkyClan.”

“It’s still exactly the same border,” Squirrelflight reminded her.

“But with different cats on the other side, we have to check for different scents,” Thornclaw pointed out.

“You’ll get used to it,” Squirrelflight meowed briskly.

Cloudtail fluffed out his fur. “At least we don’t have to pay much attention to the RiverClan border now that they’ve cut themselves off.”

Squirrelflight looked at him. “We should pay more attention to it for that very reason,” she told him. “If their scent marks grow stale, we should worry.”

“Why?” Cloudtail shrugged. “Maybe keeping themselves to themselves means not bothering with borders.”

Thornclaw flicked his tail. “Squirrelflight is right. As long as they’re marking their borders regularly, we know they’re still behaving like a real Clan.”

Poppyfrost’s gaze sparked with alarm. “Do you think they might stop being a Clan?”

“I’ve given up trying to predict what any Clan will do,” Squirrelflight replied, ducking through the entrance tunnel. Thornclaw and Poppyfrost exchanged glances, then followed, Cloudtail at their heels.

Alderheart stared after them. His belly tightened with worry. They’d just found one Clan. They mustn’t lose another.

Lilyheart padded to the fresh-kill pile. “You look worried.” She blinked at him, concerned.

“There has been too much change recently,” he mewed distractedly.

Lilyheart brushed past him and pawed the sparrow from the pile. “I still can’t believe Twigpaw left.”

Alderheart heard sadness in her mew. “You must miss her.”

“Don’t you?” She met his gaze.

Melancholy settled over him like mist as he imagined Twigpaw trotting out of the medicine den, Jayfeather grumbling behind her. “Very much.”

“It’s hard to raise a kit only to watch her leave,” Lilyheart sighed. “And she was such a bright young cat.”