Darkest Night

Finpaw frowned. “Why not?”

Twigpaw glanced toward Sandynose. He had disappeared behind some bracken. “Your father thinks you’ll learn quicker if I’m not distracting you all the time.”

“Sandynose said that?” Finpaw’s eyes widened. “He must have bees in his brain. You’ve helped me so much!”

“Maybe you should just stick with Bellaleaf for now. You do have a lot of catching up to do.” Twigpaw tried to smooth over the awkwardness. She didn’t want to sour Finpaw’s relationship with his father. “We can hang out when we’re warriors.”

“Yeah, right.” Finpaw lashed his tail angrily. “Like you’ll want to hang out with me once you’re a great warrior and I’m just lumbering around like a clumsy badger because I’ve only got a half tail.”

Twigpaw stared at him. “I’ll always want to hang out with you.”

“So you think I will be like a clumsy badger?”

“No!” Twigpaw’s ears twitched uncomfortably. “Of course not. You’re going to be a great warrior too, if you train hard.”

Finpaw grunted crossly. “I’m never going to be the warrior Sandynose hoped I would be. He knows it and I know it. It’s probably why he doesn’t want me hanging out with you. He probably thinks I’ll hold you back.”

Twigpaw stared at him. “That’s not true.”

“Then why does he want to keep us apart?”

Twigpaw shrugged. Should she tell him that she suspected Sandynose would only ever see her as a disloyal ThunderClan cat?

“It’s not fair.” Finpaw sat down. “I’m never going to be a great warrior, and now I’m not allowed to be friends with you.”

“No one will ever stop us being friends.” Twigpaw padded close. She stared at him until he returned her gaze. “You’re special to me.”

“I am?”

“Of course you are.” Twigpaw nudged his cheek with her nose. “Once we’re warriors, no one will be able to keep us apart. I don’t care if it puts Sandynose’s tail in a twist. You’re going to prove to him that you’re a great warrior and so am I. We’ll be the best warriors in SkyClan, and he won’t be able to stop us doing anything we want.”

Finpaw lifted his muzzle, his eyes bright. “You’re right. He might think he knows best now, but once we can outrun, outhunt, and outfight him, he won’t be able to tell us what to do.”

“Exactly.” Twigpaw’s heart lurched as she glimpsed a brown pelt between the trees. Sandynose was watching them. “But you’d better go and find Bellaleaf now. I’ve got borders to mark before your father gets back.”

“Okay.” Finpaw stood up and flicked his half tail happily. “I’ll see you back at camp later.” He trotted away, glancing over his shoulder as he went.

As he disappeared behind the brambles, Twigpaw turned toward Sandynose. Her mentor was heading toward her. She tried to read his gaze. Was he angry that she’d been talking to Finpaw?

“He came to talk to me,” she mewed defensively.

“And you sent him away.” Sandynose looked satisfied. “You did well. The harder each of you concentrates on your duties, the faster you’ll earn your warrior names.”

And the faster Finpaw will lose interest in a ThunderClan traitor. Twigpaw turned away. “I’ll go and mark the rest of the border.” She headed for the lake.

“We’ll meet you on the shore when you’re done,” Sandynose called after her.

Twigpaw tried to keep her pelt smooth. She should be happy that she’d finally pleased Sandynose. But she couldn’t help feeling that she’d been mouse-hearted. In ThunderClan, she’d be a warrior by now. She would never have let a SkyClan cat boss her around. Did she want to be a SkyClan cat so much that she was willing to roll over and act like prey whenever Sandynose ordered her to? Anxiety rippled through her pelt. Would she ever earn the respect she’d had in ThunderClan? Was this what it cost to stay with Hawkwing, Violetpaw, and Finpaw?

Twigpaw followed Sandynose and Sparrowpelt back to camp. As they neared the cedar grove, she stiffened. ThunderClan scent. The familiar smells of Ivypool, Cinderheart, and Bumblestripe hung on the bracken that lined the path. She leaned down and sniffed the needle-strewn earth, and their scents bathed her nose. They had come this way recently.

She quickened her step, hurrying through the camp entrance.

The three ThunderClan warriors faced Leafstar, speaking in low mews. Bellaleaf and Sagenose listened as Finpaw moved restlessly behind them. Leafpool wove anxiously around her Clanmates. Violetpaw could see there was something wrong. Ivypool’s pelt was unkempt. Bumblestripe’s fur was streaked with mud. She could see swelling around Cinderheart’s ears.

“There was no warning,” Ivypool meowed.

“The camp is ruined.” Bumblestripe’s eyes were wide and dark.

“What’s happened?” She hurried forward, cutting into the conversation.

Ivypool blinked at her solemnly. “There was a rockslide in the camp,” she told her grimly.

Twigpaw tried to picture it, her belly tightening. “From the cliff?”

Bumblestripe nodded. “The rain loosened the earth up there. It brought down a great chunk of the cliff face.”