Dawn

Firestar took a step backward over the border. But he continued to stare at Hawkfrost, his eyes stretched wide as though he were staring into the face of a StarClan warrior. Squirrelpaw was surprised that Hawkfrost’s ambush had shocked her father so much. It was hardly strange to encounter a warrior patrolling this close to the border, when every cat in RiverClan knew how close their neighbors were to starvation.

“What are you doing on RiverClan territory?” Hawkfrost demanded.

Firestar did not answer at first. Then he seemed to recover himself, letting his fur lie flat and relaxing his shoulders. “I was chasing that rogue out of ThunderClan territory,” he replied. He glanced at the tawny she-cat who had halted behind Hawkfrost. “Why challenge me when you have allowed a rogue to cross your borders?”

Hawkfrost exchanged a long look with the rogue before he answered. “My mother will always be welcome in RiverClan,” he meowed.

Sasha! Suddenly Squirrelpaw recognized the rogue she had helped escape from the Twoleg nest. She felt the mild triumph of curiosity satisfied. It was common knowledge that Hawkfrost and his sister, Mothwing, had been left in RiverClan by their rogue mother, though she hadn’t stayed in the forest long enough to be known by other Clans.

But Firestar seemed to have more unanswered questions, because he stood rigid, staring at mother and son with his ears pricked.

With a small dip of her head, Sasha meowed a greeting.

“I have heard much about you, Firestar,” she murmured. “It is… interesting to meet you at last.” Her voice was icy and dignified, and Squirrelpaw felt self-consciously young and awkward by comparison.

“So you are Sasha?” Firestar meowed softly, his eyes glittering.

“You look as if you expected something else,” Sasha suggested.

Firestar’s gaze swept along her well-groomed pelt. “You don’t look like a rogue.”

“And you don’t look like a kittypet,” Sasha countered.

Squirrelpaw winced, but her father showed no anger. Instead he met Sasha’s proud gaze evenly.

“I have often wondered why a rogue would choose to leave her kits with a Clan.”

“Why would a Clan make a kittypet their leader?” Sasha responded. She did not wait for an answer. “Not all cats are true to their birthright, Firestar. Some choose their own path.”

Firestar narrowed his eyes. “Are you such a cat?”

“Maybe,” Sasha meowed. “Maybe not. But I hope my kits are.” She glanced at Hawkfrost, and Squirrelpaw saw a flash of pride in her eyes.

“Will you stay with RiverClan awhile?” Hawkfrost invited her. “We have plenty of prey.” He cast a mocking glance at Firestar, but Firestar didn’t react. He simply watched, his eyes still narrowed in thought as Sasha gave her answer.

“I won’t stay long,” she told him. “But I would like to see Mothwing before I leave.”

Hawkfrost curled his lip at Firestar. “I shall send a patrol as soon as I get back to the camp to make sure you have not been stealing RiverClan prey,” he warned.

“We have no need to steal,” Firestar retorted. He looked at his patrol. “Come on.”

Though the air still crackled with tension, Squirrelpaw knew that the danger had passed. Hawkfrost and Firestar turned from each other and padded away from the border.

She prepared to follow her father, but before they had reached the safety of the trees, Firestar halted and called out to Sasha.

His voice was strangely calm.

“Tigerstar was their father, wasn’t he?”

Sasha didn’t seem surprised by the question. She nodded.

“Yes, he was.”

The ground lurched beneath Squirrelpaw. No wonder Firestar had looked so surprised when Hawkfrost had leaped out in front of him. He must have thought it was Tigerstar himself, granted a tenth life. He’d seen Hawkfrost before at moonlit gatherings, and at the disastrous meeting at Fourtrees the other night, but perhaps this was the first time they had come face-to-face in daylight.

Then she heard a gasp beside her and saw Brambleclaw standing with his eyes wide. “But Tigerstar was my father too!” he croaked. “Does this mean I have kin in two other Clans?”

Hawkfrost flicked his gaze to his half kin. “I’m surprised you hadn’t guessed,” he meowed. Squirrelpaw looked from one cat to the other, finally noticing the similarities in their tabby pelts and powerful shoulders.

“I thought Tawnypelt and I were the only ones…”

Brambleclaw murmured.

“At least you had a chance to know our father.” Hawkfrost twitched his tail. “I envy you that.”

“I learned more from Firestar than I ever did from Tigerstar,” Brambleclaw retorted.

“But still, Tigerstar knew you. He never even set eyes on me.”

Squirrelpaw felt a twinge of sympathy for him, knowing how much she cherished her relationship with her own father, but she pushed it away. There was something about the RiverClan warrior that she didn’t trust.