Firestar’s Quest

Sparrowpaw raised his head. “We didn’t win, did we? The rats chose to stop fighting.”

“That’s true,” Firestar replied. “But we didn’t lose either.

And the battle’s not over yet. We’re not waiting for them any longer. We must take the fight to them.”

Sharpclaw pricked his ears. “Is that wise?”

Firestar realized that the fight had taught Sharpclaw cau-tion. “We don’t want the rats to have the advantage of planning the next attack. There won’t be so many places to trap cats outside the barn. The time is right.”

A murmur of agreement came from the rest of the Clan.

“I’m coming with you,” Patchfoot announced. “I fought tonight. No cat can say I’m not fit enough.”

“And me.” Clovertail lashed her tail. “Petal can look after the kits.”

Firestar felt humbled by their courage: Patchfoot, whose wound would have given him the excuse to stay behind in safety; Clovertail, who was ready to fight not only for her kits but for her Clan; Shortwhisker, who was terrified but determined to overcome his fear. All of them had given up their old lives to make the dream of SkyClan a reality—and they had succeeded. The warrior code lived on in the gorge.

Sharpclaw rose to his paws. “Then we’ll go tomorrow night, once the Twolegs are back in their nests,” he meowed.

“And let’s hope there’s a moon. I like an enemy I can see.”

The Clan yowled in approval of his words. Sharpclaw would make a good leader, Firestar thought. He met the ginger tom’s gaze; there was a challenge there, almost as if the same thought was going through Sharpclaw’s mind too.

But something held Firestar back from offering him the leadership. He still felt it wasn’t his choice to make. And while Sharpclaw would be superb at leading his warriors into battle, Firestar wasn’t sure he appreciated everything that being Clan leader meant.

It’s in the paws of his warrior ancestors, he told himself. And after tomorrow, who knows whether there will be a Clan left to lead?

The Clan rested during the morning, but they were awake by sunhigh, gathering in the training area for a last session to hone their battle skills. Firestar felt fresh energy running through his limbs as he practiced fighting moves with Rainfur: this was what he had been trained to do, even if this time he wasn’t fighting for his own Clan. Looking at the determined faces around him, watching the expert use of teeth and claws, he knew that SkyClan wouldn’t be driven from the gorge a second time. The descendants of the first Clan had returned, and they would fight to their last breath for the right to live here.

Sandstorm was drawing the training session to an end when Echosong and Petal came padding up the gorge, their eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

“We’ve collected a whole pile of burdock root,” Petal announced proudly.

“And poppyseed,” Echosong added. “Sandstorm, you said it’s good for pain, but I didn’t know where to find it before.”

“My old Twoleg has poppies in his garden,” Petal explained.

“I hope you didn’t have any trouble with the Twoleg,” Firestar meowed.

Petal flicked her tail dismissively. “He came out of the nest and yowled a bit, but he couldn’t catch us.”

Firestar couldn’t bring himself to warn her about taking risks. There would be wounded warriors after the battle who would be glad of the relief poppyseeds would give them.

Echosong’s eyes were brimming with amusement.

“Clovertail sent her kits to look for cobwebs,” she reported.

“You’ve never seen so many—all over the kits! They worked really hard.”

“It’s time they were apprenticed,” mewed Sandstorm.

“Soon,” Firestar agreed. His heart was warmed by the thought of a future for the Clan. SkyClan had so much to lose—but so much to win as well!

Petal padded over to Rainfur and murmured something into his ear. The gray rogue nodded; then both cats approached Firestar.

“We talked things over this morning,” Rainfur began, looking unusually hesitant. “We’ve decided that we want to become members of SkyClan—if you will have us, that is.”

“That’s great news!” Firestar exclaimed.

Rainfur met his gaze, his eyes wide and serious. “We’ve seen for ourselves how the warrior code works.”

“Yes,” Petal agreed. “And there’s no other life we want for ourselves and our kits.”

Sharpclaw stepped forward to stand beside Firestar.

“You’re welcome to join us,” he meowed, and the rest of the Clan murmured agreement. “You know how much we need strong warriors. We receive you humbly and we give you our thanks.”

As the sun went down, Firestar called Rainfur and Petal to the foot of the Rockpile for their warrior ceremony. The rest of the Clan stood in a circle, their eyes bright and their fur already fluffed up in anticipation of the battle.