Lost Stars

Rootpaw tried and failed to imagine any cat doing that. I wonder whose mouse-brained idea that was!

“I don’t understand what point there is in warriors being here at all,” Needlepaw mewed, shivering and fluffing out her fur against the cold. “We’re not allowed down by the pool, so what good can we do any cat, standing up here freezing our paws off?”

“The medicine cats asked us to come, because they might need help,” Violetshine responded. “And it shows StarClan how determined we all are to get in contact with our ancestors again.”

“But are warriors even supposed to be here?” Needlepaw asked. “I thought the Moonpool was only for medicine cats.”

Tree and Violetshine exchanged a glance. “That’s how Fidgetflake sees it, too,” Tree replied. “But Frecklewish and some of the leaders feel . . . differently.”

“They think that reconnecting with StarClan is more important than tiptoeing around the Moonpool,” Violetshine explained.

“So what will happen if they can’t break through the ice?” Rootpaw asked, hoping to change the subject.

A new voice broke into the conversation. “I don’t know.”

Rootpaw turned to see Bristlepaw standing nearby, at the edge of the group of ThunderClan cats. It was the first time they had met since the embarrassing incident with the vole, and Rootpaw wasn’t sure how he should behave around her. He was aware of Needlepaw watching him with a teasing look in her eyes, but he ignored her with a twitch of his tail and padded over to join the ThunderClan apprentice.

Then he noticed that there was something different about Bristlepaw: a sadness in her eyes that hadn’t been there before. I hope it’s not because she feels sorry for me.

“Hi, Bristlepaw,” he meowed.

Bristlepaw took a pace forward that brought her to his side. “It’s Bristlefrost,” she told him. “I’m a warrior now.”

“Hey, that’s great!” Rootpaw was pleased for her, but even more confused. If she’s just been made a warrior, why doesn’t she look happy? “Congratulations.”

“Thanks, Rootpaw. I wanted to see you,” Bristlefrost went on, “because I need to tell you how sorry I am for the way I behaved when you brought me the vole. I was rude and ungrateful.”

Rootpaw dipped his head. “Don’t worry about it,” he mewed. “I know it was stupid, and I shouldn’t have done it.”

“No, you didn’t do anything wrong,” Bristlefrost insisted. “You did a kind thing for me, and I treated you horribly. Please forgive me, Rootpaw.”

“Of course I do!” Rootpaw replied, happiness spurting up inside him. But the feeling quickly died as he saw how sad Bristlefrost looked. “What’s wrong?” he asked her. “You look a little down.”

Bristlefrost hesitated, staring down at her paws. “Things haven’t been going the way I hoped since I became a warrior,” she admitted eventually.

“What do you mean?” Rootpaw asked.

“Oh . . . This leaf-bare is hard on every cat, and I don’t feel I’ve done enough to help my Clan. Right now I’m feeling kind of useless.”

Rootpaw could understand that, but all the same he didn’t feel it was enough to explain the sorrow in Bristlefrost’s eyes. Whatever was on her mind, for now at least she was keeping it to herself.

“But you’re one of the greatest cats I’ve ever met,” Rootpaw protested, even though he knew the praise might make her squirm. I still feel the same about her, even after that stupid episode with the vole. “You saved my life when my own Clanmates were too scared even to try. If it weren’t for you, I’d be at the bottom of the lake right now, frozen solid like the medicine cats say the Moonpool is. And you came to check on me every day while I was recovering.”

Bristlefrost shrugged; she looked a little embarrassed, but not, Rootpaw thought, angry with him. “Any cat would have done that,” she meowed. “But what have I done since?”

“No warrior can do much while this leaf-bare lasts,” Rootpaw stated firmly. “And once it’s over, you’ll be one of the warriors who gets your Clan back on its paws. I’m sure of it.”

Bristlefrost looked up; her eyes glowed, making Rootpaw’s heart flutter weirdly in his chest. For a moment he felt that there was more than gratitude in her gaze.

“Bristlefrost—” he began.

An earsplitting crack from below interrupted Rootpaw. He spun around to stare down into the hollow. It was so much louder than the sound of the ice breaking on the lake when he’d fallen in—it must mean that the medicine cats had broken through. Yet when the echo died away, it was followed by complete silence. The group of medicine cats stood ranged around the pool, gazing down at the surface.

“Do you know what’s supposed to happen when the ice breaks?” Rootpaw asked, turning back to Bristlefrost.

The gray she-cat shook her head. “I have no idea,” she replied. “Only medicine cats can commune with StarClan, right? Maybe it worked and we just can’t see them.”