Night Whispers

“With Blackstar.” Flametail wove around his littermates. “I guess he’ll be there a lot now that he’s deputy.”

Tigerheart flexed his claws. “I can’t wait till he’s leader.”

“Hush!” Dawnpelt nudged him.

Tigerheart shrugged. “Well, it’s true. Blackstar can’t live forever.”

Tawnypelt brushed her tail across her son’s mouth. “Don’t say such things!”

“At least we always know what Tigerheart is thinking.” Flametail flicked his tail at his brother’s shoulder.

Tigerheart stuck his nose in the air. “I bet you don’t know what I’m thinking now.”

Dawnpelt’s whiskers twitched. “No, but I bet it won’t be long before you blurt it out.”

Tigerheart dropped into an attack crouch, eyes twinkling.

Dawnpelt pretended to look scared. “Help!” she squeaked, darting behind her mother.

“Stop it, you two,” Tawnypelt chided. “The Clan is still mourning Russetfur.”

On the far side of the clearing, Flametail saw that Rowanclaw had emerged from Blackstar’s den and was heading toward his family. Tigerheart and Dawnpelt were too busy chasing each other around Tawnypelt to notice his approach.

Tigerheart rolled Dawnpelt to the ground. “One day I’ll be deputy, and then you won’t be allowed to tease me.”

“No, you won’t!” Dawnpelt struggled from his grip. “I’ll be deputy!”

Rowanclaw halted beside his wrestling kits. “Do I have rivals already?” he inquired.

Tigerheart and Dawnpelt leaped to their paws.

“We were just playing,” Dawnpelt mewed quickly.

“I’m glad to have such ambitious kits,” Rowanclaw purred. “But I’d like to be deputy for a moon or two before you take over.” He glanced at Flametail. “Do you want to be deputy, too?”

“I’m happy to be a medicine cat,” Flametail replied.

Rowanclaw’s eyes glowed. “That’s a relief. I don’t think I could take on all three of you.”

Tawnypelt rubbed her muzzle along Rowanclaw’s cheek. “I’m very proud of you all.” Her gaze wandered to Blackstar’s den.

The ShadowClan leader had appeared in the entrance. His eyes were shining; his pelt was sleek and freshly groomed. “Warriors and apprentices!” Blackstar called as he stepped into the clearing. “You have had time enough to recover your strength! Gather around! There are lessons to be learned from yesterday’s defeat.

“You fought hard,” Blackstar continued. “But we lost territory. If we are ever to regain it, we must learn from our mistakes. This defeat is a chance for us to grow stronger.”

Give me a chance to heal everyone before you start planning the next battle. Flametail tasted the air. He could smell sourness. The wounds he and Littlecloud had dressed last night were going to need new poultices before infection set in. He glimpsed Ivytail wriggling out of the nursery. Her belly was beginning to swell with her first litter. It would be a while before she was fighting battles again. Perhaps she could help him.

“Ivytail!” He approached the long-furred queen and whispered to her while Blackstar continued his speech. “Will you help me re-dress some wounds?”

Ivytail blinked. “Of course.”

In the medicine den, Littlecloud slept as Ivytail and Flame-tail gathered herbs and slipped back out into the clearing.

Ratscar was pacing back and forth, his brown pelt gleaming in flashes of sunlight falling through the trees. “How in the name of StarClan can we fight cats who swoop from trees like owls?” he demanded.

Flametail dropped a bundle of herbs beside Olivenose. “Your wounds need fresh herbs.” Flametail sniffed at the scratches on her flank. “Listen to Ratscar while I fix them.” He beckoned Ivytail closer. “Watch what I do.” He began to lick the dried ointment from the scratches on Olivenose’s flank. Olivenose dug her claws into the ground and concentrated on the debate.

Smokefoot had stepped forward. “Perhaps we can turn what they think is a strength into a weakness?”

Blackstar nodded, eyes like slits. “How?”

“They land heavily,” Smokefoot ventured. “It takes a moment for them to regain their balance. We can use that hesitation to make the first move.”

Applefur tipped her mottled brown head to one side. “Next time we’ll be prepared for their owl tactics. All we have to do is look up. It should be easy to get out of the way while they jump.”

Crowfrost’s eyes grew round with excitement. “It takes time to climb trees and jump. ThunderClan warriors seem to have forgotten that they’re cats, not birds.”

Snowbird nodded. “While they’re wasting time and energy climbing, we can be preparing to pounce on them when they land.”

Dawnpelt joined in. “It’ll be easy to defeat them now that we know what they’re doing!” She glanced up at a hazel branch stretching over the camp. “Let’s practice!”

Tigerheart was already running toward the trunk of the hazel, which was lodged among dense brambles at the edge of the clearing. He scrambled up it and picked his way carefully along the branch. Dawnpelt watched him, shifting her weight from paw to paw, her tail snaking over the ground.

Tigerheart dropped.