Night Whispers

“Come on.” She led the way down the slope until they reached the deeper forest, where he fell in beside her and pulled brambles from her path. She felt wistful as the scents of their Clans grew stronger, and when she began to recognize the trees along the border, her heart began to ache. Tomorrow night seemed a lifetime away. As they reached the clump of beech where they’d met, their steps slowed.

“It’ll be tomorrow before you know it,” Tigerheart murmured gently. He must have been sharing her thoughts.

She touched her muzzle to his. “See you then,” she whispered.

“Definitely,” he meowed. “Sweet dreams.”

Chapter 12

The dawn was bright, and Lionblaze watched as Brambleclaw and Firestar stood below Highledge, their Clanmates pacing eagerly around them.

“Dustpelt, Toadstep, and Foxleap,” Firestar called. “Hunt by the Ancient Oak. Sandstorm, Whitewing, and Birchfall, flush anything out of the moorland you can without crossing the WindClan border.”

Dovepaw yawned. “Are we hunting or training today?”

“Both.” Lionblaze wondered why she looked so sleepy. “I’m taking you out with Cinderheart and Ivypaw.” He’d planned the training session with Cinderheart last night as they’d wandered along the moonlit lakeshore. “We want to see how you manage hunting in snow.” His thoughts drifted back to the previous night. Cinderheart’s pelt had shone in the moonlight, and the stars had glittered as though the sky were as frosted as the hills. “Then we are more than friends?” he had whispered into Cinderheart’s ear.

She’d pressed her cheek to his. “Hadn’t you guessed?”

“I’d hoped.”

She’d purred and wrapped her tail around his. “Mouse-brain.”

“Graystripe.” Firestar’s mew broke into his remembering. “Take Millie, Brightheart, and Blossomfall and hunt by the lake.”

Across the clearing, Ivypaw was circling Cinderheart excitedly. The apprentice had grown and filled out in the last moon. Lionblaze narrowed his eyes. Today’s training wasn’t just about seeing Dovepaw hunt. He wanted to observe Ivypaw. Jayfeather had persuaded him to wait and see how her visits to the Dark Forest changed her. He’d agreed and had promised not to challenge the young cat yet. But he wasn’t completely convinced that they shouldn’t intervene. Cinderheart had been fretting over the injuries that appeared fresh each day on her apprentice. Ivypaw had told her mentor that she had fallen out of her nest, or run into brambles while practicing her hunting moves outside the hollow. Clearly the Dark Forest warriors were training the young cat hard.

Firestar issued more instructions. “Squirrelflight, Brackenfur, and Mousewhisker, you can hunt along the banks of the stream. There may be voles.”

As the warriors headed for the entrance, Daisy came hurrying across the clearing. Molekit and Cherrykit scampered at her heels. “There’ll be no warriors left in camp at this rate,” she called to the ThunderClan leader. “The hollow will be empty except for elders and kits. What if ShadowClan decides to take its revenge?”

Cherrykit reared onto her hind legs and boxed at the air. “I’ll shred them.”

Molekit pressed against Daisy’s long cream fur. “I’ll tear off their tails.”

“Thank you, little ones.” Daisy’s eyes darkened with worry as she stared at Firestar. “Well?”

Firestar shook his head. “ShadowClan’s warriors won’t attack undefended kits and elders.”

“Are we ready?”

Lionblaze looked up, surprised at the sound of Ivypaw’s mew. She was a whisker-length from his muzzle. She’s faster and lighter on her paws than she used to be.

Cinderheart joined them, yawning. “Let’s go before we freeze.”

Outside, Rosepetal, Sorreltail, and Brackenfur were tasting the air. “We’d be wasting our time at the shore,” Brackenfur meowed to his mate.

Sorreltail nodded. “The deeper into the forest, the better,” she agreed.

Rosepetal glanced at them expectantly. “Which way?”

“Up there.” Sorreltail flicked her tail toward a thickly brambled slope.

As Rosepetal charged away, shaking snow from the bushes, Sorreltail shook her head. “She’d better slow down, or she’ll scare more prey than she catches.”

Brackenfur purred and headed up the slope with Sorreltail. They seemed to move as one, their pelts brushing.

Lionblaze stared after them. He wanted to walk with Cinderheart like that someday. His whiskers twitched as he imagined kits bounding around their paws, tripping them at every step. A soft muzzle brushed his, and he realized Cinderheart had been watching him.

“I’d like that too,” she whispered.

His heart quickened as he fell into her gentle gaze. He could still smell the night breeze in her pelt. “How did you know what I was thinking?”

“Hey!” Dovepaw’s surprised mew made Lionblaze turn.

The apprentice was shaking snow from her smoky fur. Ivypaw was perched on a snow-laden branch above her sister’s head. With a flick of her striped silver tail she sent another avalanche cascading over Dovepaw.