Night Whispers

She spun around, spraying snow, and stormed through the bracken. Lionblaze and Jayfeather didn’t care about Ivypaw at all! She was just a way of getting what they wanted. First they wanted to use me, and now they want to use Ivypaw.

Pulsing with rage, Dovepaw raced to the top of the slope. The trees thinned at the crest, and she saw the lake below, glittering under a clear blue sky. She might as well use her anger to help her Clan. Plunging down the snowy slope, she headed for the lake. She would hunt.

Where the shore stretched toward the forest stream, Dovepaw picked up the scent of prey. She stopped, her paws aching with cold, and tasted the air.

Water vole.

She padded forward, dipping her nose to sniff the ground. She soon picked up the scent in the snow and saw tracks. Treading lightly, she followed the tiny paw prints along the shore to where the trees lined the stream as it flowed into the lake. After hopping onto the bank, she snuffled her way upstream, weaving through the trees until she spotted the vole—a small, dark shape crouched beside the water. It was focused on the morsel grasped between its front paws.

Dovepaw dropped into a hunting crouch and pulled herself across the snow, keeping her tail and belly high to stop her fur from brushing loudly against the powdery whiteness. She crept closer. The vole kept nibbling, oblivious to the danger. Dovepaw stopped above it. She waggled her hindquarters, then plunged down the bank.

The vole felt warm and fat between her paws, and she finished it off with a sharp, killing bite. Fragrant and limp, it hung in her claws. Her mouth watered from the scent. It was the best piece of fresh-kill she’d seen in days.

“Well done!” Ivypaw called from the opposite bank. Her silver-and-white fur was camouflaged against the snow. She splashed through the shallow, freezing water and scrambled onto the shore beside Dovepaw. “Nice catch.”

Dovepaw wrinkled her nose. Ivypaw’s fur was still matted with herb pulp. Then she noticed that Ivypaw’s eyes were feverishly bright. “You should be resting in camp,” she mewed. “Didn’t Jayfeather say those scratches were infected?”

Ivypaw bristled. “So?” She lifted her muzzle. “They’ve got ointment on.”

“I wasn’t criticizing,” Dovepaw mewed quickly. “I’m just worried about you.” She dropped her catch in front of Ivypaw. “Here, have a bite.” She didn’t want to argue with her sister.

Ivypaw shook her head. “That would be against the warrior code,” she pointed out.

“Just take a small bite,” Dovepaw urged. “You look starving. I’ll say it got damaged in the hunt.”

Ivypaw narrowed her eyes. “No, thank you,” she growled. “I’m not the one who likes breaking the warrior code.”

“What?” Dovepaw stared at her in surprise.

“I’m not the one who disappears at night to meet a ShadowClan warrior.”

Dovepaw’s heart seemed to drop in her chest like a stone. Ivypaw knows about Tigerheart! “How did you find out?”

“Did you think I wouldn’t smell him on you?” Ivypaw’s tail lashed. “Not very loyal, is it? Spending every night with a tom from another Clan?”

Dovepaw stiffened. “At least we’re not putting anyone in danger.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Every time you go to the Dark Forest, you betray your Clanmates.”

“That’s not true!” Ivypaw hissed. “I’m learning to be a great warrior so I can help my Clan!”

“Yeah, right!” Dovepaw snapped scornfully. “Just like Tigerstar. He was a great warrior!”

“He was!”

“He became ShadowClan’s leader. He tried to kill Firestar!” How could Ivypaw be so dumb?

Ivypaw glared at her, eyes cold as ice. “Aren’t you going to ask how I recognized his smell?”

Dovepaw blinked, confused. “What?”

“Don’t you think it’s odd how easily I recognized Tigerheart’s scent?”

Dovepaw froze, her blood draining into her paws. She remembered the look Ivypaw and Tigerheart had shared in battle.

“H-how did you know?” Dovepaw cringed beneath her pelt. She didn’t want to hear the answer. She didn’t want to hear that Tigerheart had been seeing Ivypaw, too. That he’d lied to her. That she wasn’t the only ThunderClan cat that occupied his thoughts.

“I meet him almost every night,” Ivypaw crowed.

“You can’t; he’s with me!”

“Not all night.”

Dovepaw backed away. “Don’t say that! He likes me, not you. Have you been following him? Find your own mate! Leave him alone!”

Ivypaw padded closer. “Oh, I don’t like him in that way. I’m not a soppy dove like you. I’m a warrior, and so is Tigerheart.”

Dovepaw wished she were deaf, wished she could see Ivypaw’s mouth moving without hearing the words.

“Tigerheart doesn’t spend every night cooing in your ears,” Ivypaw taunted. “He’s one of the best warriors the Dark Forest has. That’s where his loyalty lies. Not with you!”