Outcast

The other cats had taken the path behind the waterfall, back into the cave. Only Brambleclaw was left, poised on the rocks above the pool. “Come on!” He beckoned the younger cats with his tail. “Stoneteller is going to call a meeting.”

Lionpaw sprang up the rocks to follow him, with Hollypaw and the Tribe to-bes close behind. Wavering scarlet light from the setting sun outside shone into the cave like rivulets of blood. Lionpaw shivered, almost imagining that he could feel a sticky tide washing around his paws.

Stoneteller was seated on a boulder at the far end of the cave, near the passage that led to the Cave of Pointed Stones.

The Tribe cats and the Clan cats mingled together, gathering around him; Lionpaw spotted Jaypaw with Squirrelflight. He and Hollypaw joined Breezepaw and the Tribe to-bes.

“Cats of Tribe and Clan,” Stoneteller began. “Our borders have been marked. It remains to be seen whether the intruders will respect them.”

Lionpaw could tell that Stoneteller didn’t believe that the border would make any difference, and there were doubtful murmurs from the Tribe cats.

A skinny white she-cat spoke up. “Those mangepelts don’t respect anything.”

“Cloud With Storm in Belly.” Stoneteller dipped his head toward her. “I fear your seasons of wisdom speak true.”

“Then what do we do now?” Night meowed, her forepaws working nervously on the cave floor. “Has all this been for nothing?”

“No.” Brambleclaw rose to his paws and spoke commandingly, his head and tail held high. Lionpaw’s pelt felt warm with pride that this noble cat was his father. “But the job’s not finished yet. Now we must go to the intruders and tell them to stay on their own side of the border.”

“And you think they’ll listen?” Cloud asked scornfully.

“I don’t know,” Brambleclaw replied. “But they should be given the chance. We will seek out their camp under truce and ask to speak to their leader.”

“Truce!” Screech, sitting between Lionpaw and Pebble, let out a snort of contempt. “He’s beetle-brained if he thinks the trespassers will honor a truce.”

“They might,” Hollypaw mewed. “Back home, there’s a truce every moon among the Clans.”

When Screech didn’t look convinced, Lionpaw added, “Yes, StarClan would be angry if any cat fought during the full moon.”

Pebble blinked, more curious than disbelieving. “Do you think these trespassers know about StarClan? Or the Tribe of Endless Hunting?”

Lionpaw exchanged a glance with his sister, seeing his own confusion reflected in her green eyes. Did the intruders share tongues with the spirits of their ancestors like the Tribe and the Clans?

“I don’t know,” Hollypaw replied. “But it’s got to be worth a try.”

While they were talking, the discussion had continued among the full-grown cats. Suddenly Stoneteller signaled with his tail for silence. “Enough! We will try Brambleclaw’s plan. He and I will choose the cats to seek out the intruders tomorrow. But if the plan fails, then…” His voice trailed off, and he bowed his head. Lionpaw had to strain to hear his last few words. “If it fails, then the Tribe can no longer make its home in these mountains.”

The milky light of dawn was in the sky as Lionpaw emerged from behind the waterfall. Dew misted the rocks and dripped from the leaves of bushes around the pool, but the heavy cloud cover of the day before was gone. He wondered if that was a good omen.

His paws tingled with a mixture of fear and excitement as the rest of the patrol left the cave and sprang down to cluster together by the pool. All the Clan cats were there except for Squirrelflight and Jaypaw; from the Tribe, Stoneteller had chosen Crag, Night, and Talon, and Pebble and Splash from the to-bes.

“I never thought we’d be chosen,” Pebble mewed, bouncing on her paws. “Do you think we’ll have to fight?”

“I hope not,” Hollypaw replied. “If we do, remember those moves I taught you. You should be fine.”

Brambleclaw called his cats together with a wave of his tail.

“We’ll head for the pool where we met the trespassers,” he announced. “We should be able to pick up their trail from there.”

“Good luck!” Squirrelflight’s voice called.

Lionpaw turned. His mother had appeared from the cave and was crouching on a boulder beside the sheet of thundering water. Her flame-colored pelt glowed in the strengthening light.

“Thanks,” Brambleclaw replied. “Keep an eye on things while we’re away.”

Squirrelflight’s ears flicked up. “I will, don’t worry.”

So that’s why she’s staying, Lionpaw thought. Just in case the intruders come visiting while all these cats are gone.

The journey across the new territory to the pool didn’t seem as far today. Lionpaw realized that his muscles were getting used to clambering up and down rocks, and even his pads were tougher.

“There’s intruder scent,” Tawnypelt meowed when they arrived. “But it’s stale. I don’t think they’ve been this way since the day we saw them.”