River Of Fire

Violetshine studied Leafstar anxiously, afraid that the Clan leader would lose patience with Tree. He had been living with SkyClan for more than a moon now, and he still hadn’t decided where he fit into the Clan, or even whether he wanted to stay.

“Even if you don’t think of yourself as a warrior,” Leafstar responded, her eyes and her voice calm, “you must contribute if you’re going to stay here. That rule applies to all cats.”

Her final words held a challenge, or even a taunt, making Violetshine uneasy for a completely different reason. Maybe Tree will just say, “No thanks,” and then leave. I really don’t want that to happen. She couldn’t imagine not seeing Tree anymore. But if he became a loner again, how could he fit into her life?

“Well . . . okay.” Tree was still looking unsure. “But won’t I slow down the patrol if I haven’t been on one before?”

“Every cat has to start somewhere,” Leafstar told him briskly. “Your instincts will probably serve you well. And you’ll be with Violetshine. It’ll be a good way for you to see what the warrior life is all about.”

“Yes, I’ll help,” Violetshine mewed eagerly. Then he might be convinced to stay for a little while. . . .

The sun, barely visible through a layer of cloud, was skimming the tops of the trees when Sandynose led his patrol out through the fern tunnel. By the time they reached the border, the previous day’s scent markings had started to fade.

Tree had already irritated Sandynose by wandering off, then stopping to yawn and groom himself. Violetshine heard Sandynose muttering to himself, “StarClan knows why Leafstar puts up with this cat!”

Violetshine had to admit that Tree’s behavior was annoying. He’ll cost himself a place in the Clan, if he’s not careful. Hoping to help him act more like a warrior, she showed Tree how to renew the markers, aware all the time of Sandynose keeping a watchful eye on them. She felt a little wary of the stocky brown tom: he had been Twigpaw’s mentor, and spent a lot of time grumbling about her defection to ThunderClan. Not only that, but he was Finpaw’s father. Violetshine knew how much he missed the energetic young tom since he had made the decision to go with Twigpaw.

And maybe Sandynose thinks it was my fault somehow, because Twigpaw’s my sister, Violetshine thought. But I miss Twigpaw too.

She tried not to dwell on how it felt to be abandoned by kin, but as she brushed her pelt against Tree’s, she felt a hollow ache in her chest.

If even my littermate doesn’t belong with me, then why would Tree?

Violetshine left Tree to set a scent marker on a boulder while she sniffed around the entrance to a dark hole in a nearby bank, picking up only the stale scent of rabbit.

“Oh, for StarClan’s sake!”

Sandynose’s exclamation made Violetshine turn back, to see that instead of setting the marker, Tree had climbed on top of the boulder and was stretched out in a shaft of sunlight that broke through the clouds.

“Tree, get down off there!” Sandynose continued. “Honestly, the smallest kit in the Clan has more sense!”

Unoffended, Tree slid down from the boulder. “Keep your fur on,” he meowed. “What’s the rush? We’ve got all day.”

“There are other duties—” Violetshine began, only to be interrupted by a growl from Sandynose.

“I give up! Tree, you can come with us or not, but I’m not standing around waiting for you to rearrange your whiskers. Violetshine, set the marker, and then we’ll go and have a look at the old ShadowClan camp.”

He swung around, hardly giving Violetshine time to obey, then stalked off between the pine trees. Violetshine hastily set the marker and bounded after him; to her surprise, she heard Tree padding after them.

Just as she caught up to Sandynose, the brown tom halted suddenly and lifted his head, beginning to taste the air.

“What is it?” Violetshine asked, keeping her voice low in case Sandynose had detected an attack. “Is it rogues?”

Sandynose tasted the air again. “I’m not sure,” he replied. “But there are definitely cats up ahead. They’re inside the border here, and that means they’re trespassing.”

Violetshine drew in the air for herself. They were not far away from the ShadowClan camp, and a stiff breeze was blowing from that direction, carrying the scent toward them.

“Don’t you think those scents are familiar?” she asked Sandynose.

Sandynose shook his head. “Not to me. If they are, there’s probably nothing to worry about—but there has to be a reason why cats are crossing borders and snooping around the old ShadowClan camp.” He drew back his lips in the beginning of a snarl. “And that’s unlikely to be anything good, right?”