River Of Fire

Horror almost overwhelmed Twigpaw as she considered it might be her own presence in ThunderClan that would bring about their destruction. Is it because my kin are in SkyClan, so I belong there? Or do I not belong in ThunderClan because I abandoned it before? That might have been why Yellowfang showed her the vision of the camp destroyed.

Is it possible that the ThunderClan cats who didn’t want me back were right? Maybe I really don’t belong there. . . .

Determinedly Twigpaw shook off the thought. She wouldn’t believe it. She had needed some time to figure it out, but now she knew that ThunderClan was her true home.

I’m sure I belong in ThunderClan. I just have to convince the others, too.

And she knew she had to do it right away, while the terrifying vision was still fresh in her mind.

Picking up the pace again, Twigpaw raced back to camp, barely pausing to take a breath. She was relieved to see it looking just as she’d left it, not like the terrible ruined camp of her vision. As soon as she emerged from the thorn tunnel, she spotted Bramblestar and Alderheart, standing just outside the medicine-cat den, deep in conversation. Hoping neither cat would see her, she crept close enough to overhear. “So what do you suggest we do?” Bramblestar was asking.

“I suppose we must wait and see,” Alderheart replied. “But it worries me that there’s no right answer about ShadowClan. I don’t want to see the Clan disappear, but if they manage to revive it, it will really test SkyClan’s patience.”

“It will all become clear soon,” Bramblestar responded, resting his tail-tip reassuringly on Alderheart’s shoulder. “StarClan clearly has a plan. You need to focus on your duties here. Several of our cats are still sick.”

Alderheart murmured agreement. “I think Leafpool may be coming down with it. She vomited on our way back from the Moonpool.”

Bramblestar sighed. “There you are, then. ThunderClan needs your skills.”

Though Alderheart nodded warily, Twigpaw thought he still looked worried. I hate seeing him like this.

Trembling shook Twigpaw’s limbs as she remembered her terrifying vision at the Moonpool. Alderheart’s wrong that there’s no right answer about ShadowClan. They must be revived, or the storm will destroy us.

She couldn’t tell Bramblestar and Alderheart what she’d seen at the Moonpool. The Moonpool was a place only for medicine cats. She couldn’t let them know she’d trespassed there, not when some cats didn’t even think she belonged in ThunderClan.

Twigpaw almost despaired. She knew she was only a ThunderClan apprentice. She had no idea how she could affect what happened in ShadowClan.

Then a thought struck her. Maybe I should reach out to my sister. She might be a SkyClan warrior these days, but she used to be in ShadowClan. They’re the same Clan now; she’s Clanmates with all the ShadowClan cats again. And she won’t tell anyone I went to the Moonpool. But a fresh chill of fear coursed through her as she considered the idea. What if Violetshine turns me away?

CHAPTER 8

“You have to do something.”

This wasn’t the first time Violetshine had heard those words from her Clan leader. A quarter moon had passed since Leafstar had turned Sleekwhisker and Yarrowleaf away from SkyClan, and Tree still hadn’t decided what his place in the Clan should be. The Clan leader was losing patience; she had asked Violetshine to bring Tree to her den, and now her tail-tip twitched to and fro as she confronted the yellow tom.

“If you don’t want to be a medicine cat, you must train to be a warrior. You can’t just sleep in the sun all day.”

Like we’ve had much sun lately, Violetshine thought as she listened to the argument. But she could see Leafstar’s point. No Clan cat had the right to sit around and do nothing.

“But it’s not right for me to be a medicine cat or a warrior,” Tree objected. “Why do I have to fit into a specific position?”

“Because that’s how Clans work,” Leafstar retorted, her voice tense and her neck fur beginning to bristle. “If you don’t want to be part of the Clan—”

“No,” Tree interrupted. “I do want to stay here. I just haven’t found my place. . . .”