River Of Fire

“But he’s not a Clan cat!”

“Yeah, he doesn’t know how Clans work. What’s his advice worth?”

“True, he’s not a Clan cat,” Leafstar agreed calmly. “But I believe that might actually help him work out differences. He sees to the heart of an issue, without the fixed ideas we Clan cats have about one another.”

“I’ve seen him in action,” Hawkwing added from his place among the deputies. “He’s good at working out problems. He sees solutions Clan cats might not.”

“That’s true!” Tawnypelt called out, surprising Twigpaw by her defense of Tree.

“I have an idea,” Bramblestar announced, coming to stand beside Leafstar. “Suppose we give Tree a trial period, a bit like an apprenticeship? Tree can try to resolve disputes as they come up, and when we see how he copes, the Clan leaders can decide if we want him to continue.”

Tree looked up at the ThunderClan leader, flexing his muscular shoulders. “No pressure, then,” he commented.

Silence fell over the Gathering. Every cat’s gaze was trained on Tree, and Twigpaw wondered whether or not he had said the right thing.

Then Cloudtail let out a mrrow of laughter, and the tension in the clearing suddenly faded. Cats curled their tails up in amusement. Twigpaw breathed a sigh of relief as she saw that there was a chance Tree could become very popular. I suppose we could use a cat like Tree around.

“That makes sense to me,” Leafstar meowed in response to Bramblestar’s suggestion. “I’m happy for Tree to become a SkyClan cat under those conditions. Tree, I can’t make you a warrior, but I welcome you to our Clan. Would you like a warrior name?”

“No, I’ll stick with Tree, thanks,” the yellow tom replied. “It’s nice and simple, like me.”

“Tree! Tree!”

Not every cat in the clearing was acclaiming Tree and his new position, but enough of them joined in to make it clear he would be accepted among the Clans. Twigpaw spotted Violetshine jumping up and down, waving her tail as she yowled, her eyes alight with enthusiasm.

Alderheart rose to his paws and padded over to stand beside Tree as the noise died down. “I agree with what Tree said,” he began. “Remember, the prophecy says there should be five Clans. Letting RiverClan back in would at least make us four again.”

Twigpaw noticed some cats shooting annoyed glances at Rowanclaw as Alderheart spoke, as if they were blaming him for the loss of the fifth Clan. But Rowanclaw and the rest of the former ShadowClan cats ignored them.

“So, RiverClan comes back,” Tree declared briskly. “Now, Mistystar, what do you need from the other Clans?”

“We need help in clearing the burned debris out of our camp,” Mistystar replied. “We’ve made a start, but it’s hard with so many of us injured.”

“I’ll send a patrol tomorrow,” Bramblestar promised. “Harestar, can you send cats the day after, and Leafstar the day after that?”

Mistystar blinked gratefully as both leaders agreed. “Mothwing is still badly hurt from trying to save our herb stores,” she continued, “and Willowshine is overwhelmed, trying to care for all the injured cats. Could one of your medicine cats—”

“I’ll come,” Leafpool offered immediately. “And I’ll bring some herbs with me.” She paused, gazing around the clearing, her eyes shimmering in thought. “And may StarClan light our path,” she added. “Now and always.”

As the cats settled down and the last of the hostility faded, Twigpaw spotted her sister sitting close beside Tree. Violetshine’s eyes were wide with admiration as she gazed at the yellow tom.

Oh, Twigpaw thought. So it’s like that, is it?

CHAPTER 16

Carefully Alderheart peeled the poultice off Velvet’s burn, then gave the wound a good sniff. “That’s healing really well,” he mewed. “I think we’ll leave it uncovered, to let the fresh air get at it.”

“It hardly hurts at all now,” Velvet purred. “You’re a great medicine cat, Alderheart.”

Alderheart wasn’t sure that was true. Embarrassed, he tried to think of a way to change the subject, but in the end it was Velvet who spoke first.

“Every cat was so surprised when Ivypool had her kits on the night of the Gathering. None of us thought she was due.”

Alderheart nodded, remembering how he had returned to camp to discover Jayfeather cleaning himself up after delivering the kits.

“Of course it had to happen tonight,” the blind medicine cat had grumbled. “I had to do it, and I’m not over the sickness yet.”

Alderheart knew that Jayfeather wasn’t thinking about himself, but whether he might have passed on the sickness to Ivypool or, even worse, to the new kits. Or Daisy, or Briarlight . . . , he thought. Cinderheart had taken her litter to spend the night in the elders’ den, but the other two she-cats had insisted on staying to help.

So far, every cat seems to be healthy, Alderheart thought. But I’ll have to keep an eye on them all.