River Of Fire

Alderheart leaped up onto the top of the wall and examined the den. Almost at once he spotted Velvet, looking out through the hard, transparent stuff that blocked the gaps in the den walls.

“Velvet!” he yowled.

Velvet looked up and to Alderheart’s dismay immediately disappeared.

What’s wrong with me today? Alderheart wondered. First Rippletail flees at the sight of me, and now Velvet. A cold, hollow place opened up inside him. Doesn’t she want to see me?

Then Alderheart saw a Twoleg open the door of the den and Velvet slip past it into the garden. He leaped down from the wall and bounded forward to meet her beside one of the clumps of flowers.

“I’m sorry I took so long,” Velvet mewed, stretching forward to touch noses with Alderheart. “I had to get my housefolk to let me out, and honestly! They don’t understand anything. A newborn kit has more sense!”

“It’s okay.” Privately Alderheart was appalled. It’s a good thing I didn’t come with her. I wouldn’t want a Twoleg telling me when I could go out and when I had to come in. “You’re here now. Look,” he added, pushing the scrap of fur over to her with one paw. “I brought you this.”

“My toy!” Velvet’s eyes stretched wide with delight. “Oh, thank you, Alderheart! I completely forgot it when we were leaving your camp.” She let out a purr, then continued, “In the Clan, I didn’t need it as much as I thought I would. I suppose it shows how different life is there.”

Alderheart nodded sadly. Yes, our lives are so different. . . .

“It’s wonderful to see you,” Velvet went on softly. “Would you like me to show you around a bit?”

It can’t hurt to linger a while, Alderheart thought, hoping to convince himself. “Yes,” he replied. “I would like that a lot.”

The sun was going down by the time Velvet led Alderheart back to her own den. “I suppose it’s time for you to go,” she mewed regretfully.

“Yes, I must be getting back,” Alderheart responded. “Good-bye, Velvet.”

“Good-bye.” Velvet gave Alderheart a quick lick around his ear. “I’m glad you came,” she went on. “I’ve missed you. But I’m not sure we can be friends. You’ve chosen one life, and I’ve chosen another.”

Her amber eyes were full of sadness, but there was wisdom there too, and Alderheart knew she was right. He had been sure all along, deep down, that this was the last time he would see her.

“I’ll always be grateful to ThunderClan for taking me and Fuzzball in,” Velvet told him. “I want to give you something, to say thank you. Come with me.”

Velvet led Alderheart around the back of the Twoleg den. The garden was different here: there weren’t so many flowers. Instead leafy green plants grew in neat rows.

“Over here,” Velvet mewed, showing Alderheart a corner where some small bushes were growing.

Alderheart examined the woody stems and sniffed the broad, pointed leaves. “Is that thyme?” he asked. “It looks a bit like it, but it’s different from the thyme that grows in the forest.”

“Yes, it’s a different kind of thyme,” Velvet explained. “Twolegs plant it, and I think it’s stronger than the kind you have. It’s good for coughs and colds and indigestion.” She began scratching at the soil until she had uprooted one of the small bushes. “There. I’d like ThunderClan to have it.”

“Thank you,” Alderheart responded, touched that Velvet had been so thoughtful. “I’ll plant it and take care of it.”

Velvet leaned into his shoulder, and for the last time he drank in her sweet scent. “Good-bye, Velvet,” he murmured. “I’ll never forget you.”

“Good-bye, Alderheart.” Velvet gazed at him for a moment longer, blinking affectionately, then whisked away around the side of the Twoleg den.

For a moment more, Alderheart stared after her. He tried to imagine a life for himself here, eating kittypet food, sleeping in a Twoleg nest, and waiting beside the door for a Twoleg to let him in or out.

No, I can’t. Jayfeather was right. I’m a medicine cat, and a good one.

Yet he could not deny the pain in his heart as he remembered Velvet’s beautiful eyes and soft gray fur, and more than that, her gentleness and care for every cat. But I can’t let myself think about that.

Picking up the thyme bush, Alderheart leaped up onto the garden wall. In the sky in front of him he could see a pale half-moon rising.

Alarm clawed through him. Oh, no . . . I’d better hurry if I’m going to make it to the Moonpool for the half-moon medicine-cat meeting!