Sign Of The Moon

“Hush!” Blossomfall exclaimed, angling her ears toward the two cats ahead of them. “We can’t talk here.” With an obvious effort she quickened her pace to draw ahead, and Ivypool followed, wondering if there was any way to get Blossomfall alone.

Outside the old Twoleg nest, Sandstorm picked her way through the clumps of herbs Jayfeather had planted, sniffing delicately at the new growth. “The catmint is starting to sprout,” she meowed, “but there’d be a lot more of it if ShadowClan hadn’t forced us to give them some.”

“Sorry,” Ivypool muttered. She still felt guilty that ShadowClan had kept her imprisoned until they could exchange her for herbs.

At least Dovewing isn’t seeing Tigerheart anymore. We can’t trust him, because he’s in the Dark Forest. But then, so am I, she added, feeling an icy trickle down her spine. And Blossomfall…

“Ivypool, wake up!” Ivypool jumped as Thornclaw gave her a flick around the ear with his tail. “Stop daydreaming. Did you hear what Sandstorm said to you?”

Embarrassed, Ivypool shook her head.

“She wants you to head up the slope on the other side of the Thunderpath,” the tabby warrior explained, pointing with his tail. “There should be plenty of squirrels up there, hunting for their stores of nuts underneath the oak trees.”

“And we’ll scour the Twoleg nest,” Sandstorm added, her green eyes gleaming. “There should be mice in there, or I’m a badger.”

She padded toward the entrance to the den, almost immediately disturbing a mouse that scuttled frantically for a gap in the wall. Thornclaw leaped after it, cutting it off from its refuge. It turned back, and ran straight into Sandstorm’s waiting claws.

“What did I tell you?” she mewed, her voice full of satisfaction as she scratched earth over her prey.

“What are you two waiting for?” Thornclaw flicked Blossomfall and Ivypool away with his tail. “Or is this an apprentice training session?”

“He’s so bossy!” Ivypool muttered as she headed up the steep slope. Blossomfall let out a puff of agreement, already laboring as she hauled herself through the thick undergrowth. Once they were out of sight of the Twoleg nest, Ivypool stopped. “Do you want to rest for a bit? I know what hunting at night can be like,” she added warily.

Blossomfall met her gaze. “I don’t think we’re supposed to talk about it.”

Who swore you to secrecy? Ivypool wondered. Tigerstar? Hawkfrost? She twitched her tail in frustration. If Blossomfall refused to talk about the Dark Forest, there was no chance of discouraging her from going there.

Blossomfall was already struggling on through the undergrowth, and Ivypool had to follow her, brushing past a clump of nettles and ducking under the low-growing boughs of a hazel bush. Ivypool padded up to her, brushing aside a bramble tendril so that she could stand facing her. “How did you know it was there?”

There was a glimmer of anger in Blossomfall’s eyes, and an edge in her voice as she replied. “I was invited, okay? By Hawkfrost. He said it was a chance to be a better warrior than I could be just training with my Clanmates, and he was right. I bet he told you exactly the same thing.” She turned away and headed up the slope again, glancing over her shoulder to add, “Now, can we just get on with hunting?”

Ivypool’s mind whirled as she hurried after her. Does Blossomfall really not know the purpose of the Dark Forest? To wage war against all living Clans? She wanted to tell Blossomfall the truth, to warn her to stay away from the Dark Forest for her own sake. But if she did that, she would have to admit that she was a traitor to the Dark Forest, spying on behalf of ThunderClan.

If I’m going to save the Clans, will I have to let Blossomfall continue, and maybe die there?

“Hold on!”

Ivypool was dragged out of her dark thoughts by Blossomfall’s voice up ahead. The tortoiseshell warrior had paused at a spot where the trees thinned out; bounding forward, Ivypool found herself at the edge of the clearing where Icecloud had fallen into the tunnel. She could see the pile of sticks that Dustpelt and Brackenfur had placed there, weaving them together to cover the hole.

Her pads prickled with curiosity. She had passed this place before on patrol, but this was her first chance to have a closer look at it. She exchanged a glance with Blossomfall, seeing her own excitement reflected in the other cat’s eyes.

“Shall we?” she prompted.

Blossomfall nodded, and the two she-cats padded down the slope side by side. Reaching the hole, Ivypool stretched out her neck to sniff at the covering. Blossomfall gave the woven sticks a nudge with her head, and let out a trill of surprise as the whole covering shifted to one side.

“Hey, look,” she meowed, pushing it farther. “We can see right down into the tunnel! Let’s explore!”

A weird feeling crept over Ivypool as she gazed down into the hole. She felt strangely reluctant to go near it. “What about hunting?”