Squirrelflight's Hope

Squirrelflight felt a rush of sympathy for the SkyClan leader. “Haven’t they moved enough?”

Harestar met her gaze. “All I’m saying is that territory is being wasted. WindClan is growing—Featherpelt is expecting kits—and we need every bit of land we can get.”

“You act like you need land more than we do. But SkyClan is growing too!” Leafstar blinked at him. “Violetshine has kits.”

“All the Clans are growing,” Harestar meowed evenly. Squirrelflight shifted her paws self-consciously. It seemed everyone was having kits except her. The WindClan leader went on. “Which is why no Clan should hold on to land it can’t use.” He looked pointedly at Bramblestar.

Bramblestar met his gaze. “ThunderClan uses all its land.”

Squirrelflight stared at the ground. Perhaps she’d been wrong to insist that ThunderClan adapt to its new territory. The Clans might work better hunting land that they were used to. “We don’t use the moorland as much as we should,” she admitted. “The border had barely been marked before today.”

Bramblestar swung his gaze toward her. “We’re not giving up territory. It would leave us with less than the other Clans.”

“I’d happily give RiverClan’s marshland back,” Tigerstar meowed. “But SkyClan would have to return our forest.”

Bramblestar lashed his tail. “No cat takes territory from SkyClan. We all fought too hard for this settlement. If we destroy it now, we’ll be back where we started.”

“But is it fair to give SkyClan prey-rich land in exchange for marsh we can’t use?” Tigerstar blinked at him.

“You should have thought of that before you suggested it!” Bramblestar snapped.

Tigerstar glared at the ThunderClan leader. “How could I know that WindClan would have to watch your warriors waste their prey?”

Bramblestar bared his teeth. “My warriors don’t waste prey!”

Squirrelflight’s tail bushed. She couldn’t let them fight. “Perhaps there’s another solution,” she mewed quickly. “One that means no land will be wasted, but SkyClan will still have equal territory.” Her thoughts whirled as she reached for a plan offered many moons ago before the Clans had come to their final arrangement. At the time, the leaders had been wary of a plan that would place SkyClan far from the others. But now it seemed like the most sensible solution. “What about the land beyond the abandoned Twolegplace?”

“Where’s that, again?” Leafstar narrowed her eyes.

“At the far edge of ThunderClan and ShadowClan’s forest.” Squirrelflight looked at her eagerly, hoping the SkyClan leader would like the idea.

But Leafstar looked unconvinced. “If that’s such good hunting territory, why hasn’t ThunderClan or ShadowClan claimed it already?”

Squirrelflight blinked. “When there were just four Clans, no cat needed it.”

“We’d have no access to the lake,” Hawkwing meowed.

Tigerstar pricked his ears. “Why do you need the lake? You don’t catch fish.”

“You’d be nearer the Moonpool,” Harestar meowed encouragingly.

“What about herbs?” Leafstar countered. “There are some plants that only grow on the lakeshore.”

“They could keep a narrow strip of forest,” Squirrelflight meowed quickly. SkyClan shouldn’t be cut off completely. “Enough to let them get to the lakeshore. And there might be herbs on the new land. We don’t know what lies up there, except forest. It might be richer territory than this, for all we know. It must be worth exploring.”

Leafstar narrowed her eyes. “We’ve only just built our new camp and marked our borders. Why should we have to build another new home?”

“You’re right,” Tigerstar agreed. “That wouldn’t be fair. But if it’s better for all the Clans, then it’s the right thing to do. And this time we will help you.” The ShadowClan leader looked at the others. “I’m sure all the Clans will help.”

Hawkwing stared at the ShadowClan leader, clearly unconvinced. “When was the last time any cat visited this land?”

Squirrelflight tensed as the cats glanced doubtfully at each other.

“I’m not sure any cat’s ever fully explored it,” Mistystar admitted.

“Then why should we?” Hawkwing snapped. “It might be infested with foxes or Twolegs.”

Squirrelflight leaned forward. “But it’s worth looking at, isn’t it? What if it’s perfect Clan territory? We’d all have enough land to hunt on, and nothing would be wasted.”

Leafstar flicked her tail irritably. “You want to exile us again.”

“It wouldn’t be exile,” Squirrelflight objected. “You’d be living right beside us.”

Leafstar looked unimpressed. “Beside you, not among you. You’d always see us as outsiders.”

Tigerstar narrowed his eyes. “That would be up to you.”

Squirrelflight ignored the ShadowClan leader. “We’d see you at Gatherings. And you’d still share borders with ThunderClan and ShadowClan.”

Harestar nodded. “SkyClan wouldn’t be left out. We are one beneath StarClan now. We share ancestors.”