Sunrise

Lionblaze looked disgruntled while Hazeltail leaped up the trunk of the nearest tree, digging her claws into the bark. Hollyleaf’s heart thumped as she watched her friend clambering through the leafless branches, higher and higher, until she reached the top of the tree and clung there, swaying in the breeze. Hollyleaf couldn’t stop thinking about how Cinderheart had fallen, back in the forest, and injured her leg.

What do we do if Hazeltail is hurt, when we have so far to go?

But a few heartbeats later, Hazeltail began to scramble down; soon she reached the lowest branch and jumped down beside her Clanmates.

“I could see so far!” she exclaimed.

“Are we on the right track?” Brambleclaw asked.

“Yes!” Hazeltail’s fur was fluffed up with excitement. “I couldn’t see the lake, but I could tell where it is, behind WindClan’s ridge. We need to go this way”—she gestured with her tail into the trees—“and we’ll get there without going through any more Twolegplaces.”

“That’s great news.” Brambleclaw gave the younger warrior an approving nod. “Well done, Hazeltail.”

Hazeltail’s eyes shone with pride as the patrol set off again. Now that the path was wider, Hollyleaf noticed that Brackenfur and Birchfall were walking one on each side of Sol.

The loner glanced at each of them, his amber eyes glinting with amusement. “You don’t need to put me under guard, you know,” he mewed. “I’m not going to run away.”

Purdy halted, staring at Sol with a baffled look. “Under guard? What’s all that about?”

Brambleclaw was forced to halt, too; his whiskers twitched with irritation as he glanced back. “It doesn’t matter. We have to keep moving.”

“ThunderClan thinks I’ve done something,” Sol replied to Purdy, ignoring Brambleclaw. “That’s why they want me to go back with them.”

“Wha’?” Purdy gaped. “That’s fluff-brained!” Turning to Brambleclaw, he added, “You’re wrong, you know. Sol’s a decent cat. He wouldn’t do nothin’ bad.”

Brambleclaw didn’t try to explain. He just waved his tail, signaling for the patrol to continue, and almost immediately disturbed a pheasant, which came scrambling out of a clump of bracken with a raucous alarm call. At the same moment a squirrel, obviously spooked by the pheasant, dashed out of cover and raced for the nearest tree. Springing forward, Hollyleaf intercepted it and brought it down with a swift blow of her paw.

“Neat catch!” Birchfall called.

All the patrol gathered to share the unexpected prey, and Purdy’s awkward questions were pushed to the back of every cat’s mind. But Hollyleaf knew he would ask again. And which one of us is going to tell him the truth?

The patrol headed on through the forest, but not long after sunhigh Hollyleaf noticed that Purdy was getting tired, stumbling and blundering into bracken or brambles. She padded beside him, trying to guide him with her tail, but it was clear that he wouldn’t be able to keep going until nightfall.

Sprinting ahead, Hollyleaf caught up to Brambleclaw. “It’s Purdy,” she mewed. “He’s so tired. What are we going to do?”

Brambleclaw glanced back. “Mouse dung! We can’t just leave him here.” Clearly the Clan deputy was regretting that he had asked Purdy to join them. “Okay, we’ll stop soon,” he decided. “Do what you can to help him, Hollyleaf.”

“Sure.” Hollyleaf waited for Purdy to stagger up to her, then padded beside him again. “Do you want to lean on my shoulder?” she offered.

Purdy glared at her. “You think I can’t manage on my own? Jumped-up young whippersnapper!”

“Sorry.” Hollyleaf guessed he was angry because he knew he needed help, but pride wouldn’t let him accept it. She fell back a couple of paw steps so she could keep an eye on him, and was relieved when Brambleclaw called a halt.

“So soon?” Lionblaze asked, gazing up at where the sun still angled through the trees. “We could go a lot farther before it gets dark.”

“I know,” Brambleclaw meowed, with a glance at Purdy. “But we all had a tough time in the Twolegplace, and we need to hunt and rest. There should be plenty of prey here.”

The place Brambleclaw had chosen to stop was a small clearing among huge oak trees. Dead leaves covered the ground. At one side, a tiny spring trickled between moss-covered stones into a pool. Purdy stumbled over to it, took a few laps of water, and flopped down in a rumpled heap. Heartbeats later, loud snores came from him.

Sol padded across to a sunny patch of ground and sat down with his tail curled around his front paws. His amber eyes glowed in the golden light. He clearly had no intention of hunting for himself.

Hollyleaf headed into the undergrowth. The scents were strong, and she soon caught a mouse and a thrush. Maybe it’s not a bad idea to stop early, she thought as she kicked earth over her fresh-kill. It’s warmer now, so the prey is out and about.