Sunrise

Gingerly Jayfeather pushed the leaf wrap in front of him and crept all the way to the back of the store, among a litter of old folded leaves and piles of shriveled herbs. “We need to clear this lot out,” he muttered as he pushed the deathberries into the farthest corner.

Crawling back into the den, he twitched his whiskers with disgust. His pelt was covered with herb dust and clinging stems. He had just begun to groom one shoulder when Leafpool returned.

“Whitewing’s fine,” she reported. “It’s just a bellyache. I’ll take her a couple of juniper berries.” She ducked quickly into the store and out again with the berries in a leaf wrap. “I’ve just remembered,” she mumbled around her mouthful. “With all this trouble, I forgot to check on Purdy’s sore pads. Can you go and do it now?”

“Sure,” Jayfeather sighed, resigning himself to putting up with a messy pelt for a bit longer. He fetched the ointment of yarrow from the store and padded over to the elders’ den.

As he crawled under the outer branches of the hazel bush, he heard Purdy’s voice. “What I don’t understan’ is why you’re all against Sol. Those other leaders who came here today, they want Firestar to get rid of him!” The old tabby sounded flustered. “Why won’t any of you listen when I tell you he’s a good cat?”

“Purdy, you’re not listening when other cats tell you what Sol did here.” Mousefur sounded as if her patience was wearing thin.

And there was never that much of it anyway, Jayfeather thought as he paused at the edge of the den.

Purdy snorted. “Some nonsense about tellin’ other cats what to believe in. They didn’ have to listen if they didn’ want to.”

True! Jayfeather suppressed a mrrow of amusement. Purdy’s not as stupid as some cats seem to think!

“StarClan is very important to us, Purdy,” Longtail murmured. “You’ll understand if you stay with us.”

“Cats in the sky!” Purdy snorted again. “Hedgehogs will fly before I believe that. Anyway,” he went on, “that’s nothin’ to do with how Firestar is treatin’ Sol now. It’s not natural, keepin’ a cat penned up like that. Firestar needs to come to his senses an’ let Sol live with the rest of the Clan.”

Jayfeather padded forward; he could sense Mousefur’s anger growing and wanted to prevent a quarrel. Spotting him, Mousefur let out a hiss of annoyance and went to crouch in the farthest corner of the den.

“Hi, Purdy. I’ve come to look at your pads,” Jayfeather announced.

“About time,” the old cat grumbled. “My paws feel as if they’re burnin’ off.” He lay down on his side, sticking out his paws for Jayfeather to examine.

Jayfeather felt carefully over all four of the elder’s feet. They were cracked—probably from his long journey—and they felt hot and swollen. “This ointment will help,” he mewed, beginning to smooth it on. “Try to stay off your paws as much as you can. The apprentices will bring you fresh-kill.”

Purdy let out a long sigh. “That’s much better, young ’un. You may be a scrawny young piece o’ nothin’, but you know what you’re doin’.”

“Thanks a bunch,” Jayfeather muttered. “I’ll come every day and—” He broke off as Longtail stretched out his neck to sniff the young cat’s pelt.

“Jayfeather, that herb…”

“What herb?”

“Sticking to your pelt. I’m not sure, but I think—Mousefur, come over here,” the blind elder called.

“What?” Mousefur still sounded grouchy, but she padded back to Jayfeather and sniffed at his fur. Then he felt her lick off one of the stems he must have picked up when he crawled into the back of the store. She chewed slowly.

“What are you doing?” Jayfeather asked.

“That’s it!” Mousefur’s voice was shrill with surprise. “Jayfeather, that’s the herb Leafpool mixed in with my tansy!”

CHAPTER 20

Jayfeather wriggled around and sniffed where some scraps of the herb still clung to his pelt. The scent was sharp, and as he pushed his nose against the dried leaves, he felt a crinkled edge. He had no idea what the herb was. Leafpool must hardly ever use it; she certainly had never told him about it.

Rapidly he finished spreading yarrow ointment on Purdy’s pads. “That should be fine,” he meowed. “I’ll fetch you some more tomorrow.”

He whirled around and slipped out of the den, ignoring Purdy’s plaintive cry of “What was all that about?”

Racing back to his own den, he found Leafpool curled up in her nest. “Leafpool, what—?” he began, skidding to a halt beside her. Then he broke off. He remembered how defensive Leafpool had been the first time he had questioned her about the mysterious herb. Better keep quiet, and find out what I can by myself.

“Jayfeather, why are you rushing around like that?” Leafpool mewed; she sounded bone-weary. “I want to have a quick nap before sunset. The Clan is sitting vigil for Honeyfern tonight.”

“Sorry,” Jayfeather mumbled. To his relief, Leafpool didn’t ask him what he had been about to say.