Tallstar’s Revenge

Talltail stared at his leader. He should have felt happy, but the numbness wouldn’t shift. Instead it wrapped itself tighter around his heart. Heatherstar held his gaze, her eyes searching his as if she was trying to tell him something. Is she just being kind because she knows I don’t fit in? Around him, the air filled with the calls of his Clanmates.

“Talltail!”

“Shrewclaw!”

They lifted their voices to the afternoon sky, celebrating WindClan’s newest warriors.

Talltail glanced over his shoulder at Palebird. She was pressed against Woollytail, her eyes bright. Talltail swallowed back the sadness welling in his throat. Is she proud of me, or just happy about the kits? Surrounded by his Clanmates cheering his name, he had never felt more alone.

The stars shimmered in a peat-black sky. Perched on the edge of Outlook Rock, Talltail gazed beyond the mountain peaks that edged the horizon like jagged teeth. What lay beyond? Had any cat traveled that far? His breath billowed in front of him, the stone slab cold beneath his paws. The chilly leaf-fall night carried the distant scent of a leaf-bare frost.

He was sitting vigil with Shrewclaw, their first night as warriors. As a fox barked far below, an owl flapped up from a distant tree. Talltail pricked his ears to see if he could hear the beat of its wings on the crystal air. A light twinkled in Twolegplace, catching Talltail’s eye. Did a kittypet live trapped inside those walls? Snug and warm, blissfully unaware of the warriors on the moor? How many lives were being lived out there, beyond his view?

Talltail’s thoughts drifted to Sparrow and the other visitors. Had they passed that Twoleg nest? Perhaps that’s where they holed up for the winter. Maybe they were kittypets in leaf-bare, just playing at being rogues when the warm weather came. He shifted his paws, trying to ease the stiffness in his legs.

“Too cold for you up here?” Shrewclaw whispered. “You could go hide in a tunnel. I won’t tell.”

“Sure you wouldn’t.” Talltail twitched the tip of his tail with irritation. Was Shrewclaw going to keep on taunting him now they were warriors? He slid a look at his denmate. “Don’t you get bored of throwing the same old insults?”

“Not at you.”

“We’re not supposed to be talking.” Talltail watched a wisp of cloud drift over the moon. “StarClan won’t approve.”

“They probably don’t approve anyway,” Shrewpaw hissed. “You don’t deserve your warrior name after fighting like that in the assessment.”

“You were the first to unsheathe your claws.”

“That was just to give it a bit of edge,” Shrewclaw snapped. “I wasn’t trying to rip your pelt off.” A growl rumbled in his throat. “You caught me by surprise. Next time, I’ll shred you.”

“There won’t be a next time.”

Heatherstar’s mew made Talltail jump. He turned and saw her purple gaze blinking from the shadowy grass. She padded onto the rock. “You do know that you shouldn’t be speaking at all, let alone threatening each other?” Her gaze flicked from Talltail to Shrewclaw.

Talltail squirmed, feeling like a scolded kit. “Sorry, Heatherstar.”

“Talltail started it,” Shrewclaw muttered.

Heatherstar silenced him with a look. “I just wanted to check on my newest warriors.” Her glaze slid past Talltail to the starlit view beyond. “How’s the valley tonight?”

“Chilly,” Shrewclaw told her.

Talltail looked out beyond Highstones. “Endless,” he whispered, letting a note of longing creep into his voice.

Heatherstar’s eyes glittered for a moment; then she turned away. “Stay silent,” she reminded them as she padded onto the grass. “StarClan is watching.”

Talltail stifled a yawn. The sky beyond ThunderClan territory was beginning to lighten at last. Shrewclaw’s head was drooping beside him. Talltail flicked him with his tail.

Shrewclaw jerked up his head. “What?”

“It’s nearly dawn,” Talltail hissed.

“I knew that,” Shrewclaw grunted.

Talltail stared out from the rock, watching the valley wake. Monsters began to roar along the Thunderpath. In the Twoleg den far below, a dog barked insistently until a Twoleg barked back, and the dog fell silent. The meadows and copses stirred into life as dawn turned the moon-drenched leaves from silver to green, and finally the sun lifted its head over the forest and set Highstones alight.

Talltail heard paw steps brushing the grass behind. He tasted the air before he turned. Reedfeather.

“You’re still awake.” Reedfeather sounded pleased.

Talltail stretched, arching his spine until his tail quivered. He straightened and shook the damp morning chill from his fur. Beside him, Shrewclaw yawned. “I’m glad I got my warrior name before leaf-bare,” he meowed. “I’d have frozen to death sitting out here all night.”

“Would a little hunting warm you up?” Reedfeather offered.

Shrewclaw blinked. “Now?”

“Sounds like a good idea to me.” Talltail padded off the rock. He needed to stretch his legs and he was as hungry as a fox.