The Apprentice's Quest

Hope thrilled through Alderpaw. Maybe the SkyClan cats are deciding to leave tomorrow, to journey with us to the lake and reunite with the other Clans!

He rose to his paws, intending to join them and tell them how happy he was about their plan, but before he could leave the den, the SkyClan cats split up, padding off in three different directions.

Movement in the shadows caught

Alderpaw’s eye, and to his astonishment he spotted Needlepaw, emerging from the shelter of a boulder and padding up to Rain. Until then he hadn’t realized that she wasn’t asleep in the den with him and his Clanmates.

“It sounds like you’re close to making your minds up,” Needlepaw purred to Rain.

The big gray tom loomed over her. “It’s rude to eavesdrop,” he hissed.

“I hardly had a choice.” Needlepaw was not at all intimidated; her voice was even playful.

“You’re not exactly subtle in how you go about your plotting.”

Rain muttered something in reply, but because he turned to walk away, Alderpaw couldn’t make out the words.

Needlepaw pattered alongside the SkyClan cat, and without knowing why, Alderpaw emerged from the den and followed them as they headed upstream toward the rock pile.

Although he kept his distance, he could still hear Needlepaw’s teasing purr.

“Life in the other Clans is different, Rain.

There are… rules. You and Darktail and the others will have to learn them if you want to fit in.”

“Everything will work out,” Rain responded.

“Just the way it’s meant to.”

Alderpaw couldn’t decide whether the big tom’s voice was hopeful or amused, but either way, he wasn’t sure he liked it. I’ve heard enough, he thought, turning back toward the den.

But as he turned, his paw dislodged a pebble that clinked against another. Needlepaw and Rain both swiveled around to stare at him.

“Who’s that?” Rain asked sharply.

“Only me,” Alderpaw mumbled. “I… er… I just came out to make dirt.”

Not waiting for any comment, he scampered off into the darkness, panting hard as he reached the den where his Clanmates still slept peacefully. His hopeful feelings had evaporated, the flutter in his chest replaced by a heavy weight that seemed to be pushing from the inside, trying to force him to the ground.

Chapter 17

Alderpaw crawled out of the den the next morning feeling so exhausted that he could hardly put one paw in front of another.

Pondering how he could return the SkyClan cats to Clan life, when they obviously had no idea what it meant to be a warrior, had kept him awake all night, and so had the ache in his chest after he’d heard Needlepaw talking to Rain.

“I think we should hunt,” Molewhisker announced when all the questing cats had emerged from the den and sat grooming themselves at the waterside. “It’s no use expecting to eat with the SkyClan cats.”

“Let’s do that,” Cherryfall agreed. “I can’t wait to get out of this StarClan-forsaken gorge.”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Needlepaw yawned, showing a mouthful of spiky teeth. “It’s not so bad when you get used to it.”

“You stay, then,” Sparkpaw snapped, and added under her breath, “No cat asked you to come with us anyway.”

“That’s enough,” Molewhisker meowed, rising to his paws and speaking with authority.

“Needlepaw, you can do what you want. The rest of us are going to hunt.”

“It looks like there’s thicker forest on the other side of the river,” Cherryfall pointed out.

“Let’s go that way.”

Few of the SkyClan cats were around, and none of them tried to stop the ThunderClan cats as Molewhisker led the way across the pile of rocks. Alderpaw stumbled along in the rear, convinced that he would be even worse at hunting when he could scarcely keep his eyes open.

But when he found himself under the trees, Alderpaw revived a little. It felt good to have damp earth and leaf mold beneath his paws again, and to catch glimpses of sky between crisscrossing branches. The leaves were beginning to turn brown and gold, and for the first time Alderpaw realized that leaf-fall was almost upon them.

Cherryfall and Sparkpaw headed off together, while

Molewhisker turned to Alderpaw. “Do you want to hunt with me?” he asked.

Alderpaw shook his head. “Er… no, thanks.” He couldn’t bear having his former mentor watch him fail again. “I’ll just practice on my own.”

“Okay. I’ll see you back in camp.”

Molewhisker pushed his way through a clump of bracken and vanished.

Once his sound and scent had died away, Alderpaw slid deeper into the forest, his ears pricked and his jaws parted to pick up the first traces of prey. Soon he heard a chirping sound from above, along with the rustling of leaves and the flutter of wings. Looking up, he spotted a thrush perched on the branch of a nearby tree.