The Forgotten Warrior

Molepaw and Cherrypaw burrowed into the brambles; Jayfeather could feel their fear surging over him like waves. Once they were in the thicket, he couldn’t see much of the fighting, but he heard yelps and snarls from the fox, a shriek of pain from Foxleap, and furious caterwauling from Rosepetal and Brightheart. Through a gap in the tendrils he spotted the fox driven back from the clearing, with all three cats in pursuit.

The fox scent faded and everything went quiet.

“Do you think we can get out now?” Cherrypaw whispered. “I’ve got thorns digging into my pelt.”

“Better not,” Molepaw replied. “Brightheart told us to stay here.”

They waited a little longer, their fear gradually dying away. Jayfeather tensed as the fox scent grew stronger again, and Molepaw muttered, “I think it’s back.”

He peered out through the gap in the brambles and spotted the fox sniffing along the ground a couple of tail-lengths away.

“It’s looking for us!” Molepaw’s voice was a terrified whisper.

“What if it finds us?” Cherrypaw asked. “Where are the others?”

The fox drew closer; Jayfeather guessed it had picked up the apprentices’ scent. Then a loud hiss and a snarl came from the shadows underneath a nearby bush. The fox raised its head. The hiss was repeated, and after a heartbeat’s hesitation the fox turned tail and slunk away out of sight.

“That was close!” Molepaw gasped.

Jayfeather realized there was definitely another cat under the bush. But the brambles blocked his view and in the shadows he could make out nothing more than a vague shape. He strained to catch a scent.

“Ow!” Molepaw squealed. “You’re pressing too hard!”

Jayfeather’s vision vanished, leaving him in darkness again. “Sorry,” he muttered, frustrated to be thrown out of the young tom’s memory just when he thought he might have learned something. “Okay, you can go.”

When the two apprentices had scampered off, Jayfeather padded into the clearing to discover that the patrols had returned. Poppyfrost was in the middle of the hollow with Cherrypaw and Molepaw. Other cats had gathered around her, listening to the apprentices retell their adventure.

“What?” Poppyfrost screeched. “A fox nearly ate you? This is dreadful! Brambleclaw, what are we going to do about it?”

“Calm down, Poppyfrost,” the deputy meowed. “There’s no harm done—”

“Don’t tell me to be calm!” Poppyfrost retorted. “My kits could have been eaten!”

“I know it’s worrying.” Brambleclaw’s voice was reassuring. “I’m surprised there’s a fox in the territory at all. It hasn’t been long since we chased the last one out, and I wouldn’t have expected it to come back so soon.”

Jayfeather padded across, wanting to discuss the mysterious cat who had rescued the apprentices, but in the tumult around Poppyfrost no cat wanted to listen.

He shouldered his way into the group and became aware of Ivypool beside him, shrinking in a wave of guilt. “What’s wrong with you?” he asked.

“I think this was my fault,” Ivypool replied miserably. Raising her voice to make herself heard, she meowed, “I think I might have brought the fox into the territory.”

“How?” Firestar demanded.

Jayfeather located the Clan leader bounding over from the Highledge; the other cats quieted down as he confronted Ivypool.

Ivypool began by describing how she and Jayfeather had found the marigold plants eaten by rabbits. “So I went to find some fox dung and put it on a stick,” she went on, her voice shaking. “I put the dung around the plants to frighten the rabbits off. The fox must have smelled it and followed the trail over the border. I’m really sorry,” she finished.

“Mouse-brain!” Cloudtail commented loudly.

“Yes, you nearly got my kits killed!” Poppyfrost hissed.

“Hey, that’s not fair.” Lionblaze thrust his way forward to stand beside Jayfeather and Ivypool. “How was Ivypool to know what would happen? We don’t normally train up there.”

“That’s right,” Sorreltail added. “And we’ll all be glad of the marigold once it grows back.”

More voices broke out, talking all at once so that Jayfeather couldn’t make paws or tail of the argument. Finally, Firestar’s yowl rang out.

“That’s enough. What’s done is done.” As the noise began to die down, he added, “Now we need to focus on regular patrols to make sure the fox doesn’t come back.” He let out a snort. “And keep a lookout for strange cats hiding in bushes!”

Jayfeather could tell that his leader was only half joking. Strange things were happening, and the Clan needed to be extra vigilant. Molepaw’s memory was still fresh in Jayfeather’s mind, and he knew there had been a cat on the cliff top.

“Hey, Dovewing,” he meowed, picking up her scent as the Clan cats separated. “What was that you were meowing about earlier? What did you hear happening on the cliff top?”

He sensed Dovewing’s defensiveness as she halted and faced him. “Nothing,” she replied.

“Not the first attack?” Jayfeather persisted.

“No.”

“And what about afterward? Were there any signs of a cat you weren’t expecting to find?”