The Forgotten Warrior

“I did.” Bumblestripe ducked his head, embarrassed. “When we were apprentices. She got back at me, though; she pushed me into the stream when I wasn’t looking.”

Dovewing snorted. “There must be a star glaring down at her, then. Maybe it’s that one.” She pointed at it with one paw. “And the one beside it is annoyed with me because I forgot to change the elders’ bedding one time.”

“Oh, no!” Bumblestripe leaned over and touched her ear with his nose. “I bet Mousefur told you off.”

Dovewing winced. “I think they must have heard her in RiverClan!”

Bumblestripe lapsed into silence. This is good, Dovewing thought, reveling in the cool grass and the scent that wreathed around her. Just sitting here, talking to a Clanmate, looking at the stars…

It wasn’t exactly the same as the nights she had spent with Tigerheart—she couldn’t feel her heart thumping hard enough to burst out of her chest, and her paws weren’t tingling as she ran through forbidden territory—but right at that moment, she was very happy to be sitting beneath the jasmine with Bumblestripe, and nowhere else.

“Okay,” Cinderheart meowed. “Let’s see your hunter’s crouch.”

Dovewing watched as Ivypool took up her position at the edge of the training clearing, while Cinderheart padded around her, checking that she had it right.

“Tuck your tail in a bit more,” she instructed. “Yes, that’s great. Now spring, and see if you can hit that primrose under the tree over there.”

Ivypool bunched her muscles and exploded in an enormous pounce, leaping through the air and bringing her forepaws down on the primrose, flattening it to the ground.

“Well done,” Lionblaze commented. “Now let’s see you do it, Dovewing.”

As she crouched down, trying to make sure her paws and tail were in the right place, Dovewing thought that once she might have resented going back to this kind of basic training with her former mentor. But today she felt too happy to resent anything. She had slept well the night before, after her walk with Bumblestripe, and this morning her senses were even clearer.

She felt a claw-scratch of fear, knowing how fragile her special senses were. But then she shrugged off the feeling. I have to protect them, that’s all, just like I protect my paws on stony ground, or the soft parts of my belly in a fight.

While Lionblaze checked her position, she took a moment to reach out. WindClan had a new litter of kits. Noisy little things! Dovewing thought as they burrowed into their mother’s belly to feed. In RiverClan the newly-made warriors were overwhelmed by excitement at being out on patrol, while in ShadowClan Tigerheart was teaching a couple of apprentices how to stalk a squirrel. Dovewing let out a mrrow of laughter as something alerted their prey. The squirrel dashed one way, then doubled back and ran right across Tigerheart’s back before leaping to safety up a tree.

“You’re in a good mood today,” Lionblaze commented.

“Mmm,” Cinderheart agreed with a twitch of her whiskers. “That must have been a really good walk last night!”

“What walk?” Lionblaze asked.

Cinderheart glanced at him, her blue eyes glimmering. “I couldn’t possibly tell you.”

Lionblaze flicked his ears. “Okay. Meanwhile, Dovewing, bring your hind paws a bit farther forward and see if you can pounce on that primrose.”

“If Ivypool hasn’t demolished it,” Dovewing muttered.

Drawing her paws in to give more power to her spring, she launched herself across the clearing and landed beside her sister, shredding what was left of the pale yellow primrose with her claws.

“Good!” Lionblaze commented. “You’re both on form today.”

“What did Cinderheart mean about a walk last night?” Ivypool whispered. “You were really late coming back to the den.”

Dovewing didn’t want to talk about her evening with Bumblestripe, but she knew that her sister would be upset if she refused. “Nothing,” she replied. “I went down to the lake with Bumblestripe, that’s all.”

Ivypool’s eyes widened with surprise. “Oh, that’s terrific!” she exclaimed. “He’s really nice. Are you two going to be mates?”

“That’s the last thing on my mind!” Dovewing twitched her tail irritably. “It was just a walk. It was fun, but no big deal.”

Her sister gave her a poke in the side. “The two of you would have the cutest kits together!”

Dovewing rolled her eyes. To distract herself from Ivypool’s teasing, she extended her senses into the forest again. Almost at once she picked up the image of a cat heading through the trees toward the WindClan border. It took her a moment to identify his scent and appearance; she stiffened when she realized it was Sol.

Is he leaving already? she wondered. Or just going for a walk? He’s a strange cat, that’s for sure.