The Raging Storm

Twigbranch froze as he stopped and scanned the forest. She saw a gray tail bobbing over the forest floor a tree-length away. “There!” She dropped into a hunting crouch. Finleap dropped beside her. Together they watched the squirrel stop at the roots of a beech. It rummaged through the leaves caught between the roots and began picking out beechnuts.

Finleap padded forward, moving noiselessly over the forest floor. Twigbranch crept after him, keeping her belly a whisker above the ground so it didn’t brush the leaves. Silently they advanced on the squirrel. It was intent on the beechnuts, nimbly cracking the shells and pulling out their seeds before stuffing them into its mouth. As Twigbranch neared, she glanced at Finleap, looking for a signal to pounce. He caught her eye and nodded her to one side. They split up and, ducking lower, moved to flank the squirrel.

Twigbranch paused and waited for Finleap’s signal. His eyes shone with excitement. He looked at her and flicked his tail. Go! They leaped at the same moment. But the squirrel was fast. Quick as a bird, it shot upward, gripping the bark of the beech and skittering toward the branches. Twigbranch stared after it, but Finleap didn’t hesitate. He leaped up the trunk, hooking in his claws, and hauled himself after the squirrel. “Come on!” he called down.

Twigbranch followed, pushing clumsily upward with her hind legs. Bark crumbled beneath her claws and showered past her. It felt strange to hunt above the ground, despite her SkyClan training. Finleap was swarming after the squirrel as though he’d been born in a tree. The squirrel hopped onto a branch and raced along it. Finleap followed, balancing easily as he chased the squirrel to the branch’s end.

Twigbranch reached the branch, panting, and watched as the squirrel leaped from its end to the next tree. Her heart seemed to stop as Finleap leaped after it. He landed in the next tree, wobbling dangerously as he found his paws. His stumpy tail flicked one way, then the other, as he fought to stay upright. Twigbranch glanced at the forest floor below. Don’t fall!

In a moment Finleap had regained his balance and was pelting after the squirrel. He caught it as it tried to leap up to the next branch, rearing and hooking it with his claws before it could escape.

Twigbranch felt a rush of pride. Even with a short tail, Finleap could keep his balance and hunt at the same time. Would he pass his SkyClan hunting skills on to their ThunderClan kits? She stiffened. Kits! What was she thinking? They were both too young to have a family yet.

She shook out her fur and slithered to the ground. Hurrying to Finleap’s tree, she waited for him as he scrambled tail first down the trunk, the dead squirrel dangling from his jaws.

He dropped it on the ground. “It feels good to hunt in the trees again,” he mewed happily.

Twigbranch brushed her muzzle against his cheek. “Great catch!”

He purred. “Let’s take it back to camp.” He grabbed the squirrel and headed away.

Twigbranch followed, pleased both by the good catch and at seeing Finleap so happy.

When they reached camp, Finleap headed to the fresh-kill pile to drop his catch. Twigbranch began to follow, but raised voices in the medicine den made her stop. An angry yowl sounded from the entrance.

“Have you got bees in your brain?” Jayfeather hissed.

“But I’ve seen it work! Nothing else is helping.” Alderheart sounded desperate.

Alarmed, Twigbranch hurried to the medicine den and nosed her way through the brambles that trailed at the entrance. No one seemed to notice her. Jayfeather was cringing from a small pile of dark berries, which lay on a dock leaf at Alderheart’s paws. Leafpool’s pelt was bristling as she pressed protectively against the nest where Puddleshine lay. The ShadowClan cat’s eyes were glazed and dull.

“How could you bring deathberries into camp?” Leafpool stared at them. “What if a kit finds one?”

“I’ll hide them where no kit can find them,” Alderheart promised.

“What if you get juice on your paws and walk it through camp?” Jayfeather argued. “A kit might pick up some poison without anyone realizing.”

“That’s not going to happen!” Alderheart’s hackles lifted. “I know the dangers. I’m not going to risk any cat’s life.”

“Except Puddleshine’s!” Jayfeather lashed his tail.

Twigbranch’s eyes widened. Was Alderheart really planning to give Puddleshine deathberries?

Leafpool flicked her ears. “How did you get such a crazy idea?”

“I told you! I saw the rabbit,” Alderheart mewed urgently. “One day it was sick with the same smell as Puddleshine, and the next it was recovering. I saw it eating the berries.”

“Are you sure it was eating deathberries?” Leafpool asked.

“They were berries from the same bush where I gathered these,” Alderheart told her.

Jayfeather’s blind blue eyes were hard with rage. “You’re not feeding those to Puddleshine.” Twigbranch stiffened. She knew Jayfeather could be bad-tempered, but she’d never seen him this angry.