The Raging Storm

Flypaw narrowed her eyes. “Your nose is twitching. Can you smell something?”

“Bury your mouse under some leaves and follow me.” She picked her way through a patch of ivy, heading for the border.

Flypaw pushed her catch quickly beneath a root and scraped leaves around it. “Are we allowed outside Clan territory?” She hurried after Twigbranch.

“Of course.” Twigbranch glanced at her, barely listening. It was Tree’s scent, she was certain. But what was he doing here? Hadn’t he left the lake with SkyClan? Hope quivered in her belly. If he’d stayed behind, perhaps Violetshine had stayed with him. She quickened her step, crossing the scent line into the forest beyond.

The brambles grew closer here, and pines sprouted between the oaks. She knew the land here stretched right to the mountains, too far to patrol and too wild to hunt. Lilyheart had told nursery tales about foxes and badgers that prowled here. Twigbranch tasted the air nervously as the forest floor sloped upward. She could smell blood mingled with Tree’s scent. Was he hurt? As she scrambled up the slope, her paws slid on wet leaves. Rocks jutted from the ground. She squeezed between them, climbing higher as the land sloped more steeply.

“What are we looking for?” Flypaw was at her tail.

“I just want to check something.” Tree’s scent was stronger. He must have been here for days. Her heart quickened as she tasted for her sister’s scent. Surely Tree wouldn’t have stayed without Violetshine? She must be with him. She clambered over the last rock as the land evened out. A holly bush sprouted between the trees. Twigbranch padded around it, sniffing the ground. The muddy earth had been smoothed by paw prints. “Tree?” she called out softly. Fur brushed leaves inside. She glimpsed movement between the branches. “It’s me. Twigbranch.”

“Tree?” Flypaw sounded surprised. “Didn’t he leave with SkyClan?” She slid past Twigbranch and began sniffing the bush.

“Careful.” Twigbranch nosed her away. “Can’t you smell blood?”

“It’s just fresh-kill.” Tree pushed his way from the bush and halted in front of her. His thick yellow fur was fluffed out against the rain.

Twigbranch’s heart leaped as she met the tom’s gaze. “Is Violetshine with you?”

His eyes darkened. “She’s with SkyClan.”

Disappointment dropped like a stone in her belly.

“Come out of the rain.” Tree led her through a gap in the branches. She pushed her way in. The prickly leaves scraped rainwater from her pelt. Flypaw squeezed in after her.

A half-eaten rabbit lay beside a nest of bracken at one edge of the makeshift den. Rainwater dripped through the roof, but it was warm.

“What are you doing here?” Twigbranch searched his gaze. Had SkyClan refused to take him to the gorge?

“I wanted to stay beside the lake.” Tree sat down, while Flypaw sniffed the rabbit.

“Why?” Twigbranch frowned.

“I don’t belong in SkyClan. And I figured the lake must be important. A dead warrior made me beg Leafstar to stay.”

Twigbranch blinked at him. “What about Violetshine? I thought you were mates!”

“I asked her to stay with me,” Tree told her. “But she wanted to go with her Clan.”

Twigbranch knew how much her sister loved Tree. But what was the point of love, she wondered, if it wasn’t strong enough to keep cats together? She thought, with a pang, of Finleap. Love had kept them together, but were they happy? Her heart ached, and she pushed the thought away.

Flypaw poked the rabbit. “Can I have a mouthful?” she asked Tree,

Tree shrugged. “Eat as much as you like. There’s more prey in this part of the forest than I can hunt.”

Her fur bristling happily, Flypaw took a bite.

I don’t belong in SkyClan. Twigbranch gazed quizzically at Tree. “So are you a loner again?”

“I guess.” Tree shifted his paws.

“But I thought you were the Clan mediator.” Had he given up on the Clans altogether?

“The Clans never listened to me.” Tree shrugged. “I was wasting my time.”

“Wasting your time?” Twigbranch didn’t understand how time with the Clans could be wasted. But then, she’d never known any other way of living. “Is sleeping under a bush by yourself any better?”

“Not really.” Tree looked at her sadly. “I thought I’d enjoy going back to my old life. But it’s not the same. I miss Violetshine. I miss having other cats around. Hunting for myself isn’t as much fun as it used to be.”

Twigbranch blinked at him sympathetically. He didn’t seem to feel he belonged anywhere. “I guess this weather doesn’t help.”

Tree frowned. “It’s rained ever since SkyClan left. And the wind has been getting stronger. Have you noticed?”

Twigbranch pricked her ears. The soft swish of leaves had risen to a roar.

“It’s like the vision,” Tree went on. “The medicine cats said the saplings were destroyed by a storm.”

Alarm pricked through Twigbranch’s pelt. “Do you think this is the storm they saw?”

“I don’t know. But if it is, SkyClan should be here. They are the fifth sapling, aren’t they?” Worry glittered in Tree’s amber gaze. “If they’re not here, the storm will destroy all the Clans.”