The Raging Storm

“Do you think we’ll find them tomorrow?” Nightcloud’s eyes shone in the gloom.

“I hope so.” Twigbranch wondered if it was possible to find SkyClan so quickly. The journey had been hard going, and the storm showed no sign of easing. She padded to the lip of the cave and gazed at the dark woods.

Tree padded from between the trunks. A fat rabbit hung from his mouth. Twigbranch licked her lips. She could smell its warm scent as he padded toward her.

He laid it on the ground at her paws. “Do you want to share this one?”

“Yes, please.” She blinked at him gratefully.

They settled down and took turns ripping flesh from the carcass. The sweet musky flavors sang on Twigbranch’s tongue, and at last she began to feel warm. As her fur dried, it fluffed out against the chill of the night.

Tree swallowed a mouthful and stretched happily. “I haven’t been so hungry in a long time.”

“That’s because you’ve been living with a Clan,” Twigbranch told him, still chewing.

“Maybe,” he conceded.

“Were you always a loner?” Twigbranch tore another strip of flesh from the rabbit.

“Yes.” Tree’s eyes were round in the darkness. “My mother left me when I was a kit. I taught myself how to hunt and find shelter.”

“That must have been hard.”

“I guess.” He shifted onto his belly. “It’s so long ago I hardly remember.”

Twigbranch swallowed her mouthful. “Did you like living alone?”

“I liked the freedom,” Tree told her. “The only thing I worried about was my next meal. I liked having no responsibilities. But then I met Violetshine.” He sounded faintly annoyed, even though his eyes were clouded with wistfulness. Twigbranch swallowed back a purr of amusement. Violetshine had clearly disrupted his beloved loner life. “For the first time, I started thinking about having a family. I wanted responsibility. I miss her so much.” Twigbranch’s heart ached for him as he stared blindly into the forest. He blinked. “But we’re going to find her and I’m going to tell her how I feel.”

Twigbranch followed his gaze. “I can’t imagine having kits,” she mewed guiltily. “Finleap wants to already, but I’m not ready to give up being a warrior.”

“You don’t have to give it up,” Tree reminded her. “Queens only stay in the nursery until their kits are weaned, don’t they?”

“I guess.” Was she being selfish, wanting to focus on herself? “But I don’t want to worry about that yet. I like being a mentor. I’m learning so much every day.”

“You’re young,” he mewed gently. “There’s no rush.”

“Violetshine’s young too.”

“Yes.” Tree’s gaze softened. “But she’s always wanted a family. I think she’ll make a great mother.”

“So do I.” Twigbranch suddenly missed Violetshine with a piercing grief she hadn’t felt since her sister left. As silence settled between them, Flypaw burst from the ferns at the edge of the trees. Her eyes were bright and a shrew dangled from her jaws.

She hurried toward Twigbranch and dropped it on the ground. “I caught it first try,” she mewed proudly.

“Well done!” As Twigbranch purred admiringly, she saw Finleap padding toward them. He was carrying a bedraggled sparrow. It was skinny and looked more like crow-food than fresh-kill.

He stopped beside Flypaw and laid it on the ground. “I was thinking that we could share this . . .” He eyed the fat rabbit lying, half-eaten, between Twigbranch and Tree. “But I guess you don’t need it.” Anger hardened his mew.

Twigbranch shifted uncomfortably. “I didn’t realize you were bringing me food. Tree just offered and I was hungry.”

Finleap wasn’t listening. He was still staring at the rabbit. “I guess he knows where the best prey lives. This used to be his home. It’s easy to hunt when you know the territory.”

Tree stared at Finleap coldly. “I could catch a rabbit anywhere.”

“Did you used to catch rabbits to impress Violetshine?” Finleap mewed pointedly. “Or have you forgotten Violetshine?”

Tree’s hackles lifted. “I don’t have to impress any cat.”

“Really?” Finleap’s ears twitched. “You seem to be trying pretty hard to impress Twigbranch.”

Tree glanced scornfully at Finleap’s scrawny catch. “Harder than you. You ignore her for the whole journey and then you bring her that.”

Finleap curled his lip. “Loner.” Hissing, he stalked away.

Flypaw blinked at Twigbranch. “What was that about?”

Twigbranch ignored the question and scrambled to her paws. Was Finleap jealous? Hope flickered in her belly. Maybe he still loves me. “I’d better go and see if he’s okay.”

Tree had been hard on him, but Finleap had picked the fight. She couldn’t help feeling sorry for him, even though he was acting like a fox-heart. She hurried across the cave. Finleap was sniffing at the bedding, his pelt bristling. “Oh, so you can tear yourself away from Tree?”

Twigbranch blinked at him. “What are you talking about? Tree loves Violetshine!”

He glanced at her angrily and padded out of the cave.

“Where are you going?” She hurried after him. “We have to talk.”

He began to climb the steep bank beside the cave.