The Silent Thaw

“You don’t even know when it is. Why bother—” Needlepaw hesitated. She was staring at Bristlefrost moving toward them through the crowd. She gave Rootpaw a knowing look. “I understand now,” she purred. “You want to talk to Bristlefrost.” She shrugged and began to head toward the ThunderClan apprentices. “I’ll leave you in peace,” she teased. “But don’t let Leafstar see. She doesn’t approve of cats having mates in other Clans.”

“She’s not my mate!” Rootpaw’s pelt felt hot as he yowled after his sister.

“Hey, Rootpaw.” Bristlefrost’s friendly mew made him jump. She had reached him already.

“Hi, Bristlefrost,” he mewed quickly. “How’s ThunderClan?”

“Good, I guess.” She blinked at him. “How’s your training going?” She tipped her head to one side kindly, as though asking a kit if they liked playing moss-ball.

“Fine.” Rootpaw fluffed out his fur. “I’ll probably be assessed soon.”

“Really?” she looked surprised. “I thought you’d be training for moons yet.”

“It might be any day.” Rootpaw’s pelt ruffled hotly along his spine. Did she think he was too young to become a warrior, or just mouse-brained?

She shifted her paws. “I mean,” she corrected herself, suddenly self-conscious, “it seems so quick. I feel like I’ve only just gotten my warrior name.”

“Maybe other Clans train their apprentices differently,” he suggested. “But in SkyClan you don’t have to be an apprentice to learn. Warriors learn new skills all the time.”

“I guess.” She looked at him thoughtfully. “Like, the other day, Blossomfall taught me how to track birds from the forest floor. I’d never tried it before. Have you?” She didn’t wait for an answer before she began to explain. “You have to choose a bird and keep your eye on it. You can’t stop watching for a moment. One blink and you could lose it among the leaves.”

Rootpaw guessed she was just trying to be nice, but he didn’t like being told something he knew already. “We track birds a lot in SkyClan.”

“Really?” Bristlefrost didn’t seem to hear him. Her attention had flitted to the Great Oak, where the leaders were scrambling onto the lowest branch. “I’d better go,” she mewed. “Bramblestar’s announcing Thriftear’s and Flipclaw’s warrior names. I want to be the first to yowl them out.” Before he could say good-bye, she slipped into the crowd and disappeared.

Feeling unsatisfied, Rootpaw nosed his way between his Clanmates. He hadn’t said anything clever or funny, but nor had Bristlefrost. Perhaps he didn’t like her as much as he used to. It was for the best; after all, they were from different Clans.

Tree and Violetshine were at the edge of the clearing with Sandynose and Plumwillow. Rootpaw settled between them as Needlepaw arrived. When she reached Rootpaw, she was out of breath. “The new apprentices are called Myrtlepaw and Baypaw,” she whispered. “Aren’t ThunderClan names strange?”

“No stranger than Needlepaw.” Rootpaw blinked at her.

Needlepaw looked worried. “Do you think Needlepaw is a strange name?”

“Of course not.” He nudged her. “I was just teasing.”

“Hush.” Violetshine swished her tail at her kits and looked up at the oak.

Tigerstar had stepped to the edge of the branch. “Puddleshine’s apprentice has received his medicine-cat name.” His mew rang out over the gathered cats. “From now on, he will be known as Shadowsight.”

“Shadowsight!” The ShadowClan warriors chanted his name proudly. Kestrelflight, Alderheart, and Jayfeather joined in as Shadowsight shifted self-consciously beside them.

Rootpaw caught Shadowsight’s eye and nodded. He’d met the medicine cat a few times in the forest, and he liked him. He seemed less intimidating than the older medicine cats.

As the yowling died away, Tigerstar went on. “Prey is beginning to return after the long leaf-bare. We will have full bellies within a moon.” He looked toward Bramblestar as though inviting the ThunderClan leader to speak next.

Bramblestar bowed his head. “We have new warriors,” he told the gathered cats. His gaze flitted toward his Clanmates, crowding at the far edge of the clearing. “Thriftear and Flipclaw passed their assessment. It won’t be long before they’re leading their own patrols.” His gaze settled on Bristlefrost for a moment. “In ThunderClan, we believe in encouraging our younger warriors to take on new and challenging responsibilities as soon as they’re able.”

Bristlefrost glanced shyly at her paws.

Has she been given special duties? Rootpaw narrowed his eyes. Perhaps that was why she’d seemed distracted. His old affection for her filled his heart once again. How could he forget that she’d pulled him out of the frozen lake two moons ago and saved him from drowning? As he watched her, a familiar shape moved behind the ThunderClan cats. His heart sank as he recognized the shimmering outline, pale against the forest behind. Bramblestar’s ghost. He jerked his muzzle back to the real Bramblestar, who was still speaking from the Great Oak.