Yellowfang’s Secret

“Yes!” Yellowpaw was so excited that she pushed off with all four paws and gave an enormous leap into the air. Rowanpaw and Nutpaw had already made their apprentice journeys to the Moonstone, and Yellowpaw had begun to fear that her turn would never come. She landed awkwardly from her leap, feeling a hot flush of embarrassment. Deerleap will think I’m behaving like a kit. “When do we leave?” she mewed.

“Right away,” her mentor announced. “Come with me. We need to visit Sagewhisker for traveling herbs.”

“What are they?” Yellowpaw asked as they padded toward the medicine cat’s den.

“Sorrel, daisy, chamomile, and burnet.” Deerleap listed each herb with a twitch of her tail. “They’ll give you strength and stop you from feeling hungry on the way. There won’t be time to hunt.”

When they slipped between the boulders into Sagewhisker’s den, the medicine cat was mixing herbs together with delicate motions of one forepaw. “Here you are,” she meowed, dividing the mixture into two small heaps. “Yellowpaw, the taste is bitter, but it won’t last long.”

Copying Deerleap, Yellowpaw licked up the herbs, chewed, and swallowed. The taste was just as bitter as Sagewhisker had warned her it would be, and she couldn’t help making a face.

“Listen carefully to what StarClan tells you in your dreams,” Sagewhisker prompted. “This could be the moment when you find out your destiny.”

“I already know my destiny,” Yellowpaw mewed. “It’s to be a great ShadowClan warrior!”

Sagewhisker made no comment, just looked at Yellowpaw for a moment longer before she nodded. “Have a safe journey, both of you. May StarClan light your path.”

Deerleap walked through the forest as far as the Thunderpath, then turned to follow it toward the edge of the territory. Yellowpaw wrinkled her nose as the acrid stink of monsters swamped the fresh smells of the forest. The scent of WindClan cats wafted across the Thunderpath from their territory on the far side.

I wonder what those prey-stealers are up to now? At least they haven’t dared to bother us again.

Yellowpaw trotted beside Deerleap as they crossed the ShadowClan border. They soon came to a smaller Thunderpath branching off the main one.

“Do we have to cross this?” she asked her mentor, trying to hide her nervousness. There didn’t seem to be a tunnel underneath like the one they used to get to Gatherings.

Deerleap nodded. “It seems scary when it’s your first time, but you’ll be fine as long as you remember—”

“Look, listen, and scent!” Yellowpaw interrupted, curling her tail up.

“Right.” Deerleap let out a small mrrow of amusement. “You can look for monsters just like you look for prey.”

A distant buzzing sound began as she spoke, growing quickly to a roar, and a glittering red monster swept past them and joined the main Thunderpath. Yellowpaw gagged at the stench that rolled off it in waves.

“Now,” Deerleap mewed when it had gone, “these are the rules for crossing a Thunderpath. Look both ways. Can you see a monster? Listen. Can you hear one? Scent. Is the smell stronger than usual? If the answer to all those questions is no, then it’s safe to cross.”

“I see,” Yellowpaw murmured, still feeling nervous.

“Right. So tell us when to go.”

Yellowpaw stared at her. Me? What if I get us both killed? But Deerleap just angled her ears toward the Thunderpath, clearly waiting.

Standing near the edge of the hard black surface, Yellowpaw worked her claws into the grassy verge. She looked carefully in both directions, noting that the black strip was empty. The only sounds she could hear were the breeze in the branches and the twittering of birds. The tang of the red monster had died away.

“Okay… I think,” she mewed.

“Then go!”

Yellowpaw bounded forward with Deerleap at her side, wincing as her paws landed on the harsh surface of the Thunderpath. Heartbeats later they had reached the safety of a clump of bushes on the other side. Another monster growled its way past as she stood there quivering and trying to get her breath.

“We made it.” Deerleap gave her a nod. “One more thing to remember—once you decide it’s safe, run as fast as you can and don’t look back.”

Yellowpaw was relieved when they left the Thunderpath behind. Beyond it, the land began to rise into moors that reminded her of WindClan territory, covered with the same short, tough grass. But the WindClan scents were fading behind them. With a tingle of excitement in her paws, Yellowpaw realized she was heading into unknown territory, where no Clan cats lived. She felt exposed in the open spaces, without the comforting shelter of pine branches.