“What do you want?” Tornear’s mew was accusing.
Fur brushed heather as the WindClan patrol approached.
Jaypaw sensed Brambleclaw squaring himself to meet the
WindClan cats. “Leafpool and Jaypaw wish to speak with Onestar.” Brambleclaw’s mew was calm, neither hostile nor yielding.
Surprise pulsed from Tornear’s pelt. “What for?”
“They wish to speak with
Jaypaw felt suspicion wake in the WindClan cats’ minds.
He guessed they were looking at one another, wondering how to respond. Could they turn away medicine cats?
“
“We will wait here for them,” Brambleclaw assured him.
Silence hung in the air, like a hawk stalling before a dive.
“Then Owlwhisker and Harepaw will wait with you,”
Tornear meowed slowly.
“Can I trust you to see them safely to the camp and back?”
Brambleclaw asked.
Tornear snorted. “Of course you can!”
“Leafpool,” Brambleclaw meowed, “if you’re not back by sunhigh, we’ll fetch a patrol and come looking for you.” His mew was thick with warning aimed at the WindClan cats.
“She’ll be back,” Tornear growled.
Jaypaw heard Leafpool’s fur brush the heather as she crossed the border. He padded quickly after her and pressed against her. It was exciting to be traveling to the WindClan camp, but he suddenly felt vulnerable. An icy chill swept his fur as clouds blocked out the sun.
“Keep your chin high,” Leafpool whispered. She let her
pelt brush his all the way to the camp, guiding him over the unfamiliar ground. Jaypaw only stumbled once when Leafpool didn’t warn him in time about a trailing branch of gorse.
Soon he smelled brambles and a stronger scent of WindClan. He sensed space beneath him as the ground dipped away in front of them. They had reached the camp.
“Stay close,” Tornear warned.
Jaypaw walked step-by-step with Leafpool as the WindClan warrior led them into a swath of bramble, through a twisting, turning tunnel that led down into a hollow. He could hear Nightcloud’s breath behind him as she brought up the rear. Then wind stroked his whiskers; they were out of the tunnel. For a moment he felt overwhelmed by the jumble of scents that filled his nose and mouth: warriors, apprentices, kits, nursing queens, herbs, rabbit. . . .
They must be in the center of the camp. A fresh wind tugged Jaypaw’s fur. Watchful gazes stabbed his pelt.
“It’s that blind cat from ThunderClan.”
“What are they doing here?”
“Shall I fetch Barkface?”
The WindClan cats were emerging from their dens.
Jaypaw could feel curiosity, hostility, and even fear throbbing in the air.
Tornear was whispering to a young tom. Jaypaw strained to hear but before he could make out the words, the tom hared out of the camp.
“Onestar is out hunting,” Tornear announced. “You’ll have
to wait.” He raised his voice to address his curious Clanmates.
“They’ve come to see Onestar!”
“Onestar?”
Alarm and suspicion rippled around the clearing. Jaypaw pricked his ears. This was not a Clan determined to expand their territory. They were frightened and confused. His belly tightened. Frightened cats were unpredictable. “Should we speak to Barkface instead and leave?” he murmured to Leafpool.
But Leafpool didn’t seem to hear. Her attention was flitting around the camp, as though she were searching for something or someone. Suddenly, an intense emotion sparked from her, almost making Jaypaw flinch. Excitement?
Grief? Anger? He couldn’t tell.
“You look well, Crowfeather.” Leafpool’s calm mew didn’t betray the storm raging in her mind.
Jealousy spiked behind Jaypaw. Nightcloud’s pelt was bristling.
“What are you doing here, Leafpool?” Crowfeather’s mew was curt and quiet.
“Firestar sent us to speak with Onestar,” Leafpool explained.
“He’s not here.”
“We know.” Leafpool sat down.
Jaypaw felt the first drop of rain dab his nose.
The brambles rustled and a few moments later paws pounded into the clearing. Onestar. Jaypaw recognized
Whitetail and Weaselfur with him.
“What’s this about?” the WindClan leader demanded.
“Firestar sent us,” Leafpool meowed.
“Why?” Onestar paced warily around them. “Are you in trouble?”
“No.”
“Then why come here?” Onestar halted so close to them that Jaypaw could smell the rabbit blood on his breath. “Does Firestar still think there’s some kind of special relationship between our Clans? Because there isn’t!”
“Firestar understands that.”
Jaypaw was impressed with how calm Leafpool sounded, even though he could feel her trembling against him.
“Firestar doesn’t want to shed blood over our shared border,” she went on.
“Why did he attack our apprentices, then?” Onestar’s tail swished through the air.
“WindClan warriors unsheathed their claws first,”
Leafpool meowed. “We were only defending the border they crossed.”
“It was our prey!” Tornear hissed.
Yowls of agreement rose around the clearing.
“Not once it’d crossed the border,” Jaypaw hissed.
Leafpool’s tail brushed his mouth. She shifted, her pads squelching against the slippery earth. The rain was beginning to fall steadily. “We didn’t come here to argue!”
“Then why did you come?” Onestar growled.
“To talk.”
Tornear tore at the ground. “Was Firestar too mouse-hearted to come himself?”
“Firestar didn’t want to provoke you by sending a warrior patrol,” Leafpool explained. “He wants to soothe the situa-tion, not inflame it.”
Crowfeather was circling them. “Then he shouldn’t have sent anyone!”
Anger surged through Leafpool; Jaypaw felt it hot against his pelt. “Not every cat hides from his responsibilities!” she hissed.
Crowfeather halted. “Are you saying that’s what I would do?” His whiskers brushed Jaypaw’s face as the WindClan warrior leaned in toward Leafpool.
“Get out of the way!” Onestar hissed, nudging Crowfeather aside. “What do you want to talk about?”
“Firestar wants to know if RiverClan has invaded your territory.” Leafpool was growing impatient. “Is that
