“It’s okay,” Cloudtail mewed softly. “It’s only Fireheart.” Looking up at his former mentor, he explained, “You came up on her blind side. She’s scared when cats do that, but she’s getting better every day.”
“That’s right,” agreed Cinderpelt, emerging from her den. Limping over to Fireheart so she could speak to him without Lostface overhearing, she went on, “To be honest, there’s not much more I can do for her. She just needs time to get strong.”
“How long?” Fireheart asked. “I need to talk to her—and it’s time Cloudtail was going back to his warrior duties. I know Sandstorm wants him for her hunting patrol.” He gave his kin a sympathetic glance, still admiring him for his loyalty to Lostface.
Cinderpelt shrugged. “I’ll have to let Lostface decide when she feels ready to leave my den. Have you thought about what’s going to happen to her now?”
Fireheart shook his head. “Officially she’s a warrior…”
“And you think she’d be happy among you ruffians in the warriors’ den?” Cinderpelt let out a mew of exasperation. “She still needs someone to look after her.”
“I think she could go and live with the elders, at least while she’s still getting stronger.” It was Cloudtail who spoke; he had padded over to join Fireheart and the medicine cat. “Speckletail is still grieving in the elders’ den for Snowkit. It would do her good to have another cat to care for.”
“That’s a brilliant idea,” Fireheart meowed warmly.
“I’m not sure,” Cinderpelt objected. “What’s Speckletail going to think? You know how prickly and proud she is. She wouldn’t like the idea that you were doing her a favor by trying to distract her from Snowkit’s death.”
“Leave Speckletail to me,” Fireheart meowed. “I’ll tell her that she’s doing me a favor by looking after Lostface.”
“That might work,” agreed Cinderpelt. “And when Lostface is a bit better, she could help the elders and free up the apprentices for other duties.”
“Let’s ask her,” meowed Cloudtail. He bounded back to Lostface’s side and pressed close to her. “Lostface, Fireheart wants to talk to you.”
Fireheart followed. “Lostface, it’s Fireheart.” Her ravaged face turned slowly toward him. “Would you like to go and stay with the elders for a while?” he suggested. “It would be a load off my mind if you could help look after them—the apprentices have too much to do as it is.”
Lostface gave a nervous start and looked at Cloudtail with her one good eye. “I don’t have to, do I? I’m not an elder.”
Cloudtail pressed his muzzle against her wounded face. “No one will make you do anything you don’t want to.”
“But you’d be doing me a favor,” Fireheart added quickly. “Speckletail’s still grieving for Snowkit, and it will do her good to have a young, energetic cat around.” As Lostface still hesitated, he went on: “It’s just until you get your strength back.”
“And when you’re strong again, I’ll help you train,” Cloudtail added. “I’m sure you’ll be able to hunt with your good eye and ear. It’ll just take a bit of practice.”
Lostface’s eye began to glow with hope, and she nodded slowly. “All right, Fireheart. If that’s the best way I can be useful.”
“It is, I promise. And Lostface”—Fireheart crouched down beside her and gave her a reassuring lick—“is there anything you can tell me about that day in the forest? Did you see what attacked you?”
Lostface’s flicker of confidence died, and she shrank back against Cloudtail again. “I don’t remember,” she whimpered. “I’m sorry, Fireheart; I don’t remember.”
Cloudtail licked her head comfortingly. “It’s all right; you don’t have to think about it now.”
Fireheart tried to hide his disappointment. “Never mind. If you do think of anything, tell me right away.”
“I’ll tell you one thing,” Cloudtail growled. “When we find out who did this to her, I’ll make crowfood of them. I promise you that.”
Chapter 22
A full moon crossed the sky behind thin wisps of cloud as Bluestar led her warriors to the Gathering. Fireheart was already uneasy. In spite of her declaration of war against StarClan, Bluestar had insisted on going. “How can I trust you to lead the Clan?” she had spat at her deputy when he had asked her which warriors he should take. Fireheart had simply bowed his head in obedience, but he could still feel the pain of knowing that his leader was convinced he was a traitor.
He also had his doubts about including Graystripe, but his friend had begged desperately to be allowed to come. “Please, Fireheart! I’ll be able to get news of Featherkit and Stormkit,” he had meowed. Fireheart knew that Graystripe was inviting hostility from RiverClan by appearing so soon after the battle at Sunningrocks, and had half hoped that Bluestar would refuse. But the ThunderClan leader had merely flicked her tail dismissively. “Let him come. You’re all traitors, so what does it matter?”
Now Fireheart bunched together with the other ThunderClan warriors to follow Bluestar down the slope. As they emerged into the hollow, the first thing he saw was Tigerstar and Leopardstar sitting side by side, watching approvingly as a group of their apprentices scuffled playfully with eachother. Fireheart’s fur crawled as he saw those two together. He still had no evidence that Tigerstar was plotting revenge on his former Clan, but Leopardstar would certainly be feeling hostile after her Clan’s defeat at Sunningrocks.
“You’ve done a good job there,” meowed Leopardstar to her companion. “Those are strong young cats, and they’ve learned their fighting moves well.”
A purr rumbled in Tigerstar’s chest. “We’ve made some progress,” he agreed. “But there’s a long way to go yet.”
A pair of tumbling apprentices rolled right up to their leaders’ paws and Leopardstar shifted backwards to give them more room. The young ShadowClan cats were certainly muscular and well fed, Fireheart thought; he could hardly believe they were the same scrawny creatures who had almost died when the sickness swept through their Clan. He exchanged an uneasy glance with Graystripe; sooner or later, he was sure, ThunderClan would have to meet these skilled fighters in battle.
At a word from Tigerstar the apprentices stopped their playful skirmish and sat up, licking their ruffled fur. The two leaders began to make their way toward the Great Rock. Fireheart spotted Bluestar already waiting at its base, but he couldn’t see Tallstar, the WindClan leader.
As the ThunderClan cats dispersed to meet with warriors in other Clans, he noticed Graystripe hurrying up to a plump bracken-colored she-cat, and caught the scent of RiverClan from her. Fireheart felt a pang of anxiety as he watched his friend. He trusted Graystripe absolutely, even though he would always have one paw in RiverClan while his kits were there. But several ThunderClan warriors would doubt his loyalty if they saw him so eager to talk to a RiverClan cat.
“Mosspelt, how are you?” Graystripe greeted the she-cat. “How are Featherkit and Stormkit?”
“Featherpaw and Stormpaw now,” replied Mosspelt proudly. “They’ve just been apprenticed.”
“That’s great!” Graystripe’s yellow eyes were glowing as he turned to Fireheart. “Did you hear what Mosspelt said? My kits are apprentices now.” He glanced around. “They’re not here, are they?”
Mosspelt shook her head. “They’re too newly apprenticed for that. Maybe next time. I’ll tell them you were asking after them, Graystripe.”
“Thanks.” Graystripe’s excitement faded and was replaced by anxiety. “What did they think when I didn’t come back from the battle?”