Bluefur closed her eyes, too tired to comment, and felt Snowfur’s warm muzzle press her head.
“Sleep well, sister.”
Bluefur heard bracken crunch as Snowfur left her to sleep and drifted away into a swirl of stars and voices that whispered just beyond her hearing. And all around her, rushing black water tugged at her pelt and chilled her to the bone.
Chapter 19
Bluefur followed Adderfang, Thistlepaw, and Thrushpelt through the trees as they headed back to the camp after an early border patrol. Soft greenleaf sunshine dappled her pelt, and a bee buzzed close to her ear as it looped its way through a clump of ferns.
“It would be a perfect day to be lying on Sunningrocks,” Thistlepaw mewed wistfully.
Adderfang snorted. “I can’t believe Pinestar hasn’t done anything to take them back from those RiverClan fish-faces.”
“He should have launched an attack the moment they moved the border markers.” Thistlepaw batted the air in a mock lunge. “Instead we have to watch those fish-faces loll about on our territory.”
“We don’t need the prey from Sunningrocks,” Thrushpelt pointed out. “There’s enough in the rest of the forest.”
“That’s not the point!” Adderfang snapped. “He’s made us look weak. ShadowClan will be helping themselves to Snakerocks next.”
Bluefur flicked her tail. “ShadowClan can have Snakerocks. It attracts more adders and foxes than it does prey.”
A low growl rumbled in Adderfang’s throat.
“Shedding blood over Sunningrocks is pointless,” Thrushpelt argued. “From what the elders say, it’s happened enough times in the Clan’s history already. It’s easier just to let them have it. We have enough prey.”
“In greenleaf!” Thistlepaw snapped. “But what about during leaf-bare, when we need every whisker of territory?”
You’re just repeating what Adderfang’s told you. Bluefur narrowed her eyes. The mouse-brained apprentice never thought that far ahead on his own. “If it becomes worth fighting over, then I’m sure Pinestar will fight.”
Thistlepaw curled his lip. “Has our leader been confiding in you?” he sneered.
“He doesn’t need to,” Bluefur growled as they reached the top of the ravine. “It just makes sense.” She shouldered past Thistlepaw and bounded down the rocks.
Leopardfoot was basking outside the nursery. Her belly was so swollen with kits, she looked as round as a badger.
“Warm enough?” Bluefur asked as she passed.
Leopardfoot lifted her head. “It can’t be too warm for me,” she purred.
Bluefur headed for the fresh-kill pile.
“There’s plenty of prey to choose from.” Lionpaw was lying beside the tree stump with Goldenpaw. “I caught a thrush and a vole myself.”
Goldenpaw flicked her tail across his ears. “Stop showing off!”
Lionpaw lapped at the thick fur around his neck. “I was just being honest.”
Bluefur’s whiskers twitched. “Following the warrior code, I suppose,” she teased. She stepped out of the way as Sunfall came hurrying toward the apprentices’ den.
“Hey, Lionpaw! Have you seen Pinestar?”
Lionpaw looked up. “I thought he went out with a hunting patrol.”
Sunfall narrowed his eyes. “I thought so, too, but the hunting patrol’s just come back and Pinestar’s not with them.”
Bluefur tipped her head on one side. Had the rest of the border patrol noticed her sniffing for Pinestar’s scent as they’d passed the Twolegplace border? She couldn’t forget seeing him with Jake, and since their trip to the Moonstone a moon ago, the feeling that something was wrong with the ThunderClan leader had never entirely gone away. Was he in Twolegplace right now, talking to Jake, making himself comfortable among the kittypets as a way to escape his worries about the Clans?
Lionpaw gave up on his tufty fur and padded over to the bright orange warrior. “Would you like me to look for him?” he offered.
Sunfall shook his head. “I want you to come with me on a patrol to check the border along the river,” he explained. “RiverClan may have taken Sunningrocks from us, but they’re not allowed to set one paw on this side of them. The dawn patrol picked up some scents as far in as the trees, so I think we should patrol there more often in case those fish-faces have any ideas about invading us. Bluefur, you can come, too.”
Bluefur glanced at the teetering pile of prey. “Have I got time for a mouse?”
“Make it quick.” Sunfall turned. “I’ll round up Sparrowpelt and White-eye.”
Bluefur gulped down a mouse, burping as Lionpaw jumped to his paws.
“Are you coming?” he asked Goldenpaw.
Goldenpaw shook her head. “Dappletail’s teaching me some battle moves for my next assessment.”
Lionpaw glanced at Bluefur. “I guess it’s up to us to scare off those mangy RiverClan cats.” His fur bristled along his back. “Why can’t they stick to their own territory? They don’t even like squirrels.”
Bluefur flattened her ears, surprised by his fierceness. He’d been little more than a kit last time they’d fought RiverClan; now he was ready to claw their ears off. She suspected he was secretly hoping they had crossed the border, which would give ThunderClan a reason to attack. Thistlepaw wasn’t the only cat in ThunderClan who felt uncomfortable losing Sunningrocks without a fight. But still, she believed Pinestar had been right.
“A battle’s not fun,” she warned Lionpaw.
“At least you’ve had the chance to find out!” he complained. “I only ever get to meet the other Clans at Gatherings!”
Did he really prefer fighting to talking? Bluefur narrowed her eyes, then remembered Crookedjaw. At least in battle you knew where you stood and whom you could trust.
She cuffed Lionpaw softly over the ear. “Come on.”
He stopped arching his back and bristling as though he were already fighting, and followed Bluefur as she joined Sunfall, White-eye, and Swiftbreeze at the entrance.
As soon as they reached the new RiverClan border, Bluefur guessed the dawn patrol had been mistaken. Though the markers were fresh, the only RiverClan scents on this side were so weak they could have drifted across on the breeze. And yet the sight of RiverClan warriors lounging on the warm rocks beyond made Bluefur bristle. She may have defended Pinestar’s decision to let them take the rocks, but to see them using what had been ThunderClan territory made her claws itch.
Sunfall growled beside her, and Swiftbreeze plucked at the ground. “Pinestar’s going to have to take them back eventually,” she spat. “They insult us every time they set paw on those rocks.”
“Cowards!” Lionpaw yowled across the border.
Swiftbreeze quickly tugged him back by his tail. “A smart warrior only starts battles he might win!” she hissed.
The RiverClan warriors were staring through the trees. Bluefur recognized Crookedjaw. Was he a friend or an enemy now? Was she supposed to think of him as she did at Gatherings or in battle?
A tawny pelt slid off the rocks onto the shadowy strip of grass below and padded toward the border.
Oakheart.
Trust Crookedjaw’s arrogant littermate to push his luck. He padded slowly along the scent markers, glancing through the trees at the ThunderClan patrol.
Bluefur stepped forward and hissed. Oakheart’s eyes gleamed brighter when he saw her, and she found herself drawn into his gaze.
“RiverClan furball!” she spat.
Were his whiskers twitching? She arched her back. How dare he mock her?
“Bluefur!” Sunfall’s sharp mew sounded behind her, but she couldn’t break her gaze.