Rowanstar’s nostrils flared, while Pinenose and Pouncetail quickly started dragging the bracken into the camp before a full-blown argument developed. The ThunderClan warriors stayed where they were.
With a twitch of his ears Bramblestar beckoned Rowanstar a little way from the bramble thicket, so that they could talk privately. “Look,” he began, deciding to get straight to the point, “I know about the kittypets who have been stopping you from hunting beyond the border. If you want, I could send some warriors to help you defeat them, just like we did when you first moved into the territory.”
Rowanstar lashed his tail and his shoulder fur bristled up into spikes. “Who told you?” he demanded.
As if his words had summoned her, Tawnypelt appeared from the bushes, carrying a scrawny blackbird in her jaws. The rest of her hunting patrol followed with a few more puny scraps of prey. She halted at the sight of Bramblestar standing beside Rowanstar.
Understanding flashed into Rowanstar’s eyes. “Tawnypelt!” he snarled. “Over here—now!”
Tawnypelt gave her blackbird to another member of her patrol and padded over.
“It was you, wasn’t it?” Rowanstar challenged her. “You told a cat from another Clan that ShadowClan needed help.”
Tawnypelt gave Bramblestar a glare as if to ask him why he had come blundering in. “Yes, it was me. Of course I’ll ask my brother for help if I need it.”
“And you call that being loyal to ShadowClan?” Rowanstar demanded.
“You’ve never had reason to doubt my loyalty.” Tawnypelt’s voice was scathing. Then she softened, taking a step toward Rowanstar. “Please let ThunderClan help us,” she begged.
Rowanstar lifted his head proudly. “Never. This is my Clan, and we will stand alone.”
Bramblestar felt a sudden rush of sympathy. I should never have expected that Rowanstar would fall at our paws and beg for help. “Cinderheart, Spiderleg, we’re leaving,” he meowed. “Will some cat please get Leafpool?”
Scorchfur slid into the thicket, and emerged a moment later with Leafpool and Littlecloud. She padded over to Bramblestar, and he saw with a sharp stab of concern that her eyes were full of trouble.
“Bramblestar, I want to stay here,” she mewed. “Please let me.”
Bramblestar blinked. “Why?”
“Dawnpelt is very close to kitting,” Leafpool explained in a rapid undertone. “And Littlecloud’s herb store is pitiful. I could be a real help to him, and Jayfeather can manage without me for a few days.”
Rowanstar was staring at her with horror in his eyes. “Are you mouse-brained?” he began. “Do you imagine—”
Leafpool cut him off. “Rowanstar, do you want a healthy litter of kits, or don’t you?” While the ShadowClan leader was spluttering for an answer, she went on, “You know that Clan rivalries mean nothing to medicine cats. Will you deny me the chance to do the role that StarClan chose for me?”
Her logic silenced Rowanstar, while Bramblestar regarded his medicine cat with admiration.
“I could do with some help,” Littlecloud admitted. “Just for a few days.”
Rowanstar turned to the old medicine cat with compassion in his gaze. “Very well,” he meowed.
“Please, Bramblestar,” Leafpool begged. “I’ll be back soon.”
Bramblestar hesitated, then dipped his head. “Whatever you want.”
Beckoning Spiderleg and Cinderheart with a flourish of his tail, he said good-bye to Rowanstar and led the way toward ThunderClan territory. He was still reeling from Leafpool’s unexpected decision.
“Do you think Leafpool will stay with ShadowClan forever?” Cinderheart mewed. “After all, Littlecloud hasn’t had an apprentice since Flametail died.”
A cold shiver passed through Bramblestar to hear his own fears voiced out loud. “Of course she’ll come back!” he snapped. “She’s a ThunderClan cat.”
But even though he silenced Cinderheart, he couldn’t silence his own misgivings.
Am I losing control of my Clan? I feel as though my cats are slipping through my paws like water.
Chapter 20
The first cat Bramblestar spotted when he reached the makeshift ThunderClan camp was Jayfeather, padding up from the opposite direction with Brightheart. Both cats were carrying bunches of herbs in their jaws. Jayfeather halted in front of the tunnel entrance, turned toward Bramblestar’s patrol as though he could see them. Then he dropped his herbs and bounded over to them.
“Where’s Leafpool?” he demanded.
“She stayed behind to help Littlecloud,” Bramblestar explained. This isn’t going to go well.
Jayfeather’s neck fur stood on end. “And you let her? What about ThunderClan? Don’t you think I’ve got enough on my paws, looking after the cats with whitecough?”
“You have Brightheart to help you,” Bramblestar pointed out.
“It’s not the same,” Jayfeather hissed.
Brightheart, who had followed him over, blinked at him, completely unoffended. “I’ll do whatever I can,” she mewed.
Jayfeather gave a disgusted snort and stalked off. Brightheart shot an apologetic glance at Bramblestar and hurried after him.
Across the clearing, Squirrelflight was organizing Mousewhisker, Dovewing, and Thornclaw into a hunting patrol. On the way out she halted beside Bramblestar.
“How did the meeting go with Rowanstar?”
Bramblestar described his offer to help ShadowClan cope with the fierce kittypets, and how Rowanstar had refused.
Squirrelflight shrugged, though there was compassion in her green eyes. “That’s Rowanstar’s decision to make,” she commented.
As Squirrelflight headed off with her patrol, Bramblestar noticed Jessy standing close by, listening to his account of the visit. He was about to beckon her over when Rosepetal, who was spreading the bits of Twoleg pelt on a holly bush, called out to her.
“Hey, Jessy, come and help me freshen up these pelts!”
Jessy bounded across to her immediately. Bramblestar was pleased and a little surprised to see how well she was settling in.
“You’d almost think she was a Clan cat,” he remarked to Graystripe, who was padding past him with a starling in his jaws.
Graystripe nodded, dropping his prey to reply. “We should have learned by now not to be surprised by kittypets,” he mewed with a wry twist to his mouth.
“Hey, Bramblestar!” Cherryfall popped her head out of the tunnel. “Look what we’ve done with the new dens!”
Bramblestar headed toward her, leaving Graystripe to carry his prey to the fresh-kill pile. Inside the tunnels, he saw that each section had been marked out by low walls of interwoven branches that would give even more protection from drafts. Within each wall were several nests of moss and bracken; stretching out a paw, he felt that they were hardly damp at all.
“How do you like it?” Cherryfall prompted.
“It’s great,” Bramblestar replied. It looks almost comfortable.
“It’ll be even better once Rosepetal gets the Twoleg pelts back in,” Cherryfall mewed. “Dustpelt and Brackenfur worked out the breaks, and Mousewhisker and I helped build them.”
“Good job, all of you,” Bramblestar purred. “I think we’ll all sleep better from now on.”
He padded farther down the tunnel, spotting Purdy curled up asleep in the den he shared with the apprentices, and lastly reaching the section where Jayfeather and Leafpool had their den, next to the sick cats. Jayfeather and Brightheart were arranging their newly gathered herbs in cracks in the rock.