Berrynose and Molewhisker were both sleeping; their breathing sounded almost back to normal. Amberpaw looked much better too, helping Briarlight with her exercises by tossing a ball of moss for her to catch. Bramblestar noticed uneasily that the injured cat couldn’t manage more than a couple of throws without having to stop to catch her breath.
Sandstorm was curled up in her nest, but she raised her head and greeted Bramblestar as he approached. “How did the visit to ShadowClan go?” she asked.
“Not good,” Bramblestar admitted. “Rowanstar wouldn’t let us help him with the kittypets.”
“But he was quick enough to accept our medicine cat,” Jayfeather put in with a snarl.
“Leafpool will be back soon,” Bramblestar told him, hoping that was true. A cough from Sandstorm drew his attention back to her, and he thought how ill she looked, her green eyes bright with fever. “How are you feeling?”
“Oh, fine,” Sandstorm replied. “This fern dust gets in my throat, though. I’m going outside for some fresh air.” Rising to her paws, she shook some scraps of bracken out of her pelt and padded off.
“How is she really?” Bramblestar asked Jayfeather, unable to stifle his anxiety about the ginger she-cat.
“She doesn’t have greencough,” Jayfeather answered, “so she should be okay. But living in a cold, damp tunnel doesn’t help.”
I wish we could go back to the hollow, Bramblestar thought. Aloud he mewed, “I think I’ll go check the water levels, and see if they’re starting to go down.”
“I’ll come with you.” Jayfeather pushed a few stems of tansy into a crack and turned to Brightheart. “Stay and finish up here. I won’t be long.”
Outside in the clearing, Bramblestar spotted Lionblaze and Daisy on their way back into the clearing with a load of moss. “We’re going to check the water levels,” Bramblestar called. “Do you want to come with us?”
Lionblaze paused, his bundle of moss tucked under his chin.
Daisy gave him a nudge. “Go on,” she urged him. “I’ll sort out the bedding.”
“Thanks!” Lionblaze dropped the moss and bounded over to join Bramblestar and Jayfeather.
Heading into the trees, Bramblestar caught a whiff of ThunderClan scent, and came upon Squirrelflight’s hunting patrol, already heading back to camp. Squirrelflight was carrying a thrush, while Dovewing and Thornclaw both had mice.
“You’ve done well!” Bramblestar purred.
Squirrelflight nodded. “I think the prey is starting to come back,” she mumbled around her mouthful of feathers.
“Why don’t you come with us to check the water levels?” Bramblestar suggested.
“Sure.” Squirrelflight dropped her catch at Mousewhisker’s paws. “You can take that in. And Thornclaw, you can lead the patrol out again. It seems like the prey’s running well, so we ought to make the most of it.”
As the rest of the patrol headed for the camp, Bramblestar led the way down the slope with Squirrelflight at his side, and Lionblaze and Jayfeather just behind. He suddenly felt at ease, comfortable and happy to be with these cats he knew so well. The others seemed to feel the same, their tension and anxiety relaxing as they trotted through the trees.
Scuffling broke out behind them with a mock growl from Lionblaze. “Die, ShadowClan trespasser!”
“Get off, you great lump!” Jayfeather protested, though there was laughter in his voice.
Squirrelflight whipped around. “Honestly! How old are you both?”
The two brothers broke apart. “Sorry,” Lionblaze muttered, though his eyes glimmered with mischief. “I don’t know what came over me.”
“I’ll get you later,” Jayfeather promised as they set out again.
It’s almost like they are kits again… our kits, Bramblestar thought. A pang of sorrow pierced him as he pictured Hollyleaf. She should be with us. I hope she found peace in StarClan.
Reaching the top of the hollow, the four cats peered over, scanning the floodwater that covered their dens.
“It’s just as deep as it was before,” Bramblestar meowed, discouraged.
“I’m not so sure.” Lionblaze pointed with his tail to a tangle of soggy roots that stuck out of the cliff above where the nursery had been. “See those? They look as if they might have been uncovered recently.”
Bramblestar nodded slowly, trying to remember whether the roots had been visible the last time he looked.
“When we went down into the tunnels,” Lionblaze meowed, “you scratched on the floor to mark the water level. Maybe we could do the same here.” He frowned. “Though I don’t see how we could make scratch marks on the side of the cliffs.”
“Maybe we don’t need to,” Squirrelflight put in. “We could go to the edge of the flood among the trees, and mark the water level there with sticks instead.”
“Great idea!” Bramblestar agreed.
Following the top of the hollow, the cats reached the water’s edge and paused for a moment, gazing out across the lake and the drowned forest. Bramblestar felt his paws sinking into mud.
“Mouse dung!” Jayfeather cursed. He had taken an extra pace forward, and now the mud was creeping up his legs, hampering him as he tried to backtrack.
Lionblaze leaned over and grabbed his brother by the scruff, hauling him back. “Use your nose, mouse-brain!” he hissed.
Jayfeather shrugged him off, and raised each paw in turn to shake off sticky clots of mud. Lionblaze jumped back to avoid the shower.
“The scents are all different,” Jayfeather mewed after a moment. “And the air feels weird on my fur.”
For a few heartbeats longer Bramblestar stood still, contemplating his flooded territory and realizing how much had changed—perhaps forever. I wonder if we’ll ever hunt in that part of the forest again.
Then Squirrelflight gave him a shove. “Wake up!” she meowed. “Let’s look for some sticks.”
She and Bramblestar and Lionblaze scattered up the slope, searching for long, thin sticks that would be easy to drive into the mud as markers. They brought them back to Jayfeather, who chewed one end into a point.
“This tastes disgusting,” he muttered, spitting out bark.
“I wish we could mark the level in the hollow like this,” Squirrelflight meowed as she drove the first stick into the marshy ground.
“So do I,” Bramblestar agreed. “We’ll just have to take note of where the water reaches up to on the cliffs.”
They continued to set markers along the water’s edge between the hollow and an ash tree that stood with its roots washed by floodwater.
The training clearing is under there, Bramblestar thought sadly. Then he spotted Jayfeather creeping up on Lionblaze, who was busy pushing a stick into the mud with his back turned. Bramblestar opened his jaws to warn Lionblaze, then closed them again, watching to see what would happen.
Jayfeather sneaked up until he was a tail-length away from his brother. Then he slammed his paws down into the water, throwing up an enormous splash that showered Lionblaze from ears to tail. Leaping backward, Jayfeather avoided the worst of it.
Lionblaze spun around with a hiss of fury. “Stupid furball!”
“I said I’d get you.” Jayfeather licked one paw complacently and drew it over his ear.
“You wait!” Lionblaze bared his teeth and leaped for his brother, who dashed away into the trees.
Bramblestar listened to them crashing about, and suppressed a mrrow of amusement.
“It’s good to see them having fun for once,” Squirrelflight observed, padding up to him. She gave another push to Lionblaze’s stick. “There. We’re all done.” She broke off, and Bramblestar realized that she was staring over his shoulder. Turning, he saw that Jessy was watching them from a few tail-lengths away.