Maplestar brushed her tail along his flank. “Walk with me,” she invited. Side by side, the cats padded between the tree trunks, moving from sunlight to shadow and back to sunlight again. “SkyClan has been at the heart of the forest, the heart of the warrior code, since cats first made this place their home. Did you know we were the first Clan to mark boundaries? Clear Sky, who led us then, saw how our territory could feed and shelter us, and he knew that he had to protect it from outsiders who were jealous of our prey and security.”
Cloudstar meowed, “We still mark the borders in his memory. No SkyClan cat will forget the debt we owe to him.”
There was a rustle in a clump of ferns at the side of the path. A black-and-brown tom stepped out and nodded to them. “Greetings, Maplestar, Cloudstar.”
Cloudstar tipped his head on one side. Beside him, Maplestar twitched her tail. “Cloudstar, this is Rowanstar.”
Cloudstar bowed. “I am honored to meet you,” he mewed.
Rowanstar flared his nostrils, as if he was annoyed that Cloudstar failed to recognize him. “I was one of the leaders who decided that boundaries should be patrolled and marked daily, as part of the warrior code. Clear Sky may have traced the first outline of our territory, but I was the leader who made the borders as strong as stone.”
There was a cough from Maplestar. “As I recall, Rowanstar, the issue was raised at a Gathering only after your patrols were caught once too many times in ThunderClan’s territory.”
The dark-colored tom bristled. “If ThunderClan had marked their boundary clearly, my cats would never have accidentally strayed.”
“You both brought honor and strength to SkyClan. But the greatest contribution to the warrior code came from me,” rumbled a voice behind them.
The three cats whirled around to see a dark brown tom with yellow eyes standing on the path. His thick coat was underlaid with soft black fur, so that he looked as though he were outlined in shadow. Cloudstar pricked his ears. “Duskstar!” he meowed.
Duskstar dipped his head. “Greetings, Cloudstar. I trust you haven’t forgotten the life that I gave to you? To have faith in your instincts, and know that your word is law?”
“I haven’t forgotten,” Cloudstar promised.
The brown tom looked at the other two cats. “Maplestar, Rowanstar, it is rare that we three meet in this woods. We are all part of the noble history of SkyClan, but it is thanks to me that the leaders of all five Clans know that their judgment is final, that their word goes unchallenged. Cloudstar, you must use this power wisely, for the good of your Clan rather than personal gain. Learn to lead from our examples, and your path will be clear and straight.”
Cloudstar bowed. “I am honored to follow in your paw steps.” He looked down at his paws. I have to ask! “Duskstar, did you ever regret giving ThunderClan that strip of forest?”
There was a heartbeat of silence, and Rowanstar looked aghast. Then Duskstar said quietly, “Wherever our heart lies, we have a duty to preserve the survival of all five Clans in the forest. I could not watch our neighbors starve when we had prey to spare.” The brown tom went on. “Hold your head high, Cloudstar. SkyClan is the noblest of all the Clans, with the strongest borders, the bravest warriors, and the most skillful hunters. You have nothing to fear from Twolegs, or their monsters, or the animals they have bent to their will. SkyClan will endure forever!”
The clouds above the trees seemed to sink through the branches until Cloudstar was surrounded by mist. The cats around him blurred and faded, their pelts vanishing against the background of leaves and trunks. Then Cloudstar felt soft feathers tickling his nose in time with his breathing, and heard the rustle of dry moss as he stirred.
“Cloudstar? Are you awake?” A small tabby she-cat, her striped fur the color of bracken in leaf-fall, was peering down at him. The scent of herbs hung on to her pelt, and there was a scrap of tansy clinging to her whiskers.
“Fawnstep?” Cloudstar scrambled to sit up. “Is Birdflight okay? Is there something wrong?”
The medicine cat took a step back, giving Cloudstar room to climb out of his nest. “Birdflight is fine,” she purred. “I wanted to speak with you about something else.”
Cloudstar shook his pelt to dislodge a piece of moss, then led the way into the clearing. The dawn was clear and still, promising a warm day full of prey-scent and stable branches for climbing. “What is it?” Cloudstar asked, turning back to Fawnstep.
She ducked her head. “I’d rather speak outside the camp, if you don’t mind.”
“Oh, okay.” Cloudstar twitched his tail, inviting her to go first. They squeezed under the brambles and emerged into a glade of silver birches, whose cobweb-colored leaves whispered in the softest breath of wind. Fawnstep pushed her way through the long grass that grew between the slender gray trunks and headed deeper into the woods. Cloudstar trotted after her.
“Don’t go too far, or we’ll run into the dawn patrol,” he warned.
Fawnstep stopped beside a tree stump and sat down, curling her tail over her paws. “There have been omens,” she began.
Instantly Cloudstar tensed. “What kind of omens?”
Fawnstep looked serious. “I think these signs involve what the Twolegs are doing on the edge of our border. I think SkyClan is more threatened by them than we realize.”
Cloudstar thought of his dream, and knew he would be able to reassure Fawnstep, whatever she was worrying about, but he wanted to hear her speak first. “Tell me what you have seen.”
“Yesterday, in the fresh-kill pile, there was a blackbird with no head. The day before, I found a sparrow with no wings, and later a squirrel without a tail.” The medicine cat’s voice was high-pitched with alarm, and her blue eyes were huge.
Cloudstar shrugged. “The apprentices must be hunting clumsily. I’ll have a word with them later.”
Fawnstep shook her head. “I’ve already spoken to them. They told me the prey was in one piece when they caught it.”
“So what do you think it means?” Cloudstar prompted. He still felt untroubled, boosted by the memory of his dream with three noble leaders assuring him that SkyClan would survive forever.
“Our prey is being diminished, made smaller,” Fawnstep meowed. She traced a circle in the leaf mulch with her front paw, then sliced across it, cutting it in half. “Our hunting is getting smaller—literally, from what we find in the fresh-kill pile to the places we can hunt.”
“You mean, because of what the Twolegs are doing?”
Fawnstep nodded. “The noise and stench have scared off the prey already. And we don’t know what the Twolegs are doing there. What if they cross our boundary and start to take over our territory? We know they don’t respect scent marks.”
Cloudstar rested the tip of his tail on Fawnstep’s shoulder. “There’s no reason to believe that will happen. Trust me. I walked with other SkyClan leaders in StarClan last night, and they promised that no harm will come to us. I appreciate you telling me this, but I’m sure it’s just a sign that we need to take more care with our hunting.”
He turned to go, and Fawnstep stood up behind him. As he walked away, she called out, “I’ll keep looking, Cloudstar. Something is coming, I fear.”
As Cloudstar entered the circle of birch trees, the long grass rippled and Birdflight sat up. Crushed grass showed where she had been sprawling on her side, basking in a beam of sunlight. Cloudstar trotted over and rubbed his muzzle against her shoulder. “How are those wriggly little ones today?” he murmured.
“Alive and kicking!” Birdflight replied, sounding breathless. “It helps to walk, sometimes. Will you come with me?”
“Of course,” mewed Cloudstar. “But we’re not going far. I don’t want to have to carry you back!”