Goosekit looked around, wishing the amber-eyed warrior would appear from the shadows. “I told you! I don’t know his name!”
Daisytoe left her sister licking the slime from Swiftpaw’s fur and came over to stand beside
Pineheart. “You have to tell the truth,” she meowed. “Have you been outside the camp on your own?
Is that how you knew where Swiftpaw had gone?”
“No!” Goosekit yowled. “I am telling the truth!”
There was a faint scent of herbs as Cloudberry padded over. “I don’t think we need to make a fuss about it,” she rasped. “Swiftpaw is back, and that’s what matters. Daisytoe, go help Flashnose clean her up before I take a look at her leg. Goosekit, you come with me.”
Feeling very small beside the ancient white medicine cat, Goosekit followed her to where Doestar was standing. The leader looked at them questioningly. “Is something wrong, Cloudberry?”
“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “Goosekit, I want you to describe the cat who told you where Swiftpaw was. Everything you can remember, from his nose to his claws.”
“And you’re not going to be angry with me?” Goosekit checked.
Cloudberry shook her head.
Goosekit closed his eyes and pictured the brown-furred warrior. “He had long legs, but he wasn’t as tall as you, Doestar. His fur wasn’t as thick as Cloudberry’s, and his tabby stripes were really dark, almost black. Darker than Squirrelwhisker’s.” He opened his eyes and looked at the senior cats.
Doestar was staring at Cloudberry. “He must be mistaken,” she murmured.
Cloudberry shrugged. “You would think so.”
“Do you think it’s a sign?” Doestar queried.
“I can’t see how it could be,” Cloudberry meowed. She twitched her tail. “I’ll talk to him.”
Doestar nodded. “I think you should.” She walked away to join the others.
Cloudberry looked down at Goosekit. “That cat you saw. Has anyone ever described him to you before?”
Goosekit shook his head.
“And he didn’t tell you his name?”
“No!” Goosekit was starting to feel frustrated. Why did it matter who had told him where Swiftpaw was, as long as the apprentice had been found?
Cloudberry gazed around the clearing. “Are there any cats here now whose names you don’t know?”
Goosekit shrugged. Was he going to get into trouble for not knowing the names of every one of his Clanmates? There were so many of them!
“It’s okay if you don’t know,” Cloudberry urged him gently, as if she could tell what he was thinking.
Goosekit narrowed his eyes against the bright sun. “Well… the black-and-white cat washing himself by the Highrock. I think he’s an apprentice. There’s an elder who tells great stories; I don’t know her name, but she often comes to see me in the nursery. She has brown fur and green eyes. And there’s a cat beside Nettlebreeze who I haven’t seen before.”
Beside him, Cloudberry tensed. “Tell me about that cat,” she whispered.
Goosekit wondered if Cloudberry was losing her sight. “She’s got pale orange fur, a white belly, and four white paws. She’s watching him as if he’s just a kit!” He purred with amusement at the thought of cranky, ancient Nettlebreeze ever being in the nursery.
Cloudberry nudged Goosekit’s shoulder. “Let’s go ask Nettlebreeze her name.” She started to walk across the clearing. Goosekit trotted beside her, thinking it would be more polite to speak to the ginger cat directly.
As they reached the elders’ den, Cloudberry hissed, “Let me do the talking.” She raised her voice.
“Hello, Nettlebreeze. You look comfortable out here. Tell me, do you know a pale orange she-cat with a white belly and white paws?”
The fur rose along Nettlebreeze’s spine. “That’s my mother, Dawnfeather,” he growled. “Why are you asking about her? Has she spoken to you from StarClan?”
“StarClan?” Goosekit yelped. “But she’s right—”
Cloudberry clamped her tail over Goosekit’s mouth. “She asked me to tell you that she is watching over you, Nettlebreeze. All is well.”
The old ginger tom grunted and put his chin on his paws. “It’s a nice thought, I’m sure,” he muttered, closing his rheumy eyes.
Goosekit bounced on his toes as Cloudberry steered him across the clearing to her den. They plunged through the soft green ferns and entered the den beneath the broad expanse of rock.
Cloudberry sat down and curled her tail over her paws. “You can talk now,” she puffed.
“What’s going on?” Goosekit squeaked. “That orange she-cat was beside Nettlebreeze all the time! Why couldn’t he see her?”
“Because she’s dead,” Cloudberry replied, fixing her yellow gaze on Goosekit. “She died many seasons ago, before I came to ThunderClan.” She shifted her bony haunches on the dusty ground. “The striped brown tom who told you where Swiftpaw was? I think that was Beetail. He was Oakstar’s deputy when I arrived. He was a great warrior, wise and kind.”
“He… was?” Goosekit echoed. “You mean he’s dead too?”
Cloudberry nodded. “As are the other cats you described, the black-and-white apprentice and the brown elder. I don’t know who they are. They must have lived in ThunderClan a long time ago. Only you can see them, no one else.”
“That’s not fair!” Goosekit whimpered. “Why can I see all the dead cats?”
“I don’t know,” Cloudberry admitted. “StarClan didn’t tell me.” She rolled a piece of moss under her paw until it crumbled. “You have a great gift, Goosekit,” she mewed softly, “but it is not one that all the cats will appreciate. You must keep it to yourself. Do you understand?”
Goosekit put his head on one side. “But they might like to know that their ancestors are here in the camp!”
There was a flash of temper in Cloudberry’s eyes. “It doesn’t work like that!” she spat. “Warriors are raised to be suspicious of anything that doesn’t come from the warrior code—and preferably from inside their own boundaries!”
Goosekit suddenly remembered what his mother had told him about Cloudberry, how she came from RiverClan after the ThunderClan medicine cat Ravenwing was murdered. Had the ThunderClan cats been unwelcoming at first? Even though they needed a new medicine cat?
Cloudberry had stood up and was pacing anxiously around her cave. “You will have to become my apprentice,” she mewed, jerking his thoughts back to the present.
Goosekit gulped. That wasn’t what he had planned. He was going to be a great warrior like Rooktail!
“Hopefully StarClan will guide me in how to train you to use your gift,” Cloudberry went on. She stopped and stared at him. “What do you think, Goosekit? Would you like to be a medicine cat?”
Chapter Four
Doestar stood on top of the Highrock, her pale cream-and-fawn fur looking like clouds against the clear blue sky. “By the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name,” she declared. “Swiftpaw, from this moment you will be known as Swiftbreeze. StarClan honors your courage and your willingness to learn, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan.”
The tabby-and-white she-cat dipped her head self-consciously as around her the Clan exploded with cheers for the new warriors. “Stormtail! Adderfang! Swiftbreeze!”
Moonkit cheered too, but Goosekit, crouching beside her outside the nursery, felt too anxious to speak. The warriors started to swirl around the clearing, and the noise of chatter grew until it sounded like a flock of birds had filled the ravine.
“Wait!” Doestar silenced them from her place on the rock. “I have one more ceremony to perform.