“See if you can find any mice or shrews in the undergrowth,” Hawkwing suggested to Curlypaw.
Though Curlypaw’s tail had been drooping in weariness, she straightened up as soon as Hawkwing spoke, a determined look on her face. Hawkwing watched as she padded off, proud of her willingness to help her Clan. She’s going to be a great warrior.
When his apprentice had vanished into the bracken, Hawkwing gazed up into the trees and spotted a squirrel leaping from branch to branch.
That looks good and fat, he thought. One or two of those would fill our bellies nicely.
When he spotted a second squirrel higher in the branches, Hawkwing couldn’t resist the temptation any longer. I’m a SkyClan cat; I can handle trees.
Without thinking, Hawkwing sprang into the nearest tree, swarming up the trunk and out onto a branch near where he had seen the squirrel. Pausing to taste the air, he spotted Fidgetpaw staring up at him, and Curlypaw, emerging from the undergrowth with a mouse in her jaws, dropped her prey, and let out a yowl of excitement.
Pebbleshine had spotted him too. “Be careful!” she called out.
Hawkwing didn’t understand why his mate sounded so nervous. She’s not usually like that, he thought. It’s like she’s never seen me climb a tree before.
Determined to prove that Pebbleshine had no reason to fuss over him, Hawkwing leaped farther and faster, showing off his strength and skill. The squirrel was just ahead of him, its bushy tail streaming out behind it as it jumped from branch to branch, farther up the tree.
Hawkwing ignored the way the branches at this height were much thinner, hardly able to bear his weight. He was stretching out his forepaws to grab the squirrel with his claws when he felt his hind paws slipping. He let out a yelp of alarm as he tried to regain his balance, but the branch sagged under him and a moment later he was falling. Legs and tail flailing, he bounced from branch to branch, twigs raking through his fur, until he landed hard on his paws, staggered, and collapsed on one side.
At once his Clanmates clustered around him.
“Hawkwing, you stupid furball!” Blossomheart exclaimed.
“Are you all right?” Pebbleshine asked anxiously, the question echoed by almost every cat.
“That was amazing!” Fidgetpaw sounded awestruck, gazing at Hawkwing with his eyes stretched wide. “But scary,” he added.
“And quite unnecessary,” Echosong mewed sharply, padding up to Hawkwing and beginning to prod him all over. “Does that hurt?” she asked with each prod.
Hawkwing took a deep breath, ready to snap at her, then calmed down as Pebbleshine crouched beside him and gently licked his cheek.
“I’m bruised and scraped from hitting the branches on the way down,” he complained.
“And you’re lucky you did,” Sparrowpelt told him crisply.
“At least they broke your fall.”
Hawkwing nodded. “I suppose… I don’t think I’m badly hurt,” he added to Echosong.
But as soon as he tried to rise to his paws, Hawkwing felt a sharp pain shooting up one of his hind legs; gasping, he almost fell down again.
“You’ve sprained it,” Echosong told him, giving the injured leg a good sniff. “Fidgetpaw, go dip some moss in the stream to wrap around it. I wish I had my herb stores with me,” she continued. “I can’t do much without them.” She looked up at Leafstar, who had stood by to watch without commenting. “We’d better stay here for a few days,” she mewed.
Leafstar nodded agreement. “Accidents happen,” she murmured. “StarClan grant you’re better soon, Hawkwing.”
Even though his leader was understanding, Hawkwing felt hot with embarrassment, and furious with himself. That was stupid, and now I’m holding my Clan back. Maybe they’d be better off if I’d stayed in the barn with Cherrytail.
Hawkwing let himself down into a nest of moss and dead leaves among the roots of an oak tree, wincing as pain clawed again at his injured leg.
“Thanks, Curlypaw,” he meowed to his apprentice, who had collected the bedding. “Go and get some rest now.”
Curlypaw ducked her head and scampered off to where Fidgetpaw was making another nest beneath arching fronds of fern.
Twilight had fallen and all the SkyClan cats were settling down for the night in the sheltered hollow that had become their temporary camp. Hawkwing still felt guilty about keeping his Clanmates there when they should have been well on their way to finding ThunderClan.
He was shifting in an attempt to find a comfortable position when Pebbleshine’s pale pelt appeared in the gathering darkness and she slid into the nest beside him. Hawkwing drew in a breath, drinking in her scent, and relaxed a little at the warmth of her fur.
“Are you okay?” Pebbleshine asked him.
“Oh, sure,” Hawkwing grunted. “I’ve sprained my leg, I lost my prey, and now the Clan is stuck here because of me. Other than that, I’m fine.”
“Hey, that’s enough of that!” Pebbleshine swept her tail around to flick Hawkwing on the nose. “You’re as grouchy as a fox in a fit!”
Instantly Hawkwing regretted snapping at Pebbleshine. “I’m sorry,” he meowed. “It’s my own stupid fault, and it’s not fair to take it out on you.”
His gaze met Pebbleshine’s, and he saw her eyes soften into warm affection. “I’ve something to tell you,” she murmured. “Just to prove that things aren’t all bad.”
“Well, what is it?” Hawkwing asked when Pebbleshine said no more. “Has Echosong had another vision?”
Pebbleshine shook her head. “No, nothing like that.” She hesitated for another heartbeat, then added, “I’m expecting kits.”
Delight and terror thrilled through Hawkwing from ears to tail-tip. At the same time he realized how selfish he was being, preoccupied with himself even though Pebbleshine had been looking more tired than usual for the last few days.
And I never even asked her why! he scolded himself. Well, that stops now! From now on, I’m going to put my family first.
“So that’s what you were being so secretive about the other day!” he meowed.
Pebbleshine nodded. “I wasn’t certain then, but I am now. Are you pleased?”
“Pleased?” Hawkwing could hardly find words. “I’m… Oh, Pebbleshine, this is wonderful!”
Pebbleshine leaned closer to him, rhythmic purrs coming from deep within her chest. Hawkwing rasped his tongue gently over her ears.
This is truly a new start for me, he thought. Back in the gorge, I failed Duskpaw and my father, but I will never again fail my kin.
“I’m going to be the best father I can be to these kits,” he vowed.
“You won’t be raising them all by yourself, you know!”
Pebbleshine responded with a small mrrow of laughter.
“I know. And you’re going to be a wonderful mother.”
Hawkwing rested his chin on his mate’s back, resolving that he would protect her to the last drop of his blood. He would take care of her, and their kits, and the whole Clan.
I know now we made the right decision to leave the gorge, he reflected. Our kits won’t be born with the sounds of battle ringing in their ears and the reek of blood in their noses. These kits will live in a new territory, surrounded by other Clans, and supported by them.
They will be safe. Maybe, hopefully, they will never know danger.
Oh, StarClan, it will make all our struggles worth it!