Hawkwing’s heart was pounding and he was shaking with relief as he turned to Plumwillow. “It looks like we’re safe—for now,” he meowed.
Plumwillow was quivering with fear and tension. “Thank you, Hawkwing,” she whispered, pressing herself against his side. “You saved the kits.”
“We both did.”
The kits crept to their mother’s side, eyes still wide with shock. Plumwillow encircled them with her tail, and held them close to her and Hawkwing.
They are not my family, Hawkwing told himself. But oh, StarClan, I wish they were!
Night had fallen by the time Hawkwing limped back into the camp with Plumwillow and the kits. He found the rest of his Clan huddled beside the fresh-kill pile. Their pelts were bushed-up and ragged; their voices sounded hoarse as they discussed the dog attack.
“Hawkwing!” His sister Blossomheart sprang to her paws and ran across the camp to meet him. “Are you okay? Are the kits okay?”
“We’re all fine,” Hawkwing replied wearily, setting Dewkit down and letting Reedkit slide off his back. “A bit scratched, and I’ve got a thorn in my pad. We had to hide in a gorse thicket.”
“Thank StarClan!” Blossomheart exclaimed. “I was so worried.”
“What about the rest of you?”
“We’re okay,” Blossomheart told him. “Clovertail got bitten, and one of the dogs ripped part of Firefern’s pelt off, but Echosong has seen to them, and it’s not serious. The rest of us are just a bit bruised. But we fought the vicious brutes off,” she finished with satisfaction.
“That’s good to hear,” Plumwillow mewed, relief in her voice.
“Hawkwing, I’m going to take the kits back to the nursery.
They’re exhausted.”
Hawkwing nodded, seeing that she was right. The normally energetic kits could hardly put one paw in front of another as their mother herded them across the camp to the nursery. “They don’t look scared anymore,” he remarked. “They don’t understand how close we came to something terrible.”
Plumwillow sighed. “The sooner they forget, the better.”
When they had gone, Hawkwing followed Blossomheart to join his Clanmates.
“The dogs are really a problem now,” Birdwing was meowing as he padded up. “It’s not safe here.”
“Greenleaf is almost over,” Leafstar responded. “We just have to move the camp further away from the dogs.”
“Our camp was far away from the dogs,” Sparrowpelt pointed out. “Or so we thought. If we move, who’s to say that they won’t find our new camp?”
“And it’s not only the dogs!” Firefern protested, leaping to her paws. “They wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the Twolegs.
They’re a much greater danger!”
“That’s right,” Clovertail put in. “We settled here partly because it was peaceful, safe, and free of Twolegs. Now it’s like we’re living in the middle of a Twolegplace!”
“Hey, don’t get carried away,” M acgyver mewed, sounding much calmer than the she-cats. “Yes, there are Twolegs here now.
But there’s plenty of prey and unspoiled territory as well. And I’ve noticed that some of the Twolegs are packing up and leaving.
Can’t we put up with them for a bit longer? M aybe they’ll all be gone by leaf-bare.”
Parsleyseed nodded vigorously in agreement. “Twolegs are better than raccoons,” he pointed out. “At least the worst they’ll do is try to pet us.”
“That’s not true!” Echosong spoke up, her voice deeply serious. “Parsleyseed, you haven’t lived long enough to see the evil
Twolegs can do.”
“You’re right, Echosong,” Leafstar meowed, dipping her head to the medicine cat. “But I think M acgyver’s right, too, that the Twolegs are beginning to leave. I believe we can avoid the ones who remain by moving our camp.”
Cries of protest rose from the cats who surrounded her.
“Wherever we go, there’ll be Twolegs!”
“There’s nowhere as sheltered as where we are now!”
Echosong silenced the objections with a wave of her tail as she rose to her paws and picked her way through the crowd of cats to stand in front of Leafstar.
“I don’t know if moving our camp will help or not,” she announced. “And I don’t intend to stay and find out.”
An even deeper silence rippled through the Clan as the cats exchanged shocked glances. Leafstar was staring wide-eyed at the medicine cat, as if she couldn’t believe what she had just heard.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
Echosong let out a sigh; Hawkwing could see the distress in her eyes. “I’ve tried to see things your way, Leafstar,” she began. “I really have. I want the Clan to settle down and become strong again. But I’ve just had another vision of a smoldering ember. The spark that remains. We’re no closer to finding it, and now we’re not even trying!”
“Has StarClan spoken to you again?” Leafstar asked urgently.
Echosong shook her head. “StarClan has already made it very clear that we’re supposed to unite with the other Clans. The dog attack was a reminder of that—maybe even a sign. I can no longer ignore my feelings that we have turned our back on StarClan and their instructions. There’s only one way to dispel the darkness… and that is to find the spark that remains.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “In the morning, I will set out to search for the lake in my visions, where I believe I will find ThunderClan.”
Hawkwing felt as though a lightning bolt had appeared out of a clear sky and struck his Clan. He expected more protests, but every cat was silent, their gazes fixed on Leafstar. The unthinkable was happening, and no cat had any words.
“Why would you do this?” Leafstar asked quietly. “After we’ve lived together for so many seasons?”
“I know I have a duty to SkyClan,” Echosong replied; Hawkwing thought she was having trouble keeping her voice steady. “But I have just as great a duty to StarClan. And I believe I haven’t received any more messages from them because I’m not following their instructions.”
“And what about your Clanmates?” Leafstar demanded, anger edging its way into her voice. “Clovertail was bitten today, and Firefern had her shoulder fur torn off.” She angled her ears toward the two she-cats. “Who will look after them?”
“I thought of that, of course I did,” Echosong responded. “And
I spoke to Fidgetpaw. He will stay, and take good care of SkyClan.”
“What?” Leafstar’s voice rose. “Are you serious? Fidgetpaw is smart and he’s learning quickly, but he’s still only an apprentice!
What if something terrible happened, and Fidgetpaw didn’t know what to do?”
“That’s the risk we have to take.” Echosong flexed her claws, digging them hard into the ground. “Believe me, Leafstar, I’ve thought long and hard about this. But I know that drastic steps must be taken to save the Clan! And I believe that Fidgetpaw is capable. I’ve trained him as well as I can.”
Fidgetpaw ducked his head where he sat on the edge of the crowd of cats. “I’ll do my best, Leafstar,” he mewed in a small voice, as if he was overwhelmed by the thought of taking responsibility for all of SkyClan.
He must be so nervous, Hawkwing thought sympathetically.
Echosong is asking a lot of him.
For a few moments that seemed to drag out for moons, Leafstar and Echosong faced each other. Hawkwing could feel the tension in the air between them.
At last Echosong bowed her head. “Leafstar, you know that I must follow StarClan’s wishes. They have saved us before.”
For a long moment Leafstar remained in thoughtful silence.
Then she gave a weary nod. “I know you believe that you have to do this. I’m not happy that you’re leaving, and I have my doubts that Fidgetpaw is ready to take on this job. But if you’re right, and this is truly the will of StarClan, then perhaps—one day—we’ll be united again.”