“This is Blossomfall of ThunderClan,” Brokenstar went on. “Some of you know her already. Blossomfall, these are your new Clanmates.”
Blossomfall glanced around nervously. Recognition flared in her eyes as her gaze fell on Ivypool, but she said nothing, just gave her a curt nod. Ivypool guessed she didn’t want to give the Dark Forest cats the idea that she would be more loyal to a ThunderClan cat than any of the others.
Some of the Dark Forest cats murmured greetings to Blossomfall, but none of them said anything more. Ivypool recoiled from how false everything was in the Dark Forest. Are all the cats here supposed to be a Clan? We don’t behave like one! And how can another ThunderClan cat be here? ThunderClan cats are loyal!
“So,” Hawkfrost drawled, “are you going to show us what this new cat is made of, Brokenstar?”
In answer, the ShadowClan cat beckoned to Ratscar with his tail. “Fight,” he rasped.
Ratscar had a torn ear from his bout with Hawkfrost, but he didn’t hesitate. He hurled himself at Blossomfall, who was so surprised by the sudden attack that she let him carry her off her paws. Ratscar let out a screech of triumph and slammed one paw down on her throat. Ivypool watched, her belly churning with tension, as Blossomfall lashed out with her hind paws and managed to throw Ratscar off. While he still lay on the ground she darted past him and got in a soft blow to his side before she spun around and waited for his next move.
You have to unsheathe your claws! Ivypool thought anxiously This isn’t a ThunderClan training exercise.
Ratscar crouched and leaped for Blossomfall; she dived underneath him, but at the last moment he twisted in the air and landed on her haunches, sinking his teeth into the base of her tail. Blossomfall yowled in pain and shock. The Shadow Clan warrior had pinned her down again, and this time Blossomfall couldn’t free herself. She struck out blindly at Ratscar’s head and shoulders, but Ivypool could tell that her blows were growing weaker.
Ivypool couldn’t watch her Clanmate being torn to pieces by the bigger, more experienced ShadowClan cat. She darted forward, thrusting her shoulders against Ratscar and rolling him off Blossomfall, raking his ears with her claws as she did so. Ratscar turned on her with a disbelieving snarl as Blossomfall stumbled to her paws.
“Stop!” Brokenstar’s voice rang out across the clearing before Ratscar could strike another blow.
All three cats froze as the black cat paced across the open ground to join them. Dismissing Ratscar with a flick of his ears, he loomed over Ivypool and fixed her with a baleful amber gaze. “Just what do you think you were doing?” His voice was low, but the menace in it made Ivypool tremble from ears to paws. “What gives you the right to interfere?”
Striving not to show how frightened she was, Ivypool lifted her head and returned glare for glare. “We’re loyal to one another, right?” A gush of genuine anger began to drive out her fear. “Should we stand by like cowards and let one another be defeated in battle?”
Brokenstar narrowed his eyes; every hair on his pelt was proclaiming his distrust of her. “You saved your Clanmate,” he pointed out.
“Here, they are all my Clanmates,” Ivypool retorted. StarClan, let him believe me! “I don’t see why an apprentice should be lost on her first visit.”
Brokenstar stood still for a moment more, his gaze boring into her, then let out a snort and stepped aside. Ivypool was left facing Blossomfall.
“You didn’t have to do that,” the tortoiseshell warrior hissed, smoothing her ripped fur. “I could have beaten Ratscar in the end.”
And hedgehogs can fly, Ivypool thought. Turning away, she spotted a brown tom in the group of Dark Forest cats and recognized him by his one black ear.
“Antpelt!” she exclaimed, bounding over to him. “I didn’t see you there. It’s great that you’re okay.”
The WindClan warrior’s wounds had healed, leaving long scars that sliced across his back and throat, but he looked strong and free from pain. He gave Ivypool a puzzled look. “This is my home now,” he meowed.
For a heartbeat Ivypool didn’t understand him; then she felt as though she had fallen into an icy stream. “You—you died?” she gasped.
Antpelt shrugged. “You can see it that way if you want.”
“Did you choose to come here?” Ivypool asked, trying to keep the shock out of her voice. I liked Antpelt! He doesn’t belong with these evil cats.
“These are my Clanmates, more than WindClan ever was,” Antpelt told her with a trace of regret in his voice. “Where else would I go?”
Ivypool couldn’t answer that question. “I’m sorry you died,” she mewed awkwardly.
“This is where I want to be,” Antpelt responded with another shrug.
“Ivypool, come here!”
Almost relieved to hear Hawkfrost calling her, Ivypool dipped her head to the WindClan warrior and ran across the clearing to Hawkfrost. A RiverClan apprentice was standing beside him, looking wide-eyed and anxious.
“This is Hollowpaw,” Hawkfrost told her. “He’s new. Teach him a move or two, will you?”
“Sure,” Ivypool replied. She was pleased that Hawkfrost didn’t stay to watch, but padded across the clearing to where Tigerheart and Sunstrike were beginning a practice bout.
“Hi, Hollowpaw,” she meowed. “Is this your first visit?”
“Second.” Hollowpaw squeaked out the word like a kit, and cleared his throat. “I came here in a dream, and talked to Hawkfrost,” he added. “I told him how the other apprentices were bullying me, and he said he’d teach me how to stand up to them.”
“Oh, yes, we can do that,” Ivypool promised, her heart aching for the nervous apprentice. He doesn’t know what he’s getting into, but neither did I. Still, she thought, teaching him some good fighting techniques won’t do him any harm.
Hollowpaw brightened up as she spoke. “Great! Troutstream and Mossypaw will get a major surprise! Troutstream is even more of a pain in the butt since he was made a warrior,” he added.
“For now, you’d better keep your claws sheathed,” Ivypool advised, hoping that Hawkfrost and Brokenstar wouldn’t notice. I’ve been in enough trouble for one night. “Okay,” she continued briskly, “I’m a fox coming to attack the RiverClan camp. What are you going to do?”
In response, Hollowpaw flung himself at her, his teeth bared in a snarl and his paws outstretched, leaving himself completely open to attack. Ivypool sidestepped, hooked his paws out from under him, and pinned him to the ground with one paw on his shoulder and another on his belly. Hollowpaw squirmed helplessly underneath her.
Great StarClan! What do they teach them in RiverClan?
Aloud, she mewed, “And now I’m a fox that’s going to carry you off to my den and eat you.” She released the apprentice, who scrambled to his paws and stood with his head bowed, front claws scraping the ground in his embarrassment.
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
“Don’t be.” Ivypool glanced over her shoulder to make sure that Hawkfrost and Brokenstar were still out of earshot. “You’re here to learn, after all. Now you be the fox, and I’ll show you what you should have done.”
She taught Hollowpaw a fairly basic move, showing him how to dart in, rake the enemy with his claws, and dart out of range again. “Remember that a fox or—StarClan forbid—a badger is much bigger and heavier than you are. Brute strength won’t get you anywhere. You have to be fast and clever. Try it.”
Hollowpaw sprang at her with an eager look in his eyes, lashed at her side with a sheathed paw, and bounced away again. “Like that?”