They ate in silence until there was nothing left but feathers; then Leafpool rolled onto her side. “Have you talked to Bramblestar yet?”
Squirrelflight sat up and began to wash. She knew what Leafpool was getting at. If she wanted to heal the rift between her and Bramblestar, she’d have to talk to him. “It’s not easy.”
“Why not?” Leafstar stretched. “He’s your mate.”
“What if I ask him about kits and he still doesn’t want them as much as I do?” Squirrelflight gazed distractedly between the trees. “Or I ask him about the Sisters and he says they have to leave? I know he’s still angry that I went off and found them in the first place. I’m sure he thinks it’s my fault the Clans are fighting.”
Leafpool huffed. “The Clans are always fighting.”
“I guess.” Squirrelflight felt suddenly weary. “But this time Bramblestar blames me.”
“Are you sure?” Leafpool glanced at her.
Squirrelflight twitched her tail. “I’m not sure of anything right now.”
“Why don’t you ask him?”
“It might make things worse.”
Leafpool sat up. “Will they get better if you keep quiet?”
“Maybe.” Squirrelflight was beginning to think silence was the only way things might get better. “We only spend time together when we’re playing with Flamekit and Finchkit.” Pleasure fluttered faintly in her chest as she pictured Bramblestar giving them badger rides around the nursery. “I think Bramblestar loves them even more than I do.”
Leafpool eyed her steadily. “Do you still want more kits with him?”
“Of course I do.” Squirrelflight felt the familiar twinge of longing in her heart. “But I can’t see that happening now. We barely talk.”
As she spoke, paw steps thrummed at the top of the rise. Twigbranch, Finleap, and Honeyfur charged down the slope carrying prey. They scrambled to a halt and dropped their catch beside Squirrelflight.
“Leafpool caught a sparrow,” she told them proudly.
Finleap eyed the pile of feathers, his gaze sparking with amusement. “Was it tasty?”
“Very.” Leafpool purred. She glanced at Squirrelflight. “We should catch another for the Clan.”
Honeyfur nodded toward the sunny glade ahead. “There’ll be plenty over there.”
“Let’s catch as many as we can,” Twigbranch mewed. “The Clan will want a big meal before tonight’s Gathering.”
As the young warriors hurried away, Squirrelflight got to her paws. “I’m not looking forward to this Gathering,” she confided to Leafpool.
“It will be tense,” Leafpool agreed. They headed after their Clanmates. “Do you think ShadowClan and RiverClan have come to an agreement about their border?”
“I hope so.” Squirrelflight ducked beneath a branch. “Otherwise, Tigerstar might insist on pushing the Sisters off their land.”
“Perhaps the Sisters have left by now,” Leafpool mewed hopefully.
“I doubt it.” Squirrelflight’s pelt prickled nervously. Moonlight must have kitted by now, but the kits wouldn’t be ready to travel for a while.
Ahead, Honeyfur stopped beside an oak and scraped her fur against the rough bark. Squirrelflight padded past her and gazed into the sunny glade. Twigbranch and Finleap were already charging through the ragged blueberrybushes. What if the Sisters had moved on? Everything would be solved. SkyClan could move onto their land, and the Clans would have no reason to fight. She and Bramblestar could forget their differences, and life could go back to how it was.
Her paws felt suddenly heavy. Nothing was ever that simple.
Night folded itself around the lake, swathing the valley in darkness. After the long walk from camp, Squirrelflight sensed tension as soon as she slid from the long grass. ShadowClan,WindClan, and RiverClan hung back at the edges of the island clearing, their gazes glittering with hostility as they eyed one another. Scorchfur tugged Flaxpaw back by his scruff as the ShadowClan apprentice began to head toward RiverClan. “Not tonight,” he growled.
“I was only going to talk to the other apprentices.” Flaxpaw looked at his mentor hopefully.
“You might as well talk to foxes,” Scorchfur hissed.
Lightpaw, Pouncepaw, and Shadowpaw stood close to Dovewing while Tigerstar wove around them protectively. Only SkyClan seemed relaxed. They watched the other Clans, tipping their heads as though puzzled by the unfriendliness. Leafstar hurried to meet Bramblestar as soon as he crossed the clearing.
“What’s wrong with every cat?” The SkyClan leader blinked at him. “I didn’t realize things had gotten worse. Stonewing lashed out at Mallownose before you arrived.” She glanced nervously at the star-specked sky, where wisps of clouds trailed above the forest. If the truce was broken, clouds would hide the moon and the Clans would have to go home, their grievances unresolved.
Bramblestar glanced around at the gathered cats, his pelt prickling along his spine. “There’s more tension over the borders,” he told the SkyClan leader. “But that doesn’t mean you must make a decision before you’re ready.”
Leafstar caught Squirrelflight’s eye. “Have you heard from Moonlight? Has she had her kits?”
“She must have,” Squirrelflight told her. “But newborn kits won’t be ready to travel for a while.”
Bramblestar flicked his tail impatiently. “I wish she’d hurry up before we’re all at war,” he growled. He padded toward the Great Oak and leaped onto the lowest branch.
Leafstar dipped her head. “I’d better go too.” Anxiety glittered in her gaze as she turned away and leaped up beside Bramblestar.
Tigerstar, Harestar, and Mistystar followed, eyeing one another accusingly as they took their places in the oak.
Squirrelflight hesitated as the Clans streamed around her. Crowfeather, Reedwhisker, and Cloverfoot jostled for position as they climbed onto the roots of the oak and sat, stiffly ignoring one another as Squirrelflight finally joined them. Only Hawkwing acknowledged her with a polite nod.
As the crowd settled in front of her, pelts shifting in the moonlight, Tigerstar stepped forward. “ThunderClan has given WindClan its land back. RiverClan wants to move our border, and ShadowClan cannot accept that. The only way to avoid war now is to drive the Sisters from their camp.”
Scorchfur whisked his tail eagerly. “That’s right. Why fight one another when they’ve got our land?”
Dread wormed beneath Squirrelflight’s pelt as yowls of agreement rose among the Clans.
“We must wait!” Bramblestar’s growl silenced them. He eyed Tigerstar sharply. “Has StarClan sent word yet? Did any medicine cat get an answer from them at their half-moon meeting?”
“Not yet,” Tigerstar snorted. “But silence could mean anything. You’re just playing for time. Why are you so loyal to these rogues?”
Bramblestar bristled. “I’m not loyal to them.”
“Then why are you determined to defend them?”
Bramblestar narrowed his eyes. “I don’t think we should take the Sisters’ land until SkyClan has agreed to move there.”
“SkyClan would be mouse-brained to turn down that land.” Tigerstar lashed his tail. “It’s good land, and we won’t let them stay on our territory forever.”
“You gave them that territory!” Bramblestar glared at the ShadowClan leader.
Tigerstar curled his lip. “And we can take it back, just like WindClan took its territory back.”
“I gave it to them,” Bramblestar retorted. “I was trying to keep the peace,”
Tigerstar rounded his eyes innocently. “That’s all I want,” he meowed. “To keep the peace.”
“By starting a war against the Sisters?” Bramblestar stared at him indignantly.
Squirrelflight realized she was holding her breath. Bramblestar was defending the Sisters. Hope flashed beneath her pelt.
Tigerstar’s tail flicked ominously. “I will fight the Sisters if it means peace among the Clans. Isn’t that what StarClan wants?”