Needlepaw ducked her head. “Okay,” she muttered.
Alderpaw noticed that she looked almost chastened by Birchfall’s decisive tones. Well, I’ve never seen that before!
“Are you okay getting back to the ShadowClan camp?” Birchfall continued to Needlepaw. “Should you even be out on your own?”
“I’ll be fine, thanks,” Needlepaw responded with a roll of her eyes. Clearly she was fed up with that question, and her respectful demeanor hadn’t lasted long. Turning to Alderpaw, she added, “I guess I’ll see you around, then.”
Alderpaw stared at her, wondering if she had even taken in what he said about keeping SkyClan a secret. “I’ll look out for you at the Gathering,” he meowed.
As Needlepaw turned away, Alderpaw felt a claw-scratch of pain at his heart. After all we’ve been through together, there should be… I dunno, more…
He thought that Needlepaw looked sad, too, as she gave him a last look before bounding away down the slope in the direction of RiverClan.
Then, as he watched her, Poppyfrost brushed her pelt against his, her eyes glowing with admiration. “You’ve done so well, Alderpaw!”
“Yes, ThunderClan will be proud of you,” Molewhisker told him. “And I can’t wait to hear what Cherryfall says when she sees the kits!”
While Birchfall and Berrynose congratulated him, too, Alderpaw felt his chest swell with pride. I feel like a hero! Oh, StarClan, it’s so good to be home!
Chapter 24
Alderpaw poked his head through the entrance to the nursery. “Is it okay to come in?” he called softly.
“Sure!” Lilyheart called back. “But watch where you’re putting your paws.”
As Alderpaw became used to the dim light of the nursery, he could see why Lilyheart had told him to be careful. Her own three kits, Leafkit, Larkkit, and Honeykit, were rolling around, play fighting on the thick moss and bracken that covered the nursery floor.
Violetkit and Twigkit, their eyes open now, sat watching them.
“That’s how you learn to fight when you’re an apprentice,” Leafkit told the younger kits, sitting up and shaking scraps of moss from her tortoiseshell pelt.
“What’s an apprentice?” Twigkit asked.
“It’s when you’re six moons old and have a mentor, and learn how to become a warrior,” Larkkit replied.
“And then you get to fight foxes and badgers and rival cats,” Honeykit added. She leaped on top of her brother, growling fiercely.
“Get out of our camp, stinky badger!”
“Stinky yourself!”
Larkkit retorted, battering his sister with his hind paws.
Alderpaw skirted the battling kits and settled down in the moss beside Lilyheart.
“You’ve got your paws full here,” he mewed.
“I know, but I like it,” Lilyheart purred. “I have Daisy to help. She’s out hunting fresh-kill for us right now.”
“That’s great,” Alderpaw mewed. “So how are you two doing?” he asked, stretching out his neck to touch noses with Violetkit and then Twigkit.
“We’re fine, thank you,” Violetkit replied.
Alderpaw could see that she was right.
There was no need to worry about the kits’ health anymore. In the few days they had been in camp, their little bodies had begun to plump up, and their fur was glossy. Their eyes were open now, wide and bright.
“It’s so nice here with our mother,” Twigkit added, leaning closer to Lilyheart.
“She’s not your mother!” Leafkit piped up before Alderpaw or Lilyheart could respond.
“She’s our mother. You came from a long way away—beyond the lake, even.”
The two younger kits glanced at each other, confused and a little hurt.
“Don’t worry, little ones,” Lilyheart mewed, bending her head to lick each kit around the ears. “I love you just as much as if I were your real mother.”
“That’s right,” Alderpaw agreed, nuzzling the kits affectionately. “All you need to know is that you’re very special.”
Reassured, the two kits began to purr contentedly. For a moment Alderpaw gave himself up to the satisfaction of having saved them, whatever that might mean.
“They’re lovely,” Lilyheart meowed. “I’d be happy to keep them as part of my family. And my kits love them, too!”
Alderpaw nodded, but he knew that the real decision about the kits’ future would be made at the Gathering that night. I hope they’ll be allowed to stay here, he thought, realizing how attached to them he had become. But that’s not for me to decide.
Emerging from the nursery, Alderpaw almost slammed into Jayfeather.
“There you are!” Jayfeather exclaimed crossly. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“I’ve been to visit the kits,” Alderpaw explained.
Jayfeather let out a snort. “I should have known. Anyway, you need to come with me.
Bramblestar and Leafpool want to talk to you.”
There had been a time when Alderpaw would have been worried by a summons from his Clan leader. Now, although he still felt slightly nervous, anticipation was stirring inside him.
As he followed Jayfeather, Alderpaw remembered his return to camp a few days before. All his Clan had been excited to welcome him back, and Sparkpaw had barely left his side since. This morning was her first hunting patrol without him, along with Cherryfall, Brackenfur, and Sorrelstripe.
Bramblestar had taken the first opportunity to draw Alderpaw aside and ask for his view of what had happened in the gorge.
“It was so frustrating!” Alderpaw admitted.
“We should have gotten there in time to save SkyClan from the rogues. I feel like I’ve failed.”
Bramblestar rested his tail-tip briefly on Alderpaw’s shoulder.
“I’m puzzled,” he confessed. “Why should StarClan send you a vision when it was already too late to do anything about it? But it wasn’t your failure,” he added hastily.
Alderpaw shrugged uneasily. “I feel like I’ve missed something important… I feel like Sandstorm died for nothing, and it was my fault.”
“You are not to blame for Sandstorm’s death,” Bramblestar assured him firmly. “I grieve for her, and so does the rest of our Clan.
But going on the quest was what Sandstorm wanted. Remember how I tried to forbid her from going? She was determined, and you would never have convinced her otherwise.”
“I guess so… ,” Alderpaw mewed, though he still couldn’t suppress his feelings of guilt.
“Meanwhile,” Bramblestar meowed, changing the subject, “I’ve spoken to Molewhisker, Cherryfall, and Sparkpaw about keeping SkyClan a secret, at least for now.”
“I hope it was okay to tell them… ,” Alderpaw began apologetically, remembering once again that Needlepaw shared the secret, too.
“It’s fine. You didn’t have much choice.”
“So what are we going to do about SkyClan, or what remains of it?” Alderpaw asked, relieved by his father’s approval. “And what about those horrible rogues in the gorge?”
“I’ve thought it over,” Bramblestar replied, his amber gaze fixed on Alderpaw, “and I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s nothing ThunderClan can do for SkyClan now.”
“But—” Alderpaw began to protest.
Bramblestar overrode him. “SkyClan has scattered, and no cat knows where they have gone.
Unless
ThunderClan gets more information…”
Alderpaw felt the weight of his Clan leader’s stare. He means another vision.
Anxiety rose inside him like a gathering storm cloud. Will I have one? What if I don’t?