The one-eyed warrior screeched, anger and fear combined, and Jaypaw froze with terror.
Then he heard Thornclaw’s yowl only rabbit-lengths away.
The patrol had come!
The air filled with the battle cries as warriors and apprentices streamed into the clearing, ears flattened and claws unsheathed. The fox let out an angry yelp and raced into the trees, with Dustpelt and Hazelpaw pounding after it.
Jaypaw struggled to his paws, yanking his tail to unsnag it from the bramble bush.
“Jaypaw!” Poppypaw was at his side. “Are you okay?”
He wrenched his tail free with the sound of ripping fur.
“I’m fine!” he snapped.
“Did the fox hurt you?” Brightheart called.
Jaypaw was relieved to hear his mentor. He smelled no blood on her, and her voice was strong. The fox had not wounded her.
“Don’t tell me you tried to fight the fox?” Thornclaw demanded. “You should have run for help!”
“I couldn’t leave Brightheart alone with it,” Jaypaw objected.
“I thought you would have learned by now that you’re no match for a fox!” Thornclaw growled. Jaypaw curled his lip but said nothing.
“Is your tail okay?” Poppypaw asked sympathetically.
Jaypaw lashed it over the leaf-covered ground, ignoring the pain of the thorns still stuck in it. “It’s fine,” he muttered.
The whole patrol must have seen him struggling like a helpless kit, defeated by a bramble bush. A hot wave of embarrassment washed over him from nose to tail.
“Will Dustpelt and Hazelpaw be all right?” he asked.
“They’ll chase the fox away from the camp,” Thornclaw told him. “I don’t think it’ll turn on them. Not after the fright we gave it.”
“We should get Brightheart and Jaypaw back to camp and send a patrol after them,” Poppypaw suggested.
“Good idea,” Thornclaw agreed.
The rain eased as dusk began to chill the air. Jaypaw lay pressed into the same sheltered clump of grass where Brightheart had taken him that morning. He had wanted to be alone, and the thorny wall of the warriors’ den hid him from the rest of the camp. But now Lionpaw had returned with Ashfur; he could hear them in the center of the clearing.
“Where’s Jaypaw?” Lionpaw sounded worried.
Hollypaw answered from outside the medicine cat’s den.
“I haven’t seen him, but Brightheart’s back. He must be in the camp.”
“Shall we ask her where he is?”
Jaypaw didn’t want Brightheart to tell them what an idiot he had made of himself today. He slipped out and headed Hollypaw and Lionpaw off at the fresh-kill pile.
“There you are!” Hollypaw called.
“Hi,” Jaypaw muttered. He padded past them and pulled a mouse from the top of the pile.
Hollypaw followed him and picked up a sparrow. She dropped it on the ground next to Jaypaw while Lionpaw rooted among the prey until he found the fresh-smelling body of a vole. “I caught this myself!” he announced proudly, tossing it onto the ground beside Hollypaw.
“You caught prey on your first day?” Hollypaw sounded impressed.
“Well,” Lionpaw admitted, “Ashfur spotted it and showed me how to stalk it.”
“He probably held it down for you to finish off,” Jaypaw growled.
There was a moment’s silence; then Hollypaw brushed her tail over Jaypaw’s pelt. “I heard you ran into trouble,” she mewed. “It could have happened to any cat.”
Jaypaw shrugged away her tail. “But it happened to me,” he growled.
“It’s only your first day,” Lionpaw reminded him.
Yes, and you caught a vole on your first day, didn’t you?
Hollypaw sniffed at the thorns in Jaypaw’s tail and plucked at one with her teeth.
“I can do that myself,” Jaypaw hissed, flicking his tail away from her.
“Do you want some herbs?” she offered. “I know which ones will soothe the pain and stop infection.” There was pride in her mew.
“No need.” Jaypaw took a bite of mouse, but it felt dry and tasteless. He nudged the mouse over to Lionpaw with his muzzle. “Here, you finish it. I’m not hungry.”
“Wait…” Lionpaw began. But Jaypaw padded gloomily away.
He headed toward the apprentices’ den, which was underneath a bushy yew tree growing close to the wall of the hollow. It took him a moment to figure out where the entrance was, and when he had, he nosed his way in cautiously. The unfamiliar scents confused him—moss rich with the smell of different apprentices, the strong tang of yew sap. He had no idea what lay around him or where he should lie down.
“Hey, Jaypaw.” Hazelpaw’s mew came from the far side of the den. “There’s no one here but me. Just head toward my voice. There’s some clean moss next to my nest where you can sleep.”
Jaypaw was too tired and miserable to make a fuss about being helped. Gratefully, he padded toward Hazelpaw’s nest, and as he did, the scents around him began to fall into place, like a flight of birds settling one by one into a tree. He smelled Poppypaw’s scent, so stale that she had clearly not been in here since sunrise; Berrypaw’s nest had been slept in more recently, and Honeypaw’s smelled warm as though she’d just left it. Jaypaw weaved cautiously among the little patches of scent until he found the clean moss beside Hazelpaw.
“Thanks,” he murmured, settling down.
“No problem,” she answered sleepily.
He was glad she sounded too tired to talk. Right now, all he wanted to do was to tuck his nose under his paw and sleep.
Chapter 9
Silverpelt glittered overhead as Jaypaw followed the narrow valley upward. He glanced up at the jagged rocks that lined his path, sharp as fox teeth. Ahead, a stream danced down the mountainside, sparkling in the moonlight. A cold breeze whisked down from the gray peaks and set his fur rippling like water.
It felt as though he had been following this stony path for days, and still he had to follow the stream upward, into the mountains.
A paw jabbed his side, catching him painfully between the ribs. Jaypaw flinched. He blinked open his eyes and saw only darkness.
He had been dreaming.
The paw jabbed him again.
“Watch out!” he complained.
“Sorry!” Lionpaw apologized.
“Why are you so fidgety this morning?” Jaypaw lifted his muzzle. He could smell dew on the leaves and guessed that it was hardly dawn. Only Lionpaw and Berrypaw were stirring.
“We’re going on border patrol with Ashfur and Brambleclaw,” Lionpaw explained excitedly.
“Big deal,” Jaypaw muttered. “Brambleclaw’s only taking you because nothing happens on the borders these days.”
“What about ShadowClan and WindClan leaving extra scent markers?”
“Are you scared of smells?” Jaypaw snapped back.
Lionpaw flinched away from him.
“I’m sorry,” Jaypaw murmured. “I’m sure it’ll be great.”
“Yeah,” Lionpaw agreed quietly. “I’ll see you later.” Without another word he padded out of the den, followed by Berrypaw.
Jaypaw wriggled deeper into his nest, cold now Lionpaw had gone. He tried to go back to his dream but sleep would not come again.
The fresh scent of dawn was filtering slowly into the den when Mousepaw and Hazelpaw began to yawn and stretch.
Hazelpaw nudged Jaypaw. “Stop pretending to be asleep,” she mewed.
Jaypaw lifted his head reluctantly.
“Has Berrypaw gone already?” she asked him.
“Yes.”
“Oh, well.” Hazelpaw sounded disappointed at missing her brother. “I’ll see him at battle training later.”
“Hazelpaw!” Dustpelt’s deep growl sounded through the den entrance. “The fresh-kill pile is empty. Bring Mousepaw.