Dovepaw waited for her to start complaining about drafts, but the old she-cat didn’t say anything else, just curled into one of the nests and rested her nose on her forepaws.
Dovepaw wished she’d planted a burr in the moss. Anything to get the elder complaining again. It wasn’t right, seeing her so sad. “Not too damp?” she prompted.
“I preferred the old nests.” Mousefur sighed. “They smelled of Longtail.”
Purdy glanced at the apprentices and Dovepaw guessed that he wanted them to leave. As she turned to the entrance, she saw him circle down into his nest, pressing close to Mousefur. With a pang she wondered if she and Ivypaw would ever curl up together like that again. Watching Ivypaw stomp out ahead of her, she guessed not.
“Hey!” Rosepetal called as they reached the clearing. She was standing beside the fresh-kill pile. “Do you want a mouse?”
“Yes, please!” Ivypaw trotted away as if Dovepaw didn’t exist.
Dovepaw was too sad to feel hungry. Maybe Briarlight wanted company. She padded toward the medicine den, her paws scuffing through the beech leaves that littered the ground outside. She paused outside the den to listen to Jayfeather and Briarlight working on exercises.
“That’s it,” Jayfeather urged. “Stretch just a little bit more.”
“Oof!” Briarlight panted. “A few more of those and I’ll be able to wrestle Thornclaw!”
“Good!” Jayfeather purred. “I would love to see the look on his face!” The tang of fresh herbs was drifting through the brambles. “Three more stretches, and then you should have your medicine.”
“Can’t I just go outside and enjoy the last of the sunshine?” Briarlight pleaded. “The Clan will be sharing tongues soon and I don’t want to be stuck in here.”
“Eat your herbs first,” Jayfeather insisted. “Then you can share a mouse with your littermates.”
“Are they back from patrol?”
Dovepaw looked around the clearing. Blossompaw and Bumblestripe were padding into camp, carrying fresh prey. She should have known that as well as Jayfeather. She’d been so busy worrying about Ivypaw that she’d forgotten to keep her senses open to movements around the camp.
“Yuck!” Briarlight gagged on the herbs. Then Dovepaw heard her hind legs dragging across the den floor. She backed out of the way as the brambles swished and Briarlight’s head poked out. “Can’t you find a way of making them taste better?” she called back to Jayfeather.
“I’ll do my best,” he promised.
Briarlight hauled herself from the den and over the shifting leaves. Her eyes were bright but her teeth were clenched with effort. She spotted Dovepaw.
“Hi!” The greeting came as a hiss. “Sorry,” she groaned. “This is hard work! It’ll get easier.”
She headed toward the fresh-kill pile, where Blossomfall and Bumblestripe were arriving with their catches. Their eyes lit up as they spotted her.
“Briarlight!” Blossomfall hurried to greet her sister, a mouse dangling in her jaws. She dropped it at Briarlight’s paws. “Want to share this?”
Dovepaw ducked into Jayfeather’s den. “Hi,” she murmured wearily. She needed advice. She wanted to be friends with Ivypaw again. She wanted to share a mouse with her littermate, like Blossomfall and Briarlight.
Jayfeather was sweeping herb fragments with his tail into a dusty pile. He looked up as Dovepaw padded in. “Would you rather eat herbs sweetened with nectar or mouse blood?”
“Mouse blood,” Dovepaw answered absently.
Jayfeather let his tail lie still. “What’s wrong?” His blue eyes glowed in the dim light of the den.
“Please can I tell Ivypaw about the prophecy?”
Jayfeather sighed and went back to his sweeping. “No.”
“But it’s making it really hard to stay friends with her.”
“How?”
“She thinks I’m getting special treatment.”
“She’s jealous?”
“No!” Dovepaw suddenly felt defensive of her sister. Then she sighed. “Well, yes, sort of. I guess.”
“Lionblaze and I never told any other cat,” Jayfeather pointed out.
“But you had each other!”
“Not to start with.” Jayfeather began to pick the cleanest fragments out of the pile. “I was the first one to find out, and I couldn’t share it with Lionblaze and Hollyleaf until I was sure they were the ones.”
“But Hollyleaf wasn’t one of the Three.”
“I thought she was.” Jayfeather shook out another herb fragment. His eyes darkened. “She thought she was too.” He put the leaf shred carefully down. “Not being one of us was the hardest thing for her to live with in the end.”
“She didn’t know how lucky she was,” Dovepaw muttered under her breath. Curiosity pricked her pelt. “What did happen to her?”
“She went away.” Jayfeather picked up another shred. “She couldn’t stay here.”
“Because she wasn’t included in the prophecy?” Dovepaw frowned. She sometimes tried to imagine what it would be like to be an ordinary warrior. It had to be easier, surely?
“Partly,” Jayfeather mewed.
“Partly?” What was the other reason?
Jayfeather scooped the pile of shreds in his jaws and carried them to the split in the rock where he stored his herbs. Clearly he wasn’t going to give any more information away.
Secrets! Always secrets! Crossly, Dovepaw pushed her way out of the den.
Blossomfall, Bumblestripe, and Briarlight lay in a patch of dying sunshine sharing their mouse. Ivypaw was lying beside Rosepetal, sharing a blackbird.
Dovepaw gazed at her sister. I would tell you if I could.
Ivypaw swallowed her last mouthful and began grooming Rosepetal.
But I have to keep this secret. Even if it means losing my best friend.
CHAPTER 14
Ivypaw shivered. A chilly wind had stripped the flowers from the meadow and driven pale gray clouds across the sky. The ground trembled beneath her paws. The horses were running, crowding along the edge of the meadow, their eyes wild and their ears flat back.
Where was Hawkfrost?
Ivypaw felt nervous. She didn’t want to be alone in the wide pasture today. The breeze was moaning across the dull, dry grass, ruffling her fur the wrong way.
There! A dark rump showed above the grass, thick, bushed tail flicking.
She scampered toward the RiverClan warrior.
“You’re here!” she puffed, relieved when he turned and fixed his familiar dark blue gaze on her. “I thought you weren’t coming! I’ve been looking for you for ages.”
Hawkfrost sat up and gazed at her lazily through half-closed eyes. “Lucky you found me today, then.”
“Teach me something new!” she begged. Cinderheart was already impressed by the progress she had made in training; she wanted to please her mentor again today when they practiced battle moves.
Hawkfrost yawned, hunching his shoulders as he stretched his spine.
“Just one battle move,” Ivypaw pleaded.
“Haven’t I given you enough to practice already?”
“I’ve practiced it all. Now I need something new.” Ivypaw widened her eyes hopefully. “Please!”
Wearily, Hawkfrost stood up. “Do you pester your Clanmates this much?” he murmured.
“They don’t teach me such interesting stuff,” Ivypaw mewed.
“Watch carefully.” Hawkfrost lunged for her, hooking her hind legs under her and rolling her over with his forepaw till she found herself splayed on her back.
“Wow!” she squeaked, springing to her paws. “Let me try it.”
She leaped at Hawkfrost, curling a paw around his hind legs and tugging.
Nothing happened. The broad-shouldered warrior turned his head to look back at her. “Have you started?”
Frustrated, Ivypaw backed away and tried again.
Still, the RiverClan warrior didn’t budge.
Ivypaw put her head to one side.
“How did you do that, exactly?”
“Run your paw along my hind legs,” Hawkfrost ordered. “Can you feel the tendon along the back of the joint?”
Ivypaw felt a tough cord behind the crook of his legs, like a stretched mousetail.
“Aim there,” Hawkfrost told her. “A sharp jab. Try to hit both legs at once.”
Excited, Ivypaw crouched down, fixing her gaze, then leaped. She brought her forepaws down hard, hitting the tendon, and Hawkfrost’s legs buckled beneath him. Seizing the advantage, she used her shoulders to shove him sideways. Unbalanced, he toppled over and she threw herself on top of him, pinning him to the ground.
“Good,” he grunted. He got to his paws, shaking her off. “But make more of your advantage. The surprise will last only a moment. You must use that moment. Try again.”
Ivypaw tried the move again, but this time swept his forepaws from under him too. Her teeth were at his exposed throat before he could recover himself.
He shoved her off with a hiss. “Not bad.”
Pride rippled through her pelt.
“We might make something of you after all,” he conceded.
She lifted her chin. “Of course!”
A shadow rippled through the grass some distance away. Ivypaw jerked her head to look at it and saw eyes glinting at her. Some cat was watching. She stiffened. “Who’s that?” As she spoke, the cat ducked lower in the grass and slunk away.
Hawkfrost shrugged. “I mentioned you to a couple of friends,” he meowed. “It was probably one of them. No doubt he wanted to see the apprentice who keeps badgering me for extra training.”
Ivypaw tossed her head. “He probably wanted to learn from me.”
“Yeah, right.” Hawkfrost cuffed her softly over the ear. “Come on, try that move again. See if you can do it twice.”
“Okay!” Ivypaw crouched down. “I want to get it perfect before I show Dovepaw.”
Hawkfrost blinked. “Who’s Dovepaw?”
“My sister.” Ivypaw wriggled her hindquarters, ready to pounce. “The one I told you about. Remember?”
She sprang up, hitting the tendon harder this time, feeling a surge of triumph as the broad-shouldered warrior crumpled and she rolled him to the ground.
Sitting back on her haunches, she wiped a paw over her whiskers while she got her breath back. “All the senior warriors think Dovepaw’s the best apprentice ever.” She shrugged. “They’re always asking her stuff, like she knows something no other cat does.”
Hawkfrost sat down and lapped at his chest. “And does she?” he asked between licks.
“There’s something she’s not telling me, but I can’t figure out what it is.” Ivypaw cocked her head. “I just wish she wouldn’t act like she’s so special. She’s always got her ears pricked like she’s on guard: like no one else in the Clan can keep us safe.”
Hawkfrost finished grooming his chest and ran a claw across a clover leaf. The soft green tissue split and darkened beneath his touch. “Did you tell her about me?”
“I was going to,” Ivypaw mewed, irritation prickling as she remembered their interrupted conversation. “But I didn’t get a chance.” She sniffed. “Now I don’t want to tell her.” The tip of her tail twitched. “Why should I? She has her secrets, so I’ll have mine.”
Hawkfrost plucked at another leaf. “Probably a good idea. It sounds like…” He paused. “Dovepaw—is that her name?”
Ivypaw nodded.
“It sounds like Dovepaw would get jealous and want to learn all your moves.”
Ivypaw unsheathed her claws.
“She’s your littermate,” Hawkfrost pressed. “Not your echo, right?”
“Right!” Ivypaw declared. “Why should I give her the chance to copy me?”
Hawkfrost stretched his hind legs. “No more echoes. Let’s try something new.”
Ivypaw woke up. Her shoulders were stiff. She wriggled them into the soft moss of her nest, wondering if she’d slept awkwardly. Then she remembered: Hawkfrost had worked her hard, until her muscles ached. She sat up, surprised. Wow! What a vivid dream!
Dovepaw was snoring. Curled in her nest, her eyes closed, the gray apprentice looked small and fluffy. Far more like the innocent kit she had been than the knowing apprentice she pretended to be now. With a surge of affection, Ivypaw longed to tell Dovepaw about her dream, just like they used to when they shared a nest in the nursery with Whitewing.
No. Ivypaw pushed away her nostalgia. Dovepaw had a secret. I’m going to have one too. It was probably a far better secret than Dovepaw’s anyway. She was being trained by a StarClan warrior! She was going to be the best warrior ever. She’d be even better than Lionblaze!
“Ivypaw!” Cinderheart’s mew rang through the wall of the den.
Ivypaw crept out into the cold, gray dawn. Blossomfall and Bumblestripe were stretching in their makeshift nests beneath the arching bough of the beech. Cinderheart beckoned them over with her tail.
“You three will be training together today,” she announced.
Blossomfall sat down, yawning. “You want us to train Ivypaw?”
Cinderheart shook her head. “You will be training together.”
“We’re not apprentices!” Bumblestripe shook out his fur, fluffing it against the cold air.
Cinderheart’s gaze flashed to the slope of rocks. Firestar was leaping down into the clearing.
Blossomfall rolled her eyes. “Let me guess,” she grumbled. “A new idea about training.”
Ivypaw could hear Thornclaw’s irritated sigh echoing in her mew. Blossomfall was obviously quoting her denmate.
Firestar halted beside them. “There’s nothing wrong with trying something new,” he meowed.
Blossomfall looked at her paws. “I guess.”
Firestar straightened his tail in the air. “We don’t want the Clan getting stale. And there’s no harm in warriors practicing their skills. Would you rather we started battles to keep our paws nimble?”
“I suppose not,” Blossomfall conceded.
Ivypaw glanced at the apprentices’ den. “What about Dovepaw? Will she be training with us?”
Cinderheart shook her head. “She’ll be training with Lionblaze.”
“Of course.” Ivypaw’s fur pricked along her spine. “Why should she train with ordinary warriors?”
“Pardon?” Cinderheart pricked her ears.
“Nothing,” Ivypaw mewed quickly. She felt hot as she noticed Firestar staring at her. “I just don’t get to train with her much these days.”
Dustpelt, Birchfall, and Leafpool were stirring in their nests beneath the fallen tree.
“I hear Firestar put you in charge today, Cinderheart.” Dustpelt yawned, padding under the snaking branch. “Are we ready to go?”
Birchfall and Leafpool followed him, neither looking excited at the prospect of a training session.
“Yes, we’re ready,” Cinderheart meowed. “Come on; follow me.”
They stopped in a clearing where bracken edged a leafy patch of forest floor. Leafpool flicked her tail restlessly as Cinderheart weaved between the warriors. Ivypaw circled Bumblestripe and sat down.
“It’s weird training with senior warriors,” she whispered in his ear.
“It’s certainly different.” The young warrior’s eyes were bright. “I wonder if we’ll be able to beat them?”
“Maybe.” Ivypaw stretched her claws. The run through the forest had warmed her up and loosened the stiff muscles in her shoulders. She was ready to try out some of Hawkfrost’s moves.
“Now,” Cinderheart began, “we’re going to set up a mock battle.” She flicked her tail toward the hazel bush at one end of the clearing, then at the clump of ferns at the other. “I’m going to split us into two patrols.” She nodded to Dustpelt. “You lead Leafpool, Blossomfall, and Ivypaw. I’ll lead Bumblestripe, Hazeltail, and Birchfall. If that’s okay with you, Birchfall?” The tawny tom dipped his head to the younger warrior. “We’ll try to take the hazel. You”—she n
odded again at Dustpelt—“try to take the ferns.”
Ivypaw padded after Bumblestripe into the center of the clearing. She crouched beside him, preparing for the attack, while Leafpool and Dustpelt flanked them. Cinderheart’s patrol lined up opposite, so close that their whiskers almost touched.
Bumblestripe narrowed his eyes, concentrating on the hazel bush a tree-length behind his opponents. Hazeltail and Birchfall pressed their bellies to the earth.
“Remember,” Cinderheart ordered, “claws sheathed. We’re not ShadowClan.”
The warriors nodded and Ivypaw quickly curled her claws away beneath the soft fur of her white paws.
“Go!”
At Cinderheart’s command, Ivypaw rolled over. She heard Cinderheart’s paws thump the ground where she’d been.
“Nice!” Cinderheart’s praise was cut short as Leafpool bowled the gray she-cat over and bundled her with flailing paws to the end of the clearing.
Ivypaw jerked around, ready for an attack. Bumblestripe was wrestling with Blossomfall.
Blossomfall wriggled from his grasp. “Don’t forget I learned all your moves before you were out of the nursery.”
“Bet you don’t remember this one.” Bumblestripe jumped in the air and landed, belly first, flat on her spine.
Blossomfall collapsed, her legs crumpling beneath her. “Hey! That’s unfair. That’s a kit move!”
“But it still works,” Bumblestripe teased, refusing to budge as Blossomfall struggled underneath him.
Ivypaw stiffened. Birchfall was streaking toward the fern clump. If he reached it, his patrol would win. She raced after him, spraying dirt with her hind legs. He was nearly at the ferns. She pounced. Reaching out, she jabbed his hind legs, aiming for the tendons. He stumbled and fell and she leaped onto his shoulders, fighting to cling on with unsheathed claws while he writhed beneath her.
With a fierce shove he flung her away and she landed heavily, the wind huffing from her. Narrowing her eyes, she sprang to her paws. She wasn’t going to let Hawkfrost down! Birchfall was on his paws but looking bewildered, his hind legs trembling. She dived underneath him, curving her body and hooking herself under his belly. With one paw on either side of her, she knocked a foreleg and hind leg out from under him. Then she darted out of the way before he collapsed.