CHAPTER 11

Firepaw returned with a chaffinch gripped firmly between

his teeth. He dropped it in front of Tigerclaw, who stood

waiting in the hol ow.

“You’re the first one back, ” meowed the warrior.

“Yeah, but I’ve got loads more prey to fetch, ” Firepaw

mewed quickly. “I buried it back—”

“I know exactly what you did, ” Tigerclaw growled. “I’ve

been watching you. ”

A swish of bushes announced Graypaw’s return. He was

carrying a smal squirrel in his mouth, which he dropped

beside Firepaw’s chaffinch. “Yuck! ” he spat. “Squirrels are

too furry. I’l be picking hairs out of my teeth al evening. ”

Tigerclaw paid no attention to Graypaw’s grumbling.

“Ravenpaw’s late, ” he observed. “We’l give him a bit longer

and then return to camp. ”

“But what if he’s been bitten by an adder? ” Firepaw

protested.

“Then it’s his own fault, ” Tigerclaw replied coldly.

“There’s no room for fools in ThunderClan. ”

They waited in silence. Graypaw and Firepaw

exchanged glances, worried about Ravenpaw. Tigerclaw

sat motionless, apparently lost in his own thoughts.

Firepaw was the first to scent Ravenpaw’s arrival. He

jumped to his paws as the black cat leaped into the

clearing, looking unusual y pleased with himself. Dangling

from his mouth was the long, diamond-patterned body of an

adder.

“Ravenpaw! Are you okay? ” Firepaw cal ed.

“Hey! ” meowed Graypaw, rushing forward to admire

Ravenpaw’s catch. “Did that bite you? ”

“I was too quick for it! ” Ravenpaw purred loudly. Then he

caught Tigerclaw’s eye and fel silent.

Tigerclaw fixed al three excited apprentices with a cold

stare. “Come on, ” he said shortly. “Let’s col ect the rest of

your prey and get back to camp. ”

Firepaw, Graypaw, and Ravenpaw entered the camp,

strol ing behind Tigerclaw. Their impressive day’s catch

hung from their mouths, although Ravenpaw kept tripping

over his dead snake. As they emerged from the gorse into

the camp, a group of young kits scrambled out of the

nursery to watch them pass.

“Look! ” Firepaw heard one of them say. “Apprentices,

just back from hunting! ” He recognized the little tabby

Yel owfang had hissed at the day before. Sitting next to him

was a fluffy gray kit, no more than two moons old. A tiny

black kit and a smal tortoiseshel stood beside them.

“Isn’t that the kittypet, Firepaw? ” squeaked the gray kit.

“Yeah! Look at his orange fur! ” mewed the black one.

“They say he’s a good hunter, ” the tortoiseshel added.

“He looks a bit like Lionheart. Do you suppose he’s as

good as him? ”

“I can’t wait to start my training, ” mewed the tabby. “I’m

going to be the best warrior ThunderClan has ever seen! ”

Firepaw lifted his chin, feeling proud at the kits’ admiring

comments. He fol owed his two friends into the center of the

clearing.

“An adder! ” Graypaw mewed again, as the apprentices

dropped their catch for the other cats to share.

“What shal I do with it? ” asked Ravenpaw, sniffing the

snake’s long body as it lay beside the heap.

“Can you eat adders? ” asked Graypaw.

“Trust you to think of your stomach! ” Firepaw joked,

butting Graypaw with his head.

“Wel, I wouldn’t want to eat it, ” murmured Ravenpaw. “I

mean, my mouth tastes pretty foul after carrying it back. ”

“Let’s put it on the tree stump, then, ” suggested

Graypaw, “so that Dustpaw and Sandpaw can see it when

they get back. ”

They each carried a piece of their fresh-kil, and the

adder, back to their den. Graypaw careful y placed the

adder on the stump, arranging the snake so that it could be

seen clearly from al sides. Then they ate. When they had

finished they sat close together to groom one another and

talk.

“I wonder who Bluestar wil choose to go to the

Gathering? ” Firepaw meowed. “It’l be ful moon tomorrow. ”

“Sandpaw and Dustpaw have been twice already, ”

replied Graypaw.

“Perhaps Bluestar wil choose one of us this time, ”

mewed Firepaw. “After al, we’ve been training for almost

three moons now. ”

“But Sandpaw and Dustpaw are stil the eldest

apprentices, ” Ravenpaw pointed out.

Firepaw nodded. “And this Gathering wil be an

important one. It’l be the first time the Clans have met since

WindClan disappeared. No cat knows what ShadowClan is

going to say about it. ”

Tigerclaw’s low meow interrupted them. “You are right,

youngster. ” The warrior had strol ed up to them unnoticed.

“By the way, Firepaw, ” he added smoothly, “Bluestar wants

to see you. ”

Firepaw looked up, startled. Why would Bluestar want to

see him?

“Now—if you can spare the time, ” Tigerclaw meowed.

Firepaw jumped up immediately and bounded off across

the clearing toward Bluestar’s den.

Bluestar was sitting outside, her tail flicking restlessly

back and forth. When she saw Firepaw she stood up and

looked steadily down at him. “Tigerclaw has told me that he

saw you talking with a cat from the Twolegplace today, ” she

meowed quietly.

“But—” Firepaw began.

“He said that you began by fighting with this cat but

ended up sharing tongues with it. ”

“That’s true, ” Firepaw admitted, feeling his fur prickle

defensively. “But he was an old friend. We grew up

together. ” He paused and swal owed. “When I was a

kittypet. ”

Bluestar looked at him for a long moment. “Do you miss

your old life, Firepaw? ” she asked. “Think careful y, now. ”

“No. ” How can Bluestar think that? Firepaw wondered.

His head was spinning. What was Bluestar trying to make

him say?

“Do you wish to leave the Clan? ”

“Of course not! ” Firepaw was shocked by her question.

Bluestar didn’t seem to hear the passion in his answer.

She shook her head, looking suddenly old and tired. “I won’t

judge you if you leave us, Firepaw. Perhaps I expected too

much of you. Perhaps my judgment has been clouded by

the Clan’s need for new warriors. ”

Panic swept through Firepaw at the thought of leaving

the Clan forever. “But my place is here! This is my home, ”

he protested.

“I need more than that, Firepaw. I need to be able to trust

in your loyalty to ThunderClan, especial y now that it looks

like ShadowClan is planning an attack. We don’t have

room for anyone who isn’t sure whether their heart lies in

the past or the present. ”

Firepaw took a deep breath and chose his next words

careful y. “When I saw Smudge today—that’s the house cat

Tigerclaw saw me talking with—I saw what life would have

been like if I had stayed with the Twolegs. I felt happy that I

had not stayed. I was proud I left. ” He held Bluestar’s gaze

without flinching. “Meeting Smudge made me certain I

made the right decision. I could never have been satisfied

with the soft life of a kittypet. ”

Bluestar looked closely at him for a moment, her eyes

narrow. Then she nodded. “Very wel, ” she said. “I believe

you. ”

Firepaw dipped his head respectful y and let out a silent

sigh of relief.

“I spoke to Yel owfang earlier, ” meowed Bluestar in a

lighter tone. “She thinks a lot of you. She’s a wise old she-

cat, you know. And I suspect she wasn’t always bad-

tempered. Indeed, I think that I could grow to like her. ”

Firepaw felt an unexpected glow of pleasure at these

words. Maybe, in caring for Yel owfang, his admiration for

her had grown into affection, despite the she-cat’s il

temper. Whatever the reason, he was glad Bluestar liked

her too.

“But there is something about her that I don’t trust, ”

Bluestar went on quietly. “She wil stay with ThunderClan for

now, but remain as a prisoner. The queens wil care for her.

You must concentrate on your training. ”

Firepaw nodded and waited to be dismissed, but

Bluestar hadn’t finished. “Firepaw, although you showed

bad judgment today in talking to a house cat, Tigerclaw was

impressed by your hunting skil s. In fact, he reported that

you al did wel. I am pleased with your progress. You wil

come to the Gathering—al three of you. ”

Firepaw could hardly stand stil. His body tingled with

excitement. The Gathering! “What about Sandpaw and

Dustpaw? ” he mewed.

“They wil remain behind and guard the camp, ” replied

Bluestar. “Now you may go. ” She flicked her long tail to

show he was dismissed, and returned to her grooming.

Graypaw and Ravenpaw looked stunned to see Firepaw

bounding happily toward them. They had been waiting

nervously for him beside the tree stump. Firepaw sat down

and looked at his friends.

“Wel? ” Graypaw demanded. “What did she say? ”

“Tigerclaw told us you’d been sharing tongues with a

kittypet this morning, ” burst out Ravenpaw. “Are you in

trouble? ”

“No. Although Bluestar wasn’t pleased, ” Firepaw

admitted rueful y. “She thought I might want to leave

ThunderClan. ”

“You don’t, do you? ” asked Ravenpaw.

“Of course he doesn’t! ” mewed Graypaw.

Firepaw gave his gray friend an affectionate swipe.

“Yeah, you’d hate that. You need me to catch mice for you!

Al you can catch these days are hairy old squirrels! ”

Graypaw dodged out of the way of Firepaw’s blow, and

reared up on his back legs to retaliate.

“You’l never guess what else she said! ” Firepaw went

on. He was too excited to waste time play-fighting.

Graypaw immediately dropped back onto al four paws.

“What? ” he asked.

“We’re going to the Gathering! ”

Graypaw let out a yowl of delight and bounded up onto

the tree stump. One of his back paws knocked the adder

flying. It hit Ravenpaw on the head and wrapped itself

around his neck.

Ravenpaw spat with alarm and surprise, and then turned

on Graypaw. “Watch it! ” he hissed crossly. He shook the

adder onto the ground.

“Scared it might try to bite you? ” Firepaw teased. He

crouched down, hissing, and sidled up to Ravenpaw.

Ravenpaw twitched his whiskers and retorted, “Some

snake you’d make! ” He leaped onto Firepaw and rol ed him

easily onto his back.

Graypaw reached down from the tree stump and gave

Ravenpaw’s tail a tug. As Ravenpaw turned to thump

Graypaw with a soft forepaw, Firepaw jumped to his feet

and leaped into them both, sending Graypaw flying from the

stump. Al three cats tumbled into the dirt and tussled on the

ground. Final y they fel apart and settled themselves,

panting, beside the tree stump.

“Are Sandpaw and Dustpaw coming too? ” puffed

Graypaw.

“Nope! ” Firepaw replied, unable to disguise the note of

triumph in his voice. “They have to stay behind and guard

the camp. ”

“Oh, let me tel them! ” begged Graypaw. “I can’t wait to

see the looks on their faces! ”

“Me neither! ” Firepaw agreed. “I can’t believe we’re

going instead of them! Especial y after Tigerclaw saw me

with Smudge today! ”

“That was just bad luck, ” answered Graypaw. “We al

caught a load of prey in the assessment. That must be what

decided it. ”

“I wonder what the Gathering wil be like, ” mewed

Ravenpaw.

“It’l be fantastic, ” Graypaw replied confidently. “I bet al

the great warriors wil be there. Clawface, Stonefur…”

But Firepaw wasn’t listening anymore. Instead, he found

himself thinking about Tigerclaw and Smudge. Graypaw

was right—it was bad luck that the great warrior had been

observing him when he had met his old friend. Why couldn’t

he have been watching Graypaw or Ravenpaw instead? In

fact, it was bad luck that Tigerclaw had sent him so near the

Twolegplace at al.

Suddenly a dark thought entered Firepaw’s mind: Why

had Tigerclaw sent him so near his old haunts? Had he

wanted to test him? Could it be the great dark warrior didn’t

trust his loyalty to ThunderClan?