“That’s a pretty name.”
She jerked up her muzzle. “Don’t start flirting again!”
He stepped back. “I’m not. It’s just a pretty name. Most of the cats I meet are called Rocky or Snake or something dumb like that. And my name’s Tree.”
Violetpaw narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Are you a rogue?”
Tree shrugged. “I don’t know what I am. I travel alone and I hunt and sleep where I like.”
Violetpaw looked away and sniffed. “A loner.”
“Is that what Clan cats call me?”
For the first time, she heard uncertainty in his mew. “I guess it’s better than being a rogue,” she conceded. She looked him over. He was muscular. His yellow pelt looked thick and well groomed. His amber eyes were bright and clear. Take him with you. Needletail’s words rang in her mind. Take him to the Clans. Perhaps her friend was right. Perhaps the Clans needed him. And it might help Needletail find her way to StarClan.
“We’re camped up there.” She nodded toward the hollow.
“We?”
“Me and my Clanmates,” Violetpaw explained. “We’re heading home. You should come with us.”
“Why?”
“Needletail thinks the Clans need you.”
“Needletail’s dead.”
“Then she probably knows more than we do.” Was this tom going to make everything difficult? “Come to the hollow at dawn. If you come now, you might alarm the others.” She turned away, pausing when he didn’t comment. “Will you come?”
“I guess.”
Violetpaw shrugged, trying not to seem too eager. “It might be the only way to stop Needletail haunting you.” She walked away, hoping that he would come. I tried, she told Needletail silently.
An angry yowl woke Violetpaw. She jerked her head up, blinking at the dawn light. Her companions’ nests were empty. Hisses sounded from the edge of the hollow. Tree! She remembered at once and leaped up.
“Why are you here?” Hawkwing’s growl sounded beyond the bushes.
“Violetpaw told me to come.”
Violetpaw heard Tree’s mew and pushed past the bushes. “He’s right!” She stopped beside Hawkwing. “I did tell him to come.”
Nettlesplash and Rabbitleap stood behind Tree, their hackles high. Mintfur and Blossomheart flanked him while Frecklewish stared at him through narrowed eyes and the apprentices hung back and watched. He was surrounded.
As he saw Violetpaw, relief flashed in his gaze. “You took your time.” He smoothed his fur. “I was beginning to think you’d tricked me.”
Hawkwing looked at Violetpaw, puzzled. “Who is he? Where did you meet him?”
“I found him last night,” she mewed. “Needletail led me to him.”
Hawkwing’s eyes widened. “I thought Needletail was dead.”
“She is.” Violetpaw felt suddenly helpless. How was she going to explain?
Frecklewish nosed her way between her Clanmates. “Was Needletail from StarClan?”
Violetpaw looked at the medicine cat, hope pricking her paws. “She hasn’t found StarClan yet, but she says she can’t seem to escape this cat. She thinks he’s important. She said that if we take him to the Clans, he might be able to help us. Then she’ll be able to find her way to StarClan. I think we should let him come with us.”
Nettlesplash stalked around Tree, sniffing him. “Does he want to come with us?”
“I don’t have anything else to do,” Tree sniffed. “And if you think I could help, I guess it can’t do any harm.”
Fidgetpaw padded from the bushes, a vole dangling from his jaws. He dropped it and stared at Tree. “Who’s this?”
“This is Tree.” Nettlesplash flicked his tail impatiently. “Violetpaw’s dead friend found him. She thinks he might be important to the Clans. She wants him to travel home with us.”
Gravelpaw shouldered his way past Mintfur. “Is he a rogue like Darktail?”
Tree sniffed. “Violetpaw says I’m a loner.”
“A loner can’t do any harm,” Mintfur mewed.
“He seems friendly,” Rabbitleap commented.
“Can he hunt?” Blossomheart asked.
Tree sat down and looked longingly at Fidgetpaw’s vole. “While you discuss me, do you mind if I eat this?” He swiped his tongue around his lips. “I’m starving.”
Fidgetpaw nudged it toward him. “Go ahead. There seems to be plenty of prey here.”
“Thanks.” Tree grabbed it and took a bite.
“I’m not sure Leafstar will be pleased if we bring back a loner,” Blossomheart mewed.
Mintfur twitched her tail. “But what if Violetpaw is right? What if he is important to the Clans? If we leave him here, we might never find him again.”
“What if he’s lying?” Gravelpaw’s ear twitched uncertainly. “He might be a rogue. He might be like Darktail. There might be a whole gang of rogues waiting for us to show him the way to our new camp.”
Tree poked the vole toward Violetpaw. “Have a bite,” he meowed. “You must be hungry. You were up half the night.”
She looked at him, wondering how he could be so relaxed.
“Are you a rogue?” Hawkwing nodded at Tree.
Tree looked at him. “I’m not sure what a rogue is. I told Violetpaw last night—I travel alone. I was born in the wild. My mother left me as soon as I was old enough to hunt. I’ve spent most of my life trying to stay away from Twolegs. They are obsessed with trying to tempt me into their nests with food, but I don’t want to live in a Twoleg nest. Twolegs are noisy, and they smell weird.”
Frecklewish let out a purr. “I know what you mean.” Her gaze warmed as it met Tree’s. “I’ve just escaped from a Twoleg hive.”
“Really?” Tree looked shocked. “How long were you there?”
“Moons.” Frecklewish nodded at Violetpaw. “Luckily, Violetpaw thought of a way for me to escape.”
Tree winked at Violetpaw. “She’s clearly got a talent for rescuing cats.” He swallowed another mouthful and burped. “So?” He looked around the SkyClan cats. “Am I coming with you?”
Hawkwing and Frecklewish exchanged looks. Then Frecklewish nodded.
“Yes.” Hawkwing dipped his head to the yellow tom. “If you’d like to.”
Violetpaw glanced at the sky, wondering if StarClan was watching. Does this mean you’ll help Needletail find her way to you? She looked at Tree, who was washing his vole-stained paws. If Needletail could find her way to StarClan, it would be worth putting up with this arrogant mouse-brain.
CHAPTER 19
For the first time in days, Twigpaw’s fur felt dry. She relished the fresh breeze in her pelt as she followed Sparrowpelt and Sandynose along the ridge that led to the ThunderClan border. Leafstar had sent them to re-mark the scent line, washed away after days of rain.
Sandynose nodded toward the stretch of forest where pine gave way to oak. Twigpaw breathed the ThunderClan scents that rolled across the border, trying to ignore a pang of homesickness. She focused on Sandynose.
“Well-marked borders make good neighbors,” he meowed. “When every cat is clear where their boundaries lie, there is no excuse for misunderstandings. And misunderstandings can lead to battles.”
Twigpaw tried hard to look attentive. She pushed away a prickle of resentment. Was Sandynose trying to remind her that she hadn’t reported seeing Dovewing and Tigerheart inside SkyClan territory? He’s just trying to be a good mentor, she told herself sternly. She was determined to earn her warrior name. This wasn’t just her Clan; it was Hawkwing’s and Violetpaw’s Clan too. When they returned, she wanted them to be proud of her.