Dovewing frowned and concentrated harder. I must be able to hear something! My senses have had time to recover from the battle! I have to make Lionblaze and Jayfeather talk to me about their powers. What if we’re all losing them? Suddenly her paw was caught underneath a branch and she lurched forward. She would have fallen flat on her face if Bumblestripe hadn’t shoved his shoulder underneath her to boost her back onto her feet.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Fine,” Dovewing snapped. “I didn’t see that branch in the shadows, that’s all.” She noticed his ears flatten with hurt and felt a stab of guilt. Even if she couldn’t tell him what was going on, he didn’t deserve to be treated unkindly. “Thanks for catching me!” she purred. “I’d have looked dumber than a sheep if I’d landed on my muzzle!”
“I’ll always be here to catch you,” Bumblestripe murmured. He nuzzled the back of her head before stepping away and they walked on in silence, close enough for their fur to brush together.
Chapter 7
The first thing Dovewing noticed when she reached the clearing on the island was that almost all the former Dark Forest cats were there. She wondered if it was because each leader wanted to prove that their Clan was united and loyal once more. She also thought that the other Clans seemed less hostile toward their traitorous Clanmates, but then, ThunderClan had so many more that had survived the battle. Perhaps it was easier to forgive one cat rather than several.
After spotting Breezepelt and Ratscar, Dovewing found herself searching for a familiar dark tabby pelt among the ShadowClan cats. As she watched, the warriors shifted to make room for Blackstar, who was heading for the leaders’ tree, revealing Tigerheart deep in conversation with Shrewfoot. The pretty gray cat was gazing up at him as if he was telling her the greatest secret. Dovewing pushed down the pang of jealousy that twisted her belly. It was good that Tigerheart had been forgiven by his Clanmates. Any connection they had once shared was over forever. She had Bumblestripe now.
As if he had heard her thoughts, the gray-and-black tom joined her. “Do you mind if we sit with Blossomfall?” he meowed. “I don’t want her left on her own.”
“Of course,” Dovewing replied, feeling a rush of fondness for him. They padded over to fill the gap left beside Blossomfall and Thornclaw. Dovewing ended up next to Toadstep, and she tried not to hiss at him when he curled his lip at her.
Mistystar spoke first, her gray fur tipped with silver in a beam of moonlight. “RiverClan is well and strong after a moon of hard work. All my warriors are united in making the Clan secure and full-fed for leaf-bare, and all the seasons to come. I am pleased to report that Petalfur is expecting kits with Mallownose.” She paused to glance fondly at the gray-and-white queen, who preened. “A large pike was preying on the smaller fish on our side of the lake, but Lakeheart had the brilliant idea of placing stones in the shallow water to create an area the pike couldn’t enter. Thanks to this, we have protected many of the smaller fish to stock our fresh-kill pile.” She dipped her head. “May StarClan light your path, all of you.”
As she sat back down on the branch, Blackstar rose unsteadily to his paws. His white pelt was so pale, he looked as if he was part of StarClan already. “ShadowClan is as strong as it ever was,” he wheezed, so quietly the listening cats leaned forward to hear. “We have rebuilt our dens and secured our borders. Our fresh-kill pile is full and we do not fear the leaf-bare ahead.” His wide eyes suggested otherwise, and Dovewing winced as he fought for breath. “We were briefly troubled by a fox on our topmost border but my brave warriors drove it out.” He sat down abruptly, his flanks heaving.
Bramblestar spoke next, then Onestar. Their speeches were similarly short and vague, with little news beyond the restoration of dens and borders, and reports of well-stocked fresh-kill piles. None of the leaders mentioned the Great Battle or the recent alliance between the four Clans, as if history had never happened. Dovewing narrowed her eyes. Will everything be forgotten so soon? What about the cats we lost? Shouldn’t we honor their memory somehow, all of us together?
But the leaders were jumping down from the tree—or in Blackstar’s case, lowering himself gently to the ground—and the cats in the clearing were already standing up, eager to leave. There would be no lingering tonight, no sharing of tongues and gossip after the serious business was done. Onestar led his warriors away first, swiftly followed by Mistystar. Bramblestar summoned ThunderClan with a flick of his tail and Dovewing found herself pressed among her Clanmates as they trotted over the tree-bridge and jumped down onto the marshy shore.
“That was weird,” Lionblaze commented when they were crunching along the pebbles below the moor. “Any cat would think the most exciting thing that happened in the last moon was RiverClan losing some fish to a pike!”
Beside him, Cinderheart looked thoughtful. “Perhaps that’s the best way to recover, to return to the way things were before as quickly as we can. We won the Great Battle, so nothing needs to change.”
Bumblestripe twitched his ears. “Really? Do you honestly think the Great Battle didn’t change anything? Sometimes I think it has changed everything.”
Dovewing agreed with him. She watched him look sadly at his sister, walking a little way ahead with Thornclaw. Would ThunderClan be divided forever because of the Dark Forest?
The sound of coughing drifted through the trees as they climbed the slope to the hollow. Jayfeather trotted ahead, as sure-footed over the moss as if he could see. “Hazeltail, why are you still out here? You should have asked someone else to stand guard.” He sniffed her closely and placed his paw on her side to check her heartbeat.
The gray she-cat looked exhausted and hunched. “I’m okay,” she wheezed. “It’s just a cough.”
“And it’s not being helped by this cold air,” Jayfeather snorted. “Come on, you’re spending the night in the medicine den.” He started to usher her through the thorns. “Bramblestar, you’ll have to put someone else on guard,” he called over his shoulder.
Millie stepped forward. “I’ll do it,” she offered. “I don’t feel tired, and there’s no point waking another warrior for what’s left of the night.”
“Thanks, Millie.” Bramblestar dipped his head toward her. He looked closely at the rest of the cats. “Is anyone else feeling ill? Better to start getting treated now rather than wait until you’re really sick.”
“Toadstep hasn’t eaten much today,” Poppyfrost meowed, shooting a worried glance at the black-and-white tom.
“I wasn’t hungry, that’s all,” he muttered.
Bramblestar narrowed his eyes. “If you don’t feel hungry tomorrow, see Jayfeather, please. Now, let’s get to our nests. Patrols as usual first thing.”
Dovewing waited her turn to wriggle through the barrier. She heard Brightheart hiss to Cloudtail, “Why didn’t you tell Bramblestar you’ve got a sore throat?”
“I’ll see Jayfeather if it gets worse, I promise,” Cloudtail mewed as he ducked into the gap.
Dovewing felt a tremor of worry. First the Dark Forest seemed to have left divisions that would never heal, and now the whole Clan was getting sick! Oh StarClan, help us!
Blinking sleep from her eyes, Dovewing stumbled out of the warriors’ den at sunrise to see Jayfeather leaping confidently down the rocks that led to Highledge. Her heart lurched.
“Is Bramblestar sick?” she called.
Jayfeather stopped beside her and shook his head. “No, he’s fine. I was just letting him know that Hazeltail will be off duties for a while.” As he spoke, Bramblestar emerged from his den and trotted down to the clearing, where he arched his back in a long stretch.