A thrush thudded onto the ground beside the halfrock, surprising Lionpaw. Hollypaw stood over it, staring at him.
“I thought you might want to share,” she mewed. Was this her way of apologizing? Lionpaw doubted it. He suspected that his sister didn’t realize how bossy she could be. But he was grateful anyway. However alone he felt, knowing about the prophecy, he had to remember that Hollypaw and Jaypaw shared it too. As long as he had his littermates, he would never truly be alone.
“Thanks,” he purred, settling down to eat.
Birchfall and Whitewing were sharing prey with Brackenfur, while Thornclaw and Spiderleg stretched out nearby, their meals already finished. This was the first time since the journey to the mountains that the Clan had eaten together, and Lionpaw began to feel more at ease. Nothing had really changed, he told himself hopefully.
“So how were the Tribe?” Firestar asked Brambleclaw.
The ThunderClan deputy swallowed a mouthful of fresh-kill. “They’ve a hard leaf-bare ahead of them,” he meowed.
“But I think they’re going to be okay.” Lionpaw narrowed his eyes. Was his father as confident as he sounded?
“Do you think they’ll be able to defend the borders you made?” Thornclaw asked.
Squirrelflight shrugged. “We trained them as well as we could.”
“Which will be very well, if I know you,” Graystripe chipped in.
“They stand more of a chance now than they did when we first got there,” Brambleclaw meowed. “It was hard for them to get used to the idea of marking such distinct borders around a portion of where they hunted before, but I hope they understand how important it is for them to fight for what they have.”
“And we certainly taught the invaders that they can’t help themselves to anything they want,” Squirrelflight added.
“Were many cats injured in the battle?” Sandstorm asked.
“Nothing serious,” Brambleclaw informed her. “But it was a hard fight.”
Which you would never have won without me. Lionpaw waited for his father to tell the Clan how well he had done.
“All the apprentices fought like true warriors.” Brambleclaw glanced at Lionpaw. “They were a credit to our Clan.”
Lionpaw’s pads pricked with his frustration. “Isn’t he going to mention how I fought?” he hissed under his breath.
“Shh!” Hollypaw warned him. “It’s best if they don’t know.
We mustn’t draw attention to ourselves.”
Lionpaw bit angrily into the thrush. What’s the point of being so powerful if no cat ever knows? He found himself half wishing for another battle this moon, so he could show his Clanmates just what sort of warrior he was going to be. The other Clans had better watch out then, he thought darkly.
Paws weary, muscles still aching from the journey, Lionpaw crept into his nest. Just one long sleep and he’d feel more like his old self. He spiraled down into the clean, dry moss and closed his eyes.
“You’re not going straight to sleep, are you?” Poppypaw called across the den.
“Don’t you want to hear what Sandstorm said to me while we were training?” Honeypaw prompted.
“I’m tired,” Lionpaw murmured. He wasn’t in the mood to share Clan gossip with his denmates.
“Suit yourself,” Poppypaw mewed.
Suddenly two small paws landed on his back, digging into his ribs.
“Sorry!” Foxpaw backed away as Lionpaw’s head shot up.
Lionpaw glared at the young apprentice. “Watch out!”
“I was just showing Icepaw how I was going to catch a fox and earn my warrior name,” Foxpaw mewed. “I want to be called Foxcatcher!”
“Well, you’ve proved you can catch a sleeping cat!” Honeypaw teased.
Icepaw jumped to her brother’s defense. “He’ll catch a real fox one day!”
“Yeah, right.” Poppypaw tossed a wad of moss at the white apprentice.
Foxpaw leaped and caught the moss before it reached his sister, batting it back toward Poppypaw. “I will catch one; you just wait!”
“You couldn’t catch greencough!” Poppypaw taunted him.
“Yes, I could!” Foxpaw argued.
The other apprentices purred with amusement.
“I mean I could catch anything I want,” Foxpaw backtracked quickly. “If only Squirrelflight would stop fussing over me all the time.”
“She might stop fussing if you stopped wandering off,” Honeypaw pointed out. “We had to wait for ages while she went to look for you today. The squirrel I’d been tracking was in ShadowClan territory by the time she brought you back!”
“I was exploring!” Foxpaw protested.
“Well, come explore this.” Cinderpaw had squeezed into the den. Lionpaw could smell honey, but he stayed where he was while the other apprentices scrambled from their nests to see what Cinderpaw had brought.
“Where’d you find it?” Icepaw gasped.
“Cloudtail found a hive in a hollow trunk while we were patrolling near the abandoned Twolegplace,” Cinderpaw explained. “He managed to get his paw in and grab a chunk of the honeycomb.”
“Did he get stung?” Foxpaw mewed.
“Only once.”
“I haven’t had honey for moons.” Poppypaw sighed.
“Cloudtail gave most of it to Leafpool for her stores, but he said I could have this bit,” Cinderpaw mewed.
“Can I have a lick?” Icepaw begged.
“Go on then, but not too much,” Cinderpaw offered. “It’s for everyone to share.”
Icepaw closed her eyes as she swallowed, then blinked them open, surprised. “It doesn’t taste of anything!”
Poppypaw purred. “Every cat knows that, mouse-brain.”
She licked at the honeycomb and sighed. “I like the way it soothes my throat and feels all warm in my belly. It reminds me of milk.”
Lionpaw buried his nose under his paws, trying to block out the purrs of contentment as his denmates dug into the precious honeycomb. How easily pleased they were. One day all the honey in the forest would be his. He wasn’t like them—pleased by any small treat. The pang of isolation returned, stronger than ever.
A warm body brushed against him. Hollypaw had crept into the den and was settling down beside him.
“Not joining in with the honey feast?” Lionpaw whispered.
“Let them enjoy it,” she whispered back.
Suddenly feeling less alone, Lionpaw closed his eyes and slipped into sleep.
Dreaming, Lionpaw felt the forest floor cold beneath his paws, prickly with pine needles. A thin mist cloaked the ground and swirled around the lines of straight, bare trunks that stretched away into darkness.
“It’s about time you came back to us,” Tigerstar’s low growl echoed from the shadows. Lionpaw saw the outline of massive shoulders as the warrior padded out from the trees.
Hawkfrost followed at his heels. “You need all the training we can give you.”
Lionpaw bristled. “But didn’t you see me fight in the mountains?” How much more training did he need? He was already a better fighter than any of his Clanmates. He had proved it!
“We’re not concerned with past battles,” Tigerstar meowed briskly. “Only the battles to come.”
Lionpaw narrowed his eyes. That sounded like an excuse.
They couldn’t see me in the mountains! Even Tigerstar’s powers had their limits.
“Let’s see if you can use your brains as well as your strength.”
Tigerstar padded behind Lionpaw and nudged him toward Hawkfrost. “Try attacking Hawkfrost from his weaker side.”
“But don’t you want to hear about the mountain cats?”
Tigerstar lashed his tail. “They’re no concern of mine.”
He’s not interested! Lionpaw stared at his ghostly mentor.