Rockkit let out an indignant wail, then broke off as his mother glared at him. “Go on. Now,” she ordered.
Crestfallen, the kits turned away; then Tinykit glanced back. “There’s a cave in there, full of shining moss,” she mewed. “And there were voices talking to us.”
Startled, Firestar stepped forward. “What did they say?”
“They were so quiet that we couldn’t hear,” Bouncekit replied.
“Voices, indeed!” Clovertail scolded. “Haven’t you been naughty enough without making up stories?”
“But we’re not making it up!” Tinykit protested, her white tail quivering. “We did hear voices—lots of them.”
“I don’t want to hear any more about it,” her mother meowed. “You’re never to go into that cave again, and that’s the end of it.” Snorting in annoyance, she began herding her kits back toward the Rockpile.
Firestar exchanged a glance with Sandstorm. Skywatcher had told them that the SkyClan medicine cats had shared tongues with their ancestors in the cave where the river flowed out. Could the kits possibly have heard the voices of the SkyClan warriors from so long ago?
He and Sandstorm helped the three kits clamber over the Rockpile, but when they had begun to climb the trail to the nursery he held Clovertail back with his tail on her shoulder.
“Where did you learn to swim like that?”
Clovertail shrugged. “I haven’t always lived in the gorge,” she explained. “I was born farther downriver, near an abandoned Twoleg nest. My mother taught me to swim for fish.”
Firestar wondered if the Twoleg nest was the one he and Sandstorm had passed on their journey.
“One of the Clans in the forest where I live is called RiverClan,” he told Clovertail. “They swim and catch fish all the time. I’ve never heard of any other cats who enjoy swimming, until now. I wonder if you have RiverClan ancestry.”
Clovertail’s eyes widened. “Does that mean I don’t belong to SkyClan?”
The dismay in her tone encouraged Firestar. It showed that at least Clovertail wanted to be a member of SkyClan, and had the seeds of loyalty to her Clanmates and the warrior code.
“No,” Sandstorm meowed, touching her nose to Clovertail’s ear. “You’re a SkyClan cat through and through, because that’s where you’ve chosen to live.”
“Cats can change Clans,” Firestar added, remembering how Brambleclaw’s sister Tawnypelt had followed their father, Tigerstar, into ShadowClan. “It doesn’t happen often, and it doesn’t always work. But being a member of a Clan is about more than just blood.”
“Even more,” Sandstorm went on, “you’ve proved that you have warrior blood in you. You owe it to your ancestors to learn their skills of hunting and fighting so that the warrior code can live on in you.”
Clovertail blinked. “I promised that, didn’t I, when I was made a warrior? I’m starting to understand now what the words mean. But I still don’t think I’ll be much use—not like you and Sharpclaw.”
“You were very brave today,” Firestar assured her. “You saved Bouncekit. You didn’t need any other cat.”
Clovertail looked thoughtful. At last she nodded. “I never thought of it like that,” she mewed. “Okay, I will join in the training from now on.”
“Good.” Firestar rested his tail tip on her shoulder. “You’ll feel you really belong to the Clan when you give something back to it. Think about your kits—they’ll become warriors one day, and you could be a great example for them.”
“We understand it’s not easy,” Sandstorm told the she-cat, giving her a friendly lick. “But I promise you, it’s worth it.”
“And you needn’t worry about your kits,” Firestar added.
“They’ll be apprentices soon, and until then we’ll make sure some cat keeps an eye on them while you’re training. No more expeditions into that cave!”
On the following morning, Firestar took Sharpclaw, Cherrypaw, and Patchfoot on the dawn patrol. When they returned, he saw Sparrowpaw, Shortwhisker, and Leafdapple huddled together at the foot of the Rockpile, mewing urgently to one another. Sandstorm sat a tail-length away, a disgusted expression on her face.
Firestar glanced at Sharpclaw. “What’s all that about?”
The ginger tom shrugged. “I’ve no idea.”
Firestar padded forward until he came up to the little group. “Hi, is everything okay?”
The cats all turned worried faces toward him.
“We were talking about the Whispering Cave,” Shortwhisker told him.
Firestar stared. “The what?”
“The cave under the rocks.” Sandstorm got up, her eyes narrowed. “That’s what they’re calling it now. Those silly kits have spread the story about the voices, and—”
“There must be something down there,” Sparrowpaw interrupted. “Rockkit said he saw big shiny cats with huge claws. Their eyes glowed like the moon and their teeth were bigger than a fox’s.”
Patchfoot looked horrified. “Really?”
“Kits will be kits, I know.” Leafdapple twitched her tail. “But they looked terrified! Would they really make all that up?”
“Hmm…” Firestar could tell that the kits had improved their story since their visit to the cave the day before.
“Suppose these big cats come out?” Shortwhisker mewed.
Sandstorm rolled her eyes. “Suppose hedgehogs fly!”
“If there is something in there, we ought to deal with it.”
Sharpclaw flexed his claws. “We should go in and attack before they have a chance to attack us.”
Firestar lifted one paw to stall him. “We will go in there, but not until later on. And I don’t believe there’s anything to be afraid of. It’s time for hunting patrols,” he went on.
“Sharpclaw, you can lead one, and Leafdapple the other.”
The SkyClan cats still gave him doubtful looks as they moved away. Sandstorm lagged behind, drawing closer to him.
“What do you think is down there?” she murmured.
“Skywatcher said that the SkyClan medicine cats used to share tongues with their warrior ancestors in that cave.”
Firestar nodded. “That’s what I’m hoping. Every Clan needs a special place, like the Moonstone, and this cave could be SkyClan’s. It worries me that the new Clan doesn’t have a medicine cat yet. Maybe if we go into the cave tonight, SkyClan’s warrior ancestors will show us which cat to choose.”
Sandstorm’s eyes gleamed. “Good idea. We can’t stay here forever, waiting for a medicine cat to show up.”
Firestar pushed away the feeling of homesickness that threatened to cloud his thoughts. This wasn’t his Clan, but he couldn’t leave until he was sure they could survive without him, and finding a medicine cat was a big part of that.
“SkyClan’s warrior ancestors must be out there somewhere,” he meowed, clawing at the sandy ground.
When night had fallen Firestar led his Clan into the cave beneath the rocks. The moon was a thin claw scratch in the sky, and starlight dappled the surface of the river.
Every Clan member followed as he edged along the narrow path beside the water—all except Clovertail. She had stayed to look after her kits; she still refused to believe that there was anything in the cave, and had given Rockkit, Bouncekit, and Tinykit a good scolding for frightening every cat.
“Be careful!” Firestar called, glancing back over his shoulder. “Cherrypaw, no fooling about! You could easily slip on these wet rocks, and we haven’t got Clovertail to pull you out!”
“There’s something shining up ahead.” A quavering voice came from somewhere behind Firestar; it sounded like Shortwhisker.