“Don’t, Alderheart.” Jayfeather’s voice was surprisingly sympathetic as he hooked a paw around Alderheart’s neck and pulled him away. “Purdy’s gone. He was very old and lived a long life, and now that life is done. Part of being a medicine cat is knowing when you have to let go.”
Alderheart stared at Purdy, who had been alive and speaking only moments ago—and now lay dead on the ground like a piece of prey. “I didn’t help him,” he whispered.
Jayfeather touched his tail to Alderheart’s flank. “Sometimes you can’t.”
Alderheart shuddered, feeling waves of heat and cold pass through him. Will I ever get used to seeing cats die? he asked himself. Especially an elder like Purdy, who was such an important part of ThunderClan? He turned away, his head and tail drooping. Purdy said I’d be just fine… but will I?
Graystripe and Millie moved Purdy’s body to the center of the camp, where more of his Clanmates gathered around to share tongues with him one last time, grooming his pelt to make him ready for burial. The rest of the Clan sat nearby, silently grieving as they waited for that night’s vigil to begin. The ShadowClan cats joined in, too, sitting together at a respectful distance.
Alderheart felt like the fog of regret and sorrow that surrounded him would never lift. He padded quietly over to Bramblestar, who was sitting close to Purdy’s body, with Squirrelflight by his side.
“Bramblestar,” he began hesitantly. “Purdy was never a warrior. Do you think he’ll be allowed to walk with StarClan?”
Bramblestar gazed at him, not replying for a moment. When he spoke at last, he didn’t seem to be answering Alderheart’s question. “We first met Purdy when we made the journey to the sun-drown-place,” he meowed. “He saved us from a dog, and then showed us where we could find food.”
Squirrelflight nodded. “I’ll never forget that. Without Purdy, we might not have made it to the meeting with Midnight—and without her, we might never have known to leave the old forest and find our new home here.”
“When he came to join us,” Bramblestar went on, “he fit into the elders’ den like he had always been living with us. He cared for Mousefur when she was ill and dying.”
By now, most of the cats who were clustered around Purdy’s body had turned to listen to their leader.
“He was always good with the apprentices,” Ivypool put in. “Do you remember, in the Great Storm, how he looked after them and kept them out of trouble?”
“And he told the best stories!” Ambermoon added.
“And he joined in when we fought against the Dark Forest,” Squirrelflight pointed out. “He may have been a kittypet once, but he was a brave cat and a true member of ThunderClan.”
Bramblestar nodded, his amber eyes warm as he met Alderheart’s gaze. “Alderheart,” he mewed. “Which of us deserves better than Purdy to walk with StarClan? I know he’ll be there, watching over us.”
“Thank you,” Alderheart whispered.
But Bramblestar’s assurance did little to ease Alderheart’s grief. He still felt as if there should have been something he could have done to save Purdy. It’s okay to think that he’ll watch over us from StarClan, but he watched over us while he was here. Sighing, he rose to his paws and headed back toward the medicine cats’ den.
Halfway there, he halted. The stress of Purdy’s death had driven everything else from his mind, but now he remembered what he’d been worried about when he found him.
Twigpaw…
If she had come back to the camp, Alderheart knew she would have come out to pay her respects to Purdy.
That means she really must have left. And I have a horrible feeling that I know where she went.
Alderheart turned and raced back to where he had left Bramblestar beside Purdy’s body. “I’m sorry to interrupt,” he murmured, so as not to disturb the other cats. “But this is an emergency. I need to talk to you.”
Bramblestar didn’t protest, but rose to his paws and gestured with his tail for Alderheart to follow him to a spot near the entrance to the warriors’ den, out of earshot of the grieving cats. “Well?” he asked.
“Twigpaw is missing,” Alderheart announced. “I’m afraid that she may have gone out on her own to look for SkyClan and the cat who might be her kin.”
Bramblestar slid out his claws and dug them hard into the ground. “Great StarClan!” he exclaimed, exasperated. “Could Twigpaw have chosen a worse time to run away?” Then he shook his head, clearly trying to recover his calm. “We’ll send out a patrol to look for her,” he meowed.
Bramblestar turned back to where the rest of the Clan was sitting. “Cats of ThunderClan!” he called, and as his Clanmates’ faces turned toward him, he continued, “Yesterday we decided that we would not send out cats to look for SkyClan. But now Twigpaw is missing, and Alderheart and I believe that is where she has gone—to find her kin. The journey is too dangerous for an apprentice traveling alone, and so we must bring her back.”
As he spoke, Ivypool sprang to her paws. “This is all my fault,” she mewed, her blue eyes filled with distress. “I spoke out against sending a patrol, and I know that upset Twigpaw. But I didn’t realize she would react like this. I should have known… ,” she finished miserably.
“Don’t blame yourself,” Bramblestar told her. “We all agreed that this was not the right time to search for SkyClan. No one cat is responsible. All we can do now is send some cats out to look for Twigpaw and bring her home safe.”
“I’ll go,” Tigerheart offered immediately.
“And so will I,” Dovewing added.
“Thank you.” Bramblestar glanced around at his Clan. “Molewhisker, you will go too,” he decided. “You made the first journey with Alderheart, and you know the way to the barn where he saw SkyClan in his vision.”
“Sure, Bramblestar.” Molewhisker got up and padded over to join Dovewing and Tigerheart.
The three cats dipped their heads to their Clan leader, then headed across the stone hollow and disappeared into the thorn tunnel.
Alderheart watched them go, thankful that they would look out for Twigpaw and bring her home safe. Then his belly twisted with worry as he remembered the huge Thunderpath that lay between their territory and the yellow barn.
She has to go that way, he thought anxiously. I hope she remembers how to find the tunnel.
And even if Twigpaw managed to cross the Thunderpath safely, there were more hazards on the other side. A young apprentice, all on her own, just wasn’t safe out there.
I know she would do anything to find her kin, but does she really know how terrifying a journey like that can be for a cat?
Alderheart wanted to claw off his own fur when he remembered how distressed Twigpaw had been when they’d discussed SkyClan the night before.
“I could have been more reassuring,” he murmured aloud. “And now she’s gone.”
I’ve already lost one friend today, he thought, his heart heavy. Am I going to lose another?
Chapter 8
The sun had only just begun to slide down the sky, but already Twigpaw’s injured leg was aching. She couldn’t remember ever having been so tired and thirsty before.
Sneaking out of camp through the dirtplace tunnel had felt strange, and at every moment she had expected to be called back by Brightheart, who was on watch. Her feelings of guilt had increased with every stealthy paw step, because she knew that Alderheart and Ivypool would be very worried when they discovered she was missing.