She rested her muzzle on the top of Snookthorn’s head; the young tom licked her shoulder and took a pace back to stand beside Billystorm.
“Snookthorn! Snookthorn!”
The SkyClan cats clustered around to welcome the newest warrior. Leafstar watched them with a deep sense of relief, thankful for their shining eyes and enthusiastic voices. It worked! Now they’re not so worried about the Twolegs. And Snookthorn will be a valuable member of the Clan.
But as the yowls died away and his Clanmates moved back from Snookthorn, the young cat turned to her with trouble in his eyes.
“I’m really sorry, Leafstar,” he mewed, “but I can’t stay here.”
Shocked murmuring broke out among his Clanmates; Tinycloud let out a yowl of protest, echoed by Sparrowpelt and Rockshade.
“What?” Leafstar stared at the new warrior, baffled, as she raised her tail for silence. “Why not?”
Snookthorn shook his head in confusion. “I—I hated it yesterday, when the Twolegs yowled at us and chased us away. We were trying to help them, but they treated us like enemies.”
“They didn’t understand—” Leafstar began.
“I know. But that doesn’t make it any better,” Snookthorn went on miserably. “I’ve enjoyed being a Clan cat, but I don’t want to be an enemy of Twolegs. I can’t stay.”
“Now hang on a moment.” Sharpclaw shouldered his way to the front of the crowd. “You just made a promise to protect and defend your Clan. Were you lying when you said that?”
“No…” Snookthorn protested. “I didn’t mean…” His voice trailed into silence and his tail drooped to the ground.
“I think you’d better decide what you did mean,” Sharpclaw snapped, his eyes glittering with anger.
Snookthorn hung his head without speaking. Leafstar listened with mounting anger to the whispering among her Clan; she heard Bouncefire hiss, “Traitor!” and glared at him until he looked away.
Before Leafstar could speak, Billystorm stepped forward, touching Snookthorn’s ear with his nose. “I know it’s hard, to have a paw in two lives.”
Snookthorn lifted his head and nodded. His eyes were bleak with pain. “I thought I could do it, but I can’t,” he confessed. “Living as a Clan cat is making me something I don’t want to be—fierce and wild and unwelcome among Twolegs. I’m honored that you think I’m good enough to be a warrior, but it’s not something I want. Not anymore.”
Billystorm tipped his head to one side. “It was just one misunderstanding with Twolegs,” he meowed. “Your housefolk would never treat you like that.”
“Really?” Snookthorn retorted, and now he looked taller and stronger, more like the warrior Leafstar knew he could be. “How do you know that? They were so worried when I got sick after falling in the river. Will they have to keep mending me, after battles and hunting accidents and scraping my paws on these rocks all day? It’s not fair to them, to keep putting myself in danger.”
Sparrowpelt let out a snort. “Well, if you’re not brave enough…” he hissed.
Snookthorn spun around and faced him. “I have the courage to know what I truly am,” he replied quietly. “I am a kittypet. Twolegs are not my enemies, and I never want to see that look in their eyes again.” He turned back to his former mentor. “Billystorm, you have taught me so much, and I’ll always be grateful for that. But I cannot walk with my paws in two worlds. Not anymore.”
Leafstar let out a long sigh. She admired the warrior’s conviction; it was a shame his loyalty wasn’t to SkyClan, because he would have been a Clanmate she’d be proud of. “We can’t keep you here, Snookthorn. But I’m sorry you’ve made this decision. We’ll miss you.”
She glared at Sharpclaw as her deputy opened his jaws to speak again. If he tells Snookthorn we’re better off without him, I’ll claw his ears off! Sharpclaw obviously got the message, because he closed his mouth without speaking.
“I’ll miss you, too,” Snookthorn replied, letting his gaze travel over his former Clanmates. “I’ll never forget the friends I’ve made in SkyClan.” Dipping his head, he added, “Thank you for everything, Leafstar.”
He turned away and walked toward the bottom of the trail with his head high. Leafstar felt her heart wrench with sorrow as she watched him. We’ve lost a fine warrior.
“Good-bye, Snookthorn,” she called after him; some of her Clanmates called their good-byes too, but the chorus was thin and ragged, and others just turned away. Snookthorn never looked back.
Twilight was filling the gorge as Leafstar returned from a patrol with a fat squirrel in her jaws. Cherrytail, Tinycloud, and Rockshade followed her, carrying their own prey. The hunting had been good.
As she crossed the Rockpile, Leafstar spotted Sharpclaw sitting on the edge of the pool. The dark blue water swirled close to his paws before veering away downstream. He glanced up at her; Leafstar’s paws prickled when she thought she could make out a spark of triumph in his eyes.
As soon as she had dropped her squirrel on the fresh-kill pile, Leafstar padded over to talk to her deputy. “I’m sorry we won’t be seeing Snookthorn again,” she remarked, trying to sound casual.
Sharpclaw rose to his paws and dipped his head politely at her approach. “I’m sorry, too,” he agreed.
At least he hasn’t said, “I told you so.”
“It makes me think that we need to be absolutely certain about the daylight-warriors’ loyalty,” Sharpclaw continued. “Including Billystorm,” he added, with a meaningful look.
Anger surged through Leafstar, fierce as a flood in leaf-fall. It took every scrap of self-control she possessed not to fall on her deputy and rake her claws across his pelt. “Do you doubt Billystorm’s loyalty?” she demanded, hardly able to believe the strength of her own feelings as she strove to keep her voice steady.
Sharpclaw took a step back, surprise flickering in his eyes. “No.” His voice was mild as he replied. “No more than I doubt the loyalty of any of the kittypets. It must be very hard for them, split between two lives.” He licked one paw and drew it thoughtfully over his ear. “Maybe when the seasons turn colder, more of them will want to stay with their housefolk.”
Leafstar had listened to him belittle the daylight-warriors for long enough. “It sounds as though you doubt the warrior code,” she meowed icily, “if you think it would be so easy for our Clanmates to reject it.”
Not waiting for a response, she spun around and stalked away. She was furious with Sharpclaw for his constant questioning of cats she had come to value, and even more furious with herself for letting the discussion end in a quarrel.
Why did Snookthorn have to leave us? Have we really so little to offer compared with housefolk?
She was heading for her den when she spotted Billystorm beginning to climb the trail that led to the cliff top. He’s on his way back to the Twolegplace. Sudden fear clawed at her heart and she ran after him, scrambling up the trail until she caught up to him.
“Are you leaving?” she blurted out.
Billystorm turned to look at her, his eyes wide with surprise. “Only until tomorrow,” he meowed. As Leafstar struggled to hide her relief, he added, “I’ll go and visit Snookthorn, but I don’t think I’ll be able to change his mind.”
That wasn’t what I wanted to talk about at all, Leafstar thought, confused. I wanted to tell you how much I want you to stay in SkyClan.
“That’s fine,” she mewed evenly. “I just wanted to make sure that Snookthorn is okay. He can come back any time, you know.”
Billystorm’s ears twitched skeptically. “Really? And will all his Clanmates welcome him back?”
Leafstar remembered the protests when Snookthorn announced his intention to leave. She couldn’t deny that some of the Clan would be hostile to the young cat who had made a promise and then broken it. “I will welcome him back, and that’s what counts.”