The WindClan warriors had already heaped piles of ferns at the back to the cave. Nightcloud nodded thanks to Twigbranch and spread the bracken with the rest of the bedding. “We’ll be cozy tonight.”
“Good.” Twigbranch purred. “We’ll need our strength if we’re going to catch up to SkyClan.”
“Do you think we’ll find them tomorrow?” Nightcloud’s eyes shone in the gloom.
“I hope so.” Twigbranch wondered if it was possible to find SkyClan so quickly. The journey had been hard going, and the storm showed no sign of easing. She padded to the lip of the cave and gazed at the dark woods.
Tree padded from between the trunks. A fat rabbit hung from his mouth. Twigbranch licked her lips. She could smell its warm scent as he padded toward her.
He laid it on the ground at her paws. “Do you want to share this one?”
“Yes, please.” She blinked at him gratefully.
They settled down and took turns ripping flesh from the carcass. The sweet musky flavors sang on Twigbranch’s tongue, and at last she began to feel warm. As her fur dried, it fluffed out against the chill of the night.
Tree swallowed a mouthful and stretched happily. “I haven’t been so hungry in a long time.”
“That’s because you’ve been living with a Clan,” Twigbranch told him, still chewing.
“Maybe,” he conceded.
“Were you always a loner?” Twigbranch tore another strip of flesh from the rabbit.
“Yes.” Tree’s eyes were round in the darkness. “My mother left me when I was a kit. I taught myself how to hunt and find shelter.”
“That must have been hard.”
“I guess.” He shifted onto his belly. “It’s so long ago I hardly remember.”
Twigbranch swallowed her mouthful. “Did you like living alone?”
“I liked the freedom,” Tree told her. “The only thing I worried about was my next meal. I liked having no responsibilities. But then I met Violetshine.” He sounded faintly annoyed, even though his eyes were clouded with wistfulness. Twigbranch swallowed back a purr of amusement. Violetshine had clearly disrupted his beloved loner life. “For the first time, I started thinking about having a family. I wanted responsibility. I miss her so much.” Twigbranch’s heart ached for him as he stared blindly into the forest. He blinked. “But we’re going to find her and I’m going to tell her how I feel.”
Twigbranch followed his gaze. “I can’t imagine having kits,” she mewed guiltily. “Finleap wants to already, but I’m not ready to give up being a warrior.”
“You don’t have to give it up,” Tree reminded her. “Queens only stay in the nursery until their kits are weaned, don’t they?”
“I guess.” Was she being selfish, wanting to focus on herself? “But I don’t want to worry about that yet. I like being a mentor. I’m learning so much every day.”
“You’re young,” he mewed gently. “There’s no rush.”
“Violetshine’s young too.”
“Yes.” Tree’s gaze softened. “But she’s always wanted a family. I think she’ll make a great mother.”
“So do I.” Twigbranch suddenly missed Violetshine with a piercing grief she hadn’t felt since her sister left. As silence settled between them, Flypaw burst from the ferns at the edge of the trees. Her eyes were bright and a shrew dangled from her jaws.
She hurried toward Twigbranch and dropped it on the ground. “I caught it first try,” she mewed proudly.
“Well done!” As Twigbranch purred admiringly, she saw Finleap padding toward them. He was carrying a bedraggled sparrow. It was skinny and looked more like crow-food than fresh-kill.
He stopped beside Flypaw and laid it on the ground. “I was thinking that we could share this . . .” He eyed the fat rabbit lying, half-eaten, between Twigbranch and Tree. “But I guess you don’t need it.” Anger hardened his mew.
Twigbranch shifted uncomfortably. “I didn’t realize you were bringing me food. Tree just offered and I was hungry.”
Finleap wasn’t listening. He was still staring at the rabbit. “I guess he knows where the best prey lives. This used to be his home. It’s easy to hunt when you know the territory.”
Tree stared at Finleap coldly. “I could catch a rabbit anywhere.”
“Did you used to catch rabbits to impress Violetshine?” Finleap mewed pointedly. “Or have you forgotten Violetshine?”
Tree’s hackles lifted. “I don’t have to impress any cat.”
“Really?” Finleap’s ears twitched. “You seem to be trying pretty hard to impress Twigbranch.”
Tree glanced scornfully at Finleap’s scrawny catch. “Harder than you. You ignore her for the whole journey and then you bring her that.”
Finleap curled his lip. “Loner.” Hissing, he stalked away.
Flypaw blinked at Twigbranch. “What was that about?”
Twigbranch ignored the question and scrambled to her paws. Was Finleap jealous? Hope flickered in her belly. Maybe he still loves me. “I’d better go and see if he’s okay.”
Tree had been hard on him, but Finleap had picked the fight. She couldn’t help feeling sorry for him, even though he was acting like a fox-heart. She hurried across the cave. Finleap was sniffing at the bedding, his pelt bristling. “Oh, so you can tear yourself away from Tree?”
Twigbranch blinked at him. “What are you talking about? Tree loves Violetshine!”
He glanced at her angrily and padded out of the cave.
“Where are you going?” She hurried after him. “We have to talk.”
He began to climb the steep bank beside the cave.
“Don’t walk away!” Frustration flared beneath her fur. She scrambled after him.
At the top, the forest opened and moorland fell away. Heather crowded the dark hillside. Twigbranch followed him across the windswept grass, narrowing her eyes as rain battered her face.
He stopped as he reached a swath of heather and turned on her. “I bet you don’t even want to find SkyClan! You’re probably happy to see Violetshine gone now that you’ve made Tree notice you.”
Shock froze Twigbranch. “Do you have you bees in your brain?” She stared at him. “How could you say something like that? I would never betray my sister. And I’d never make Tree try to notice me. I told you! He’s just a friend. And he wouldn’t do that to Violetshine, either!”
“You haven’t left his side since we left camp,” Finleap snarled.
“I’m leading the patrol, and he knows the way!” Twigbranch snapped.
“Every time I look at you, your muzzle’s in his ear.”
“We were just talking! I’ve got to talk to some cat. Ever since SkyClan left the forest, I feel like I can’t talk to you.” Grief pressed in her belly. “I don’t know why you stayed with me. You’ve made it pretty clear that you wish you’d left with SkyClan.”
“I stayed because I love you!” Finleap spat.
“You’ve hardly looked at me. If that’s love, I don’t want it!” She lashed her tail.
“You don’t know what love is!” He glared at her accusingly.
“Of course I do!” Why was he being so mean? “I love you!”
“Not enough to have my kits.”
She stared at him, wind tugging at her fur. “Is that it? If I won’t have your kits, you don’t want me?”
“I want you to love me enough to have kits.” Hurt sharpened his gaze.
“And I want you to love me enough to wait.” She felt suddenly weary. She was tired of having this argument. “Forget it, Finleap.” Rain streamed from her whiskers. “We’ll find SkyClan soon. And then you can go back to them.” As she turned away, a shadow moved at the edge of her vision. She narrowed her eyes.