Warriors: High Tides

Chapter 10

She felt the reeds brush against her fur, and flicked her tail nervously. We're heading for WindClan territory, she realized curiously. Where does Bramblefoot plan on going to lead us to the peaks?

But she didn't ask out loud, only followed. Harekit fidgeted on Gorsewhisker's back until he was pointing backward, facing Ivystream, straddling his father with his short legs. "My name's Harekit." He chirped proudly.

"Nice to meet you, Harekit." She purred, glad the kit was coming on the trip. Kits were cute.

"What's your name?"

"Ivystream."

"Pretty!" Harekit grinned and turned, looking over his shoulder. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"To two big mountains in the distance." She purred softly. "That's what StarClan told us."

"What's StarClan?" He asked curiously.

Ivystream flicked her ears nervously. "If you wait until we rest, I can tell you then."

"Okay." He smiled and wiggled until he was facing forward again.

For a while everything was quiet. They walked along the shoreline, feeling the mud under their paws. The water lapped peacefully, but Ivystream knew it was entirely empty.

"Ivystream," Waspwhisker meowed softly, "I have a question."

The white-and-silver tabby turned a little, nodding. "Yeah?"

"Why did RiverClan bring so many cats last Gathering?" She meowed innocently.

Ivystream felt pressure build on her shoulders. I can't let them know we've been eating twoleg food, she reminded herself. RiverClan's honor would wither and die instantly!

"I guess we're just lucky. We found enough food to survive." She meowed.

Waspwhisker twitched her ear in visible disbelief. "I see."

"Is that why RiverClan refused to share anything with the other three Clans?" Gorsewhisker growled from in front of her.

Guilt seeped through her whole body. "We needed food, too. I said we were lucky, I didn't say food was in excess."

Gorsewhisker twitched his ear, wrinkled his muzzle, and kept walking in silence.

Finally they reached WindClan's territory borders. "Alright, everyone on alert." Bramblefoot called over her shoulders. "Technically we're not part of the Clans anymore, so we should take proper caution about borders. We'll be following the outer line of WindClan's land."

"That's foolish." Gorsewisker meowed. "We'd have to skirt past Horseplace; there are cats living in there. If we take too long they might come to attack us."

Bramblefoot blinked. "WindClan survived, didn't they? The line between Horseplace and WindClan is barely as wide as a fence by itself."

Ivystream felt nervous about Bramblefoot's first statement. We're not part of the Clans anymore. It occured to her that, soon enough, there would be eight Clans in the world, instead of four. It made her skin crawl.

"There's a section of the forest that I want to find. It's directly behind WindClan's camp, direction wise. It leads into a shortcut through the forest, I think, and that's the pain passage to the Mountains."

Gorsewhisker cocked his head. "I know those woods. It's where our Medicine Cat used to get herbs." His voice died, and Ivystream remembered the Gathering that killed Ternpaw. Poor kit.

Bramblefoot nodded and started walking, following the scentline cautiously. Ivystream followed after the pale brown-gray tom before her, swishing her fluffy tail. She stared at the ground, wondering what Horseplace would be like.

She got her answer soon enough. Bramblefoot pressed them through a line of brambles, and on the other side was a wide wooden fence that seemed to never end. Strange scents, birdlike, wafted from one of the great dens.

"Chickens." Gorsewhisker meowed. "As an apprentice, I gave into temptation and went to hunt one. The rooster chased me out." He chuckled dryly.

That's how RiverClan discovered the food in Twolegplace. Ivystream felt her stomach knot with guilt.

Bramblefoot hopped on the top of the fence, balancing gracefully on the top post. Ivystream glanced toward the lake, realizing she was all the way on the other side of the Lake. She could see the RiverClan marshland as a small smudge on the midmorning horizon. She remembered walking across the Halfbridge as an apprentice, and following the river under the Twoleg Bridge behind camp.

"Everyone get ready," Bramblefoot announced suddenly as Thistlepaw scrambled up beside her.

"For what?" Rookheart asked worriedly.

"There are cats out there!" Thistlepaw meowed.