It was three days after they arrived at the new camp. Frost glittered on the tops of dens and the clearing. The leaves that covered the ground were crippling and withering, but the frost was just as beautiful as them. Dovepaw was giving herself a thorough wash. Mousepaw trotted over and nudged her shoulder. "I want to explore the camp! Everyone else is playing warriors, but I don't want to."
Dovepaw nodded. "They're playing warriors again? Honestly, they have bees in their brains! We're not kits anymore! And I think you have bees in your brain, too." She followed Mousepaw from the apprentices' den and into the camp's clearing. Warriors were returning from patrols and talking as they dropped their prey off or gathered around Lynxstar to report. "I can't wait until that's me," she breathed wistfully.
Mousepaw gazed at her littermate sympathetically. "But that'll never happen, Dovepaw."
Dovepaw glanced at her sister. She didn't want to talk about this. "Yeah, yeah. Come on, let's go." She led Mousepaw away. "Where should we go first?"
"Oh, what about over those stacked rocks? The Snowrock!" Mousepaw raced away, Dovepaw limping quickly after her. She bounced halfway up the rock and looked down at Dovepaw.
Dovepaw spotted a den behind the cascading waterfall, behind the Snowrock. It must have been Lynxstar's den. She often saw Lynxstar going in there to rest or to speak to her warriors. "Come back down! Look at this. Should we explore?"
Mousepaw nudged her sister gently in the side. "I like this cat. What did you do with Dovepaw?" she joked. "Come on, let's go."
Dovepaw purred and followed Mousepaw into the dark chamber. She flattened her ears at the loud noise the waterfall made and the cold water droplets that landed on her fur. She drank in the air. "This is Lynxstar's den. I thought she would sleep in the warriors' den," Mousepaw mewed.
"I heard that the leaders always get a special den to themselves," Dovepaw answered. "And I never see Lynxstar there, in the warriors' den."
"That doesn't mean she can't be sleeping in there!" Mousepaw sniffed the air. "Someone's coming! Hide!" She dove behind the nest, and Dovepaw hid in the dark shadows of the den. Dovepaw crouched as low as she could and listened. Paw steps were approaching slowly. Dovepaw had to take slow breaths; her breathing quickened into panicked gasps.
"I smell cats . . ." It was Lynxstar. She was slowly walking into the den, her eyes narrowed playfully. She clearly knew it was her kits. "Plump, juicy ones. I do fancy one for a meal." She passed her tongue over her lips. She paused, staring at the shadows where Dovepaw hid, and leaped at her.
Dovepaw yelped happily. She darted away from Lynxstar and to Mousepaw. "She's a fox! Get her!"
Dovepaw's heart skipped a beat. This was her only chance to be a warrior before she became a medicine cat apprentice! She jumped on her mother, claws unsheathed so she could hang onto her mother's long fur. Mousepaw landed on Lynxstar's head and batted at it viciously with her forepaws. Lynxstar collapsed on the ground dramatically. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was half-open.
"Ha ha! We got it!" Mousepaw declared. "I am the most powerful warrior any cat has ever seen!"
"Playing games, are you now, Lynxstar?" Acornshade, a pretty tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat, came into the den with a sparkle of amusement in her eyes. She still looked mournful after Softcloud, her kit, died.
Lynxstar opened her eyes and sat up. "Well . . . er . . ." She licked her ruffled chest fur quickly. "I was telling these apprentices to leave."
"She was a fox!" Mousepaw squealed, standing in front of her mother.
"She was going to eat us!" Dovepaw added.
Acornshade purred. "Well, I have to talk with this fox," she mewed. She had a glimmer of bittersweet laughter in her eyes. She must have been remembering when her two kits were playing in the nursery.
Lynxstar nodded. "Off you go." She nudged Dovepaw and Mousepaw away with her tail.
Mousepaw and Dovepaw raced out of the den. "Bye!" Mousepaw called over her shoulder. They ran to the middle of the camp and stopped, panting. "Nursery! I miss all the scents and the peacefulness of it."
"Tawnyflight and Softcloud's kits are in there," Dovepaw reminded her, flicking her tail over her sister's ear.
"I'm sure she'll welcome us." Mousepaw darted away before Dovepaw could stop her.
Wait! That's the warrior's den! Dovepaw opened her mouth to warn her sister but it was too late. Her sister disappeared in the den. Dovepaw hissed softly and limped after Mousepaw. "Mousepaw! This is the—"
"Shh! Sparrowfeather's sleeping!" Mousepaw was sneaking out of the den. She brushed past Dovepaw, looking back. She let out a small gasp when an unsheathed claw snagged at her tail, stopping her.
Sparrowfeather let out a low growl in his sleep as if he was having a bad dream. Dovepaw stared, expecting something to happen. She almost forgot about Mousepaw, but her sister had already gotten free. Sparrowfeather opened his eyes. They were a green glow-in-the-dark color. "Apprentices in the den!" he exclaimed, sort of sleepily. He shook himself and bared his teeth. "Out! How can I get a blink of sleep with you two running around like foxes in a fit?"
Dovepaw and Mousepaw let out a squeak of alarm and raced out of the den. The patrol that was just coming back walked right in their path and Dovepaw crashed into Dawnsplash. She looked up at the pretty ginger-and-white she-cat. "I'm sorry! It's just—Sparrowfeather—"
Snowtail and Dawnsplash exchanged confused looks. "What do you mean, Sparrowfeather? Did he do something?"
Mousepaw was shaking with fear. "W-we wandered into the den a-and Sparrowfeather caught my tail in his t-teeth. And it really scared me!"
"And then he told us to go out. He bared his teeth at us!" Dovepaw exclaimed, hoping that the two young warriors would understand.
"He's been muttering in his sleep quite a lot these days," Blizzardpelt, who was Sparrowfeather's brother, muttered. "I tried to ask him once what was going on, but he just muttered something under his breath and left."
"Maybe Hareleap and Brownfur will tell us," Mousepaw suggested, nudging Dovepaw in the side. "Come on! Thanks," she added to Blizzardpelt.
Blizzardpelt seemingly didn't hear; he padded away with Frostfeather to the fresh-kill pile. The way they had their heads close together made Dovepaw suspicious. Did he love Lynxstar anymore? Did he love his kits? Maybe I'm being overly dramatic. He and Frostfeather just friends, Dovepaw thought. Her worries were quickly forgotten as they entered the elder's den under a patch of briar.
Hareleap was lying down with his head on his paws a tail-length away from where his denmate, Brownfur, was snoring. "Good morning. What has brought you here? A story? You're much too grown for stories."
"Well, yes, basically." Mousepaw tipped her head to one side as she continued cautiously. "We're worried about Sparrowfeather . . ." She continued to tell Hareleap what she and Dovepaw had seen.
"Hm . . ." Hareleap drifted into deep thought. Brownfur scrambled to his paws as if something had startled him. "Oh, hello, Brownfur," Hareleap rasped kindly. "These two wanted to know something about Sparrowfeather."
Brownfur's green eyes stretched wide. "Oh, of course. I know something about him. Something terrible. It happened when I was a young warrior."
Mousepaw and Dovepaw exchanged excited glances. Mousepaw's blue eyes sparkled with anticipation. They sat down on the hard ground and began to listen to Brownfur's story.
"One day, it was raining so hard, you could barely see your nose in front of you. Four apprentices, Sparrowpaw, Blizzardpaw, Softpaw, and her brother, Rainpaw, had gone out on their own. I don't think their mentors knew anything about them leaving."
Sparrowfeather, Blizzardpelt, Softcloud, and her brother Rainpaw. I wonder if Rainpaw's death had anything to do with Sparrowfeather, Dovepaw thought, glancing at Mousepaw, whose eyes were stretched wide with wonder.
Brownfur continued, looking around quickly as if he were scared of something. "I can bet you a moon of dawn patrols that I heard a blood-curdling screech from some cat—a young cat—through the thunder and rain. That's when Sparrowpaw came into the camp. Rosefeather and Owlheart greeted him. Hareleap and I heard a little bit of Sparrowpaw's and Rosefeather's conversation. Hareleap, can you tell them what they were saying?"
Hareleap nodded. "Rosefeather asked him where he had been. Then she asked him why he had blood on his muzzle. I was shocked to hear it. My heart nearly burst from my chest when I realized that the screeching cat was Rainpaw. 'It must have been Sparrowpaw that killed Rainpaw!' I had thought." He looked at his paws. "I never told anyone, not even Thistlestar, the leader before Lynxstar. Maybe it's time I did."
Dovepaw and Mousepaw gasped. "So Sparrowfeather killed Softcloud's brother?" How could he do such a thing?
"Yes," Brownfur confirmed.
"You should definitely tell Lynxstar. Who knows what Sparrowfeather will do next?" Dovepaw asked, determination rising in her chest.
"Oh, no. Sparrowfeather is perfectly fine now. He is a loyal warrior, and I believe he would never do anything to harm this Clan," Hareleap explained. "He is my son, after all. My blood runs in his veins."
"What? No, but I saw e—ow!" Dovepaw was cut off by Mousepaw, who stomped on her tail. "What in the name of StarClan was that for?"
"You know what happens when you argue with the elders!" Mousepaw warned, her blue eyes wide with scorn.
"That's a story that the older cats made up to scare kits!" Dovepaw exclaimed. She turned back to Hareleap. "As I was saying," she growled, glaring at Mousepaw, "I saw evil in Sparrowfeather's eyes! Pure evil!"
"Impossible! Sparrowfeather merely made a mistake when he was an apprentice, he said it himself," Brownfur mewed, his raspy laugh rattling in his throat.
"He's a liar! He's evil! Pure evil!" Dovepaw retorted. She knew that if Sparrowfeather's treachery was not noticed by even the smartest cats, then they would be crow-food. Anger rose in her, overwhelming her. "You should have noticed before me. Otherwise, you're a mouse-brain!"
Hareleap curled his lip, revealing sharp yellow teeth. Brownfur's eyes widened in shock. "Go back to your den," Hareleap meowed, obviously trying to stay calm.
Dovepaw was the first to leave. Mousepaw scrambled after her. "What was that for? You could've gotten in more trouble than that!"
Dovepaw whirled around to face the brown tabby she-cat. Her fur was hot with fury. "You don't understand! This is serious, it's not just a game that we used to play in the nursery! So stay away from me if you don't care at all!"
Mousepaw's worried look faded into hurt. "You don't mean it, Dovepaw." She stared at her sister intently, her gaze unwavering.
Dovepaw looked at her paws. "I-I'm sorry. I just lost my temper. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. . . ."
Mousepaw's eyes widened. She stepped forward and nuzzled her sister. "Okay. I forgive you. And I understand that you're angry."
"All cats old enough to catch prey come gather beneath the Snowrock!" Lynxstar's voice echoed around the camp. Cats streamed from their dens and gathered around the large rock that towered above them from the pool in the center of the camp. Dovepaw and Mousepaw raced each other.
When the Clan was silent, Lynxstar continued. "As you all know, our apprentice Dovepaw was injured in the river. She can no longer walk properly, which means that she is incapable of performing warrior duties. Dovepaw, come forward."
Dovepaw glanced at Mousepaw and stepped forward, gazing up at her mother. "From this day until you receive your Clan name, Dovepaw, you will be the apprentice of Badgertooth."
Badgertooth, who was sitting at the edge of the crowd, stepped forward and gently touched noses with his new apprentice.
The Clan burst into cheers. "Dovepaw! Dovepaw!"
Dovepaw gazed over the Clan, pride swelling in her chest. She looked at Badgertooth, who was gazing at her with proud blue eyes. "You will make the Clan proud," he promised. "Even if you can't be a warrior."
Dovepaw purred. "Thank you. I'll make you proud, I promise."
"You don't have to promise. I already know you will." Badgertooth flicked his tail. "Come, I'll show you around the medicine den, and then I can show you all of the herbs I use."