Crowfeather's Trial

“I have no idea what got into Hootpaw.” Nightcloud still sounded cross. “He’s usually so sensible.”

“I know,” Harespring responded. “That’s why I believe him.” At Nightcloud’s annoyed expression, he continued. “Look, I’m not saying they were glowing white cats, but he must have seen something.”

“He did,” Crowfeather mewed thoughtfully. “I know because I saw something, too.”

“Oh, really, you ‘saw something’?” Nightcloud turned an incredulous gaze on him. “Not a glowing white cat, by any chance?”

“No.” Featherbrain. Crowfeather swallowed his anger, not wanting to get into an argument with Nightcloud. “But something white… like maybe a tail vanishing down the tunnel. There could have been another animal there.”

“But there aren’t any white animals on the moor,” Harespring objected. “Still… perhaps we should report it to Onestar.”

“What can he do about it?” Nightcloud asked.

“I’m not sure,” Harespring replied. “But we were told to check out this area, and that’s what we’ve found. Besides, suppose this is the start of some kind of trouble, and we didn’t report it. The Clan would be unprepared, and if anything terrible were to happen, it would be our fault. Onestar needs to know what’s going on in his own territory.”

Crowfeather was surprised to find himself murmuring in agreement. Harespring might not have been the deputy he would have chosen, but he had to admit that everything he’d just said was true. He gave Harespring a sideways glance. Maybe the tom wasn’t the worst deputy Onestar could have appointed after all.

Crowfeather picked up his pace until he caught up with the apprentices. Featherpaw was trudging along, carrying the rabbit Nightcloud had caught earlier; as she glanced up at Crowfeather, he could see the worry in her eyes.

“It’ll be okay, you know,” Crowfeather reassured her. “If there is anything in the tunnels, Onestar will help us figure out what to do about it.”

Featherpaw blinked at him. “I know,” she mumbled around her prey. “I just wish we could be sure what Hootpaw saw.”

“We will be soon,” Crowfeather responded. “And then, whatever it is, WindClan will deal with the problem.”

Featherpaw’s tail shot up in the air and her gaze cleared. “Yeah! WindClan can deal with anything.”

Crowfeather gave her an approving nod, reflecting on what a bright young cat she was. She would make a great warrior. He imagined how proud he would be if he were her father. But the thought made his gut twist, and he suddenly felt guilty, thinking of Breezepelt, and how he had a better relationship with his apprentice than his son.

Returning to the camp, Crowfeather spotted Onestar outside his den, stretched out in the pale sun of leaf-bare. He sat up alertly as Harespring led his patrol across the camp toward him. “Did you find anything down there?” he asked.

Harespring began to explain about the weird scent they had picked up near the tunnels, and how Hootpaw — and maybe Crowfeather — had seen something at one of the entrances.

“It was a ghost!” Hootpaw interrupted. “A shining white ghost cat!”

Onestar looked befuddled. “A ghost?” he echoed, twitching his whiskers in confusion.

Harespring explained what he had learned from Smoky at the horseplace about how he claimed he’d seen dead kittypets returning as shining white “ghosts.” Crowfeather could see that Onestar was listening carefully, but also that he didn’t believe a word of it.

“I can see you were all very brave,” the Clan leader told the apprentices when Harespring had finished. “But I don’t think there’s any such thing as a ‘ghost cat.’ Only StarClan. What you saw must have been a trick of the light, or your imagination.”

Hootpaw still looked mutinous, but he had enough sense not to argue with his Clan leader.

“It’s that weird scent that’s bothering me,” Onestar went on. “It seems like there must be something around the tunnels, and I don’t like the sound of that. I think we should organize another patrol to take a look inside and check it out.”

“I’ll take one now, if you like,” Harespring offered.

Onestar shook his head. “The sun will have gone down before you get there,” he responded. “It will have to be tomorrow. I expect some kind of animal has made its home in the tunnels,” he continued. “It wouldn’t be the first time that has happened, especially in the cold of leaf-bare. But if there is something living there, we need to drive it out. Those tunnels are ours.” Looking down reassuringly at the apprentices, he added, “Hootpaw, you did well to spot potential danger, but I don’t want any of you to go spreading wild stories around the camp. I want every cat to keep calm. There’s really nothing to worry about.”

Crowfeather was impressed by his leader’s authority and the way he comforted the apprentices, though he doubted that Hootpaw would be able to keep his mouth shut about what he had seen. Once the first shock was over, he would be too excited to keep quiet. And too fuzz-brained.