Fading Echoes

Rooting beneath the oak’s dripping branches was a fat gray squirrel. Its back was toward him and it was so intent on nibbling a nut that it didn’t even pause to sniff the air as Lionblaze dropped into a hunting crouch.

Whiskers stiff, tail just skimming the leafy ground, Lionblaze crept closer. A tail-length away he paused, waggled his hindquarters, and pounced. The squirrel struggled in his paws for a moment until he snapped its spine with a fast, clean bite. Pleased, he sat up with the fresh-kill hanging from his jaws.

A swish sounded above him. He looked up, his mouth full of squirrel fur. Two shapes dropped, landing one after another on his shoulders. He spat out the squirrel as his legs collapsed beneath him.

“We did it!” Dovepaw’s triumphant mew sounded close to his ear.

Lionblaze shook her off, letting Ivypaw slither from his back. “Deafening the enemy,” he meowed, his ears ringing. “Great strategy!”

Cinderheart scrambled down the trunk, looking pleased. “You didn’t have a clue we were up there, did you?” She glanced at the squirrel lying at his paws. “Nice catch, by the way.”

“Can we try it again?” Ivypaw begged.

“Why not?” Cinderheart flicked her tail back toward the trunk. “Up you go.”

Ivypaw leaped for the tree, but Dovepaw had stiffened and was staring, ears pricked, into the trees.

She’s heard something! Lionblaze could see anxiety darkening his apprentice’s eyes.

“You climb with Ivypaw,” he told Cinderheart quickly. “There’s a hunting technique I’ve been meaning to show Dovepaw.”

“Can I learn it too?” Ivypaw called.

“One at a time is easier,” Lionblaze lied. “I’ll show you another time.”

Ivypaw shrugged. “Okay.” She leaped up the trunk and disappeared into the branches with Cinderheart.

Beckoning with his tail, Lionblaze guided Dovepaw away from the oak. “What did you hear?” he demanded once he was sure they were out of earshot.

“Dogs!”

The fur rose along Lionblaze’s spine. “In the forest?”

Dovepaw shook her head. “In WindClan territory.”

“That’s okay. Twolegs use dogs to chase sheep up there,” Lionblaze explained.

But Dovepaw’s eyes were still round. “They’re not chasing sheep; they’re chasing cats.” She stared in alarm at Lionblaze. “We have to help them.”

“No.” Lionblaze was firm. “WindClan cats are used to it. Don’t forget they can outrun rabbits if they want. They’ll be fine.”

“But Sedgewhisker is one of the cats being chased!” She froze, her eyes suddenly wild. “One of the dogs has caught up to her! It’s biting her!”

Lionblaze stiffened. “Where are her Clanmates?”

Dovepaw frowned. “They’re with her…” She spoke slowly, describing the scene as it happened. “They’re attacking the dog.”

Lionblaze let out a sigh of relief. “Then Sedgewhisker will be safe.”

“How do you know that?” Dovepaw hissed.

Lionblaze’s heart sank. He’d been waiting for something like this to happen. Dovepaw was clinging to the friendships they’d made on the long journey; Sedgewhisker had traveled with them to destroy the beavers’ dam. Dovepaw had to understand that they were back in their own territories now. “We’re home,” he told her. “Your loyalty lies with your own Clan. You can’t be as close to Sedgewhisker or the others as you were before.”

Dovepaw stared at him. “Why not?”

“Because the warrior code tells us we shouldn’t make friends outside our Clan.”

Her blue eyes flashed. “How can you be so cold?”

“I’m not being cold!” Lionblaze insisted. “Things have changed.”

“I haven’t changed,” Dovepaw snapped. “I’m the same cat I was on the journey upstream.” She kneaded the ground with her front paws. “What’s the use of knowing what’s happening far away if I can’t do something about it?”

“Maybe you should figure out how to limit your senses to ThunderClan territory,” he suggested.

Dovepaw looked at him as though he’d grown another head. “The prophecy is bigger than the warrior code, right?”

Lionblaze nodded, wary of where she was heading.

“So my powers aren’t just for ThunderClan’s benefit, are they?”

“We’re ThunderClan cats,” he reminded her. “That’s where our loyalties should lie.”

Dovepaw glared at him. “So am I loyal to the prophecy, or the warrior code?” The fur fluffed around her ears. “You and Jayfeather had better make your minds up before I decide myself.” Without waiting for an answer, she pelted back to the oak and disappeared up the trunk after Cinderheart and Ivypaw.

Lionblaze watched her go, his heart sinking. He was only just beginning to understand Jayfeather’s abilities; now he was faced with another cat whose powers were beyond anything he could imagine. Stretching his ears, he strained to listen as hard as he could, but all he could hear was rain pattering on the dying leaves.

Ivypaw’s mew sounded from high in the oak. “This branch keeps bobbing in the wind.”

“Just hang on tight,” Cinderheart advised.

“It’s making me feel sick!”