Fire And Ice

“He is blind, and harmless.” A few cats snorted their displeasure, and Bluestar nodded to acknowledge their fears. “I am as concerned as you are for the safety of our Clan. But, StarClan knows, we cannot turn him out to die in the forest. Yellowfang will nurse him until his wounds heal. Once they have, we’ll discuss this again.”

Bluestar looked around, listening for voices from the crowd, but no cat spoke, so she leaped down from Highrock. As the cats dispersed Fireheart noticed that the leader was walking toward him.

“Fireheart,” she meowed. “One thing concerns me. You still haven’t settled things with Graystripe. I’ve not seen you eat together for days. I told you before, there’s no room for fighting within ThunderClan. I want you to hunt together today.”

Fireheart nodded. “Yes, Bluestar.” That was fine by him. And after yesterday’s battle, he felt hopeful that Graystripe would like the idea too. As Bluestar walked away, Fireheart scanned the clearing, hoping that Graystripe hadn’t disappeared again. No, there he was, helping to clear the snow from the nursery entrance.

“Hey, Graystripe,” Fireheart called. Graystripe carried on with his work. Fireheart bounded over to him. “Do you want to go hunting this morning?”

Graystripe turned to face him, his eyes cold. “Are you making sure I don’t disappear again?” he snarled.

Fireheart was startled. “N-no, I just thought…after yesterday…Clawface…”

“I would have done the same for any ThunderClan cat. That’s what Clan loyalty is about!” Graystripe’s meow was harsh with anger as he went back to pushing snow.

Fireheart’s hopes plummeted. Had he lost his friend’s trust forever? He turned away, tail down, and began to trudge through the snow toward the camp entrance. He called over his shoulder, “Bluestar told me to go hunting with you this morning, actually, so you can explain to her why you’re not coming.”

“Oh, I see, you were just trying to please Bluestar, as usual!” Graystripe hissed. Fireheart stopped and whipped around, ready to throw back a retort, but he paused when he saw that Graystripe was crossing the clearing toward him, shaking snowflakes from his wide shoulders.

“Come on, then,” Graystripe growled, leading the way through the gorse tunnel.

It was a slow climb out of the ravine, with the boulders covered in snow. When they reached the top, the icebound forest stretched before them. Graystripe charged away at once, his face set with grim determination. Fireheart followed him. As he tracked a mouse around the roots of an oak tree he saw Graystripe racing after a rabbit that had been foolish enough to stray from its burrow. Graystripe pelted furiously after the creature until he finished it off with a well-aimed pounce. Fireheart sat and watched as Graystripe padded back to him and dropped the rabbit at Fireheart’s paws.

“That should feed a kit or two.” He grunted.

“You don’t have to prove anything to me,” Fireheart told him.

“No?” Graystripe answered bitterly. His eyes met Fireheart’s, cold and angry. “Maybe you should start acting as if you trusted me, then.” He turned away before Fireheart could reply.

By sunhigh Graystripe had caught more than Fireheart, but both cats had done well. They returned to the camp, their jaws heavy with fresh-kill. They padded into the clearing and dropped their prey in the usual place. The spot had been empty so far.

Fireheart wondered if they should go out again. The snow was heavier now, and a cold wind was beginning to blow through the ravine. Fireheart was studying the darkening sky when he heard Brindleface’s worried meow near the nursery. He bounded over to see what was wrong. “What’s the matter?”

“Have you seen Cloudkit?” she demanded.

Fireheart shook his head. “Is he missing?” His paws prickled as Brindleface’s rising panic began to infect him.

“Yes. So are my other kits. I only closed my eyes for a moment. I just woke up and I can’t find them anywhere! It’s too cold for them to be out. They’ll freeze to death!” The queen swayed on her paws.

Alarm shot through Fireheart as he pictured the last time a young cat had disappeared from the camp. It had been Cinderpaw.

Chapter 28

“I’ll find them,” Fireheart promised. He automatically looked around for Graystripe. The wind was rising and the snow was growing thicker—he didn’t want to search alone. Fireheart rushed to the warriors’ den and pushed his way inside, but Graystripe wasn’t there.

Sandstorm was just waking up. “What’s wrong?” she meowed, seeing Fireheart peering around the den.

“Brindleface’s kits are missing.”

“Cloudkit too?” Sandstorm scrambled to her paws, instantly awake.

“Yes! I was looking for Graystripe so we could look for them together, but he isn’t here,” Fireheart meowed, his words tumbling out in a rush. He felt a stab of rage that Graystripe was missing yet again—right after accusing Fireheart of not trusting him!

“I’ll come with you,” Sandstorm offered.