Path Of A Warrior

Heatherstar looked thoughtful. “I heard about the fight, although the story I heard was a bit different,” she meowed. She paused, and Redtail’s chest suddenly felt tight with fear. Will she tell Sunstar what really happened? But after a moment, the WindClan leader went on. “Mistakes will happen from time to time, especially with apprentices. Warriors should be patient with them.” Is she looking at me? Redtail wondered. He couldn’t tell. “But of course, the borders must be honored,” Heatherstar went on. “I know Sunstar will agree to put this behind us so we can avoid further conflict.”

In the crowd below, Tigerclaw laid back his ears. “Is she calling Sunstar weak?” he murmured to Thistleclaw beside him, in a meow that was just a bit too loud.

Sunstar clearly heard him, and the fur on his shoulders rose. “If WindClan will get its cats in line and have them show some respect, there won’t be a reason to fight,” he hissed.

Surprised rumblings rose from the crowd.

“Is Sunstar threatening WindClan?” a small white RiverClan tom asked, his eyes wide.

“It’s time we showed the other Clans they can’t cross ThunderClan’s boundaries without consequences,” Thistleclaw replied, and Tigerclaw nodded.

All across the clearing, fur was rising, and hisses and grumbling broke through the usual friendly chatter of the Gathering. Redtail’s chest felt hollow. Was this full-moon Gathering going to end in a battle? Surely it couldn’t. The Gathering was always a time of peace.

Up on the Great Rock, Cedarstar flicked his dark gray tail. “Do we really need to air all these petty grievances at a Gathering? Some of us have business back in our own camps.”

“I agree.” Crookedstar, probably relieved to avoid getting caught up in a fight after several moons of peace with ThunderClan, leaped from the Great Rock. “RiverClan cats, follow me!”

As the RiverClan cats began to stream out of camp, Redtail quickly made his way across the clearing toward Stagleap. The big tom might not want to talk to Redtail. He might want to tear his pelt off—and I’d deserve it, Redtail thought miserably—but Redtail had to find out if Sorrelpaw was okay.

“Was Sorrelpaw too hurt to come to the Gathering?” he asked as soon as he was close to Stagleap.

Stagleap turned, looking startled. “She’s sore, but she’ll be all right,” he replied. “No thanks to you.”

“I didn’t want to hurt her,” Redtail mewed apologetically. “I was just doing my duty.”

“Your duty?” Stagleap repeated. He stared at Redtail for a long moment before he spoke again. “You haven’t been a warrior very long, have you, Redtail? Warriors are supposed to teach apprentices, not hurt them. Even other Clans’ apprentices. Your duty was to scold her and send her home, or to wait for me to come and show her where she’d gone wrong.”

“Tigerclaw was right that we had to defend our boundary,” Redtail insisted, bristling, but he still felt hollow with guilt.

“What threat was Sorrelpaw to ThunderClan?” Stagleap hissed. “I know Tigerclaw’s style. I knew before you told me that it must have been you who fought Sorrelpaw, because Tigerclaw would have torn her apart.”

Tear her apart. Redtail’s stomach twisted, remembering Tigerclaw’s instructions. “No,” he murmured. “Tigerclaw’s … just a brave warrior. A good warrior.”

Stagleap narrowed his eyes. “He’s brave, sure. But there’s more to being a good warrior than fighting.”

Redtail felt uncertain and off balance. “I’m worried that what happened is going to cause a battle between our Clans,” he mewed. “Sunstar and Heatherstar seem really angry.”

Getting to his feet, Stagleap stretched, arching his back. “You’ve got more sense than your Clanmate, then. Much as I’d like to rip his fur off, I don’t want a battle either.”

“But what can we do?” Redtail felt helpless.

“Heatherstar’s a wise leader. She isn’t going to jump into a battle without a good reason,” Stagleap explained. “And I’ve always heard the same about Sunstar. When we get back to our camps, let’s talk to them. We’re the ones who were there; maybe we can make them see that we don’t have to fight over this.”

“Okay.” A wave of relief rushed over Redtail. Stagleap seemed so sensible, his gaze open and steady. Not like Tigerclaw, a little voice inside him said, but Redtail shook it off. Surely Tigerclaw would help him talk to Sunstar before a battle could begin. He’d gotten overenthusiastic about defending their borders, but no warrior wanted an unnecessary fight.

“ThunderClan cats, follow me!” Sunstar’s yowl cut across the clearing, and Redtail jumped.

“I’d better go,” he mewed. “Um. Thanks. I hope Sorrelpaw feels better.”

The big WindClan tom nodded. “Good-bye, Redtail.”

Redtail hurried along at the back of the group of ThunderClan cats returning to camp. Ahead, he could see Sunstar in the lead, Bluefur beside him. As he watched, Tigerclaw and Thistleclaw fell into step beside them.