Sign Of The Moon

Ivypaw stared at her, puzzled. “But you’re not like the rest of us,” she pointed out.

“Quiet!” Lionblaze warned them. He had just noticed Firestar emerging from Jayfeather’s den, where he must have been visiting Icecloud.

The ThunderClan leader darted across the clearing, leaping across the beech boughs in his way, and ran up the tumbled rocks to stand on the Highledge. His flame-colored pelt glowed, a spot of warmth in the cold leaf-bare light.

“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting,” he announced.

The cats already in the clearing sat down facing the Highledge. Molekit and Cherrykit frisked about at the front of the group until Poppyfrost gathered them with a sweep of her tail and made them sit quietly. Daisy and Ferncloud appeared at the entrance to the nursery and sat with their pelts brushing. Mousefur poked her head out from the beech branches that enclosed the elders’ den, then emerged into the open with Purdy hard on her paws. Foxleap padded out from the medicine cat’s den, while Jayfeather pushed back the bramble screen so Briarlight could watch from the entrance. Sandstorm, Dustpelt, Cloudtail, and Sorreltail all slid out of the warriors’ den and found places at the foot of the cliff; Sorreltail lifted one hind paw and scratched her ear, as if she was chasing a flea.

Firestar raised his tail for silence. “Cats of ThunderClan,” he began, “I think you’ve all heard about Icecloud’s accident. She fell into a hole and dislocated her shoulder, but Jayfeather put it back in place.” Firestar’s tone was firm and reassuring; Lionblaze saw how well he understood his Clan’s fears after what happened to Briarlight. “Jayfeather says she will need to rest,” Firestar continued, “but she should only be off her paws for a quarter moon.”

Murmurs of relief rose from the assembled cats; a couple of them called out, “Jayfeather! Jayfeather!”

“I’ll check the hole myself later on,” the Clan leader continued. He shot a glance at Lionblaze from glowing green eyes, clearly asking Lionblaze to guide him there; Lionblaze replied with a nod. “Meanwhile, Dustpelt and Brackenfur, you’re the best at building. I want a solid barrier around that hole by sunset today. We can’t fill it in, and we don’t want any other cats falling down there.”

“Sure, Firestar,” Dustpelt called. “We’ll get to it as soon as Brackenfur returns from patrol.”

“And don’t either of you two dare go anywhere near the hole,” Poppyfrost warned her kits, reinforcing her words with a flick of her tail around their ears.

“Like we can!” Molekit complained. “We’re not even allowed out of the hollow.”

“And that’s totally unfair,” his sister agreed.

“There’s another reason that I called the Clan together,” Firestar went on. “Two apprentices completed their warrior assessments today.”

A ripple of excitement ran through the cats; Ivypaw’s eyes were shining, but Dovepaw just studied her paws. A pang of worry shot through Lionblaze and he glanced at Spiderleg, but the black warrior’s face was expressionless, giving nothing away.

I hope Spiderleg’s not too hard on her, he thought, wishing he had managed to consult the black warrior before the meeting.

“Cinderheart?” Firestar waved his tail, inviting Ivypaw’s mentor to speak.

The gray warrior rose to her paws. “Ivypaw works hard,” she began. “Her battle training in particular is exceptional. Her hunting could still use some work, though. When she was hunting alone today she caught a vole, but it was a messy catch: She let the vole get downwind of her and it nearly escaped.” The gray warrior turned and dipped her head politely to Millie. “What do you think?” she asked.

Millie rose in her turn and took a step forward to stand beside Cinderheart. “Yes, I agree,” she meowed. “And when Ivypaw was hunting with Hazeltail, she seemed embarrassed to be telling her what to do. She’ll have to shape up if she’s ever put in charge of a patrol.” She cast a kind glance at Ivypaw, who was listening with wide, troubled eyes. “But Hazeltail and Ivypaw worked well together. They caught two mice, and they were really neat catches. The mice never had a chance!” Her voice grew warm. “In my opinion, Ivypaw deserves to become a warrior of ThunderClan. We’re lucky to have her!”

A chorus of approving yowls broke out, while Dovepaw gave her sister’s ear a lick. “Congratulations,” she purred. “Millie’s right. You do deserve it.”

Ivypaw’s eyes glowed with relief. “I was so scared when Cinderheart said that about the vole,” she confessed. “It was a really awful catch.”

“Lionblaze?” The Clan grew quiet again as Firestar spoke. “What about Dovepaw?”