Sign Of The Moon

“I’ll be fine,” Icecloud murmured, though she couldn’t put one forepaw to the ground, and her breath was coming in rapid gasps of pain. She leaned heavily on Foxleap as they headed toward the camp.

Cloudtail flanked Icecloud on the other side, glancing back with surprise in his blue eyes when Jayfeather didn’t move. The ThunderClan medicine cat was still leaning over the hole, his head cocked as if he was listening.

“Come on,” Cloudtail urged. “The others can bring Dovepaw up.”

Jayfeather hesitated, then followed.

Meanwhile, Birchfall and Spiderleg had passed the vine back to Dovepaw, and were preparing to haul her up. A moment later she scrabbled her way over the edge of the hole; Lionblaze bent down and tugged her the last tail-length by the scruff.

“Thanks!” Dovepaw panted, shaking earth out of her pelt. “It was horrible down there.”

Lionblaze was dying to ask her what she had seen in the tunnel, but he knew he couldn’t say anything, not in front of the other cats. Besides, if Dovepaw had seen a dead cat down there, they would have heard her screeching back in the stone hollow.

“What are we going to do about this hole?” Birchfall meowed. “We don’t want any other cat falling into it.”

“It’s too big to fill in,” Spiderleg commented. “And if we cover it up, the cover might give way if cats walked on it.”

“Maybe we can put something around it?” Blossomfall suggested.

“Good idea!” Lionblaze gave the young warrior an approving nod. “Let’s pile up sticks to surround it for now. Later on we can figure out how to build something more permanent.”

As they collected sticks and constructed the barrier, Lionblaze’s paws itched with longing to climb down into the hole and have a look around. But the other cats would have asked too many questions. He had to leave with the others when the barrier was finished, though he cast a reluctant glance over his shoulder as he followed them up the slope.

Dovepaw padded alongside him. Lionblaze could feel her curiosity about the tunnel, but he hadn’t decided yet how much he wanted to tell her. To his relief, as they headed for the old Thunderpath, her gaze fell on Spiderleg and she was instantly distracted.

“Oh, no!” she wailed. “I forgot about my assessment. I blew it, didn’t I?”

“I’m not sure,” Lionblaze admitted. “You weren’t at your best when you were hunting, but you did help to save Icecloud. You were very brave, going down into the hole like that.”

Looking dejected, Dovepaw glanced at Spiderleg again, but the black warrior was too far ahead to overhear. Lionblaze wanted to reassure her, but there was nothing he could tell her until he had consulted with Spiderleg. As they entered the stone hollow, Ivypaw dashed across the camp and skidded to a halt in front of Dovepaw.

“What happened?” she demanded. “Where have you been? What’s the matter with Icecloud?” she added. “I saw her limping into Jayfeather’s den.”

“She fell down a hole,” Dovepaw replied, launching into the story of what they had to do to get Icecloud out again.

Hazeltail came bounding up to listen, followed by Cinderheart and Millie. Brightheart and Bumblestripe pushed their way out of the warriors’ den and Molekit and Cherrykit bounced out of the nursery with Poppyfrost chasing after them. Mousewhisker, Berrynose, and Whitewing crowded at the back.

“I heard Icecloud fell into an underground river!” Bumblestripe meowed, interrupting Dovepaw’s story. “And you fell in after her.”

“No,” Whitewing argued. “Birchfall told me it was just a hole.”

“Dovepaw didn’t fall in.” Lionblaze was determined to defend his apprentice. “She climbed in to help Icecloud.”

“Wow, that was brave!” Bumblestripe gave Dovepaw an admiring glance.

“Maybe Icecloud’s back is broken, like Briarlight’s!” Berrynose gasped, his eyes wide with horror.

Brightheart flicked his ear with her tail. “Mouse-brain! She was walking into Jayfeather’s den.”

Dovepaw twitched her whiskers. “Do you want to know what really happened, or not?”

“It’s tough that you didn’t get to finish your assessment,” Bumblestripe mewed when Dovepaw had finished.

Dovepaw’s tail drooped, and her eyes grew anxious. “I know. Maybe Firestar won’t give me my warrior name.” Giving herself a shake, she turned to Ivypaw. “How did you do?” she prompted. “Who did the team hunting with you?”

“Hazeltail,” Ivypaw replied. Her eyes shone. “It was really great! We caught two mice.”

“Fantastic!”

Lionblaze could tell that Dovepaw was making an effort to be glad for her sister, but disappointment still weighed on her like snow on a branch. He was about to step in with a word of encouragement when Ivypaw leaned close to her sister and pressed her muzzle against Dovepaw’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry,” she murmured, so softly that only Dovepaw and Lionblaze could hear. “Firestar knows how important you are to the Clan. You don’t have to prove yourself by catching squirrels.”

Dovepaw shrugged her off. “I want to be judged like a normal cat for once!” she retorted.