The Fourth Apprentice

“Cats of ThunderClan,” Firestar began when the excited murmuring had died into silence. “At the Gathering last night, all four Clans decided to send two cats to explore the stream and find out if it really is blocked. I’ve decided that Lionblaze and Dovepaw will go to represent ThunderClan.”

Even before Firestar had finished speaking, yowls of indignation rose into the still morning air.

“She’s an apprentice!” Thornclaw protested. “We should send a strong warrior who can cope with the danger.”

“Yeah, what’s so special about her?” Berrynose added.

But all the disapproving voices were drowned out by Ivypaw’s distraught wail. “Why do you get to go when I can’t? Why doesn’t Firestar send another warrior?”

“It’s not because Firestar likes me better, or anything,” Dovepaw reassured her sister. Jayfeather heard her pad over to Ivypaw and try to give her ear a comforting lick, but Ivypaw jerked away from her. “It’s just that I was the first cat to think about something blocking the stream.”

Jayfeather felt guilt flowing over her as she remembered that she was keeping her special senses, and everything she knew about the prophecy, a secret from her sister. She’ll have to get used to it, that’s all.

“I know,” Ivypaw mewed wretchedly. “But I thought we would always do everything together.”

“I wish we could, but we can’t,” Dovepaw replied.

“That’s enough!” Squirrelflight’s voice rose above the clamor of the protesting cats. “Firestar has made his decision. It’s not for us to question it.”

“That’s right,” Graystripe agreed. “Do you trust your leader or not?”

Gradually the noise died down, and Firestar spoke again. “Lionblaze and Dovepaw will leave at the next sunrise. The meeting is over.”

The crowd of cats broke up into groups, muttering together among themselves. For a few heartbeats Jayfeather lost track of Dovepaw, then located her near the fresh-kill pile with Icecloud and Foxleap. Picking up a surge of anxiety from the apprentice, he padded over to join them.

“How come you get chosen to go?” Foxleap was asking as Jayfeather approached. “How did you know about the stream, anyway?”

“Did you have a dream from StarClan?” Icecloud added eagerly. “What did they say to you?”

Jayfeather could tell that Dovepaw was beginning to panic. “So what, if she did have a dream?” he snapped, flicking his tail in Icecloud’s direction. “That’s between her and Firestar. Now, if you’ve nothing better to do, you can go down to the lake and get some water for the elders.”

He heard an annoyed hiss from Foxleap, but the two young warriors turned and padded off without arguing.

“He talks to us as if he was our mentor,” Icecloud complained in a whisper as they headed for the thorn tunnel.

“Jayfeather, I don’t know what to tell them!” Dovepaw meowed as soon as the warriors were out of earshot. “I didn’t have a dream, you know I didn’t! I can hear those brown animals, sense them, just like I knew what Lionblaze was doing by the lake.”

Jayfeather twitched his whiskers. “I know,” he replied. “But only Lionblaze and I will understand that. As far as the other cats are concerned, this was a dream. Understand?”

Dovepaw hesitated. “I don’t like lying to them,” she meowed.

Jayfeather could feel her bewilderment, and he understood that her supersharp senses were perfectly natural to her. But she was being way too stubborn and narrow-minded. Frustration stabbed at him, sharp as a thorn. “Don’t you want to be special?” he demanded. “Don’t you like being chosen for a destiny greater than your Clanmates?”

“No, I don’t!” Dovepaw spat back at him, then seemed to remember who she was talking to. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “I don’t like keeping secrets from my Clanmates, that’s all.”

“Then don’t talk about it,” Jayfeather advised. He sensed that the apprentice was about to go on arguing, when he scented Brightheart approaching. Dovepaw took the chance to scamper away across the clearing to where her sister was sitting outside the apprentices’ den.

“Hi, Jayfeather,” the she-cat called. “Do you want me to go and collect some traveling herbs for the journey?”

“Thanks, Brightheart, that would be great,” Jayfeather replied. His mind began to race. He knew Brightheart was waiting for him to tell her what herbs she needed to look for.

Mouse dung! I’m not sure I can remember.

This would be the first time he had prepared the traveling-herbs mixture on his own. He tried to think what Leafpool had done when Brambleclaw and the rest left to search for Sol, but he was distracted by another, deeper worry. I wish Lionblaze and Dovepaw weren’t both going on the quest. What if they don’t come back? The prophecy will never be fulfilled if I’m the only one left!