The Fourth Apprentice

Toadfoot scuffled his forepaws on the dusty ground. “I was only a kit then,” he mumbled. “I don’t remember much.”

“Try,” Brambleclaw advised him drily. When there was no response from Toadfoot, he let his gaze sweep around to take in all the other cats. “Keep to the stream so that you can find your way back easily,” he instructed them. “Don’t get distracted; don’t let foxes or kittypets chase you off course—”

“As if!” Toadfoot interrupted.

That cat is a real pain in the tail, Dovepaw thought. Brambleclaw has more traveling experience than any cat. Why can’t Toadfoot listen?

Brambleclaw fixed the ShadowClan warrior with a glare from his amber eyes. “Take time to rest and eat when you can,” he went on. “If you find the blockage, you won’t be able to do anything if you’re exhausted when you get there.”

Even though Dovepaw knew that Brambleclaw’s advice was good, she was starting to get impatient. She could hear the brown animals far up ahead, feel their scratching through the stones beneath her paws, and sense the effort they were making to hold the water back.

“Have you got ants in your pelt?” Lionblaze whispered.

“Sorry!” Dovepaw murmured, trying to keep still.

Brambleclaw stepped back to join the other deputies. Dovepaw glanced around, realizing that the cats who were to go on the quest were standing together for the first time. I hardly know their names! she thought, fighting back panic. Their different Clan scents filled her nose and made her feel dizzy; she drew closer to Lionblaze, feeling encouraged by how calm and strong he seemed among these restless, unfamiliar cats.

“May StarClan light your path,” Ashfoot meowed solemnly. “And bring you all home safe.”

Chapter 12

With the gazes of all four deputies on them, the patrol turned to leave and started to pad up the dry streambed. It wasn’t wide enough for them to all walk next to one another; before they had gone more than a few paw steps, Toadfoot pushed his way to the front.

“This is our territory, you know,” he growled.

It’s just as much our territory! Lionblaze thought indignantly. This stream is the border, mouse-brain! He was aware of Dovepaw beside him, bristling as if she expected him to protest, but he kept silent, giving her just a tiny shake of his head.

“Sorry.” The embarrassed mew came from Dovepaw’s other side as Tigerheart squeezed past her to join his Clanmate at the head of the patrol.

Lionblaze couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. It wasn’t Tigerheart’s fault that his Clanmate was being such a pain.

Following the ShadowClan cats’ lead, the other cats fell into Clan pairs too, with Dovepaw bringing up the rear beside Lionblaze. Her head and tail were dropping in disappointment, as if she hadn’t thought the journey would be so tense; Lionblaze guessed she’d looked forward to making friends with the cats from the other Clans.

“Don’t worry.” He bent his head to murmur into her ear. “It won’t always be like this. It’ll take a while to get to know the other cats.”

Dovepaw blinked at him. “We don’t have time to argue,” she whispered back. “Whatever is blocking the stream, the brown animals are adding to it, making it stronger. The water might be trapped forever!”

Lionblaze touched her flank with the tip of his tail. “Not if we can do anything about it,” he promised.

The streambed gradually became deeper, sheltered by crumbling banks of sand. Flat stretches of grass opened up on either side, and Lionblaze heard the strange thumping sounds and weird yowls of Twolegs up ahead.

“We’re getting to the Twoleg greenleafplace,” he mewed to Dovepaw. “Remember you heard the same sounds when I took you on your first tour of the territory?”

Dovepaw nodded. Her whiskers quivering with curiosity, she scrambled up the side of the stream before Lionblaze could stop her and peered over the top of the bank. Lionblaze sprang up beside her, his claws extended to drag her down again.

“They’re huge!” Dovepaw couldn’t hide a squeak of astonishment as she stared at the tall pink creatures that had no fur except for a tiny scrap on top of their heads. Three or four Twoleg kits were leaping about the clearing, throwing something brightly colored at one another, while the fully grown Twolegs sat outside the pelt-dens. They’re like moving trees, Lionblaze thought, his own curiosity making him forget the danger for a couple of heartbeats.

“Get down!” Toadfoot hissed furiously from behind them.

But it was too late. One of the Twoleg kits had spotted Dovepaw; she froze in horror as it ran toward her with its pink paws outstretched. Yowls came from the other Twolegs. The fully grown ones sprang to their hind paws and pounded across the clearing, where their kits were already gathering around.

“This way!” Toadfoot snapped.