The Fourth Apprentice

“We haven’t heard anything more,” Jayfeather told him. I’m certainly not going to give away Dovepaw’s secret! “You know as much as I do.”

Longtail sighed. “It’s not enough. No cat will be happy until they’re home safe.”

“I know, but there’s nothing—”

“Jayfeather!” The loud whisper interrupted what he had been about to say; Jayfeather detected Ferncloud’s scent and turned to face her.

“What’s the matter? Is some cat ill?”

“No, but we can’t find Poppyfrost. Have you seen her?”

Jayfeather didn’t bother reminding her that he couldn’t see anything. “She was asleep in the nursery earlier.”

“Well, she’s not there now.” Ferncloud sounded puzzled rather than worried.

“She hasn’t been here, either,” Longtail told her.

“I can’t find her anywhere!” Daisy pushed her way through the branches, nearly knocking Jayfeather onto Mousefur’s sleeping body. “She’s not in the apprentices’ den, and she hasn’t gone to make dirt, and—”

“It’s getting too crowded in here.” Jayfeather gave the she-cat a gentle push back toward the clearing. “If we’re not careful, we’ll wake Mousefur and Purdy, and then we’ll never hear the end of it.” As he herded Daisy and Ferncloud back into the clearing, he turned his head and meowed to Longtail, “If I find out anything about the blocked stream, I’ll let you know, I promise.”

“Thanks, Jayfeather,” the blind elder meowed.

Outside in the clearing, Jayfeather faced the two queens. “Right, tell me from the beginning.”

“When I woke up, Poppyfrost wasn’t in the nursery,” Daisy mewed. “Ferncloud didn’t know where she’d gone. We weren’t worried at first, but when she didn’t come back we started to look for her.”

“She’s not in the camp,” Ferncloud added.

Jayfeather wasn’t sure how worried he ought to be. Poppyfrost was at least a moon away from having her kits, so she wouldn’t do herself any harm if she had just gone for a walk.

“We ought to tell some cat,” Daisy suggested.

“But who?” Ferncloud asked reasonably. “Firestar has taken a patrol to fetch water; Brackenfur and Sorreltail are out hunting with Brambleclaw—”

“Cinderheart is training her apprentice,” Jayfeather added. And it won’t do any good to tell Berrynose, he thought, remembering how brusquely the cream-colored warrior had treated his mate when they met by the lake. “I don’t think you ought to worry,” he went on. “Poppyfrost has probably gone to stretch her legs, or maybe to get a drink of water.”

“You’re probably right,” Ferncloud meowed, sounding relieved.

Waves of anxiety were still coming from Daisy’s pelt, but she didn’t protest when Ferncloud urged her gently back to the nursery.

Jayfeather padded back to his den and headed for the storage cleft to sort out some herbs for Dustpelt. He hadn’t exactly been telling the truth when he told the tabby warrior he had plenty of what he needed to ease the stiffness in his back. He hadn’t wanted to admit that the stocks of tansy were getting dangerously low, in case Dustpelt refused to take any more.

His head deep in the storage cleft, Jayfeather sensed rather than heard movement outside the den. As he backed out, he picked up Daisy’s scent. “Come in, Daisy,” he mewed, stifling a sigh. He wasn’t surprised that she had come to see him; he knew she was making herself frantic over the absent queen.

The she-cat brushed past the bramble screen and halted in front of Jayfeather, her claws working in the dry ground. “I’m so worried about Poppyfrost! She’s been really down lately.”

“Why do you think that is?” Jayfeather asked, remembering what Cinderheart had told him. “There’s nothing the matter with her kits. They’re fine inside her; I’ve heard them squirming around. And the warriors are making sure she gets plenty of water and fresh-kill.”

“It’s not that,” Daisy meowed with an impatient flick of her tail. “It’s Berrynose. Poppyfrost thinks he doesn’t love her.”

Jayfeather stifled a groan. I really don’t have time for this! “Well, Berrynose did love Honeyfern first.”

Daisy let out a shocked gasp. “I can’t believe you said that, Jayfeather! It shouldn’t matter who Berrynose loved before, now that he’s with Poppyfrost.”

Jayfeather shrugged. “Maybe it does.” It seems logical to me. Every cat knows that Berrynose wanted Honeyfern for his mate, and then she was killed by the snake.

“Poppyfrost is afraid that Berrynose doesn’t want her or the kits,” Daisy went on. “She thinks he wants Honeyfern back.”

“Well, that’s not going to happen,” Jayfeather pointed out.

“I know that!” Daisy snapped. “But Poppyfrost isn’t being logical.”

You can say that again! Jayfeather sighed inwardly.

Daisy scraped the packed earth with her claws. “What if she’s decided to leave the Clan forever?”