Tigerclaw’s Fury

Tangleburr nodded. “Of course. Thanks, Tigerclaw. I… er… told Wetfoot that we’d meet them at the border just before sunhigh.” She blinked nervously. “If you said it was okay.”

Tigerclaw flicked the tip of his tail, just enough to warn Tangleburr that he knew she had promised help too easily. The she-cat looked down at her paws.

Mowgli was looking confused. “I thought you hated the Clans,” he meowed.

“Only ThunderClan,” Tigerclaw growled. “ShadowClan is suffering from sickness and hunger. If we are strong enough to help them, we will.”

Clawface padded past them, heading into the shade of the oak tree. “I might take a nap,” he muttered. “Before we practice battle moves.”

Tigerclaw blocked him with one paw. “Will you always be able to take a nap before an enemy attacks? No. You’ll train now, with the energy that you have. Understand?”

There was a flash of anger in Clawface’s eyes, then he nodded. “I understand, Tigerclaw.”

Good, whispered the voice in Tigerclaw’s mind. These cats must make no decisions on their own, not unless you want them to feel more powerful than you.

Tigerclaw felt his muscles tense across his shoulders. Never, he vowed silently.

The following day, as the sun reached the tops of the trees, Tigerclaw was gratified to see the relief in the eyes of the gray tabby tom waiting for them at the border.

“I thought you might change your mind,” Wetfoot gabbled as they drew near.

Tangleburr glanced sideways at Tigerclaw. “We will help you if we can,” she mewed carefully.

Tigerclaw stepped over the border. “Right, which way are we going first?”

A small, light brown cat pricked his ears. “Wetfoot’s leading this patrol,” he chirped.

Wetfoot quickly shook his head. “It’s fine, Oakpaw. Tigerclaw can lead us.”

A bony, black she-cat scraped the mulch on the ground. “My belly thinks my throat’s been slashed,” she muttered. “Are we hunting or talking?”

“Okay, Darkflower, keep your fur on,” teased Blackfoot, and Tigerclaw was reminded with a jolt that his companions—apart from Snag and Mowgli—knew these cats far better than he did, were friends and even kin with them. He couldn’t let that become a weakness for him.

“We’ll keep to the border with the wild woods,” he announced. “Follow me, and wait for my command to begin stalking.”

“We usually scent our own prey,” Oakpaw began, but Tangleburr cut in.

“Whatever you think best, Tigerclaw,” she meowed.

Tigerclaw plunged forward, relishing the feel of the ground beneath his paws, breathing in the green scents of the forest that swallowed him up. Behind him, the other cats matched him stride for stride; ahead of them stretched a swath of silent trees, swollen with prey just waiting to be caught.

“Why exactly did you leave ThunderClan?” meowed Applefur. The mottled brown she-cat was lying in a patch of sunlight, lazily flicking her tail.

Tigerclaw studied her, noticing the gleam of curiosity in her pale green gaze. He had just returned to the ShadowClan camp with another successful hunting patrol. The young warrior Russetfur had impressed him in particular—she had been raised in Twolegplace with Boulder, but she was as sharp and lethal as a forestborn cat when it came to chasing prey. Around him, ShadowClan cats ate peacefully, enjoying the feel of sun on their patchy coats. All except Nightstar, who was too sick to come out of his den; Tigerclaw could hear him coughing behind the screen of brambles.

He traced a line in the dust with one long claw. “You’ll hear enough rumors about me to make up your own stories,” he meowed.

Applefur blinked and let her cheek rest on the ground. “That’s why I’m asking you for the truth.”

Tigerclaw stood up and surveyed the clearing. “I cannot be loyal to a Clan that listens to a kittypet over its deputy. I still believe in the warrior code, even if my former Clanmates don’t.”

“Are you talking about Fireheart?” asked Ratscar, a young warrior with the claw mark that had given him his warrior name standing out against his dark brown fur.

Tigerclaw curled his lip. “If you don’t want another stripe in your pelt, you won’t mention his name around here,” he growled. He nodded to Blackfoot, who was talking to Fernshade. “Come, it’s time we left.”

A dark gray tom lifted his head from a pigeon he was sharing with the other elders. “Do you have to leave already?” he called. “The sun won’t set for a while. I was going to tell you about the time I found a badger stuck in the marshes.”

Tigerclaw made himself look disappointed. “Next time, Cedarheart, I’d love to hear that tale. My friends and I have imposed ourselves on your Clan for long enough today.” With a flick of his tail, he gathered his companions around him.

“You’ll come back tomorrow, won’t you?” mewed Runningnose, poking his head out of Nightstar’s den. “I… I thought you might arrange the hunting patrols for me. I need to look for more herbs across the border.”