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“Shh!” growled Fireheart. “Let’s get out of here.” Cloudpaw fell silent, although his eyes still shone. The three cats raced side by side to the slope that led down into Fourtrees, out of WindClan territory.
“Did you see Cloudpaw fight?” Sandstorm whispered to Fireheart as they jumped from rock to rock.
“Just at the end, when he helped you drive off Mudclaw.”
“But before that?” meowed Sandstorm. Her voice, though quiet, was warm. “He saw that WindClan apprentice off in about three rabbit hops. The poor tabby was terrified.”
“Webpaw has probably just started training,” Fireheart suggested generously, feeling a glow of pride in his apprentice all the same.
“But Cloudpaw’s spent the last moon shut up in a Twoleg nest!” Sandstorm pointed out. “He’s completely out of shape, but still…” She paused. “I really think, once he’s been trained, that Cloudpaw will make a great warrior.”
Cloudpaw’s mew piped up from behind them. “Hey! Come on; admit it! I was pretty good, wasn’t I?”
“And once he’s learned a little humility!” Sandstorm added, her whiskers twitching with amusement.
Fireheart said nothing. Sandstorm’s faith in Cloudpaw pleased him more than he could say, but he couldn’t get rid of the niggling doubt that his nephew would ever truly understand the warrior code.
They traveled swiftly through the forest, which was ringing with birdsong and thick with tempting smells of prey. But there was no time to stop and hunt. Fireheart wanted to be back at camp. Anxiety pricked at his paws, a sense of foreboding that was heightened by the stifling heat. The storm was closing in like a giant cat, preparing to pounce and crush the forest between its mighty paws. Fireheart picked up speed as they neared the camp and crashed down the ravine at full pelt, praying that Tigerclaw had stayed away. He raced through the gorse entrance, leaving Sandstorm and Cloudpaw to follow wearily behind, and emerged, panting, in the clearing. With a rush of relief that left him weak, Fireheart saw that the camp looked just as he had left it.
A few early waking cats were sunning themselves at the edge of the clearing. They looked up, and Fireheart saw their tails flick as they exchanged anxious glances.
Whitestorm padded up to Fireheart. “I’m glad you’re back safely.”
Fireheart dipped his head apologetically. “I’m sorry if I worried you. Ravenpaw came to find me because he said he’d found Cloudpaw.”
“Yes, Brightpaw told me what happened,” meowed Whitestorm.
As he spoke, Sandstorm and Cloudpaw padded from the gorse tunnel, and all the cats turned to stare in surprise at the white apprentice.
Sandstorm padded up to Fireheart and nodded a greeting to Whitestorm. Cloudpaw sat down next to her, curling his tail over his paws and respectfully lowering his eyes.
Whitestorm’s gaze flickered over the apprentice. “We thought you’d gone to live with Twolegs.”
“Yes,” Darkstripe’s mew sounded lazily across the clearing. The striped warrior lay outside his den. “We understood you decided to return to kittypet life.” He pushed himself to his paws and padded to Whitestorm’s side. The other cats watched silently with curious, unblinking eyes as they waited for Cloudpaw’s answer. Fireheart felt his paws prickle with anxiety.
Cloudpaw raised his chin. “I was stolen by the Twolegs!” he announced dramatically.
A murmur of surprise rippled through the Clan; then Ashpaw dashed forward and touched noses with Cloudpaw. “I told them you wouldn’t have wanted to leave!” he mewed.
Cloudpaw nodded. “I hissed and spat and fought, but the Twolegs took me anyway!”
“Typical Twolegs!” Speckletail called from outside the nursery.
Fireheart stared in amazement. Was Cloudpaw going to win the sympathy of the Clan with his one-sided tale?
“I was lucky Ravenpaw found me,” the apprentice went on, letting a desperate edge enter his voice. “He came to get Fireheart to rescue me. If it weren’t for Fireheart and Sandstorm, I’d still be trapped in the Twoleg nest with that dog!”
“Dog?” Patchpelt’s horrified yowl sounded from the fallen oak.
“Did he say dog?” rasped One-Eye, who lay next to him.
“I did,” answered Cloudpaw. “It was loose in the nest with me!”
Fireheart watched as the elders’ eyes filled with alarm.
Ashpaw’s tail flicked in outrage. “Did it attack you?” he meowed.
“Not exactly,” Cloudpaw admitted. “But it did bark a lot.”
“You can tell your denmates all the details later,” Fireheart interrupted him. “You need to rest. All the Clan needs to know for now is that you’ve learned from your experience and that from now on you will follow the warrior code.”
“But I haven’t got to the bit about meeting the WindClan patrol!” objected Cloudpaw.
“A WindClan patrol?” Darkstripe lifted his cold gaze from Cloudpaw to Fireheart. “That explains that scratch on your nose, Fireheart. Did they chase you off?”
Sandstorm glared at the striped warrior. “We chased them off, actually! And Cloudpaw fought like a warrior.”
“Did he?” Whitestorm eyed Cloudpaw with surprise.
“He beat a WindClan apprentice by himself and then helped Sandstorm send Mudclaw running for home,” Fireheart put in.
“Well done.” Mousefur dipped her head to Cloudpaw. Cloudpaw nodded back graciously.
“Is that it?” asked Darkstripe. “Do we just take him back?”
“Well,” began Whitestorm slowly, “that will be for Bluestar to decide, of course. But ThunderClan needs warriors more than ever before. I think we would be foolish to send Cloudpaw away now.”
Darkstripe snorted. “How can we trust this kittypet not to run off again when things get tough?”
“I’m no kittypet. And I didn’t run away,” hissed Cloudpaw. “I was stolen!”
Fireheart saw Darkstripe flex his claws angrily. “Darkstripe’s point is a fair one,” he conceded, reluctantly accepting that the tabby warrior’s misgivings might be shared by the rest of the Clan. It would take more than fine words to persuade the Clan that they should trust this apprentice again. “I’ll go and speak with Bluestar,” he meowed. “Whitestorm is right. It’s up to her to decide.”
CHAPTER 22
“Fireheart?” Bluestar looked up as he pushed his way through the lichen. She was still huddled in her nest, her fur ruffled and her eyes anxious. Fireheart couldn’t help wondering if she’d moved at all since he’d seen her last.
“Cloudpaw is back,” he announced. He had no idea how Bluestar would react to any news nowadays, so he might as well tell her straight out. “He was in the Twoleg territory beyond the uplands.”
“And he found his way back from there?” asked Bluestar in surprise.
Fireheart shook his head. “Ravenpaw saw him and came to tell me where he was.”
“Ravenpaw?” Confusion flickered in the old cat’s eyes.
“Er…Tigerclaw’s old apprentice,” Fireheart reminded her awkwardly.
“I know who Ravenpaw is!” snapped Bluestar. “What was he doing in ThunderClan territory?”
“He came to tell me about Cloudpaw,” Fireheart repeated.
“Cloudpaw,” echoed Bluestar, tipping her head slightly to one side. “He’s back? Why did he come back?”
“He wanted to rejoin the Clan. The Twolegs took him against his will.”
“So StarClan led him home,” murmured Bluestar.
“Ravenpaw helped,” Fireheart added.
Bluestar stared at the sandy floor of the den. “I thought StarClan wanted Cloudpaw to find a life outside the Clan.” Her voice was thoughtful. “Perhaps I was wrong.” She turned to Fireheart. “Ravenpaw helped you?”
“Yes. He led us to where Cloudpaw was shut in. He even saved us from dogs.”
“What did Ravenpaw say when you told him about Tigerclaw’s treachery?” Bluestar demanded suddenly.
