Chapter Text
The moon was huge, a silver circle resting on a dark ridge of hills. Lionblaze’s fur prickled as something stirred on the ridge. A cat had appeared there, outlined against the moon. He recognized the broad head and tufted ears, and the tail with its bushy tip; even though the shape was black against the light, he knew the colors of its pelt: white with brown, black, and ginger blotches.
“Sol!” he hissed.
The figure smiled, but it soon melted into a hiss of malice. The outlined shape arched its back, then reared up on its hind paws, its forepaws stretched out as if it was about to rake its claws across the sky. It leaped upward, and as it leaped it swelled until it was so huge that it blotted out the moon and the blazing stars. Lionblaze crouched, ready to pounce. But his paws wouldn’t move. No matter how he shook he couldn’t take a step towards it. He could only watch as the loner grew, taller and taller until it blocked out every speck of light in the sky above.
Screeches of alarm rose up around him, a whole clan of hidden cats wailing their fear of the shadow cutting them off from the rest of the lake. Above the noise, a single voice rang out: “Lionblaze! Lionblaze! Come out!”
Lionblaze thrashed in terror and found his paws tangled in soft moss and bracken. Pale gray light was filtering through the branches of the warriors’ den. A couple of fox-lengths away, Brook was scrambling out of her nest, shaking scraps of moss from her pelt.
“Lionblaze!” The call came again, and this time Lionblaze recognized Birchfall’s voice, meowing irritably outside the den. “Are you going to sleep all day? We’re supposed to be hunting.”
“Coming.” Groggy with sleep, every hair on his pelt still quivering from his nightmare, Lionblaze headed toward the nearest gap between the branches. Before he reached it, his paws stumbled over the haunches of a sleeping cat, half hidden under the bracken.
Spiderleg’s head popped up. “Great Starclan!” he grumbled. “Can’t a cat get any sleep around here?”
“S-sorry,” Lionblaze stammered, remembering that Spiderleg had been out on a late patrol the night before; he had seen the black tom leave with Thornclaw and Ashfur as he was heading to his nest for the night.
Spiderleg snorted and curled up again, his amber eyes closing as he buried his nose in his fur.
“It’s okay,” Brambleclaw murmured, pressing himself briefly into Lionblaze’s shoulder. “Spiderleg’s mew is worse than his scratch.”
Lionblaze nodded gratefully, though he didn’t tell his father the real reason he was thrown off balance. Spiderleg didn’t bother him; it was the memory of the dream that throbbed through him from ears to tail-tip, making his paws clumsy and his thoughts troubled.
His gaze drifted over to his sister’s nest. He wanted to talk to her more than anything. But the nest was empty; Hollyleaf must have gone out on the dawn patrol. She had already begun staying out of camp when Sol was captured, but since the sick cats were moved to the twoleg nest, he had barely seen his sister for more than a few heartbeats. And of course Jaypaw had been busy, spending nearly every moment on his medicine cat duties. When would he be able to get them together again? He needed to speak to them, to explain what Sol had done to Shadowclan so they could make a plan to get him out. My fighting alone won’t be enough this time, he admitted.
Careful where he put his paws, Lionblaze pushed his way out of the den behind Brambleclaw. Outside, Birchfall was scraping the ground impatiently.
“At last!” he snapped. “What kept you?”
“Take it easy, Birchfall.” Brambleclaw sat down, wrapping his tail over his paws. His amber eyes were calm. “The prey won’t run away.”
“Not till they see us, anyway,” Cinderheart added as she bounded across from the fresh-kill pile.
“If there is any prey.” Birchfall lashed his tail. “It’s already leaf-bare, but with so many of our cats in the sick-den…”
Lionblaze’s grumbling belly told her that Birchfall was right. But still, he didn’t have to be such a grumpy fur-ball. Every cat was working hard. “Maybe the prey will start to come back now,” he suggested.
“Maybe,” Brambleclaw agreed. “We’ll head toward the Shadowclan border. I'd like to see if any cat is still there. Even if they aren't...we should keep up our markings.”
Lionblaze stiffened at the mention of Shadowclan. If Shadowclan is still around, will I see Sol? he wondered.
“I do hope we see some Shadowclan cats,” Cinderheart meowed, echoing his thought. “I'd like to know if they've really changed.”
“And if they’re still around.” Birchfall added darkly.
Lionblaze felt as if stones were dragging in his belly, weighing him down. It should be his job to stop this. No other cat even knew it was Sol’s fault!
“In any case,” Brambleclaw interrupted, rising to his paws, “this is a hunting patrol. We’re not going to pay a friendly visit to Shadowclan.”
“But they fought beside us,” Birchfall objected. “Windclan and Riverclan would have turned us into crowfood without the Shadowclan warriors. We can’t be enemies again so soon, can we?”
“Not enemies,” Cinderheart corrected. “But they’re still a different clan. Besides, I’m not sure we can be friends with cats who turn their backs on Starclan.”
What about our own cats, then? Lionblaze didn’t dare to ask the question out loud. Cloudtail has never believed in Starclan. But he knew without question Cloudtail was a loyal warrior who would die for any of his clanmates.
Brambleclaw said nothing, just gave his pelt a shake and kinked his tail to beckon the rest of the patrol. As they headed toward the thorn tunnel they met Brackenfur pushing his way into the hollow with Sorreltail, Brightheart, and Hollyleaf behind him. The dawn patrol had returned. As all three cats headed for the fresh-kill pile, Lionblaze darted across and intercepted his sister. “How did it go? Is there anything to report?”
“Not a thing,” Hollyleaf mewed, shaking her head. “All’s quiet on the Windclan border.”
“We’re going over toward Shadowclan territory.” Alone with his sister, Lionblaze could have confessed how worried he was. But Hollyleaf didn’t give him a chance.
“Keep an eye out for them then.” Her mew was brisk, and her gaze unfocused as she looked around camp. “Good luck. I need to catch up with Brackenfur to see what I should do today.”
Before Lionblaze could manage another word, the black she-cat had dashed off, spraying snow up in her wake. Cold seeped into Lionblaze’s nose in a matter of moments and he shook himself, trying to clear as much of it off as possible.
“Lionblaze!” He spun around to see Brambleclaw waiting beside the entrance to the thorn tunnel, the tip of his tail twitching impatiently. “Are you coming?”
“Sorry,” Lionblaze called as he raced across the clearing to join Brambleclaw. Gasping, he plunged into the tunnel behind the patrol. The morning had been raw and cold, but as Lionblaze padded through the forest with his clanmates the clouds began to clear away. Long claws of sunlight pierced the branches, sparking off the small lines of the white powder that had piled up onto the branches, making it look closer to ice than snow.
Brambleclaw led his patrol away from the lake toward the Shadowclan border, keeping well clear of the old Twoleg path and the abandoned nest where the clans had fought their battle, and which was now undoubtedly filled with the sounds of sputters and sneezes.
Cinderheart raised her tail for silence, and Lionblaze could hear the crisp sounds of a thrush knocking a snail shell against a stone. Peering over a clump of bracken, he spotted the bird: a fine fat one with its back turned to the group of cats, too intent on digging for its own prey to realize that hunters were creeping up on it.
Cinderheart dropped into the hunter’s crouch and glided over the forest floor, pausing to waggle her haunches before the final pounce. The movement alerted the thrush; flashing its beak back out of the ground, it let out a loud alarm call and launched itself into the air.
But Cinderheart was too fast for it. With an enormous leap she clawed it out of the air in a flurry of wings; it went limp as she bit down hard on its neck. Lionblaze couldn’t help being impressed. He would never have guessed the gray she-cat was ever injured with a jump like that.
“Brilliant catch!” Brambleclaw purred.
“That was pretty good,” Birchfall meowed, a tightness in his voice that Lionblaze hadn’t noticed before.
“Thanks!” Cinderheart dipped her head, scratching earth over her prey so she could collect it later.
The patrol craned their ears and listened for any rustle or caw, anything to indicate more prey might be about. Lionblaze closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath to taste as much of the air as he could. But other than Cinderheart’s bird masked by the snow and earth, no scent came to him other than the crisp leaf-bare air.
Brambleclaw let his head down, glancing around to each cat on the patrol. “I think we’ll have better luck if we split up,” he proposed.
“That sounds good,” Cinderheart mewed, stepping up beside Lionblaze. “Would you like to hunt with me?”
Before the golden warrior could respond, Birchfall cut in. “Wait, shouldn’t I go with Cinderheart? I was her mentor, and then Lionblaze could hunt with his father.”
Brambleclaw chuckled. “I don’t see why the younger generation can’t have some time to themselves.” He began to make his way out of the clearing. “We’ll head towards the lake side, and you two can hunt towards the top border. Meet back here when you’re done.” Flicking his tail, he ushered Birchfall in behind him. The light brown tom hesitated, leaving one last glance with Cinderheart before he scurried out after Brambleclaw.
“So,” Cinderheart began, evidently not very put off by Birchfall’s concerns. “Shall we head up?”
Lionblaze dipped his head in acceptance, following the gray she-cat quietly as they padded up the territory a few fox-lengths from the border. The scent was stale from Shadowclan’s side. It seemed they hadn’t even been keeping up border patrols...or they weren't here to place them, whether or not they wanted to. Figures. After what Tigerstar told him, he could only imagine what a horrible state Shadowclan was in.
“What are you thinking about?” Cinderheart’s voice came to his ears, and Lionblaze realized with a start that she had turned to stand in front of him. She must have caught him staring across the border. A look of earnest curiosity lit her eyes as she waited for a response.
“Shadowclan,” he finally admitted. “I just feel like I have to be doing something about it. I can’t just sit by while Shadowclan is-” He couldn’t tell her about Sol. She didn’t even know that he and his littermates had talked to the loner after he was escorted out of the territory, let alone that he was responsible for Shadowclan’s situation. “While Shadowclan destroys itself.”
“I understand.” Cinderheart’s voice had grown soft as she came to press against his shoulder in comfort. “It’s scary. Sometimes I wonder if they’ll just leave, and we’ll never see them again.”
“So let’s go!” Lionblaze burst out. He couldn’t do it on his own, but if Cinderheart could help, if there were more cats like her worrying about Shadowclan, they could make a difference together even if the prophesied cats weren’t ready yet.
Cinderheart shook her head. “What would we do? Shadowclan wants to be this way, or at least Blackstar does. We can’t just rush in as cats from another clan and tell them to be a real clan again.”
But they don’t really want to leave! He wanted to shout. Sol just convinced them to abandon us! We need to save them! Aloud he could only say, “But maybe they don’t really want to leave! If we could somehow force them to see what they’re doing-”
“But we can’t,” Cinderheart cut in. “Even if it were possible for us to convince Shadowclan to stay with force, we don’t have the ability to launch an attack like that. Our leader and several of our cats are sick; Squirrelflight still isn’t allowed to do any heavy duties since her injury; our medicine cats are far too busy to deal with any resulting injuries.”
A huge sigh escaped Lionblaze’s mouth, releasing the built up tension in a spray that carved a whole in the soft powder beneath their paws. Tigerstar had said the same thing. But fighting was all he could do. It was what he was meant to do! If he couldn’t save the clans from a problem as big as this, what use did his power have? “I know fighting won’t solve this…” His voice sounded defeated, but he couldn’t muster the strength to hide it. “But there just has to be something I can do!”
“Why are you so intent on this?” Cinderheart asked, tilting her head. “You’re just one cat. It’s not your responsibility to handle something this big.”
But it is… He was part of the prophecy. He had a power no other cat in the clans had, and he had to use it. No cat knew yet what their powers were meant for but it was clearly a matter of saving the clans from something. Even if he wasn’t meant to help Shadowclan specifically, if they didn’t get Shadowclan back, there wouldn’t be any clans to save when the time came. Shadowclan needed to come back, whatever it took.
“Well?” Cinderheart pressed again.
“I just...feel bad for them.” Lionblaze stuttered. There was nothing else he could say without telling her the secrets he had promised his littermates he would keep, at least for the time being.
Cinderheart’s eyes were narrowed at him, and she kept her gaze locked with his for several long moments. But eventually she dropped it. Whether it was because she actually believed him or because she wasn’t willing to press the issue further, Lionblaze couldn’t tell. Whatever it was, he was relieved. “Fine,” she murmured finally. “Let’s get back to hunting. Brambleclaw and Birchfall will expect us back soon enough.”
The two cats continued along the trail, pausing intermittently to look for any signs of prey. Tasting the air, he eventually picked up the trail of a squirrel. That will feed two or three cats! But as he rounded the trunk of a huge oak, the squirrel squeaked an announcement and took off, straight toward the Shadowclan border.
"I've got it!" Cinderheart called, racing past him. With a smooth leap, she landed on the squirrel's back, quickly killing it with a clean blow...but she was standing on Shadowclan's side of the border. She shook her paw. "Ow...I think I scraped against something." She sat down, dropping the squirrel and beginning to lick her paw to clean it.
Lionblaze was about to warn her when the pawsteps of the other cats in their patrol sounded behind them, growing faster as they approached. Brambleclaw fixed his shocked gaze on Cinderheart and came thundering closer.
“Nice to see you,” Cinderheart dipped her head to Birchfall and Brambleclaw. “Have you caught anything good?”
"What's going on here?" Brambleclaw asked. There was a grit in his meow, as if he were a heartbeat from anger. "Why are you on Shadowclan territory? Did you catch that squirrel there?"
Finally, Cinderheart took the time to look down to where she sat. It was on Shadowclan's side, but Lionblaze couldn't blame her. With how stale the scent was, it was a wonder he had even caught it. "I'm so sorry!" She meowed, limping over to stand by Lionblaze. "I didn't notice."
"It doesn't really matter, does it?" Birchfall piped up. "She was very close to our side, and it's not like Shadowclan is using it anymore."
"Don't ever say that," Brambleclaw growled. The weight of his father's cold anger shook Lionblaze. He had never seen Brambleclaw like this before. "Shadowclan will return. I'm sure of it. And when they do, they will need their territory back. Thunderclan must respect these boundaries."
Birchfall flattened his ears to his head, backing up against a tree. "I thought you would be happy. Without Shadowclan here you and your sister get to live together."
The dark brown tabby dug his claws into the ground with such force that Birchfall fell back, squeaking as a sharp piece of bark pierced his skin. For cats like him, even trees are dangerous, Lionblaze realized. He had never felt happier to have his power. The scared brown warrior seemed to deflate in front of Lionblaze's father. He looked...pitiful. "You don't know anything," Brambleclaw hissed. "She is a Shadowclan cat, and she always will be. She made her choice long ago, and I swear by Starclan she will never be happy if she has to stay in Thunderclan...even if it's with me."
"Brambleclaw, that's enough," Cinderheart stepped in front of her former mentor. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cross the border, and I'm sure Birchfall will be happy when Shadowclan returns. All of us will be." She hesitated before continuing. "Should I leave the squirrel behind?"
Brambleclaw closed his eyes. His muscles relaxed as he seemed to understand the situation. "The prey would be wasted now left on their land," he meowed, letting out a sigh. "Shadowclan won't be coming to collect it any time soon." With that he turned his back on her and bounded ahead to lead the patrol away. "Let's just go."
“Are you okay?” Lionblaze murmured to Cinderheart; his clanmate seemed shaken from Brambleclaw's words, and she still lifted her left paw as if it were hurt.
“My paw is starting to get a bit sore,” Cinderheart confessed. “I think a sharp rock cut into it when I caught that squirrel...on Shadowclan's side.”
“Here, I’ll guide you.” Lionblaze rested his tail on Cinderheart’s shoulder. “We’ll let Leafpool take a look at you when we get back to camp."
Ahead of them Birchfall too was limping along with a bit of blood oozing from a small gash on his shoulder. When the patrol paused by the bramble thicket to collect Cinderheart’s thrush and their other prey, he sat down and began to wash the wound with vigorous strokes of his tongue. When the patrol set off again, Brambleclaw remained grimly silent. Birchfall padded after him with his head down.
Cinderheart was beginning to recover. “Thanks, Lionblaze,” she mewed, shaking off the tom's tail. “I can manage now. Don’t you think Brambleclaw was hard on Birchfall?” she went on. “It felt like he was taking Shadowclan's disappearance personally.”
“His sister was driven out because of it,” Lionblaze replied absently. He was finding it hard to pay attention to anything. Horror gripped him like an extra pelt, thick enough to choke him. Shadowclan believed that Sol held the answers to a better future, but they were wrong. Still, it seemed they had really followed that evil rogue away from the lake. And yet, Thunderclan couldn't do anything. Cats were getting sick, the medicine cats were overrun with cats to treat, and even a border patrol could cause injuries for any cat other than him. Sol will destroy the clans, he thought, terror freezing his limbs until he could barely set one paw in front of another. Somehow, we have to find a way to stop him.