The Darkest Moons (Warrior Cats)

39. Young Ones

Slowly, the trees thinned into shrubs and brambles. More and more of the sky became visible through the canopy. Palepaw felt uneasy as he padded ahead of Scorchpaw, but he kept himself upright and ready. He worked hard to show no discomfort or aggravation. To be dragged around his territory made his paws ache, all because Scorchpaw was paranoid about a cat that he should never have know.

But I don't have much room to talk, do I? Palepaw meant to visit with Spottedpaw later that night, but he wondered if he could gather the energy. I'll rest after this. If we're quick, I can get to camp, relax a while, and then head out for WaterClan. It was strange to know that his friend had been doing something similar. But it's been to get information for the Clan. And I've been playing around with a cat from across the border.

He gave his pelt a shake and walked faster. It didn't take long for them to break through the tree line and slip out into the open. The earth gradually became rough, shifting into sand. The cliffs loomed over the two apprentices. "Here we are."

"I hate those things," Scorchpaw muttered. "We've already had a battle here once. And Fallenstar . . ." His voice began to trail off. "We never dug her out of the rocks. There were too many of them."

She's fine now.

"Can I take a moment to sit by them? Like a vigil?" Scorchpaw asked. "I mean- I- I know we're here for a reason. It just doesn't feel right if I don't. I never got to."

He's avoided these cliffs like they're greencough. "Okay. I'm gonna have a look around." Palepaw diverged and started towards the slope. A few fox-lengths away, he looked over his shoulder and watched as Scorchpaw trotted towards what had once been a rock shelf. Now, the cliff was flattened, and the stones had formed a jagged pile. Many were huge slabs, too large to move.

Fallenstar never liked me too much, but she was always kind to Scorchpaw. I'm glad he was able to mourn her. The sight of the tabby sitting by the rubble, head dipped and tail curled tightly, made Palepaw's heart do flips. So much has happened. When Fallenstar died, everything went downhill.

Palepaw closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I'm not here to be nostalgic, he told himself, almost muttering the words. He opened his eyes and sat, looking up at the cliffs. A cat could see everything up there. Falling from that would be horrifying. The thought of the height made him shudder. He turned his gaze to the trees. If we were to fight with the rogues, and we know the forest well, we'd be able to navigate and hide. We know how to stalk and move through harsh brush.

After a few moments, Palepaw turned to the cliffs and trotted towards the walls. Crags littered the lowest parts of the rockface. These would be good for dens and stuff. Good for hiding. He tilted his head back and peered up the wall. Aren't FireClan cats actually good at climbing rocks? I've heard them called cliff-climbers as insults. I wonder if they've actually managed to clamber up the cliff.

"I hope Fallenstar heard me in StarClan," Scorchpaw meowed as he rushed towards Palepaw. "Any ideas? I- Uh-"

"We're probably better at ambushing than the rogues are, right? Since we have to stalk our prey and maneuver through brush," Palepaw pointed out. "We could make use of our alliance with FireClan and get them to help us. DarkClan can hide in the brush by the forest and FireClan can hide in the crags of the cliff. See?" Palepaw moved towards the closest opening in the cliff face and easily slipped inside. He crouched, readying himself to move forward. "Can you see me?"

"Move back a bit, and I couldn't have a chance of seeing you," Scorchpaw chirped. "So, we'd all ambush them. But how do we get them here? We have to set it up. Poppy could tell them, but . . ."