Warriors AU: Sandstar's Quest

Chapter 7

"Sandstar, why are you standing there with your mouth open?" Dottie asked crossly.

"Sorry." For a moment Sandstar had been caught up in the lost world of Skyclan, gaping as if he expected prey to jump into his jaws. "Okay," he added to Henry. "I'll have a quick look from the fence." Flicking his tail to draw Dottie a couple of pawsteps away, he murmured, "I won't be long. This might help with your dreams."

Dottie looked doubtful, and shot an anxious glance at Henry.

"Don't worry; I won't tell him anything," Sandstar promised.

He sprang up to sit on the fence and looked down into the garden. He remembered the bush now: it had been brittle and straggly, and some of its branches had been leafless. In the place where it had been a new young tree was growing with soft, tempting bark; from his place on the fence Sandstar could see Henry's claw marks scoring the trunk.

Henry leaped up beside him and pointed with his tail. "That's where the bush used to be, and there's the scratching tree. And there's another new one, next to Dottie's fence, that's even better."

Sandstar heard scrabbling farther along the fence, and Dottie hauled herself up to sit beside Henry. "Well, what do you see?" she demanded in a low voice.

"Nothing yet." Sandstar admitted. He studied the Twoleg nests, trying to imagine what this part of the forest would have been like before the trees were cut down.

His eyes narrowed as he glanced up and down the row of nests. Dottie's nest lay in a slight dip, lower than the others. If Sandstar had been leading a Clan back then, and had to choose a place for a camp, he would have wanted it in a sheltered hollow, perhaps with bramble bushes for extra protection, like the Windclan camp. He drew in a swift breath, feeling every hair on his pelt stand on end. Could Dottie's nest have been built right on top of the old Skyclan camp? That might explain why she had been dreaming so vividly about the fleeing cats.

"Dottie," he began, interrupting a discussion between his friend and Henry about catmint, "is it okay if I stay with you tonight?"

Dottie blinked in surprise. "Of course. But will it be okay with... with the other cats in your Clan?"

Her concern moved Sandstar. Dottie might be a kittypet, but she was a true friend. "They'll be fine, I promise. I just think this will help me figure out, you know, what we were talking about earlier."

"Oh, I see." Dottie looked alarmed as she added, "But I'm not sure how easy it'll be getting you inside the nest."

"I don't need to come inside," Sandstar told her. Starclan forbid! "I'll be fine in the garden, thanks."

The black and white cat nodded. "Okay. Well, come on over."

"I've got to find my Clanmates first and let them know I won't be back tonight."

Sandstar jumped down from the fence, back into the forest. Behind him, he heard Henry meowing inquisitively, "Why does Sandstar want to stay in your garden? Why doesn't he want to stay in mine?"

Sandstar raced through the trees until he reached the place where he had last seen his Clanmates. Before he could begin tracking them by scent, Blossomfall appeared from behind a clump of brambles, carrying two mice by their tails.

He dropped his prey in front of Sandstar. "I thought you must have gone back to camp."

"No, something's come up." Sandstar was reluctant to explain any further. " I won't be back until tomorrow. There's nothing wrong," he added, seeing that Blossomfall was starting to look worried. "Just tell Silverstream that he's in charge until then."