Warriors AU: Midnight

Chapter 14

Squirrelflight heaved a sigh of relief to come down from Highstones and feel grass under his paws again. They were alone now, a tiny band of cats in a vast, unknown territory. Patchpaw had pointed out a path across fields divided by sharp, shiny Twoleg fences, and there were many scents of Twolegs and dogs, though none of them were fresh. Wooly-faced sheep stared at the traveling cats as they slipped past, their heads low and their ears flat, uncomfortable at being out in the open.

"You'd think they'd never seen a cat before," Brookleap grunted.

"Maybe they haven't," Rowanclaw replied. "There's no reason for cats to come here. I haven't had so much as a sniff of prey since we left the barn."

"Well, I've never seen a sheep before," Bramblepaw pointed out. She padded a little closer to the nearest one, and Squirrelflight unobtrusively moved up behind her; as far as he knew sheep were not dangerous, but he was taking no chances. Bramblepaw paused a tail-length away, took a good sniff, and wrinkled her nose. "Yuck! They might look like fluffy clouds on legs, but they smell horrible!"

Rowanclaw yawned. "Can we get on, for the love of Starclan?"

"I wonder why Starclan is sending us to the sun-drown-place," Feathertail meowed, swerving to avoid a grass-cropping sheep that was too close for comfort. "Why couldn't they have told us what we need to know back in the forest? And why do we have to hear the message at midnight?"

Leafpaw snorted. "Who knows?" He narrowed his eyes and stared at Squirrelflight. "Maybe the Thunderclan warrior can tell us. After all, he's the only one of us who has seen this place—or so he says."

Squirrelflight gritted his teeth. "You know as much as I do," he meowed. "We just have to trust Starclan that it will all come clear in the end."

"Easy enough for you to say," Leafpaw retorted.

"Leave him alone!" To Squirrelflight's amazement, Bramblepaw darted forward and planted herself in front of the Windclan apprentice. "Squirrelflight didn't ask for the second dream. It's not his fault that Starclan chose him."

"And what do you know about it?" Leafpaw growled. "In Windclan, apprentices know when to keep their mouths shut."

"Oh, so you'll be quiet from now on?" Bramblepaw mewed cheekily. "Good."

With his top lip drawn back in a snarl, Leafpaw stalked around her and went on.

Squirrelflight padded across to his Clanmate. "Thanks for backing me up there," he murmured.

Bramblepaw's eyes flashed angrily at him. "I'm not doing it for you!" she snapped. "I'm just not letting that stupid furball think Windclan is so much better than Thunderclan." She dashed off with an annoyed hiss, past Feathertail and Brookleap, who had stopped to watch.

"Don't go too far ahead!" Squirrelflight called after her, but she ignored him.

As he set off in pursuit, Squirrelflight was uncomfortably aware that none of the other cats had tried to defend him, not even Rowanclaw. They must all be full of doubts about his vision of the sun-drown-place, and why they had to go there, just like Feathertail. A sense of responsibility was settling more heavily on Squirrelflight with every step he took, and he knew that if any of his companions were injured or even killed on the journey, it would be his fault. Perhaps Starclan had gotten it wrong this time. Perhaps in the end, not even the faith and courage of warriors would be enough to bring them through safely.

Not long after sunhigh, they came to their first Thunderpath. It was narrower than the one they were used to, and curved so that they could not see monsters approaching until the last moment. On the opposite side, a tall hedge stretched as far as they could see in both directions.