Midnight

Chapter 21

"It's no use," Swiftpaw hissed, coming back into the nest with Feathertail behind him. The group had woken up to a relentless rain and deafening thunder. Even with the storm, Swiftpaw still left as soon as he woke up to find the herbs needed to treat Tawnypelt. "There's no herb or even a plant for as far as we could see. We'll have to look elsewhere for burdock root, even farther than we went earlier."

"We have to do it soon," Squirrelpaw called from beside Tawnypelt, leaning up from licking the bite. "It's been left in the air for long enough already. Infection might set in soon enough."

Crowpaw leaned up from a rat. Standing, he gripped it in his jaws and dragged it over to Squirrelpaw and Tawnypelt. "Eat it," he grumbled, looking away after dropping it at Tawnypelt's paws. "We don't need you dying on us."

Tawnypelt scoffed, turning her head away stubbornly. Crowpaw growled, stalking off to take a large bite out of another rat. Stormfur was curled up nearby, yawning widely. Feathertail sat down beside her brother after following Swiftpaw to the far corner and shaking herself vigorously. Swiftpaw, being one of the two thin-furred cats in their litter, didn't look nearly as soaked as Feathertail did, but he also looked more annoyed than she was as he flopped down on his side.

"Please eat," Squirrelpaw murmured, going back to licking the wound. "You need to keep your strength up until we can find the herbs."

Tawnypelt turned to look at her, green eyes annoyed, but she complied. Squirrelpaw purred softly as the brown-and-ginger warrior began eating. The others eventually moved to dig into the rats as well, Tawnypelt splitting hers with Squirrelpaw after claiming "what cat could eat a rat as big as you?" The dark ginger apprentice decided to not comment and instead dug in hungrily.

"I don't know about you guys," Squirrelpaw meowed, licking her lips after finishing her share. "But I kind of think Skystar had an easier prophecy. Sure she had to deal with Tigerstar, but at least she got to stay home and had all her Clanmates still."

"She also had a lot of deaths to deal with," Brambletuft hissed. "Including my brother's."

"You mean Swiftfang?" Swiftpaw asked. "Goldenflower talks about him sometimes. We all know about him, Brindleface, Redtail, and all the others Tigerstar killed. But Squirrelpaw is right; no matter how Skystar's prophecy seemed, she still had support. We only have the seven of us in unknown land with unimaginable dangers that could show up at any moment."

Stormfur perked his ears, looking more aware than he had earlier. "Are you saying we should turn back? After all this time?" he asked.

Squirrelpaw hesitated, laying beside Tawnypelt. "Well, no, but. . . I just want to go home. I miss Skystar and Longtail. And what if Cloudpaw and Leafpaw get their names but we aren't there to see it? I know we're close, I can feel it, but it just seems to be getting harder and harder with each day and now we can't travel at all. What if we get to the sun-drown place and nothing happens? What if we get there, and we only come across more problems and dangers that we can't fix with just us?"

No cat answered her, not even Stormfur. They couldn't even meet her gaze when she looked around. Even Crowpaw seemed to take her words to heart, his ears lowering and laying his head on his paws. Dread filled Squirrelpaw. If the WindClan apprentice didn't have something to say, did that mean even he was losing faith in the mission? What happens in the end if they give up? Will StarClan get angry, or will they send more dreams to push them on. Squirrelpaw laid her head down, turned away from the others. As if responding to her words, the loudest thunderclap she'd ever heard erupted from the silence, frightening the group. Squirrelpaw jumped up, rushing to curl up tightly beside Swiftpaw as he leaned up onto his belly.

As Squirrelpaw reserved herself to tucking under her bushy tail, a tongue rasped over her shoulder and a warm body curled around her own. The familiar, sweet scent of Feathertail met Squirrelpaw's nose as she untucked her head and she turned to meet the warrior's gentle blue gaze.