Dawn

Chapter 10

Skystar led the patrol upriver, keeping close to the border where tempting prey-scent drifted across the water from RiverClan's territory. Squirrelpaw padded behind her in step with Brambletuft, while Ashfur brought up the rear. It was the first time in days that she and Brambletuft had left the camp together. Skystar had taken the tabby warrior with her to RiverClan and ShadowClan, to plead with them once more to leave the forest. She'd done her best, but Leopardstar and Blackstar both still refused to believe that their future lay with the other Clans, far from their forest home.

Clouds had rolled in overnight, and freezing drizzle hung under the trees, refusing to fall as proper rain but still soaking everything it touched. Squirrelpaw's fur clung uncomfortably to her body as the dampness soaked into her pelt. The trees shone wetly in the bleak leaf-bare light and dripped water onto the fallen leaves below, turning the loose, crisp piles into slippery clumps.

Suddenly Skystar stopped and lifted her nose to scent the air. Squirrelpaw took a deep breath, hoping to catch the welcome aroma of mouse or thrush or vole. But there was no pre-scent coming from this side of the river, only something that seemed strange and familiar all at the same time.

"I think I recognize that smell," she whispered to Brambletuft.

"It smells like a rogue," Brambletuft growled.

"Hush!" Skystar commanded. She paused, then dashed forward with her hackles raised. The bushes ahead shivered and a tawny cat burst out. As it streaked away Brambletuft yowled a battle cry, joining the chase.

"Come on!" he called, but Squirrelpaw was already charging after him.

The tawny cat swerved toward the scent-markers at the RiverClan border. Skystar headed after it without slackening the pace. Squirrelpaw felt a jolt of alarm as she neared the warning scents. The ThunderClan cats were gaining on the rogue as she pelted over the border. The moment Skystar's paw crossed the line in pursuit, a furious yowl sounded close by, and a dark brown RiverClan warrior leaped from a swath of bracken, snarling viciously.

Skystar turned, skidding on the wet leaves, and stopped barely over the border. Brambletuft and Ashfur nearly crashed into her, but managed to stop in time.

"Hawkfrost!" Brambletuft gasped.

Skystar took a step backward over the border. But she continued to stare at Hawkfrost, her eyes stretched wide as though she were staring into the face of a StarClan warrior. Squirrelpaw was surprised that Hawkfrost's ambush had shocked her mother so much. It was hardly strange to encounter a warrior patrolling this close to the border, when every cat in RiverClan knew how close their neighbors were to starvation.

"What are you doing on RiverClan territory?" Hawkfrost demanded.

Skystar did not answer at first. Then she seemed to recover herself, letting her fur lie flat and relaxing her shoulders. "I was chasing that rogue out of ThunderClan territory," she replied. She glanced at the tawny she-cat who had halted behind Hawkfrost. "Why challenge me when you have allowed a rogue to cross your borders?"

Hawkfrost exchanged a long look with the rogue before he answered. "My mother will always be welcome in RiverClan," he meowed.

Sasha! Suddenly Squirrelpaw recognized the rogue she had helped escape from the Twoleg nest. She felt the mild triumph of curiosity satisfied. It was common knowledge that Hawkfrost and his sister, Mothwing, had been left in RiverClan by their rogue mother, though she hadn't stayed in the forest long enough to be known by the other Clans.

But Skystar seemed to have more unanswered questions, because she stood rigid, staring at mother and son with her ears pricked.

With a small dip of her head, Sasha meowed a greeting. "I have heard much about you, Skystar," she murmured. "It is. . . interesting to meet you at last." Her voice was icy and dignified, and Squirrelpaw felt self-consciously young and awkward by comparison.

"So you are Sasha?" Skystar meowed softly, her eyes glittering.

"You look as if you expected something else," Sasha suggested.

Skystar's gaze swept along her well-groomed pelt. "You don't look like a rogue."

"And you don't look like a loner," Sasha countered. Squirrelpaw winced, but her mother showed no anger. Instead she met Sasha's proud gaze evenly.

"I have often wondered why a rogue would choose to leave her kits with a Clan."

"Why would a Clan make an outsider their leader?" Sasha responded. She did not wait for an answer. "Not all cats are true to their birthright, Skystar. Some choose their own path."

Skystar narrowed her eyes. "Are you such a cat?"

"Maybe," Sasha meowed. "Maybe not. But I hope my kits are." She glanced at Hawkfrost, and Squirrelpaw saw a flash of pride in her eyes.

"Will you stay with RiverClan awhile?" Hawkfrost invited her. "We have plenty of prey." He cast a mocking glance at Skystar, but Skystar didn't react. She simply watched, her eyes still narrowed in thought as Sasha gave her answer.

"I won't stay long," she told him. "But I would like to see Mothwing before I leave."

Hawkfrost curled his lip at Skystar. "I shall send a patrol as soon as I get back to the camp to make sure you have not been stealing RiverClan prey," he warned.

"We have no need to steal," Skystar retorted. She looked at her patrol. "Come on."

Though the air still crackled with tension, Squirrelpaw knew that the danger had passed. Hawkfrost and Skystar turned from each other and padded away from the border. She prepared to follow her mother, but before they had reached the safety of the trees, Skystar halted and called out to Sasha. Her voice was strangely calm.

"Tigerstar was their father, wasn't he?"

Sasha didn't seem surprised by the question. She nodded. "Yes, he was."

The ground lurched beneath Squirrelpaw. No wonder Skystar had looked so surprised when Hawkfrost had leaped out in front of her. She must have thought it was Tigerstar himself, granted a tenth life. She'd seen Hawkfrost before at moonlit gatherings, and at the disastrous meeting at Fourtrees the other night, but perhaps this was the first time they had come face-to-face in daylight.

Then she heard a gasp beside her and saw Brambletuft standing with his eyes wide. "But Tigerstar was my father too!" he croaked. "Does that mean I have kin in two Clan?"

Hawkfrost flicked his gaze to his half kin. "I'm surprised you hadn't guessed," he meowed. Squirrelpaw looked from one cat to the other, finally noticing the similarities in their tabby pelts and powerful shoulders.

"I thought Tawnypelt, Swiftfang, Lynxkit, and I were the only kits of Tigerstar. . ." Brambletuft murmured.

"At least you had a chance to know our father." Hawkfrost twitched his tail. "I envy you that."

"I learned more from Skystar than I ever did from Tigerstar," Brambletuft retorted.

"But still, Tigerstar knew you. He never even set eyes on me."

Squirrelpaw felt a twinge of sympathy for him, knowing how much she cherished her relationship with her own father, but she pushed it away. There was something about the RiverClan warrior that she didn't trust.

Hawkfrost's gaze hardened. "Get away from this border," he warned, kneading the ground with his long, hooked claws—claws like those of the black-and-gold tigers that elders described in their stories; claws that had given his father his warrior name. "I will defend my Clan against any cat if I have to."

He turned and led his mother down to the river, and together they waded through the water and disappeared into the bushes on the other side. Squirrelpaw watched them go in silence, knowing he meant his threat.