Dawn

Chapter 19

Like cloud shadows drifting over the ground, the Clans trekked in silence across a meadow. Squirrelpaw was grateful that Crowpaw walked so close to her, shielding her from the icy wind. The rain was easing now, but the clouds had been raked into tatters by a thorn-sharp breeze that promised colder weather. Shivering, she looked up and saw a Twoleg nest looming ahead, even bigger than the Great Rock.

Her paws were sore from the prickly stubble that seemed to cover all the fields they had passed through, and she longed for the softness of leaves underpaw. The air was filled with unfamiliar scents— Twolegs, the monsters that prowled the crisscrossing Thunderpaths, the fresh scent of dog drifting from a Twoleg nest, and the recent scent of rogues. Squirrelpaw felt the instinctive tension of any cat that strayed from its territory, even though she was surrounded by more Clan cats than she had seen before in her life. She scanned the hedgerow, and her heart seemed to stop beating altogether when she saw the brown beech leaves rustle madly, shaken by more than just the wind.

Ravenpaw stepped out from his hiding place like a shadow coming to life, and stared at the Clans in surprise. A second cat slipped out of the hedge behind him. Squirrelpaw recognized the black-and-white pelt of Barley, the cat who had allowed Ravenpaw to share his home in a Twoleg barn for many moons.

"Skystar! Is that you?" Ravenpaw's ears twitched as he called out for his old friend. The Clan cats halted and stared at him. Every cat knew about the black-pelted ThunderClan apprentice who had been driven out by his mentor, Tigerstar. Even if they hadn't known him during his short time in the forest, many had met him on the journey to Highstones.

"Hello, Ravenpaw." Tallstar dipped his head in greeting.

"Ravenpaw!" Skystar pushed through the other cats to greet her old friend.

"Skystar!" Ravenpaw touched noses with the ThunderClan leader. He looked around. "Where's Graystripe?"

Skystar blinked. "Graystripe's not with us."

"Is he dead?" Ravenpaw's pelt bristled in shock.

Skystar shook her head. "Twolegs captured him."

"Twolegs?" Ravenpaw echoed. "Why?"

"They started trapping us." Skystar's voice was raw with grief. "We've been forced to leave the forest."

"What?" Ravenpaw lifted his nose to scent the air. "Is that WindClan and RiverClan with you? And ShadowClan?"

"The Twolegs are destroying all our homes," Skystar explained. "We would have been crushed by their monsters if we'd stayed, if we didn't starve first."

"You look half-starved already," Barley remarked, coming forward.

"Hello, Barley," Skystar greeted him. "How's the hunting?"

"Better for me than for you, by the looks of it," came the blunt reply.

"Where are you heading?" Ravenpaw asked.

"Highstones first, and then. . ." Skystar turned to look questioningly at Squirrelpaw, but Squirrelpaw looked away.

"You'll stay with us tonight, won't you?" Ravenpaw asked. "The hunting is good this moon. The barn is full of rats sheltering from the cold."

"Wait, Ravenpaw," warned Barley. "This many cats will never fit in the barn. The Twolegs would have a fit when they came to get straw for the cows."

"That's true," Ravenpaw agreed. "But there must be a way to help."

"I suppose they could stay at the broken nest," Barley suggested.

"Of course!" Ravenpaw turned to Skystar. "You know the place—where you sheltered with Bluestar after the rat attack?"