Warriors; Thin Ice

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The sky was a rosy pink when Sparrowstripe snapped out of a nightmare. He lowered his eyes to his paws and made sure he hadn’t disturbed anybody before slinking from his nest.

He padded across the camp toward the Dirtplace. His eyes caught a dark tabby pelt slumped at the head of the apprentices’ den. His pelt prickled with annoyance, and the impulse to claw Blackpaw’s ears came back, but he forced his fur to lie flat as he passed. Blackpaw’s blue eyes blinked open as soon as he did, and Sparrowstripe turned back toward the Dirtplace.

When he was finished, he padded from the tunnel and out into the camp. Thistlekit was sitting in the clearing, talking to Emberpaw. Sparrowstripe padded over.

“Hey, Emberpaw, Thistlekit,” he purred.

Emberpaw looked more thrilled to see him than he’d have thought. “Hey, Sparrowstripe,” she mewed. Her fur was ruffled with sleep, but her eyes were droopy, not their usual bright blue and silver. He flicked her ear with his tail and decided not to ask her about her night.

“I’ve got to go on a patrol with Darkstar,” Emberpaw mewed, looking over her shoulder at a group of cats, pacing impatiently at the front of the camp. “I was waiting for Goldenshade, but now they’re waiting on me.”

Sparrowstripe nodded as she padded over to the patrol. He noticed briefly that her brother Shadepaw was standing with the cats, but they didn’t associate at all. He felt a twinge of sadness; Ravenheart had hardly spoken to him since a snake had attacked him in the marsh. His nearly silent sister, who had only spoken to him and Emberpaw since she’d been born, had stopped talking to him completely.

Sparrowstripe pushed away his selfish thoughts and padded over to Darkstar. “Can I go on the patrol too?”

Darkstar didn’t look surprised. He flicked his tail. “I suppose we need more hunters to restock the pile,” he mewed.

“Great,” Sparrowstripe meowed. He flashed a smile at Emberpaw, but her eyes were lowered to her paws. Sparrowstripe’s grin faded and he fell into step behind Goldenshade.

It wasn’t often that Goldenshade and Darkstar hunted on the same patrol, but the prey pile was practically empty after a sudden freeze. There was a chill in the air now; Leaf-bare was approaching. Sparrowstripe’s fur ruffled in the wind, and he felt a shiver creep up his spine. The last time the forest had been so silent was when he’d been attacked by two dogs in the forest. He remembered Emberpaw pelting at his side as the dogs’ hot breath hit their backs. He felt a tail on his shoulder and shook himself from his memories.

Looking over, he saw Shadepaw’s eyes fixed on him. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he meowed. “Don’t worry.”

Emberpaw’s ears swiveled and she turned around to look at them. Shadepaw’s eyes gleamed with hostility. His sister turned back around and kept walking until the cats reached a wide clearing in the pines, next to the marsh.

“What is your problem with her?” Sparrowstripe whispered to him.

Shadepaw glared at him. “I don’t think you should know.”

“She’s my best friend. If she’s done something to you to make you hate her, I deserve to know.”

Shadepaw nodded. His silver eyes moved toward his paws, and he opened his mouth to speak.

“Did you hear me?” Sparrowstripe’s head shot up as Goldenshade snarled. “I said, follow me.”

“Where are we going?”