The Apprentice's Quest (20 page)

The gleam returned to Needlepaw's eyes. “First, let's go hunting,” she suggested. “Full bellies will help the truth go down easier!”

Alderpaw was about to argue when he felt a gnawing in his belly and realized that no cat had hunted since the previous morning. “You're right,” he responded. “I'll hunt with you.”
Not that I'm likely to be much use,
he added to himself.

Alderpaw crept across the grassland, trying to pick out prey-scent over the stink of farm animals that the breeze was carrying toward them. Just ahead of him, Needlepaw padded forward, slowly but decisively.

She must have found a scent, but I can't smell anything except those weird creatures back there.

Suddenly Needlepaw halted, raising her tail to signal that she had spotted prey. Half turning toward Alderpaw, she jerked her head to one side, telling him to go that way.

Alderpaw obeyed, putting on speed as he wove his way through the long grass.
I hope I'm not getting this totally wrong!
Finally he caught the scent that Needlepaw must have picked up long before.
Rabbit!
At the same moment he spotted the
creature a couple of fox-lengths in front of him, nibbling at some low-growing plant. Its ears shot up as Alderpaw tried to slide soundlessly around it, and it took off, its white tail bobbing as it raced away. With rising excitement Alderpaw gave chase.

Needlepaw appeared from nowhere, right in the rabbit's path. She lashed out with one paw, and the rabbit's shriek was cut off abruptly as it fell limply to the ground. “Thank you, StarClan, for this prey,” she meowed.

Then Needlepaw looked up, her eyes alight with the thrill of the hunt. “Wow, you're fast!” she exclaimed. “You drove it right toward me. That's pretty impressive.”

Alderpaw turned away, embarrassed, though his chest was swelling with happiness.
I was useful on a hunt! I wish Sparkpaw had been here to see that!

Padding over to Needlepaw, he nuzzled her head with his nose. “Thanks for your help,” he mewed. “We may be from different Clans, but I'm glad you stayed with us.”

When he and Needlepaw returned to the elder bushes with the rabbit, Alderpaw found his three companions cleaning earth from their paws. They sounded more cheerful as they greeted him and settled down to feast on the rabbit.

When they had finished eating, Alderpaw rose to his paws, clearing his throat nervously. “I have something to tell you,” he began.

He paused, looking for the right words, and Molewhisker twitched one ear impatiently. “Spit it out, then,” he meowed.

“It's about the vision that sent us on this journey,” Alderpaw responded. “It's more complicated than you know. I saw a group of cats—the cats of SkyClan—and I believe they need help.”

“SkyClan? Who are they?” Sparkpaw asked.

“I've never heard of them,” mewed Cherryfall.

“I don't know much about them,” Alderpaw explained. “Only what Bramblestar and Sandstorm told me. Long ago, back in the old forest, there were five Clans, not four. But Twolegs took SkyClan's territory, and the other four Clans drove them out. They made camp in a gorge, beside a river, but eventually their Clan withered and died.”

“And that could happen to
us
, if we don't find what lies in the shadows,” Sparkpaw pointed out. “Firestar said a time of great change is coming. It doesn't sound like
good
change.”

“That's true,” Alderpaw meowed, struck by the balance.
I wonder if
SkyClan
is what lies in the shadows,
he mused.

“If SkyClan died out, who were the cats you saw?” Molewhisker asked.

“Firestar restored their Clan. He and Sandstorm went on a quest, long ago, and they brought cats together—descendants of the old SkyClan—and established the Clan again. When I told Sandstorm what I saw in my vision, she recognized some of the cats.”

“So that's how Sandstorm knew the way!” Cherryfall exclaimed. “But how can we get to SkyClan, now that she's dead?”

“Because she told me where to go,” Alderpaw replied. “If
we head toward the rising sun, eventually we'll come to a river, and if we travel upstream, we'll find SkyClan's camp in the gorge.”

His Clanmates exchanged uncertain glances; Alderpaw wasn't sure that they believed him.

“Why did the other Clans drive SkyClan away and let them die out?” Molewhisker asked eventually.

“It's a very shameful part of warrior history,” Alderpaw replied. “No cat knows the whole story, and the only living cat—apart from us—who knows anything is Bramblestar. I shouldn't even be telling you, but I thought it was important for you to know the truth.”

After a few moments' silence, while the cats were clearly thinking over what they had heard, Cherryfall got up and rubbed her cheek against Alderpaw's. “That was brave of you,” she meowed. “Your first act as our leader.”

Alderpaw was touched, especially by her admission that they would follow him now.

“It will take us a few days to get used to all this,” Cherryfall went on, “but I'm glad you told us the truth.”

“So am I,” Needlepaw agreed.

Molewhisker rose to his paws and glanced around at his Clanmates. “I think I speak for all of us,” he mewed, “when I tell you that we pledge ourselves to do whatever it takes to find SkyClan and complete the quest.”

As his friends murmured their agreement, Alderpaw thought that his heart would burst with pride.

Alderpaw led the way cautiously along
the cliff edge, his belly fur brushing the dusty ground. On one side, rough grass stretched into the distance, dotted here and there with scrubby trees and bushes. On the other, the ground fell away into a precipice; at the bottom a river tumbled along between sandy rocks.

We're almost there!
he thought, exultation breaking through his weariness.
This must be close to the place where SkyClan made their camp.

Many sunrises had passed since Alderpaw had told his friends the truth about their quest. Afterward they had hardly stopped to rest. Following Sandstorm's directions, they had passed through more farms, crossed busy Thunderpaths, and skirted Twolegplaces until they reached the river and turned upstream.

I never knew the world was so big!
Alderpaw reflected, wincing as his sore paws padded over the gritty earth.
I can't believe how far we've had to travel!
Casting a glance back at his companions, he could see that they were all as tired as he was, limping onward with tails drooping.

An unexpected gust of wind drove sand into Alderpaw's
eyes and brought the sound of cats' voices drifting up from the gorge below. Strong but unfamiliar cat scent came with it. Blinking fiercely, Alderpaw raised his tail to warn the others to be silent, and he crept forward to crouch at the very edge of the cliff.

When his vision cleared, he made out paths and jutting outcrops in the rock face and, far below, a pile of reddish boulders blocking the way ahead. The river poured out of a gaping black hole in the rock and dropped into a pool before flowing away down the gorge.

“This is where the river begins!” Alderpaw breathed out. “It must be where SkyClan's camp is.”

It was a weird place for a camp, he thought. He couldn't see any dens, or any fresh-kill pile, just the heaps of red stone with the river cutting its way through.
Cats live here?
he asked himself, bewildered. Yet, as he looked more closely, he could see cats slipping between the boulders, pausing to talk to one another, sunning themselves, just as his own Clanmates did in their camp.

“Are these the cats from your dreams?”

Alderpaw realized that Needlepaw had crept up beside him and was peering over his shoulder. “They're too far away for me to be sure,” he responded. “But the red rock seems familiar.”

“Hmm . . .” Needlepaw edged up beside him to give the scene a closer scrutiny. “They might be far away,” she continued, “but they don't look like cats in need of help to me.”

Realizing she was right, Alderpaw let out a sigh. “Maybe
I misinterpreted my vision.”

“What?” Sparkpaw, craning her neck to gaze down on Alderpaw's other side, began to bristle with outrage. “You led us all this way for nothing?” she hissed.

“We can't know Alderpaw is wrong,” Needlepaw retorted. “Not from this distance. Maybe we should get closer.”

Alderpaw was grateful for her defense, for how she always had the spirit to adapt to setbacks, but at the same time he worried that Sparkpaw had a point.
What if this journey has been wasted?

“Okay, what are we waiting for?” Needlepaw asked, springing to her paws. “Let's find a way down.”

Instantly Molewhisker moved to block her. “Are you mouse-brained?” he demanded. “We can't just stroll into their camp. None of us know much about SkyClan, and they don't know much about us, either. There's no way of being sure we can trust them.” He gave his tail an irritable twitch. “Sandstorm was the only one who had met the SkyClan cats, and she's dead now.”

Needlepaw shrugged, unmoved by the older cat's argument. “We can only find answers by getting closer. Alderpaw wouldn't have dreamed of these cats if they weren't important, right?”

Alderpaw swallowed nervousness. “That's true,” he meowed, trying to sound strong and decisive. “Lead on, Needlepaw.”

After a moment's searching, Needlepaw found the beginning of a path that led down into the gorge, winding to and
fro across the rock face. Alderpaw followed hard on her paw steps, hugging the cliff wall to stay well away from the drop at the edge of the path and feeling the heat of the sun-warmed rocks striking up through his pads.

To his relief the others headed down after them.

“Alderpaw must have bees in his brain,” he heard Sparkpaw mutter. “Following this stupid ShadowClan furball!”

Before they had descended more than a few fox-lengths into the gorge, Alderpaw heard a loud yowl coming from below. Turning toward the sound, he spotted a long-furred gray tom staring straight at him. The yowl had attracted three of the other SkyClan cats, who raced toward him; then all four began to climb the rocks, with the gray tom in the lead.

“Uh-oh!” Needlepaw murmured.

“Well, we had to meet them sometime,” Alderpaw responded. He slid past Needlepaw to take the lead and padded down a couple of tail-lengths, as far as a wide ledge. “We'll wait for them here—and for StarClan's sake, remember that we're here to help. We're not looking for a fight.”

He had hardly finished speaking when the SkyClan cats came into sight, springing confidently up the narrow path until they faced the questing cats on the ledge.

The gray tom took another pace forward until he stood nose to nose with Alderpaw, who tried not to flinch as the SkyClan cat's cold green gaze raked over him. This was a powerful cat, his shoulder fur bristling and his tail bushed up.

“If you've come for the territory,” he snarled, “you can think again. You're way outnumbered.”

Alderpaw hesitated, wondering if he should respond. Although it was his quest, Molewhisker and Cherryfall were the senior cats now that Sandstorm wasn't with them anymore.
Maybe they should be the ones to speak.

But when Alderpaw glanced back at Molewhisker and Cherryfall, neither of them moved.
It's up to me, then,
he thought, turning back toward the hostile long-furred tom.

“We don't want your territory,” he explained, his voice quiet and calm. “But we've traveled a long way to meet you—the cats of SkyClan who live in this gorge.”

The gray tom tilted his head to one side, a glint in his green eyes. “What do cats from far away know about SkyClan?” he asked.

“Not much,” Alderpaw admitted, “but we're here to learn more.”

The tom let out a disdainful snort. “Then you'd better come and speak to our leader.” He jerked his head to indicate that they should follow him, then turned and padded back down the path.

Alderpaw had only taken a single paw step to follow him when Sparkpaw pushed forward to his side. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” she whispered.

Would you be so doubtful if another cat were leading us, and not me?
Alderpaw wanted to hiss the words at his sister, but he bit them back with clenched jaws. “Bramblestar sent us on this journey,” he murmured. “Wherever it leads
must
be right.”

The three cats who had accompanied the gray tom parted to let the traveling cats pass, then closed in around them. As
he got a closer look, Alderpaw saw that one was a black tom, and the others were she-cats: one tabby and one with white fur stained with dirt and dust. In fact, all four cats looked as if they could do with a good grooming.

Don't SkyClan cats ever wash?
Alderpaw asked himself. He could just imagine what any ThunderClan mentor would say to an apprentice who went around looking like that.

Then he reminded himself that SkyClan had been driven out of their original territory and exiled to this gorge. They had lived separately from the other Clans for so long, maybe it wasn't surprising they had slightly different customs.

As they padded down the path, Needlepaw sidled past Alderpaw and caught up the gray tom in the lead. “What's your name?” she asked.

The gray tom's ears flicked in surprise—Alderpaw guessed at the ShadowClan apprentice's confident tone. “I'm called Rain,” he replied.

Just Rain?
Alderpaw wondered why Needlepaw didn't ask that question.
They probably do things differently,
he told himself again.
Even names.
But he was sure he remembered Sandstorm mentioning SkyClan cats called Leafstar, Sharpclaw, and Echosong.
Those are proper warrior names. But then, Sandstorm was here so long ago . . .

By now Needlepaw was walking beside Rain, chatting without a trace of apprehension. Thinking that perhaps she had the right idea, Alderpaw turned toward the tabby she-cat, who was the closest to him of their escort.

“Hi, my name's Alderpaw,” he began.

The tabby she-cat ignored him, except for one glance from baleful yellow eyes.

Okay, be like that,
Alderpaw thought. He was disappointed that the SkyClan cats didn't seem more welcoming, but he told himself that perhaps they would open up once they knew him and his companions better and discovered why they were there.

The long-furred tom led Alderpaw and his companions up to the pile of rocks where the river gushed out. Sitting at the base of the rock pile was a strong, muscular tom, his white fur broken up by black spots around his eyes and his long, black tail. Sunlight gleamed on his glossy pelt, and his blue eyes shone as he surveyed the newcomers.

Alderpaw could imagine this cat perched up on the rocks to call a Clan meeting.
But no!
His belly lurched suddenly.
This isn't the Clan leader I saw in my vision, making a new warrior.
Glancing around, trying to push down fear, he saw more and more of the SkyClan cats slipping out of the shadows, or from cracks in the surrounding rocks, slowly encircling him and his little group. He examined each one of them, hoping to recognize at least one cat from his vision, but none of them looked at all familiar.
Why?

The white tom rose to his paws, a sneering look on his face. “Who are these?” he asked Rain. “Lost kitties?”

Alderpaw saw his Clanmates begin to bristle at the insult. “Steady,” he whispered. “Don't provoke them. We need to know more.”

“Greetings, Darktail.” Rain dipped his head. “These are
strangers from far away, looking for SkyClan.”

So they call their leader Dark
tail
,
Alderpaw thought, growing even more bewildered.
Why not Dark
star
? Or is this just another way these weird cats are different from us?

Darktail turned an unblinking gaze on Alderpaw. “What do you want with SkyClan?”

Staring into the leader's eerie blue eyes, Alderpaw felt his fur prickle with apprehension. He wished that either Molewhisker or Cherryfall would speak up rather than leave him to take the lead.

“I'm from ThunderClan,” he replied, choking back his uneasiness. “I've been sent to find the cats of SkyClan.”

“Why?” Darktail asked.

Alderpaw wasn't sure how to answer that.
I thought we'd find out more when we arrived.
“Every Clan's survival depends on us all working together,” he mewed uncertainly, and was relieved to see Cherryfall and Molewhisker dipping their heads in assent.

Darktail narrowed his eyes. “Are you asking me and my cats to go with you to this . . . ThunderClan?”

Feeling like a kit before its eyes opened, groping around in the dark, Alderpaw nodded. But he still didn't know whether SkyClan was really was what StarClan meant for them to “embrace.”
If I convince them to journey back with us to the lake, what will Bramblestar think? How would we cope with all these extra cats?

“Do you need our
help
?” Darktail pressed him.

“No!” Alderpaw blurted. “We're not asking for help with a fight or anything. The Clans are all settled in their own territories, and there aren't many disagreements, because there's
plenty of prey for every cat.”
Do you need
our
help?
he added silently to himself.
Or have I completely misunderstood my vision? Oh, Sandstorm, I wish you were here to help me figure this out!