The Apprentice's Quest (21 page)

Darktail seemed to think for a moment, then inclined his head politely to Alderpaw. “I'm impressed,” he purred. “I appreciate that you have made a long journey to find SkyClan. But I hope you understand, we can't just abandon our territory at the urging of strangers.”

Alderpaw felt some of his tension ease.
At least Darktail sounds reasonable.
But he hadn't expected the meeting with SkyClan to go this way at all, and part of him would have liked to leave and pretend that none of this had ever happened. These cats didn't seem to be in any need of help.

Then he remembered his vision, especially his dream of the cats shrieking in anguish on the bleak moor.
I can't just turn around and go home,
he thought, wishing once again that Sandstorm were with him.

“Why don't we stick around for a bit?” It was Needlepaw who spoke, her head and tail raised fearlessly as she addressed Darktail. “We could join in with some hunts and patrols. It wouldn't take long for you SkyClan cats to see that we can be trusted.”

Alderpaw wasn't sure whether he liked that suggestion or not. But he couldn't think of a better idea, so he supposed he would have to go along with it.

Darktail remained quiet for a moment, his blue gaze resting on each cat for a heartbeat before returning to Alderpaw. “Very well,” he meowed at last. “Rain, show our guests where
they can sleep. And yes,” he added to Alderpaw, “there's probably quite a bit that we can learn from one another.”

Alderpaw nodded in reluctant agreement, though his pelt still prickled and a shiver ran through him from ears to tail-tip.
Why does this feel so wrong?

The sun was warm on Alderpaw's pelt as he bent his head to lap from the stream. Gazing down into the water, he wished he could wash his paws, but he knew that would only make it easier for dust and grit to stick to them.

How can the SkyClan cats bear to live in such a filthy place?
he asked himself.
Maybe if they do return with us to the forest, the ways of the other Clans will rub off on them.

The evening before, when Rain had taken him and his friends to a den—a bare cave in the side of the gorge with nothing on the floor but sand—Alderpaw had settled to sleep in the hope that StarClan would send another vision to guide him. But now he couldn't even remember whether he had dreamed at all.

A pang of homesickness pierced him, sharp as a thorn, and he longed to feel cool grass beneath his pads, and to hear the gentle rustling of leaves as branches swayed above his head.
I hope SkyClan will decide to come with us, just so we can head home soon. My Clan doesn't even know that Sandstorm is dead.

Grief tugged at Alderpaw's belly as he remembered the wise old she-cat. She would have known what to do, and helped him figure out why none of the cats here looked like the cats from his vision. She would have worked out why they
didn't seem to be looking for help.

Is my timing wrong? Was I dreaming of past SkyClan cats?

A yowl from a little way downstream distracted Alderpaw from his thoughts. Turning, he spotted Needlepaw, who was perched on a boulder a few tail-lengths away.

“The hunters are back!” she announced. “And they're bringing prey.”

Alderpaw left the waterside and bounded back to the center of the camp to meet the hunting patrols. His belly rumbled when he saw the quantities of prey that lay around Darktail as if presented for his approval. The hunters stood around the prey in a wide half circle, with Rain closest to their leader.

The rest of the questing cats clustered around Alderpaw and watched as Darktail chose a plump pigeon and tore mouthfuls of flesh from it. Then the SkyClan leader nodded to Rain, who stepped forward and chose a squirrel for himself.

“This is weird,” Sparkpaw muttered into Alderpaw's ear. “Where's their fresh-kill pile? Who takes food to the elders and the nursing queens?”

Before Alderpaw could even try to answer her question, Rain stepped back with the squirrel in his jaws. As if at a signal, the hunters closed in, butting heads and hissing as they tried to grab the juiciest pieces of fresh-kill.

At the edges of the circle Alderpaw spotted two or three skinny elders, who tried to join in the fight for food, only to be shoved back by the stronger cats, who crouched over their prey, glaring around as they ripped flesh from the bones. A she-cat, with three tiny kits mewling around her, darted in
and grabbed a vole, but a huge tabby tom tore it out of her jaws and thrust her away with a powerful stroke of his hind legs.

The questing cats shared glances of horror and confusion. “What do they think they're doing?” Cherryfall breathed out.

Beside Alderpaw, Needlepaw shrugged. “Maybe they've never been taught the warrior code.”

“I'm surprised
you've
even heard of it,” Sparkpaw muttered.

Needlepaw gave her a sly, sideways glance. “Just because I don't always follow stupid rules doesn't mean I don't know they exist,” she retorted.

Then without hesitation she dived into the midst of the chaos of butting heads and swiping claws, easily batting two or three of the younger cats aside. Heartbeats later she emerged from the skirmish with a mouse, and crouched down in the shade of a rock to gulp it down.

Alderpaw spotted Darktail strolling back to the pile of rocks, with a casual glance over his shoulder at the fighting cats. He curled up beneath an overhang and watched the scene with slitted eyes.

Alderpaw's belly was growling, but he couldn't bring himself to join in the melee.
I'm not going to battle elders or kits for food!

Beside him he heard Sparkpaw stifling a growl. “This isn't fair,” she murmured. “Some of these SkyClan cats must go hungry day after day. That's why so many of them look thin and ragged.”

As she finished speaking, she bounded forward, skirting the scrimmage, and marched boldly up to Darktail.

“Sparkpaw, no!” Alderpaw exclaimed, hurrying after her. To his relief he realized that Molewhisker and Cherryfall were following too.

“Why do you eat like this?” Sparkpaw piped up in a challenging tone as she planted herself in front of Darktail.

Alderpaw wasn't sure whether to be impressed by her courage or embarrassed by her manners.
We are SkyClan's guests, after all.

“What do you mean?” Darktail asked, lashing his tail.

“In the Clans,” Sparkpaw explained, “we bring all the prey back to camp and make a fresh-kill pile. Some cat will take food to the elders and the nursing queens, and to any cats who are sick, and then the warriors and apprentices are allowed to help themselves. We don't fight like
that
,” she finished with a disdainful flick of her ears.

Darktail's only response was to narrow his eyes. Alderpaw stepped up to his sister's side, ready to defend her if the SkyClan leader struck at her.

“It's only fair,” Sparkpaw went on. “You must have eaten like that in the past, since you're warriors too, and you're supposed to follow the warrior code.”

Alderpaw noticed a glint of amusement in Darktail's eyes at the words
warrior code
.

“We have developed our
own
code,” the leader told Sparkpaw. “After we left the other Clans, SkyClan realized our members were becoming weak, and we decided to make up some new rules.
SkyClan
rules reward the strong and aggressive—the cats who will best defend the Clan.”

Sparkpaw looked confused. “What about sick cats, then, or elders?”

Darktail shrugged. “They learn to take care of themselves.”

Alderpaw winced as he saw Sparkpaw's neck fur beginning to bristle in anger. “Then why do you even bother living in a Clan? It's
rogues
who are out for themselves!”

A low growl of anger rose from deep in Darktail's chest, and he slid out his claws. Hastily Molewhisker stepped forward, thrusting himself between Darktail and Sparkpaw.

“She's young and curious, that's all,” he meowed. “But that's enough for now. Come on.” He gave Sparkpaw a shove, back in the direction of their den.

Sparkpaw was clearly upset as they headed away. By now the fighting was over. The hunters were relaxing in the sun, lazily grooming themselves; Alderpaw spotted Needlepaw with them. Meanwhile the elders and the she-cat with the kits were picking over the remains of the prey, searching out any morsels the hunters had missed. The kits were wailing with hunger.

“We should go home,” Sparkpaw whispered as they settled themselves in their den. “These weird cats don't need our help, and I'm not even sure that they
are
Clan cats anymore.”

Alderpaw found that he agreed with her about the way the SkyClan cats were behaving. What Darktail had told them just now about the way SkyClan had changed the rules didn't seem to fit with Bramblestar's story of how Firestar and Sandstorm had traveled upriver to restore the Clan. “It's all so confusing—” he began.

“What are you talking about?” Needlepaw interrupted as she strolled into the den.

“I said we should go home,” Sparkpaw repeated. “These cats don't need us.”

“What?” Needlepaw sounded scornful. “We're here to find what lies in the shadows, right? And we've found it. These cats are
really
. . . well, dark. We can't turn away now.”

“I think Sparkpaw is right.” Cherryfall gave Alderpaw a serious look. “Something is . . .
off
about these cats. I think they're beyond our help. Is all this really what you saw in your dream?”

Alderpaw glanced around at his cats, sensing that they were really doubting him now. “I'm not sure,” he confessed. “But I can't believe that Bramblestar got it so wrong, or that Sandstorm died for nothing. I don't know the reason, but I
do
know that this is where we are meant to be.”

He waited tensely as the other cats exchanged doubtful glances. At last Cherryfall gave a nod.

“Very well, then,” she meowed. “We'll stay and try to figure it out.”

Alderpaw let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

I hope StarClan sends me another vision soon,
he added to himself.
Because I really don't know what we're doing here.

When the last scraps of prey
had been picked over, the rest of the SkyClan cats drifted away. Only one of them—a young orange she-cat—stayed close to their leader; she was coughing so hard she could barely stay on her paws.

Alderpaw watched in shock as Darktail swung one huge paw and thumped the young she-cat hard on her back.

“Stop that racket
now
!” he growled.

The she-cat gave him a scared look. She wasn't coughing anymore, though Alderpaw didn't think that the swat on her back had done her any good. She was obviously struggling to suppress her coughs.

Alderpaw padded up and dipped his head politely to Darktail. “It sounds as though she's suffering from whitecough,” he mewed, indicating the she-cat with a wave of his tail. “She should see your medicine cat.”

Both SkyClan cats gave him a blank look. Alderpaw felt as though he had missed his footing and plunged down into dark, icy water.
They don't have a medicine cat?

Struggling to control his shock, he continued, “Whitecough isn't a big deal. Some tansy should help.”

Darktail still looked blank, as if he wanted to ask what tansy was. Alderpaw's confusion deepened.
Sandstorm mentioned that Echosong was SkyClan's medicine cat. So what happened to her? And why has their leader never heard of a basic herb like tansy?

Meanwhile the young she-cat had started coughing again, backing away from Darktail as if she was afraid of making him angry again.

“I'll be back soon,” Alderpaw mewed. “I'm going to find some tansy.”

He headed for the path that would take him to the cliff top, meaning to search for herbs among the rough grass and bushes there. But before he reached it, he spotted a den low down in the cliff wall. Because of the jutting line of the rocks, it was very close to the water, and a few wilting plants grew close beside it.

Alderpaw bounded up to the den and gave the plants a sniff. At once he recognized tansy, along with sorrel, yarrow, and chervil. Some cat had planted them, he realized, just as Leafpool and Jayfeather planted herbs near the old Twoleg nest, but clearly no cat was taking care of them now.

This has to be where the medicine cat stayed,
Alderpaw thought.
But why would they have such a perfect medicine cat's den and no medicine cat? Maybe Echosong died without training an apprentice.

The tansy leaves were limp, and the scent wasn't as strong as Alderpaw was used to in the forest, but he knew it was better than nothing. Tearing off a few stems, he padded back toward the rock pile.

When he returned, he discovered the orange she-cat lying
on her side, revealing a shock of white belly fur. The other SkyClan cats were keeping their distance, going about their business without even looking at their sick Clanmate, who was rasping and spluttering.
Her cough is even worse than I thought at first,
Alderpaw realized with a stab of anxiety.

Alderpaw dropped the tansy in front of the orange cat. “Eat that,” he told her.

The she-cat looked up at him, her green eyes widening in confusion and a trace of fear. “I will get better, won't I?” she wheezed. “I don't want to be exiled.”

Horror touched Alderpaw like a frozen claw. Gently he laid one forepaw on the she-cat's flank. “What's your name?” he asked.

“Flame,” the she-cat choked out, before giving way to another spasm of coughing.

“I'm Alderpaw. I'm learning to be a medicine cat in my own Clan. I promise you, the tansy will help.”

As Flame began to chew the tansy leaves, Alderpaw stepped back to give her a little breathing space.

“Will that work?” a rough voice rasped into his ear.

Startled, Alderpaw turned to see Darktail, glaring sternly at him. “Tansy usually clears up whitecough quite quickly,” he replied, trying to sound reassuring. “But if whitecough is left too long, it can turn into greencough—and then Flame would have been in real trouble.”

Darktail began to look interested; Alderpaw guessed he had never heard the names of these sicknesses before.
Maybe in SkyClan they're called something different.

“So what cures greencough?” the white-and-black tom asked, not sounding as if he was much concerned about Flame.

“You can still use tansy,” Alderpaw told him, “but catmint is much better, if you can get it.”

“Hmm . . .” Darktail riffled his whiskers. “And what about wounds? Will catmint cure those as well?”

“No.”
Doesn't this cat know anything?
“For wounds you would use cobweb to stop the bleeding, and comfrey root for the pain. Marigold or horsetail if the wound gets infected.”

Darktail nodded. “And for fever?”

“Er . . .” For a moment Alderpaw couldn't remember.
This is worse than being tested by Jayfeather. I wish he were here!
“Borage leaves,” he mewed at last. “And dandelion to help the feverish cat sleep. But Darktail . . .” He couldn't resist asking the question. “Don't you treat your sick cats?”

For a heartbeat Darktail looked confused. “Of course we do,” he replied with a flick of his tail. “We just do it . . . differently. Why should all Clans behave the same?”

Because we all came from the same place,
Alderpaw thought, but he couldn't bring himself to say the words aloud. He hadn't mentioned anything to Darktail about how the SkyClan cats had been driven from the forest, and he was reluctant to say anything now.

Bramblestar told me how terrible it was for SkyClan. The other Clans were wrong not to share their territory. SkyClan might blame us for it, even though it was so long ago.

But Alderpaw still couldn't understand why Darktail seemed so unfamiliar with the way the Clans lived.
Have they
really wandered so far away from the warrior code?

Then understanding started to grow inside Alderpaw, like a flower unfolding from a bud. Perhaps the prophecy meant something different from what he had thought at first. Maybe SkyClan was “in shadow” not just because they lived in a distant and forgotten place, but because they had lost their connection to the warrior code, and everything that made Clan cats different from rogues.

So it must be my task to guide them back again, and clear the sky!

Alderpaw's whiskers twitched happily. “If you like,” he meowed to Darktail, “I'll take some of your cats on a tour of your territory to see what herbs we can find, and show them what they're used for. Of course,” he added modestly, “I'm only an apprentice.”

Darktail seemed unconcerned by Alderpaw's inexperience. He gave an approving nod. “Hey, Rain!” he yowled.

The long-furred gray tom sprang up from where he sat at the edge of the river, talking to Needlepaw, and bounded over to his leader. “What do you want, Darktail?” he asked, with a respectful dip of his head to his leader.

“Go with this cat,” Darktail ordered, indicating Alderpaw with a flick of his tail. “He's going to look for herbs and tell you what to do with them. Listen to him—he's an apprentice.”

“Okay,” Rain responded, though he looked as confused as Alderpaw felt. Darktail said
apprentice
like it was . . . important.

“I'll come too,” Needlepaw added, sidling up to them. “I'd like to get a better look at the gorge.”

Alderpaw couldn't imagine why Needlepaw would want to
see any more of such a barren, dirty place, but there was no point in objecting.
Needlepaw is weird anyway. Nothing she does makes sense!

Rain took the lead as the three cats headed downstream, passing the den that Alderpaw was sure must have been Echosong's at one time.

With every paw step Alderpaw began to feel more optimistic. If he could teach these cats how to treat illness, they might start to show more compassion for one another, instead of heartlessly ignoring sick cats like Flame. They would start to feel and behave more like a real Clan. And then they could return to the forest as real allies.

This is the first stage of completing the quest—to help SkyClan find the way back to Clan life.

Alderpaw shifted restlessly in his den, unable to sleep. He kept thinking about the tour of the territory he had taken with Needlepaw and Rain, and how much Rain needed to be taught. They had found yarrow and more tansy, and Rain had seemed to think that these two herbs could cure everything.

“You'll need to search for herbs on either side of the gorge,” Alderpaw had pointed out. “And maybe even travel farther than your usual hunting territory. There are lots of different diseases that can strike a cat, and they need different herbs and different kinds of treatment.”

Rain had shrugged, seeming okay with that. “It might make more sense for Darktail to lead us to new territory soon,” he had meowed.

Now Alderpaw curled up more tightly and tried to will himself into sleep. He was desperate for another vision, perhaps a visit from Sandstorm to reassure him that everything was happening how it was supposed to. He knew deep within himself that there was something not right about SkyClan. However hard he tried to tell himself that it was only because they had lived apart from other Clans for so long, he couldn't shake the feeling that all this was somehow
wrong
. Was there a reason why he hadn't had any visions since they arrived in the gorge?

Then a reason occurred to him, and he shivered all over, wanting to mewl in terror like a tiny lost kit.
Suppose StarClan can't reach me in this place!

As Alderpaw's shuddering died away, he was distracted by the sound of voices. He had already discovered how the walls of the gorge trapped sound, so it was useless trying to have a quiet conversation, or say anything they didn't want the SkyClan cats to hear. He wrapped his tail over his ears to blot out the sound, only to raise his head alertly as he heard Darktail's voice.

“It will be easy.”

As silently as he could, Alderpaw edged toward the entrance to the den and peered out into the darkness. There was just enough light from the moon for him to make out Darktail and Rain a few tail-lengths away, along with a long-furred black she-cat named Raven.

“I don't know . . . ,” Raven mewed doubtfully. “The journey will be long and hard. I've heard stories about huge
Thunderpaths out there, and how many cats lose their lives on them.”

“Thunderpaths hold no fear for us,” Darktail responded with a dismissive wave of his tail.

Hope thrilled through Alderpaw.
Maybe the SkyClan cats are deciding to leave tomorrow, to journey with us to the lake and reunite with the other Clans!

He rose to his paws, intending to join them and tell them how happy he was about their plan, but before he could leave the den, the SkyClan cats split up, padding off in three different directions.

Movement in the shadows caught Alderpaw's eye, and to his astonishment he spotted Needlepaw, emerging from the shelter of a boulder and padding up to Rain. Until then he hadn't realized that she wasn't asleep in the den with him and his Clanmates.

“It sounds like you're close to making your minds up,” Needlepaw purred to Rain.

The big gray tom loomed over her. “It's rude to eavesdrop,” he hissed.

“I hardly had a choice.” Needlepaw was not at all intimidated; her voice was even playful. “You're not exactly subtle in how you go about your plotting.”

Rain muttered something in reply, but because he turned to walk away, Alderpaw couldn't make out the words.

Needlepaw pattered alongside the SkyClan cat, and without knowing why, Alderpaw emerged from the den and followed them as they headed upstream toward the rock pile.
Although he kept his distance, he could still hear Needlepaw's teasing purr.

“Life in the other Clans is different, Rain. There are . . . rules. You and Darktail and the others will have to learn them if you want to fit in.”

“Everything will work out,” Rain responded. “Just the way it's meant to.”