Spottedpaw wrapped the last shred of cobweb around the twig and stowed it neatly in the cleft in the rock beside the piles of herbs. “All done!” she declared. “Your store is much tidier now, Featherwhisker. Try not to mess it up again!”

The silver-gray tom flicked her playfully with his tail. “Perhaps you should stay here to keep me in order,” he suggested. “Goosefeather would be glad of the help!” He nodded to the elderly medicine cat, who was dozing in the sun.

Spottedpaw looked at Featherwhisker in alarm. “You don’t mean that, do you? You said my shoulder was healed enough to go back to training.”

Featherwhisker purred. “No, you’re fit to train. But I’ve enjoyed having you here, Spottedpaw. If you ever change your mind about becoming a warrior, I’d be honored to have you as my apprentice.”

“Never!” Spottedpaw meowed. The medicine cat blinked. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. But I’m going to be a warrior.”

Featherwhisker nodded. “Well, good luck, and if you see any catmint while you’re on patrol, don’t forget to pick some. Our stores are very low.”

“Will do!” Spottedpaw trotted through the ferns, careful not to disturb Goosefeather, and emerged in the sun-dappled clearing. Thrushpelt was outside the warriors’ den, his back arched in a stretch. Spottedpaw bounded over to him. “Featherwhisker said I can start training again!”

“That’s excellent news,” Thrushpelt meowed. “We’ll do some hunting practice today, nothing too strenuous. I don’t think you should go on patrol for a while.”

“I’m fine, honestly. My shoulder still aches a bit, but Featherwhisker is happy for me to do as much as I can.”

The sandy-gray warrior twitched his ears. “I’ll be the judge of that.”

He headed toward the gorse tunnel. Willowpaw and Redpaw were bundling through, dragging a squirrel between them.

“Wow!” mewed Spottedpaw. “Did you catch that?”

“Yup!” Willowpaw announced. “And yesterday I nearly caught a pigeon!”

Redpaw flicked her with his tail. “More like it nearly flew off with you!”

Spottedpaw felt a stab of envy. Her injury had put her far behind her littermates. She would have to train twice as hard—if Thrushpelt allowed her.

Thrushpelt beckoned to Spottedpaw with his tail and she trotted after him through the tunnel and up the ravine, stepping carefully to avoid jolting her shoulder. They plunged into the ferns, which were cool and damp after a recent fall of rain. Spottedpaw breathed deeply, enjoying the freshness after the stuffy, still air inside Featherwhisker’s den.

Thrushpelt stopped in a clear space and sat down, curling his tail around his haunches. “Let’s start off with a hunting crouch, a sideways pounce, and some silent stalking.”

Spottedpaw tucked her hind legs under her and balanced her weight over them. Her shoulder protested when she let her body slide backward but she kept her front paws resting lightly on the ground. When she sprang forward, she was careful to put more weight on her uninjured leg. She saw Thrushpelt narrow his eyes, watching for unsteadiness, but she kept her balance by sinking her claws into the dusty soil. Her mentor nodded. Spottedpaw relaxed, then gathered herself for the sideways pounce. She deliberately went toward her strong side but she still jarred her shoulder and let out a whimper.

“Take it easy,” Thrushpelt murmured. “You’re doing well.”

Spottedpaw finished by stepping softly across the glade, lowering each paw onto the grass without making a sound. She had always enjoyed stalking. She might not be the fastest runner among the apprentices, or the strongest, but she could creep up on anything!

“Let’s go see if there is an easy catch or two waiting for us,” Thrushpelt meowed. “You obviously haven’t forgotten any of your hunting skills.” He stood up and let Spottedpaw take the lead. She headed toward treecutplace, knowing it would be easier to hunt without getting tangled up in undergrowth. She wasn’t going to chase any squirrels up trees, though!

The pine trees were still and quiet, strongly scented from the rain. Spottedpaw and Thrushpelt padded across the bed of needles until the red dens of Twolegplace were visible between the trunks. Spottedpaw picked up a hint of something warm and furry—a rabbit or perhaps a vole—and bent her nose to the ground, following the trail.

A line of glossy-leaved bushes grew at the edge of the trees. The scent trail vanished among the branches. Spottedpaw wriggled underneath and cast around, but there was no trace of it. Suddenly she heard voices and froze.

“What are you doing here? This is ThunderClan territory!” That was Thistleclaw, but who was he talking to? Spottedpaw peered through the branches but could only see the swath of bright green grass running beside the Twolegplace fence.

Then Bluefur spoke: “Thistleclaw, he’s only a kit. He’s no threat.” There was a hint of desperation in her voice. Spottedpaw crawled toward the edge of the bush, dragging her belly silently through the dust and leaf scraps. A tiny black kit was standing muzzle-deep in the grass, facing Thistleclaw and Tigerpaw. Bluefur stood behind Thistleclaw, her fur fluffed up.

“An intruder is an intruder, Bluefur!” Thistleclaw growled. “You’ve always been too soft on them.” He looked at Tigerpaw, who was bouncing on his toes. “Here, let’s put it to my apprentice. What do you think, Tigerpaw? How should we handle this?”

Tigerpaw’s eyes gleamed. “I think the kittypet should be taught a lesson. One it’ll remember.”

Spottedpaw felt her belly flip over. This was not going to end well.

“Now, hold on, there’s no need for this…” Bluefur begged, lunging forward.

Thistleclaw spun to face her. “Shut up!”

At the same moment, Tigerpaw hurled himself at the kit. The tiny black cat flew across the ground and landed with a thud. Spottedpaw winced. Surely it would turn tail and flee now?

“Get up!” snarled Tigerpaw.

The kit scrabbled its paws in the dirt but before it could stand, Tigerpaw pounced on it and held it down. He raked its muzzle with bare claws, then slashed down its flank. Bright red lines of blood sprang onto the glossy black fur.

“Show it your teeth, Tigerpaw!” Thistleclaw urged.

The apprentice bit deep into the kit’s shoulder. The kit let out a terrible screech and tried desperately to get away. Spottedpaw gathered her haunches beneath her, ready to spring out and rescue the helpless little cat. No kittypet deserved to be treated like this!

Before she could move, a blue-gray blur shot across the grass and Bluefur blocked Tigerpaw’s path to the kit. “Stop, Tigerpaw!” she yowled. “That’s enough! Warriors don’t need to kill to win a battle, remember?”

Tigerpaw narrowed his eyes. The kit’s blood dripped from his teeth and pooled on the dusty ground. “I was just defending our territory.”

“And you’ve done that,” Bluefur meowed more quietly. “This kit has learned its lesson.”

Behind her, the kit stood up and stared in terror at Tigerpaw.

Tigerpaw glared back. “Yeah, you’ll never forget me!” He took one step forward and the kit fled with a whimper, limping into the grass and vanishing under the nearest fence.

Bluefur let the fur rise along her spine. “If I ever see you do something like that again, I’ll report you to Sunstar!”

Thistleclaw bared his teeth. “We were only defending ThunderClan from invaders.”

“That so-called invader was a kit!” Bluefur pointed out.

“That’s his problem,” Thistleclaw mewed. He beckoned to Tigerpaw with his tail and stalked into the pine trees. The dappled shadows swallowed them up, leaving Bluefur alone, her pelt ruffled with anger.

Spottedpaw took a deep breath and backed out of the bush. She was shaking with horror at Tigerpaw’s hostility toward the defenseless kit. If Bluefur hadn’t stopped him, would he have killed that tiny kittypet? Spottedpaw pictured the deep scratch on Thistleclaw’s ear, and wondered where it had come from. Had Tigerpaw caught him unawares during a mock battle? Was that why Thistleclaw had seemed so angry about his injury?

She padded through the slender pine trees, lost in whirling thoughts.

“Spottedpaw, is that you?” Thrushpelt stuck his head out from behind a tree. “Where did you go?”

“Oh, I… er… followed a scent trail back there.” Spottedpaw gestured vaguely with her tail. “It didn’t lead to any prey, though.”

Thrushpelt snorted. “Well, I don’t want to go back to the camp empty-pawed. Let’s try nearer to Snakerocks.”

He turned and trotted along a narrow path that led into the brambles. Spottedpaw followed more slowly, the screech of the terrified kittypet still echoing in her ears. She made an easy catch of an old, slow mouse, while Thrushpelt pounced on a blackbird that was wrestling a worm out of the ground. They carried their prey back to the camp, Spottedpaw trying hard not to limp under the weight of her fresh-kill. Her shoulder ached all the way from her toes to the tip of her ear.

Thrushpelt must have noticed, because he told her to take some prey for herself and find somewhere to rest. Spottedpaw dragged half a sparrow into the shade cast by the nursery bush. The brambles were a little overgrown and untidy because the nursery was currently empty; as soon as it was needed by an expecting queen, Fuzzypelt and Swiftbreeze would trim and weave the branches back into place, making a sheltered and watertight den.

“Mind if I join you?”

A shadow fell across Spottedpaw and she looked up to see Thistleclaw holding a baby vole in his mouth.

“Of course!” Spottedpaw shifted sideways to make room for him on the softest patch of grass.

They ate in silence for a while, Spottedpaw enjoying the feel of his warm flank against hers. But she couldn’t shake her memories of Tigerpaw attacking the little kittypet, and Thistleclaw’s encouragement.

“I… I saw what happened today,” she began. “With the kittypet, and Tigerpaw.”

Thistleclaw looked at her in surprise. “Really? I didn’t see you there.”

“I was stalking something.” Spottedpaw felt hot underneath her fur. “Tigerpaw was kind of brutal, wasn’t he? I mean, it was only a kit.”

Thistleclaw’s amber eyes narrowed. “Are we supposed to make allowances for different kinds of intruder? Should we welcome the kits, then change our minds when they are six moons old? Or twelve moons? Or elders?”

Spottedpaw twitched the tip of her tail. “I guess not. But Bluefur seemed pretty angry with how Tigerpaw reacted.” As soon as she spoke, she wished she could take the words back. Thistleclaw’s ears flattened and the fur on his neck spiked.

“Bluefur is not training my apprentice,” he growled.

“I just think Bluefur did the right thing, stopping Tigerpaw. He was going to hurt that kit really badly, even though it was trying to run away!” Spottedpaw tried to swallow the lump of sparrow that seemed to be stuck halfway down. “Tigerpaw is so angry all the time. I… I think he’s trying to prove to us that he’s nothing like his father, that he’d never leave ThunderClan to become a kittypet.”

Above her, Thistleclaw’s nostrils flared and his amber eyes blazed. “Is there something wrong with wanting to be the best, the strongest, the most fearless in your Clan? Do you think we should all be medicine cats, mincing around with herbs and feathers and avoiding so much as a nip from a mouse?”

“No, of course not. I…”

“Tigerpaw has more courage than any apprentice I’ve ever known! I’m disappointed in you, Spottedpaw. I thought you were ambitious, too. Is Thrushpelt training you to be an ‘okay’ warrior? Just good enough to catch mice and renew scent markers?” There was a challenge in his voice, and Spottedpaw jumped up.

“Don’t say that! Thrushpelt is a good mentor! I thought Tigerpaw crossed a line today, and I was glad when Bluefur stopped him. And I am ambitious! I just know there are worthier enemies than a helpless kit!”

Blazing with fury, Spottedpaw jumped up and raced across the clearing. She pushed through the gorse tunnel, not caring that thorns ripped at her fur. She charged up the ravine without knowing where she was going; she just wanted to be far away from Thistleclaw’s scorn and disappointment.

She thrust blindly through the cool green ferns, past a startled patrol, until she felt warmth on her muzzle and a gentle breeze against her ears. She looked around. She had run all the way to the edge of the forest, and Sunningrocks loomed over her, gray and solid and echoing with the sound of the river just beyond. Spottedpaw scrambled up to her favorite basking place, halfway to the top with a clear view upriver to WindClan on the moor. She sat down and tried to empty her mind.

“Okay, I’m a squirrel-brained fool who doesn’t deserve your company,” murmured a voice behind her. “But you left your sparrow, and I thought you might be hungry, so I’ll just put it here. Then I’ll leave you alone, I promise.”

Spottedpaw turned to see Thistleclaw crouched at the edge of the flat rock. Her half-eaten fresh-kill lay beside him, and his ears were comically flattened like a scolded kit’s. He looked up at her with huge eyes, then down again.

“I don’t blame you for hating me,” he mewed in a small voice. “You’re twice the cat Tigerpaw will ever be. I could never be disappointed in you.”

Spottedpaw purred. “I don’t hate you, Thistleclaw. Come over here, you look as if you’re about to fall off.” She beckoned him with her tail, and he crawled toward her, his belly fur brushing the warm stone.

“I’m sorry,” he mewed. “I was really rude to you. It won’t happen again.”

Spottedpaw touched his shoulder with her front paw. “I’m sorry too. I should never have doubted you. I know you have trained Tigerpaw to be the bravest, most loyal warrior that ThunderClan could wish for. It wasn’t my place to judge him.”

The pale-furred warrior blinked at her, his expression earnest. “But it was, Spottedpaw! I value your opinion, don’t you know that? I want to know what you think about everything! Tigerpaw, Sunstar, Tawnyspots, StarClan, the fresh-kill pile, whether the elders should deal with their own ticks…”

He glanced sideways at her and Spottedpaw let out a purr of laughter. “Now you’re being silly! But… thank you. That means a lot, to know that you think so much of me.”

Thistleclaw leaned toward her until their cheeks brushed. “I think a very great deal of you, Spottedpaw. Wherever I am, in my nest, in the forest, patrolling the borders… you are always beside me.”

Spottedpaw couldn’t breathe. Her heart was beating so hard, she thought Thistleclaw must be able to hear it. This wasn’t like a warrior talking to an apprentice about her ambitions; this was completely different. Thistleclaw was talking to her as if she was his equal. And she felt different, too. Am I falling in love?

“What about you?” Thistleclaw prompted softly. “Do you think about me too?”

Spottedpaw nodded. “Yes,” she whispered. “But you’re a warrior, and I’m only an apprentice…”

“You won’t be an apprentice forever! I’ve watched you train, and I know you’ll pass your assessment with no trouble at all.” Thistleclaw straightened up. “There is no harm in thinking about the future. Our future.”

“Really?” Spottedpaw felt her heart flip over. I must be dreaming!

“Of course.” Thistleclaw nodded solemnly. “Look around you. You believe in StarClan, don’t you? We are surrounded by omens that tell us we should be together.”

Spottedpaw stared at him. “Are… are you sure?”

Thistleclaw gestured with his tail. “Look at those two clouds, side by side. And those crows flying over the trees—how many of them are there? That’s right, two! Down there beside the river, do you see those two dark stones? We’re meant to be a pair, Spottedpaw. StarClan says so.” He glanced at her, and there was a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

Spottedpaw cuffed him lightly with her paw. “Don’t tease! Omens are very serious. I don’t think Featherwhisker would see things the same way.”

“Ah, Featherwhisker! Our mighty medicine cat!” Thistleclaw’s voice took on a sharper tone. “We wouldn’t want to contradict him, would we?”

“What do you mean? I think Featherwhisker has done an incredible thing, giving up his life to serve our Clan. He knows so much, yet he never acts as if he is better than the rest of us. I can’t imagine a better medicine cat!”

Thistleclaw bristled. “You sound as if you like him more than me! If he’s so precious, why don’t you go hang out in the medicine den for a few more moons?”

“Don’t be such a mouse-brain!” Spottedpaw forced her fur to lie flat and rested her tail on Thistleclaw’s flank. “I want to be with you.”

Thistleclaw’s amber eyes burned into hers. “Prove it,” he whispered.

Spottedpaw blinked. “What do you mean?”

“Prove how much I mean to you. Come with me tonight.”

“Where? Are we going to cross the border?”

Thistleclaw twitched his tail. “You’ll see. Go to your nest as usual, and I will fetch you. Tell no other cat that you’ll be with me. Do you trust me?”

“Of course,” Spottedpaw mewed.

“Then you have nothing to fear.” The warrior sprang down from the rock and vanished into the ferns, leaving nothing but a few quivering fronds to show where he had been.

Spottedpaw sat back on her haunches. Where in the name of StarClan was Thistleclaw planning to take her?