Crookedstar’s Promise

Mudfur’s eyes were dark with worry. “I pray you’ll never have to fight in a battle.” He flicked his tail protectively around her.

“Don’t be silly!” She skipped away. “I can’t wait to fight in my first battle!”

Crookedjaw backed away from the mayhem.

Willowbreeze nudged him. “Scared?” she teased.

“Never.”

“A ’paw is a big responsibility.” Her gaze suddenly clouded. “I wish I had one.”

“What? A kit or a ’paw?”

She shoved him hard. “An apprentice, of course!”

“You’ll get one soon,” he promised.

Owlfur was teasing Softwing about her new apprentice, Skypaw. “She’ll wear out your whiskers,” he joked.

Softwing sniffed. “I can handle her.”

Owlfur glanced at the little brown tabby running rings around Cedarpelt. “You think?”

“Can we go out now?” Sedgepaw’s mew made Crookedjaw jump. The young she-cat was standing, tail high, pelt fluffed against the snow. Crookedjaw felt a surge of excitement. “Sure! I’ll show you our territory.”

Sedgepaw bounced back to her denmates. “I’m going out!” she boasted.

“I want to go!” Frogpaw mewed.

“Me too!” Blackpaw stared hopefully at his mentor, Hailstar.

Sunpaw flicked her tail. “I’m going to be the first to cross the stepping-stones!”

“Try getting there before me!” Skypaw dared.

Loudpaw barged past both of them. “I’m going to be first to climb Sunningrocks!”

Reedpaw purred. “We are totally going to rule this Clan!”

Beetlenose padded toward Reedpaw. “You’ll rule every Clan when I’ve finished training you.” He glanced at Crookedjaw. “Do you think Sedgepaw will make it to warrior?”

Crookedjaw rolled his eyes. “If you want to compete, Beetlenose, go ahead. I’m just going to make Sedgepaw into the best warrior she can be.”

Sedgepaw flicked her tail. “Should I check the elders for ticks before we go?”

Crookedjaw shook his head. “I think the ticks will be there when we get back.” He called to Oakheart. “Do you want to come, too?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Loudpaw skidded toward Crookedjaw. “Can we, please?” He looked desperately at Oakheart.

“Yeah,” Oakheart purred.

Reedpaw was gazing hopefully at Beetlenose. “You’re not going to let them go without me, are you?” he mewed wistfully.

“Do you want to come, too?” Crookedjaw asked Beetlenose.

Beetlenose sniffed. “I suppose so.”

Ottersplash sat down, eyes shining as she watched her kits pelt toward the sedge tunnel. “You’ll look after them, won’t you?” she meowed.

“As if they were my own,” Crookedjaw promised. He hurried to catch up before the young cats made it to the stepping-stones. Oakheart puffed beside him as they raced along the grassy path, Beetlenose at their heels. They caught up with the kits on the shore. Snow was piling against the bank, turning Sunningrocks white on the far shore. But there was no ice on the river yet.

“Can we swim?” Loudpaw asked. “We’ve only swum around the reed bed before. Never in the proper river.”

“It’s much too cold!” Crookedjaw snorted. “I don’t think your mother would thank us for bringing you home with whitecough.”

Sedgepaw bounded on to the first stepping-stone. “Are we going to cross?”

Oakheart shook his head. “Let’s stick to the shore today,” he decided. “We’ll take you downstream and then through the willows to the marsh.”

Reedpaw skipped around Beetlenose. “Will we see pelt-dens?”

“And Twolegs?” Sedgepaw’s eyes were huge.

“Let’s find out.” Beetlenose headed along the shore, flicking snow from each paw as he went. Loudpaw, Sedgepaw, and Reedpaw bounded after him.

“Were we like that?” Oakheart fell in beside Crookedjaw.

Sedgepaw turned, ears twitching. “Like what?”

“Like excited squirrels,” Crookedjaw teased.

Sedgepaw’s attention flitted to the trees. A bird was hopping from branch to branch, sending down showers of snow. “What’s that bird?”

“A mistle thrush,” Crookedjaw told her.

“Do we hunt it?”

“Yes, if the river freezes.”

“What else do we hunt?” Sedgepaw didn’t wait for an answer. “Do we hunt mice like ThunderClan or rabbits like WindClan? Have you eaten rabbit? What does it taste like? Did Willowbreeze eat it when—”

Oakheart cut her off. “Look!” He nodded at her littermates, who were disappearing after Beetlenose around a bend in the river. “You’d better catch up. You don’t want to miss anything.”

“Oh!” Sedgepaw tore away after Loudpaw and Reedpaw.

Crookedjaw’s whiskers twitched. “We’re not going to be bored for a while.” He followed Oakheart downstream. Sedgepaw was going to be fun to mentor.

“Is this how I stalk?” Sedgepaw was waiting just past the bend, crouching on the grassy bank, her tail down and her legs bent. She looked like a frog.

“Not bad,” Crookedjaw meowed.

Oakheart headed on to catch up with Loudpaw, who was racing Reedpaw up and down the shore while Beetlenose padded steadily on.

“When will I learn to catch a fish?” Sedgepaw hopped down the bank and joined Crookedjaw. “What’s the best fish to catch? What was your first fish?”

Crookedjaw’s head was spinning. “Slow down,” he meowed.