Eclipse

“You can visit her later.” Leafpool was adamant. The two apprentices were bundled out of the entrance. “What happened?” Leafpool’s mew was brittle as she turned to Cloudtail.

The warrior began to explain. “She was jumping over a fallen tree—”

Cinderpaw butted in. “My stupid leg gave way! And now I’ve failed my assessment!”

“It doesn’t matter,” Cloudtail tried to reassure her, but Cinderpaw was pulsing with anger.

“Of course it matters!” she snapped. “I don’t want Honeypaw and Poppypaw to move to the warriors’ den without me. I wanted to sit the warriors’ vigil with them, not on my own!”

“I know you’re upset,” Leafpool soothed. “Let’s just see if we can make you more comfortable.” Her mew was calm, but Jaypaw could sense distress crackling beneath her pelt as she began to run her pads over Cinderpaw’s leg. “Nothing broken,” she mewed. “It’s not as bad as before.”

“Feels like it’s worse,” Cinderpaw grumbled.

“You’ve just wrenched the muscles,” Leafpool assured her.

“They’ll heal with rest.”

“But why did it give way?”

Leafpool didn’t answer but spoke instead to Cloudtail.

“Leave her to me,” she mewed softly. “I’ll let you know how she is as soon as I’ve finished treating her.”

Jaypaw ducked out of the way to let Cloudtail pass as the warrior padded out of the den. He wondered whether he should offer to help, but Leafpool seemed so caught up in Cinderpaw’s injury that he remained quiet, crouching near the entrance, ready if she needed him.

“Why did it give way?” Cinderpaw repeated her question more fiercely. “Didn’t it heal properly last time? Will it always be weak? What if I can never be a warrior?”

Jaypaw felt Leafpool’s rush of panic like a hot wind flattening his pelt.

“You’ll be fine,” Leafpool soothed. “I’ve made a poultice.”

She padded to the back of the den. Jaypaw smelled the tang of nettle and comfrey in the ointment she brought back and began smoothing over Cinderpaw’s leg. “Take these poppy seeds,” Leafpool advised. “They’ll help you to rest.”

Jaypaw listened as Cinderpaw’s breathing slowed and deepened. Leafpool sat motionless beside her, and only when Cinderpaw finally drifted into sleep did she turn away.

Surprise pricked from her when she saw Jaypaw. “Are you still here?”

Jaypaw sat up, stiff from crouching so long. “I wouldn’t leave while we had a patient.”

“I thought you’d gone out with the others,” Leafpool murmured absently.

“You shouldn’t have told Cloudtail she was ready for her assessment.”

“That’s not for you to judge.” Leafpool’s voice quavered.

“You didn’t even watch a training session to make sure she was fully fit.”

“You don’t understand!”

“I do,” Jaypaw answered quietly. He nodded toward the cave entrance, beckoning Leafpool outside. She followed him to the bramble patch. No one would overhear them there.

Jaypaw took a deep breath. “I know that you want Cinderpaw to become a warrior as soon as possible. You don’t want her to suffer the same fate as Cinderpelt.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Leafpool demanded. “Not being able to become a warrior broke Cinderpelt’s heart.”

There are worse fates. “You’re obsessed with the past,” Jaypaw warned her. “You want to make sure everything turns out the way you think it should.”

“I just want to do what’s right.”

“You can’t always do the right thing. No matter how much you want to.”

“I know.” Grief pulsed from his mentor, sharper and deeper than Jaypaw expected. “But I’ll always try.”

Chapter 6

Hollypaw watched the dawn sky lighten.

Was it too early to visit Cinderpaw? Leafpool had shooed her away the night before; her patient had been sleeping.

The thorn barrier rustled. The dawn patrol was returning.

Graystripe and Dustpelt padded into the camp, followed by Whitewing and Icepaw. Whitewing was trying to persuade her apprentice to be quiet. “You’ve been chattering nonstop since we left,” she scolded. “We’re home now, and your Clanmates are still sleeping.”

“But I was only asking Graystripe if I could go with him to tell Firestar.” It had been Icepaw’s first dawn patrol, and the young apprentice was fizzing with energy.

“This is serious news.” Graystripe flicked Icepaw’s ear gently with his tail. “I’m not sure Firestar will want you bouncing around his den while he hears it.”

Hollypaw pricked her ears. “What news?” She padded forward.

“You’ll know soon enough,” Graystripe called as he followed Dustpelt up the rocks to Highledge.

Disappointed, Hollypaw turned away and stared at the medicine cat’s den. I’ll just peek in and see if anyone’s awake. She padded to the cave and nosed her way through the brambles that covered the entrance. Blinking to adjust to the half-light, she saw Leafpool mixing herbs by a cleft in the rock.

Hollypaw entered the den. “Is that for Cinderpaw?” she whispered.

Leafpool nodded without looking up. “Yes, it is.”

“I’ve come to see her,” Hollypaw explained. “Is she awake?”