The Silent Thaw

“Precisely!” His gaze fixed on her eagerly. “Squirrelflight and I must be stronger than you all because we are the ones who will guide you through whatever hardship might face us. So we should eat first.”

“But we’ve always shown respect to the elders and queens,” Lionblaze objected.

“There are other ways to show respect.” Bramblestar blinked at the golden warrior. “Would you break the code by defying me?”

“Aren’t you breaking the code by eating before the elders?” Lionblaze pressed.

Bramblestar held his gaze. “I am your leader.” His growl was so soft that Bristlefrost could barely hear. “I decide what the code is.”

Her Clanmates stared at Bramblestar, their gazes clouded with uncertainty. Lionblaze’s tail flicked harder but he didn’t speak as Bramblestar padded to the fresh-kill pile and lifted the fat thrush from the top. He carried it back to Squirrelflight and nudged her toward the rock tumble. She followed him onto the Highledge as Bramblestar took the thrush into their den, but she glanced uneasily back at her Clanmates before disappearing inside.

Lionblaze picked two shrews from the fresh-kill pile and carried them to the elders’ den. Cloudtail nodded his thanks as the golden warrior dropped them at his paws, his gaze flitting toward the Highledge. Neither tom spoke, but Bristlefrost could see from their ruffled fur that they were troubled.

In the clearing, Stormcloud and Fernsong glanced at each other.

“Should we go hunting?” Fernsong wondered.

Stormcloud shrugged.

Bristlefrost suddenly realized that Squirrelflight hadn’t finished organizing the afternoon’s hunting patrol. Am I supposed to do it now? Fernsong was looking at her expectantly. “I’ll check with Squirrelflight.” She scrambled up the rock tumble. Perhaps she should organize three hunting patrols. If there was plenty of prey in camp, the Clan might not worry about the new rule. Eating before the elders and queens sounded like a strange decision, but Bramblestar must know what he was doing. He was Clan leader. Perhaps he was just testing his Clanmates’ willingness to follow the warrior code.

On the Highledge, she padded to the den entrance, hesitating as she heard a hiss from inside.

“Do you really think this is the best way to run a Clan?” Squirrelflight sounded angry. “After the leaf-bare we’ve had, do you think you’ll improve morale by pushing cats around and stealing the best prey for yourself?”

Bramblestar’s reply was silky, but she couldn’t make out the words. She backed away. She didn’t need to talk to Squirrelflight right now. She could organize the patrols herself and report back later. Squirrelflight would probably thank her for taking the initiative.

As she slithered down the slope, stones cracking beneath her paws, a chill ran along Bristlefrost’s spine. If Squirrelflight didn’t agree with Bramblestar’s prey rule, would any cat? At the bottom, she shook out her fur.

Fernsong looked at her expectantly. “What did she say?”

“She was busy,” Bristlefrost told him. “You might as well go hunting. I’m sure that’s what she wanted.”

Stormcloud blinked at Bristlefrost. “Do you want to come with us?”

“I want to organize some more patrols,” she told him. She also wanted to stay close to camp. Something was different about Bramblestar, and it was starting to make her uneasy. If she stayed close, she might find out what it was. Losing a life had changed him. Was something wrong?

She pushed the thought away. Of course not. He was still Bramblestar. So what if he was sterner now? He was just trying to make sure his warriors obeyed the code so that StarClan would come back. He wanted the best for his Clan, and that was enough. Flicking her tail, Bristlefrost padded to the camp wall and began to tug another stray bramble. She was sure everything would work out.

Bristlefrost shivered as rain pierced her pelt. Yesterday’s clouds had brought a storm. It had begun in the night and was still falling as she followed Lionblaze and Spotfur toward the edge of the forest.

“Let’s patrol the SkyClan border first,” she called to the golden warrior as he followed a stale prey trail. “It’s more sheltered beneath the trees.”

“She has a point.” Spotfur eyed Lionblaze hopefully. “It might stop raining. Then we could check the WindClan border without getting drenched.”

Lionblaze glanced up at the canopy, where rain was dripping steadily between the branches. “We’re going to get drenched anyway,” he mewed. “We might as well check the scent line before it’s completely washed away.”