The Silent Thaw

Bristlefrost flattened her ears, bracing herself for a soaking as Lionblaze broke from the trees ahead of her. She followed him out, narrowing her eyes against the rain. As Spotfur fluffed out her fur and moved closer to Lionblaze, Bristlefrost pricked her ears. She’d hung back all the way from the camp, wondering if the two warriors would mention Bramblestar’s new rule. She’d been aware of murmuring among her Clanmates last night as they’d shared tongues around the clearing, but she hadn’t heard any cat directly criticize their leader. They’d seemed more puzzled than angry, glancing occasionally at the Highledge as though wondering why Bramblestar had changed a long-standing Clan tradition.

“It’s good to see rain instead of snow,” Spotfur mewed.

“I think I prefer snow.” Lionblaze flicked water from his ears.

“At least there’s warmth in the air,” Spotfur argued.

“Not much.” Lionblaze crossed the grass that stretched toward the moor. “But the prey’s returning, which is worth a little rain.”

“Thank StarClan.” Spotfur glanced at the sky.

“You’re wasting your breath,” Lionblaze grunted. “We don’t even know that they’re listening anymore.”

Spotfur blinked at him. “Of course they are. The thaw has set in properly now. There’s no reason why they can’t.”

“It might take a while for them to reach us again.”

Worry wormed beneath Bristlefrost’s pelt. “Perhaps they’re waiting for us to follow the warrior code properly.”

Lionblaze glanced back at her sharply. “We’ve always followed the warrior code.” He hesitated. “At least, some of us have.”

Bristlefrost frowned. Was he thinking of any cat in particular?

“I can smell rabbit.” Spotfur stopped and lifted her muzzle.

Lionblaze tasted the air. His wet pelt spiked excitedly. “So can I.” Pricking his ears, he glanced across the stretch of heather that led to the WindClan border. Gray fur bobbed between two bushes.

Bristlefrost’s heart quickened. Rabbit! She licked her lips eagerly and dropped into a hunting crouch as Spotfur and Lionblaze began to stalk toward their quarry. She crept after them, keeping her belly close to the ground. Her pelt tingled with excitement as the rabbit shot suddenly from the heather and Lionblaze chased after it. It saw him and veered away, panic sparking in its round black eyes. Plunging back into the heather, it disappeared. Lionblaze wove between the bushes, Spotfur at his heels.

Bristlefrost straightened, alarm flashing in her belly as she saw the heather tremble. Lionblaze and Spotfur were heading straight toward the border.

“Watch out!” she yowled. They mustn’t catch the rabbit on WindClan land! She froze as she saw the two warriors break from the heather and chase the rabbit past the line of gorse that marked the border. Lionblaze drove the rabbit down a few tail-lengths beyond it. He killed it and she saw him raise his muzzle to mew a quick thanks to StarClan before picking it up and carrying back onto ThunderClan territory.

Bristlefrost raced to meet them, dread hollowing her belly. “You caught that on WindClan land!” She stopped as she reached them and stared at Lionblaze. Catching prey on another Clan’s territory was against the warrior code. She searched his gaze, expecting to see alarm there. What if StarClan was

watching? They’d never come back at this rate.

Lionblaze dropped the rabbit onto the grass, looking around. When his eyes widened, Bristlefrost knew he had realized where they were. “We couldn’t help it,” he mewed, sounding as if he was speaking to himself. Convincing himself.

Spotfur stopped beside him and sniffed the rabbit. She nodded in agreement. “It was only on WindClan land because we chased it there.”

“But you’ve broken the code.” Bristlefrost could hardly believe her ears. Didn’t they care if StarClan never came back?

“It doesn’t hurt any cat,” Lionblaze told her. “And in this rain, WindClan will never know we crossed the border.”

“StarClan will know,” Bristlefrost mewed desperately.

“StarClan would never be angry at a warrior for feeding his Clan.” Lionblaze nudged the rabbit. “This will make a good meal for Graystripe, Cloudtail, and Brightheart.”

Lionblaze picked up the rabbit and headed along the scent line.

“Are we going to mark the border?” Bristlefrost blinked at Spotfur.

“Of course.” Spotfur padded to a gorse bush and rubbed her jaw along a spiny branch. “But I doubt our scent will stay for long in this rain.”

Pelt prickling uneasily, Bristlefrost marked the next bush. Neither warrior seemed to care that they’d broken the warrior code. And she couldn’t help feeling that marking a border right after they’d crossed it might make StarClan even angrier.

The rain had eased by the time they reached camp. Bristlefrost’s paws ached from the long trek around the borders.

“Bristlefrost.”