TB MOONRISE -- Chapter 18

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Cold air bit into Feathertail’s fur as she was thrust out into the dark. Her paws were tired, and it took a lot of concentration not to stumble on the damp rock of the Path of Rushing Water. The waterfall crashed into the pool below as Feathertail pressed herself against the dry cliffs, following Mistyfoot’s shape as she padded silently ahead.

Dawn had not yet broken. As Stoneteller had ordered the night before, the Clan cats had been roused while it was still dark and the stars still shone, forced to eat a hasty breakfast, and then guided out of the cave with the cave-guards all but biting their heels to get them moving. Feathertail had no desire to even look the watching Tribe cats in the eye anymore, their betrayal still stinging in her pelt like an enemy’s claws.

We weren’t even allowed to say good-bye, she thought, her heart aching as she followed Mistyfoot around the pool in the center of the clearing. Stormfur had been nowhere to be seen, kept in the Cavern of Reflection with Stoneteller and Snow – and, of course, a few cave-guards to keep out anyone who might think to mount a rescue. Feathertail swallowed around a lump in her throat. If she was resigned to leave her brother, she had wanted to at least see him before was forced to leave.

“Back off!” snapped Crowpaw. “Leave her alone!”

Feathertail turned her head. Crowpaw and Shadepaw were just making their way off of the Path of Rushing Water. Shadepaw must have stumbled, because her scruff was firmly in Cloud’s jaws. Crowpaw was bristling, claws unsheathed.

Cloud helped Shadepaw find her paws again without a word, as if challenging Crowpaw to attack and risk Shadepaw falling into the ice-cold pool below. Stoneheart, thankfully, stepped between them, his tail raised neutrally. “It’s not worth it,” he insisted to Crowpaw. “Get with the others.”

Crowpaw stepped back, lashing his tail. Shadepaw darted away from Cloud, eyes wide as she huddled up with Nightpaw. The she-cat had been silent since the Cavern of Relfection, and Feathertail wondered if she had slept at all last night. Crowpaw whipped around to join them, laying his tail over Shadepaw’s shoulders. Stoneheart sighed and took his place behind them, placing himself firmly between the apprentices and Cloud.

“Keep moving,” Crag meowed ahead. The big tom had been chosen to escort them back onto the Sun Trail and point them towards the forest. Feathertail had absolutely no desire to return, prophecy or no prophecy – how could she face RiverClan without Stormfur?

Mistyfoot’s eyes were cold and level. “It’s best to follow along for now,” she meowed to the others as they grouped up with her. “Come on.”

Crag led the way in silence, taking them along the Tribe’s hunting trails. Feathertail recognized these paths, her pawsteps far surer than her friends as they walked. They were heading towards the Claw Tree, and Feathertail realized that she had never seen the Tribe cats wander beyond that landmark. We’re heading for the edge of their territory.

A bitter feeling rose in her throat. That was where she and Brook had looked out over the land below, their pelts brushing, just the two of them. The world seemed so big and warm then – now it was cold, closed-in like being trapped in a rockslide. Such whiplash made Feathertail feel wretched.

How could she do this to me? To all of us?

Dawn was breaking as they reached the end of the cliff. Crag stopped them with a flick of his tail, pushing the Clan cats out before him. Feathertail looked out at the horizon, towards the forest in the distance, and felt her stomach churn.

“See the path?” Crag asked, nodding down. Feathertail and the others followed his gaze to a trail that headed down, weaving between boulders and cliffs towards the foot of the mountains. “Follow it, and keep to the sunrise. You will find your forest at the end of the Trail.”

Mistyfoot blinked at Crag. “Thank you,” she meowed, the words clearly forced.

Crag blinked back, and for a moment Feathertail wondered if he was hurt. I hope you are, she thought, narrowing her eyes at Crag and Cloud. We all thought we’d earned your respect, your friendship… and then you betrayed us.

I hope it hurts.

Mistyfoot led the way down the path, her eyes focused on what lay ahead. Feathertail hesitated as the others followed suit, looking back at the cave-guards she had once hunted beside. Their faces, which had been warm and friendly, were now cold and impassive. She wanted to lash out, to claw their muzzles and screech at them until they gave back Stormfur… but she knew that wouldn’t work.

“Tell Brook good-bye,” Feathertail said instead.

Crag blinked. “She would like that,” he decided.

Feathertail frowned. Why do you think it matters to me what she would like? The urge to snap, to be rude and mean, rose… but she pushed it down. It would mean nothing… and they had all been hurt so much already. Feathertail turned and followed the others, catching up to Stoneheart with a few easy bounds down the slope.

The Clan cats walked in silence, following the zig-zag path as it wound its way down. It was steep for a while, Feathertail surmised, but looking at the terrain she knew it would level out. She kept herself to the back of the group, watching out for any of her friends who might not have such sure paws on the dew-wet stone.

Glancing back, she saw that Crag and Cloud were gone.

She wasn’t the only one who noticed. As soon as the cave-guards were out of sight, Crowpaw snapped, “We should have fought them!”

“Why?” Nightpaw hissed back. His eyes were pools of misery. Feathertail knew Stormfur had been close with all the young apprentices on this journey – there was no way his loss wouldn’t hurt them. “We were so outnumbered, what could we do?”

“Nightpaw is right,” Mistyfoot meowed, glancing back. “We need our strength if we’re to rescue Stormfur.”

“So, we are going back?” Stoneheart guessed, his ear twitching. “Do you have a plan?”

Mistyfoot shook her head. “Not yet,” she meowed. “But we’ll come up with something. Right now, we need to keep them thinking that we’re heading away… and that means we need to keep moving. Feathertail!”

Feathertail blinked, surprised as Mistyfoot’s sharp blue eyes rested on her. “Y-Yes?”

“Lead us,” Mistyfoot ordered. “You know the mountains better than we do.”

Feathertail nodded. “Of course,” she replied.

“‘Of course,’” mocked Crowpaw, bristling as Feathertail slid past him. She felt his breath hot on her side. “You spent so much time with them and didn’t see any of this coming!”

Feathertail winced, feeling Crowpaw’s words like a blow. Stoneheart spoke up, “That’s enough, Crowpaw. We’re all hurt right now. Feathertail was chosen by StarClan – her loyalty isn’t for questioning.”

“I thought they were my friends, too,” Feathertail meowed quietly, looking back at the others. Brook’s face swam into her mind, and she felt sick. “Stormfur is my brother… I’ll do anything to get him back.” I hope we can come up with something…

She turned away, walking beside Mistyfoot. They turned a sharp corner, and Feathertail left her scent for the others; for the Tribe, too, if they came looking. Soon enough they were walking in silence again, heading for the gentler slopes below. Feathertail’s paws took her a few paces ahead of the others, but she kept Mistyfoot within sight, looking back at her to gauge her friend’s progress.

“Don’t go too far ahead,” Mistyfoot warned.

Feathertail slowed her gait to let Mistyfoot walk beside her again, conscious of all the eyes on her now. She cursed the fact that she was so used to moving between the stones now, cursed how right Crowpaw was. The way he had called her out felt too much like how some cats in RiverClan treated she and Stormfur for being half-Clan, and it made the pit in her stomach grow. Am I destined never to be happy? She wondered.

The blue-gray she-cat’s eyes were focused forward, Feathertail knew Mistyfoot had to be doing everything she could to keep her anxiety from overtaking her like it had many times before.

“I’m sorry,” she offered.

“Oh?” Mistyfoot mewed. “For what?”

Feathertail swallowed. “Crowpaw is right – I spent so much time with the Tribe, but I had no idea this would happen. I should have seen it, and I feel so mouse-brained for it…” She looked Mistyfoot in the eye and willed her to understand. “I’m sorry for being upset about you and Stormfur, too. You make him very happy, and that’s all that really matters to me.”

Mistyfoot’s eyes softened, and she meowed, “Nothing was ever decided between us… but we have more pressing problems right now. And don’t blame yourself, Feathertail – none of us knew what was really going on.”

“I suppose.” It was a small comfort.

“And I’m sorry, too,” Mistyfoot meowed. “About Brook.”

Feathertail’s mouth went dry, and her pelt prickled uncomfortably. “There’s nothing to be sorry for,” she meowed quietly. “I’m used to having my heart broken.”

Heart aching, Feathertail picked up the pace again. She trotted ahead of Mistyfoot before the other she-cat could respond, wanting to see nothing before her but the stone and the path… and wanting to stop thinking about Brook, and all they had shared, even if it had been so brief.