Chapter 10

Pinepaw dug his claws into the soil, twitching his tail impatiently as he waited for Nimblepaw. Was she going to come? Did she forget? Or was something else keeping her away? It was past moonhigh already.

Suddenly Pinepaw heard a faint rustling in the trees on the SkyClan side, and he jumped. Who was that? he thought, his heart hammering in his chest. Nimblepaw?

But the cat who appeared wasn’t the golden-furred she-cat. It was a pale gray tom, his gaze flicking this way and that as he approached the border cautiously.

Is he an enemy? Pinepaw wondered, his thoughts spinning, but he rose to his full height, the fur on his back lifting, and growled softly, “What are you doing here?”

The gray tom jumped in surprise, his eyes widening. “Um,” he stammered, “I-I’m sorry, Nimblepaw can’t see you tonight. She’s busy training for her assessment.”

The two cats stared at each other for several long moments, and then Pinepaw realized who this cat was. “Aren’t you the cat that stood up to Darkfur with Nimblepaw?” he asked.

The tom nodded. “That’s right.” He paused, then added, “My name’s Glidepaw, by the way. I’m Nimblepaw’s brother. The other apprentice that was there at the border that day–Swingpaw–is my other littermate.”

Pinepaw stared at him, speechless for a moment. When Okay, then why are you here? rang in his mind, he meowed, “Okay, thanks for the introduction, so why are you here?”

Glidepaw just stared at him, his long tail swishing the grass under him gently. “I just wanted to make sure you knew why Nimblepaw wasn’t coming,” he mewed quietly after a few moments.

“Well–well…thanks,” Pinepaw replied awkwardly. “That’s really kind of you to sneak out of camp just to tell a stupid ShadowClan apprentice that their friend isn’t going to meet them tonight.”

Glidepaw stifled a laugh. “You’re not stupid.” He hesitated. “That’s not really the only reason I wanted to meet you, though.”

Pinepaw’s ears perked up. “Really?”

Glidepaw nodded. “I mean, I could’ve gone to any cat, really, but Nimblepaw wanted me to tell you, so I thought this was a good chance….Have you heard of the news that there’s a strange cat lurking around in our territory?”

Pinepaw nodded. I wonder what this is all about.

“Well, it’s kind of gone now, but patrols can still catch whiffs of the scent.” Glidepaw wrinkled his nose. “It really stinks. Anyway, I just wanted to investigate it. I knew I couldn’t convince a warrior, so I thought maybe one of my siblings, but, as I said, Nimblepaw’s too busy and Swingpaw’s…well, he’s Swingpaw, you know. He likes to spend time with his friends. Shadowleap especially, but we’re not going to talk about that.”

“So you just decided to see if I’d come with you?” Pinepaw hissed, his hackles rising.

Glidepaw backed away slightly. “I-I mean,” he stammered, “you don’t have to come if you don’t want to, I’m just wondering…”

Pinepaw bunched his muscles and pushed off into a massive leap that took him across the border. He landed and licked Glidepaw’s face. “Of course I want to!”

Glidepaw flinched, startled, but then the sides of his mouth curled up in a smile. “Okay, then! Let’s go!” He bounded away into the forest.

Pinepaw ran after him, breathing in the unfamiliar scents of SkyClan, then remembered with a jolt that he was on another Clan’s territory. I’m going to get into so much trouble when I get back! “Glidepaw!” he yowled to his new friend, who was a few paces in front of him. “Are you sure it’s okay for me to be on your territory?”

Glidepaw glanced back at him. “It’s fine,” he called. “We’ll be careful. And if we do get seen, I’ll just say that you were chasing me!”

Pinepaw pushed his paws harder into the ground and caught up with Glidepaw. “But then I’ll get into trouble,” he puffed. “We’re friends, aren’t we?”

Glidepaw was silent for a moment. “Of course we are,” he replied. “Remind me your name again?”

“Pi–”

“Pinepaw!” Glidepaw interrupted. “I remember, Pinepaw! Okay, so…we’ll work it out if we ever get caught, okay?” He slowed to a halt, panting.

Pinepaw halted beside him, gasping for breath. He was surprised Glidepaw could even run that long without stopping to catch his breath. “Alright,” Pinepaw gasped. “So what are we doing, exactly?”

Glidepaw gazed around at the small clearing they had stopped in. “This is where I last scented the strange cat,” he explained. “Maybe we can find some clues here. Start sniffing around.” He bent down and sniffed the grass at his paws.

Pinepaw padded over to a tree trunk and started to bend down when an earsplitting screech of pain split the air. Glidepaw jumped up, his eyes wide with horror. “That’s Nimblepaw!” he cried, bolting into the trees again.

Nimblepaw! Terror gave him new energy and Pinepaw chased after the pale gray tom, careful not to let him out of his sight. Nimblepaw. Nimblepaw. Nimblepaw is in danger! He pushed as hard as he could, and Glidepaw suddenly skidded to a halt in front of a gap between two bushes. “Hide in the bushes around camp,” the gray apprentice mewed, and slipped into the gap and was gone in a heartbeat.

Pinepaw squeezed into a bush and gazed down, holding his breath.

There was a dead body in the camp, and it was Nimblepaw. Her blue eyes were wide and blank, staring into nothing. Pinepaw had never seen a dead cat before, but he knew by her eyes and her limp, lifeless body that the golden she-cat was dead. Oh, Nimblepaw, Pinepaw thought, his throat tightening with grief. Why did you have to be the first dead cat I’ve ever seen?

Glidepaw and other SkyClan cats were clustered around Nimblepaw’s body, gaping in horror.

“Another dead,” a yellow she-cat mewed softly.

“Nimblepaw!” a black-and-white apprentice, which Pinepaw remembered was Swingpaw, Nimblepaw’s other littermate, cried in despair.

Pinepaw watched, his own heart aching with grief, as SkyClan let out wails of grief and terror. “Another murdered!” a pale ginger tom cried. “Just like Bladepelt!”

A dark gray tom stared in horror at Nimblepaw’s body, his orange eyes shining with grief. “Nimblepaw,” he mewed hoarsely. “No. Nimblepaw.” He slumped down onto the ground. “I failed her! I was a terrible mentor!”

Darkfur, Pinepaw remembered.

A small furry blue-gray she-cat padded up to him and curled her tail around his shoulders. “You weren’t a bad mentor,” she soothed. “You were just fine. Nimblepaw’s death wasn’t your fault.” Though her tone was quite cheerful, her own eyes shone with unbearable grief.

Such a kind…apprentice? Pinepaw guessed. The cat looked too young to be an apprentice, but too old to be a kit. So a kit nearly about to be apprenticed, or a really young apprentice.

Darkfur licked the blue-gray cat’s ear gratefully but still went on staring at Nimblepaw.

Pinepaw’s own belly clenched with grief, and he couldn’t hold it anymore. He ran into the forest and let out a soft wail of grief. I hope no one heard that, he thought even though, deep in his heart, he knew he didn’t really care. Nimblepaw was so brave, such a noble cat…

As he crept back to his bush, he realized that the Clan was breaking apart. Some cats were heading back to their dens, their tails drooping sadly. Others were crowding around Nimblepaw’s body, volunteering to bury her. Pinepaw realized Glidepaw was there, too.

As the group went off into the forest with Nimblepaw’s limp body held between them, Pinepaw stayed as still as he could, not daring to breathe. Please don’t scent me, please don’t…

And all he heard was Glidepaw’s last whisper before they were gone. “Keep everything that happened tonight a secret from ShadowClan.”

And with that, Pinepaw slipped out of the bush and bolted for home, the image of Nimblepaw’s limp, dead form still tucked tightly in his memory.