“As soon as Bramblestar gets back,” Squirrelflight told her. “He wants you to leave tonight. He’s following with the rest of the patrol. They’ll be here soon.”
Hawk scrambled to her paws. “Is Sunrise well enough to travel?”
“I hope so. I’m going to see Leafpool now,” Squirrelflight blinked at her. “She’ll know what to do.” She ducked out of the elders’ den, sensing Bumblestripe’s gaze as she crossed the clearing. She ignored it and nosed her way through the brambles that draped the entrance to the medicine den.
Leafpool was sitting beside Sunrise’s nest, her face hidden in shadow. She pricked her ears as Squirrelflight slid inside. “Was the Gathering okay?”
Sunrise shifted in her nest. “Did ShadowClan make trouble?” Anxiety glittered in her gaze.
Squirrelflight crossed the den. “ShadowClan wants to declare war against the Sisters. Leafstar and Bramblestar convinced them to hold off until we hear from StarClan.” She gazed evenly at Sunrise. “But Bramblestar says you have to leave here tonight.”
Leafpool’s pelt prickled. “Tonight?” She glanced anxiously at Sunrise’s wound. Squirrelflight guessed what she was thinking. The gash had closed, but a mistimed jump or a fall could reopen it. And the infection had sapped the she-cat’s strength.
“I’ve warned Snow.” As Squirrelflight spoke, the white she-cat pushed her way into the den, Tempest and Hawk at her heels. They crowded inside, appearing bigger than ever in the tight hollow.
Snow blinked at Leafpool. “Is she well enough to travel?”
Leafpool shifted her paws. “She’ll have to be. If ShadowClan is talking war, it’s too dangerous for you to stay.”
“War?” Hawk asked, her eyes wide. “You didn’t mention that before. Do you really think the other cats would attack because you’ve helped us?”
“You attacked their warriors,” Leafpool replied evenly. “They would see it as defending their own.”
“But we were only defending
Leafpool’s ear twitched irritably. “We could argue about who was in the right all day. What matters is that you must leave if we want to avoid violence.” She caught Squirrelflight’s eye nervously.
Leafpool flicked her tail. “I’ll make up a bundle of herbs for you to take.” She padded toward the cleft in the rock at the back of the den where the herbs were stored. “I hope you can find more when you get home.” She crouched and began tugging leaves from the shadowy crack. “Use marigold, and goldenrod if you can find it. That wound will need to be kept clean until it’s fully healed.”
Snow dipped her head. “We are grateful for your care, Leafpool. Sunrise would have died without you.”
“Alderheart and Jayfeather would have taken care of her if I hadn’t,” Leafpool meowed briskly as she pulled out a wad of thyme.
Squirrelflight shifted her paws. Would they have? Jayfeather and Alderheart had helped treat Sunrise’s wound, but she’d felt their unease at having a cat some of the Clan considered an enemy in their medicine den. She suspected they’d be relieved when the Sisters left.
Sunrise shifted in her nest, her face taut with pain.
Hawk stiffened. “Are you sure she can travel?”
Leafpool wrapped the herbs in a leaf and carried them to Sunrise’s nest. She opened the bundle and, with her pad, dabbed at a patch of poppy seeds pooled between the leaves. “Swallow these.” She lifted her paw to Sunrise’s mouth, and the yellow she-cat ducked to lick them off. “They’ll help with the pain. There’s more in the bundle for when you get home, but you’ll have to find your own once they’re gone.”
Tempest was frowning. “Do the Clans always turn a fight into a war?”
Squirrelflight looked at her. “What do you mean?”
“Sunrise was hurt in a border fight,” Tempest meowed. “Is that any reason to start a war?”
“Tensions are running high at the moment,” Squirrelflight explained. “We changed borders recently, and it’s not working out as well as we’d hoped. And the fight permanently damaged Strikestone’s hearing. I didn’t realize when we brought Sunrise back here that a Clan cat had been so badly hurt.”
“Nor did we.” Tempest’s gaze darkened. “We didn’t mean to harm him.”
Snow lifted her muzzle. “We were defending ourselves.”
Leafpool rerolled the bundle. “What’s done is done.” She pushed it toward Hawk.
“They’re back.” Squirrelflight blinked anxiously toward the den entrance as paw steps sounded in the clearing.
The brambles shivered and Bramblestar pushed his way in. “Are they ready?” He gazed darkly at the Sisters.
Snow nodded.
“I’ve given them herbs to take with them,” Leafpool told him.
Bramblestar narrowed his eyes. “
Leafpool met his gaze. “I’ll pick fresh herbs to replace them.”
