The Silent Thaw полностью

“You probably don’t mean to, but he came here today, didn’t he? You need to let him know that nothing can ever happen between you. Relationships with cats from other Clans never work, and we’re supposed to be sticking to the warrior code.”

“I am sticking to the warrior code.” Her hackles lifted. How dare he suggest she might break it? She was the one who was trying to enforce it! “Rootpaw didn’t come here to see me.”

“That’s not what he said,” Stemleaf murmured. He glanced around the Clan. “Cloudtail said that he wanted to see you.”

“He was lying!”

Stemleaf’s eyes rounded with interest. “Then why did he come here?”

Bristlefrost stared at him. She couldn’t repeat Rootpaw’s story. It was too absurd. “It’s none of your business.” She lashed her tail crossly. “Just leave me alone.” She picked up her mouse and carried it to Thriftear, where she laid it on the ground and settled beside it.

Thriftear blinked at her, concern showing in her pale amber eyes. “What did Stemleaf say to you?”

“Nothing.” Bristlefrost forced her pelt to smooth and took a bite.

Thriftear frowned but, clearly guessing that Bristlefrost didn’t want to talk about it, returned to her conversation with Lilyheart.

Bristlefrost chewed the mouse, barely tasting it. Her thoughts were whirling. Why did Rootpaw have to tell her such a mouse-brained story? She couldn’t even repeat it to her Clanmates. It was bizarre. And impossible. They’d think she was dumb for even listening to it. And yet why would he ask her to tell such a story to Squirrelflight? He clearly knew how crazy it sounded. Perhaps he’d gotten some sort of coded message from StarClan and didn’t realize it. Maybe if she passed it on, it would make sense to Squirrelflight. The ThunderClan deputy might understand something in the message that she and Rootpaw didn’t.

She took another bite and chewed it unenthusiastically. She wasn’t even hungry. She swallowed and sat up, butterflies fluttering in her belly. Perhaps she should pass on the message. Squirrelflight would know whether it was important or not. She glanced at the ThunderClan deputy. Bramblestar had woken up and was blinking sleepily. Bristlefrost didn’t want to repeat the story in front of him. Who knew how he’d react? He was probably still angry with Rootpaw. This would make him angrier.

Bristlefrost pricked her ears as Bramblestar got up and padded to the dirtplace tunnel. As he disappeared, she scrambled to her paws. I’ll tell Squirrelflight. It’s what a loyal warrior would do. If it’s nonsense, so what? Squirrelflight could ignore it. But at least she’d know what rumors might be flying around the other Clans.

Squirrelflight looked up as she reached her. “Bristlefrost.” She acknowledged her with a nod.

“I’m sorry to bother you.” Bristlefrost eyed the ThunderClan deputy nervously, hoping that she wasn’t going to sound like a complete mouse-brain. “But I wanted to talk about Rootpaw.”

Squirrelflight’s ears twitched uneasily. “I was hoping you’d forget about him,” she mewed. “Cross-Clan relationships are dangerous, especially now.”

“No!” Bristlefrost blinked in alarm. “I don’t mean I want to talk about him in that way.” Her paws felt hot. “It’s just he told me something.”

Squirrelflight’s gaze sharpened. “What?”

“He wanted me to pass on a message to you.”

Squirrelflight leaned closer. “Tell me.”

Bristlefrost took a breath. “I know this is going to sound crazy—it sounded crazy to me, and he probably made it up, but I thought I’d tell you anyway, because if Rootpaw told me, he might tell some other cat, and it’ll be a rumor in no time, and I—”

Squirrelflight cut her off. “Just tell me.”

“Rootpaw says that Bramblestar’s ghost has been following him around for a moon.” Bristlefrost shrank beneath her pelt but forced herself to keep going. “He said the ghost wanted him to give you a message, and that’s why he came here today.”

“What’s the message?” Squirrelflight’s gaze flicked to the dirtplace tunnel.

Bristlefrost followed it, her heart lurching. Was Bramblestar coming back?

“He said, ‘I don’t know who that is in my body, but it’s not me.’”

Squirrelflight seemed to freeze, staring at Bristlefrost for a moment. Then she looked away. “What nonsense.” She fluffed out her fur. “I’m glad you didn’t let Bramblestar hear that. That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Did Rootpaw think any cat would believe it?”

Bristlefrost shifted her paws nervously. “He didn’t, actually. He just said I had to tell you.”

“I’m glad you did.” Squirrelflight eyes glittered uneasily. Bristlefrost’s chest tightened. Did Squirrelflight think there could be any truth to the story? But then the deputy’s gaze cleared. “It’s best to know what’s going on in other Clans. And now that you’ve told me, we can both forget about it. Rootpaw is clearly as strange as his father.”

“It’s a crazy story, right?”