excited. They had sheltered here too, knowing that their journey was close to its end.
Iâve done it! Ravenpaw thought. I have followed their paw steps to SkyClan!
He opened his eyes to see Bella standing at the entrance to the little cave, gazing out.
âI think I heard something!â she mewed. âAnother cat!â
Ravenpaw took a deep breath. âWe are close to SkyClan territory now,â he meowed. Three pairs of eyes stared at him in the dim light. âI donât think weâve crossed their border, but we must tread carefully from now on. No Clan welcomestrespassers.â
Riley licked his chest. âWhat if they donât like us?â he muttered.
âWhat if they think weâre just dumb kittypets?â Bella added.
Barley rested his tail on her flank. âIf youâre not welcome, weâll take you home. We wonât abandon you, I promise.â
Ravenpaw met his friendâs gaze over the heads of the young cats and nodded.
They crept out of the cave and padded quietly along the stream. There was no sign of the cat that Bella thought she had seen, but Ravenpaw kept his mouth open to taste the air. The gorge widened, and the banks sloped downward until they were walking through trees beside the sparkling stream. Barley caught a young rabbit, and they ate quickly, with the older cats keeping a wary eye out for signs of the Clan.
The sky had filled with clouds, bringing an early dusk. Ravenpaw decided that they should spend the night here and enter SkyClan in the morning. Barley found a heap of dry leaves under a hazel tree, which would make a decent enough nest. Riley and Bella settled down obediently; they were much quieter than usual, as if they knew that the real adventure was about to begin. Ravenpaw asked Barley to stay with them while he scouted around the immediate area.
âWe donât want SkyClan to find us sleeping a mouse-length from their border!â he pointed out, and Barley nodded.
Ravenpaw left the stream and slipped through the trees, pausing every few steps to sniff bushes and taste the air. Therewas a strong smell of cats here, though he hadnât found any border marks yet. There were tangs of kittypet scent too, sometimes almost hidden beneath the wild-cat traces, at other times clear and sharp and unexpected so far from any Twoleg dens. Ravenpaw hadnât been anticipating such a mix of scents, even knowing that SkyClan had some warriors who lived as kittypets part of the time.
He returned to the hazel bush and lay down. Barley was fast asleep, snoring, but Riley and Bella were still awake.
âWeâre not sleepy!â Bella whispered.
âTell us some more about the warrior code!â Riley begged.
Ravenpaw sighed. âOkay, but after that you must go to sleep. Who can remember the rules weâve talked about so far?â
âYou must be ready to die for your Clan,â Riley began. âAnd you canât be friends with cats from other Clans.â
âDonât trespass on another Clanâs territory,â Bella mewed. She put her head to one side. âBut if SkyClan is the only Clan around here, that doesnât matter, does it?â
Ravenpaw flicked his ears. âThere could be loners in the woods who wonât welcome visitors. Go on.â
âElders and kits must eat first,â Riley meowed. âAnd you only kill something if youâre going to eat it.â
âThatâs two rules!â Bella protested.
âYouâre both doing very well,â Ravenpaw told them. âRight, here are some more.â For a moment he was back in the training hollow, listening to Whitestorm addressing all the new apprentices. Kind, patient Whitestorm, who had tried so hard to make Ravenpawâs apprenticeship bearable. âA newwarrior keeps vigil for the whole Clan on their first night. A warrior must mentor at least one apprentice before they can become deputy.â Ravenpaw
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