What will Bramblestar say to us? she asked herself. And Sparkpelt? Oh, great StarClan, could this be any worse? She was frustrated, too, that she had no chance to pick up the prey she had caught earlier. It’ll be crow-food by the time I can go back for it!

Thornclaw was still on guard when Twigpaw and the others arrived back at the stone hollow. He leaped to his paws as he saw the WindClan cats. “What are you doing here?” he demanded, sliding out his claws.

Featherpelt dipped her head politely, not reacting to his challenging tone or the hostile stares of the other ThunderClan cats who began to gather around. “We would like to speak to your Clan leader, please,” she mewed.

Berrynose immediately broke away from the crowd and raced across the camp to the tumbled rocks. Thornclaw waved his tail, allowing the WindClan cats to advance a few paces farther into the camp, while the rest of the Clan waited in a ragged circle around them.

Now that she was standing still, Twigpaw could feel the cold seeping into her wet pelt, and she started to shiver. She hoped none of the other cats thought it was because she was scared. Finpaw brushed his pelt against hers and murmured into her ear, “It’ll be okay. You’ll see.”

Twigpaw wished she could share his boundless optimism.

She felt as if she had been waiting for moons before Bramblestar thrust his way through the cluster of cats and stood in front of her. “What’s going on?” he asked the WindClan cats. “Why are you here?”

“We brought these apprentices back,” Featherpelt explained, dipping her head respectfully. “This one,” she added, angling her ears toward Twigpaw, “fell into the border stream and pulled herself out on our side. I know she didn’t mean to trespass, but she cost us a catch.”

“It was an accident,” Twigpaw defended herself as Bramblestar turned his amber gaze on her.

“I know that,” Featherpelt meowed, “but she could have got herself into serious trouble. Some of our warriors might not have been as lenient as Emberfoot and I. Or suppose she had strayed onto RiverClan territory. . . .”

That’s mouse-brained, Twigpaw thought, beginning to bristle. We don’t even have a border with RiverClan. And I barely made it onto WindClan territory, so I don’t see what all the fuss is about. It’s all so unfair!

However, she had the sense to keep her mouth shut as Bramblestar listened calmly to what the WindClan warrior was telling him. His expression was unreadable, unnerving Twigpaw even more, as he thanked Featherpelt for her courtesy.

“I’ll make sure my cats respect the boundaries better,” he promised. “And if the next ThunderClan hunting party happens to catch prey close to the border, they’ll bring some of it to WindClan to prove our goodwill.”