Warriors 04 - Rising Storm Read Online Free PDF Page B

think I’ve got what it takes to become a medicine cat. I thought I was doing the right thing, becoming Yellowfang’s apprentice, but it’s no good. I just can’t learn everything I need to know.”
    Fireheart crouched down until his eyes were level with Cinderpelt’s. “This is about Silverstream, isn’t it?” he meowed fiercely. He remembered the day at Sunningrocks when Graystripe’s RiverClan queen had given birth before her time. Cinderpelt had tried desperately to save her, but Silverstream had lost too much blood. The beautiful silver tabby had died, although her newborn kits had survived.
    Cinderpelt didn’t reply, and Fireheart knew he was right. “You saved her kits!” he pointed out.
    â€œBut I lost her .”
    â€œYou did everything you could.” Fireheart leaned forward to lick Cinderpelt on her soft gray head. “Look, just ask Yellowfang what herbs to use in the poultice. She won’t mind.”
    â€œI hope so.” Cinderpelt sounded unconvinced. Then she gave herself a shake. “I need to stop feeling sorry for myself, don’t I?”
    â€œYeah,” Fireheart answered, flicking his tail at her.
    â€œSorry.” Cinderpelt threw him a rueful look that glimmered with a hint of her old humor. “I don’t suppose you’ve brought any fresh-kill with you?”
    Fireheart shook his head. “Sorry. I just came to speak to you. Don’t tell me Yellowfang’s starving you?”
    â€œNo, but this medicine-cat thing is harder than you’d think,” Cinderpelt replied. “I haven’t had the chance to take any fresh-kill today.” Her eyes flashed with curiosity. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
    â€œTigerclaw’s kits.” Fireheart felt the bleakness seep into his belly again. “Especially Bramblekit.”
    â€œBecause he looks like his father?”
    Fireheart winced. Were his feelings that easy to read? “I know I shouldn’t judge him. He’s just a kit. But when I saw him, it was as if Tigerclaw were looking at me. I…I couldn’t move.” Fireheart shook his head slowly, ashamed of his admission but glad of the chance to confide in his friend. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to trust him.”
    â€œIf you see Tigerclaw every time you look at him, it’s not surprising you feel like that,” mewed Cinderpelt gently. “But you must look beyond the color of his pelt and try to see the cat inside. Remember, he’s not just Tigerclaw’s kit. There’s some of Goldenflower in him too. And he will never know his father. It will be the Clan that raises him.” She added, “You of all cats should know that you can’t judge someone by the circumstances of their birth.”
    Cinderpelt was right. Fireheart had never let his kittypet roots interfere with his loyalty to the Clan. “Has StarClan spoken to you about Bramblekit?” he asked, knowing that Cinderpelt and Yellowfang would have studied Silverpelt at the moment of his birth.
    His heart lurched uncomfortably as the gray cat looked away and murmured, “StarClan doesn’t always share everything with me.”
    Fireheart knew Cinderpelt well enough to know she was holding something back. “But they shared something with you, right?”
    Cinderpelt gazed up at him, her blue eyes steady. “His destiny will be as important as that of any kit born to ThunderClan,” she mewed firmly.
    Fireheart knew he wouldn’t be able to make Cinderpelt reveal what StarClan had told her if she didn’t want to. He decided to tell Cinderpelt about the other problem that was troubling him. “There’s something else I wanted to talk to you about,” he confessed. “I have to decide who should be the mentors for Brindleface’s kits.”
    â€œIsn’t that up to Bluestar?”
    â€œShe asked me to choose for