Chapters Three and FourThere are two things that could have led to her saying this: either she saw the look between the two leaders (she didn't, she was jumping down as they looked at each other)/someone told her that they looked at each other (likely Tigerclaw), or she's making an assumption based on their reaction to her arguments. If she
is just assuming, then that's dangerous and could potentially lead to a war. And what's that old saying about assuming...
Anyway, Bluestar has a meeting with her Clan, and a cat called Dappletail says that she heard some RiverClan cats at the Gathering talking about Twolegs encroaching on their turf. Only problem is, she isn't mentioned once to be at the Gathering with the others. So I don't know where she got that information.
Plus, why would a RiverClan cat say that? Aren't they well known for being a proud Clan? Why would they tell an outsider from a rival Clan that they're having problems feeding themselves? I mean, logically, it would be smart to explain what issues you're having in case there's any trouble between neighbors, but this is Hunter's version of Warriors we're talking about, so I can't see it happening.
When Fireheart goes to bed, he has another prophetic dream that conveniently tells him where to find WindClan, but dismisses it by reasoning that plenty of cats have dreams about the Thunderpath, despite him being the one to say that he thinks he has powers that only a medicine cat could have, so he should be taking that dream pretty seriously. Oh well.
In the morning, Bluestar calls Greystripe and Fireheart to her den, and tasks them with finding WindClan and bringing them home.
Yeah, couple things about that.
So apparently, visiting an abandoned territory that reeked of another Clan just once is all the experience you need to track down the cats who lived there and have been gone for at least a month. And evidently, two young cats that literally just became warriors are the best possible options for tracking down old scents. Despite the fact that Tigerclaw apparently felt it necessary to ask if they remembered the way to WindClan territory, and the fact that there are skilled warriors who would be much better suited to this mission and could likely bring them back faster.
What.
I know, I know, before you shout at me. Fireheart is the main character, so he needs to go on this quest, because otherwise we'd just be hearing about it. But here's the thing: Graystripe is not a particularly skilled warrior. Fireheart is relatively alright, at least compared to his friend. So why not just take one senior warrior (presumably a skilled tracker) and one younger warrior (Fireheart), and let the two search together? That would give us another character to meet and get relatively close to, and we'd still get the story.
Speaking of, Graystripe nearly gives away that Ravenpaw is alive and well. I've forgotten how much of an idiot he is. He's not very funny, or charming, or quick to improve on his mistakes. He's just causing little messes left and right, insulting cats and almost screwing things up without Fireheart's interference. Like mentor, like apprentice, I guess.
We get an extremely brief interaction between Yellowfang and Fireheart, which only makes me miss their talks even more, and the two warriors head off into the wild. Of course, somehow, Whitestorm and Runningwind somehow already know that Fireheart and Graystripe are going to find WindClan, despite the fact that it's been literally a minute since Bluestar gave the order. They reach WindClan territory and smell RiverClan hunting.
Oh, for- what does that even mean, Graystripe?! If it's strong, that means they've been around recently. If it's stale, that means it shouldn't be incredibly apparent. And how did Fireheart not pick it up before you? He just smelled RiverClan far before you did.
Ugh.
Anyway, they hide and are barely overlooked, because RiverClan is stupid enough to think that a rabbit might flee into a predator's den for protection but just manage to catch the trail again. Fireheart and Graystripe check out WindClan's camp, which is noted to look like as if a StarClan cat had scooped up some of the ground with their paw and left it as a neat hollow to live in. Absurdly unimportant information, really. Couldn't we have another mythology infodump where Fireheart says, "Wow, this is neat" and Graystripe says, "I remember a story where a cat scooped away some of the dirt to give WindClan a home"? Isn't that all he's good for? That's what his entire purpose was in the first book.
How. How on earth is there still dried blood out in the open after TWO MONTHS OF WEATHER!? How can you possibly excuse that? Blood washes away easier than you think, idiot! Especially on rocks that have no shelter!
...Don't look at me like that. I'm a writer. I'm supposed to know these things.
Shut up.
Fireheart and Graystripe continue tracking, but the trail is almost lost once they reach the Thunderpath. Oh no! How on earth did two inexperienced young warriors lose the scent of a Clan they've had no interaction with?
Up next: Chapter Five.
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