Hawkwing's Journey/Chapter 1

"But then the wind shifted, and the Twoleg rock caught fire, and then the branch fell and trapped us. We never should have listened to Duskpaw!"

— Cloudpaw to Hawkpaw in Hawkwing's Journey, page 16

Hawkwing's Journey
Chapter number:	1 (of 35)
Page numbers:	5-17
Point of View:	Hawkpaw
Chronology

Below contains in-depth information for chapter one of Hawkwing's Journey. If you are looking for a shorter summary of the entire book, please check the main article.

Chapter Number: 1 (of 35)

Page Numbers: 5-17

Chapter description

Hawkpaw purrs drowsily, enjoying the warm sunlight on his pelt. The dark gray apprentice lays at the base of a rock, tail curled over his paws. His whiskers twitch, sinking deeper into sleep, imagining himself stalking prey among bushes. A meow rings out, and a ginger cat lands on him. The cat prods Hawkpaw's ribs sharply; Hawkpaw scents Duskpaw, his littermate. The gray tom pushes his brother off himself, then sits up, shaking out his tabby fur. Hawkpaw asks Duskpaw what he's doing, since he was enjoying his nap. The ginger tabby declares to him it's time to wake, for Pebblepaw and Cloudpaw made a plan. Still half-asleep, Hawkpaw narrows his eyes, annoyed.

He guesses their plan is to go get Twoleg food, since ever since Duskpaw was a kit, he'd loved it. His brother is willing to do silly things to get it. Hawkpaw twitches his whiskers, thinking Duskpaw must have bees in his brain. The sleek-furred tomcat yawns, questioning what his plan is. The ginger apprentice bounces up and down on his paws, explaining Pebblepaw and Cloudpaw noticed Twolegs carrying things. He describes the objects as woven twigs, then exclaims if Hawkpaw knows what those are. The gray tom sighs wearily, since he guessed beforehand, then mentions Twoleg food; Duskpaw squeals about it at the same time.

He says Pebblepaw had spotted them a while ago, so leftovers could've been left. Hawkpaw teases him, stating that his brother will become a Twoleg if he keeps it up. The dark gray tabby tells Duskpaw his fur will get thin, except for on his forehead, and it'll be all messy; then stand on two legs and ride in monsters. Duskpaw protests, calling him a stupid furball, and Hawkpaw responds that he's so crazy over their food, it isn't even exciting. The tabby challenges how he'd do it, without Waspwhisker finding out, then mentions Billystorm and Plumwillow. He asks how they plan to get out without being spotted, as their mentors won't be happy.

Duskpaw says all the warriors are fast asleep, having stuffed themselves with fresh-kill. He like Hawkpaw was a moment ago. He says they'll be quick there and come straight back, so they won't be missed. The dark gray tom notices that his sister, Cloudpaw, is sitting with Pebblepaw, waiting out of earshot. The speckled she-cat impatiently scrapes at the ground, asking to get a move on. She says they can leave Hawkpaw behind if he's a scaredy-mouse. He growls, saying he won't come if she's coming. Duskpaw protests that he should try to get to know her better, because they're a lot alike. He asks if Hawkpaw's coming or not, and he refuses, saying to just leave him alone. Duskpaw says his temper will get him into trouble someday, and this makes him even madder.

He flashes that Duskpaw will be the one to get in trouble, sneaking around just to eat Twoleg food. He shrugs at this, mischief sparking in his eyes. The tom says it's worth it, because Twoleg food's delicious. Hawkpaw huffs, telling Duskpaw to have fun, and curls up to nap more. He later goes on patrol with Ebonyclaw, and they notice a strange scent in the air. Hawkpaw begins to worry about his fellow apprentices, knowing they haven't yet returned to camp. They decide to investigate, and discover there is a fire at the abandoned Twolegplace. Ebonyclaw dives into the flames and saves Cloudpaw, while Hawkpaw drags Pebblepaw out. He is torn by the decision, but thinks the speckled she-cat is in more danger. Duskpaw seems to motion towards Pebblepaw, so he rescues her first.

When Hawkpaw goes back for Duskpaw, he realizes that one of his brother's forepaws is trapped under a branch and that he was calling for help for himself not Pebblepaw. Together, Ebonyclaw and Hawkpaw heave it off and drag Duskpaw out, though he is unconscious by then. Pebblepaw and Cloudpaw lay gasping and spluttering on the grass, badly burned. Ebonyclaw demands to know what happened, and the white apprentice says that Duskpaw thought they could come out here and get some Twoleg food. She says that the fire spread quickly, and the branch fell and trapped them. Ebonyclaw snaps that they need to get Duskpaw back to camp for medical treatment, and has Hawkpaw put the apprentice on her back. As they slowly trail back to camp, the dark gray apprentice feels guilty for not doing more to help his brother.

Characters

Major

• Hawkpaw
• Duskpaw

Minor

• Cloudpaw
• Pebblepaw
• Ebonyclaw

Mentioned

• Waspwhisker
• Billystorm
• Plumwillow
• Blossompaw
• Leafstar
• Echosong
• Frecklewish