Yellowfang's Secret/Chapter 5

"Death is part of life [...] Every good warrior goes to StarClan, and that's a glorious place to end up."

— Littlebird to Yellowpaw after Silverflame dies in Yellowfang's Secret, page 56

Yellowfang's Secret
Chapter number:	5 (of 40)
Page numbers:	54- 65
Point of View:	Yellowpaw
Chronology

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

Chapter Number: 5 (of 40)

Page Numbers: 54-65

Chapter description

Yellowpaw gasps in horror that Silverflame could not leave them. Brightflower bends her head to touch Yellowpaw's ear with her nose and tells her that she has to. Yellowpaw sees anxiety in her eyes, and sympathizes with her, stating that she knew would she would feel if Brightflower was dying, and that she must feel the same way towards her dying mother. Yellowpaw chokes out that she wants to see her, and Brightflower allows her to, but tells her to be very quiet. She then steps back so Yellowpaw to slide underneath the branches into the elders' den.

As Silverflame lies on her side with her legs are splayed out, eyes are half closed, and her chest heaves with rasping breaths, Sagewhisker crouches over her. Eyes gleaming, Littlebird and Lizardfang watch from the corner. As Yellowpaw draws closer to the old she-cat, she feels that her pelt was on fire. She reels back and blinks, and whispers to Sagewhisker that Silverflame was very thirsty. Yellowpaw asks her why she wasn't giving her something to drink, and why she wasn't treating her pain. Sagewhisker then looks up, her eyes full of grief, and murmurs that there was nothing more that she could do.

Yellowpaw wails that there must be more that Sagewhisker could do, but Littlebird gently nudges her and tells her to come with her. Yellowpaw disagrees, feeling that her whole world was full of pain and grief for Silverflame, but Littlebird softly meows to Yellowpaw that she can't help her now, and that she must come away. Yellowpaw lets herself be urged towards the entrance, and before she ducks under the branches, she looks at Silverflame and whispers her a goodbye. Silverflame shows no sign that she had heard Yellowpaw, and draws in a breath that rattles in her throat. Yellowpaw then climbs out of the den, and strains her ears for the next breath, which does not come.

Yellowpaw asks Littlebird if Silverflame is dead, and she nods, saying that she hunts with StarClan now. Yellowpaw then digs her claws into the ground, saying that she shouldn't be dead, and asks why Sagewhisker didn't save her. Littlebird is about to explain why when Yellowpaw cuts her words off in an enraged yowl, stating that she should have saved her, and asks what good of a medicine cat Sagewhisker was if she didn't save her. Littlebird gently meows to Yellowpaw to take a walk with her, and Brightflower encourages her to, touching her ear with her nose. Yellowpaw then follows Littlebird out of camp, and her eyes blur with sadness. She realizes that Littlebird was heading towards the marshes that Deerleap had showed her earlier, feeling that the tour of the territories happened in another life.

Littlebird tells Yellowpaw that medicine cats can only do their best with what knowledge they have, and that StarClan wanted Silverflame to walk with them. She pauses besides a shrub with a few leaves on its branches. She points out the juniper bush Sagewhisker used to help Silverflame's pain, and during newleaf, there was coltsfoot for shortness of breath. She is interrupted by Yellowpaw, who states that none of them did any good. She says that Sagewhisker should have found something better, adding that what was the use of a medicine cat if they couldn't heal their Clanmates. Littlebird responds by saying that death was a part of life, stating that every good warrior would go StarClan, adding that it was a glorious place to end up. She raises one of her paws and then points at a star shining above their heads, saying that Silverflame was watching over them now. Yellowpaw whispers that she wants Silverflame back in the Clan, knowing that the star was too far to mean anything, and it was uncertain if any cat knew if it is Silverflame. Littlebird only murmurs that every cat has to leave sometime, and until then, all they could do was try their hardest to be the best for their Clan.

As leaf-bare drags on, the grass is sharp with frost and prey stayed deep inside their holes. Yellowpaw feels like her belly is flapping, but Deerleap keeps her on a grueling training regime. Yellowpaw mutters to Nutpaw that she has to wake up before everyone else, and some mornings they were out before the dawn patrol. Nutpaw, still half-asleep, mutters that Yellowpaw is doing great, and that Deerleap is a fantastic mentor.

Yellowpaw snorts, though she is pleased with her brother's praise since she is training hard. Deerleap calls Yellowpaw, and she scrambles out of the apprentices' den to find Deerleap impatiently flexing her claws. The first faint light of dawn is creeping towards the sky, but Yellowpaw can barely see the outline of the trees. Stonetooth emerges from the warriors' den, arching his spine, and yawns. The dark gray she-cat blinks, attempting to look alert, and asks where they're heading. Deerleap says they might try near the ash tree, since nobody went there for a while. Yellowpaw's tiredness vanishes as she follows her mentor out into the woods.

The air is crisp and cold, and as she walks, her paws patter on the ground. The broad-faced apprentice tries to walk lightly; by now, the dawn lights gets brighter as the two near the ash tree. Deerleap gestures to Yellowpaw, a signal to take cover behind some brambles. The gray tabby warrior orders her apprentice to keep still, and look, listen, and smell. She asks her apprentice what she can smell, and Yellowpaw concentrates hard, then picks up the scent of a blackbird.

The gray she-cat checks the wind direction, careful not to let the bird know she's there, and begins creeping forward, determined to make a good catch. Before she can come within pouncing distance, Yellowpaw accidentally steps on a leaf, causing it to crackle, which scares the bird away. She hisses, before walking back to Deerleap, who still hides in the brambles. Her mentor questions what she did wrong, and Yellowpaw answers that she stepped on a leaf.

The long-haired apprentice admits when she was creeping up on the bird, she forgot to see where she was putting her paws; Deerleap nods approvingly, stating that next time, Yellowpaw will remember. The gray tabby glances away, saying she'll get another chance, prompting the young apprentice to look in the same direction, and see the same blackbird, seemingly forgetting the threat already. Yellowpaw creeps forward, this time making sure she doesn't put a paw wrong, and avoids stepping on a twig, also using some grass for cover.

Once close enough, the dark gray she-cat gathers herself, then makes the leap, grabbing the bird before it can see her. Killing it, she holds the limp body firmly as she trots back to Deerleap, and the warrior praises her stalking skills, causing Yellowpaw to feel warmed at the compliment. Yellowpaw scrapes leaves over it and they move on to search for more prey, although through their search, the forest seems bare of any other movement. Claws of frost dig into Yellowpaw's pelt and she almost asks her mentor if they can return to camp, when she spots the flicker of a lizard moving between two stones, she hooks it in her claws and it falls still. Deerleap comments that they don't usually see them in cold weather. Swelling with pride, Yellowpaw carries her two pieces of prey back to camp.

Nutpaw and Rowanpaw are standing at the fresh-kill pile with their mentors. Her brother scampers up to her, mewing that they were on a hunting patrol and he caught a mouse. Finchflight reports that Rowanpaw caught a starling and they both did very well. Deerleap suggests giving the apprentices a joint training session. The other mentors agree and they head out to the training scoop not far from camp. Raggedpaw and Scorchpaw are already there with Brackenfoot and Crowtail. The two older apprentices circle each other cautiously, and Raggedpaw flashes out a paw to strike, but his brother is quick, leaping backward out of range. Yowling, Raggedpaw thrusts himself into the air, while Sorchpaw twists onto his back, legs splayed out and claws extended. Raggedpaw lands on Scorchpaw's belly, and the ginger tom hooks his claws into his brothers shoulders and haunches, and rolling over, he pins Raggedpaw to the ground. Crowtail tells them to try again with Scorchpaw leaping this time.

Yellowpaw asks if they can try once the two apprentices demonstrated a second time. Deerleap assigns Nutpaw to practice the move with Yellowpaw, and Rowanpaw with Scorchpaw. Each pair begins circling one another. Yellowpaw is leaping at Nutpaw when she hears a startled yowl from Rowanpaw, and at the same time, a sharp pain slices through her shoulder. She lets out a screech and crumples to the ground at her brothers paws. Finchflight rushes over to Rowanpaw, while Yellowpaw rolls over, gasping with pain. She sees her sister sprawled on the ground at the far side of the clearing, blood welling from a wound on her shoulder. Crowtail snaps at Scorchpaw that they were supposed to be using sheathed claws, Scorchpaw mutters he forgot. Amberleaf pads up to Nutpaw, meowing she can't understand how two apprentices could get hurt at the same time, she asks what he did. Nutpaw's eyes are wide with dismay, mewing he never touched Yellowpaw.

Yellowpaw scrambles to her paws, snapping it still hurts. Rowanpaw sits up, saying it's okay and she wants to try again. Finchflight agrees, reminding them to be more careful this time. The pain in Yellowpaw's shoulder fades, but she is more wary of getting hurt again, and she knows she's not putting in all of her effort into the training. After a few more practices, Finchflight decides that is probably enough for the day. He also advises Rowanpaw to see Sagewhisker, although Yellowpaw notices the mark on her shoulder is no longer bleeding and she hardly limps as they head back to camp. While Rowanpaw goes to the medicine den, the rest of the group gathers around the fresh-kill pile. Deerleap asks Yellowpaw is she thinks she needs to see Sagewhisker as well, to which the gray she-cat replies, through a mouthful of squirrel, that she's fine. Deerleap looks doubtful and gives Yellowpaw's shoulder a sniff, mewing she should probably take the rest of the day off.

Yellowpaw doesn't want to rest, feeling fine now and believes she must have just landed wrong. When she finishes her squirrel, she decides to go off by herself to practice the new move. She finds a secluded spot in a hollow and practices there. She feels disappointed that the move isn't easy to do alone, when a voice asks if she needs help. Startled, she looks up to see Raggedpaw standing at the top of the hollow. She declines his offer, but Raggedpaw insists, padding down to join her, mewing that she really needs a partner. Yellowpaw gives in, thinking Deerleap will be impressed to see she has mastered the move perfectly. Raggedpaw leaps at her and she practices the grab. Yellowpaw complains she isn't fast enough, and Raggedpaw replies she needs to watch him better, she should know when the leap is coming.

When they practice again, Yellowpaw notices the tension in Raggedpaw's muscles before he leaps. She rolls onto her back, spreading her paws wide and wraps her paws around him, flipping him over. The tabby tom scrambles to his paws, saying she's improved, giving her a cool nod. He leaves to hunt and Yellowpaw thanks him as he climbs out of the hollows, saying he really helped. Raggedpaw doesn't answer, and Yellowpaw blinks after him, surprised with how thankful she feels and considers he may not be so bad after all.

Characters

Major

• Yellowpaw
• Littlebird
• Deerleap
• Raggedpaw

Minor

• Silverflame
• Brightflower
• Lizardfang
• Sagewhisker
• Nutpaw
• Stonetooth
• Rowanpaw
• Finchflight
• Scorchpaw
• Brackenfoot
• Crowtail
• Amberleaf

Important events

Deaths

• Silverflame: Killed by an unknown illness