The Elders' Quest/Chapter 16

==Chapter description==
:Tawnypelt walks through a strange forest, stopping at a small stream, and she wonders if she is dead. A familiar voice calls her name, and she looks up to see her mate, Rowanclaw, on the other side of the stream. The two come together, and she confides in Rowanclaw about everyone's refusal to listen to her, and he warns her that change is coming to the Clans. Tawnypelt expresses her grief for him and doubts that she can ever love again, to which Rowanclaw replies that he does not want her to be alone. She then wakes up, thinking of Crowfeather. Soon after, Tawnypelt separates from her patrol to hunt near the SkyClan border, wondering about Birchfeather. She finds a squirrel and catches it, only to be confronted by Ridgeglow. Tawnypelt refuses to give up the squirrel, citing the warrior code, prompting Ridgeglow to attack her. Tawnypelt struggles over whether or not to fight her, but the two she-cats are soon stopped by Birchfeather.
:Birchfeather explains to Tawnypelt that his task is to catch prey for SkyClan, as the Clan is struggling to survive due to the poisoned stream. Tawnypelt chooses to stay loyal to ShadowClan and keeps the squirrel, but offers the two young warriors encouragement. As Ridgeglow and Birchfeather leave, Tawnypelt spots a rabbit, and she chases it over the border, where Birchfeather successfully catches the rabbit. However, Tawnypelt realizes that Yarrowleaf has seen her, and when they return home, Yarrowleaf reports to Tigerstar. Tigerstar calls on Tawnypelt, and she attempts to lie about accidentally chasing the rabbit over the border, but Tigerstar knows that she was helping Birchfeather. He accuses her of choosing Birchfeather over ShadowClan and defends his parenting methods, explaining that he wants his only son to return home. He punishes her by assigning her to night guard duty for a moon. As Tawnypelt leaves, she thinks that she respects no cat more than Crowfeather and that no one in ShadowClan understands her.
==Characters==
===Major===
===Minor===
===Mentioned===
==Important events==
*Tawnypelt helps Birchfeather and Ridgeglow catch prey.
==Notes and references==
Category:The Elders' Quest
Category:Chapter subpages
Category:Changing Skies arc