Midnight (book)/Chapter 2

==Chapter description==
:Brambleclaw sets out with the dawn patrol, noticing that it is getting closer to leaf-fall, and he shivers. Thornclaw is in the lead, followed by Ashfur and Brambleclaw. Thornclaw states that Firestar had asked the patrol to check Snakerocks and warns Brambleclaw and Ashfur to watch out for adders. Brambleclaw, unsheathing his claws, thinks that the warmth from the sun would tempt out the adders, and he knows that their bites could be deadly.
:A short while later, Brambleclaw hears something behind him. At first there is nothing, but then he scents Squirrelpaw and tells her to come out. When Thornclaw questions him, Brambleclaw replies that Squirrelpaw must have followed the patrol. She and Brambleclaw argue briefly until Thornclaw tells them to stop. He then asks Squirrelpaw if she had a message, to which the apprentice replies that she doesn't. She adds that she wanted to come with the patrol, as she hadn't been on patrol in a while. Thornclaw asks if Dustpelt, Squirrelpaw's mentor, knew she was here, and Squirrelpaw answers that he doesn't. Thornclaw orders her to go back to camp immediately, but Squirrelpaw stubbornly disobeys and pleads to come on the patrol. Thornclaw agrees, and when Squirrlepaw asks where they are going, he replies that they're on their way to Snakerocks. When Squirrelpaw won't stop babbling, he tells her to look for adders quietly, and that he shouldn't hear another peep from her unless it's something he needed to know. They soon arrive at the entrance to where the dogs were hidden when Tigerstar had them there.
:The patrol reaches Snakerocks, and Squirrelpaw is asked what she can scent. She smells something unfamiliar, which is discovered to be badger that the patrol soon encounters. Instead of running away, Squirrelpaw stays where she is and gets scolded by Brambleclaw when they take refuge. After the badger leaves, Ashfur wonders if the badger was the same one that had killed Willowpelt. The patrol decides to go back to camp and report the incident to Firestar.
:When the patrol reaches the camp, Dustpelt is immediately seen by Brambleclaw, pacing beside the apprentices' den. Whitepaw and Spiderpaw watch him apprehensively from under the shade of the ferns. Dustpelt confronts Squirrelpaw and asks where she had been, to which she replies she had gone on patrol. He asks her exactly who ordered her to go on patrol, and she starts to say she thought, when Dustpelt interrupts her saying she didn't think, and that he told her they were going to train today. Dustpelt goes on to say that Brackenfur and Mousefur took their apprentices to practice battle moves in the sandy hollow, and they could've gone with them.
:He orders her to look after the elders for the rest of the day as her punishment for having everyone searching the camp for her. While Thornclaw and Ashfur report what they had seen at Snakerocks, Brambleclaw goes to help Squirrelpaw with the elders, and when he enters the den he spots Dappletail, and passes her to greet Longtail. He can't help but feel sympathy for the elder, as he is actually quite young and had to retire early due to failing eyesight. Brambleclaw and Squirrelpaw argue again, but Squirrelpaw eventually lets him help. They go into the elders' den and are greeted by Frostfur, whom asks Squirrelpaw to get a tick off her shoulder. While Brambleclaw and Squirrelpaw look after the elders, Speckletail tells Squirrelpaw a story about Firestar and Graystripe feeding RiverClan.
:When Brambleclaw exits the den, he sees Firestar, Sandstorm and Cloudtail intently discussing what happened with the badger and Squirrelpaw, with Thornclaw padding across the clearing to join them. When Brambleclaw puts in that it could be the badger that killed Willowpelt, Cloudtail wishes it was so he could shred it. Firestar sternly says he'd do nothing without orders, but the white warrior simply states that badgers and cats don't mix, and that's the end of it.
==Characters==
===Major===
===Minor===
===Mentioned===
==Notes and references==
de:Mitternacht (Buch)/Kapitel 2es:Medianoche (libro)/Capítulo 2fr:‎Minuit/Chapitre 2nl:Middernacht (Boek)/Hoofdstuk 2
Category:Chapter subpages
Category:The New Prophecy arc
Category:Midnight (book)