Эрин Хантер - Squirrelflight's Hope

Leafstar didn’t comment. She was staring at the view, her nose twitching. Fresh mountain scent mingled with forest and water, and the smell of prey hung heavy in the air. Squirrelflight scanned the hillsides for signs of Twolegs, but there were no stone nests here. A Thunderpath cut its way along one edge, heading for the mountain, but no monsters patrolled it.

Hope welled in Squirrelflight’s chest. It seemed like good territory. She glanced at Leafstar, trying to hide her excitement. This had to be Leafstar’s decision.

Leafstar narrowed her eyes. “Let’s take a closer look.” The SkyClan leader crossed the hilltop and headed into the valley below. Brambles rose around them, cut by sandy tracks and growing thicker as they neared the bottom. Had Leafstar noticed the prey trails? What else could have carved those pathways? Squirrelflight fell in behind her as she veered onto a steep path down. At the bottom a stream chattered over a stony bed. Beyond it, woodland reached the bank. The stream was shallow enough to wade across, and Leafstar led the way.

Cold water swirled around Squirrelflight’s paws. She was glad to hop out the other side and follow Leafstar into the woods. There were wider tracks through the undergrowth here, and Squirrelflight’s fur bristled nervously as she smelled a familiar scent. Other cats had been here. Loners or rogues? She tasted the air. The scent was faint, almost washed away now, and there was no sign of movement between the trees. She glanced at Leafstar. The SkyClan leader’s pelt was slick from the rain, ruffled along her spine. Had Leafstar smelled the cat-scent too?

Leafstar slowed as they headed deeper into the new territory, her whiskers twitching. Squirrelflight sensed her caution and moved closer to her, scanning the trees as they skirted a hillside and followed the woodland down into another valley. As they neared the bottom, the forest opened. Shrubs clustered on the far side, sheltering a wide stretch of grass that covered the valley floor. Squirrelflight felt sunshine break through the clouds to warm her pelt and shook out her fur, relieved that she’d be dry soon. “This would make a good place for a camp,” she murmured.

“Look.” Leafstar nodded toward moss piled at the foot of a bush. Beside it, earth was scraped from beneath the branches to form a hollow around the trunk.

Squirrelflight stiffened. “It looks like someone’s made a camp already.” She jerked her muzzle around, noticing gaps between branches and patches of flattened grass. Her pelt spiking, she sniffed the ground. Cats! She couldn’t tell how many. The scent was no more than a trace; the rain had washed the place clean. “It smells like it’s been abandoned.”

Leafstar’s tail twitched. She looked around warily. “Why would they abandon this place?” she mewed. “They’ve taken a lot of trouble to make it their home.”

Squirrelflight uncurled her claws, hoping Leafstar was wrong. Her heart quickened as a breeze whisked into the valley. It carried fresh cat-scents.

Leafstar moved beside her, pelt bushing. “Some cat’s coming.”

“I know.” Squirrelflight’s breath caught in her throat. She suddenly felt a long way from home.

“Let’s get out of here.” Leafstar turned and froze.

Squirrelflight followed her gaze. A huge she-cat was staring at them from beside a dogwood. The cat’s long, fine gray fur was bushed out, and her eyes glittered with hostility. Squirrelflight’s heart raced as the cat stalked toward them, growling.

“We’re going to have to fight our way out,” she whispered to Leafstar.

“I don’t know if we can.” Leafstar nodded to the brambles at the side of the valley as three more cats, each as large as the first, padded out. Four cats followed the gray cat from the dogwood, and three more slid from beneath a juniper bush on the other side of the valley. “We’re surrounded.”

CHAPTER 4

The gray cat narrowed its eyes. “Why are you here?”

The other cats moved closer, pelts bushed, eyes flashing menacingly.

“We’re exploring. We didn’t realize …” Squirrelflight’s mew trailed away as she saw that the gray cat’s belly was round. She was expecting kits!

Leafstar shifted beside her. “We thought the camp was abandoned.”

“The rain had washed away your scent,” Squirrelflight mewed quickly.

The gray queen exchanged glances with a young white she-cat near the brambles. As the white she-cat flicked her tail, her gaze flashed back to Squirrelflight. “You must have seen our tracks and our dens.”

“Yes.” Leafstar leaned forward. “And we were just going to leave.”

“But you said you thought this would be a good place to make camp.” The queen was still glaring at Squirrelflight. “Why?”

“We were looking for new territory,” Squirrelflight told her. “We didn’t realize this land belonged to a Clan.”

“A Clan?” The queen tipped her head.

Leafstar growled. “Why are you explaining yourself to these cats?” she snapped at Squirrelflight.

Squirrelflight looked at her. What else was she supposed to do? “They outnumber us, or hadn’t you noticed?”

“I noticed.” Anger glittered in Leafstar’s gaze. “But they’re rogues, not a Clan!” She turned back to the queen. “I’m Leafstar, leader of SkyClan.”

“I’m Moonlight, and these are the Sisters.” The queen nodded toward her campmates.

“We only came to find out if this land was empty,” Leafstar snarled. “Now that we know it isn’t, we’ll leave.” She began to pad forward, but Moonlight hissed. The Sisters fanned out until every stretch of grass was covered.

“Wait!” Squirrelflight swallowed back panic. They’d never be able to fight their way out of here. She looked imploringly at Moonlight. “We just want to go home.”

Moonlight’s gaze flicked over her. “Are you one of the cats from the lake?”

“Yes.” Had Moonlight and the Sisters been watching the Clans?

“I didn’t think you ever strayed past your scent markers,” Moonlight meowed.

“We don’t, usually,” Squirrelflight told her. “But as I explained, we’re looking for territory.”

“And you think you’re going to take this land?” Moonlight’s eyes narrowed into hard slits.

“We were just looking ,” Leafstar growled. “But we don’t need it. Keep your land.”

Moonlight didn’t move. “Who says it’s our land?”

“You live here, don’t you?” Leafstar shot back.

“For now.” She shook out her fur suddenly and sat down. Squirrelflight sensed the other cats relaxing around them. She let her fur smooth and glanced at Leafstar, hoping the SkyClan leader would do the same. These cats clearly didn’t want to fight. Why provoke them? Moonlight lifted a paw and licked it. “We’re not like you lake cats.” She drew her paw over her ear. “We don’t make boundaries or leave markers.”

“If you did,” Leafstar muttered, “we might have stayed away.”

“True.” Moonlight nodded to the white cat, who padded to her side. Her snowy pelt was sleek and well-groomed, and she sat down noiselessly as Moonlight went on. “But other cats don’t show much interest in our land. They come and go; they hunt, then continue on their way. They leave us mostly in peace.” She licked a paw and washed her other ear.

Squirrelflight wasn’t surprised that other cats left them alone. The Sisters were larger than Clan cats. Their broad shoulders and wide paws were intimidating, and she wondered if even a trained warrior could fight more than one of them. The three males she could make out seemed younger than the other cats and smaller, but they were sleek and well-muscled, as though they’d never suffered a harsh leaf-bare or gone to sleep with an empty belly.