Эрин Хантер - Path Of A Warrior

The soft sounds of movement in the bracken ceased as the little animal froze: The vole must have sensed them at last. But Redtail could still hear the pounding of its tiny heart, knew exactly where it was hiding. Breaking into a run, he crashed through the bracken and pounced before the prey could try to escape. He bit down on the back of the vole’s neck, and the warm body stilled beneath his paws.

“Nicely done,” Tigerclaw meowed approvingly as Redtail backed out of the bracken, the vole dangling from his jaws.

“Thanks,” Redtail replied, pleased at Tigerclaw’s praise. He dropped the vole beneath a bush and scraped earth over it to conceal it until he could pick it up on their way back to camp.

Near the Fourtrees border, Redtail heard the quick thumping leaps of a running rabbit. Both cats stopped, their ears pricked.

“It’s coming this way,” Tigerclaw observed, and Redtail nodded. His pelt prickled with excitement at the thought of a juicy rabbit, big enough to feed three or four of his Clanmates. The rabbit was running fast and straight, and it was easy to guess where it would cross onto ThunderClan territory. Without needing to speak, they positioned themselves, one to each side of where the rabbit was heading.

The heavy loping bounds were coming closer and closer. It sounded like a big one. His mouth watering, Redtail tensed, ready to spring.

In a blur of brown fur, the rabbit shot out of the undergrowth, running full tilt, closer to Tigerclaw than to Redtail. Redtail let himself relax a bit, knowing the bigger warrior could take it down alone.

Just as Tigerclaw leaped, another blur of fur—a cat —burst out of the undergrowth and leaped, too. Redtail watched in horror as Tigerclaw and the smaller cat collided in midair and fell to the ground with a heavy thud, tangled together and spitting with rage and shock. The rabbit dodged away into the undergrowth and was lost before Redtail even thought of pouncing.

“Get off me!” Tigerclaw snarled, and the other cat sprang to her paws, looking indignant.

“That was my rabbit!” she yowled. “You made me lose my rabbit!” She was barely as big as a rabbit herself, Redtail saw, and clearly an apprentice. Despite her size, she glared at Tigerclaw fiercely, her brown-and-gray fur bristling with fury.

“ Our rabbit,” Tigerclaw corrected, sliding out his claws. “I’d like to know what you think you’re doing, hunting ThunderClan prey on ThunderClan territory.”

“It is not!” the apprentice hissed scornfully. “Is it, Stagleap?” She looked over her shoulder, her eyes wide with confusion. “Stagleap … ?” For the first time, she seemed to realize that she was alone. But a moment later, she’d puffed up her fur and was glaring at them both again. Despite himself, Redtail felt a rising admiration for her bravery.

“You’re a WindClan apprentice, aren’t you?” Redtail asked, recognizing her from the last full-moon meeting. “Sorrelpaw, right? What are you doing here?”

“I’m hunting , ” she told him, her tail curling behind her. “And no matter what you two say, WindClan cats have just as much right to hunt at Fourtrees as you do. ThunderClan doesn’t own everything .” She sniffed. “No wonder you’re always fighting with RiverClan over those Sunningrocks. What a bunch of bullies.”

The fur rose on Tigerclaw’s shoulders. “The border between Fourtrees and ThunderClan territory is five tail-lengths behind you. Don’t WindClan mentors teach their apprentices how to recognize borders?”

For the first time, Sorrelpaw looked shaken. She looked back toward Fourtrees, her tail waving uncertainly. “Um—”

Tigerclaw went on. “Clearly, WindClan doesn’t teach apprentices to respect their elders, either. We should fix that.” His cold amber gaze swung to Redtail. “Show Sorrelpaw what happens to cats who insult ThunderClan.”

“What?” Redtail blinked. “She’s just an apprentice, Tigerclaw. Her mentor isn’t even with her.”

Tigerclaw stalked closer to him, dropping his voice to a murmur. “If she wasn’t trying to start trouble, she would have stayed on her own territory.”

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Redtail mewed, backing away. Clearly, Tigerclaw didn’t care that Sorrelpaw was only an apprentice. “We’re still in conflict with RiverClan over Sunningrocks; do you really want to start trouble with WindClan, too?”

“I am a warrior .” Tigerclaw hissed. “I’m not going to let any cat disrespect my Clan or our borders. What about you, Redtail? I thought you’d grown to be a brave ThunderClan warrior.” He looked slyly at Redtail out of the corner of his eye. “Are you still a mouse-hearted ’paw?”

“No!” Redtail’s back stiffened. He knew Tigerclaw was talking about how he’d frozen at the bridge all those moons ago. Tigerclaw had saved him then; maybe the older warrior really did know best. He owed Tigerclaw his life. He would follow his lead. Swallowing hard, he turned to look at Sorrelpaw.

The apprentice looked smaller than ever to him. I won’t hurt her too badly.

Maybe she would be able to sense his intentions and wouldn’t be too scared.

He approached slowly, growling and baring his teeth. He half hoped Sorrelpaw would seize the chance to turn tail and run, but instead the little apprentice arched her back and hissed at him, sliding out her claws.

Redtail glanced back at Tigerclaw, who was watching him with narrowed eyes, and sprang. Easily tumbling Sorrelpaw over, he slammed her against the ground. The apprentice gasped, the breath knocked out of her, but a moment later she was fighting hard. Her claws raked across Redtail’s belly, stinging sharply. Hot with rage at the pain, he pinned her, holding her down, and sank his teeth into her shoulder.

Warm blood burst in his mouth, and Sorrelpaw shrieked in agony.

“Tear her apart, Redtail,” Tigerclaw hissed. There was something nastily pleased about his voice.

Shocked, Redtail released Sorrelpaw and staggered backward. Tear her apart? He felt suddenly queasy, his mouth full of the taste of blood.

“Hey!” The voice came from the border. Redtail looked up. A stocky brown tom—much larger than most of underfed, fast-running WindClan—was pushing his broad shoulders through the undergrowth, staring at the scene before him with round, shocked amber eyes. “Get away from her!”

“Stagleap, I—I—” Redtail stammered, imagining how the scene must look through the other cat’s eyes. The apprentice, trembling, her fur wet with blood. Redtail and Tigerclaw looming over her ominously, so much larger and older. Full-grown warriors attacking a lone apprentice. He felt hot with shame.

The WindClan tom ran to his apprentice’s side and gently nosed her wounds. “Sorrelpaw, can you get up?” He helped the wincing apprentice to her paws and let her lean against his side, then turned to the ThunderClan warriors, his expression turning from concern to anger. “Which of you did this?”

Redtail swallowed hard and stared at the ground. What have I done?

“Does it matter?” Tigerclaw hissed, puffing out his chest. “The real question is, why did you let her go racing onto ThunderClan land after our prey? Is WindClan so pathetic they can’t catch rabbits on their own territory?”

“Pathetic?” Stagleap echoed, bristling. “The two of you beating up an apprentice— that’s pathetic.” Nudging Sorrelpaw gently to stand on her own, he paced toward Tigerclaw, stopping less than a whisker’s length from the other cat. “Why don’t you pick on a cat your own size?” he growled.

Tigerclaw looked almost pleased, his tail curling above his back as he unsheathed his claws.