Эрин Хантер - The Apprentice's Quest

After a few moments’ silence, while the cats were clearly thinking over what they had heard, Cherryfall got up and rubbed her cheek against Alderpaw’s. “That was brave of you,” she meowed. “Your first act as our leader.”

Alderpaw was touched, especially by her admission that they would follow him now.

“It will take us a few days to get used to all this,” Cherryfall went on, “but I’m glad you told us the truth.”

“So am I,” Needlepaw agreed.

Molewhisker rose to his paws and glanced around at his Clanmates. “I think I speak for all of us,” he mewed, “when I tell you that we pledge ourselves to do whatever it takes to find

SkyClan and complete the quest.”

As his friends murmured their agreement, Alderpaw thought that his heart would burst with pride.

Alderpaw led the way cautiously along the cliff edge, his belly fur brushing the dusty ground. On one side, rough grass stretched into the distance, dotted here and there with scrubby trees and bushes. On the other, the ground fell away into a precipice; at the bottom a river tumbled along between sandy rocks.

We’re almost there! he thought, exultation breaking through his weariness. This must be close to the place where SkyClan made their camp.

Many sunrises had passed since Alderpaw had told his friends the truth about their quest.

Afterward they had hardly stopped to rest.

Following Sandstorm’s directions, they had passed through more farms, crossed busy

Thunderpaths, and skirted Twolegplaces until they reached the river and turned upstream.

I never knew the world was so big!

Alderpaw reflected, wincing as his sore paws padded over the gritty earth. I can’t believe how far we’ve had to travel! Casting a glance back at his companions, he could see that they were all as tired as he was, limping onward with tails drooping.

An unexpected gust of wind drove sand into

Alderpaw’s eyes and brought the sound of cats’ voices drifting up from the gorge below. Strong but unfamiliar cat scent came with it. Blinking fiercely, Alderpaw raised his tail to warn the others to be silent, and he crept forward to crouch at the very edge of the cliff.

When his vision cleared, he made out paths and jutting outcrops in the rock face and, far below, a pile of reddish boulders blocking the way ahead. The river poured out of a gaping black hole in the rock and dropped into a pool before flowing away down the gorge.

“This is where the river begins!” Alderpaw breathed out. “It must be where SkyClan’s camp is.”

It was a weird place for a camp, he thought.

He couldn’t see any dens, or any fresh-kill pile, just the heaps of red stone with the river cutting its way through. Cats live here? he asked himself, bewildered. Yet, as he looked more closely, he could see cats slipping between the boulders, pausing to talk to one another, sunning themselves, just as his own Clanmates did in their camp.

“Are these the cats from your dreams?”

Alderpaw realized that Needlepaw had crept up beside him and was peering over his shoulder. “They’re too far away for me to be sure,” he responded. “But the red rock seems familiar.”

“Hmm…” Needlepaw edged up beside him to give the scene a closer scrutiny. “They might be far away,” she continued, “but they don’t look like cats in need of help to me.”

Realizing she was right, Alderpaw let out a sigh. “Maybe I misinterpreted my vision.”

“What?” Sparkpaw, craning her neck to gaze down on Alderpaw’s other side, began to bristle with outrage. “You led us all this way for nothing?” she hissed.

“We can’t know Alderpaw is wrong,” Needlepaw retorted. “Not from this distance.

Maybe we should get closer.”

Alderpaw was grateful for her defense, for how she always had the spirit to adapt to setbacks, but at the same time he worried that Sparkpaw had a point. What if this journey has been wasted?

“Okay, what are we waiting for?” Needlepaw asked, springing to her paws. “Let’s find a way down.”

Instantly Molewhisker moved to block her.

“Are you mouse-brained?” he demanded. “We can’t just stroll into their camp. None of us know much about SkyClan, and they don’t know much about us, either. There’s no way of being sure we can trust them.” He gave his tail an irritable twitch. “Sandstorm was the only one who had met the SkyClan cats, and she’s dead now.”

Needlepaw shrugged, unmoved by the older cat’s argument. “We can only find answers by getting closer. Alderpaw wouldn’t have dreamed of these cats if they weren’t important, right?”

Alderpaw swallowed nervousness. “That’s true,” he meowed, trying to sound strong and decisive. “Lead on, Needlepaw.”

After a moment’s searching, Needlepaw found the beginning of a path that led down into the gorge, winding to and fro across the rock face. Alderpaw followed hard on her paw steps, hugging the cliff wall to stay well away from the drop at the edge of the path and feeling the heat of the sun-warmed rocks striking up through his pads.

To his relief the others headed down after them.

“Alderpaw must have bees in his brain,” he heard Sparkpaw mutter. “Following this stupid

ShadowClan furball!”

Before they had descended more than a few fox-lengths into the gorge, Alderpaw heard a loud yowl coming from below. Turning toward the sound, he spotted a long-furred gray tom staring straight at him. The yowl had attracted three of the other SkyClan cats, who raced toward him; then all four began to climb the rocks, with the gray tom in the lead.

“Uh-oh!” Needlepaw murmured.

“Well, we had to meet them sometime,” Alderpaw responded. He slid past Needlepaw to take the lead and padded down a couple of tail-lengths, as far as a wide ledge. “We’ll wait for them here—and for StarClan’s sake, remember that we’re here to help. We’re not looking for a fight.”

He had hardly finished speaking when the SkyClan cats came into sight, springing confidently up the narrow path until they faced the questing cats on the ledge.

The gray tom took another pace forward until he stood nose to nose with Alderpaw, who tried not to flinch as the SkyClan cat’s cold green gaze raked over him. This was a powerful cat, his shoulder fur bristling and his tail bushed up.

“If you’ve come for the territory,” he snarled, “you can think again. You’re way outnumbered.”

Alderpaw hesitated, wondering if he should respond.

Although it was his quest, Molewhisker and Cherryfall were the senior cats now that Sandstorm wasn’t with them anymore. Maybe they should be the ones to speak.

But when Alderpaw glanced back at Molewhisker and Cherryfall, neither of them moved. It’s up to me, then, he thought, turning back toward the hostile long-furred tom.

“We don’t want your territory,” he explained, his voice quiet and calm. “But we’ve traveled a long way to meet you—the cats of SkyClan who live in this gorge.”

The gray tom tilted his head to one side, a glint in his green eyes. “What do cats from far away know about SkyClan?” he asked.

“Not much,” Alderpaw admitted, “but we’re here to learn more.”

The tom let out a disdainful snort. “Then you’d better come and speak to our leader.” He jerked his head to indicate that they should follow him, then turned and padded back down the path.

Alderpaw had only taken a single paw step to follow him when Sparkpaw pushed forward to his side. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” she whispered.