Эрин Хантер - A Forest Divided

With a roar of agonized fury, the badger reared.

Run, Clear Sky! Thunder’s gaze flicked toward his father, but Clear Sky was lying motionless on the ground. Thunder froze as the badger’s head swung toward him. Swallowing, he backed away. He could taste the badger’s blood in his mouth. He gagged. It was sour with infection.

A menacing growl rumbled in the badger’s throat, and it leaped. Thunder dived to one side, rolling as he landed. He looked back to make sure the badger still had its gaze fixed on him, then raced across the slope.

The earth trembled as the badger pounded after him. Triumph thrilled beneath Thunder’s pelt. The badger would never catch up to him. Especially with an injured leg. I just have to lead it far enough away from Clear Sky. He snatched a glance over his shoulder and glimpsed the badger’s hulking shape following him. Bounding across the snow, he led the badger away. The wind whipped his ears as he pushed into the blizzard; then he turned and fled uphill, leaving the badger lumbering far behind.

Thank you, snow! It would cover his tracks. Paws skidding, he made a wide circle and doubled back toward Clear Sky.

Please be alive!

Panic seized him. Where is he?

The snow that had hidden Thunder from the badger now hid his father.

Opening his mouth, Thunder tasted for Clear Sky’s scent. Snowflakes landed on his tongue. His nose stung with the cold. “Clear Sky?” His call was barely a whisper. He dared not let the badger hear.

A moan sounded ahead.

“Clear Sky!” Heart soaring, Thunder spotted a shape on the ground. “You’re alive!” Reaching him, he dropped into a crouch. Clear Sky lay on his flank, his chest heaving. Thunder sniffed his pelt.

He smelled the sour scent of the badger’s blood. “Did it hurt you?”

Clear Sky blinked and struggled to his paws.

Thunder smelled a fresh wound. The snow was red beneath him.

“Where did it bite you?” Fear sparked through Thunder as he saw the fur at Clear Sky’s neck clumped with blood.

“It’s not deep,” Clear Sky croaked.

“A badger’s bite carries infection,” Thunder warned him. “Let me get you back to the hollow.”

“We’re closer to the forest.” Clear Sky stumbled as he spoke. His flank hit Thunder’s.

Thunder dug his claws into the ground, supporting his father’s weight. “Pebble Heart can treat your wound. He knows which herbs will stop it from turning sour.” He felt Clear Sky heave a shaky breath. “Let’s get out of here before that badger comes back.”

“I don’t know why you want to stay on the moor when it’s riddled with badgers,” Clear Sky grumbled as Thunder steered him up the slope toward the heather.

“There’s a set in the forest too,” Thunder pointed out.

“Far enough from the camp not to have them lumbering around, attacking cats.”

Thunder was relieved to hear Clear Sky arguing. That meant his wound couldn’t be too bad, though his father’s paw steps were halting. He nudged Clear Sky on, anxious the badger might have picked up their trail. Snowflakes caught in his throat as he struggled to support his father. They stumbled uphill, the wind pushing them sideways.

Thunder was breathless by the time they reached the heather. Puffing, he guided his father into a rabbit run among the bushes. As the branches enclosed them, he relaxed. The badger couldn’t follow them through here.

They reached the far side of the heather and emerged onto open grass. The snow had eased.

Thunder could see the gorse wall of the camp and pushed his shoulder harder against Clear Sky’s.

“We’re nearly there.”

“It’s my neck that’s injured, not my mind,” Clear Sky grunted.

“Or your tongue,” Thunder growled back.

“Thunder?” Cloud Spots’s mew sounded from the camp entrance. “Are you okay?” The long-furred black tom hurried across the grass toward them. His white ear tips and paws were invisible against the snowy moor. “I smell blood.”

“Clear Sky was attacked by a badger,” Thunder explained. Cloud Spots had been tending to injured cats since Thunder could remember. And he’d passed on his skills to Pebble Heart.

Cloud Spots fell in beside Clear Sky, pushing against his other shoulder.

“It’s just a scratch,” Clear Sky insisted.

“Even a scratch can turn nasty. Especially from a badger,” Cloud Spots fretted. “But I have a good store of herbs.” He lifted his chin and called to the camp. “Pebble Heart!”

The young tom appeared at the camp entrance, his tabby pelt standing out against the snow-blasted gorse. “Cloud Spots?” There was worry in his mew.

“Go and start chewing a poultice of marigold and oak leaf.”

Thunder stiffened at the worry in Cloud Spots’s voice. “He’ll be okay, won’t he?” He glanced at Clear Sky.

“Of course I’ll be okay.” Clear Sky straightened sharply, pushing the moor cats away, and marched into the hollow.

Thunder hurried after him into the snow-covered camp.

Tall Shadow darted from the long grass, shaking flakes from her spine. “I said go after him.” Her ear twitched angrily. “I didn’t say bring him back.”

“We ran into a badger,” Thunder explained quickly. “Clear Sky was hurt.”

“Badly?” Tall Shadow glanced over her shoulder.

Gray Wing was crossing the clearing toward her, his paws kicking through the snow. “Is he okay?”

Cloud Spots was already guiding Clear Sky into his den. “He’ll be fine.”

Gray Wing met Thunder’s gaze. “Should you have brought him back?” he asked anxiously. “He’s already ruffled enough fur here for one day.”

“He was attacked by a badger!” Thunder turned his tail on Gray Wing and followed Clear Sky into Cloud Spots’s den.

Cloud Spots was easing Clear Sky onto his side. “Lie still so Pebble Heart can reach your wound.”

Clear Sky huffed. “What a lot of fuss over a scratch.”

Thunder wrinkled his nose as he padded across the sandy floor of the den. The tang of herbs filled the air. He noticed two nests at the back of the den, woven from heather branches and lined with moss. How can Pebble Heart and Cloud Spots sleep in here with this smell? Squinting though the half-light, he could make out wads of leaves stuffed between the gorse stems. “Is that your herb store?” he asked Cloud Spots. He was surprised the tom had collected so many.

“It should last us through leaf-bare.” Cloud Spots’s gaze was fixed on Clear Sky’s neck as Pebble Heart carefully washed the bloodstained fur clean. “Is it deep?” he asked the young tom.

“No.” Pebble Heart looked up. “A bit jagged, but that should help it close up easily.” He twisted and grabbed a mouthful of dark sludge from beside him, then began to work it into Clear Sky’s wound with steady laps of his tongue.

Clear Sky flinched. “Are you sure that will help?” he rasped.

Cloud Spots ran his tail along Clear Sky’s flank. “The sting shows that the herbs are working.”

Thunder sat back on his haunches, wondering how any cat had the patience to learn the name and use of every herb. “How long will it take to heal?” he asked.

“A few days.” Pebble Heart stepped back.

Clear Sky struggled to his paws. He twisted his head gently, as though feeling for pain. “Thank you.” He nodded to Pebble Heart. “That feels better already.”

“I chewed some dock into the poultice,” Pebble Heart told him. “It will soothe the wound. When you get back to the forest, put some dock leaves in your nest when you sleep. It will ease the pain.”

Clear Sky blinked gratefully at the young cat, then turned to Thunder. “See how well we manage when we work together?”