Эрин Хантер - Thunder Rising

The sun and earth have protected me all my life, he thought. Just like the river has taken care of me, over and over again. It gave me a soft landing when I fell from the wall. It carried me away from the danger that was destroying the Park. It saved me from those fierce creatures, it fed me, and now it has brought me to what could be a wonderful new home. Maybe it will help me to get to the bank, if I can just trust it.

Ripple rose to his paws and lifted his head to let out a clear meow. “Thank you, river, for all you’ve done for me. If you can help me again, one last time, and get me to the bank, I will stay beside you and praise you all my life.”

Without giving himself the chance to change his mind, he plunged into the current.

At once, Ripple found that he was swimming strongly. The river bore him up, carrying him to the bank just upstream of the willow tree. Almost before he knew it he felt his paws touch solid ground. He waded out and scrambled up the bank, shaking water from his long, silvery fur.

“What are you?” a voice asked. “A water rat?”

Spinning around, Ripple spotted a young black-and-white she-cat watching him from beneath an arching clump of ferns a couple of tail-lengths away. She was staring at him with a stunned expression, but in spite of her amazement her voice was friendly.

Ripple dipped his head toward her. “Greetings,” he mewed. “I’ve come from the Cats of the Park. Will you and your Cats allow me to stay here?”

Amusement glinted in the she-cat’s eyes. “I’m not part of any group of cats,” she told him. “This land belongs to wild cats who hunt alone. You’re welcome to stay here, as long as you don’t steal the prey out from any other cat’s paws.”

“Hunt?” Ripple asked uneasily. He had only hunted a few times before, and only for fun. And he had always been with other cats. “The cats here hunt… alone ?”

Loneliness stabbed through Ripple at the thought. His tail drooped as he remembered Arc and the other Cats of the Park. He had always lived in a group, and an intense sense of loss swept over him like a chill wind through his fur. What will I do without them? Will I ever see them again?

The she-cat let out a sympathetic purr, as if she understood his sorrow. “Even though we hunt for ourselves,” she meowed, “that doesn’t mean that we can’t hunt with a friend. Would you like to join me today? I’ll introduce you to my brother, and we can all hunt together.”

“Really?” Ripple felt hope rekindle inside him. “Thank you!”

“Maybe we can give you some tips,” the she-cat went on. “And maybe you can show us what a water rat can do.”

“I’d be glad to,” Ripple agreed happily, wondering if these cats knew how to catch fish.

“My name is Night,” the she-cat meowed. “What’s yours?”

Ripple looked back at the river flowing by. It had given him food and protected him from his enemies, and he had to believe it was still protecting him and taking him where he was meant to be.

I’m not the young Cat of the Park anymore, he realized. Not really. I’m something else now, something more—a Cat of the River. And I should honor my protector.

“I’m River,” he told Night. “River Ripple.”