Эрин Хантер - The Sun Trail

“Over here!” she mewed, darting toward them.

Fox followed her, with a glance toward the edge of the trees. None of the strange cats had appeared yet, but Petal could hear yowls of pursuit and knew they had only heartbeats to make their escape.

She leaped onto the first stone, flinching at the chill of river water on her paws. I might not be the best hunter, but I can do this. …

Petal could hear splashing that told her Fox was following her. She leaped from rock to rock until she reached the middle of the river, the strong current surging all around her. We’re going to make it , she thought, pushing off in a powerful leap to the next stone.

But as Petal’s paws landed, the rock lurched under her and she felt herself sliding into the river. Water slopped onto her belly fur. With a screech of alarm she clawed frantically at the slippery surface, and managed to stop herself a mouse-length before the river engulfed her.

She could hear Fox yowling in distress behind her.

“I’m okay!” she gasped out. I didn’t survive that badger to drown now!

Another cat voice rose over Fox’s, calling out a greeting. Petal let out a hiss of fear and anger as she turned awkwardly on the sloping surface of the rock so that she could look back at the bank.

The gray tom and the white she-cat stood watching at the water’s edge. “Come back!” the gray tom called. “We won’t harm you.”

Like I believe that! Petal thought. But she knew that she and Fox had no real choice. Trying to cross the river was becoming too dangerous.

“It’s no good!” she yowled to Fox. “We’ll have to go back.”

Carefully they began to make their way to the bank. Petal found that her legs were shaking with tension; with every jump her mind revisited the dreadful moment when the rock had tipped under her paws.

Fox had reached the bank and was standing quietly beside the two newcomers. They haven’t attacked him… yet.

Petal braced herself for the leap onto the last rock. But she was so tense and tired that she misjudged the distance. Her forepaws hit the stone but her back legs landed in the river, and before she could scramble to safety the river swirled her away.

“Help me!” she shrieked, flailing her legs helplessly in the cold, angry water. “Fox! Help me!” There was nothing for her claws to grip, no way of keeping herself afloat as her pelt grew sodden and heavy.

Fox leaned dangerously far from the bank and stretched out a paw. His claws brushed through Petal’s pelt before the strong, rapid current snatched her out of reach. Petal’s screech of terror was cut off with a gurgle as her head went under. Water filled her mouth and nostrils. I’m going to drown!

She resurfaced to find herself a tail-length from the bank. Desperately she tried to push through the water but couldn’t make any headway. River water choked her; she couldn’t cry out anymore.

There was a yowl of despair from Fox. Then Petal caught a glimpse of the gray tom racing along the riverbank, outstripping her until she lost sight of him.

A moment later, still struggling to stay afloat, Petal spotted him again. He had halted beside a large rock on the riverbank, and as Petal was carried down toward it she heard his yowl of effort over the roar of the water as he pushed the rock into the river.

The surge from the splash swamped Petal. Her head went under again, but a heartbeat later the current threw her up against something hard. Scrabbling frantically, she realized it was the rock. She could get her head out again and she clambered painfully upward, away from the smothering water. Fox leaped from the bank to the top of the rock and helped her by leaning over and fastening his claws into her scruff.

Coughing and choking, Petal managed to scramble to the safety of the bank. Both the gray tom and the white she-cat were standing there, looking at her with concern in their eyes.

“Are you okay?” the white she-cat asked.

“Fine,” Petal gasped, and added to the gray tom, “You saved my life!”

The gray tom shrugged. “It was nothing. I’m Clear Sky, by the way, and this is Falling Feather.”

Petal sank shivering to the ground.

“I’m Fox,” her brother mewed, his voice shaky with relief. “And my sister is Petal.”

“Hey!” Falling Feather meowed, with a sudden startled look. “We know you, don’t we? You were in that fight when that idiot Moon Shadow was hunting a squirrel. And later on we chased you out of our clearing.”

“That’s right.” Clear Sky nodded. “And Falling Feather, you thought they might be cats we could invite to live with us one day.” He blinked thoughtfully. “Interesting…”

Petal was feeling too cold and exhausted to pay much attention. Feebly she started to groom herself, thinking she would never get the taste of river water out of her fur.

“Lie on either side of her,” Clear Sky instructed the other two cats. “That way she’ll get warm quickly.”

Fox and Falling Feather instantly settled themselves beside Petal, who let out a grateful sigh as the warmth of their bodies began to drive away the chill of the river. She was surprised at how easily Fox had obeyed Clear Sky’s command, but she wasn’t blind to the gray tom’s authority. He’s clever, too. He knew what to do to save me.

Clear Sky’s blue gaze ranged over her body, and Petal became painfully aware of how skinny she must look with her fur plastered to her ribs.

“When did you last eat?” he asked.

“We had a mouse apiece earlier on,” Fox replied, not pointing out that the mice had been the only prey they had managed to catch for days.

Suddenly Petal’s stomach gave a massive rumble. Clear Sky and Falling Feather both let out snorts of amusement.

“Okay,” Clear Sky meowed. “You need food. I’ll go and hunt.”

“If you go straight into the trees,” Fox told the gray tom as he turned away, “you’ll come to a heap of boulders with a spring trickling out. That’s a really good place for shrews.”

Clear Sky flicked his tail in acknowledgment, looking impressed. “You know the forest very well,” he commented.

“Not bad,” Fox responded, sounding encouraged. “And Petal is really good at climbing trees and coaxing out prey.”

“No, I—” Petal began to protest, embarrassment almost making her forget her shock and exhaustion.

“It’s true!” Fox interrupted. “You have more skills than you give yourself credit for. You just don’t use them as much as you could, because you’re so keen that we hunt together.”

Petal was aware of Clear Sky examining her with interest before heading off into the trees. Her pelt prickled uncomfortably, and she wished she knew what he was thinking.

When he had gone, the cats fell silent. Petal relaxed as Fox and Falling Feather leaned in to her.

“Lick her fur the wrong way,” Falling Feather instructed. “That’s the best way to get her warm quickly.”

Petal remembered being licked like that by her mother, when she was a tiny kit. Soon she began to feel warm and rested again. I was afraid of these cats, but they’re really kind. …

“Have you lived in the forest long?” Falling Feather asked eventually.

“We were born here,” Fox replied. “But our mother was killed by a badger when we were kits.”

“That’s terrible!” Falling Feather exclaimed. “What did you do?”

“It was tough,” Petal began. “We couldn’t hunt properly, and we thought we would starve. Then we smelled some other cats…” The terrible memory of that rejection surged over her, as powerful as the river water, and she couldn’t go on.

“They didn’t want anything to do with us,” Fox finished for her. “Since that happened, we mostly just stay with each other.”