Эрин Хантер - Outcast

“No need to say good-bye just yet,” Purdy meowed. “I reckon I’ll come with you.”

Hollypaw saw her own dismay reflected in the faces of the Tribe cats. Night muttered something urgently into Talon’s ear.

“Brambleclaw—” Talon began.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Brambleclaw told Purdy; Hollypaw couldn’t understand the regret in her father’s amber eyes. “It’s a tough journey, and there’ll be fighting at the end of it.”

Purdy fluffed out his pelt. “You sayin’ I can’t fight? Too old and fat, is that it?” Before any of the other cats could reply, he broke into a rusty mrrow of laughter. “Mebbe you’re right, but I can come with you as far as the woods.” He waved his tail at the trees on the opposite side of the valley. “I know a thing or two that might help you.”

“Mouse dung!” Breezepaw muttered, loud enough for Purdy to hear him. “Now we’re stuck with the stupid mangepelt.”

Purdy just flicked his tail and turned his back on the WindClan apprentice, padding beside Brambleclaw to the edge of the trees and down the hillside. Squirrelflight bounded forward to join them on Purdy’s other side.

Hollypaw didn’t like Breezepaw’s rudeness, but she found herself agreeing with him. This old cat was bound to slow them down, when every moment counted.

“Brambleclaw and the others have been here before,” she murmured to Lionpaw. “What can Purdy tell them that they don’t already know?”

Lionpaw shrugged. “Like Breezepaw says, we’re stuck with him.”

As they headed into the valley, Hollypaw could hear Purdy rambling on about the Twolegplace that she could see in the distance.

“Remember those rats?” he asked.

“Will I ever forget?” Tawnypelt growled. “I thought I’d die of that bite.” She swiped her tongue around her jaws and added with satisfaction, “The rat that gave it to me didn’t have long to regret it.”

A purr rumbled deep inside Purdy’s chest. “Well, they’re not there no more. Upwalkers came and put up a nest there and cleared out all the rats.”

“Good!” Tawnypelt’s tail lashed.

“And that open space where the monsters were sleepin’…”

Hollypaw stopped listening. They weren’t going anywhere near the Twolegplace, so why did Purdy need to tell them about it? Her paws itched to race down into the valley, but she was forced to match her pace with Purdy’s slow amble.

“Why is Brambleclaw doing this?” she muttered. “The Tribe of Rushing Water could be wiped out while we’re hanging around here.”

“The Tribe cats feel the same,” Jaypaw mewed. “Talon’s boiling under his fur.”

Hollypaw didn’t need her brother’s perceptiveness to tell her that. Brook just looked unhappy, but Night and Talon were whispering fiercely together, their neck fur bristling. If Brambleclaw didn’t pick up the pace soon, there would be a quarrel.

The sun rose above the trees and Hollypaw was grateful for the cool grass brushing against her flanks. Bees buzzed among the clover while birds swooped and cried in the clear blue sky. A little way ahead, a cluster of grayish-white animals cropped the grass.

“Look—sheep.” Breezepaw pointed to them with a flick of his tail. “That means there must be a Twoleg farm near here.”

“We know,” Hollypaw retorted. She wasn’t going to be friendly with Breezepaw, even if she did agree with him about Purdy. “We’ve seen sheep before, thanks.”

“In WindClan—” Breezepaw began in superior tones.

“There’s something else,” Lionpaw interrupted. “Another animal scent, but I’ve never smelled it before.”

Hollypaw halted to taste the air. Lionpaw was right; apart from the cats around her, the sheep, and a distant trace of dog, she picked up something different. She couldn’t see anything, but her paws prickled with apprehension.

Brambleclaw led the way around the flank of a hill, and the valley opened up below them. At the bottom of the slope was a cluster of Twoleg nests, surrounded by a fence. The strange scent grew stronger; Hollypaw felt her pelt begin to bristle as she spotted where it was coming from. Between the nests and the journeying cats was a group of big black-and-white animals.

They had feet like pointed stones and long tails that swished through the air with a reedy hiss.

“What are those?” Lionpaw asked, and for once Breezepaw had no reply.

“They’re huge,” Hollypaw meowed, trying not to sound as nervous as she felt. “And they’re looking at us. Do you think they’re going to attack?”

She was poised to flee when she heard Purdy’s rusty laughter. “Don’t you worry none,” he rasped. “They’re only cows.”

“It’s okay.” Squirrelflight glanced over her shoulder.

“We’ve seen cows before. They won’t do you any harm so long as you stay away from their huge feet.”

Even so, Hollypaw was relieved that Brambleclaw circled around to stay well away from the cows as they padded down-hill, and happier still when the unfamiliar creatures were left behind.

“I can smell mice,” Lionpaw announced as they drew near the Twoleg nests. He raced to catch up to Brambleclaw and ask, “Can we stop and hunt? I’m starving.”

Hollypaw’s jaws flooded as she picked up the tempting scent. It seemed to be coming from the two biggest nests, set a little way away from the others. She scampered forward to join her littermate. “Please, Brambleclaw. I’m hungry, too.”

Brambleclaw hesitated, and it was Purdy who replied.

“You don’t want nothin’ to do wi’ that place, young ’uns. It’s dangerous. Can’t you smell dogs as well as mice?”

Brambleclaw nodded. “I can. Thanks, Purdy. We’ll carry on until we find somewhere a bit safer.”

Lionpaw let out a hiss of annoyance. “I’m not scared of dogs,” he muttered.

“Neither am I,” Breezepaw agreed. “We see them all the time on WindClan territory. They’re not dangerous if you know how to deal with them.”

“The Twolegs probably keep the stupid things shut up anyway,” added Lionpaw. “Purdy’s just making a fuss about nothing.”

“Yeah,” meowed Breezepaw. “He’s only a kittypet, so he’s bound to be scared.”

Toms! Hollypaw thought, shaking her head as she listened to her brother and the WindClan apprentice, on the same side for once. They went on muttering together as Brambleclaw led them into the shadow of a hedge.

Hollypaw kept her ears pricked for the sound of prey. She thought she spotted movement in the thickest part of the hedge, but when she turned to look more closely a hawthorn branch snagged her fur and the small creature, whatever it was, vanished. Spitting crossly, she stopped to give her shoulder a quick groom, and spotted Lionpaw and Breezepaw, their bellies flat to the ground, creeping away in the direction of the farm.

“Hey!” she called. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Lionpaw signaled to her with his tail. “Quiet, for StarClan’s sake!”

Hollypaw cast a glance at the others; they had drawn ahead by a few fox-lengths, and no cat had heard anything. Jaypaw was walking between Stormfur and Brook and hadn’t noticed the others leave.

Hollypaw darted over to her brother and Breezepaw.

“Where are you going?”

“Keep your fur on,” Lionpaw hissed. “We’re just going back to the farm. Every cat’s going so slowly that we can catch a few mice and be back before they miss us.”

“Come on,” Breezepaw urged, nudging Lionpaw’s shoulder. “I can taste those mice now.”

“Are you mouse-brained?” Hollypaw demanded. “What if you get left behind? We ought to stay together.”

“We won’t get left behind,” Lionpaw mewed.