Эрин Хантер - Dark River

“Lionpaw!” Ashfur padded out of the warriors’ den. “We’re training with Brackenfur and Hollypaw in the hollow this morning.”

Oh, great! Can’t I ever get away from her?

The thorn barrier trembled as an early hunting patrol raced into camp. Firestar and Sandstorm were both holding prey in their jaws. Spiderleg and Mousepaw each carried a mouse, and Whitewing gripped a plump thrush between her teeth.

“Is everything all right?” Brambleclaw called down.

Firestar dropped his prey on the fresh-kill pile. “All quiet and as you can see, the prey is running.”

Berrypaw was already at the fresh-kill pile, sniffing the thrush Whitewing had dropped. He picked it up and carried it to the nursery.

“Hi, Jaypaw.” Hollypaw was bounding across the clearing with Cinderpaw. “Any food left?”

“You can eat later, Hollypaw!” Brackenfur was pacing up and down in front of the camp entrance. “Training first.”

Lionpaw gulped down the last of his mouse, feeling a twinge of satisfaction. Hollypaw had probably been gossiping about him. Serves her right if it means she goes hungry. He got to his paws and hurried toward Brackenfur. Ashfur bounded across the clearing to join them.

“I’m starving!” Hollypaw complained, catching up.

“We’ll hunt after battle training,” Brackenfur promised.

The golden warrior darted through the tunnel. Lionpaw fell in beside Ashfur, leaving Hollypaw to hurry after them.

They padded to the training hollow in silence. Sun was slanting through the bright green leaves, and the air trembled with birdsong. Lionpaw saw Hollypaw lick her lips.

Ashfur sat down in the center of the hollow, his tail whisking over the mossy ground. “Today, we’re going to be thinking about how other Clans fight—their strengths and weaknesses, and the best way to exploit them.”

“So, what strengths do the other Clans have?” Brackenfur prompted.

“RiverClan can swim,” Hollypaw mewed, “which means they can approach from water.”

“WindClan is well camouflaged and small, so they are hardest to detect,” Lionpaw offered.

“Unless they’re upwind,” Hollypaw pointed out, “in which case their rabbity scent gives them away.”

Lionpaw bristled with indignation. Heatherpaw didn’t smell rabbity.

“What about ShadowClan?” Ashfur asked.

“Well, they are just evil,” Hollypaw growled, “so you never know how low they’ll stoop in any attack. That makes them unpredictable.”

“And weaknesses?” Brackenfur pressed.

“ShadowClan is weak because they think they are braver than they actually are,” Hollypaw mewed. “And RiverClan is so well fed that they’re slower than us.”

Lionpaw shifted on his paws, searching for something to say. Hollypaw was answering everything first.

Ashfur glanced at him. “What about WindClan?”

Lionpaw’s mouth turned dry. Ashfur’s gaze seemed to be boring into him. Had Hollypaw told her mentor about his meetings with Heatherpaw? Lionpaw started to panic as he realized that all three cats were staring at him, waiting for his answer. His paws began to itch. Come on! I know this!

Hollypaw rolled her eyes. “Lionpaw thinks WindClan has no weaknesses.” Her accusation made his ears burn with embarrassment. Why was she being so obvious? Was she reminding him she had the power to get him into big trouble?

Anger rose in his throat. “That’s not true!” he hissed.

“What’s not true?” Brambleclaw came padding down the slope toward them, Berrypaw at his side.

Lionpaw lifted his chin. “Hollypaw’s accusing me of favoring WindClan!”

“Why would she do that?”

“I was just teasing,” Hollypaw mewed. “Lionpaw’s being touchy. He had a nightmare.”

Lionpaw lashed his tail. Was Hollypaw determined to make him look like an idiot? He’d show her! “WindClan is fast, but not as strong as us because they don’t have any trees to climb on the moorland,” he growled, glaring at her.

“Good.” Brackenfur nodded. “You seem to know the basics. Let’s practice some moves. First, let’s try one that will work on a RiverClan cat.”

Brackenfur darted under Ashfur’s belly and nipped him on his hind leg. Ashfur rounded on him ready for the counter-attack, but Brackenfur had already shot out of reach. Ashfur leaped toward him but Brackenfur rolled out of the way, sprang to his paws and launched himself onto Ashfur’s back, unbalancing the gray warrior and sending him rolling onto his side. The two warriors jumped to their paws, shook the earth from their pelts, and turned to face their apprentices.

“Now you two try it,” Ashfur meowed.

“Lionpaw.” Brackenfur touched Lionpaw’s flank with his tail. “You be the RiverClan cat because you’re bigger and more powerful. Hollypaw, you try and unbalance him like I did with Ashfur.”

Hollypaw nodded. “Don’t make it easy for me!” Her eyes were shining with determination.

“Don’t worry, I won’t,” Lionpaw hissed through gritted teeth. Didn’t she know how much she was annoying him?

He felt her dart underneath him, felt her teeth graze his hind leg. But he wasn’t going to let her get away as easily as Ashfur had done. He dropped his whole weight onto her before she could scamper free, then grasped her with his paws and tugged her over onto her side.

“Hey!” she squealed. “That’s not how you’re meant to do it!”

“You should have been faster!” Lionpaw spat, and began raking her spine with his hind claws while he gripped her shoulders with his forepaws.

“You’re hurting me!” Hollypaw shrieked, struggling to free herself.

“Lionpaw, stop!” Brambleclaw’s sharp command made Lionpaw freeze. Hollypaw slid from his grip and scrambled to her paws. Brambleclaw was staring down at Lionpaw, his eyes blazing. “This is training! We don’t want any cat hurt!”

Lionpaw got to his paws. “Sorry,” he mewed. “I got carried away.”

Hollypaw was lapping at the scratches Lionpaw had given her. He felt a wave of guilt for letting his temper get away from him. He hung his head. “Sorry, Hollypaw,” he murmured. The rage that had been seething in his belly all morning faded away. “I’m really sorry.” He glanced nervously at his father, expecting anger, but Brambleclaw’s eyes were filled with concern.

“Will you two train Berrypaw and Hollypaw this morning?” The ThunderClan deputy directed his request at Ashfur and Brackenfur. “I’m going to take Lionpaw hunting.”

His pelt burning with shame, Lionpaw followed his father out of the training hollow. He braced himself for a lecture, but Brambleclaw only padded silently through the trees.

“I shouldn’t have let my temper get the better of me,” Lionpaw blurted out, deciding to get straight to the point.

“But she’s been bugging me all morning.”

Still Brambleclaw said nothing.

“I know that’s no excuse,” Lionpaw went on. “It won’t ever happen again.”

“I know,” Brambleclaw meowed. He stopped and gazed at Lionpaw. “It’s so unlike you.” The tabby warrior sighed. “I’ve always relied on you to take care of your littermates.”

Lionpaw hung his head. He had let his father down.

“Is something worrying you?” Brambleclaw asked. “Something…” The tabby warrior paused. “… troubling you?” he meowed at last.

Lionpaw knew he couldn’t tell his father about Heatherpaw and how Hollypaw had stopped him from meeting her.

“It’s just…” He trailed off. How could he explain his anger?

“It feels like Hollypaw doesn’t trust me to be a loyal warrior.”

Brambleclaw nodded. “I know what that’s like.” He began padding through the trees again. Puzzled, Lionpaw hurried after him.