Эрин Хантер - Ravenpaw’s Farewell

“You’ll have to make us,” rumbled Barley, stepping up alongside Ravenpaw.

For a moment the tabby looked less certain. Barley was broad-shouldered and tall, and there was menace in his growl.

“You heard what Pasha said,” meowed another kittypet.

Her pelt was ginger and white. “Go away.” The other three cats took a pace forward so that they were looming over the nest.

Bella squeezed in between Barley and Ravenpaw. “And you heard what we said. We’re not going unless you make us! We’re warriors, so we know how to fight!”

“Warriors?” spat Pasha. “Ha, they don’t scare us.” He twitched his ears at Ravenpaw. “Run along, squirrel-breath.”

Slam!

Quick as lightning, Ravenpaw raised his front leg and clouted the tabby between his ears. The kittypet staggered backward with a yowl.

“You’ll regret that!” he hissed. He stalked toward Ravenpaw, his thick tail lashing.

One of his companions, a she-cat with silver and black patches, interrupted. “This is boring, Pasha. I’m getting cold. Can’t we run through the gorge like we did last night?

That was way more fun.”

“This bunch of weasels will be too easy to fight,” agreed the ginger-and-white she-cat.

Pasha glared once more at Ravenpaw. “If I see you again, you’ll regret it,” he snarled. Then he whirled around and bounded into the trees. “Come on! Let’s give SkyClan another surprise!”

Ravenpaw watched them vanish into the shadows. His heart was pounding, and his paw throbbed where he had struck the tabby.

“Well, they weren’t very nice!” Bella exclaimed.

“It sounds like they’re not that nice to SkyClan, either,” Barley commented. He arched an eyebrow at Ravenpaw. “Do you think they’re going to invade the camp?”

Ravenpaw shrugged. “I think they’re more hot air than action,” he meowed. “Otherwise they’d have shredded us while we were asleep. But I don’t think they’ll trouble us again tonight. Their Twolegs will expect them home before dawn.”

He lay down again and licked his sore paw. The others settled around him.

“I’ll stay awake to make sure they don’t come back,” Barley murmured in Ravenpaw’s ear.

Ravenpaw nodded his thanks. They must be close to the border with SkyClan, judging by what those cats had said.

Tomorrow Riley and Bella would see their new home for the first time.

If Sk yClan will have them.

Ravenpaw didn’t expect to go back to sleep after the excitement of their night visitors, but he woke to find himself alone in the nest with sunbeams reaching under the edge of the branches.

“Barley?” he meowed.

“Right here,” came the reply, and Barley’s black-and-white rump appeared, dragging a squirrel through the leaves.

“We caught you something to eat,” he announced.

Riley and Bella’s faces appeared at the edge of the bush.

“We climbed a tree and chased it down to Barley!” Riley meowed.

“Wow,” mewed Ravenpaw, impressed. He recalled Firestar telling him about SkyClan’s unusual skill in hunting above the ground. Perhaps Riley and Bella would fit in even better than he had imagined.

They shared the squirrel and buried the remains a little way from the bush. Then Riley found the way back to the stream, and they carried on, all of them alert to noises and scents from the trees around them.

Even so, Ravenpaw jumped when there was a blur of movement from behind a holly tree and three cats leaped out to block their path. All were she-cats: A long-legged ginger warrior was flanked by a gray warrior and a smaller white cat who looked like an apprentice, judging by her trembling paws and huge eyes.

“What are you doing here?” growled the ginger cat.

“This is SkyClan territory!”

Ravenpaw caught a strong scent from the holly bush, and he realized they were less than a fox-length from a border mark.

“You’re not welcome here!” hissed the gray warrior.

“Yeah! You should make like a tree and leave !” chimed the little white cat. The gray cat looked down at her in surprise.

“But we’ve come a long way,” Riley began.

“Then you’ll have a long walk home,” snarled the ginger cat.

“Wait,” Ravenpaw pleaded, stepping forward alongside

Riley. “We come in peace. I am a friend of Firestar, who saved your Clan. Do you know him?”

The three cats looked blankly at him. Ravenpaw felt his heart sink. He hadn’t anticipated that SkyClan might have forgotten all about the ThunderClan cats who helped them moons ago.

Then the ginger cat stirred. “My mother has talked about a cat of that name. What do you want? Is he here?”

Ravenpaw shook his head. “No, but he was once my closest friend, and I hoped that his friends in SkyClan would be prepared to speak to me.”

The ginger she-cat looked him up and down. “You don’t smell like a Clan cat,” she commented. “You smell of cows.”

“I’m not a Clan cat,” Ravenpaw admitted. “At least, not anymore. Look, is Leafstar still your leader? Please, may we speak with her? Tell her… tell her that Firestar’s friend

Ravenpaw is here.”

The warrior studied him for another heartbeat, then turned to the small white cat. “Cloudpaw, fetch my mother.”

Cloudpaw nodded and scampered off.

Barley came up to join Ravenpaw. “I’m Barley,” he announced, dipping his head. “And these are Riley and Bella.”

The ginger she-cat twitched her tail. “I’m Firefern, and this is Plumwillow.”

“Er… nice territory,” Ravenpaw stammered, trying to break the strained silence.

“How would you know? You haven’t seen it,” Plumwillow pointed out.

Barley caught Ravenpaw’s eye and shook his head. It looked as if they weren’t going to make friends with these warriors today.

Riley and Bella were just starting to fidget when Ravenpaw heard the sound of paw steps. Cloudpaw raced back along the stream, followed by a brown-and-cream tabby. She was not young, but she moved gracefully and her amber eyes were bright. She stood beside Firefern and studied the visitors.

“I am Leafstar, leader of SkyClan.” Her gaze met Ravenpaw’s. “I remember Firestar talking about you. You left ThunderClan, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I did,” Ravenpaw admitted. “I live with Barley now”—the black-and-white cat bowed—“and we have come here with Barley’s kin Riley and Bella.”

“Do you still live near the Clans?” Leafstar asked.

Ravenpaw nodded and was about to explain that the Clans had moved away when Leafstar went on. “Then you have come a long way. It must be important, whatever it is.”

Ravenpaw felt suddenly unprepared. How could he ask this cool, powerful leader if two complete strangers could join her Clan?

He hesitated for too long. Barley lifted his head and blurted out, “My sister Violet’s kits want to become warriors.

Please, could they join SkyClan? They’ve already started their training, and they’re really good.”

Leafstar’s eyes opened very wide. Beside her, Firefern and Plumwillow bristled. Cloudpaw leaned forward and sniffed Bella’s fur. “That one smells funny,” she mewed, recoiling. “She can’t be a warrior!”

“Do we look like we take in strays?” Firefern growled.

“I’m not a stray!” puffed Riley.

“Hush!” Leafstar ordered, raising her tail. “SkyClan is honored by your request. I appreciate that you have traveled a long way. But it’s not that simple. SkyClan is strong and thriving as it is. We don’t need to recruit warriors from outside, as we have done in the past. We have enough loyal warriors already.”