Эрин Хантер - Hawkwing’s Journey

Cherrytail padded over to the three new warriors, nuzzling each of them in turn. “Congratulations,” she meowed. “I’m so proud of you.”

But Hawkpaw felt a fresh pang of pain to see the sadness in his mother’s eyes. And when Sharpclaw leaped down from the Rockpile to join them, he stood by silently, and scarcely looked at Hawkwing.

“Hey, Hawkwing!”

At the sound of his name, Hawkwing felt a tiny flicker of pride. It was the first time any cat had really used the new name.

Then he turned, and his heart grew cold as he saw that the cat speaking was Pebblepaw.

Since the fire, Hawkwing had barely spoken to her. He could hardly stand to look at her. She’s always so cocky and arrogant and pleased with herself…

Then he realized that she seemed different now from how she had been before the fire. Since then, she hasn’t made a single snarky remark to me.

“I want to thank you for rescuing me,” she meowed, a look of genuine gratitude in her eyes. “I was trapped, and you saved my life. What Leafstar said about you is true. You really are brave and courageous. I’m so happy to be alive, and it’s all because of you.”

Hawkwing stared at her, unsure how to respond. He noticed that she still had a poultice of honey and comfrey on one of her paws, but apart from that she looked as strong and healthy as ever.

She’s doing much better than Cloudmist.

Somehow the realization made anger throb through Hawkwing from ears to tail-tip. He tried to choke out, “You’re welcome,” because he knew that was what he was supposed to say. But his throat felt as if it was full of ash, and his anger rose until he felt it must burst out of him.

How dare she stand there looking so healthy and happy, when my brother is dead?

Hawkwing didn’t feel proud of his warrior name anymore. He didn’t even feel sad about Duskpaw. Everything within him had been overwhelmed by his fury.

“I wish I hadn’t saved you!” he blurted out. “I wish I’d gone for my brother first. Then maybe he’d still be alive!”

The gratitude in Pebblepaw’s face drained away, and her eyes widened in dismay. For a moment she looked crushed. Then her gaze hardened as she stared at Hawkwing, and she shook her head.

Without another word she spun around and stalked away.

The dawn patrol had left some time before, and the red glow in the sky told Hawkwing that the sun had risen, though its rays had not yet cleared the top of the gorge. Shivering, he shook out his pelt and rose to his paws to arch his back in a long stretch. The night of his vigil was almost over.

His sister Blossomheart, a few tail-lengths away, had started to groom herself, licking one paw and passing it over her face. After a moment she paused, and parted her jaws in a massive yawn.

“I could sleep for a moon!” she whispered.

New warriors guarding the camp were not supposed to speak to each other, but on the night before, when they started their vigil, Hawkwing had been unable to resist murmuring a few words into his sister’s ear.

“I miss Duskpaw so much. I wish he could be keeping vigil with us.”

“I miss him too,” Blossomheart had responded. “He should be here.”

After that, there was nothing to do but keep watch for invaders. And since no invaders appeared, Hawkwing had the whole of the night to sit and think.

Now, as the red sun peeked over the rim of the gorge, he was beginning to feel guilty about the way he had treated Pebblepaw.

The thought of her still filled him with despair and anger, but now he began to wonder if it was unfair to blame her for the decision he had made and the way he felt now. It was my choice, he told himself. My responsibility. Even so, his guilt over exploding at her was only one drop in the vast pool of guilt that was his heart.

As the whole circle of the sun appeared above the cliff, warriors began to emerge from their den, stretching before making their slow way down the trails. Leafstar appeared from her den and beckoned some of her cats around her, speaking quickly.

I wonder what all that’s about, Hawkwing thought drowsily.

A moment later the group dispersed, the warriors heading more purposefully to the bottom of the gorge. Sandynose broke from the group and walked up to Hawkwing and Blossomheart.

“Your vigil is over,” the light brown tom announced. “Come and join the others by the Rockpile. Leafstar is calling a Clan meeting.”

Another one? Hawkwing was puzzled. Why? We all just met yesterday for the warrior ceremony .

The rest of the Clan began to gather around as Leafstar leaped up to the top of the Rockpile. She was followed by Sharpclaw, and also, Hawkwing noticed with a prickle of curiosity, by Echosong the medicine cat.

“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Rockpile for a Clan meeting!” Leafstar yowled.

One or two remaining warriors stuck their heads out of their den, then hurried down the trail to join their Clanmates.

Harveymoon, M acgyver, and Ebonyclaw, the daylight warriors, appeared at the top of the cliff and leaped from rock to rock to gather with the others.

“I’m glad we left early!” M acgyver panted as he raced past

Hawkwing and Blossomheart. “We might have missed this!”

Birdwing appeared at the entrance to the nursery with M intfur and Honeytail, all three she-cats looking down at their leader on the Rockpile. Birdwing’s kits frisked around her paws, sometimes getting perilously close to the edge of the trail, until their mother gathered them closer with a sweep of her tail.

Pebblepaw and Parsleypaw poked their heads curiously out of the apprentices’ den, then bounded down to the bottom of the gorge and found a place to sit close to the edge of the river.

Finally the dawn patrol—Tinycloud, Sparrowpelt, and Bellapaw—returned, appearing at the far side of the gorge and making their way down into the crowd of cats.

When all the Clan was assembled, Leafstar began to speak, her amber gaze traveling over her cats; Hawkwing thought that he could detect trouble in her eyes, and his pads pricked with apprehension.

“Echosong received a prophecy from StarClan a few sunrises ago,” the brown-and-cream-colored she-cat meowed. “It will affect the whole future of our Clan. I have thought deeply about this, and I feel that it is time to share her vision with you.” She took a step back and waved her tail as a sign for Echosong to speak.

The silver tabby medicine cat hesitated, her gaze seeming fixed on something far away. Then she gave her pelt a brisk shake.

“A few days ago I went to the Whispering Cave, to speak with the spirits of our warrior ancestors,” she began. “A pale gray tom appeared to me in a dream. I had never seen him before, but he told me that his name was Skystar, and he was the ancient founder of our Clan.”

Hawkwing caught his breath. How many seasons must have passed since SkyClan first came to be, and yet a Clan leader could still appear out of the far past to speak to their medicine cat!

“Skystar told me, ‘The fire has burned out, but to dispel the darkness you must find the spark that remains,’” Echosong meowed.

“And what does that mean?” Sharpclaw asked with an irritated twitch of his tail.

“I believe that ‘the fire that has burned out’ must refer to Firestar, the great leader of ThunderClan,” Echosong responded.

Firestar, who restored SkyClan after we were scattered and almost destroyed! Hawkwing thought, his wonder growing. Firestar who was Ravenpaw’s friend. Every kit knows that story!