Эрин Хантер - Bramblestar’s Storm

“There’s a dead fox here. Does any cat want it?”

“Yuck, no! That’s crow-food!”

“Stop splashing me! Now I’ve got mud all over my pelt.”

Suddenly a loud screech sounded from the shore. Bramblestar recognized Cherryfall’s voice. Every hair on his pelt stood on end.

Then her voice came again in a triumphant yowl. “I’ve found the stick!”

Shocked exclamations rose from the other cats, and they pressed around Cherryfall as she stumbled into the clearing, dragging a long, smooth stick marked with neat scratches.

It’s the ThunderClan memorial stick! A shiver went through Bramblestar from ears to tail-tip. The stick that Seedpaw died for .

Jayfeather wriggled his way to the front of the throng. His blind eyes blazed with joy as he crouched at one end of the stick and dug his claws into it as if he thought it was going to escape. Standing beside him, Bramblestar ran his paw over the marks, and thought about his lost Clanmates. We owe them so much . Yet somehow he felt oddly comforted. Finding the stick again seemed to promise that their memory would never be lost.

Mistystar peered down at the stick, her blue eyes curious. “What is it?” she mewed. “Why is it important?”

Cherryfall explained to her the meaning of the marks on the stick. “And this way,” she finished, “we never forget the cats who died in the Great Battle.”

There was a pause; Bramblestar could feel the memories weighing on every cat in the clearing.

It was Onestar who broke the silence. “We remember our fallen warriors with a pile of stones at the top of the moor, one stone for each cat. One patrol goes there every day, to remember and be thankful.”

Mothwing, the RiverClan medicine cat, stepped forward with a glance at Mistystar. “Willowshine and I created a circle of ferns in which we can each remember our lost Clanmates,” she mewed. “The flood damaged them, of course, but they will grow again.”

A somber quiet fell across the clearing again, the cats of all three Clans united in grief.

“And we list the names of the dead at the first owl call each night.”

Bramblestar whirled around. Rowanstar! The ShadowClan leader stood at the far side of the clearing with his warriors around him.

They padded forward to stand with the rest of the Clans, and for a few heartbeats they all remained silent with their heads bowed. Thankful that every Clan was there at last, Bramblestar felt their shared emotions wreathing around him like powerful scent. We all feel it: the sorrow amid our victory over the Dark Forest. The Great Battle has saved us all, as well as shaping our future. But we paid the highest price we could .

Raising his head, Bramblestar was suddenly confused. The clearing was packed with cats. How many did Rowanstar bring with him? Then Bramblestar saw that these cats were silver-furred with starlight, with a frosty glitter at their paws and their eyes shining with the icy light of the full moon. One by one he felt their gaze rest on him, and he recognized them with growing joy.

The cats who were lost in the Great Battle! They are here: Sorreltail and Ferncloud, Hollyleaf and Mousefur and Foxleap… oh, and Firestar!

Bramblestar gazed around and saw cats from the other Clans: Applefur and Cedarheart from ShadowClan; Ashfoot and Tornear from WindClan; Robinwing and Dapplenose from RiverClan; and many, many more.

As cries of astonishment arose from the living cats, Firestar stepped forward and spoke to Bramblestar. “There is a way to honor all these cats who gave their lives to save the Clans by the lake. Remember SkyClan? You have the chance to make sure that it never happens again…”

As he finished speaking the starry cats faded away, leaving the living cats gaping. Graystripe spoke for them all. “Did we really see that?”

Bramblestar gave his pelt a shake. With an effort he bounded across the clearing and leaped up into the Great Oak. The other leaders followed him to take their place in the branches.

“I’ll begin,” Onestar announced, stepping forward. “WindClan has—”

“Wait,” Bramblestar interrupted him. “I’ve got something important to say.”

Onestar glared at him, but after a moment he gave an ill-tempered snort and stepped back to let Bramblestar speak.

“Cats of all Clans,” Bramblestar began, forcing his voice to ring out confidently over the assembled cats. “We cannot let the fallen go unrecognized, and that includes ensuring the future of all four Clans together. In times of peace, we stand alone, hunt alone, fight with one another over our boundaries. But more than that, StarClan has shown us that there must always be four Clans beside the lake, and in times of trouble, Clan borders are meaningless.”

He paused, aware of the momentous suggestion he was about to make that would change the life of the Clans for season upon season. “I wish to create a new rule for the warrior code: that each Clan has the right to be proud and independent, but in times of trouble they must forget their boundaries and fight side by side to protect the four. Each Clan must help the others so that no Clan will fall.”

Rowanstar stepped forward to Bramblestar’s side, his neck fur bristling. “It’s always ThunderClan who decides to interfere,” he hissed. “Any cat would think Firestar wasn’t dead.”

Bramblestar raised a paw to silence him, mighty and imperious. “Firestar is dead. I am leader of ThunderClan now. And I am proud to uphold his legacy of preserving all the Clans in the forest. No Clan was left behind on the Great Journey to find the lake. No Clan was abandoned to fight alone against the Dark Forest. No Clan will be allowed to fall now, not if the rest of us can protect them.”

Looking down, Bramblestar saw Squirrelflight sitting in her place on the roots of the Great Oak. She was gazing up at him, and the love and warmth in her eyes sank into the depths of him, supporting him. “The strength of many preserves all!” he finished.

“Yes!” Mistystar’s cry rang out as soon as Bramblestar had finished speaking. “We should do as Bramblestar says. It’s for the good of every cat.”

Onestar was working his claws into the bark of the branch where he stood. “You don’t leave me much choice,” he muttered grudgingly. “Okay, I agree.”

“Rowanstar?” Bramblestar prompted. His pads burned with tension: Would the ShadowClan leader be able to put his pride aside and accept a change that would help preserve the Clans into the far future?

“I suppose I’m outvoted,” Rowanstar growled. “Let it be so…”

Enthusiastic yowls broke out from the cats in the clearing below. Listening to them, Bramblestar looked up to see the stars glittering more fiercely above his head. He wondered if he was imagining things, but it seemed to him that they had drawn closer together, sending an even brighter light down onto the island. With StarClan’s help, the Clans had survived the flood, survived badgers, sought out new hunting grounds. The warrior code was even stronger than before with this new law. This would be Bramblestar’s legacy to all the cats who came after him.

Under StarClan, four Clans will be one, to preserve the four .

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CREATED BY

ERIN HUNTER

WRITTEN BY

DAN JOLLEY

ART BY