Эрин Хантер - Moth Flight’s Vision

LEADER WIND RUNNER—wiry brown she-cat with yellow eyes

GORSE FUR—thin, gray tabby tom

DUST MUZZLE—gray tabby tom with amber eyes

MOTH FLIGHT—white she-cat with green eyes

SLATE—thick-furred gray she-cat with one ear tip missing

WHITE TAIL—dark gray tom-kit with white patches and amber eyes

SILVER STRIPE—pale gray tabby she-kit with blue eyes

BLACK EAR—black-and-white patched tom-kit with amber eyes

SPOTTED FUR—golden-brown tom with amber eyes and a dappled coat

ROCKY—plump orange-and-white tom with green eyes

SWIFT MINNOW—gray-and-white she-cat

REED TAIL—silver tabby tom with a knowledge of herbs

JAGGED PEAK—small gray tabby tom with blue eyes

HOLLY—she-cat with prickly, bushy fur

STORM PELT—mottled gray tom with blue eyes and thick, bushy tail

DEW NOSE—brown splotchy tabby she-cat with white tips on nose and tail, yellow eyes

EAGLE FEATHER—brown tom with yellow eyes, broad shoulders, and striped tail

WILLOW TAIL—pale tabby she-cat with blue eyes

FERN LEAF—black she-cat with green eyes

LEADER CLEAR SKY—light gray tom with blue eyes

STAR FLOWER—golden she-cat with green eyes

TINY BRANCH—tan-and-silver tom

DEW PETAL—silver-and-white she-cat

FLOWER FOOT—she-cat with tan stripes

ACORN FUR—chestnut brown she-cat

THORN—tom with splotchy brown fur

SPARROW FUR—tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes

QUICK WATER—gray-and-white she-cat

NETTLE—gray tom

BIRCH—ginger tom with white circles of fur around his eyes

ALDER—gray, brown-and-white she-cat

BLOSSOM—tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with yellow eyes

RED CLAW—reddish-brown tom

LEADER THUNDER—orange tom with big white paws

VIOLET DAWN—sleek dark gray she-cat with bits of black around her ears and paws

CLOUD SPOTS—long-furred black tom with white ears, white chest, and two white paws

LIGHTNING TAIL—black tom

OWL EYES—gray tom with amber eyes

PINK EYES—white tom with pink eyes

LEAF—black-and-white tom with amber eyes

MILKWEED—splotchy ginger-and-black she-cat with scar on muzzle

CLOVER—ginger-and-white she-cat with yellow eyes

THISTLE—ginger tom with green eyes

GOOSEBERRY—pale yellow tabby she-cat yew tail—cream-and-brown tom

APPLE BLOSSOM—orange-and-white she-kit

SNAIL SHELL—dappled gray tom-kit

LEADER RIVER RIPPLE—long-furred silver tom with amber eyes

DAPPLED PELT—delicate tortoiseshell she-cat with golden eyes

SHATTERED ICE—gray-and-white tom with green eyes

NIGHT—black she-cat

DEW—gray she-cat

DAWN MIST—orange-and-white she-cat with green eyes

MOSS TAIL—dark brown tom with golden eyes

DRIZZLE—gray-and-white she-kit with pale blue eyes

PINE NEEDLE—black tom-kit with yellow eyes

LEADER TALL SHADOW—black, thick-furred she-cat with green eyes

PEBBLE HEART—dark gray tabby tom with white mark on his chest and amber eyes

SUN SHADOW—black tom with amber eyes

JUNIPER BRANCH—long-furred tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

RAVEN PELT—black tom with yellow eyes

MOUSE EAR—big tabby tom with unusually small ears

MUD PAWS—pale brown tom with four black paws

COW—plump black-and-white barn she-cat with green eyes

MOUSE—small brown barn tom with amber eyes

MICAH—yellow tom with green eyes

“Help her!” Horror seared through Moth Flight’s body as she spotted the blue-gray she-cat lying in the ditch beside the dirt track. Blood darkened the she-cat’s neck, spreading fast through her thick fur. Her flanks trembled as she struggled for each shallow breath.

Other feline shapes moved around Moth Flight, hazy in the pale dawn. She snapped her head around as a hiss sounded beside her. A huge dark tabby reared and smashed his forepaws down onto a smaller black-and-white tom. “Why don’t you help her?” Moth Flight begged. But neither cat seemed to hear. The tom scrabbled desperately at the earth as the tabby pinned him down.

Moth Flight’s thoughts spun. Is this a battle?

But the other cats weren’t fighting.

Ginger fur flickered like flame through the ditch as a young tom raced to the she-cat’s side and crouched beside her. Two frightened faces peered over the top of the ditch, ears twitching.

Blood was seeping onto the ground from the she-cat’s neck.

“She’s dying!” Moth Flight yowled to the fighting toms. But they only snarled at one another more viciously.

Dread shadowed her heart. Moth Flight raced toward the injured she-cat, her paws moving soundlessly over the earth.

Early sunlight struck her flank, but made no shadow on the earth beyond.

She slid into the ditch and stopped beside the flame-colored tom. “What happened to her?”

The tom didn’t answer. He leaned close to the injured she-cat, until his breath stirred her ear fur.

“Don’t die!” Moth Flight reached out to touch the she-cat, but her paw passed through the injured cat’s flank as if she was cutting through mist.

Dark fur loomed beside her. The great tabby had stopped fighting and come at last. But as he pushed past her, Moth Flight felt no weight. His fur brushed through her as though she weren’t there.

The two young cats, watching from the top of the ditch, climbed down into the shadows and stood trembling beside the ginger tom. She saw the tabby’s mouth open and close as he spoke, but she couldn’t hear his words.

Moth Flight held her breath as she saw the blue-gray cat’s flanks grow still.

She’s dying!

The sight of death sliced through Moth Flight like an icy wind, and she began to tremble. She remembered Gray Wing’s death, just a moon ago. She’d shivered as she’d peered into his open grave, her heart twisting as she saw how small he looked and how dull his fur had become. The warmhearted tom, whose pelt had rippled in the wind, had been lost in death. Prey seemed to lie in his place. His Clan had buried him, eyes hollow with grief, yet at least the ceremony had given them a chance to say good-bye.