Эрин Хантер: Yellowfang’s Secret

SHADOWCLAN

LEADER

CEDARSTAR—very dark gray tom with a white belly

DEPUTY

STONETOOTH—gray tabby tom with long teeth

MEDICINE CAT

SAGEWHISKER—white she-cat with long whiskers

WARRIORS

(toms and she-cats without kits)

CROWTAIL—black tabby she-cat

BRACKENFOOT—pale ginger tom with dark ginger legs (Yellowkit’s father)

ARCHEYE—gray tabby tom with black stripes and thick stripe over eye

HOLLYFLOWER—dark-gray-and-white she-cat

APPRENTICE, NEWTPAW

MUDCLAW—gray tom with brown legs

TOADSKIP—dark brown tabby tom with white splashes and white legs

APPRENTICE, ASHPAW

NETTLESPOT—white she-cat with ginger flecks

MOUSEWING—thick-furred black tom

DEERLEAP—gray tabby she-cat with white legs

AMBERLEAF—dark orange she-cat with brown legs and ears

FINCHFLIGHT—black-and-white tom

BLIZZARDWING—mottled white tom

LIZARDSTRIPE—pale brown tabby she-cat with white belly

APPRENTICES

(more than six moons old, in training to become warriors)

FROGPAW—dark gray tom

NEWTPAW—black-and-ginger she-cat

ASHPAW—pale gray she-cat

QUEENS

(she-cats expecting or nursing kits)

FEATHERSTORM—dark brown tabby (mother to Raggedkit and Scorchkit)

BRIGHTFLOWER—orange tabby (mother to Yellowkit, Nutkit, and Rowankit)

POOLCLOUD—gray-and-white she-cat

ELDERS

(former warriors and queens, now retired)

LITTLEBIRD—small ginger tabby she-cat

LIZARDFANG—light brown tabby tom with one hooked tooth

SILVERFLAME—orange-and-gray she-cat (Brightflower’s mother)

THUNDERCLAN

LEADER

PINESTAR—red-brown tom with green eyes

DEPUTY

SUNFALL—bright ginger tom with yellow eyes

MEDICINE CAT

GOOSEFEATHER—speckled gray tom with pale blue eyes

APPRENTICE, FEATHERPAW

WARRIORS

(toms and she-cats without kits)

DAPPLETAIL—tortoiseshell she-cat

ADDERFANG—mottled brown tabby tom

TAWNYSPOTS—light gray tabby tom

HALFTAIL—big dark brown tabby tom

SMALLEAR—gray tom with very small ears

ROBINWING—small brown she-cat

APPRENTICE, LEOPARDPAW

FUZZYPELT—black tom

APPRENTICE, PATCHPAW

WINDFLIGHT—gray tabby tom

QUEENS

(she-cats expecting or nursing kits)

MOONFLOWER—silver-gray she-cat

POPPYDAWN—long-haired dark brown she-cat

ELDERS

(former warriors and queens, now retired)

WEEDWHISKER—pale orange tom with yellow eyes

MUMBLEFOOT—brown tom, slightly clumsy with amber eyes

LARKSONG—tortoiseshell she-cat with pale green eyes

WINDCLAN

LEADER

HEATHERSTAR—pinkish-gray she-cat with blue eyes

DEPUTY

REEDFEATHER—light brown tabby tom

MEDICINE CAT

HAWKHEART—stone-gray tom with flecks of darker brown fur

WARRIORS

(toms and she-cats without kits)

DAWNSTRIPE—pale gold tabby with creamy stripes

APPRENTICE, TALLPAW

REDCLAW—dark ginger tom

APPRENTICE, SHREWPAW

ELDERS

(former warriors and queens, now retired)

WHITEBERRY—small pure-white tom

RIVERCLAN

LEADER

HAILSTAR—thick-pelted gray tom

DEPUTY

SHELLHEART—dappled gray tom

MEDICINE CAT

MILKFUR—gray-and-white tabby

APPRENTICE, BRAMBLEPAW

WARRIORS

(toms, and she-cats without kits)

RIPPLECLAW—black-and-silver tabby tom

TIMBERFUR—brown tom

OWLFUR—brown-and-white tom

OTTERSPLASH—white-and-pale-ginger she-cat

QUEENS

(she-cats expecting or nursing kits)

LILYSTEM—pale gray queen

FALLOWTAIL—light brown she-cat with ginger patches around her muzzle, flecked with gray

ELDERS

(former warriors and queens, now retired)

TROUTCLAW—gray tabby tom

CATS OUTSIDE THE CLANS

MARMALADE—large ginger tom

PIXIE—fluffy white she-cat

RED—orange she-cat

BOULDER—gray tom

JAY—elderly black-and-white she-cat

HAL—dark brown tabby tom

Starlight shone down into a large cavern through a ragged hole in the roof. The faint silver sheen was just enough to show a tall rock jutting from the floor in the center of the cave, flanked by soaring rock walls, and at one side, the dark, gaping hole of a tunnel entrance. The shadows in the mouth of the tunnel thickened, and six cats emerged into the cavern. Their leader, a speckled gray tom with clumped, untidy fur, padded up to the rock and turned to face the others.

“Sagewhisker, Hawkheart, Milkfur,” he began, nodding to each cat as he named them, “we, the medicine cats of the four Clans, are here to carry out one of our most important ceremonies: the creation of a new medicine cat apprentice.”

Two more cats lingered by the tunnel entrance, their eyes huge in the half-light. One of them shuffled his paws as if they had frozen to the cold stone.

“For StarClan’s sake, Goosefeather, get on with it,” Hawkheart muttered with an impatient twitch of his tail.

Goosefeather glared at him, then turned to the two young cats by the tunnel. “Featherpaw, are you ready?” he asked.

The bigger of the two, a silver-pelted tom, gave a nervous nod. “I guess so,” he mewed.

“Then come here and stand before the Moonstone,” Goosefeather directed. “Soon it will be time to share tongues with StarClan.”

Featherpaw hesitated. “But I… I don’t know what to say when I meet our ancestors.”

“You’ll know,” the other young cat told him. Her white pelt glimmered as she touched his shoulder with her muzzle. “It’ll be awesome, you’ll see. Just as it was when I became Milkfur’s apprentice!”