Эрин Хантер - Battles of the Clans

They learned to recognize the smell of underground animals, not to hunt them but to stay out of their way—no cat wants to end up in a den of foxes, and cornered rabbits can break ribs with their hind legs. After several moons of traveling below the surface, tunnelers were able to imagine their route aboveground, so they could keep track of where they were in the dark. This was the skill most highly prized among the Clan, because it was too easy to get lost in the darkness and vanish forever down a bottomless hole. These dark, secretive abilities were feared and respected by the tunnelers’ Clanmates as much as by the other Clans.

When we settled by the lake, our tunneling skills were abandoned. “There are no tunnels here,” declared the senior warriors. “All cats must be trained to hunt and fight aboveground from now on.”

But some of us know differently. Some of us have explored and played and battled for our lives in the web of tunnels coiled below our new home. Cats in other Clans know our secret—Lionblaze, Jayfeather, and Hollyleaf. But it was all a terrible mistake. I should never have followed my curiosity belowground, out of the safety of daylight and fresh, clean air. I risked everything because I was in love with Lionblaze. But my discovery nearly carried us to StarClan—and the games we played ended up breaking our hearts.

Leader: Leafstar

Deputy: Sharpclaw

Medicine cat: Echosong

Hunting territory: A sandy gorge

Camp: Caves in wall of gorge

Unique battle skill: Aboveground combat

Hello, kittypets. Don’t be scared; you’re asleep in WindClan’s apprentice den, safe and well fed.

My name is Buzzardstar, and I was once the leader of a Clan many days’ travel from here. Even though I went to StarClan long ago, I can walk in the dreams of some cats. You are lucky that I can walk in yours, because there’s one more Clan that you need to know about. Its name was SkyClan, and we were once the equal of any of the four Clans by the lake.

We earned our name because our warriors were happiest in the trees, hunting birds and climbing into nests for juicy, warm eggs. We could jump higher than any other cats, and climb more confidently, even to the thinnest branches. Like the hawks and eagles who swoop silently down on prey from above, SkyClan warriors could launch into battle from the air, dropping down on the enemy from the branches of trees and catching even the wariest intruders by surprise.

We were driven out of the forest many moons ago, when I was the deputy, after our territory was destroyed by Twolegs building new nests. We tried to make a new home at the source of the river that flowed through the forest, but we faced too many enemies, and within a few generations, my Clan had disappeared.

Even after watching the heartbreaking defeat of the Clanmates who came after me, I knew that SkyClan could live again, strong and proud and preserved by the warrior code. Cloudstar, the leader I had served under as a deputy, summoned Firestar from ThunderClan to find the descendants of the cats who had lived in the gorge and create a new SkyClan for their ancestors—my Clanmates and me—to watch over and protect. Now my Clan lives once more, relearning the old battle moves that moons ago made SkyClan one of the most respected Clans of the forest.

Clovertail? Clovertail, are you awake? Oh, good. I thought all those kits might have worn you out.

Er, yes, they’re lovely. Are they supposed to be that loud? Have they got a thorn stuck in them? They can’t be hungry, surely! All they do is drink milk!

I think this one here’s gone to sleep. Is that okay? Should I wake him up in case he’s still hungry?

I guess it would be nice for you if they all went to sleep. Okay, I’ll leave him alone. Sorry, sorry! I didn’t know his tail was right by my foot! Shhhh, little cat. It’s all right; have some more milk. That’s better. Where was I?

I wanted to tell you about this totally amazing battle move Sharpclaw taught me today.

Apparently our ancestors—you know, the first SkyClan—used it all the time to defeat their enemies.

Skywatcher told Firestar, and Firestar told Sharpclaw, and now he’s going to teach all the apprentices! But he started with me, which must mean I’m the best, or the strongest, or the smartest, right?

Oh, yes, my new battle move. It’s called the Sky-drop! Like something an eagle would do! It was just me doing it today, but usually it would be a whole bunch of warriors, called the drop patrol.

First I had to climb this really high tree. Then I had to wait on a branch, where I could see the path underneath in both directions. Sharpclaw says that cats tend to look directly ahead or side to side—not up or down. So they don’t realize there’s a patrol right above their heads! SkyClan is so smart!

You don’t just have to climb the tree quietly—which can be really hard when you get your paw stuck in a hole in the bark, let me tell you—you also have to be dead silent when you’re waiting in the branches.

You can’t move a muscle, not even one little hair, in case that makes a leaf move. Do you have any idea how noisy leaves can be? When they’re right by your ears, that rustling is like thunder ! No wonder I couldn’t hear Sharpclaw muttering down below. It was totally unfair that he got so mad at me. I am not as deaf as an old badger, so there!

And Sharpclaw says it’s even harder to stay hidden in leaf-bare because there are no leaves to cover you. And if the sun’s shining, then you have to remember that the enemy can see your shadow on the ground.

Today, Whitewhisker was pretending to be my enemy. So after I’d been waiting up there for about a moon , not breathing or anything , Whitewhisker walked along the path. When he was right underneath my branch, I let myself fall straight down, like Sharpclaw said—he wanted my belly to land on Whitewhisker’s back so that I knocked him over. Later on I’ll learn how to drop with my claws out, or ready to flick the enemy off his feet with my legs. And how to swing from my front legs to claw the enemy’s face with my hind paws! There’s no way we could lose a battle if we did that! I kind of wish there were some Clans living closer, just so we could be invaded. I’d be up the nearest tree, ready to squash them flat!

What? Oh, Whitewhisker’s fine. I didn’t actually land exactly where I was supposed to. You don’t know how confusing it is to be up a tree, trying to balance on the thinnest branch you ever saw, and keep watching your enemy, and make sure you jump off at the right time. Sharpclaw says I was nowhere near Whitewhisker, but I definitely felt his tail brush against me. And that would be a pretty big shock for an invader, right? I bet it wouldn’t matter if I didn’t land on top of them. They might think it was raining cats! Splash! Splosh!

Oops. Sorry. Wow, for such stumpy little tails, they sure stretch a long way. Hey, can you believe they’re still hungry? They must be all belly and nothing else inside! Well, good luck getting them back to sleep, Clovertail. They wake up really easily, you know. Maybe you should train them to sleep a bit more deeply? Okay, see you later!

It is a matter of great pride to SkyClan apprentices that they can carry out the Sky-drop, as well as these other moves.