Эрин Хантер - Cats of the Clans

But Brightheart can remember what she looked like before Tigerstar’s half-trained pack of dogs attacked her. It breaks her heart every time she sees her reflection—why do you think she never goes down to the lake? She is brave to her Clanmates, hardly flinches when a newcomer or a kit shrieks at the sight of her scars. But her first warrior name, Lostface, echoes in her ears whenever she is alone. If only she could see inside herself, to the beauty that lies in courage and loyalty and devotion.

Cloudtail alone has never flinched. But then, he knows what it means to be different, not just because of his fluffy white pelt. He is even more conspicuous than you, Blossomkit! Firestar’s kittypet sister, Princess, gave her firstborn kit to be raised as a ThunderClan warrior, as if becoming a forest cat were as easy as putting on a Twoleg collar.

Cloudtail struggled from the start—he even went back to the kittypet life until StarClan, and Firestar, gave him a second chance by rescuing him. Even now he doesn’t believe in StarClan. But he does believe in loyalty and protecting his Clan, and the warrior code requires nothing more.

THERE WILL BE THREE, kin of your kin, who will hold the power of the stars in their paws.

Firestar waited a long time for these kits to be born—waited in dread, not hope, because what would happen when kits were given a power even greater than StarClan’s? Now they have come, and Firestar can do nothing but watch and wait to see where their paths lead—and whether his Clan will survive their destinies.

Lionpaw is the warrior, a hunter and fighter as brave as Tigerstar.

But then, he should be, since Firestar’s old enemy has walked beside him in the forest, training him and encouraging him to be ever more fearless. Would Lionpaw have been so strong and skillful without this cat of shadows?

Hollypaw is the thinker, the politician, sensitive and cunning and aware of all the different consequences that might come from a single action. For her, the warrior code is the root and reward of every choice a Clan cat has to make, and she would tread the hardest paths to defend it. Wit can be sharper than claws; remember that, little ones.

Jaypaw is the blind cat who sees in his dreams—and in the dreams of others, too. What else could he be but a medicine cat, with his memory for herbs and his instinct for StarClan’s portents? But dreams are private, and I would hate to have my sleep disturbed by a trespasser.

Three young cats, with starlight in their eyes and the whisper of an ancient wind in their fur. Just remember this: power is neither good nor bad, but its user makes it so.

Ah, those evil cats! Their hearts have been chilled by the wind that blows from the mountains, and every kit is schooled to share his Clanmates’ hunger for battle, for more territory, for the warmth of blood running beneath their paws.

All right, Blossomkit, put your claws away. I’m only repeating the tales told in nurseries of the other Clans. ShadowClan warriors are proud and fight well. Their territory is the least rich in prey—no rivers running with fish, burrows full of rabbits, or leafy trees hiding songbirds and squirrels. They share their territory with lizards and frogs, and the rats that feed on Twoleg waste in Carrionplace. Why wouldn’t they seize every chance to add something else to their fresh-kill pile?

They are the night hunters, because ferns and brambles don’t grow on their marshy ground. If there are no leaves and thorns to hide among, then darkness is their only cover for stalking prey. True, they use this skill to take their enemies by surprise as well, but does ThunderClan keep its hunting moves only for catching food? I think not.

No cat can deny that ShadowClan has been the cause of bloodshed more than any of the other Clans, in recent moons, at least. But the leader of the Clan is the cat who takes them into battle; you can’t blame the warriors and apprentices for being loyal and running behind. They are trained to be fierce, proud, independent, ready to fight to defend their borders and their meager supply of food. If other Clans fear them, perhaps it is because ShadowClan are an enemy no cat would wish to have.

Sometimes it even seems that StarClan share the forest Clans’ fears: they let Raggedstar die at the claws of his own son, Brokentail, and refused to grant Nightstar his nine lives because Brokenstar was still alive, albeit a blind prisoner in the ThunderClan camp. Maybe old scores are not forgotten, even by our warrior ancestors, and ShadowClan will have to battle for a long time yet against the better-favored Clans.

It would be interestingto know whether Tigerstar counts himself a ShadowClan or ThunderClan cat; he lived far longer in the Clan where he was born; yet I’ve not known him to walk in the dreams of any ShadowClan cat, apart from his daughter, Tawnypelt, who wouldn’t listen. But I won’t be the cat to ask him; the shadowy forest where he walks now is not for me; nor should you try to find it, curious kits! This is far enough for you to wander.

I can hear your claws scratch the stone floor at the mention of Tigerstar’s name. Is his bloodstained history used to scare mischievous kits even in StarClan? From the moment he saw an opportunity to kill Redtail, his own deputy, Tigerstar’s path swelled the ranks of StarClan more than any other single warrior has done. Shall we list the memo-rable dead? Redtail, Runningwind, Brindleface, Swiftpaw and Bluestar, and Stonefur; and we can blame him for all the deaths in the battle with BloodClan, for it was he who brought Scourge to the forest. Foolish, proud Tigerstar, killed by his own ambition. He was the greatest warrior the forest has ever known, and the bravest in battle.

Now he walks a forest of shadows with his half-Clan son, Hawkfrost, for company. I wonder if Tigerstar remembers, when he looks at the cat beside him, his purge of half-Clan blood as leader of TigerClan. They still whisper in the ears of kits who show the same promise they once did—fierce fighters with ambition and pride.

Lionpaw should be careful. These cats are not his allies.

It’s all right, Blossomkit; you’re safe here. Brokenstar would not dare venture into these tunnels—for more reasons than a fear of the dark. For once the nursery queens are not exaggerating when they frighten kits with his stories. Even his birth was forbidden by the warrior code; StarClan’s hearts must have sunk when Yellowfang, the ShadowClan medicine cat, fell in love with the Clan leader, Raggedstar.

Yellowfang made her second mistake in giving her kit to Lizardstripe, a queen who made sure that the kit with the crooked tail knew he was unwelcome in her den. Brokenstar saw only one way of making his Clanmates respect him. He killed Raggedstar, not knowing he was sending his own father to StarClan, and set out to prove that he was the strongest, most fearless warrior in the history of the Clans.