Эрин Хантер - Legends of the Clans

“I’ve never seen dogs like that before.” The fur on Leaf’s shoulders bristled at the memory. “They were so vicious.”

“Their muzzles looked big enough to swallow us whole!” Blue Whisker mewed, her green eyes wide.

“I was brave, though, wasn’t I?” Snail Shell asked. “As brave as Lightning Tail and Thunderstar were when they saved Owl Eyes from the Twolegplace! I helped Violet Dawn and Owl Eyes protect Clover.”

“And I’m very grateful for it,” Clover replied warmly. She looked at the long scrapes the dogs’ claws had left in the ground beneath the trees and shuddered.

Thunderstar gestured with his tail for Violet Dawn and Lightning Tail to join him by his den.

“We might not be safe here anymore,” he announced quietly, and Violet Dawn dipped her head in agreement.

“Now that they know where we live, they could come back at any time,” she mewed.

“We can send out extra patrols to watch for them,” Lightning Tail suggested. “But dogs sometimes travel far with their Twolegs. They might not even live near here.”

“We should send out extra patrols,” Thunderstar agreed. “Since there’s been peace with the other Clans, we’ve gotten too complacent.” He looked around at his Clanmates, who were already beginning to relax as the warmth of the sunshine and the normal sounds of the forest soothed them. “It’s not even just those dogs. There are dangers out there we’re not watching for.” He looked from the beautiful amber gaze of his mate to the sympathetic green eyes of his deputy. There were so many dangers in the forest. How could he protect his Clan from all of them? Or his kits?

His own littermates, who he barely even remembered, had been killed by Twoleg monsters, along with his mother, when they were much smaller than Beech Tail and Patch Pelt. If something like that—if anything —happened to his own kits, or to Violet Dawn, Thunderstar didn’t think he could survive it.

“There have always been dangers in the forest,” Violet Dawn said gently. “We are much safer here than I ever was with Slash, or than you were when the Clans were at war and rogues roamed the forest. All we can do is be careful and alert.”

“We should go find them,” Thunderstar declared, and Lightning Tail cocked his ears questioningly.

“Go find the dogs ?” he asked. “Have you gone mouse-brained?”

Thunderstar flicked his tail in irritation. “Maybe you’re right and they live with Twolegs far from here and we’ll never see them again,” he meowed. “But if that’s not true, we need to find their camp. If they’re too close, we’ll have to move ThunderClan.”

Lightning Tail’s eyes went round. “Move out of the ravine?”

“If we have to. If the dogs hunt near here, the ravine’s not safe anymore.”

“Is SkyClan safe?” Violet Dawn wondered. “They’re not far from us. We should warn them.”

Lightning Tail stood up. “We should warn all the Clans. They need to know if they might be in danger. I’ll send patrols to tell them to keep a sharp lookout.”

“Good idea,” Thunderstar agreed. “Send messengers to WindClan, ShadowClan, and RiverClan. But I’ll go to SkyClan myself.” He squared his shoulders, feeling resigned. He and Skystar tried to get along, but there was always tension between them. They had too long a history of hurts and betrayals. “I need to pay a visit to my father.”

As Thunderstar traveled toward SkyClan’s territory, he kept his ears cocked and his eyes open, watching for any sign of the dogs that had attacked ThunderClan’s camp. Scenting the air, though, he smelled nothing other than the usual musty scents of the forest.

Violet Dawn had wanted him to take a patrol with him, but he couldn’t bear to leave the camp with fewer cats to protect it while he was gone. She had made him promise, though, her gaze wide and worried, that he would be on his guard.

As Thunderstar approached the hollow where SkyClan had their camp, he caught a glimpse of silver-and-white fur moving through the bracken.

“Hey!” a voice called, and the silver-and-white cat sped toward him. “Hi! Thunderstar!”

As she burst out of the bracken, he recognized Dew Petal, one of Skystar and Star Flower’s kits. She greeted him enthusiastically, her tail high in the air. “It’s my brother!” she called, and Honey Pelt, brother of ThunderClan’s own Blue Whisker, hurried out of the bracken after her.

Thunderstar blinked, a bit startled to hear Dew Petal call him brother. Skystar had fathered both of them, of course, but Dew Petal and her sister, Flower Foot, seemed much more like Skystar’s kits than Thunderstar ever had. Warmed by their greeting, he touched noses with both Dew Petal and Honey Pelt.

“How’re you?” Dew Petal asked. “Is Violet Dawn almost ready to have her kits? How’s ThunderClan?”

“I need to talk to Skystar about that, actually,” Thunderstar told them. “Are you two out here by yourselves?”

Dew Petal puffed out her chest with pride. “Skystar asked me to help train Honey Pelt to hunt. I’m one of the best hunters in our Clan!”

The dogs must not have come near SkyClan if Skystar is letting his own kits roam the forest alone, Thunderstar thought. Skystar would certainly never put Dew Petal in danger, or Honey Pelt, who he had raised as his own after Moth Flight gave him to SkyClan.

“You’d better come to the hollow with me,” he suggested. “Will you take me to Skystar?”

Both cats happily agreed, and they chattered about the latest happenings in SkyClan as they strolled with him toward their camp. Honey Pelt asked about Blue Whisker, and Thunderstar assured him that his sister was thriving in ThunderClan. Dew Petal bragged that Skystar had praised her for managing to catch a fat squirrel yesterday despite the rain.

“Skystar said I really helped the Clan yesterday by finding a big patch of tansy for Acorn Fur to have in case any cat gets hurt,” Honey Pelt retorted.

“It sounds like you’re both important to SkyClan,” Thunderstar mewed cheerfully. But there was a strange pang in his chest as he heard about the encouragement and praise Skystar heaped on these young cats. In the brief time he had spent in SkyClan, his father had been harsh in his treatment of Thunderstar, unforgiving at any sign of disagreement or disobedience. What would it have been like to have the same kind of relationship with Skystar as his younger kits did now?

Thunderstar flicked his ears, wishing the thought away. There was no use in digging up old prey now. Fatherhood didn’t come naturally to every tom, and Skystar had improved with time.

Even if it isn’t easy at first, I can learn to be a good father, like Skystar did, Thunderstar thought. He didn’t have to be perfect right away, although he privately vowed that he would at least be better than Skystar had been to him.

As they reached the edge of the hollow, Honey Pelt ran ahead, calling for Skystar. Dew Petal paused by Thunderstar’s side.

“Can I come and see the kits when they’re born?” she asked eagerly. “They’ll be my kin, too.”

Touched by the request, Thunderstar blinked at her fondly. “Of course you can,” he said.

Skystar strode out of his den toward them, and Dew Petal slipped away to join Honey Pelt at the prey pile, waving her tail to Thunderstar in farewell. Skystar looked a little thinner than he used to, Thunderstar thought, and age had dulled some of the shine of his thick gray fur, but his shoulders were still broad and his gaze as sharp as ever.