Эрин Хантер - Legends of the Clans

She padded through the slender pine trees, lost in whirling thoughts.

“Spottedpaw, is that you?” Thrushpelt stuck his head out from behind a tree. “Where did you go?”

“Oh, I… er… followed a scent trail back there.” Spottedpaw gestured vaguely with her tail. “It didn’t lead to any prey, though.”

Thrushpelt snorted. “Well, I don’t want to go back to the camp empty-pawed. Let’s try nearer to Snakerocks.”

He turned and trotted along a narrow path that led into the brambles. Spottedpaw followed more slowly, the screech of the terrified kittypet still echoing in her ears. She made an easy catch of an old, slow mouse, while Thrushpelt pounced on a blackbird that was wrestling a worm out of the ground. They carried their prey back to the camp, Spottedpaw trying hard not to limp under the weight of her fresh-kill. Her shoulder ached all the way from her toes to the tip of her ear.

Thrushpelt must have noticed, because he told her to take some prey for herself and find somewhere to rest. Spottedpaw dragged half a sparrow into the shade cast by the nursery bush. The brambles were a little overgrown and untidy because the nursery was currently empty; as soon as it was needed by an expecting queen, Fuzzypelt and Swiftbreeze would trim and weave the branches back into place, making a sheltered and watertight den.

“Mind if I join you?”

A shadow fell across Spottedpaw and she looked up to see Thistleclaw holding a baby vole in his mouth.

“Of course!” Spottedpaw shifted sideways to make room for him on the softest patch of grass.

They ate in silence for a while, Spottedpaw enjoying the feel of his warm flank against hers. But she couldn’t shake her memories of Tigerpaw attacking the little kittypet, and Thistleclaw’s encouragement.

“I… I saw what happened today,” she began. “With the kittypet, and Tigerpaw.”

Thistleclaw looked at her in surprise. “Really? I didn’t see you there.”

“I was stalking something.” Spottedpaw felt hot underneath her fur. “Tigerpaw was kind of brutal, wasn’t he? I mean, it was only a kit.”

Thistleclaw’s amber eyes narrowed. “Are we supposed to make allowances for different kinds of intruder? Should we welcome the kits, then change our minds when they are six moons old? Or twelve moons? Or elders?”

Spottedpaw twitched the tip of her tail. “I guess not. But Bluefur seemed pretty angry with how Tigerpaw reacted.” As soon as she spoke, she wished she could take the words back. Thistleclaw’s ears flattened and the fur on his neck spiked.

“Bluefur is not training my apprentice,” he growled.

“I just think Bluefur did the right thing, stopping Tigerpaw. He was going to hurt that kit really badly, even though it was trying to run away!” Spottedpaw tried to swallow the lump of sparrow that seemed to be stuck halfway down. “Tigerpaw is so angry all the time. I… I think he’s trying to prove to us that he’s nothing like his father, that he’d never leave ThunderClan to become a kittypet.”

Above her, Thistleclaw’s nostrils flared and his amber eyes blazed. “Is there something wrong with wanting to be the best, the strongest, the most fearless in your Clan? Do you think we should all be medicine cats, mincing around with herbs and feathers and avoiding so much as a nip from a mouse?”

“No, of course not. I…”

“Tigerpaw has more courage than any apprentice I’ve ever known! I’m disappointed in you, Spottedpaw. I thought you were ambitious, too. Is Thrushpelt training you to be an ‘okay’ warrior? Just good enough to catch mice and renew scent markers?” There was a challenge in his voice, and Spottedpaw jumped up.

“Don’t say that! Thrushpelt is a good mentor! I thought Tigerpaw crossed a line today, and I was glad when Bluefur stopped him. And I am ambitious! I just know there are worthier enemies than a helpless kit!”

Blazing with fury, Spottedpaw jumped up and raced across the clearing. She pushed through the gorse tunnel, not caring that thorns ripped at her fur. She charged up the ravine without knowing where she was going; she just wanted to be far away from Thistleclaw’s scorn and disappointment.

She thrust blindly through the cool green ferns, past a startled patrol, until she felt warmth on her muzzle and a gentle breeze against her ears. She looked around. She had run all the way to the edge of the forest, and Sunningrocks loomed over her, gray and solid and echoing with the sound of the river just beyond. Spottedpaw scrambled up to her favorite basking place, halfway to the top with a clear view upriver to WindClan on the moor. She sat down and tried to empty her mind.

“Okay, I’m a squirrel-brained fool who doesn’t deserve your company,” murmured a voice behind her. “But you left your sparrow, and I thought you might be hungry, so I’ll just put it here. Then I’ll leave you alone, I promise.”

Spottedpaw turned to see Thistleclaw crouched at the edge of the flat rock. Her half-eaten fresh-kill lay beside him, and his ears were comically flattened like a scolded kit’s. He looked up at her with huge eyes, then down again.

“I don’t blame you for hating me,” he mewed in a small voice. “You’re twice the cat Tigerpaw will ever be. I could never be disappointed in you.”

Spottedpaw purred. “I don’t hate you, Thistleclaw. Come over here, you look as if you’re about to fall off.” She beckoned him with her tail, and he crawled toward her, his belly fur brushing the warm stone.

“I’m sorry,” he mewed. “I was really rude to you. It won’t happen again.”

Spottedpaw touched his shoulder with her front paw. “I’m sorry too. I should never have doubted you. I know you have trained Tigerpaw to be the bravest, most loyal warrior that ThunderClan could wish for. It wasn’t my place to judge him.”

The pale-furred warrior blinked at her, his expression earnest. “But it was, Spottedpaw! I value your opinion, don’t you know that? I want to know what you think about everything! Tigerpaw, Sunstar, Tawnyspots, StarClan, the fresh-kill pile, whether the elders should deal with their own ticks…”

He glanced sideways at her and Spottedpaw let out a purr of laughter. “Now you’re being silly! But… thank you. That means a lot, to know that you think so much of me.”

Thistleclaw leaned toward her until their cheeks brushed. “I think a very great deal of you, Spottedpaw. Wherever I am, in my nest, in the forest, patrolling the borders… you are always beside me.”

Spottedpaw couldn’t breathe. Her heart was beating so hard, she thought Thistleclaw must be able to hear it. This wasn’t like a warrior talking to an apprentice about her ambitions; this was completely different. Thistleclaw was talking to her as if she was his equal. And she felt different, too. Am I falling in love?

“What about you?” Thistleclaw prompted softly. “Do you think about me too?”

Spottedpaw nodded. “Yes,” she whispered. “But you’re a warrior, and I’m only an apprentice…”

“You won’t be an apprentice forever! I’ve watched you train, and I know you’ll pass your assessment with no trouble at all.” Thistleclaw straightened up. “There is no harm in thinking about the future. Our future.”

“Really?” Spottedpaw felt her heart flip over. I must be dreaming!

“Of course.” Thistleclaw nodded solemnly. “Look around you. You believe in StarClan, don’t you? We are surrounded by omens that tell us we should be together.”

Spottedpaw stared at him. “Are… are you sure?”

Thistleclaw gestured with his tail. “Look at those two clouds, side by side. And those crows flying over the trees—how many of them are there? That’s right, two! Down there beside the river, do you see those two dark stones? We’re meant to be a pair, Spottedpaw. StarClan says so.” He glanced at her, and there was a mischievous gleam in his eyes.