Cats of the Clans Read online

  Warriors

  Cats of the Clans

  Erin Hunter

  For India Holmes Coulson—welcome

  Contents

  Three Lost Travelers

  ThunderClan

  Firestar

  Bluestar

  Graystripe and Millie

  Sandstorm

  Yellowfang

  Cinderpelt

  Leafpool

  Squirrelflight

  Brambleclaw

  Ashfur

  Brightheart and Cloudtail

  Jaypaw, Hollypaw, and Lionpaw

  ShadowClan

  Tigerstar

  Brokenstar

  Blackstar

  Tawnypelt

  Boulder

  Littlecloud and Runningnose

  WindClan

  Tallstar

  Onestar

  Mudclaw

  Crowfeather

  Nightcloud and Breezepaw

  Heatherpaw

  RiverClan

  Crookedstar

  Leopardstar

  Graypool, Mistyfoot, and Stonefur

  Silverstream

  Feathertail

  Stormfur

  Hawkfrost

  Mothwing and Willowpaw

  Cats Outside the Clans

  Ravenpaw and Barley

  Princess and Smudge

  Brook Where Small Fish Swim and Talon of Swooping Eagle

  Teller of the Pointed Stones

  Cloudstar and Skywatcher

  Leafdapple, Echosong, and Sharpclaw

  Scourge and Bone

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Other Books by Erin Hunter

  Credits

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  THREE LOST TRAVELERS

  WHO’S THERE? Come forward, into the moonlight. Three kits, smelling of stars and the night? You’re a long way from StarClan, little ones. Did you stray too far into the shadows at the edge of your territory? You must be surprised to end up here, far beneath the ground, with such a strange-looking cat to welcome you. I doubt my name, or this place, is spoken of in StarClan.

  Hush, don’t be scared. I won’t hurt you. I’ll show you the path home when day breaks, when there is light to see your way. Lie down—the floor is more comfortable than you may think. See how smooth it is underpaw? I would not exchange it for all the prickles and tickling things that line your nests. I have long forgotten how I ever slept amid such rustling. It is always silent here, apart from the echo of the water.

  What did you say your name was? Mosskit? Of course, Bluefur’s kit, Mistyfoot and Stonefur’s little sister. And the underfed tom beside you? Adderkit, yes, from WindClan. You were very young to go to StarClan, weren’t you? And named for the snake that…Yes, I know you too, Blossomkit! Your white fur is unusual for a ShadowClan cat. Brokenstar may have promised you that you’d be a warrior before any other kit in the forest, but I don’t think he ever imagined you going into battle. You died too young, but trust me, you were saved from even greater horrors.

  Three little kits who didn’t live long enough in the forest to learn about your Clanmates, their friends, and their rivals. There is a price to be paid in being a kit forever.

  If you settle down—yes, even you, Mosskit—then I’ll answer your questions about the cats you left behind. Ha, the night is not long enough to tell you everything I know! There are so many cats, many more than you know about. You would be here a moon and more to hear of them all. But I shall tell you about the ones I remember most clearly, and the ones I watch still. Oh, yes, I have watched them all, from as far back as any cat in the Clans can remember, and farther. And not only the four Clans that live beside the lake now. Much as they might wish to think they are the center of this world, there are cats of equal worth—or more—far beyond their fragile borders. Cats reviled for being loners and rogues, simply because they do not wish to live in a hive of chattering voices: poor beleaguered SkyClan, driven out because of their fellow Clans’ selfishness; the Tribe of Rushing Water, who cling stubbornly to the mountains like the moss that grows beside the waterfall—I know them all. And BloodClan, who are not worthy of the name of Clan, and who will fade into the stuff of nursery tales once they have consumed themselves with their hunger for battle and bloodshed.

  Who am I? I am Rock, the keeper of the world beneath the one your former Clanmates walk.

  The watcher for more moons than you can dream of.

  And the seer of all the moons to come.

  Now, be still and listen.

  THUNDERCLAN

  I’LL BEGIN WITH YOUR mother’s Clan, Mosskit. To many this is the noblest Clan, the Clan of heroes. But I take no sides; all Clans have their strengths and weaknesses, which differ according to whose story you listen to.

  ThunderClan cats are impressive hunters; I’d even say I envied them their skills, but a life enclosed in rattling trees and wind-whispering leaves would not suit me. They have the skills to make themselves silent and invisible so they can hunt the little creatures that scuttle through fern and fallen leaf. You’ve heard of the hunter’s crouch, when they gather their strength into their hindquarters before making the final leap? That is a ThunderClan trick; you’ll not find it used by any other Clan.

  ThunderClan has always been the fiercest guardian of the warrior code; if another Clan breaks it, you’d think every ThunderClan warrior bleeds from the wound. No cat could accuse them of being afraid to fight, as long as they believe the fight is truly justified—unlike others I could name, who seem to love the rip of fur beneath their claws and need no other excuse for battle. Hush, Blossomkit. Did I mention ShadowClan’s name?

  ThunderClan have had their fair share of border trouble. Back in the forest they quarreled with RiverClan over Sunningrocks almost every season. When the Clans first came to the forest, this little hill of stones was an island and belonged to RiverClan because they were the only cats that could reach it, by swimming. But when the river changed course the rocks were joined by dry land to ThunderClan’s territory, and both Clans have laid claim to them ever since.

  By the lake ThunderClan has faced a constant threat from ShadowClan on their shared border. For now Firestar has granted Blackstar’s Clan hunting rights on the exposed stretch of grass where Twolegs come in greenleaf; a wise move, some cats say, because there is little prey to be found there. And another reason for ThunderClan to proclaim how fair and generous they are. I wonder how long ShadowClan will be satisfied with this addition to their territory?

  FIRESTAR

  YES, ADDERKIT, I know the ThunderClan leader was born a kittypet, but it makes no difference to me where a kit gulps his first breath. Mind you, Firestar has given his Clanmates precious little chance to forget his kittypet roots. He is the champion of all cats who are not Clanborn. No cat could argue that Cloudtail is not a worthy warrior, or that Daisy does not serve the Clan well in the nursery. But you can see how other Clans are suspicious of Firestar’s willingness to welcome loners and kittypets into the warriors’ den.

  What was your mother thinking of, Mosskit, when she brought this too-brave, too-curious kit into the forest? Was Bluestar blinded by the color of his pelt, knowing he fulfilled the prophecy that fire would save her Clan? StarClan wanted him as much as Bluestar did. Poor Firestar, he scarcely seems able to close his eyes without some farsighted dream filling his mind. But he has handled this burden well, lived up to all of StarClan’s expectations. Maybe it took more than a Clanborn cat to discover Tigerstar’s treachery, or to bring WindClan home after they were driven out by ShadowClan. See, Adderkit, you should be grateful to Firestar for helping your Clanmates. Blossomkit, they did not deserve to be chased out of their home!

  E
ven Sandstorm came to forgive Firestar his kittypet roots—and she is a cat whose opinion is worth a moon of prey.

  I wish Firestar nothing but peace, and a long life. Ha, empty words from me, who knows how every one of Firestar’s nine lives will end.

  FIRESTAR

  BLUESTAR

  YOUR MOTHER WAS a great leader, Mosskit, even if the price she paid for it was higher than she ever dreamed. She gave you up on that snowbound night, you and your littermates, so that she could become ThunderClan’s deputy instead of Thistleclaw, who would have sliced through the forest until the paths ran red with blood. You should be proud of her for such loyalty to her Clan. Proud of your father, Oakheart, too, for raising your brother and sister to be strong, respected RiverClan warriors.

  Was Firestar a replacement for the kits Bluestar never saw grow up? An interesting question, little one. She was an excellent mentor to the kittypet, and trained him to be a wise and confident warrior. She saw him as the savior of her Clan from the moment the sun struck his flame-colored pelt. Spottedleaf had told her that only fire could save the Clan, so Rusty must have seemed like a gift from StarClan.

  It’s too easy to say Bluestar went mad during the last moons of her life; you have only to think about what she gave up—including you, Mosskit—to understand how far she thought she had failed. Don’t forget that she gave up her ninth life to save her Clan from the dogs, throwing herself into the gorge to lead them to their deaths. Stonefur and Mistyfoot found her on RiverClan’s shore, so her final moments were spent making peace with her surviving children before she came to join you in StarClan.

  BLUESTAR

  GRAYSTRIPE AND MILLIE

  DOES GRAYSTRIPE HAVE any enemies, I wonder? Don’t bristle, Blossomkit; not even ShadowClan is the foe of every living cat. He was the first to make friends with Firestar, when he was no more than a lost and curious kittypet. He and Firestar share the same foolish generosity: could you imagine any other pair of cats catching food for RiverClan when the river was poisoned, or traveling far from the forest to rescue WindClan?

  But Graystripe’s life isn’t just a tale of friendship and heroics. Like Bluestar, he fell in love with a RiverClan cat, Silverstream, and he fathered her kits. It tore him apart to leave his Clan—and his best friend—when he took his motherless kits to their mother’s Clan, but he believed it was the only place where they’d be truly welcomed. I think he was right; for all ThunderClan’s noble gestures, they are not always kind to half-Clan cats. Graystripe came back when he realized that his loyalties were not to his kits’ Clan, but to his own.

  Now Graystripe has a new mate, Millie, a kittypet that he met when he was captured by Twolegs. I don’t think ThunderClan realizes how much they owe Millie for the safe return of their leader’s best friend and deputy. It was her determination that got them out of Twolegplace, her encouragement that helped Graystripe follow the Clans all the way from the forest to the lake. I hope he never forgets how much she has given up for him, and how far she has traveled from her home, in more ways than one.

  GRAYSTRIPE AND MILLIE

  SANDSTORM

  FIRESTAR’S LOYAL MATE, a good mother to Squirrelflight and Leafpool, she’s the cat that won Firestar’s heart after Spottedleaf died…Is this how Sandstorm will be remembered? She deserves more than that, in my opinion. If it weren’t for her, Firestar might not have led his Clanmates into battle against BloodClan at all. I see your ears prick up, little kits. In spite of StarClan’s prophecies and Firestar’s determination to save the forest from Scourge, Sandstorm was the one who made Firestar believe he was doing the right thing by fighting the cats from Twolegplace. He trusted her because she loved him above all, and would never sacrifice his life for the good of the Clan. She knows Firestar better than he realizes—better even than Spottedleaf, for all the medicine cat’s murmuring in Firestar’s sleeping ears.

  Sandstorm isn’t just Firestar’s shadow, either. Her courage matched his on the journey to rebuild SkyClan. She took on the role of medicine cat to help the scattered Clanmates, and she matched Firestar blow for blow in the battle against the rats, even though she had only a single life to lose.

  I hold Sandstorm in higher esteem than I do almost any other Clan cat. She has traveled far from the days when she and Dustpaw tormented Rusty the kittypet. I hope Firestar appreciates her journey as much as she deserves.

  SANDSTORM

  YELLOWFANG

  YOU KNOW YELLOWFANG, don’t you? She walks among the stars now. Mosskit, if she’s grumpy then it’s your fault for disturbing her! She deserves more respect than you realize. And remember that she was once your Clanmate too, Blossomkit.

  Yellowfang’s troubled life took her from ShadowClan, where she was born and trained as a medicine cat, to ThunderClan, where she died in a fire, helping her adopted Clanmates escape. She was cranky, stubborn, impatient—and the most loyal cat you could ever meet. Her whole life was a quest for loyalty—first to ShadowClan, to her role as their medicine cat, to the son that she bore in secret. His father was Raggedstar, leader of ShadowClan. Foolish Yellowfang! She knew medicine cats aren’t supposed to have mates, and especially not kits. When her kit Brokenstar became ShadowClan’s leader and made the forest run with the blood of kits too young to fight, Yellowfang’s loyalty to what she knew to be right sent her fleeing across the border to ThunderClan.

  She blamed herself for Brokenstar’s brutality, you know. Why else would she persuade Bluestar to let him live in the ThunderClan camp? I can’t imagine what agony Yellowfang felt when she discovered he had plotted against the Clan that had given him food and shelter. Agony enough to kill her ungrateful son, I know that much. Brave, loyal Yellowfang, who fought enough battles for nine lifetimes.

  YELLOWFANG

  CINDERPELT

  THE CAT WHO SHOULD have been a warrior, and the cat who was given a second chance. No, Mosskit, StarClan did not plan for Cinderpelt to be struck on the Thunderpath instead of Bluestar. Your warrior ancestors were as horrified as any of the forest cats when Cinderpelt ended up in Tigerstar’s trap, and had her warrior path snatched from her.

  She was a good medicine cat; there’s no doubt of that. She should have been, given Yellowfang as her mentor. But StarClan did not whisper in her ear as clearly as they have done to other medicine cats. Remember the fire-and-tiger prophecy, the burning blades of grass that she interpreted as a warning that Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight would unite to destroy ThunderClan? She was wrong. Their quest to the sun-drown-place saved the Clan by finding them a new home.

  But StarClan did not blame Cinderpelt for that. She should never have been a medicine cat; they knew that right from the start. They gave her one more test before deciding to give her a second chance: they told her when she would die, and then let her live with that knowledge even though her apprentice, Leafpool, was on the brink of leaving the Clan to be with Crowfeather. Cinderpelt lived in the shadow of her own death with such courage, such dignity, resisting the temptation to beg Leafpool to stay, that she proved herself worthy of a second life, plunging back into the forest as one of Sorreltail’s mewling kits.

  I hope your ancestors watch over her more closely this time.

  CINDERPELT

  LEAFPOOL

  THIS IS A CAT WHO WAS never destined to be anything but a medicine cat. I see your eyes shine, Blossomkit; is this the path you would have wished to follow? From the moment Leafpool and Squirrelflight were born, each always knew where the other was, and what they were feeling. StarClan fostered this link because they knew Squirrelflight would be journeying far, far from the forest—farther than any Clan cat had been before—and they needed a cat back home to be aware of what she was going through. For a while it seemed that, young as she was, Leafpool knew what lay around every corner and over every horizon. She knew the Clans had found their new homes when they reached the lake; she knew that Brambleclaw would make a strong and loyal deputy for ThunderClan. She even knew that blood would spill blood before the Clans were tr
uly settled around the lake—and she watched with her own eyes as Brambleclaw killed his half brother, Hawkfrost, to save Firestar.

  But the one thing Leafpool did not foresee was falling in love—and with a WindClan warrior, at that. Yes, Adderkit, I’m sure WindClan warriors are the best warriors of all, but Leafpool was a medicine cat! Everything about their relationship was wrong, according to your warrior code. How could their love lead to anything but misery and ill fortune? Even now it echoes among the Clans, coloring their future in ways not even Leafpool can see.

  LEAFPOOL

  SQUIRRELFLIGHT

  IF LEAFPOOL IS LIKE WATER, calm, deep running, reflecting the stars, then Squirrelflight is fire. She has energy to scorch every tree in the forest, and a tongue that could leave scars in beech bark. I would trust Squirrelflight with my life simply because she is incapable of doing anything but what she believes to be right. No, Blossomkit, this is not the same as always telling the truth. Even Squirrelflight has her secrets.