Cats of the Clans Read online

  In the end Silverstream paid the highest price of all, bleeding out her life on Sunningrocks as she gave birth to Graystripe’s kits. Silverstream would always be a RiverClan cat, like her father, while Graystripe was rooted in the forest as deeply as the oaks.

  SILVERSTREAM

  FEATHERTAIL

  BORN ON THE EDGE OF ThunderClan but raised in RiverClan, Feathertail and her brother, Stormfur, were obvious targets when Tigerstar brought his obsession with pure Clan blood across the river. They were imprisoned in an old fox den with Feathertail’s mentor, Stonefur, and were forced to watch him die in a savagely unfair fight with Darkstripe and Blackfoot. Firestar, Graystripe, and Ravenpaw rescued them and took them to ThunderClan, where they joined their Clanmate Mistyfoot; like her, they chose to go back to RiverClan when the battle with BloodClan was over. StarClan chose Feathertail to go on the quest to find Midnight. Stormfur went with her; these two cats had been through too much to let themselves be separated.

  Feathertail was known as a gentle cat, but she had the courage of a full-grown warrior as well as loyalty to her Clan and a firsthand knowledge of what it felt like to be persecuted. Perhaps this is why the Tribe of Endless Hunting made her the subject of their prophecy: that a silver cat would save the Tribe of Rushing Water from the mountain lion that preyed on them. The prophecy came true, but it cost Feathertail her life, plunging from the roof of the cave with the shard of stone that killed Sharptooth. A short life, then, but one that deserves to be preserved in the Clans’ memory for many moons to come.

  FEATHERTAIL

  STORMFUR

  STORMFUR CAME TOO close to losing his sister to Tigerstar’s pure-blood madness; there was no way he would let her go on the journey to the sun-drown-place alone. So he ended up watching her die in a shadowy cave far from the forest, as part of a prophecy belonging to some other cats’ warrior ancestors. You might think that would give him reason to hate the Tribe cats forever, but instead he found a new home in the mountains, with the help of a Tribe prey-hunter called Brook. It seems too easy, doesn’t it? Swapping a sister for a mate, and adopting a completely different way of life with cats whose troubles had killed Feathertail?

  But nothing is ever that simple. Stormfur was already suited to the mountain life because he had the ThunderClan talent for stalking and leaping after prey. More than that, he could not forgive his Clanmates for betraying him to Tigerstar, and although he would have fought in any battle for RiverClan, he was loyal to the warrior code more than to the cats who shared his den.

  But he was born a Clan cat, far from the mountains, and his adopted Tribemates couldn’t forget that. Only Brook was willing to trust him, but we’ve already seen what pitfalls love can bring. Forced out by the Tribe, they followed the Clans to the lake, but RiverClan was even less accepting of non-Clanborn cats, and only ThunderClan would take them in. It was only a matter of time before the mountains called them back.

  STORMFUR

  HAWKFROST

  THE SON OF TIGERSTAR and a lone she-cat called Sasha, Hawkfrost would never be looked upon favorably by StarClan. Sasha brought her kits to RiverClan because she was too weak to care for them herself, and although the life of a Clan cat didn’t suit her, she hoped it would give her children a better chance of survival than if they were left in the wild. She came back for them when she learned that the Clans were being forced out of the forest by Twolegs, but by then Hawkfrost and his sister, Mothwing, were warriors, loyal to the code they shared with their Clanmates.

  Even before he knew who his father was, Hawkfrost wanted to take Leopardstar’s place. He trained harder than any other apprentice, practiced catching fish over and over, even though the skill didn’t run in his blood as it did in his Clanmates’, and was rewarded by being made deputy when Mistyfoot was captured by Twolegs. He was clever enough to know that being Leopardstar’s favorite did not mean he was respected by his Clanmates. For that he needed something more…such as a sister who was the Clan’s medicine cat. So he tore the wing off a moth to convince Mudfur that his littermate was the right choice for his apprentice.

  Tigerstar must have jumped for joy when he saw that one of his sons shared his hunger. He began visiting Hawkfrost in his dreams, and encouraged him to support Mudclaw in the rebellion against Onestar. It was Tigerstar’s idea that Hawkfrost should plot with a ThunderClan cat who was already an enemy of Brambleclaw’s to lure Firestar into a trap. But Tigerstar underestimated Brambleclaw’s loyalty to his Clan leader; as Leafpool predicted, blood spilled blood, and the lake turned red when Brambleclaw killed his half brother to save Firestar’s life.

  HAWKFROST

  MOTHWING AND WILLOWPAW

  YOU MUST KNOW Mothwing’s secret already, little kits. I should imagine she is a constant puzzle to StarClan, a medicine cat who doesn’t believe in them. Yet they have let her stay, because they can see that she has studied hard and has only the welfare of her Clanmates at heart.

  Unfortunately for her, knowing which herbs treat a stomachache is not her only responsibility. Hawkfrost’s threat to reveal her secret meant he was able to force her to make false prophecies, such as the tale about troublesome stones in the river that led to Stormfur and Brook being driven out. When she was unable to receive warnings from StarClan, she didn’t know about the Twoleg poison on RiverClan territory that started killing her Clanmates, and her warrior ancestors couldn’t tell her where to find catmint when greencough struck. Terrified that her lie might be destroying her Clan, Mothwing confided in Leafpool, who began speaking to Mudfur in dreams on her behalf.

  StarClan found a better solution in Willowpaw, the RiverClan cat who showed an interest in becoming a medicine cat while she was still a kit. She became Mothwing’s apprentice and was visited in her dreams by Feathertail and Leafpool for the StarClan part of her training. Willowpaw accepts Mothwing’s lack of belief in their warrior ancestors because she respects her in every other way—and well she should. For once I believe StarClan has acted in every cat’s best interests.

  MOTHWING AND WILLOWPAW

  CATS OUTSIDE THE CLANS

  DOES IT SURPRISE YOU how many cats there are who don’t live in Clans, little ones? The cats you and your Clanmates watch over often act as if there could be no other way to survive except by the warrior code, but how short their memories must be if they have already forgotten the Tribe of Rushing Water, or BloodClan, or the contented rogues and kittypets they have encountered.

  For the Clan cats, the warrior code has served them well, provided them with food and shelter and well-defended territories, as well as neighbors to turn to in times of greatest need. But the forest is not littered with the bodies of loners and rogues who have starved to death or been killed like prey, and kittypets do not swarm from Twoleg nests like bees to join the fabled Clans. There’s more than one way to skin a mouse—some start with the tail, some with the nose, though it’s been so long since I saw one I think I’d keep it in one piece and eat it whole, fur and all.

  What’s that, Adderkit? You can’t figure out the difference between loners and rogues? Let me think how best to explain….Loners are cats who live on their own, not as kittypets, and don’t trouble the Clans. Rogues also live on their own, but they cause problems. That’s how the Clans make the distinction, anyway.

  RAVENPAW AND BARLEY

  RAVENPAW’S LUCK RAN out the day Bluestar chose Tigerstar to be his mentor. That warrior was never going to appreciate Ravenpaw’s love of peace, or his sympathy for the different sides of an argument. Tigerstar saw his apprentice’s reserve as nothing but fear, and ended up making Ravenpaw scared for his life. After Ravenpaw saw Tigerstar kill Redtail and lie about it to the rest of the Clan, he was in very real danger from the cat who was prepared to kill to get what he wanted. Firestar persuaded Ravenpaw to leave the forest and live on a Twoleg farm with Barley, a loner who had a good life in a cozy barn with as many mice as he could eat. Here Ravenpaw found peace, and the chance to learn about himself without a warrior breat
hing down his neck, ordering him to pounce, strike, catch, and hide. Ravenpaw would still fight to the death for his friends, and he’s helped them many times with food and shelter, but he is happier not following the path of the warrior.

  Ravenpaw’s companion, Barley, also found sanctuary on the farm. Barley was born in BloodClan, where he broke Scourge’s rules by living with one of his littermates, Violet. When his secret was discovered, he was forced to watch Violet being beaten up by two of Scourge’s followers—who also happened to be Barley and Violet’s other littermates. Violet survived and was taken in by a kittypet who promised his housefolk would care for her; Barley fled Twolegplace and came to the farm.

  RAVENPAW AND BARLEY

  PRINCESS AND SMUDGE

  STOP FIDGETING, BLOSSOMKIT. Don’t you think you should hear about kittypets, too? Are they less important than Clan cats just because they don’t hunt their own prey and let Twolegs pet them? Having food and shelter doesn’t take away an honest heart or courage or loyalty to their friends. Smudge was Firestar’s nearest neighbor back when he was a kittypet named Rusty. He was a plump, lazy cat who told tales of the wild cats in the woods who ate bones, and he couldn’t understand why Rusty would want to live among such dangerous creatures. But he never forgot their friendship and was brave enough to come looking for Firestar when he started dreaming of the SkyClan cats. Loyalty, courage, and respect: would you expect any more from a Clan cat?

  Princess is Firestar’s littermate who went to live with different housefolk. When she learned her brother was the leader of a Clan of forest cats, she gave him her firstborn kit, Cloudtail, believing he would have a nobler life as a warrior than as a kittypet. It was perhaps not the wisest decision—Cloudtail didn’t take naturally to life in the Clan—but it showed a rare degree of trust and hopefulness. Princess was a good friend to Firestar when ThunderClan lived in the forest, and she still sits on the fence and stares into the trees, wondering where he is and if he is safe.

  PRINCESS AND SMUDGE

  BROOK WHERE SMALL FISH SWIM AND TALON OF SWOOPING EAGLE

  IT’S JUST AS WELL TRIBE cats have no allies; they’d take until the next full moon to introduce themselves at a Gathering. According to tradition, they are named for the first thing their mother sees when they are born, although to my mind that would lead to a lot of kits being called Roof of Cave or Wall of Cave or Floor of Cave.

  Brook met the Clan cats on their journey back from the sun-drown-place, when it seemed that Stormfur was the cat who had been sent by the Tribe of Endless Hunting to help them defeat Sharptooth. From the beginning Brook saw Stormfur as a special cat, one with enough courage and skill to fight the mountain lion that had killed the Tribe’s best cave-guards.

  Brook came to love Stormfur for real when she taught him how to hunt hawks and eagles, using mice as bait. She loved him for his readiness to try new skills, and for his refusal to treat her differently because she didn’t come from a Clan. And she shared his grief when his sister died fulfilling the prophecy that a silver cat would kill Sharptooth.

  Brook’s brother, Talon, was less accepting of the visitors, but why not? Five cats had crashed over the waterfall like oversize raindrops, bigger and heavier than Tribe cats, with different ways of talking and different warrior ancestors. He came to accept Stormfur because Brook loved him, but it was less easy for cats who weren’t her kin.

  TALON OF SWOOPING EAGLE

  TELLER OF THE POINTED STONES

  OR STONETELLER, AS HE IS known less arduously. The Tribe of Rushing Water doesn’t have a leader, a deputy, and a medicine cat, like the Clans; instead, it has a Healer, one cat fulfilling all duties. The Healer is always called Stoneteller because that is part of their role: to go into the chamber filled with pointed stones at the back of the caves and interpret the messages in the fall of moonlight on the rocks and in the puddles on the floor. Herbal skills are less important than they are in the Clans, but that’s because there are fewer herbs and berries to be harvested in the mountains. The Tribe cats have survived without these supplies this long because they had no enemies at their borders, ready to wound and scratch.

  The Stoneteller encountered by the Clans on the Great Journey is a proud cat, keenly aware that his Tribe clings to life in the mountains by the merest cobweb. There is scant prey, and what they can catch can also catch them, especially eagles, which are always hungry for a kit. Leaf-bare is long and cold enough to freeze bone, and even the eagles keep to their nests. In the Tribe’s territory, a missed paw step leads to crashing death many, many fox-lengths below; another reason why healing herbs are rarely needed. It’s not hard to see why the mountain lion made Stoneteller desperate to find the silver cat who would save his Tribe—desperate enough to take Stormfur prisoner when he fell over the waterfall. Feathertail and the other cats came back to rescue him, and Feathertail killed Sharptooth. Stoneteller was not too proud to be grateful to this faraway cat who had given her life for the Tribe. He buried her above the waterfall, with the honor given to the noblest cave-guard or prey-hunter.

  TELLER OF THE POINTED STONES

  CLOUDSTAR AND SKYWATCHER

  I NEVER THOUGHT SKYCLAN would be driven out of the forest when they asked the other four Clans for help. Unseen, I watched in disbelief as each Clan gave their reasons why they could not share their territory—mostly because SkyClan were not able to catch their prey. Could they not have been taught? If kittypets like Firestar can learn how to stalk mice and thrushes, surely forest-born cats can pick up those skills? But no, the four Clan leaders insisted they could do nothing to help, and SkyClan, the fifth Clan in the forest, was forced to leave.

  Cloudstar was their leader at the time, and although he stayed with his Clan, leading them all the way to the gorge, where they scratched a new home out of the sandy cliffs, he lost everything when he left the forest: his home, the borders he had patrolled for so many moons, his faith in StarClan, and worst of all, his mate, Birdflight, and their kits. They promised they would wait for each other, but it was not until Firestar and Sandstorm rebuilt their scattered Clan, countless seasons later, that they were able to keep their promise.

  Skywatcher was the last descendant of SkyClan living in the gorge when Firestar and Sandstorm arrived. His mother had told him tales of their ancestors who watched the full moon from the rock jutting out over the gorge, and who lived in different sandy dens according to their role in the Clans. The cats around him scorned him for being mad, but his madness became reality when SkyClan arose from the dust.

  CLOUDSTAR AND SKYWATCHER

  LEAFDAPPLE, ECHOSONG, AND SHARPCLAW

  THESE ARE THE CATS who became the leader, medicine cat, and deputy of the newly rebuilt SkyClan. Leafdapple was a kittypet with the SkyClan talent for leaping into trees, a sign of her ancestry that made Firestar invite her to join the Clan. She was also wise enough to realize that cats without her bloodline would need to be welcomed to swell the ranks, and strong enough to win their respect.

  Echosong was pure kittypet, with no hint of SkyClan in her long, fluffy coat and delicate paws. But she dreamed of Firestar and Sandstorm before they arrived, knew strange cats would one day need her help. SkyClan’s warrior ancestors had all but faded away when there was no Clan left to remember them, but they had enough voice left to call to Echosong; this and her quick learning when it came to healing herbs made her the clear choice for medicine cat.

  Sharpclaw used to be a rogue called Scratch, with the SkyClan ability to jump and the courage of a fully trained Clan warrior. He will make a strong leader one day, but he has much to learn from Leafdapple, who might spill less blood as she builds her Clan.

  No, Mosskit, you wouldn’t have seen the SkyClan warrior ancestors among StarClan. They stopped watching over the forest when their Clanmates were driven out, and they walk in different skies now. But they have made their peace with StarClan, and the lessons have been learned.

  LEAFDAPPLE, ECHOSONG, AND SHARPCLAW

  SCOURGE AND BONE


  MAYBE I SHOULDN’T have saved these two for last; you’re getting sleepy, little kits, and there’s not long before dawn. I don’t want to give you nightmares for what little rest you can have before it’s time to go back to StarClan. But I’m sure you’ve heard of Scourge already, the self-appointed leader of BloodClan, which was only ever a rabble of stray cats roaming in Twolegplace. No warrior code for them, no honor or loyalty to anything except themselves and finding their next meal. Scourge united them in terror, and made the alternative to obeying him much worse with the help of sharp-clawed followers such as Bone.

  Scourge’s greatest strength was his lack of any sense of right or wrong; without a code to tell him when to stop, he saw no harm in carrying on until his hunger for power was satisfied. But this was also his greatest weakness, because without a belief in StarClan, he had just one life to lose. Firestar took that life from him in the battle with BloodClan after Scourge killed Firestar’s greatest enemy, Tigerstar, and Firestar could only watch helplessly as the ShadowClan leader died, losing all nine lives one after another.