Rising Storm by Erin Hunter

Author:Erin Hunter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Courage, Animals, Action & Adventure, Fantasy Fiction, Juvenile Fiction, Loyalty, Fantasy & Magic, Fiction, Fantasy, Fireheart (Fictitious Character), Cats, Pets, Clans, General, Feral Cats
ISBN: 9780060525637
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2004-01-02T07:00:00+00:00

“She’s fine,” Fireheart assured him quickly, relieved—it was his anxiety about the ThunderClan leader that Graystripe had detected, not his wariness of his old friend. “But she hasn’t really been her old self lately. Not since Tigerclaw…” He trailed off uncertainly.

Graystripe frowned. “Have you seen that old poisonpaws since he left?”

Fireheart shook his head. “Not a sign of him. I don’t know how Bluestar would react if she saw him again.”

“She’d scratch his eyes out, if I know her,” purred Graystripe. “I can’t imagine anything keeping Bluestar down for long.”

I wish that were true, Fireheart thought sadly. He looked into Graystripe’s curious eyes, knowing with a pang of sadness that his desire to confide in his old friend had been an impossible dream. Graystripe was a member of RiverClan now, and Fireheart had to accept with a heavy heart that he couldn’t share the details of his leader’s weakness with a cat from another Clan. And he also realized that he wasn’t prepared to tell Graystripe about Cloudpaw’s disappearance—at least, not yet. Fireheart tried to tell himself this was because he didn’t want to worry Graystripe when his friend was unable to help, anyway. But he suspected his silence might have more to do with pride. He didn’t want Graystripe to know that he had failed as a mentor for a second time, so soon after Cinderpelt’s accident.

“What’s it like in RiverClan?” he meowed, deliberately changing the subject.

Graystripe shrugged. “Not much different from ThunderClan. Some of them are friendly, some of them are grumpy, some of them are funny, some of them are…Well, they’re just like normal Clan cats, I suppose.”

Fireheart couldn’t help envying the gray warrior for sounding so relaxed. Clearly Graystripe’s new life didn’t carry the burden of responsibility that Fireheart had to deal with now that he was deputy. And part of him still felt a small thorn of resentment that had mingled with his grief since Graystripe had left ThunderClan. Fireheart knew his friend could not have abandoned his kits; he just wished he’d fought harder to keep them in ThunderClan.

Fireheart pushed away these unfriendly thoughts. “How are your kits?” he asked.

Graystripe purred proudly. “They’re wonderful!” he declared. “The she-kit is just like her mother, every bit as beautiful, and with the same temper! She gives her den mother quite a bit of trouble, but every cat loves her. Especially Crookedstar. The tom is more easygoing, happy whatever he’s doing.”

“Like his father,” remarked Fireheart.

“And almost as handsome,” boasted Graystripe, his eyes gleaming with amusement.

Fireheart felt a familiar rush of joy at being with his old friend. “I miss you,” he meowed, suddenly overwhelmed with longing to have Graystripe back at the camp, to hunt and fight beside him again. “Why don’t you come home?”

Graystripe shook his wide gray head. “I can’t leave my kits,” he meowed.

Fireheart couldn’t help the look of disbelief that flashed in his eyes—after all, kits were raised by queens, not their fathers—and Graystripe went on quickly: “Oh, they are very well cared for in the nursery.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.