Warriors: Power Of Three 3 - Outcast by Hunter Erin

Author:Hunter, Erin
Language: eng
Format: epub

CHAPTER 16

Hollypaw turned to stare at her mother. “You know this kittypet?”

Squirrelflight’s eyes were bright. “We met him on our first journey,” she explained. “He helped us find the way to the sun-drown-place.”

Tawnypelt sprang up from where she had been sleeping in the shelter of the bramble thicket. “Hey, Purdy!” she called, bounding across the grass to touch noses with the old tabby.

“How’s the prey running?”

Stormfur padded up after her. “Greetings, Purdy. I’m glad that StarClan has joined our paths again.”

“A friend o’ mine told me there were strange cats in the woods, an’ I reckoned they might be you,” the old tom meowed. “But where’s the rest of you? Where’s that scrawny young apprentice who was always arguin’?”

“Here.” Crowfeather stalked up to stand with the others.

“Are you going to let him talk to you like that?” Breezepaw demanded, gazing at the tabby tom with undisguised hostility. “I could rip his fur off with one paw.”

Crowfeather’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t understand, Breezepaw. Purdy was part of our journey. That’s important.”

Breezepaw gave a disdainful sniff.

“Crowfeather’s a warrior now,” Brambleclaw mewed hurriedly. Hollypaw guessed he was trying to distract Purdy from Breezepaw’s rudeness.

“So am I,” Squirrelflight added. “My warrior name is Squirrelflight.”

“Well I never!” Purdy’s amber eyes gleamed. “But there were six of you,” he added, glancing from side to side.

“Where’s the silver cat—Feathersomethin’?”

“She died,” Crowfeather rasped, before any other cat could speak.

“I’m sorry to hear it.” Purdy’s tail drooped, but after a couple of heartbeats his eyes grew bright again. “I never thought I’d see Clan cats again, an’ now here you all are.”

“We’re not all Clan cats,” Stormfur pointed out. He waved his tail, beckoning Brook and the other Tribe cats to come closer. “This is Brook, and this is Night and Talon. They all come from the mountains.”

“Wha’?” Purdy’s neck fur bristled. “So there really are cats livin’ in the mountains?” He inspected the three Tribe cats with narrowed eyes. “I thought you were just a tale queens told their kits to stop ’em from strayin’.”

“No, we’re real, all right,” Talon mewed.

“So I see.” Purdy gave his chest fur a couple of licks, casting sidelong glances at the mountain cats as if he expected them to leap on him with claws out and teeth bared.

“And these are my kits.” Squirrelflight swept her tail around Hollypaw, Lionpaw, and Jaypaw, urging them closer to the old tabby. “Mine and Brambleclaw’s.”

“Kits!” Purdy’s whiskers quivered in surprise. “And you hardly more’n kits yourselves. Come here, young ’uns, and let me look at you.”

“This is my son, Breezepaw,” Crowfeather added, shoving Breezepaw up with the others.

The three littermates padded up to Purdy. As Hollypaw dipped her head politely she caught a whiff of his sour breath and had to make an effort not to flinch away.

“He’s way old!” Breezepaw muttered into her ear. “Older than any of our elders. Why isn’t he dead yet?”

“Shut up, stupid furball,” Hollypaw whispered. “Kittypets get looked after by their Twolegs. They don’t have to catch their own food.”

Purdy

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