River by Erin Hunter

Author:Erin Hunter [Hunter, Erin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2022-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

The rising sun had not yet cleared the trees, and the air felt moist and fresh, with mist still lingering in shaded hollows. Sunbeam padded along the ShadowClan border beside Hollowspring and Hopwhisker. Though she had found it hard to wake up for the dawn patrol, she was glad of the distraction from her worries about Lightleap, and her frustration that Blazefire had refused to take her side.

It’s hard—Lightleap’s avoiding me, and I don’t want to talk to Blazefire right now, Sunbeam thought. I get along fine with Hopwhisker and my brother, but it’s not the same.

“I don’t expect we’ll run into trouble,” Hopwhisker, who was leading the patrol, meowed. “Everything has been so peaceful since we got rid of Ashfur.”

A soft growl came from Hollowspring’s throat. “We’ll never forget what that mange-pelt did to us. But now at least it feels as if the five Clans are closer than ever before.”

Hopwhisker nodded agreement. “Who knows?” she murmured. “Maybe one day soon there’ll be so much peace and stability, there won’t even need to be a border patrol.”

Hollowspring let out a mrrow of amusement. “You’re just hoping for that so you don’t have to leave your nice warm nest at dawn anymore.”

The patrol leader gave her Clanmate a playful shove. “I am not!” she insisted. “I wouldn’t like it at all. It would be so boring!”

“No,” Hollowspring insisted. “There would be more time for hunting and battle training.”

“Battle training?” Hopwhisker rolled her eyes. “There would be no point in battle training if everything was peaceful. We would just lie around getting fat and lazy. We might as well go and be kittypets!”

Sunbeam felt too depressed to join in the gentle teasing. “I have a horrible feeling there are always going to be enemies,” she declared. “There will always be cats who go bad.”

Hopwhisker and Hollowspring fell silent, staring at Sunbeam, before glancing at each other, then swiveling their gaze back to her.

“Great StarClan, you’re cheerful this morning!” her littermate Hollowspring meowed.

Sunbeam didn’t respond, and a moment later Hopwhisker signaled for silence as they approached the greenleaf Twolegplace that formed the border with RiverClan.

There were no Twolegs about this morning, but plenty of evidence that they had been there. Scanning the halfbridge that jutted out into the lake, and the stretch of open ground covered with hard, black Thunderpath stuff, Sunbeam could see Twoleg garbage strewn everywhere. The stink of it filled her nostrils.

“Just look at that!” Hollowspring explained. “It’s disgusting.”

“Why do they leave such a mess?” Sunbeam asked. “Do you suppose their dens are like that, too?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Hopwhisker grumbled. “But we ought to check it out—what if this mess is hiding prey?”

She padded forward to the edge of the open ground and began to nose at a crumpled white object like a huge leaf. A moment later she started back, letting out a yowl of pain and holding up one forepaw. As Sunbeam and Hollowspring raced toward her, she collapsed on one side and curled around herself, whimpering in agony.

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