Ravenpaw led Riley and Bella into the den and waited while they lay down. They looked exhausted, their flanks heaving, and their pelts were dusty and matted. “Stay here and clean yourselves,” Ravenpaw told them before hauling his weary legs back outside and heading for the hedgerow.
He found a nest of eggs halfway along the field and carried them one at a time under his chin to his companions. Bella made a face at the slimy texture of the eggs, but Riley ate more enthusiastically.
“I’m so hungry, I could eat grass!”
Ravenpaw clawed some moss from a log that lay at the entrance to the den and shaped it into a nest for all of them.
Riley and Bella curled up together in a pool of gray and orange fur and fell asleep at once. Ravenpaw lay down beside them, feeling the warmth of their fur against his belly.
Moonlight filtered through a small hole in the wall of the den, and Ravenpaw twisted around to look up at the glowing orb. Is Barley look ing up at the moon too? he wondered. They had hardly spent a night apart since he’d first come to the barn. But in spite of his sadness, exhaustion dragged Ravenpaw into sleep.
Riley and Bella were still subdued the next day. Bella refused to eat the thrush that Ravenpaw had caught, saying it smelled funny. For a moment Ravenpaw was tempted to snap at her for being ungrateful, but he reminded himself that they were a long way from everything they had ever known and must be missing their mother. He let Riley finish the thrush, then led them back to the riverbank.
They traveled faster now that Riley and Bella were less interested in stopping to sniff every new scent. Ravenpaw stayed in front, keeping watch for dogs or Twolegs. The sun warmed his black fur, and although his legs were still tired, he found himself looking forward to rounding each new corner, seeing the river and fields and hedges roll out before him. His whiskers quivered at every fresh sound or smell, and he felt younger than he had in a while. Even the ache in his belly seemed to have faded. Ravenpaw wished that Barley were with him, sharing the adventure.
A small copse of trees appeared on the bank. Ravenpaw decided to hunt, hopefully for something that Bella would eat.
“We’ll stop here for a while,” he announced. Riley plunged into the trees, gray tail waving. Bella lay at the edge of the path and scraped at the grass with her paw.
“I’m too tired to hunt,” she mewed.
“Then wait here until we come back,” Ravenpaw told her, trying not to show his annoyance. He whirled around and followed Riley into the trees. There were few scents of prey in the copse, but he managed to track down a mouse in a clump of bracken.
Ravenpaw hauled his catch back to where he had left Bella. The patch of grass was empty.
“Bella?” he called softly.
No reply. Then Ravenpaw heard the rumbling voice of a
Twoleg farther up the river. He turned to see a full-grown male crouching on the edge of the bank beside a long pole, which hung out over the water. Bella was arching her back and purring in delight as she ate something from the Twoleg’s hairless front paw.
Ravenpaw flung down the mouse and raced along the bank. “What do you think you’re doing?” he screeched.
“Get away from there!”
Bella spun around and glared at Ravenpaw. “He’s giving me something to eat!” she hissed. “I was hungry!”
Ravenpaw leaped forward and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck. It was tricky, as Bella was almost as tall as him.
He was aware of the Twoleg stumbling away to the far side of the bank, making noises of alarm.
“Come with me!” Ravenpaw ordered through a mouthful of orange fur. He dragged Bella along the bank and into the shelter of the trees.
“What’s going on?” gasped Riley, who was heading through the bushes toward them.
“Bella was taking food from a Twoleg!” Ravenpaw spat.
“What’s wrong with that?” Bella yowled.
“You’re supposed to be a wild cat now!” Ravenpaw snarled. “Twolegs are not your friends! And they are never a source of food!” He took a deep breath and tried to make his fur lie flat. “If you’re going to be a warrior, then Twolegs must be your enemies.”
Bella flattened her ears at him. “That’s mouse-brained!
He was being friendly and giving me treats!”
“You can’t trust Twolegs,” Ravenpaw insisted. “They don’t like warriors.”
Riley flicked his tail. “She didn’t do anything wrong, Ravenpaw. She didn’t know she wasn’t supposed to take his food.”
“Look, these are the rules now,” Ravenpaw growled. “If you aren’t going to listen to me, we may as well turn back.”
He tipped his head to one side. “Is that what you want?”
Riley and Bella stared at him, frozen.
Ravenpaw nodded. “Come on, then. And don’t stop for anything.”
He stomped out of the trees and headed along the riverbank once more. The Twoleg had gone, leaving behind a strong scent that made Ravenpaw’s nose twitch. He could hear Riley and Bella trotting behind him, both still bristling at the way he had spoken to them.
That’s not my problem, Ravenpaw told himself. They have to respect their mentor, or Sk yClan won’t have anything to do with them. I will have to start teaching them the warrior code. The vastness of his task struck him again.
Do Riley and Bella have any chance of becoming warriors?
Chapter Six
After another uncomfortable night’s sleep, this time under a bush on the riverbank, where they were disturbed by the sound of voles plopping into the river, Ravenpaw woke at dawn and managed to catch a fat young pigeon. Riley and Bella tucked in, Bella with her eyes narrowed as if she was making a point of showing Ravenpaw that she understood the rules about food.
Watching the young cats eat, Ravenpaw felt a pang of compassion. They were so far from home, and they were being very brave considering they were barely out of kithood. Perhaps there was a way he could get the day off to a good start.
“Would you like to learn a few battle moves before we set off?” I hope I can remember a few!
Both cats’ eyes lit up. “Yes, please!” mewed Bella, jumping to her paws.
“Real warrior moves?” Riley asked, and he purred when Ravenpaw nodded.
The path was wide and flat enough to make a good training ground.
“We’ll start with the hunter’s crouch,” Ravenpaw explained. He dropped to his belly, keeping his hind paws tucked under him.
“We know about that already,” Riley meowed. “That’s what we do when we’re going to pounce on something.”
Ravenpaw looked up at him. “That something doesn’t have to be prey, does it? It can be a useful way to attack an enemy, especially if you’re lying in wait. Find your balance, breathe out, then go!” He sprang forward and landed almost on top of Bella.
“Awesome!” purred Riley.
“Now you try,” Ravenpaw puffed, trying to ignore the stabbing pain in his belly.
The young cats settled down onto their haunches and leaped forward one by one. Bella nearly fell over and Riley didn’t cover much distance, but it was a decent start.
Ravenpaw dragged a stick out of the hedge.
“Pretend that this is your enemy,” he panted. “I want you to land with your front paws on the back of its neck, here.” He indicated a lump on the stick.
Bella did well this time, dropping down with her paws lightly on her imaginary enemy’s neck. Riley stumbled as he took off and ended up breaking the stick in two.
“Well, at least you wounded your enemy,” Ravenpaw commented, looking down at the splintered wood.