“That was ages ago,” Hawkwing snapped, adding under his breath, “mouse-brain.”
Billystorm let out a sigh, ignoring Hawkwing’s comment. “Yes, that’s a sad part of SkyClan’s history. We had to leave the forest when we lost our territory, and the other Clans didn’t help. But Firestar told us that he regretted what happened. As far as we know, the rest of the present-day Clans will feel the same way.
They have no reason not to welcome us.”
“But—” Pebblepaw began.
“We don’t know what will happen when we meet the other Clans.” Billystorm cut off his apprentice in a calm but firm voice.
“But we have to believe that StarClan would not lead us astray.”
The younger cats fell silent, leaving Billystorm and Waspwhisker to chat casually as the patrol padded on through light woodland.
“I wonder what it will be like, meeting Firestar’s kin,” Waspwhisker meowed.
“I can’t wait.” Billystorm’s voice was warm. “According to Leafstar, he was such a great cat. Surely we’ve got a lot to learn from his kin.”
Hawkwing wasn’t actually sure what he felt about meeting the other Clans. He’d only argued with Pebblepaw because he couldn’t stand to agree with her. Privately he wasn’t at all sure that the old grudges would have been laid to rest.
He wondered too what it would be like to live close to other cats, when SkyClan had been alone for so long. Will we have to change the way we do things?
The forest quickly grew denser, with more fern and bramble thickets between the trees. Soon the cats heard the sound of running water; heading toward it, they came out of a clump of elder bushes and found themselves on the edge of a small stream.
“We should follow this,” Billystorm meowed. “Darktail mentioned a stream.”
“He also mentioned a clearing,” Waspwhisker pointed out.
“But I suppose if we follow the stream we might find that before long.”
The senior warriors were right. Almost at once the questing cats emerged from the undergrowth into a large clearing surrounded by mossy banks. Hawkwing felt embarrassed to realize that he had argued so vehemently about the tree, and now he had been proved wrong. To his relief, none of his Clanmates mentioned that, not even Pebblepaw.
And at least we are on the right track, so we should find the other Clans soon. If Darktail’s directions were correct, they were very close. Can it really be this easy?
“This must be Darktail’s clearing,” Billystorm mewed, glancing around.
“So we’re near the end of our quest!” Blossomheart exclaimed, clawing at the ground in excitement. “What did Darktail say—the
Clan cats are two sunrises’ journey beyond this?”
Billystorm nodded. “That’s right. I suggest we make camp here, and—”
“What’s that smell?” Pebblepaw interrupted.
Hawkwing tasted the air and picked up a strong, musty scent; he had smelled it before, in the woods at the top of the gorge opposite the camp. “Badger,” he murmured. “Darktail said they used to live here.”
As the cats advanced farther into the clearing, the scent grew even stronger. Hawkwing noticed several dark holes in the mossy banks, too big to be rabbit burrows. The scent seemed to flow out of them.
All the hairs on the back of Hawkwing’s neck began to rise.
“This scent is really strong. Do you think the badgers might still be here?” he asked. “Wouldn’t it be stale and faint if the badgers really had abandoned the place, like Darktail said?”
Before any cat could reply, Hawkwing spotted movement deep in one of the holes, and a wedge-shaped snout appeared.
Hawkwing stood rigid at the sight of the white stripe down the badger’s muzzle and its bright, malignant eyes. As the badger emerged into the open, Blossomheart let out a screech; whirling, Hawkwing saw two more badgers thrust their way out of two different holes on the far side of the clearing.
Panic seized Hawkwing’s gut. Darktail was wrong! he realized as panic crashed over him. The badger den isn’t abandoned at all!
For a heartbeat it seemed as if every creature had been frozen into ice. Then the badgers plunged into the attack. The biggest of them headed straight for Blossomheart, its teeth bared.
Blossomheart leaped backward, but her paws skidded and she fell.
The badger lunged for her neck.
No!
Hawkwing sprang into action, flinging himself between his sister and her attacker. I’m not going to let another of my littermates get killed! The badger’s teeth sank into his shoulder, but Hawkwing barely felt it; his whole being was filled with terror for Blossomheart, and determination to save her, whatever it took.
“Leave her alone, mange-pelt!” he growled.
The badger began to shake him, lifting his paws off the ground.
Then behind him he heard Blossomheart let out another screech. At the same moment she flew over his shoulder and landed on the big badger’s back, digging in her claws and raking at its ears as she tried to make it let go of Hawkwing.
The grip of the badger’s teeth loosened and Hawkwing tore himself free. He slashed his claws across the badger’s flank, then darted back out of range of its blunt, stripy head. The badger reared up on its hind paws, shaking its shoulders in an attempt to dislodge Blossomheart, but she clung on, still swiping at its ears.
In the moment of respite Hawkwing glanced across the clearing to see that the two smaller badgers were attacking Waspwhisker, Pebblepaw, and Billystorm from either side. The three cats had clustered together, back to back, to defend themselves. Hawkwing guessed these badgers were younger and less experienced than the one that had attacked Blossomheart, but their teeth and claws were still powerful and dangerous.
Hawkwing threw himself at the big badger again, springing up to claw at its shoulder, then leaping away. Maybe we can tire it out.
…
The big badger at last managed to throw Blossomheart off. As she hit the ground she rolled over, underneath her attacker, and delivered a raking blow to its belly, then scrambled out on its other side and back to her paws. The badger let out a ferocious cry that echoed around the clearing.
As if in response, another badger emerged from the tunnels and lumbered over to join in the fight. It was even bigger than the first one, a furious glitter in its tiny black eyes as it focused on the cats.
Great StarClan! Hawkwing thought despairingly. Now we have to take on two of them! How many more are there?
Even though it was injured, the first badger was still a formidable opponent, and it seemed to draw new energy from the appearance of its denmate. Hawkwing crouched defiantly, ready to leap into battle again. The odds aren’t good, but I’m going to fight my hardest.
Then a speckled white blur flew across Hawkwing’s vision.
Pebblepaw! The she-cat hurled herself at the first badger, slashed at its eyes, then whirled to swipe at the other one.
Both badgers let out roars of pain and began to back away. The one already injured by Hawkwing and Blossomheart turned and trundled off, back into its hole. The biggest badger remained slumped in the grass, clawing at the blood that trickled from around its eyes and down its nose.
Warm gratitude to Pebblepaw flooded through Hawkwing. And after I’d been so nasty to her! Then he realized that he had no idea what had happened to his other Clanmates.