Squirrelflight's Hope полностью

As he spoke, Squirrelflight saw figures on the crest of the hill, silhouetted against the sky. She narrowed her eyes, trying to make them out. Familiar scents touched her nose. Cinderpelt. Sorreltail. Ferncloud. Her heart leaped. Then her father’s warm scent touched her nose. It smelled just as it had when she’d been young. “Firestar!” She saw his flame-colored pelt, sparkling now with stars, and raced up the slope to meet him.

Firestar wove around her when she reached him, purring loudly. “I’ve missed you,” he meowed.

She blinked at him proudly. “Bramblestar made me deputy! Did you see?”

“Of course I saw.” His eyes sparkled. “And you’re a great deputy.”

As he spoke, Cinderpelt, Sorreltail, and Ferncloud paced eagerly around them. Squirrelflight turned to greet them, overwhelmed as she glimpsed Hollyleaf. Joy flooded her pelt. “Hollyleaf!”

The black she-cat slid between her Clanmates and touched her nose to Squirrelflight’s cheek. “Hey, Squirrelflight!” Hollyleaf’s fur sparkled in the sunlight.

“You look great.” Squirrelflight flicked her tail. For a moment, she hardly remembered the landslide and the battle.

“Hollyleaf!” Leafpool reached them, purring. Eyes bright, she pressed her muzzle deep into Hollyleaf’s neck fur. “It’s so good to see you.”

“And you.”

As Hollyleaf nuzzled her mother, Cinderpelt blinked at Squirrelflight. “We didn’t expect to see you so soon.”

Sorreltail’s eyes rounded with worry. “Firestar said you may not be with us for long.”

“Of course not.” Cinderpelt nudged her Clanmate sharply. “She needs to get back to ThunderClan. Bramblestar will be lost without her.”

Ferncloud wove between them. “While she’s here, I know two kits who’d love to see her.” She pushed her Clanmates aside, and Squirrelflight’s breath caught in her throat. Dandelionkit and Juniperkit were staring shyly at her, their small paws buried in the thick grass. Squirrelflight’s heart seemed to crack as she saw them. These were Alderheart and Sparkpelt’s littermates—the kits who’d died before she’d had the chance to raise them. She hurried to greet them, nuzzling them and running her tail along their spines.

“Are you coming to live with us?” Dandelionkit blinked at her eagerly.

“I don’t know.” Her eyes clouded. Why did she want to go back and help Sparkpelt’s kits when she had kits of her own here in StarClan?

“We can show you all the best places to hunt,” Juniperkit told her. “Longtail and Mousefur have been training us.”

Mousefur? Longtail? Squirrelflight’s heart skipped a beat. Longtail and Mousefur had been elders in ThunderClan for a very long time when Squirrelflight was younger. Her pelt prickled with happiness as she saw them padding toward her. She stared at them as Dandelionkit and Juniperkit, purring, wove around her legs. How many times had she cleaned out their bedding and helped pick fleas from their pelts? They looked like young warriors now, muscles rippling beneath their glossy fur. A tom-kit was hurrying after them. Squirrelflight froze as she recognized his orange-and-black pelt. It was Sparkpelt’s dead kit. As she stared at the tiny tom, Larksong bounded up the slope. He scooped the kit up and dropped him onto his own back, where the kit hung on, his eyes shining with excitement.

“I’ve named him Flickerkit,” Larksong meowed proudly.

Squirrelflight’s heart soared. “I can’t wait to tell Sparkpelt!” This might be just what Sparkpelt needed to lift her from her grief. She stiffened as gray fur moved at the edge of her vision. She recognized it at once. Ashfur. The gray tom had caused so much trouble for her and for Leafpool’s kits. And yet he was here. He dipped his head as she saw him, then glanced at Hollyleaf. Was Leafpool’s daughter okay with Ashfur being here? Hollyleaf blinked calmly at the gray tom. There was no sign of anger in her gaze. Had the two cats learned to live in peace here in StarClan?

Squirrelflight nodded curtly to Ashfur. She wasn’t sure she could be as forgiving as Hollyleaf. After all, Ashfur had threatened to destroy the happiness she’d found with Bramblestar, and almost succeeded. She lifted Dandelionkit and Juniperkit onto her back and padded past him to greet Longtail and Mousefur. “You look so well,” she told the elders.

“We are.” Mousefur looked far happier here than she had in her last moons in ThunderClan. “We were in the elders’ den far too long. It’s good to be able to hunt and explore again.”

“Mousefur is the best hunter in StarClan,” Dandelionkit squeaked.

“No she’s not.” Juniperkit plucked the fur between Squirrelflight’s shoulders with thorn-sharp claws. “Longtail’s the best!”

Squirrelflight could still see Ashfur out of the corner of her eye. She leaned closer to Hollyleaf. “It seems strange that he didn’t end up in the Dark Forest,” she whispered.

Hollyleaf shrugged. “I guess, but he’s apologized. I think he’s changed.”

Longtail narrowed his eyes. “I wouldn’t wish the Dark Forest on any cat.”

“What’s left of it,” Mousefur grunted.