Tallstar’s Revenge полностью

Sunlight woke Talltail. He opened his eyes, squinting as rays sliced through the hedge. He slunk, stretching, from his makeshift den and shook out his fur. A sharp frost had hardened the earth and whitened the meadows. Ahead, the land sloped to a rugged hilltop where the sun squatted on the horizon, spilling light over the silver grass. The hedge rattled behind him.

“It looks like a good day for walking.” Jake’s mew was thick with sleep as he stumbled from beneath the branches. He yawned, then blinked at the hilltop. “Is that the way you’re heading?”

“I guess so.” The hilltop would be a good place to start. From there, he could decide which route the rogues might have taken. It looked rocky and exposed, the slope steeper and more rugged than WindClan territory. Anxiety pricked at his belly. Had any Clan cat traveled this far before?

“You don’t sound sure.” Talltail felt Jake’s pelt brush against his as the kittypet stood beside him.

“The rogues could have gone anywhere,” Talltail pointed out. He gazed across the open stretch of grassland that curved past Twolegplace. What if they’d decided to take the low path, keeping out of the cold wind?

“You’ve got to start somewhere,” Jake meowed.

“But where?” Talltail frowned. This might have been strange country to him, but the rogues had probably walked this route for moons and knew all its secrets, all the best places to shelter and find food.

“Why don’t we climb the hill, like you said?” Jake mewed. “From up there, it might be obvious which way they’d choose.”

“We?” Talltail blinked. “I thought you were going home.”

“Eventually.” Jake held his gaze. “But there’s no harm in seeing what’s on the other side of the hill.”

Talltail paused, wondering why he didn’t feel irritated. This was his mission. He didn’t need help. Especially not from a kittypet. Yet suddenly the looming hill seemed less daunting. He shrugged. “Okay.”

The wind whipped his whiskers as he padded up the slope. Jake followed a few paces behind, his head switching back and forth as he scanned the landscape. When sharp, gray rocks began to jut from the grass and the slope steepened, Talltail paused and waited for him to catch up. “You’re shivering.”

Jake’s silky fur was rippling along his spine. “I’m okay,” he muttered tightly. “There’ll be shelter on the other side.”

“I hope so.” Talltail wasn’t convinced. Though he could hardly feel the wind through his short, thick fur, he knew it’d be fiercer once they’d reached the top; it was sweeping over the hilltop toward them. What if it makes Jake turn back? Talltail glanced anxiously over his shoulder. Twolegplace sprawled just beyond the hedge. It wouldn’t take long for Jake to reach the shelter of its stone walls and tiny, fenced-in meadows.

Jake leaped past him up the rocky slope, his paws slithering on the frosty rock.

“This way’s easier,” Talltail called. He veered around the outcrop, following a grassy trail, but Jake scrabbled stubbornly on.

“If I can climb up Twoleg walls, I can manage this,” he growled.

Talltail reached the hilltop first, and a cold blast of air snatched his breath away. He narrowed his eyes against the icy wind and tried to ignore the pang of disappointment digging in his belly. Jake would turn back now, surely?

Focusing, he surveyed the land sloping ahead. It was like being on Outlook Rock again. The view was different but he still had a hawk’s eye and took only a few moments to scan the valley. The land rose and fell gently on one side; the other was steep and barren, topped by craggy peaks. A river sparkled between, meandering along the valley bottom, and in the hollow between two low hills, a dense wood nestled like moss in a nest.

“That’s where they’d head.” Jake’s breathless mew took him by surprise. Talltail followed the kittypet’s gaze toward the wooded hollow.

“If they’re anything like me, they’ll be looking for shelter.” Jake flattened his ears against the wind.

Talltail sniffed. “If they were anything like you, they’d be snuggled up in a Twoleg den eating kittypet food.” He paused, pelt pricking as he realized how mean he sounded. “Sorry.” He caught Jake’s green gaze. “I just meant they’re not kittypets. They might have their own ideas about shelter.”

Jake shifted his paws. “I know I’m a kittypet. I’m happy with that.” He began to head down the slope that led into the valley. “It doesn’t mean I can’t walk a different path for a while.”

Talltail bounded after him. As he caught up, a screeching cry echoed across the valley. Jake froze. “Fox!” His eyes widened with fear. “Out here? I thought they only lived in Twolegplace.”

“Foxes are like rats. They live everywhere.” Talltail studied the hillside. The bark had sounded close. A red pelt scurried across the grass below them.

“Where can we hide?” Jake’s pelt bristled, his gaze darting across the wide stretch of grass in front of them. He nodded toward a smooth, gray boulder. “It won’t see us if we crouch behind that.”