Yellowfang’s Secret полностью

A murmur of agreement rose from the Clan, and Yellowfang felt a fresh pang of grief for the old cat who had taught her so much.

“But the line of ShadowClan medicine cats will continue,” Cedarstar announced, “with a new apprentice, Runningkit. Yellowfang, you have already proven yourself to be a skilled and loyal medicine cat. I know that you will pass on all your knowledge to Runningkit.”

“I will, Cedarstar,” Yellowfang promised.

“Runningkit,” the Clan leader meowed, “do you accept the post of apprentice to Yellowfang?”

“Yes, Cedarstar.” Runningkit’s voice went up in an excited squeak, and he scuffled his front paws in embarrassment.

“Then from this moment you shall be known as Runningpaw. And the good wishes of ShadowClan go with you,” the Clan leader finished.

“Runningpaw! Runningpaw!”

As his Clan greeted him, Runningpaw scampered over to Yellowfang, gave a huge sniff, then reached up to touch noses with her.

Yellowfang winced. The first thing I’ll teach him will be to cure his own sniffles.

“I’ll take you to the half-moon Gathering soon to meet the other medicine cats,” she whispered to Runningpaw, who danced on the spot.

As the cats separated—Lizardstripe rejoining the warriors with a huge sigh of relief—Yellowfang followed the other mentors and their apprentices out of the camp for their first tour of the territory. Runningpaw bounced by her side.

“Will we see cats from other Clans?” he panted. “What happens if we do?”

“We might spot a patrol on the other side of the Thunderpath,” Yellowfang admitted. “If we do, we greet them and go on our way.” She hesitated, then added, “Later I’ll teach you some fighting moves. You need to be able to defend yourself. But never forget that you’re a medicine cat, not a warrior. You don’t go looking for trouble, and you never—never—attack first.”

Runningpaw nodded seriously. “I’ll remember, Yellowfang.”

As they toured the territory, Yellowfang enjoyed seeing her apprentice’s astonishment when he realized how big the forest was, which made her recall her own first exploration with Deerleap. The sight of the Carrionplace shocked him and he shivered when Yellowfang told him about the battle with the rats.

“But never forget,” Yellowfang warned as they padded past at a safe distance, “rats are dangerous, but warriors are more dangerous! And medicine cats know just what to do for rat bites.”

“Cobwebs for bleeding, right?” Runningpaw mewed.

“Right, but some wounds get infected. Marigold and horsetail are good for that, but best of all for rat bites is wild garlic or burdock root.”

“Marigold… horsetail… wild garlic… burdock root…” Runningpaw muttered under his breath. “Great StarClan, there’s a lot to learn!”

He halted, shocked, when they reached the Thunderpath with monsters roaring past. “Mudclaw told us about it,” he gasped, “but I never thought it would be like this! Are those monsters dangerous?”

“Only if you try to cross the Thunderpath,” Yellowfang told him. “I don’t know why, but they never leave it.”

“But we have to cross it to get to Fourtrees, don’t we?”

Yellowfang shook her head. “There’s a tunnel that goes underneath it, leading to a little bit of ShadowClan territory that borders ThunderClan and WindClan.”

Runningpaw’s eyes sparkled. “So we could visit ThunderClan territory? Great!”

“We could,” Yellowfang replied severely, “but we’re not going to because we’re too courteous and honorable to go wandering over another Clan’s borders without good reason. There’s another tunnel, too, that leads directly onto WindClan territory, over there.” She waved her tail at the swell of moorland beyond the Thunderpath. “And before you ask, no, WindClan warriors aren’t just rabbit-eating nuisances, even if that’s what you’ve heard. But you don’t need to be afraid of them, either.” She felt a warm glow of pride as she added, “ShadowClan is a match for any Clan.”

Yellowfang started to look for herbs as they continued, to teach her apprentice what they looked like and what they were used for. But she hurried more quickly past the border with the Twolegplace, even though Runningpaw wanted to linger.

“Do we ever go there?” he asked, staring curiously at the sharp red Twoleg dens. “I think it’d be cool to meet a kittypet!”

Yellowfang felt her fur bristle as she thought of Hal and the other kittypets who had attacked the camp. “No, it wouldn’t be cool,” she snapped. “We don’t go there and they don’t come here. We don’t bother one another, and that’s best for all of us.”

“Okay.” Runningpaw blinked, looking slightly disappointed. Then he brightened up and pattered along beside Yellowfang as she headed back to the camp.

As they approached the camp entrance, Yellowfang heard a voice raised angrily, and flinched as she recognized that it was Brokenpaw’s.

“But I want to! Why can’t I?”

Rounding a bramble thicket, Yellowfang came upon Brokenpaw and Nightpelt glaring at each other. Brokenpaw’s fur was bushed out to twice his size, and his yellow eyes shone.