Warriors: Dawn of the Clans #2: Thunder Rising Read Online Free PDF Page B

you say it straight out?” Gorse demanded, with the beginnings of a snarl. “Clear Sky is refusing to let us hunt in the forest. Can you believe it? How dare Clear Sky tell us where we can and can’t hunt?”
    Wind nodded in agreement. “The problem is, all the hunting around here is awkward now. One argument after another.” Flicking her tail angrily, she added, “The other day I met a couple of other rogues—Thorn and Dew—at the edge of the moor. They’d never been exactly friendly, but we mostly left each other alone, and we were happy with that. But that day we ended up chasing the same hare. It was big enough to feed all of us, and there was a time we would have shared it.”
    “That’s right,” Gorse put in. “But this time Thorn and Dew dragged the prey away. They threatened to claw our pelts off if we came anywhere near it.” He shook his head in confusion. “It never used to be like this. Not until . . .” He glanced at them.
    Gray Wing saw Rainswept Flower’s tail begin to twitch, and she took a pace forward. “Are you blaming the mountain cats?” she demanded.
    Turtle Tail gave Gray Wing an anxious look, as if she expected a fight to break out. Gray Wing rested his tail-tip on her shoulder. “It’ll be fine,” he murmured, hoping he was right, and realizing that he would have to report this to Tall Shadow.
    Gorse’s neck fur began to bristle, but Wind shouldered him away and faced Rainswept Flower. “We’re not blaming you,” she meowed. “At least, not all of you.” Letting out a sigh, she turned to Turtle Tail. “I know you, don’t I?” she meowed.
    “Yes, this is Turtle Tail,” Gray Wing responded. “She left the moor for a bit”— no need to tell them she lived as a kittypet —“but she’s back now.”
    Wind narrowed her eyes and gave Turtle Tail an assessing look. “I think she’s okay,” she mewed to Gorse. “Should I show you some of the best hunting areas around here?” she added to Turtle Tail. “You need to know, if times are going to get more difficult.”
    “Yes . . . yes, thanks,” Turtle Tail stammered, looking taken aback. It must be hard for her, realizing that life out here isn’t as perfect as she’d imagined.
    But once again Gray Wing was impressed by how kind and friendly Wind could be, even in the midst of her own troubles.
    Rainswept Flower obviously realized it, too. “I shouldn’t have taken offense,” she mewed, blinking apologetically. “It’s just that . . . well, you’re right that times are more challenging now.”
    Wind twitched her whiskers. “It’s okay.”
    Gorse and Wind led the way toward the river, following a tiny stream that trickled along a deep cleft in the moorland, a place where the mountain cats had never hunted before. The stream was edged with long grass and ferns that overhung the water.
    “This place is no good for rabbits,” Wind explained as Gray Wing gazed around in amazement. “But you can generally find a mouse or two, or a vole, where the plants grow thickest.”
    “Thanks for showing us,” Gray Wing responded, enjoying the dazzle of sunlight on the ripples and the gentle gurgling sound the water made. “Why haven’t we searched for prey here?”
    Wind stifled a snort of laughter. “You just have to know where to look!”
    “And now this way.” Gorse leaped across the stream and scrambled up the side of the cleft onto the open moor again. “There are always a few rabbits around here,” he panted as he waited for the others to join him. “You can see some of their holes over there,” he added, pointing with his tail toward a steep rocky bank with a few scrawny bushes clinging to the thin soil between the stones.
    Gray Wing tasted the air. Gorse was right; there was a strong smell of rabbit, and he spotted several piles of their droppings among the grass.
    “You’re carrying some extra weight,” Wind mewed to Turtle Tail as they set off again.
    Turtle Tail gave her shoulder a couple