Ravenpaw's Farewell by Erin Hunter Page B

paused, racking his brain. “When the Clan leader dies, the deputy takes over.”
    He stopped. Riley and Bella were very quiet, and their flanks rose and fell steadily. They had drifted off already. Ravenpaw curled up and tucked his chin into Barley’s belly fur. Riley and Bella were trying so hard to learn about the life of a warrior; he just hoped SkyClan would give them a chance to try it for real.
    â€œOoh, what do we have here? Four little warriors lost in the woods?”
    A shrill voice and a blast of hot breath jolted Ravenpaw awake. In a heartbeat he sprang to his feet, growling. Five cats circled the nest, eyes narrowed and ears flat back. These weren’t warriors, though; they had the stench of kittypet about them, cloying and unwelcome among the leaves. Their fur was sleek and glossy, and they looked plump and overfed rather than well muscled. But their eyes were mean, and there was no mistaking the challenge in the first cat’s voice.
    â€œSwallowed your tongue?” he jeered. He was a dark tabby, almost black, with piercing green eyes. “I didn’t think patrols were allowed to go to sleep!”
    Ravenpaw heard the other cats stir beside him. “Leave us alone,” he snarled. “We’re doing no harm.” He was confident that these weren’t SkyClan warriors. They were too scornful of patrols, for a start. He took a step forward and let his furrise along his spine.
    â€œYou’re so scary,” gasped the tabby, pretending to fall back. Then he leaned forward. “I’m joking. I don’t like the look of you. You don’t smell like those SkyClan fools, but you’re scrawny enough to be wild. Go back to where you came from!”
    â€œYou’ll have to make us,” rumbled Barley, stepping up alongside Ravenpaw.
    For a moment the tabby looked less certain. Barley was broad-shouldered and tall, and there was menace in his growl.
    â€œYou heard what Pasha said,” meowed another kittypet. Her pelt was ginger and white. “Go away.” The other three cats took a pace forward so that they were looming over the nest.
    Bella squeezed in between Barley and Ravenpaw. “And you heard what we said. We’re not going unless you make us! We’re warriors, so we know how to fight!”
    â€œWarriors?” spat Pasha. “Ha, they don’t scare us.” He twitched his ears at Ravenpaw. “Run along, squirrel-breath.”
    Slam!
    Quick as lightning, Ravenpaw raised his front leg and clouted the tabby between his ears. The kittypet staggered backward with a yowl.
    â€œYou’ll regret that!” he hissed. He stalked toward Ravenpaw, his thick tail lashing.
    One of his companions, a she-cat with silver and black patches, interrupted. “This is boring, Pasha. I’m getting cold. Can’t we run through the gorge like we did last night? That was way more fun.”
    â€œThis bunch of weasels will be too easy to fight,” agreed the ginger-and-white she-cat.
    Pasha glared once more at Ravenpaw. “If I see you again, you’ll regret it,” he snarled. Then he whirled around and bounded into the trees. “Come on! Let’s give SkyClan another surprise!”
    Ravenpaw watched them vanish into the shadows. His heart was pounding, and his paw throbbed where he had struck the tabby.
    â€œWell, they weren’t very nice!” Bella exclaimed.
    â€œIt sounds like they’re not that nice to SkyClan, either,” Barley commented. He arched an eyebrow at Ravenpaw. “Do you think they’re going to invade the camp?”
    Ravenpaw shrugged. “I think they’re more hot air than action,” he meowed. “Otherwise they’d have shredded us while we were asleep. But I don’t think they’ll trouble us again tonight. Their Twolegs will expect them home before dawn.”
    He lay down again and licked his sore paw. The others settled around him.
    â€œI’ll