Tallstar’s Revenge

“Bigger than Tallrock, and it shone like the stars.”

“Did you touch it?” Hopkit leaned back, his fluffy ears pricked.

“You’ll have to wait till it’s your turn to visit it.” Tallpaw was too tired to talk. “Isn’t it time you had your first taste of mouse?”

Pigeonkit puffed out his chest. “I’ve already tasted it!”

“So have I!” Sorrelkit announced.

Tallpaw spotted a bird on the prey heap. “What about lapwing?” he asked.

“Meadowslip’s worried we’ll swallow the feathers,” Hopkit mewed.

“What if I pluck it for you?” Tallpaw offered.

Sorrelkit raced around him. “Will you?” she squeaked.

“Come on.” He headed toward the prey heap.

Pigeonkit and Sorrelkit streaked ahead. “Wait for me!” Hopkit was struggling to keep up, his crooked paw twisting beneath him.

Tallpaw turned back and tucked his nose under the black tom’s belly. “Hang on!” he warned, flipping the kit onto his shoulders. Tallpaw purred as the young kit dug his tiny claws into his pelt, and carried him over to his littermates.

Bright sunshine turned the distant trees golden. Tallpaw took a step forward, bringing him right to the edge of Outlook Rock. Under the sweep of empty, blue sky, he could see sheep and Twolegs, dogs and monsters. He could even see a hare sitting in the middle of a distant meadow. The air around him was completely still, as though the world were holding its breath.

“A black-and-white dog is chasing sheep in the hill-meadow,” Tallpaw reported.

Dawnstripe shifted behind him. “And?”

“There are grouse beside the copse.” Tallpaw imagined padding beneath the distant trees, new scents bathing his tongue, the grouse within stalking distance. His mouth watered. “There’s a fire in a Twolegplace.” The scent of smoke touched his nose and he glimpsed a plume rising from the top of a Twoleg nest. Feathers flashed in the sunshine and Tallpaw’s gaze flicked toward a hawk as it dived out of the sky. He scanned the meadow where it swooped, trying to pick out its prey. His paws itched to be there. He could snatch the prey out of the bird’s path. “Hawk hunting rabbit.”

“I’m impressed.” Dawnstripe got to her paws. “You haven’t missed anything.” Her pads scuffed the rock. “Let’s move on to your battle-skills assessment.”

Tallpaw turned from the edge of the rock, dragging his gaze from the distant fields. He followed Dawnstripe to the training ground, the trail so familiar now that he didn’t even have to think about where to put his paws. His thoughts were still on the hawk. He’d traveled across the meadow it had hunted in. Now he was back inside WindClan’s borders while it was crouching in a treetop, feasting on its catch. Yearning pricked beneath his pelt. What was it like to hunt only for yourself, to have the freedom to go wherever you wanted, without boundaries or codes pinning you down?

“Tallpaw?” Dawnstripe’s mew jerked him back. “Are you ready?”

Shrewpaw was waiting in the middle of the clearing with Hareflight. “How did Tallpaw do at Outlook Rock?” the brown warrior asked.

“He passed the assessment easily,” Dawnstripe replied.

“Good.” Hareflight flicked his tail. “Shrewpaw hunted well.”

“I’m pleased to hear it.” Dawnstripe gestured with her tail to send Tallpaw over to his denmate. “Time to test their battle skills,” she meowed to Hareflight. “If they perform well enough here, they’ll have passed everything.”

Tallpaw trotted across the grass. Shrewpaw eyed him belligerently. Tallpaw sighed, wishing his denmate weren’t so competitive. They could pass this assessment easily if they each gave the other a chance to show off his skills. He crouched in the grass, relaxing the muscles along his spine. A warrior moves with ease, not stiffness. Dawnstripe’s advice rang in his ears. No claws, no teeth unless there’s a real battle. Fight with your wits as well as your paws. Tallpaw made sure his claws were well sheathed and kept his gaze fixed on Shrewpaw, bracing himself for his denmate’s first move. “Ready when you are,” he mewed.

Shrewpaw narrowed his eyes. “Why don’t you attack first?”

“If you like.” Tallpaw wasn’t going to let Shrewpaw unsettle him. He focused on Shrewpaw’s left shoulder, then leaped for the right. His feint worked. Wrong-footed, Shrewpaw staggered sideways.

Shrewpaw’s eyes blazed. “Cheater.”

“It was a fair move.”

Shrewpaw lunged at Tallpaw. Grasping Tallpaw’s shoulders, he kicked a hind paw out from under him. Good move. Tallpaw was impressed and let Shrewpaw roll him onto his side. As soon as their backs were to their mentors, Shrewpaw sank his claws into Tallpaw’s pelt. “You won’t fool me twice, Wormpaw.”

Tallpaw flinched. “No claws, remember?”

“We’re training to be warriors, not kits!” Shrewpaw hissed in his ear.