Tallstar’s Revenge

The heather rustled as Doespring and Aspenfall appeared.

“They’re awake!” Aspenfall called.

“Of course!” Shrewclaw bounded off the stone slab beside Talltail.

“You must be frozen,” meowed Doespring. She sniffed Shrewclaw’s dew-specked pelt. “And tired.”

“Not too tired to hunt,” Reedfeather meowed. “They’re joining our patrol. They can rest afterward.”

Talltail tasted the air. “Where are we hunting?”

Reedfeather nodded toward a patch of heather that caught the first rays of sunlight on the hillside below. “Prey will be waking early there.” He trotted down toward it, Aspenfall at his side. Shrewclaw ran to catch up while Doespring fell in beside Talltail.

“Isn’t it great about Palebird’s kits!” she purred.

“Any excuse to stay in the nursery,” Talltail grunted.

Doespring stared at him. “Aren’t you pleased?” she meowed. “They’ll be your kin.”

“Yeah.” Talltail kept his eyes on the patrol ahead.

“When did you turn so selfish, Talltail?” Doespring protested. “Palebird’s lost so much. You should be pleased for her.”

“Should I?” Talltail stopped dead and curled his claws into the grass. “I’m a warrior now; I can have my own opinion. Palebird should have stayed faithful to Sandgorse. It’s only been a few moons since the accident. Anyone would think she’s glad he’s gone so she can have Woollytail as her mate!”

Doespring’s tail twitched. “You think too much about yourself, and not enough about your Clan, Talltail.” She narrowed her eyes. “You say you’re old enough to have your own opinion. But you’re also old enough to understand that loyalty to your Clan is more important than anything. Palebird is happy. So’s Woollytail. It’s great news that there’ll be more kits in WindClan. You’re the only one who’s not pleased.”

Before he could argue, she broke into a run. “I’ll race you to the warren,” she called to the cats ahead as she hared past them. They charged after her.

Shrewclaw veered toward the heather, nose twitching. “Rabbit scent!”

Doespring swung around and gave chase with Aspenfall and Reedfeather on her tail. Talltail watched them plunge into the bushes. He didn’t want to follow. He’d rather hunt alone, with no one telling him how he should feel. He tasted the air as he headed for the moor-top. A rabbit had definitely passed this way not long ago.

Talltail padded forward, stepping lightly over the grass. Low, grassy lumps covered the ridge ahead of him. Burrows. He dropped into a crouch and began to stalk, belly to the ground. Something twitched at the edge of his vision. He turned slowly and saw a pair of long, brown ears sticking above the grass. Rabbit.

Talltail held his breath. The rabbit bent its head to graze. Talltail crept closer, low as a snake through the grass. He could hear the rabbit munching. In the distance the heather rustled as his Clanmates crashed through it. Can’t they hunt quietly? Eyes fixed on his quarry, Talltail leaped.

The rabbit raced away, its fear-scent filling the air. Talltail hurtled after it. Now the creature was less than a tail-length away. Timing his strides to match the rabbit’s, Talltail pounced. “Got you!”

His heart sank as his paws hit bare grass. “Where are you?” He whirled around, spotting a burrow that reeked of fear-scent. You can’t hide in there! Talltail plunged into the darkness. Tiny paws scrabbled a fox-length ahead of him. Reaching forward, he grabbed the rabbit’s fluffy haunches before it could disappear into the maze of tunnels. It squealed as Talltail hauled it out and nipped it quickly with a killing bite. As he sat up, the scent of blood and fresh earth filled his nose, blotting out all the other scents of the moor.

“What in the name of StarClan are you doing?” came a disbelieving voice. Aspenfall was standing at the edge of the heather.

Talltail nudged the rabbit with a paw. “Hunting.” He spat out a tuft of fur.

“We don’t hunt underground anymore, remember?” Aspenfall looked round-eyed with concern. “Heatherstar said it wasn’t safe.”

“I was chasing it from the ridge over there,” Talltail explained, pointing with his tail. He felt hot underneath his pelt. Why was Aspenfall questioning his catch? Had he forgotten that Talltail was a warrior now, just like him?

“Well, the tunnels are forbidden now,” Aspenfall meowed.

Shrewclaw slid out of the heather behind the gray-and-white warrior. “Has Wormcat been digging tunnels?”

Anger surged through Talltail. He kicked the rabbit toward his Clanmate. “No, I’ve been catching prey.”

Aspenfall took a step forward. “Calm down, Talltail. It’s going to be hard for all of us to remember that we don’t have the tunnels to hunt in. Come on, let’s get that rabbit back to camp.”