by Erin Hunter
Leader (known as Healer): Teller of the Pointed Stones, called Stoneteller, is a wise old brown tabby cat who serves as both leader and medicine cat. He is responsible for reading the signs in the Cave of Pointed Stones, and he guides his Tribe according to the messages from the Tribe of Endless Hunting.
STONETELLER SPEAKS:
The Coming of the Silver Cat
There are strangers in our cave tonight.
They are returning to their home in the forest, but they must not linger there long. They say that a terrible danger is destroying their home. Soon all the forest cats must go on a journey to no cat knows where....
We are struggling with a terrible danger too. I cannot tell the strangers about it. I fear they would leave the mountains if they knew. And yet one of them must save us from Sharptooth.
I have read the ripple of shadows on the rock wall, the drops of water in the moonlight. I have seen bright gray fur flash in the pool. The signs are clear. A silver cat, not from this Tribe, will come to save us from Sharptooth—that is what the Tribe of Endless Hunting has promised.
The six cats arrived wet and shivering in our cave. They are scrawny, tired, and suspicious, and one of them is badly injured. I have heard them whispering about us—they don’t realize how good our hearing is. They can see that we are afraid of something.
I believe the silver cat must be the one called Stormfur. His fur gleams with the dark silver of the moon when it is just a claw in the sky.
The dark tabby, the one called Brambleclaw, is their leader, although the small black cat and the tortoiseshell don’t hesitate to challenge him. Nor does the ginger she-cat named Squirrelpaw, yet I can see her respect for him in every ripple of her fur. There is something about those two—a destiny longer, darker, and more fraught with danger than I care to look at. But it does not affect my Tribe.
Once the strangers dried off, I saw there was another silver cat in the group—Stormfur’s sister, Feathertail. Could the prophecy refer to her instead? No, it must be Stormfur. He has a proud courage about him, a strength in those shoulders that would defeat any of my cave-guards.
Whatever he is going to do to save us, I hope it will be soon. My Tribe has lost so many cats already. And it is not only the lives of the dead cats that Sharptooth has taken. He has taken the pride, the joy, the fierce will to live of all my Tribe. We are but a shadow of a Tribe now, haunted by the flashing claws and teeth of a mindless killer.
I beseech you, Tribe of Endless Hunting. Guide the silver cat’s paws to save us from Sharptooth, so that we may have peace again.
ROGUES AND LONERS
Arogue is a Clan cat who has been banished for crimes against the warrior code. These cats are usually hostile and live as outlaws on Clan territory or on the outskirts. Loners are cats who choose to live neither in Clans nor with Twolegs. They live and hunt alone. Loners can be friendly and even helpful to the Clan cats.
BARLEY: A black-and-white tom who left BloodClan to live as a loner in the forest. (See Barley Speaks: Flight from BloodClan.) His home is a warm barn north of WindClan territory. Warriors often pass through his farm on their way to Highstones, and so most of the Clans know of him. The Twolegs who run the farm don’t mind him living there, since he keeps down the rodent population.
Barley bravely came to the aid of Bluestar during a rat attack when she was leading four ThunderClan cats back to the forest from Mothermouth. Later, he offered his barn as shelter for WindClan while they journeyed home to their camp. When BloodClan came to the forest, he was able to give Firestar insight into their weaknesses, which helped LionClan win the battle.
RAVENPAW: A small black loner, originally a ThunderClan apprentice. His mentor was the ThunderClan deputy Tigerclaw. During a battle at Sunningrocks, Ravenpaw saw Tigerclaw kill the ThunderClan deputy, Redtail. This knowledge put Ravenpaw’s life at risk. With the help of Firepaw, he fled the ThunderClan camp to the safety of Barley’s barn. He is happy here; the loner lifestyle suits him better than Clan life.
SASHA: A tawny-colored rogue. She fell in love with Tigerstar while he was recruiting BloodClan. She bore him two kittens, Mothwing and Hawkfrost, and brought them to RiverClan for a better life, as she wasn’t interested in raising kits by herself. Later, she tried unsuccessfully to convince them to rejoin her instead of traveling to the Clans’ new home.
PURDY: An elderly, mottled brown tabby tom who met the questing Clan cats on their way to the sun-drown-place. Purdy did his best to help the cats find their way through the confusing tangle of Thunderpaths and Twoleg nests, although it might not have been by the shortest route! He tried to warn the young cats of the danger in the mountains, but it was their destiny to go that way, no matter what he said.
SMOKY, DAISY, AND FLOSS: These three cats live as loners in a barn near the horseplace. They do not hunt prey, since they are fed by the Twolegs. This, in the opinion of many Clan cats, makes them as useless as kittypets.
Smoky is a muscular gray-and-white tom, who is distant but not unfriendly. He met the Clan cats on their way to the first Gathering. He is the father of Daisy’s kits: Berrykit, Hazelkit, and Mousekit.
Daisy is a creamy brown she-cat with blue eyes. She brought her kits to join ThunderClan.
Floss is a small gray-and-white she-cat, whose kits were taken away by the Nofurs (their name for Twolegs).
DAISY SPEAKS:
My Only Hope
“Your kits! Where have they gone?”
The barn suddenly seemed a large, forbidding space, with a thousand different places for kits to get hurt. I scrabbled through a stack of hay next to my friend Floss. She had recently had kits—but her kits had vanished.
“Their eyes were still closed! They couldn’t even walk!”
Floss was lying on her side in a patch of sunshine. She blinked large, sad eyes at me.
“It’s the Nofurs,” she explained. “They take our kits after they’re born. They took my first litter too.”
“Why would they do that?”
“Maybe they think three cats in one barn are enough?” Floss meowed. “Maybe there are other barns that need cats.”
I curled my tail over my stomach as if I could already protect the little lives inside. I thought there might be three of them, from the way they kicked and wriggled.
“But—you never see them again?” I meowed softly.
“One moment they’re here.” She lifted a paw and licked it. “The next, they’re gone.”
I studied her face carefully. I think she was more heartbroken than she was letting on. “Then I’ll have to leave,” I meowed. “I’ll take my kits far away from the Nofurs.”
“Where will you go?” Floss asked. “And how will you survive, all on your own with a family of hungry mouths?”
She was right. I wasn’t used to being on my own. I wouldn’t know how to feed myself or my kits. And I would miss the friendship of Floss and Smoky.
“What about those new cats?” I remembered. “The ones who moved to the lake?”
“Strange creatures. Why not find a nice warm barn to live in?” meowed Floss. “It must be cold and wet out there.”
It was true; I hated being cold and wet. But some of those wild cats had looked friendly. There was that white tom who had nodded to me, and the orange leader who had warm green eyes.
Floss narrowed her eyes. “We don’t know anything about those cats, except that there are a lot of them,” she meowed.
But I was sure they would help me. I could carry my kits there, if I needed to. I knew Smoky wouldn’t try to stop me. He had always cared more about Floss than me. Perhaps out there I could find a cat to care about me the way Smoky and Floss care about each other. And he’d take care of my kits too.
I knew there were scary things outside the barn, but I was sure that the wild cats would protect me and my kits, so that I could see them grow up. I knew what I was going to call them too: Mouse, Berry, and Hazel. They’re going to be fine, strong cats, and I will be there for every p
awstep.
KITTYPETS
Cats that live with Twolegs are called kittypets. They wear collars and are usually timid, soft, and scared of Clan cats. They are fed by their Twolegs, and so have no need to hunt. They have only a vague sense of territory beyond their Twolegs’ garden.
SMUDGE: Friendly, plump, and contented black-and-white tom. He lived next door to Firestar, whom he knew as Rusty. He sees none of the appeal of the forest or Clan life.
PRINCESS: Firestar’s sister. A light brown tabby with a white chest and white paws. She is intrigued by the forest and gave up her son, Cloudkit, to be raised as a ThunderClan cat. Yet she finds it terrifying too; she could never leave her Twolegs to chase mice in the forest! Cloudkit had some trouble adjusting to the warrior code at first, and he has never believed in StarClan, but he is still a brave, loyal ThunderClan warrior.
CODY: Sweet, plucky, tabby kittypet with blue eyes. Cody ran away from her Twolegs, intending only to have a bit of fun before returning home. She was caught by the construction crew tearing down the forest and thrown into a cage with the wild cats. Here, she befriended Leafpaw, and after they were rescued, Cody went with her to ThunderClan. Although she was willing to help the Clan in their hour of need, the precarious, violent life of the warrior cats was not for her, and she returned to her housefolk. She will never forget her friend Leafpaw.
JACQUES AND SUSAN: Jacques is a huge black-and-white tom with a torn ear. Susan is a small tabby she-cat. They live in a Twoleg nest in ShadowClan’s lake territory. Both of them are hostile and dangerous, with no warrior code to guide their actions. When the warrior cats moved into their territory, they showed their displeasure by targeting young or weak cats. ThunderClan helped ShadowClan teach them a lesson.
MILLIE: A light gray tabby she-cat. Millie befriended Graystripe when he was captured by Twolegs. When he decided to leave in search of his Clan, she chose to leave her housefolk and go with him. Although she was raised as a kittypet, Graystripe has trained her to fight, and she is committed to becoming a true ThunderClan warrior.
OTHER ANIMALS
FOXES
Russet-red fur, bushy tails, sharp teeth, and pointed noses. Look a bit like dogs.
Live in dens, often in sandy ground hidden by undergrowth.
Live alone or with their cubs.
Mean, suspicious, and hostile, they don’t eat cats, but they will kill for pleasure and not just for prey.
They hunt mostly at night and have a strong and unpleasant smell.
BADGERS
Large, with short black fur and a white stripe down their long, pointed muzzles.
Small, beady eyes, powerful shoulders, and sharp claws.
Live in either caves or sets, which are tunnels underground, bushes, or tree roots.
Live alone or with their kits and have a very distinctive smell.
Badgers sometimes prey on young cat kits. Can trample their victims with enormous paws or deliver a deadly bite.
Have tremendously powerful jaws that make it nearly impossible to escape their grip.
Midnight: An exceptional badger at the sun-drown-place. She has no hostility for cats. She has a special connection with StarClan and can speak both Cat and Fox. It was Midnight who passed on the message that the Clans must leave the forest.
DOGS
Size varies from that of a kit to a pony. Fur can be long or short, white, brown, black, gray, or a mix. Can have pointy or flat noses, droopy or sharp ears. Make loud, angry noises and love chasing cats.
Live mostly in Twoleg nests or barns. Wild dogs might sleep anywhere; one pack in recent Clan history made their home in the caves below Snakerocks.
Loud, fast, and sharp-toothed. Many dogs seem to be devoted to their Twolegs and are seen only in Twoleg company. There is a theory that most dogs are too dim-witted to be truly dangerous. Packs of dogs are always to be feared. (See ThunderClan, Brightheart Speaks: The Death of Swiftpaw.)
BIRDS OF PREY
Winged predators with hooked beaks and sharp, curving talons, these include hawks, eagles, falcons, and owls.
Nest in hollows or branches of trees, or on the ledges of cliffs.
Extremely sharp vision for spotting prey from a distance. Hawks and eagles are daytime hunters; owls hunt at night. They swoop down from the sky to carry off prey, which includes kits. This was the fate of Snowkit, Speckletail’s deaf son, when a hawk attacked the camp after a forest fire had burned away its protective cover. The Tribe of Rushing Water have developed clever ways to hunt these birds.
HORSES/SHEEP/COWS
Four-legged farm creatures.
Horses are tall and swift with flowing manes and tails and giant, pounding hooves.
Sheep look like fluffy white clouds dotted across a green field.
Cows can be black and white or brown, and their hooves are to be avoided.
Live in large fenced fields and sometimes hay-filled Twoleg barns.
Mostly harmless. However, take caution passing through their fields. A galloping horse or stampeding herd of cows would trample a cat without even noticing.
RATS
Brown-furred and beady-eyed rodents, with long, naked tails and sharp front teeth. Not much bigger than kits.
Live in garbage dumps like Carrionplace in ShadowClan territory or anywhere they can scavenge Twoleg food.
Live and travel in packs. Individually they pose no threat to cats, but their numbers are often overwhelming, and bites can cause infection. A single rat contaminated the whole of ShadowClan during Nightstar’s brief time as leader.
TWOLEGS
Tall, smooth-skinned creatures with some fur on their heads. Walk on two legs.
Live in large, boxy nests with hard roofs and floors, often surrounded by tidy gardens and fences.
Also known as Nofurs or Upwalkers. Twolegs ride around in monsters and seem to like dogs. They are to be avoided if possible, as they are capable of doing something unpredictable at any moment, such as tearing down a tree, starting a fire, or locking up a cat for no reason.
Mythology
Every Clan has its legends—the great adventures of its warrior ancestors, passed down through the generations. But all the Clans share the stories of the ancient, giant, gold-pelted cats who once ruled the forest. LionClan had flowing manes, like the rays of the sun. LeopardClan were swift; they had black spots on their pelts like racing pawprints. TigerClan were flame-colored night hunters, with black stripes like shadows flickering across their fur and the darkness of night in their souls. The giant cats are gone now, but they have passed down special talents to their descendants, the warrior cats.
HOW LEOPARDCLAN WON THE RIVER
In a time when the forest was young and untouched by Twolegs, the three Clans of mighty cats came together for a Gathering during the frosts of leaf-bare.
The leader of LionClan, a proud cat named Goldenstar, stepped forward.
“There is a wild boar loose in the forest,” he roared.
“There are many wild boar loose in the forest,” responded Swiftstar, the LeopardClan leader, with a dismissive flick of his tail.
“Not like this one,” growled Goldenstar. “He is as large as a horse. He has tusks as thick as sycamore branches and a fleece of black hair as sharp as thorns. He killed one of our apprentices.”
“I know of this boar too,” rumbled the TigerClan leader, Shadestar, twitching her ears. “We call him Rage. A TigerClan hunting party met him in the woods two days ago, but he escaped us. He fights with the strength of ten warriors and can kill with a single blow of his fierce tusks.”
“Ha!” A voice rose from the crowd of warriors, which parted to reveal a LeopardClan warrior named Fleetfoot. “Such a beast would be no match for a LeopardClan warrior,” she boasted. “We would outrun it, outsmart it, and kill it.”
“Oh, yes?” Shadestar snarled. “Then why don’t you do as you say and kill Rage?”
“Show us that your deeds can match your words,” growled Goldenstar.
&n
bsp; “With pleasure,” Fleetfoot responded proudly.
“And in exchange,” Swiftstar quickly added, “LeopardClan may claim the river as our hunting grounds.”
“Hmm,” meowed Shadestar, narrowing her eyes.
“Very well,” Goldenstar agreed. “If Fleetfoot kills this beast, LeopardClan may claim the river for one moon, during which no other Clan will hunt there.”
Swiftstar bowed his head in agreement. He leaped down from the Great Rock and swept out of the clearing, with his LeopardClan warriors pouring after him.
Shadestar turned to Goldenstar as the spotted cats disappeared from sight. “There is something we didn’t tell Fleetfoot.”
“I know,” meowed Goldenstar. “She will find it out soon enough. Rest assured, we will not have to give up the river and its hunting grounds.”
The hunt began that night. Fleetfoot tracked the boar by its scent until she found him under a tall oak tree, nosing the ground underneath it. She leaped at him with a ferocious yowl, and the boar, startled, turned and ran. Fleetfoot chased Rage through the forest, leaping fallen trees, dodging bushes, staying close on his heels.
At last they burst out into an open patch of ground, and before the boar could stop himself, he went hurtling off a cliff. Fleetfoot leaped after him into the torrent of the river below. She found him thrashing around and wrapped her claws around his back, pinning him under the water until she thought she would burst for want of air.
