Bluestar's Prophecy Read Free Page B

body. I’m going to be the best hunter ThunderClan has ever seen , she vowed.
    “Not bad,” Dapplepaw congratulated Patchkit, then glanced at Leopardkit. “Let’s see your hunting crouch.”
    Leopardkit instantly dropped and pressed her belly to the ground.
    Bluekit longed to try it, but not until she’d practiced by herself. “Come on, let’s leave them to it,” she whispered to Snowkit.
    Snowkit stared at her in surprise. “Leave them?”
    “Let’s explore by ourselves.” Bluekit saw a chance to slip away unnoticed.
    “But it’s fun hanging out with…”
    Bluekit didn’t hear any more; she was already backing away. Glancing over her shoulder, she spotted a low, spreading bush beside the nursery. Patchkit and Leopardkit wouldn’t find them there. She spun around and dashed for the bush, diving under a branch. As she caught her breath, she tasted lots and lots of different scents clinging to the leaves. How many cats were there in ThunderClan? Did they really all fit in the camp?
    The branches shook, and Snowkit crashed in after her.
    “I thought you weren’t coming!” Bluekit squeaked in surprise.
    “Moonflower told us to stay together,” Snowkit reminded her.
    Together they peeped out to see if Leopardkit, Patchkit, and Dapplepaw had noticed their escape. The three cats were staring at the nursery, looking puzzled.
    Dapplepaw shrugged. “They must have gone back to their nest.”
    “Never mind.” Patchkit paced around Dapplepaw. “Now you can take us to the sandy hollow like you promised.”
    Sandy hollow? What’s that? Bluekit suddenly wished she’d stayed with the others.
    “I never promised!” Dapplepaw protested.
    “We’ll be in trouble if we get caught,” Leopardkit warned. “We’re not supposed to leave the camp until we’re apprentices, remember?”
    “Then we won’t get caught,” Patchkit mewed.
    Dapplepaw glanced uncertainly around the clearing. “I’ll take you to the edge of the ravine,” she offered. “But that’s all.”
    Jealousy burned Bluekit’s pelt as she watched Dapplepaw lead Leopardkit and Patchkit toward the gorse barrier and disappear through a gap at the base.
    Maybe we can follow them and see where they go ….
    Suddenly a muzzle nudged her hindquarters and sent her skidding out from her hiding place. Her sister tumbled after her, and a gray tabby face peered out at them from under the leaves.
    “What are you doing here? This is the warriors ’ den!”
    “S-sorry!” Snowkit backed away.
    Bluekit faced the warrior. “How were we supposed to know?” she protested. Do warriors have a special scent or something?
    The tabby tom narrowed his eyes. “Are you Moonflower’s kits?”
    Snowkit’s pelt ruffled and she looked down at her paws.
    Bluekit lifted her chin. She wasn’t scared of the grouchy warrior. “Yes. I’m Bluekit. And this is my sister, Snowkit.”
    The tabby slid from under the bush and straightened up. He was even bigger than Dapplepaw. Bluekit took a step back.
    “I’m Stonepelt,” meowed the gray tom. “Are you looking for Stormtail?”
    Snowkit glanced up eagerly. “Is he here?”
    “He’s out hunting.”
    “We weren’t looking for him, actually,” Bluekit told thewarrior, even though she would have liked to see her father now that her eyes had opened. “We were hiding from Patchkit and Leopardkit.”
    “Hide-and-seek, I suppose.” Stonepelt sighed.
    “No,” Bluekit corrected him. “They were trying to show us around the camp, but we wanted to explore it for ourselves.”
    Stonepelt flicked his tail. “A good warrior learns from his Clanmates.”
    “W-we thought it would be more fun on our own,” Snowkit blurted out.
    The warrior’s pelt bristled. “Well, it’s no fun being woken from a well-earned rest by a stampede of kits.”
    “We’re sorry,” Snowkit apologized. “We didn’t realize.”
    “That’s what happens when kits are left to wander around by themselves.” Stonepelt snorted and turned his gaze