Warriors: Dawn of the Clans #1: The Sun Trail Read Free Page A

flea-brained?” Twisted Branch, a scraggy brown tom, stared incredulously at the two she-cats. “Wandering off with no idea where you’re heading?”
    Gray Wing remained silent, but he couldn’t help agreeing with Twisted Branch. The mountains were his home: He knew every rock, every bush, every trickling stream. It would tear my heart in two if I had to leave just because Stoneteller had a dream.
    Turning to Clear Sky, he was amazed to see excitement gleaming in his brother’s eyes. “You’re not seriously considering this?” he asked.
    “Why not?” Clear Sky demanded in return. “This could be the answer to all our problems. What’s the point of struggling to feed every mouth if there’s an alternative?” His whiskers quivered eagerly. “It will be an adventure!” He called out to Shaded Moss: “I’ll go!” Glancing at Bright Stream, he added, “You’ll come too, won’t you?”
    Bright Stream leaned closer to Clear Sky. “I don’t know . . . would you really go without me?”
    Before Clear Sky could reply, little Jagged Peak wormed his way forward between his two older brothers, followed by Fluttering Bird. “I want to go!” he announced loudly.
    Fluttering Bird nodded enthusiastically. “Me too!” she squeaked.
    Quiet Rain followed them, and drew both kits closer to her with a sweep of her tail. “Certainly not!” she meowed. “You two are staying right here.”
    “You could come with us,” Jagged Peak suggested.
    His mother shook her head. “This is my home,” she said. “We’ve survived before. When the warm season returns, we’ll have enough to eat.”
    Gray Wing dipped his head in agreement. How can they forget what Quiet Rain told me when I was a kit? This place was promised to us by a cat who led us here from a faraway lake. How can we think of leaving?
    Shaded Moss’s powerful voice rose up again over the clamor. “No cat needs to decide yet,” he announced. “Give some thought to what you want to do. The half-moon is just past; I will leave at the next full-moon along with any—”
    He broke off, his gaze fixed on the far end of the cave. Turning his head, Gray Wing saw the hunting party making their way inside. Their pelts were clotted with snow and their heads drooped.
    Not one was carrying prey.
    “We’re sorry,” Shattered Ice called out. “The snow is heavier than ever, and there wasn’t a single—”
    “We’re leaving!” some cat yowled from the crowd around Shaded Moss.
    The hunting party stood still for a moment, glancing at one another in confusion and dismay. Then they pelted down the length of the cavern to listen as their Tribemates explained what Stoneteller had told them, and what Shaded Moss intended to do.
    Turtle Tail made her way to where Gray Wing was sitting and plopped down beside him, beginning to clean the melting snow from her pelt. “Isn’t this great?” she asked between licks. “A warm place, where there’s plenty of prey, just waiting for us? Are you going, Gray Wing?”
    “I am,” Clear Sky responded, before Gray Wing could answer. “And so is Bright Stream.” The young she-cat gave him an uncertain look, but Clear Sky didn’t notice. “It’ll be a hard journey, but I think it’ll be worth it.”
    “It’ll be wonderful !” Turtle Tail blinked happily. “Come on, Gray Wing! How about it?”
    Gray Wing couldn’t give her the answer she wanted. As he looked around the cave at the cats he had known all his life, he couldn’t imagine abandoning them for a place that might only exist in Stoneteller’s dreams.

Growling in his belly woke Gray Wing. The pangs of hunger had seemed even sharper since Stoneteller’s announcement a few sunrises ago. And the cavern hadn’t stopped buzzing with discussions about whether it was a good idea to leave, and what the new place might be like.
    Still curled up in his sleeping hollow, Gray Wing could hear excited chatter from cats nearby.
    “What do you think we’ll get to hunt?”