Free A Forest Divided by Erin Hunter

“It’s dried from greenleaf, but it should still work.”
    Gray Wing smelled the familiar scent of the herb. Relief flickered in his belly. Pebble Heart held out a stalk between his teeth, and Gray Wing took it. “Thanks.” He chewed it carefully to release the juices from the dried old stem before swallowing it.
    â€œLet’s rest here for a while.” Tall Shadow shrugged Dew Nose from her back.
    Dew Nose squeaked as she landed. “The ground feels weird!”
    Eagle Feather and Storm Pelt leaped down from Mud Paws and Mouse Ear.
    â€œIt’s all springy!” Eagle Feather bounced across the thick covering of needles.
    â€œIt must be a tail-length deep!” Storm Pelt shuffled his paws into the brown needles until they disappeared. “Look! I’ve got no paws!”
    Gray Wing sat down, his chest loosening as the coltsfoot began to work. “Thanks, Pebble Heart,” he murmured.
    â€œI just hope there’s more in this forest.” Pebble Heart scanned the trees.
    The tall, straight trunks were cracked, like ancient prey dried in the sun. Shadows pooled between them. Here and there, dense patches of brambles crowded their roots. Gray Wing looked up. The sky was hidden by thick branches, green even in leaf-bare. Their tips leaned and creaked, stirred by the blizzard howling above them, but they stood firm, their roots dug deep into the peaty earth.
    â€œWhat do you think?” Tall Shadow followed Gray Wing’s gaze upward.
    Gray Wing whisked his tail over the needle-strewn earth. A sharp tang of pine cut through the thickness in his chest. He felt strength return to his paws. His shoulders relaxed. “I think I’m going to like it here.”
    â€œShould we make camp?” Holly called.
    â€œWhere?” Tall Shadow glanced around.
    Gray Wing stiffened as Slash’s order to Fern flashed through his mind. I need to know where they make camp, where they hunt, their habits, their weaknesses, everything! Had Fern crossed the Thunderpath yet? Was she nearby now? Gray Wing strained to see through the shadows, looking for a flicker of movement. Why couldn’t Fern have an orange pelt? It was too easy for her to hide here.
    â€œGray Wing?” Tall Shadow was searching his gaze anxiously. “Is something wrong? Your pelt’s pricking.”
    â€œNothing’s wrong,” Gray Wing told her quickly. There was nothing she could do about Slash’s spy. Why spoil a pleasure she’d looked forward to for so long? “Is the forest as good as you imagined?”
    Tall Shadow purred and padded around the base of a pine, her paw steps no more than a whisper on the needles. “It’s even better.” She pricked her ears. “The wind sounds so far away.”
    â€œI can smell squirrel,” Mouse Ear meowed happily.
    â€œShould we hunt?” Mud Paws looked at Jagged Peak. Gray Wing blinked in surprise. Mud Paws was treating him like their leader.
    Tall Shadow sat down and gazed between the trees. She didn’t seem to have noticed, or if she had, she didn’t seem to care. Her green eyes shone. Her black pelt melted among the shadows as though she’d become part of her new home already.
    â€œTall Shadow?” Jagged Peak called to her. “Should we hunt?”
    â€œIf you like.” Tall Shadow shrugged.
    Holly’s gaze followed her kits, who were scrambling over tree roots, their noses and tails twitching with excitement.
    With a leap, Dew Nose hooked her claws into the bark and dangled from the trunk. “Look! I’m climbing.”
    â€œDon’t go too high,” Holly warned.
    Pebble Heart tasted the air. “Maybe we should find somewhere to build nests before we hunt.”
    â€œLet’s split up,” Jagged Peak suggested. “I’ll hunt with Mud Paws and Mouse Ear. You, Holly, and Tall Shadow can take Gray Wing and the kits and find somewhere to rest tonight.”
    Take