Free Warriors: Dawn of the Clans #2: Thunder Rising by Erin Hunter

his jaws.
    With the sun sinking below the horizon, the cats gathered together in the middle of the camp, grooming themselves or quietly talking to the newcomers. Gray Wing was pleased to see how well Gorse and Wind were fitting in, and hoped that Tall Shadow was taking notice. He was glad to see too that Turtle Tail had been accepted, and was crouching comfortably beside Rainswept Flower.
    As Gray Wing watched, Rainswept Flower got up to bring out the rabbit she had caught earlier that day and Jackdaw’s Cry contributed a couple of mice. Lightning Tail and Acorn Fur fetched Gray Wing’s rabbit, which they had carried back to the camp.
    “So what did you two catch today?” Cloud Spots asked Shattered Ice and Thunder. “You know, when you went off on your own.”
    Gray Wing saw the two cats exchange an embarrassed glance. “I caught a shrew,” Thunder replied, “but I had to leave it behind when we heard the dogs.”
    Cloud Spots sniffed but didn’t comment, only glancing around at the others as if he thought his point was made.
    “And don’t you dare do anything so stupid again.” Tall Shadow gave Thunder a severe look. “No young cat should go out on the moor alone. You know how dangerous it is.”
    Thunder ducked his head. “Sorry,” he meowed. “I’ll be sensible in the future.”
    “And we need to talk about you leading the dogs right into our camp,” Tall Shadow went on, flicking the same hard glance toward Gray Wing. “Didn’t any of you think ?”
    “No, and I’m sorry,” Gray Wing replied. “We panicked.”
    “And we haven’t lived on the moor long enough yet to know where all the safe places are,” Rainswept Flower pointed out defensively.
    “That’s a fair point,” Dappled Pelt murmured. “Maybe we should do more exploring, and work out a few escape routes in case this kind of thing happens again.”
    “We’ll help with that,” Wind meowed eagerly.
    Tall Shadow gave her a cool nod. “I’ll think about it.” Gray Wing guessed that she didn’t want to encourage the rogue cats to get too involved with her group.
    While the prey was being shared, Rainswept Flower tore off a portion of her rabbit and took it to Jagged Peak. “Won’t you come and join us?” Gray Wing heard her ask.
    Jagged Peak shook his head. He bent to sniff the rabbit, hesitated, then took a small bite. “Thanks,” he muttered.
    Rainswept Flower didn’t try to persuade him anymore, just touched her nose to his ear before leaving him to it. Gray Wing was reassured that at least he was eating.
    Gray Wing took some of the rabbit and went to sit beside Turtle Tail and Rainswept Flower. At once Rainswept Flower gave him an amused glance, rose to her paws and padded off to join Jagged Peak. Gray Wing blinked as he looked after her. What’s the matter with her?
    “I’m so glad you’re all right,” Turtle Tail purred as Gray Wing settled down beside her. “I wanted to come and help you, but Tall Shadow said I had to think of my kits.”
    “She was right,” Gray Wing responded, pressing his nose into Turtle Tail’s shoulder fur.
    Twilight fell as the cats shared their stories of the day. Gray Wing told the others about the meeting with River Ripple beside the river; so much had happened since that it seemed like a long, long time ago The streaks of scarlet from the vanished sun died away, leaving an indigo sky where stars appeared one by one, glimmering peacefully above the camp.
    It’s so beautiful here , Gray Wing thought. Who would ever imagine the danger we’ve been through ?
    Gray Wing bent his head to eat his share of the rabbit. He realized that Turtle Tail was watching him with admiring eyes.
    “It sounds as if you had quite an adventure,” she mewed. “Jagged Peak would have died if you hadn’t been so quick-thinking . . . and lucky.”
    Gray Wing sighed. “We were very lucky,” he agreed. Hesitantly he went on, giving voice to a fear that he had kept secret for so long. “Maybe we were