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

their heads to Tall Shadow and glanced around at the others.
    “Good-bye,” Wind meowed. “Thanks for letting us stay, and for sharing your rabbit.”
    “Yeah, it was great,” Gorse agreed. “We’ll see you around.”
    Side by side, the two rogue cats bounded up the slope. The mountain cats watched in silence as they melted fluidly into the dark moorland. In a heartbeat they were gone.
    “I don’t see why they had to leave,” Jackdaw’s Cry grumbled after a while.
    “Yes, they saved Jagged Peak,” Hawk Swoop added as the cats returned to their nests. “They’d be really great cats to have with us.”
    Shattered Ice sprang to his paws and confronted Tall Shadow. “I think you should explain to us why they have to leave,” he demanded, flicking his tail in the direction of the departed cats, “but Turtle Tail—who was a kittypet —gets to stay.”
    Turtle Tail let out a shocked gasp. Her neck fur fluffed out indignantly. “What do you mean by that?” she demanded.
    “Loyalty is important,” Shattered Ice replied coldly. “You shouldn’t get to leave and then stroll back in again as if nothing happened.”
    “Fine!” Turtle Tail glared at the gray-and-white tom. “I’m not going to stay where I’m not welcome!” she hissed.
    Appalled, Gray Wing rose to her side and curled his tail around her shoulders. “You can’t go back to the Twolegplace now, not when that would mean losing your kits!” he protested. “And you can’t survive on your own, not when they’ll be born any day now.”
    He could tell from the look on Turtle Tail’s face that she didn’t really want to leave the hollow. “I don’t care,” she muttered. “I don’t have to take that from any cat.”
    “Of course you care,” Gray Wing told her, realizing how deeply upset she was by Shattered Ice’s words. “You must stay,” he went on gently. “Think of your kits.”
    Turtle Tail hesitated, then nodded, leaning in for a moment toward Gray Wing.
    “Good,” Tall Shadow meowed. “No cat here would turn you out at a time like this. Shattered Ice, apologize.”
    Shattered Ice glared at Tall Shadow, then turned to Turtle Tail. “Okay—sorry,” he muttered grumpily.
    Gray Wing drew a breath of relief, hoping that the near quarrel was over, but Shattered Ice spun around again to face his leader.
    “But you still haven’t answered my question. Why did you make Wind and Gorse go?” he asked. “They saved Jagged Peak’s life and probably others! You call yourself our leader, but you don’t care what we think. What makes you so special?”
    Tall Shadow stiffened at the white tom’s accusing tone. “I—” she began, but Shattered Ice ignored her attempt to speak.
    “All this time, while this was going on,” he continued. “You were guarding the hollow! Some bravery! Some leadership! Gray Wing was out there, saving cats. You should follow his example. In fact, we all should. Gray Wing should be our leader!”
    A babble of comment and protest rose up from the other cats at Shattered Ice’s challenging words. The drowsy peace that had fallen over the camp was swept away.
    “You can’t change a leader just like that,” Rainswept Flower protested. Tall Shadow looked on, her face blank with shock . Don’t rely on Rainswept Flower to stand up for you , Gray Wing silently willed her. Show your authority!
    “Yes!” Hawk Swoop yowled. “Gray Wing!”
    “Now just a moment . . .” Cloud Spots shouldered his way forward, but anything else he might have said was lost in the rising clamor.
    Tall Shadow drew herself to her full height. Her shoulder fur was bristling and her tail bushed out to twice its size. Fury snapped in her green eyes, but she still looked too stunned to say anything.
    Shock pierced through Gray Wing like a bolt of lightning. The idea of taking over as leader made his fur rankle, particularly when that would mean displacing Tall Shadow. Do they expect her to purr sweetly and start taking orders