Free Firestar's Quest by Erin Hunter Page A

scent. This time no dreams disturbed him.
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    Bright sunlight shone into his den when Firestar woke. Spottedleaf was gone, though he caught a trace of her scent among his bedding. He rose and stretched, feeling new energy coursing through him.
    Skirting the Highrock, he found Graystripe in the main clearing with several cats standing around him as he arranged hunting patrols. “Cloudtail, you can go with Thornclaw,” he was telling the white warrior. “Who do you want for a third? Willowpelt?”
    â€œI’ll go,” Firestar interrupted, bounding up to them. “I feel as if I haven’t had a good hunt for moons.”
    â€œThanks.” Graystripe nodded to him. “In that case, Willowpelt, you can come with Brackenfur and me. We’ll head toward Fourtrees and see if we can spot that fox.”
    Once outside the camp, Firestar let Thornclaw take the lead. The tabby warrior took them down a trail that led to Twolegplace. Everything was quiet; even the prey seemed to be hiding. Firestar paused, gazing through the trees at the fence that edged the Twoleg nests, and wondered where SkyClan’s territory had been. The border must have been near here, if they had been driven out when the Twolegs built their nests. When they built his old Twoleg nest, Firestar realized with a jolt. His paws prickled at the thought that he might have once lived in part of SkyClan’s old territory!
    Cloudtail and Thornclaw had vanished among the trees to search for prey. Firestar dragged his thoughts away from SkyClan. He had a Clan to feed. He opened his jaws; a strong scent of mouse flowed over his scent glands, and he spotted the creature scrabbling at the edge of a bramble thicket. Dropping into the hunter’s crouch, he prowled forward, setting each paw down as lightly as a falling leaf.
    But before he came within pouncing distance, a white blur appeared at the corner of his eye. He whipped his head around, furious with Cloudtail for creeping up on him. Go and catch your own prey! But the white blur had vanished, and a wisp of now-familiar scent told him that it hadn’t been Cloudtail after all. The SkyClan leader had crossed his path once more.
    Firestar stood still, his tail flicking back and forth. “Are you there?” he called softly. “What do you want? Come and talk to me!”
    There was no reply.
    By now the mouse had vanished. Firestar opened hismouth and breathed in, trying to track down more prey. His ears strained to pick up the least sound of tiny paws; instead, all he could hear was a furious yowling and scuffling that broke out somewhere ahead, near the Twoleg fence. Was something—maybe a Twoleg dog—attacking his warriors?
    He raced through the trees until he came to the edge of the wood. Ashfur and Brambleclaw were scuffling with an unfamiliar black-and-white cat. Brambleclaw had climbed onto the cat’s back, clawing at its neck fur, while Ashfur bit down hard on the end of its tail.
    The black-and-white cat was writhing on the ground, his flailing paws barely touching his attackers. “Get off me!” he yowled. “I need to see Rusty—I mean Firestar!”
    Firestar suddenly recognized the disheveled bundle of black-and-white fur. It was Smudge, the kittypet who had been his friend before Firestar left his Twolegs to live in the forest.
    â€œStop!” He ran over to the wrestling cats, lowering his head to butt Brambleclaw hard in his flank. Brambleclaw slid off Smudge’s back, glaring up with a furious hiss that broke off when he realized who had interrupted the fight.
    â€œLeave him alone,” Firestar ordered.
    â€œBut he’s an intruder,” Brambleclaw protested, scrambling to his paws and shaking dust from his pelt.
    â€œA kittypet intruder,” added Ashfur, reluctantly letting go of Smudge’s tail.
    â€œNo, he’s not,” Firestar corrected them. “He’s a friend. What are you two doing