Book One of the How the Mighty Fall Trilogy
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Stonetail is a headstrong young warrior and the daughter of Greystar, a formidable she-cat known for her strict adherence to the code. All her life, she has practiced honor, valor, and fait...
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Greystar curtails the patrols. With all three Clans inside ShadeClan lands, border patrols are nearly obsolete. The only outside threat is Torch, and that is a truth best left secret for all but a select few. As such, the only patrols leaving camp are sent to round up every last scrap of prey they can find, even if it means raiding bird nests or fishing in the river, unconventional sources of prey. A new weight has settled over the pine woods in the wake of these changes.
That weight is called hunger.
A single Clan's territory is enough to sustain one Clan and a little more. But BreezeClan and WillowClan, even with their losses, are stretching the limits, and a mere two days after averting disaster with Torch's trail, the younger cats are beginning to pass the bulk of their food onto the elders and the queens, who need prey to survive more so than the young do. Stonetail's belly feels like it's beginning to gnaw its way out of her body, desperate for more nourishment than half a mouse and a draught of water from the closest stream (which is almost too far from camp for Greystar to allow anyone close to it). The fierce combination of fatigue and restlessness is burning up the bloodlust that initially sustained her, leaving the grey warrior with leaden paws and a headache that seems to pulse faintly in the back of her skull, not enough to be painful, but enough to disrupt her focus even in simple tasks.
Hunger makes revenge hard. She wishes she had the energy to charge into the forest, the strength of a thousand warriors in her paws, but with a wry, unamused purr, she notes she's not much stronger than a young apprentice right now, distracted and dehydrated and underfed as she is. It's not as if death is around the corner, but the discomfort is there all too plainly, and it keeps her from doing anything more than going through the motions.
Surprisingly, Coal and Clay seem nearly unaffected by the changes. The brothers look a little tired, perhaps, but their paws do not drag the way the Clan cats' do. Hunger has met them before, and though they parted ways for a time, the familiarity is not gone. Dozing in the shade of the Great Timber, Stonetail catches herself admiring their resilience before she remembers that this is not a time to admire anything. This is a time for revenge, for finding Torch, for finishing Torch.
Weakly, she wishes it could all wait until the fire in her limbs returns, but greenleaf marches on. What happens if leaf-fall returns and the other Clans still have not left? The prey will dwindle further, and cats will begin to die again. Leafbare will only claim more lives, should it come to that. All paths, it seems, lead to death if Torch is not apprehended and the Clans are not restored to their rightful territories.
"I thought I'd find you out here," Streamheart says, padding up on Stonetail's right. The silver tabby's whiskers droop, and the fur around her neck looks particularly haggard, as if she's forgotten to groom it. Stonetail wouldn't be surprised if she just didn't have the energy. After all, she barely has enough energy herself to move aside and allow her friend some space.
