A Dangerous Path Quotes
"The sun was going down, casting long shadows across the..."
"Fireheart’s fur bristled with disbelief and fury as he gazed..."
"The sky was growing pale with the first light of..."
"Fireheart opened his eyes and blinked in the uncomfortably bright..."
"The forest was dark. No moon shone down that night,..."
"As her Clan stared at her in horror, Bluestar spun..."
"The stars of Silverpelt blazed from a clear sky, and the..."
""Keep well back," Brackenfur warned. "This is a dangerous place.""
"A full moon crossed the sky behind thin wisps of..."
"The forest was beginning to recover, but as leaf-fall approached, growth would slow down. Fireheart was still worried that his Clan was heading for a cold and comfortless leaf-bare."
"Good work," Sandstorm murmured, padding up to him.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about," Fireheart protested. His fur suddenly felt hot, and prickled as if ants were crawling through it.
"What’s the point of knowing the warrior code if all you do is ignore what it says?"
"StarClan sent him?" He snorted. "I’ll believe that when hedgehogs fly."
"That’s just what I would do! I don’t want my kits to grow up feeling torn between two Clans."
"Here," he meowed as he dropped it. "I know prey must be scarce since the fire. That should help a bit."
"I’ve seen the way you look at them," she mewed at last. "Especially Bramblekit. It’s not his fault that he looks exactly like Tigerstar."
"StarClan have not explained that to me," meowed Runningnose. "I wondered if it was because Brokentail was still alive, and StarClan still recognized him as Clan leader."
"The forest can be dangerous if you’re not used to it."
"Why are you bothering about Twolegs? They’re weird, and that’s all there is to it."
"No, I think they know what they’re doing, even if it looks weird to us," Fireheart replied.
"They usually bring their kits or their dogs to the forest—but these Twolegs didn’t."
"Besides, we don’t normally see Twolegs in this part of the forest. They’re too close to the camp for my liking."
"You can tell the patrols to keep a lookout," she reminded him.
"Something was going on in the forest that he didn’t understand, and he could not help fearing that it meant danger for his Clan."
"We’ll follow the RiverClan border up toward Fourtrees," Fireheart decided. "There might be something there worth catching."
"It’s not exactly a problem," replied the gray warrior. "At least, I hope it isn’t. Just something I thought you ought to know."
"Perhaps Tigerstar’s just getting to know her," Fireheart guessed. "She’ll be Clan leader, after all, when Crookedstar dies."
"She won’t be here," Graystripe objected. "She’s not strong enough to swim the river."
"Then where has she gone?" Mistyfoot’s voice rose into a wail.
"I’ll follow the border up to Fourtrees to see if she’s gone that way. Sandstorm, you go back to camp. Tell the others what’s happened, and warn them not to attack Graypool if they see her."
"And Fireheart—if you need to cross onto RiverClan territory to bring Graypool home, you can tell any cat who sees you that I gave you permission."
"I haven’t seen you for moons," Graypool went on. "Where have you been hiding yourself?"
"You might at least have come to see me," Graypool complained. "Don’t you want to know how those kits are doing?"
"Tell me whose kits they were, old crowfood," he demanded, losing his patience.
"Speckletail, is Bluestar right? Does this mean that StarClan have abandoned us?"
"StarClan haven’t shown me anything to suggest this. The camp is more exposed since the fire, so it’s not surprising that the hawk could see its prey."
"There’s something else I need to tell you," he began. He wasn’t at all sure he should be saying this, since Bluestar insisted that WindClan was responsible for the dead rabbits, but with the safety of the Clan at stake he couldn’t keep silent. "We think there’s a loose dog on ThunderClan territory. We haven’t seen it, but we’ve scented it at Snakerocks and near Fourtrees."
"Leave me alone!" There was so much venom in her voice that Fireheart stopped in his tracks.
"Every cat knows that. But now…I can’t trust her judgment, not when she isn’t making any sense."
"You should still try to understand her. Show her a bit of sympathy, at least. She deserves that from every cat."
"If I’m any more sympathetic, my fur will fall out!"
"Defending ourselves is very different from launching an attack."
"Are you saying that ThunderClan is too weak to defend itself?"
"A battle will not be fought, and blood will not be spilled."
"Listen, Gorsepaw, I want you to tell Onewhisker I’m here, but don’t let Mudclaw know, okay?"
"I can’t tell you, Onewhisker. I can’t tell any cat except Tallstar."
"I wouldn’t do this for any cat but you, Fireheart."
"Well, Onewhisker. Why have you brought Fireheart here?"
"WindClan did not steal prey from ThunderClan!"
"I know the best punishment of all. I’ll do nothing."
"I’ll let you be deputy still, and leader after me."
"But if my patrols scent WindClan one tail-length over our border..."
"I want to see you in my den, Fireheart. Now."
"I gave them up to become deputy, and now StarClan are punishing me."
"We’re going out again," meowed Cloudpaw. "We’ll keep a lookout for her."
"Don’t worry, Fireheart," she murmured. "Sandstorm’s still your friend. You need to accept that she doesn’t always see things the way you do."
"I’m still your friend too," she told him. "And I know you’ve done what you believe to be right. Now, let’s see what we can do to find Bluestar."
"You sound like a queen scolding her kit," she rasped, an edge of humor in her voice.
"Of course. Which of this pack of traitors could I ask to escort me?"
"I went to challenge them. I wanted to ask how they could justify what they have done to me, when I have served them all my life and tried to do their will."
"There is always something that a cat can do, as long as he has courage and loyalty."
"Eat your poppy seeds, Bluestar," he mewed. "You need to rest. Tomorrow everything will look better."
"StarClan wouldn’t repeat the warning if it weren’t important," she meowed.
"I’m sorry, I’ve got some bad news. Bluestar has agreed to make Cloudpaw a warrior, but—"
"Cloudpaw, from this moment you will be known as Cloudtail. StarClan honors your courage and your independence, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."
"When a warrior tells you to do something, you do it. Ask questions if you like, but afterward."
"But that’s not true, is it? You blame us. I don’t care what you’re saying now. I’ve seen the way you look at me. You think I’ll be a traitor just like he was. You’ll never trust me, whatever I do!"
"I’m tired of hanging about. I’ll meet you at the top of the ravine."
"All cats from other Clans have to have their own interests at heart. That’s what Clan loyalty means."
"The Clan needs to know. Then the Clan will have to wait. Lostface needs peace and quiet if she’s going to get better."
"It’s true. He hoped he would be made deputy in Redtail’s place, but Bluestar chose a cat called Lionheart instead."
"You’re not responsible for what your father did. You can be great warriors, completely loyal to your Clan and the warrior code."
"Work hard and be loyal to your Clan, and no cat will blame you for what your father did."
"We’ve smelled that before. When Darkstripe brought us to the border to meet our father."
"Somehow he must drive this evil out of the forest!"
"To be honest, there’s not much more I can do for her. She just needs time to get strong."
"Speckletail is still grieving in the elders’ den for Snowkit. It would do her good to have another cat to care for."
"No one will make you do anything you don’t want to."
"I’m sure you’ll be able to hunt with your good eye and ear. It’ll just take a bit of practice."
"You’re still beautiful to me. You always will be."
"It doesn’t matter what you look like. We’re still your friends."
"Let him come. You’re all traitors, so what does it matter?"
"Once they knew you weren’t dead, they coped well."
"It wasn’t hard to see that your heart had never left ThunderClan."
"We can’t decide how to get rid of these dogs until we know exactly what we have to face."
"There’s no point in upsetting her. She doesn’t have the strength to cope with this—not now."
"Understanding hit him like a rock and he could scarcely breathe for fear."
"Racing through the forest, ears pricked for the sound of the pack behind them, they headed for the camp."
"Fireheart froze. Fear was making him stupid, he realized."
"Fireheart was afraid that it might be too late to stop him."
"Fireheart knew that she would run forever if he asked her to."
"Cloudtail opened his mouth to argue, but Fireheart went on quickly."
"Fireheart shot after them and managed to catch up with them as they pushed their way through the thorns."
"Fireheart stiffened in horror, longing to protest; he wanted the comfort of their old, easy friendship, not this formal acknowledgment from a warrior to his Clan leader."