“Shove off, flea-pelt,” Billystorm hissed. “Go and chase beetles.” He didn’t seem frightened, just annoyed. Turning his back on the dog, he led the way along the top of the fence. Leafstar began to follow him, only to freeze again as another flurry of barking broke out from the next Twoleg den.
“It’s okay,” Billystorm meowed, glancing back. “This dog is usually shut in the house.”
“‘Usually’ isn’t ‘always,’” Leafstar muttered as she forced her paws to move again.
They had crept several fox-lengths along the fence when Leafstar heard a rattling noise. Her belly fluttered as a small door in the big Twoleg door swung open. But no dog appeared; instead a dark tabby tom slid through the opening. He brought with him a waft of familiar scent, and there was a distinctive shape to his pricked ears.
“Shortwhisker!” Leafstar gasped. “No—sorry—I mean Hutch.” She leaped down from the fence and bounded across the garden to touch noses with the dark tabby.
Billystorm followed more slowly. “You two know each other?” he asked, looking stunned.
“Oh, yes,” Leafstar replied. “Hutch used to belong to SkyClan, back in the early days when Firestar was with us. But he decided that being a kittypet suited him better.”
“The life of a warrior wasn’t for me,” Hutch declared quite cheerfully. “It’s good to see you again, Leafstar. The Clan must be doing well—you look almost as well fed as me.” He paused, looking Billystorm over from ears to tail-tip. “What do you want, trespassing on my territory?”
“He’s with me,” Leafstar meowed. “He’s my Clanmate.”
Hutch looked puzzled. “But I’ve seen him around here before. Isn’t he a kittypet?”
“Er… I’m sort of both,” Billystorm admitted, giving his shoulder a couple of embarrassed licks.
“Both? Can’t you make up your mind?” Hutch asked with a disdainful sniff.
“There are several cats like that in SkyClan now,” Leafstar put in. “They come to the gorge for training and hunting, and then go back to their housefolk at night.” She hesitated and then added, “You could do that if you want to, Hutch. You could be Shortwhisker again.”
For a heartbeat she thought that Hutch might agree. Then he shook his head. “I’m sorry, Leafstar. I like my life as it is. But it’s still great to see you,” he added warmly. “I’m glad SkyClan is still there.”
“Always,” Leafstar promised, hoping that it was true.
Hutch turned his head at the sound of a Twoleg voice calling from the nest. “I’d better go,” he went on with a touch of wistfulness. “Good-bye, Leafstar. Say hi to all my old Clanmates for me.”
“I will.” Leafstar touched noses with Hutch again before he bounded back across the garden and into the Twoleg den.
I wonder if I should have tried harder to persuade him to be a daylight-warrior, she wondered as she followed Billystorm back onto the fence. He has skills we could use, learned from Firestar and Sandstorm. Maybe Sagepaw and Ebonyclaw would be more willing to take orders from him than the other Twolegplace cats.
Billystorm led her down from the fence, across an alley, and through a half-open gate into yet another enclosed square of grass. “This is where Snookpaw lives,” he announced.
To Leafstar, the Twoleg nest looked exactly like all the others they had passed. “How do you know?” she asked.
“The blue pots over there,” Billystorm replied, pointing with his tail to some round shiny things near the nest door. “The scent of the herbs by the fence. And the little birch tree in the middle of the grass.”
“Okay, if you’re sure.” Leafstar narrowed her eyes. The tree was a spindly thing trapped in a circle of earth in the middle of a patch of grass. It’s not a proper forest tree.
She tasted the air for Snookpaw’s scent, but there was such a mingled smell of Twolegs and monsters that she couldn’t pick up any trace of it. He must still be shut in. He certainly hasn’t been out here recently.
She and Billystorm crept closer to the nest until they could hide behind a big green object with round paws. Leafstar wrinkled her nose at the rotting scent of Twoleg rubbish that came from it.
“Snookpaw!” Billystorm let out a low wail. “Snookpaw, we’re here! Come out!”
Leafstar joined her voice to his, but there was no sign of the apprentice. Every hair on her pelt prickled with fear. Have the Twolegs taken him away?
She was almost ready to give up, when she spotted a small black-and-white head pop up inside one of the windows.
“There he is!” Billystorm yowled.
Their pelts brushing, the two cats raced up to the window and jumped onto the narrow ledge outside it. Snookpaw pressed his nose against the shiny stuff that filled the window space. Leafstar thought he looked thin and sorry for himself.
“Snookpaw, are you okay?” she meowed.
“I’ll be fine,” Snookpaw replied, his voice faint because of the shiny stuff in the way. “Leafstar, I can’t believe you came here!”
I can’t believe it, either.
“We can’t talk to him like this,” Billystorm muttered with an annoyed flick of his tail. “Leafstar, do you think you could get in through there?” He angled his ears toward a tiny open window at the top of the big closed one.
Go inside a Twoleg nest? I didn’t plan on that. “What about the Twolegs?” she asked. “They won’t want strange cats inside their den.”
“They’ve gone out,” Snookpaw told her, stretching up to press his forepaws against the window. “Why don’t you come in? I’m lonely all on my own here.”
Leafstar was still reluctant, but she wouldn’t let her nervousness show in front of her Clanmates. “It’ll be a tight squeeze,” she replied, eyeing the gap doubtfully, “but I’ll give it a try.”
A vine was growing up the side of the window; Leafstar used the tough stem to claw her way up. Scrabbling with her hind paws she forced her way through the narrow gap and plopped down onto the floor of the Twoleg nest. Billystorm dropped down beside her a couple of heartbeats later.
The floor felt cold and unwelcoming underpaw, and the air was filled with unfamiliar scents. There was a faint buzzing noise in the air. Huge shiny objects lined the walls of the den; Leafstar thought they were gazing at her in the dim light, waiting for the right moment to pounce.
Every hair on Leafstar’s pelt began to rise. There was too much to take in at once, and all her muscles were shrieking at her to flee. Taking a few deep breaths, she made herself stand her ground.
“What’s going on, Snookpaw?” she hissed.
Snookpaw didn’t reply right away. “Come this way,” he mewed, waving his tail. “It’s better through here.”
Keeping low, Billystorm and Leafstar crept through an open door into a different part of the den. Here the floor was covered with something like grass, but it was short and much softer, and made up of different bright colors.
“Weird…” Leafstar muttered, flexing her claws in it.
This area was filled with what looked like squashy boulders, in the same bright colors; remembering the pile of Twoleg waste, Leafstar recognized what Snookpaw had called a sofa. She watched as the apprentice sprang up onto it and settled down; it looked comfortable, but Leafstar decided not to join him, preferring to stay on her paws with one eye on her escape route.
“We’ve missed you, Snookpaw,” she meowed. Her voice sounded strange in the enclosed space, muffled by the fuzzy floor and the sofas. “Why haven’t you been back to the gorge?”
Snookpaw looked at his paws, and gave one of them a lick. “I had a pain in my chest. My housefolk took me to the medicine Twoleg, and he gave me some sort of weird food to eat—things like white seeds, and they taste foul.”
“You would be better off with herbs from Echosong,” Leafstar told him. “I’ll bring you some, if you like.”
“No, thanks, Leafstar.” Snookpaw shook his head. “I’m feeling better now. Besides, my housefolk hardly ever leave me alone. This is the firs
t time I’ve been on my own since I came back from the gorge, so you probably won’t be able to get in here again.” He heaved a deep sigh. “I really miss being in the Clan.”
Gloomily he stared out of the window. Following his gaze, Leafstar could see nothing but a small patch of sky and a Twoleg fence. He can’t see any real trees, she realized, sharing his pain. She felt trapped and hot, and couldn’t figure how any cat could stand being inside here all day and all night, without even the chance to feel earth beneath their paws.
While Leafstar had been talking to Snookpaw, Billystorm had been padding around the den, poking his nose into corners and giving everything a good sniff. Leafstar wondered how he had the confidence; she had a hard time not freezing into a crouch with her eyes closed, trying to shut out the stifling sights and smells.
“This nest isn’t too bad,” Billystorm meowed, returning from his explorations. “I hope your housefolk gave you a comfortable place to sleep.”
“I’ll show you,” Snookpaw invited, jumping down from the sofa.
Waving his tail, he led them back into the first area and pointed to a small squashy boulder in one corner. Its bright surface was covered in Snookpaw’s fur, and heavy with his scent.
“That looks … nice,” Leafstar murmured politely, though privately she thought the moss and bracken of the dens in the gorge was much better for sleeping.
“And there’s my food bowl,” Snookpaw added, twitching his whiskers toward a brightly colored Twoleg thing half full of small brown pellets.
“They feed you rabbit droppings?” Leafstar gasped. “Do they want you to get sick?”
“No, that’s a special sort of Twoleg food for kittypets,” Billystorm explained. His eyes glimmered with amusement and he gave Leafstar an affectionate nudge with his shoulder. “Try one.”
Leafstar shot him a doubtful look. The last thing she wanted was to put one of the shriveled brown things into her mouth, but it would be cowardly to refuse. She padded up to the bowl and sniffed. Yuck! Delicately she picked up a single pellet and rolled it around on her tongue; the den was so full of harsh smells that she couldn’t really taste anything. Just as well, she thought, if it tastes anything like it looks!
Just then Leafstar heard the sound of a monster, growing rapidly louder and then cutting off abruptly. Alarm sprang into Snookpaw’s eyes and his fur bristled.
“My Twolegs! They’re back!”
Leafstar gulped down the pellet, almost choking. “We’ve got to get out of here!” she rasped.
Even while she was speaking she heard a harsh clicking sound, and footsteps just beyond the den wall. For a few heartbeats her terror paralyzed her.
“I’ll delay them! You climb out, quick,” Snookpaw mewed. With a whisk of his tail he vanished through another door.
Billystorm was already streaking across to the window and leaped up to the opening in one massive bound. “Come on,” he urged Leafstar, balancing precariously. “I’ll pull you up.”
Leafstar bunched her muscles and put all her strength into her jump. She felt her front paws land on the edge of the window, and slid out her claws to grip. Billystorm’s teeth met in her scruff.
At the same moment she heard Snookpaw, somewhere out of sight, his voice raised in loud mewing. “Oh, I’ve missed you! Where did you go? Stroke my ears! I’m feeling better now.”
Billystorm dragged Leafstar through the open window and both cats tumbled onto the stony path outside the nest in a tangle of legs and tails.
A last yowl came from Snookpaw. “Run!”
Leafstar didn’t need telling twice. With Billystorm beside her, she raced across the garden and out through the half-open gate.
“Just get us back to the gorge!” she panted to Billystorm, and added silently to herself, I’ll chew my own tail off before I come here again!
CHAPTER 18
“Leafstar, I’m so sorry!” Billystorm wailed. “I should never have let you get into danger like that. I wasn’t thinking.”
The two cats had crossed the border of SkyClan territory and were heading across the open grassy stretch toward the edge of the gorge. Leafstar paused, thanking StarClan for the clean air and yielding earth of her home.
“It wasn’t your fault, Billystorm,” she meowed.
The ginger-and-white tom refused to be reassured. “It was my fault,” he insisted. “I should have been more careful. But I promise you, the Twolegplace isn’t always as dangerous as that.”
“I’m sure it’s not,” Leafstar responded as they went on. “It’s just that I’m not used to it.” Inwardly her heart was still pounding, and she didn’t ever want to go back to the Twolegplace. She watched Billystorm moving confidently through the long grass at the top of the cliff, his ears pricked and his nostrils flared.
He’s a warrior! How can he stand living somewhere like that?
“Don’t you miss being outside, under all this sky, with the wind and the scent of trees in your fur?” she blurted out.
Billystorm turned to face her, a puzzled look in his eyes. For a couple of heartbeats he didn’t reply. “Yes,” he mewed at last, “but I get to feel it every day when I come here.” He blinked. “It’s not a hardship for me to be in my Twolegs’ nest. I love my housefolk, and they love me.”
Leafstar still found it impossible to understand. How could any cat want to live in that world of harsh scents, loud noises, and hard surfaces underpaw? She couldn’t imagine what Billystorm’s housefolk offered that tempted him back every night.
When they reached the gorge, Sharpclaw was just returning at the head of a hunting patrol, with Cora, Shorty, Ebonyclaw, and Frecklepaw.
“Where’s Snookpaw?” he asked, dropping a squirrel onto the fresh-kill pile. “I thought you were going to rescue him.”
“He doesn’t need rescuing,” Billystorm replied. “He’s been ill, and his housefolk are keeping him inside until he’s better.”
“What do Twolegs know?” Sharpclaw gave a scornful sniff. “Snookpaw would be better off here in the fresh air, with Echosong to give him the herbs he needs.”
Leafstar agreed with him, but she saw Billystorm start to bristle at the deputy’s contemptuous tone, and thought it wasn’t a good idea to say so.
“Has any cat checked the elders’ bedding?” she meowed, to distract the two toms before a quarrel developed. “I don’t want Lichenfur complaining again.”
“Good thought,” Sharpclaw mewed with a brisk nod. “Frecklepaw, will you get onto that?”
Frecklepaw blinked, and it was Ebonyclaw who replied, “All by herself?” Her tone was sharp. “Mintpaw and Sagepaw are out on patrol.”
“I don’t mind—” Frecklepaw began, only to be interrupted by Cora, who padded up from the fresh-kill pile.
“We’ll help, won’t we, Shorty? We said we’d do apprentice tasks.”
The brown tom nodded. “We’re happy to. Especially when Snookpaw isn’t here. It’s a shame his Twolegs won’t let him out.”
“I hope he’ll be okay,” Cora added.
“I’m sure he will. He’ll be back soon,” Leafstar assured them.
Mollified, Ebonyclaw stepped back, and Frecklepaw went off happily with the two warriors toward the elders’ den. Leafstar watched them go, impressed by how willingly Cora and Shorty had offered their help, and their concern for Snookpaw.
They’re really starting to fit into the Clan.
“Leafstar! Leafstar, hurry!”
Startled by Cherrytail’s voice raised in an excited yowl, Leafstar turned to see the young tortoiseshell warrior bounding down the trail.
“Come quick,” she puffed as she leaped down the last couple of tail-lengths to land in front of Leafstar. “There’s something you have to see.” Without waiting for a response, she whipped around and bounded back up the trail.
Leafstar exchanged a baffled glance with Sharpclaw, then followed, catching up to Cherrytail at the top of the cliff. “What’s all this about?”
“I was on a border patrol
with Sparrowpelt, Petalnose, and Sagepaw,” Cherrytail explained breathlessly, leading Leafstar into the woods. “We picked up that loner’s scent again, beside the rubbish heap. This time we followed it over the border—”
“You did what?” Leafstar interrupted. “Without telling me or Sharpclaw? You know you shouldn’t do that.”
“Sorry,” Cherrytail meowed, not sounding repentant in the least. “We didn’t go far. And we found him, though he doesn’t know it yet!”
Leafstar felt even more puzzled as she followed the young cat through the woodland and past the clearing with the heap of Twoleg waste. She smelled fresh scent markers as they crossed the border; a few fox-lengths farther on Cherrytail dropped to a crouch and crept forward through a belt of thick undergrowth.
Petalnose, Sagepaw, and Sparrowpelt were waiting in the shelter of a bramble thicket.
“He’s still here!” Sparrowpelt whispered excitedly, waving his tail toward a nearby clump of fern.
Peering through the fronds, Leafstar spotted a skinny, cream-colored tom as he leaped into a beech tree, easily gaining the lowest branch. As she watched he climbed higher, jumping from branch to branch and crossing from one tree to the next, where he leaped down to the ground again. As far as she could see, he wasn’t stalking anything. He’s just having fun!
“He’s like us!” Cherrytail hissed, pressing up to Leafstar’s side. “He must be descended from Old SkyClan.”
Leafstar could see what Cherrytail meant. The loner had powerful hind legs for jumping and climbing, and now he was walking comfortably on a stretch of pebbles underneath the trees as if his pads were naturally tough enough to cope with the rough surface.
“Let’s go and talk to him,” Sparrowpelt urged.
“Wait a moment.” Leafstar raised her tail. “Look, he’s just spotted a bird.”
The cream-colored tom had focused his gaze on a thrush perched on a branch of the beech tree he had climbed at first. He clawed his way up the trunk of the tree next to it, keeping to the side away from the bird. Leafstar watched as he crept out onto a branch some way above the thrush and slid cautiously back into the beech tree. She remembered her hunt with Cora, when she had executed almost the identical move.