“It’s okay,” Gray Wing responded, resting the tip of his tail on Thunder’s shoulder. “You’ll do better next time.”
Glancing at Thunder’s huge white paws, he could understand why the kit was so clumsy. He was obviously going to grow into a big, powerful cat, but he was at the gangly awkward stage now, not in full control of his movements. His time will come, Gray Wing thought. He just needs to be patient.
“I want to try now,” Acorn Fur meowed. “If you haven’t scared all the prey away.”
“What?” Thunder’s eyes widened indignantly. “If you hadn’t—”
Gray Wing raised a paw to stop the bickering. “We’ll look for more prey,” he began. “There’s bound to be something.”
“There!” Lightning Tail pointed with his tail.
Gray Wing turned to see a small flock of birds pecking at the grass near the rocky outcrop where the mouse had vanished. He nodded. “Go for it.”
Lightning Tail at once dropped into a crouch like Thunder, as if Gray Wing’s instructions had passed right over his head.
“Run, flea-brain!” Acorn Fur squealed at her brother. She took off, racing across the grass with her tail streaming out behind her.
Watching, Gray Wing admired her speed, but she was letting out excited little squeaks as she ran. A few birds had already flown off at the sound of her first squeal, and the rest of the flock rose into the air long before she got anywhere near them.
Lightning Tail, who had followed her as soon as he realized his mistake in trying to stalk, halted and turned back with a disgusted expression. “Now who’s a flea-brain?” he asked.
Gray Wing shook his head, trying to hide his amusement. “You all still have a lot to learn,” he murmured.
He was waiting for the two kits to come back when he was distracted by Thunder thrusting himself into a tremendous leap. Gray Wing saw that one of the birds had alighted a short distance away. Thunder’s front paws reached out and batted the bird to the ground as it fluttered up in a vain attempt to escape.
The young cat straightened up with the limp body of the bird in his jaws. His eyes were shining. “I got one!” he announced, his voice muffled by his mouthful of feathers.
For a moment Gray Wing couldn’t give him the praise he deserved. That massive leap had reminded him too much of Clear Sky, Thunder’s father. Like when he killed that hawk, not long before we left the mountains.
The pain of remembering the days when he and his brother were so close washed over Gray Wing again. He hadn’t ventured into the forest or tried to see his brother since Clear Sky had refused to acknowledge Thunder as his son, and that had been before the cold season started. At their last meeting, Gray Wing had even declared that Clear Sky was no longer his brother. The loss of his closest family member felt like a thorn in Gray Wing’s heart, but he couldn’t forgive him for the harsh rejection of Thunder.
Gray Wing sighed. I’ve been trying to raise Thunder to show kindness and compassion—but is Clear Sky’s character going to come out in him, no matter what I do?
A soft mrrow of greeting sounded behind Gray Wing, distracting him from his dark thoughts. He turned to see a tortoiseshell she-cat bounding toward him. His eyes widened and delight flashed through him like a ray of sunshine at the sight of her. Turtle Tail! She’d come with them down from the mountains and been a faithful friend, until . . . But no. I won’t dwell on that now.
“Turtle Tail!” he exclaimed. “How did you find us?” She’d left the mountain cats before they’d moved into their new camp.
“I went to the hollow where we used to live,” Turtle Tail explained, “and it was empty . . . just a trace of stale cat scent.” She shivered. “I thought at first foxes must have killed all of you. But I couldn’t let myself believe that, so I went on looking until I picked up a trail, and here I am!”
“It’s so good to see you!” Gray Wing told her.
Turtle Tail padded up to Gray Wing and touched noses with him. “It’s good to see you, too,” she purred. “It’s been a long time.” Glancing around at the kits, she added, “It looks as if you’ve got your paws full!”
Gray Wing nodded. He hadn’t seen Turtle Tail since she helped him to rescue Thunder from the collapsing Twoleg den. Since then, she had spent all the cold season cozily in the Twolegplace, living the life of a kittypet. I still can’t believe she’d choose to do that, Gray Wing thought, shifting his glance so that she couldn’t see his expression. To choose a life where you didn’t have to hunt prey and you wouldn’t feel a dawn breeze ruffle your fur . . . it made no sense to Gray Wing. When she’d left, Gray Wing hadn’t been able to hide his sense of betrayal, and Turtle Tail had become cold and aloof.
But it was clear that Turtle Tail’s new life suited her; she was plump and healthy-looking, with a glossy pelt and bright eyes that glowed as she gazed at Gray Wing.
“And this huge cat is Thunder?” she asked, turning to the kit, who stood close by with his prey in his jaws, looking bewildered and a bit hurt. Gray Wing realized with a twinge of guilt that he still hadn’t praised him for his catch. “He’s grown! I remember how tiny he was when we brought him into the forest and named him.”
When Thunder’s mother, Storm, had died in the debris of the Twoleg den, Gray Wing and Turtle Tail had been able to save Thunder, but his littermates and mother had been lost forever. Her fur was so soft, her eyes so beautiful . . . Gray Wing’s tail drooped and pain stabbed through his heart. I’ll never see her again.
“Look, Thunder has caught a bird! He’s going to be a great hunter.” Turtle Tail’s voice jolted him from his thoughts. When Gray Wing glanced at her, he saw instantly that she was being deliberately cheerful. It’s almost as though she could see what I was thinking. I suppose Turtle Tail knows me so well she even knows how to distract me if I’m sad.
“So he is,” Gray Wing agreed, shaking himself.
Thunder brightened at the praise, and the other two kits came crowding up. “We’re going to be brilliant hunters too,” Acorn Fur announced.
“I’m sure you are,” Turtle Tail responded. Blinking, she turned to Gray Wing. “These must be Hawk Swoop’s kits. They’re big and strong, too. Look at them!”
“Maybe you’ve been away longer than you realized,” Gray Wing meowed. But the hurt in Turtle Tail’s eyes made him immediately regret his words. “I mean, long enough for . . . well . . . ,” he stammered. “I missed you, Turtle Tail.”
The she-cat’s eyes shone. “I missed you, too, Gray Wing.”
He turned to the kits, suddenly aware that they were watching the two adult cats and drinking in every detail of the conversation. “This is Lightning Tail, and this is Acorn Fur.”
“Good names,” Turtle Tail mewed, happiness returning to her face. “I’m Turtle Tail.”
“Lightning Tail got his name because he’s always hanging around with Thunder,” Gray Wing explained. “They’re our own little storm in the making!”
Turtle Tail’s eyes gleamed with amusement and she touched noses with each of the kits.
“Go and play,” Gray Wing gently told them. He wanted to talk to Turtle Tail without the three of them listening in on every word.
They didn’t need to be told twice. With yowls of pleasure the kits went racing off, chasing one another around the gorse bush.
“How are you getting on in the Twolegplace?” Gray Wing asked, feeling suddenly awkward. He didn’t want Turtle Tail to think he was criticizing her again. “Did you make it through the cold season okay?”
“Yes, it was nice,” Turtle Tail replied lightly. “Very cozy and comfortable. Bumble and I had extra company, too—not long after I went to live there, another cat came to join us.”
“A rogue?” Gray Wing asked, finding that hard to believe.
“Oh, no,” Turtle Tail replied. “The Twolegs went away, and when they came back, they were carrying a cat—a big tom. He told us he had lived with another Twoleg, but one day his Twoleg suddenly stopped coming to feed him.”
br />
You can’t trust Twolegs, Gray Wing thought, but he had the sense not to say it out loud.
“So then the tom went to live in a place with a bunch of other cats. They were all really unhappy and whiny there, and he said that they could hear dogs barking close by. They were all cooped up together. Then the cat—they called him Tom, by the way—”
“Tom?” Gray Wing interrupted. “They called a tom, Tom? I’ll never understand twolegs.”
Turtle Tail shrugged. “Anyway, he was taken away from there by our Twolegs, and came to live with me and Bumble.”
“Did you like him?” Gray Wing asked. “Was he friendly?”
Turtle Tail hesitated, looking down at her paws. “Oh, yes, he was friendly,” she replied at last. “We got on fine.” Then she gave her pelt a shake. “It was time to leave, though. I missed my friends on the moors.”
Turtle Tail is returning to us! Pleasure raced through Gray Wing’s body, but before he had a chance to say anything, the three kits came charging back, chasing one another in circles, and skidded in a patch of loose soil, unable to stop in time. Lightning Tail barreled into Turtle Tail, who lost her balance and fell onto her back, her legs and tail waving as she let out a yowl of pain and discomfort.
Gray Wing’s eyes widened with shock as he looked at her, seeing her swollen belly for the first time. She’s expecting kits!
“Are you hurt?” he asked anxiously as he went to help her up.
Turtle Tail leaned on his shoulder, panting as she regained her paws. For a moment she was silent. Finally she let out a short puff of breath. “I’m fine . . . I think.”
Gray Wing’s gaze swiveled back to the three kits. Lightning Tail was cowering behind Thunder, his expression horrified. Gray Wing beckoned him forward with a flick of his tail. “Come and apologize to Turtle Tail,” he ordered sternly.
Lightning Tail cringed as he approached, his head down and his tail trailing behind him. “I’m really sorry,” he mewed.
“It’s okay.” Turtle Tail gave his ears a swift lick.
“Just remember not to go dashing around without looking where you’re going,” Gray Wing told him. He paused briefly, then added, “Now I thought I told you to go play.”
He waited until all three kits had bundled off, squeaking excitedly. Turtle Tail is having kits . . . who would have expected that?
“So,” he meowed to her, angling his ears at her swollen belly. “How did that happen?”
“How do you think it happened?” Turtle Tail hissed. Then her eyes softened. “I made a mistake,” she went on. “I missed you all so much. Tom seemed strong and friendly, I thought I could move on and make a new life with him. But when I realized I was expecting kits, he . . . he changed.”
Gray Wing felt a growl rising up in his throat. “If he hurt you . . .”
“Oh, no!” Turtle Tail assured him. “Tom was still friendly, but he didn’t want to make any plans for the kits with me. And Bumble seemed uncomfortable any time I mentioned them.” Turtle Tail flicked her tail-tip. “But neither of them would admit that anything was wrong.”
“So what did you do?” Gray Wing asked.
“I begged Bumble to be honest with me. She didn’t want to, but at last she told me that the Twolegs would take my kits away and give them to other Twolegs.” Her voice shook a little. “I would never see them again once they didn’t need milk from me anymore.”
“That’s dreadful!” Gray Wing exclaimed, pressing his nose into Turtle Tail’s shoulder. How could a family be torn apart like that? In the mountains and now here on the moors, the cats pulled together. Everyone helped look after the kittens—it was unthinkable that any cat would give up on their young. Well, until Clear Sky rejected Thunder, Gray Wing reminded himself.
“Bumble said Tom had asked her not to tell me the truth. And now . . . well, I’ll never trust kittypets or Twolegs again. I’ve learned who my real friends are, and all I want is to come back to you all.” She fixed her gaze on Gray Wing, her eyes wide. “Do you think the rest of them will have me?”
He felt his heart melt under her earnest gaze. “How could they not?” he mewed, glancing again at Turtle Tail’s rounded belly. For some reason, thinking of Turtle Tail carrying another cat’s kits made him feel uncomfortable. “This is where you belong.”
Gesturing with his tail, Gray Wing led Turtle Tail to the top of the hollow.
“Wow!” she exclaimed, her eyes stretching wide with admiration as she looked over their home. “What an awesome place! Much better than the old camp.”
Gray Wing nodded. “We’re safer and more sheltered here,” he said, indicating the gorse bushes with his tail.
As they headed down the slope, Shattered Ice popped out of the tunnel he was digging with Jackdaw’s Cry, earth scattered over his white pelt. When he spotted Turtle Tail he halted, his eyes narrowing.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Hi, Shattered Ice!” Turtle Tail greeted him. “It’s good to see you again.”
At first Shattered Ice didn’t respond. Instead he glanced at Turtle Tail coldly, then meowed, “You turned your back on us when the weather got cold. What makes a kittypet like you think that you’ll be welcome here now?”
Turtle Tail fluffed out her fur indignantly, almost hiding her pregnant belly. “You don’t have the right to tell any cat they can’t come onto the moor,” she retorted. “Who do you think you are, Clear Sky?”
“Look . . . ,” Gray Wing began, wincing at the mention of his brother.
Both cats ignored his attempt to intervene.
“Clear Sky has some good ideas,” Shattered Ice muttered. “I’m taking you straight down to Tall Shadow,” he went on. “She’ll decide what to do with you.”
“Turtle Tail doesn’t have to—” Gray Wing began again.
“Don’t bother trying to defend me,” Turtle Tail interrupted, her ears flattening angrily. “I’d love to see Tall Shadow again. I’ve missed her, and I don’t think she’ll need any help putting Shattered Ice in his place.”
Shattered Ice and Turtle Tail set off, joined by Jackdaw’s Cry, who had emerged from the tunnel with a startled look at Turtle Tail. Gray Wing turned to find the kits, and spotted them scrambling up onto a lichen-covered boulder, then hurling themselves off it with squeaks of excitement.
“Come on!” he called. “It’s time to go home.”
CHAPTER 2
When Gray Wing and Turtle Tail reached the bottom of the hollow, they found Hawk Swoop, Dappled Pelt, Cloud Spots, and Rainswept Flower all standing in front of Tall Shadow.
“You need to get more power into your back legs,” the black she-cat instructed them. “That way you can deal with any cat who creeps up behind you. Rainswept Flower, try it again.”
Gray Wing saw that Tall Shadow had propped a big piece of bark against one of the rocks. Rainswept Flower got into position, then kicked out strongly at the bark, dislodging it and sending scraps flying into the air.
“Much better,” Tall Shadow mewed. “Cloud Spots, you’re next.”
Gray Wing noticed that Jagged Peak was crouching a few tail-lengths away, looking on unhappily. A shiver of compassion ran through him. Life had been a struggle for Jagged Peak ever since he had fallen out of a tree and broken his leg. Clear Sky had driven him from the forest, saying he was unable to support a cat who couldn’t hunt. The moorland cats had taken him in, but Gray Wing knew how guilty his young brother felt that he couldn’t contribute much.
His ear twitched as Turtle Tail leaned over to whisper to him, distracting him from Jagged Peak’s troubles.
“I’m surprised to see Tall Shadow training the cats in fighting techniques,” she murmured. “Things must have changed around here.”
Gray Wing opened his mouth to respond, but before he could speak, Shattered Ice dashed across to Tall Shadow. “We discovered a cat in our territory!” he yowled, pointing his tail in Turtle Tail’s direction.
“Turtle Tail!” Rainswept Flower
exclaimed, dashing over to touch her nose to Turtle Tail’s ear. “Shattered Ice, she’s not just a cat,” she added, annoyance in her voice as she gazed at the white tom. “She’s our friend.”
Hawk Swoop followed her denmate, and brushed her pelt against Turtle Tail’s. “It’s good to see you,” she meowed warmly.
The other cats held back, exchanging an uncertain glance, while hostility still radiated from Shattered Ice.
Suppressing a sigh of annoyance, Gray Wing waited anxiously for Tall Shadow’s response. He knew very well how cautious the black she-cat was around strangers. Of course, Turtle Tail isn’t a stranger. But it’s still not the best way to announce that she’s back.
“Since when do we talk about territories?” Turtle Tail muttered into his ear again. “Things have really changed.”
Reluctantly Gray Wing admitted to himself that she was right. He and his denmates had become like Clear Sky and his group—much more defensive of their hunting area—since Turtle Tail was last on the moor.
When the group had first split up, and Clear Sky had taken his cats to live in the forest, every cat had thought that they would come and go freely, visiting one another as often as they wanted. But it hadn’t turned out like that, and the division between the two groups had become as hard to cross as a mountain chasm.
Tall Shadow padded over to Turtle Tail, her tail held high, while the rest of the cats gathered around curiously. Gray Wing was impressed by how noble and dignified she looked, confident in herself as their leader. Surely she couldn’t possibly be unwelcoming toward Turtle Tail? All the same, he braced himself for an awkward conversation.
Tall Shadow dipped her head politely. “Greetings, Turtle Tail,” she mewed. Flicking her tail toward the tortoiseshell’s swollen belly, she added, “And congratulations. Who is the father?”
Turtle Tail scuffled her paws uneasily. “There’s no father,” she replied, “or none that I want involved in the kits’ lives.”
Tall Shadow exchanged a glance with Gray Wing, who could hear murmurs arising from the other cats. He could see that the black she-cat understood. Turtle Tail went to live with Twolegs, and now she has kits fathered by a kittypet. The less said about that the better.