As she slipped out of the den, Jagged Peak rose to his paws and limped after her, giving Gray Wing and Thunder a nod as he passed.
“See you later, Jagged Peak,” Turtle Tail called after him, and added to Gray Wing, “He seems to be feeling better. I’m so glad!”
“So am I,” Gray Wing meowed. “Look, we brought you some prey. Thunder caught them.”
“Really? Good job, Thunder,” Turtle Tail responded. “And thank you. My belly feels so empty!”
Thunder dropped the mice beside her and scuffled his forepaws in embarrassment. “I couldn’t have done it without Gray Wing.” He gazed down at the kits, his eyes wide with wonder. “They’re so small and helpless,” he murmured. His gaze gradually grew distant; Gray Wing guessed that he was remembering his mother, Storm, and his littermates, now gone forever.
Turtle Tail began eating one of the mice with rapid, famished bites. As she ate, Gray Wing watched the kittens, fascinated by their tiny, perfect bodies. Their fur was dry and fluffed out now; one of the toms had a dark gray pelt, while the other was a gray tabby with a splotch of white fur on his chest. The little tortoiseshell she-cat kept tumbling over onto her back, waving white paws in the air.
“Do you like them?” Turtle Tail mumbled around a mouthful of mouse.
“Like them?” Gray Wing could hardly find words to express what he was feeling, joy and pain at once. “They’re . . . they’re so trusting and innocent.”
Turtle Tail let out a mrrow of laughter. “You won’t think like that for much longer. Kits can be naughty, too!”
Gray Wing’s pads prickled with embarrassment. Of course I know that! What’s the matter with me?
“Have you given them names yet?” Thunder asked, stretching out one paw tentatively to stroke the tabby tom on his head.
“Not yet,” Turtle Tail replied. “It’s so difficult to decide. I think I’ll wait at least until their eyes are open.” She met Gray Wing’s gaze, her expression soft, as if she realized she had hurt his feelings by laughing. “Come closer,” she invited. “Maybe you could help the little she-cat—she’s not very coordinated!”
Gray Wing took a step forward and righted the tiny tortoiseshell, who had tipped over again and was flailing her paws frantically as she let out a loud series of squeaks. Once upright, she stumbled forward and flopped down beside Turtle Tail; her wailing stopped abruptly as she started to suckle.
The two toms snuggled in beside her. Gray Wing watched as the three of them nursed, thinking back to how Turtle Tail had said that they needed a father.
After Storm died, I accepted that I’d never have kits of my own. But now . . . His heart fluttered excitedly at the thought of helping Turtle Tail to bring up her kits.
Turtle Tail’s eyelids were drooping; she still looked exhausted, and she hadn’t managed to finish the second mouse.
“We’ll let you sleep,” Gray Wing murmured, touching Thunder on the shoulder with his tail. As they headed out of the den, he added, “Come on, let’s do some more hunting.”
Excited squealing roused Gray Wing from sleep. Blinking drowsily, he emerged from his nest and arched his back in a good long stretch. The sun shone down on the camp; the sky was a clear blue, dotted with little puffs of white cloud. A warm breeze blew from the moor, bringing the scent of prey and fresh green growth.
Across the camp, Turtle Tail’s kits had tumbled from their sleeping tunnel and were playing with Jagged Peak, who was gently pretending to fight with them and letting them climb on his back. A moon had passed since the kits were born, and all three of them were growing strong and active. Gray Wing felt warmth surge through him to see how close his brother was to the kits.
Turtle Tail sat at the entrance to the den, keeping an eye on them as she groomed her fur. Rainswept Flower and Hawk Swoop were observing them, too, from a little farther away. Hawk Swoop raised her tail to keep Lightning Tail and Acorn Fur back. “You can’t play with them yet,” she meowed. “They’re too little.”
On the other side of the camp Tall Shadow was grooming herself in her den, while Shattered Ice and Jackdaw’s Cry were on the way out to hunt. Cloud Spots was sorting through a pile of herbs, tossing out the ones that were shriveled.
Optimism rose inside Gray Wing at the sight of daily life continuing peacefully in the camp. He bounded over to join Turtle Tail. “Hi,” he meowed. “The kits are lively this morning.”
Turtle Tail nodded, her eyes full of love as she gazed at her litter. “Jagged Peak is being such a help,” she purred. “It’s wonderful to have another cat to keep an eye on them when I’m tired and you’re out hunting.”
“Jagged Peak is happier, too,” Gray Wing mewed.
As he spoke, the three kits came charging back to their mother. Jagged Peak waved his tail in farewell and settled down to give himself a thorough wash.
“I finally named them,” Turtle Tail told Gray Wing as the kits scrambled around her. “The gray tom is called Owl Eyes.”
As she spoke, the kit she named whipped around and stared at Gray Wing with wide, brilliant amber eyes.
“That’s a really good name,” Gray Wing commented.
“The tabby tom is Pebble Heart,” Turtle Tail went on, “because of the white mark on his chest, and the tortoiseshell is Sparrow Fur.”
“We like having names,” Pebble Heart informed Gray Wing, giving an excited little bounce.
“And Mother says we can go out on the moor today,” Sparrow Fur added. She butted her head against Turtle Tail’s side. “Come on! You’re groomed enough!”
Gray Wing felt amusement bubbling up inside him. Turtle Tail had her paws full with the kits, even though they were only one moon old.
“Are you sure it’s safe to take them out?” he asked Turtle Tail.
“They have to leave the camp sometime,” Turtle Tail replied. “And we’re not going far: just to the top of the hollow.”
“I’m going to catch a mouse!” Owl Eyes boasted.
“I’ll come with you if you like,” Gray Wing offered. “I think it might take two of us to keep them in order.”
“I think you’re right,” Turtle Tail responded, a gleam of pleasure in her eyes. “All right, kits, let’s go.”
The three kits charged off up the slope; Turtle Tail caught up with them and made them wait until Gray Wing had ventured onto the moor and checked that there was no sign of trouble.
The kits halted in amazement as they scrambled over the edge of the hollow and gazed around.
“It’s huge!” Pebble Heart exclaimed. “I never knew the world was this big.”
“It’s much bigger than this,” Turtle Tail meowed. “Remember the story I told you of how we traveled for days and days to get here from the mountains?”
“Can we go and see the mountains?” Sparrow Fur asked.
“Not today,” Gray Wing replied. “Today we’re just exploring around the camp.”
He and Turtle Tail strolled side by side, always staying within tail-lengths of the hollow, while the kits ran excitedly here and there, chasing butterflies and batting at beetles in the grass. It was nice to see the world through the kits’ eyes.
Owl Eyes leaped onto a caterpillar, squashing it flat. “I killed it!” he announced proudly. “I can hunt!”
“So you can,” Turtle Tail purred, and added softly to Gray Wing, “That poor caterpillar never stood a chance!”
Enjoying the kits’ antics, Gray Wing felt even happier that the recent tensions in the camp seemed to have died down. His denmates hadn’t gone on insisting that he should take over as leader. That was a huge relief, even though Tall Shadow had been cool with him since the night of the argument.
She stalked off and never heard me refuse to be leader, he realized. I hope she doesn’t think I’m trying to undermine her.
Gray Wing might have taken offense that his leader didn’t trust him, but he was enjoying the kits too much to give Tall Shadow more thought. She was still keeping watch over the camp, almost constantly
perched on her rock since Turtle Tail’s time was taken up with her kits.
Wind and Gorse had visited the camp several times, and had shown the mountain cats more good places to hunt. Gray Wing hoped that Tall Shadow would soon see the sense in allowing them to stay permanently.
He relaxed, enjoying the unusually warm day as the sun soaked into his fur. He drank in Turtle Tail’s scent, strong beside him in the sun’s heat. Then Gray Wing stiffened. He had picked up the scent of another cat, which at first he couldn’t identify; something about it reminded him of the Twolegplace. Not one of my denmates; not Gorse or Wind . . .
Then there was a flash of white paws, and a cat leaped clumsily out from a clump of gorse.
“Bumble!” Turtle Tail cried in astonishment.
Gray Wing stared at the plump tortoiseshell. This was the cat Turtle Tail had gone to live with in the Twolegplace. What is she doing here?
Bumble padded forward and dipped her head awkwardly to Turtle Tail, who didn’t respond for a moment. Gray Wing remembered how confident Bumble had been when they first met her at the place with four oaks. She looked strained now, unsure of her welcome.
I remember Turtle Tail told me that Bumble kept the truth from her, that the Twolegs would take her kits away. Is that why she looks so unhappy now?
The kits were tumbling around Bumble’s paws, but for once none of the adult cats were paying them much attention. Gray Wing picked up the smell of dried blood on Bumble’s fur; looking closer, he could spot some scratches on her legs and flanks.
Turtle Tail had noticed them too. “Who did that to you?” she asked gently, flicking her tail toward the injuries.
The kittypet lowered her head; Gray Wing could sense the pain and misery she was feeling, but she said nothing.
Turtle Tail padded up to her and touched her nose to Bumble’s ear. “Come on,” she coaxed. “You can tell me.”
“Yes,” Gray Wing added. “There’s no reason to be scared of us.”
Bumble still hesitated for a moment, blinking unhappily. “It was Tom,” she admitted at last, her voice shaking. “He turned against me once you left, because he blamed me for telling you the truth. He’s been bullying me; he swipes and scratches at me, but he’s clever enough to do it where the Twolegs won’t notice unless they really look hard.”
“I’m so sorry,” Turtle Tail mewed, giving Bumble’s ear a comforting lick.
Bumble looked up at her with desperate yellow eyes. “I don’t want to live with the Twolegs,” she declared. “Can I come and live with you? I know I treated you badly, but I can’t live with Tom anymore.”
Gray Wing glanced at Turtle Tail and moved instinctively closer to her, seeing his own alarm reflected in her eyes. There’s no way this could work!
The kits, who had been listening to all this with wide eyes, began bouncing up and down with excitement.
“Come and live with us!” Pebble Heart squeaked excitedly.
“Yes, come and live with us!” Sparrow Fur repeated.
“Hush!” Turtle Tail told her kits sternly. “Bumble, I want to help you,” she went on. “You were a good friend to me when I needed one. But you’ve been a kittypet all your life. There’s no way you’d survive in the wild, hunting for your food.”
Gray Wing knew his friend was right. Bumble was plump, with a glossy pelt and soft belly. She had a thin tendril around her neck, with a tiny glittering thing that made a tinkling sound as she moved. That would frighten off all the prey! And she had lost all her former confidence, hardly able to meet their eyes, her voice shaking as she spoke. She’d be useless and terrified, living out here.
“I could—” Bumble began.
“You spend most of your days sleeping!” Turtle Tail interrupted. “You’d be so vulnerable out here.”
Bumble looked crushed by Turtle Tail’s refusal, and for a heartbeat Gray Wing thought she was going to turn back to the Twolegplace. Then the kittypet seemed to brace herself. “Please, take me to see Tall Shadow,” she begged. “Let me ask her. I can be very convincing!”
Yes, you convinced Turtle Tail to go and live with you. Gray Wing would have refused, but Turtle Tail gave a reluctant nod, and the kits were already racing excitedly back to the hollow. Bumble followed them, with Gray Wing and Turtle Tail a pace or two behind.
Gray Wing felt a pang of resentment against Bumble, for interrupting his time with Turtle Tail and the kits. He tried not to let that influence him, but he knew that it would never work for Bumble to join them. “Tall Shadow won’t agree,” he murmured. “You know how cautious she is around other cats. She refused to take in Gorse and Wind, remember.”
“That’s why I want Bumble to ask her,” Turtle Tail responded. “Tall Shadow is bound to refuse, and then maybe Bumble will understand that she can’t live with us, and go back to the Twolegplace.”
Gray Wing nodded in agreement, then put out a paw to halt Turtle Tail before they reached the top of the hollow. “You were so kind to her,” he mewed.
Turtle Tail sighed. “I don’t have it in me to hold a grudge,” she replied. “You above all cats should know that.”
Her answer puzzled Gray Wing. “What do you mean?” he asked.
Turtle Tail looked briefly confused, as if she’d said more than she intended. “Well,” she stammered, “you know, you weren’t exactly pleased with me when I made friends with Bumble.”
Guilt clawed at Gray Wing. I had no right to tell Turtle Tail what to do. “I’m sorry,” he meowed. “I shouldn’t have been so quick to judge. Can I make it up to you now?”
“You already are,” Turtle Tail purred, brushing her muzzle against his. “You make it up to me every day you spend with the kits.”
Sudden happiness flooded through Gray Wing. “That’s easy then,” he responded. “Come on. Race you back to the hollow!”
CHAPTER 9
Gray Wing and Turtle Tail caught up with Bumble and the kits at the top of the hollow. Before they could head into the camp, Gray Wing heard a voice calling his name; Wind and Gorse appeared from behind an outcrop of rocks and bounded toward them.
“Hi,” Wind meowed, with a curious glance at Bumble. “Who’s this?”
Turtle Tail dipped her head in greeting to the two rogues. “This is a kittypet friend of mine,” she explained. “Her name’s Bumble.”
“A kittypet?” Gorse spluttered, his eyes stretching wide with scorn he didn’t bother to hide. “What are you doing, hanging out with a kittypet?”
Bumble raised her head defiantly and faced the two rogues. “I’m tired of being a kittypet,” she asserted. “I want to lie in the sun all day and catch mice and climb trees. I’m going to ask if I can join Tall Shadow’s group.”
Wind twitched her whiskers. “Good luck with that,” she muttered.
Gray Wing gave her and Gorse an uncomfortable glance. They really want to join us, and Tall Shadow won’t allow it, in spite of all they’ve done. And now this kittypet thinks she can just stroll in. . . .
He expected that Wind and Gorse would be furious, but all Gorse did was shrug. Wind mewed, “I’ll come with you. This should be interesting.”
Gray Wing wasn’t sure that was a good idea, but there was no way of stopping Wind as she headed beside them down the slope into the camp.
Tall Shadow was sitting on her rock, keeping watch as usual. No cat had taken up Jagged Peak’s suggestion of organizing groups with duties such as patrolling the edge of the hollow.
When Tall Shadow spotted Gray Wing and the others she leaped down and padded over to them. Other cats too were gathering around, casting curious glances at Bumble.
“Who’s that?” Jagged Peak asked. “She doesn’t look as if she’s short of prey!”
Turtle Tail’s kits ran ahead, bouncing excitedly up to Dappled Pelt and Cloud Spots. “Bumble is coming to live with us!” Owl Eyes announced.
Dappled Pelt and Cloud Spots looked startled, while Tall Shadow cast an accusing glance at Gray Wing. “What’s gotten into you?”
she muttered. “Why have you brought her here?”
Gray Wing gazed back at her. “She just showed up, wanting to join us. What could I do?”
“You could tell her what a mouse-brained idea it is,” Tall Shadow replied, beckoning Gray Wing a pace or two away, so that they could talk without Bumble overhearing. “Send her back to her Twolegs.”
“It’s not my job to send her anywhere,” Gray Wing responded, nettled at his leader’s tone. “She can wander all over the moor for all I care.”
Tall Shadow’s tail-tip twitched. “Including into our camp?”
“If guests aren’t welcome, it’s the first I’ve heard of it,” Gray Wing meowed. “I know as well as you do that she can’t stay here. But doesn’t she have the right to come and ask?”
Tall Shadow sniffed, then turned to Bumble, her eyes narrowed. “Why do you want to live with us?” she asked stiffly.
Bumble seemed unaware of the tensions among the cats. Gray Wing noticed that her confidence had returned, now that she had to argue her way into the camp. A few moments ago, she couldn’t even look Turtle Tail in the face!
Bumble dipped her head politely to Tall Shadow. “There’s another kittypet, Tom, who’s come to live with my Twolegs, and he’s been pushing me around,” she explained. “Just look at the scratches he gave me!” she added, thrusting a leg forward. “Have you ever seen anything so awful?”
Oh, yes, Gray Wing thought. We’ve seen much worse than that. And so will you, if you stay here.
“But why would this other cat attack you like that?” Tall Shadow asked.
Bumble slid a glance toward Turtle Tail. “I think he’s angry because she left.”
Shocked, Gray Wing took in a sharp breath. Is she suggesting that this is Turtle Tail’s fault?
Turtle Tail blinked at Bumble, obviously hurt. She was opening her jaws to speak when Sparrow Fur butted her leg. “Who’s Tom?” the kit asked.
The question distracted Turtle Tail from Bumble. “Never mind that,” she told Sparrow Fur, sounding flustered. Sweeping her tail around to gather all the kits together, she added, “Come along, all of you. It’s time for your nap.”