Thunder felt a warmth spread through his pelt. Tall Shadow’s cats were making their new camp into a home. The shelter of the pines was surely safer and cozier than the hollow on the moor.
If they can do it, so can I.
He turned to Quiet Rain. “Can you continue?” he murmured.
“Of course I can,” the old she-cat hissed.
Thunder led the others through the brambles, which rattled as they stepped into the camp.
Tall Shadow hurried forward to greet him, her nose twitching, likely at the unfamiliar scents of Quiet Rain and Sun Shadow. As she stared, puzzled, at the strangers, Mud Paws and Mouse Ear appeared behind her, their pelts bristling uneasily.
Holly drew up alongside her leader. “Who is this?” she asked.
Before Thunder could answer, Quiet Rain stepped forward and met Tall Shadow’s gaze. Her speckled pelt might have clung to her bones, but she stood tall and proud. Tall Shadow seemed to sense her authority, her eyes narrowing nervously as Quiet Rain gave her a gaze that was almost… familiar.
Then Tall Shadow’s eyes widened.
“Don’t you know me?” Quiet Rain’s mew was thick with emotion.
Tall Shadow leaned forward and sniffed, her pelt seeming to bristle with excitement. “Quiet Rain? Is that you?”
Holly shifted beside her. “You know this cat?”
Quiet Rain purred, her chest crackling. “She knows me well.” She lifted her muzzle as Tall Shadow bounded forward and wove around her. Thunder felt relief tingling in his skin as her gaze flicked to the second cat.
“You must be Moon Shadow’s kit! You look so much like him. You…”
Tall Shadow’s words trailed off, her eyes shutting tight as if to stifle the ache in her heart. The loss of her littermate clearly still hurt her, but she shook her head clear of it, her face filling with delight to gaze upon his son.
Sun Shadow gave a solemn nod.
Thunder saw Tall Shadow freeze. He stepped forward, leaning close to her ear. “They know about Moon Shadow and Bright Stream,” he murmured, “but that’s all I’ve told them of their old
Tribemates.”
Quiet Rain was glancing around the camp, her eyes glistening with hope. “Where is Gray Wing?”
Tall Shadow hesitated.
“What’s wrong?” Quiet Rain jerked around to stare accusingly at River Ripple. “Is that why you kept prattling like a magpie all the way here? Are you hiding more sorrow from us?”
River Ripple gazed steadily back at her but said nothing.
Tall Shadow gripped the earth with her claws. “Gray Wing isn’t here at the moment.” She looked to Thunder. “Have you seen him?”
Thunder frowned at her. “Why would I have seen him? He lives here now.”
Holly’s ears twitched. “He left the camp a few days ago.”
“He’s missing?” Quiet Rain blinked at Thunder. “You said he’d be here!” She scanned the clearing again. “Are Clear Sky and Jagged Peak missing too?”
Sun Shadow’s spine fur stood on end. “What else are you hiding from us?”
Tall Shadow looked desperately at Thunder. Sun Shadow’s bony flanks were quivering, while
Quiet Rain swayed on her old, weak legs.
Thunder’s tail drooped. I’ve only succeeded in bringing them more grief.
Paws pattered toward them. “I smell infection.” Pebble Heart was hurrying across the clearing.
He stopped beside Quiet Rain and began sniffing at her pelt.
She flinched away. “Who’s this?”
“Pebble Heart,” Tall Shadow told her. “He has the power to heal.”
“I know herbs that might help you,” Pebble Heart mumbled modestly. He sniffed Quiet Rain’s pelt once more, stopping as he reached the blackened wound on her hind leg. “Is this your only injury?” he asked.
Quiet Rain snorted. “The only one worth mentioning.”
“It needs a poultice,” Pebble Heart told her. “I’ll make you one. Please rest while I do. And eat.
You will need strength to fight this infection. It’s gone deep.” He nodded toward the prey pile, then hurried toward his den.
Quiet Rain watched him go. “At least there’s one cat who’s honest.”
“We are all honest!” Tall Shadow bristled, meeting Quiet Rain’s gaze with a fierce one of her own. “Pebble Heart is right. You need to rest. There is much you need to know, but I’m not telling you anything while you look like you might fall over at any moment.”
Thunder looked at the old she-cat, wondering how she’d react to Tall Shadow’s bluntness. Then a purr sputtered in Quiet Rain’s throat. “You have your father’s temper.”
“And I see where Clear Sky got his spirit.” Tall Shadow headed for Pebble Heart’s den. “Follow me.”
Thunder stayed close to Quiet Rain as she approached the den—just in case her tired legs gave way.
Quiet Rain sniffed. “It smells of sap!”
Tall Shadow halted beside the den entrance. “Pebble Heart is mixing herbs to treat your wound.”
As she spoke, Pebble Heart slid out, a leaf folded in his jaws. He dropped it beside Quiet Rain.
“Lie down, please.”
She glanced at him warily, but followed his order and careful lowered herself onto the ground.
Thunder could see relief soften the old cat’s face as she rested.
Pebble Heart unfolded the leaf with his paw, then lapped up some of the green pulp inside and began to wash it into Quiet Rain’s wound.
She winced, but made no sound.
“Will it heal?” Sun Shadow leaned forward.
“In time,” Pebble Heart murmured between licks.
Tall Shadow signaled to Mud Paws and Mouse Ear with a flick of her tail. “We’ll need more prey.”
Mouse Ear nodded. “We’ll hunt.”
“I found a stash of beechnuts while we were out this morning,” Mud Paws meowed. “Where there are nuts, there are squirrels.”
The two toms crossed the clearing, brushing past River Ripple as they headed out of camp.
Tall Shadow stepped away from Quiet Rain and Pebble Heart, coming to stop at Thunder’s side.
“Thank you for bringing them here.”
Thunder shrugged. “She wanted to see you and Gray Wing.”
Tall Shadow’s whiskers twitched with worry. “If you see any sign of Gray Wing, please tell him to come home.”
“I will.” Thunder dipped his head.
At the edge of his vision, he saw River Ripple shifting his paws impatiently. “I must get back to the island. The others will wonder where I am.”
Tall Shadow’s green eyes brightened with hope. “Did you accept Dappled Pelt and Shattered Ice into your group?”
“Of course.” The silver tom purred. “They were welcome and have settled in well. Night and Dew have been teaching Dappled Pelt to swim.” Thunder shuddered at the thought. “She caught her first fish yesterday. She might have been born in the mountains, but she moves like an otter in the water.”
“Did you say Dappled Pelt?” Quiet Rain’s raspy voice called across the clearing.
“She and Shattered Ice live with River Ripple now,” Tall Shadow called back.
“Mountain cats living beside water?” Quiet Rain blinked as Pebble Heart worked on her wound.
“Don’t forget, we were raised behind a waterfall.” Thunder saw Tall Shadow’s eyes glaze over at the distant memory. “Perhaps Dappled Pelt missed the sound of it lulling her to sleep.”
Thunder’s heart suddenly felt heavy. So many cats had made so many choices—from long before the time he was born. Each time they did, it brought changes to the cats, to the groups, to the camps… huge changes—new lines of territory, and occasional death. Not all the choices had been good ones.