“No!” Thunder growled. “I’ve spent all day taking cats from one camp to another. I’m tired.”
“Stop acting like a kit!” Gray Wing snapped. “Clear Sky will want to know that Quiet Rain is here. He’ll be grateful you told him. It might put an end to your conflict.”
Thunder glared at Gray Wing. “And what if I don’t want to put an end to it?”
“There’s no time to sulk!” Gray Wing lashed his tail. “My mother is sick. Her wound is serious.
You can quarrel with your father another time. Go and get Clear Sky while Quiet Rain’s still well enough to talk.”
Thunder stared at Gray Wing. Was Quiet Rain that ill? “Okay,” he growled. “I’ll go.” Ignoring the frustration hardening in his belly, he headed for the camp entrance. At least he’d had something to eat.
Clearing the camp, Thunder hurried between pines creaking under the weight of snow. He scanned the shadows until he reached the Thunderpath. It cut a dark gorge between the neat pines and rambling oaks. No fresh monster tracks showed in the thick snow, and he crossed the path easily and slipped into the forest beyond.
Irritation still itched beneath his pelt. Gray Wing could have sent someone else. Thunder veered off the path to Clear Sky’s camp, heading instead for the ravine. He had his own cats to take care of—and he’d made a promise to Milkweed that he’d be back by nightfall. He’d check on them; then he’d visit Clear Sky.
By the time he reached the top of the ravine, his paws ached. Snow swirled into the small valley and settled on the brambles and gorse below. He scrambled carefully down the slippery stones, landing with a soft thump in the snow at the bottom.
“Thunder!” Lightning Tail’s happy mew greeted him as he squeezed beneath the gorse. “Where have you been?”
“Didn’t Milkweed tell you?” Thunder crossed the clearing.
“Yes, but we thought you’d be back before now.”
“It took longer than I thought.” Thunder glanced around the snowy clearing. Milkweed was peering from the den she’d woven for her kits. He could see Clover’s and Thistle’s eyes shining in the darkness beside her. Pink Eyes crouched at the edge of the clearing, chewing on a scrawny starling.
Leaf bounded across the camp, a squirrel dangling from his jaws. He nodded to Thunder as he passed.
“It looks like you’ve had good hunting today,” Thunder called after him.
Lightning Tail puffed flakes from his nose. “Pink Eyes smelled the snow coming, so we’ve been hunting all day. It might be our last chance for a while.” He flicked his tail toward the prey pile, which was nearly as full as the one at Tall Shadow’s camp.
Leaf carried the squirrel to Milkweed’s den and dropped it at the entrance.
Thunder blinked. Was he actually taking food to the queen and her kits?
“Thanks, Leaf.” Milkweed blinked gratefully from the shadows and hauled the squirrel into the brambles. “Do you want to come in and share it?”
“If there’s room,” Leaf answered.
Leaves rustled as Milkweed and the kits squeezed together and Leaf slid inside.
Thunder glanced at Lightning Tail.
Lightning Tail shrugged. “I think he feels guilty for saying she couldn’t hunt. She brought back as much prey as he did today.” He flicked his tail toward the prey pile. “You must be hungry. Have something to eat.”
“I ate at Tall Shadow’s camp,” Thunder told him.
The bracken rustled beyond the prey pile. Owl Eyes nosed his way through, shaking snow from his muzzle. “Thunder! You’re back!” He hurried across the camp.
“But I have to leave again,” Thunder explained. “I have to get Clear Sky and take him to Tall Shadow’s camp. One of the mountain cats is his mother, and she wants to see him.”
Cloud Spots had pushed through the bracken now. He looked at Thunder, blinking in surprise.
“Quiet Rain came all the way from the mountains just to see him?”
Thunder shrugged. “She wants to see Gray Wing and Jagged Peak too.”
Lightning Tail swished his tail over the snow. “I’ll travel to Clear Sky’s camp with you.”
Thunder shook his head. “I want you to guard the camp. There might be hungry foxes around.”
“Then Lightning Tail should go with you,” Owl Eyes urged. “We’ll be okay. Pink Eyes can smell a fox as far away as the moor, and Leaf and Milkweed will help me protect the kits if there’s trouble.”
Thunder stared into the young tom’s eager eyes. “Okay.”
“You can trust me to keep the camp safe.” Puffing out his chest, Owl Eyes trotted away and sat down beside Pink Eyes.
“We should leave now,” Thunder told Lightning Tail. “Clear Sky’s mother is sick. We can’t waste time.”
Lightning Tail stared at him. “Why did you come back here first?”
“I promised Milkweed I would.” Thunder avoided his friend’s gaze.
But the black cat had clearly guessed that Thunder was reluctant to return to his father’s camp.
“Don’t worry,” he mewed, nudging Thunder’s shoulder with his nose. “We’ll just tell Clear Sky about Quiet Rain and escort him to Tall Shadow’s camp. It’s the right thing to do.”
“I know,” Thunder muttered wearily. “I just wish some other cat could do it.” He headed for the gorse and wriggled underneath. Thorns scraped his pelt and snow showered onto his muzzle as he emerged on the other side. He climbed the rocks to the top of the ravine, pausing to let Lightning Tail catch up, then headed into the forest.
They made the trek to Clear Sky’s camp in silence. Thunder’s ears were pricked for foxes.
Lightning Tail’s gaze was fixed on the forest floor as he picked his way over snow-covered roots and fallen twigs. By the time they reached the bramble wall that shielded Clear Sky’s camp from the forest, Thunder was cold to the bone. He paused at the entrance and turned back to Lightning Tail.
“Let’s make this as quick as we can.”
Lightning Tail nodded, and Thunder nosed his way into the camp.
The clearing was empty. Soft snores sounded around the edge.
“Thunder?” Acorn Fur sat up in her nest. “What are you doing…” The young she-cat’s mew trailed away as she caught sight of Lightning Tail. “Have you come back?” Hope flashed in her gaze.
“No,” Lightning Tail told her softly.
Acorn Fur’s ear twitched irritably. “Then why are you here?”
“We have a message for Clear Sky,” Thunder told her.
Nests rustled around the clearing and eyes blinked from the darkness.
“Is that Thunder?” Blossom nosed her way sleepily from beneath the holly.
Alder and Birch hopped from their nests beneath the bramble. Nettle, Quick Water, and Sparrow
Fur padded from the shadows into the snowy clearing.
“What do you want?” Birch eyed Thunder suspiciously.
“I hope you haven’t come to recruit more cats,” Nettle growled. “Because none of us are joining you.”
Thunder narrowed his eyes and lifted his chin. “I’m just here to get Clear Sky.” He’d been prepared for Clear Sky’s anger, but not for the hostility of his former campmates.
Sparrow Fur padded forward. “How is Owl Eyes?”
“He’s fine,” Thunder told her. “I left him guarding our camp.”
“What about Pink Eyes?” Blossom’s tortoiseshell splotches stood out against the snow.
Lightning Tail moved beside Thunder. “He likes his new home. He’s happy there.”
“He was happy here,” Alder muttered.
Thunder returned her gaze. “So why did he leave?”
Lightning Tail stepped between them. “We didn’t wake you for gossip.”