Satisfied that Jagged Peak wasn’t badly hurt, Gray Wing signaled for Wind and Gorse to come close.
“I asked Tall Shadow if you can join us,” he murmured. “She says you can stay for tonight; after that you need to leave. But she will think about it,” he added as Gorse and Wind exchanged a disappointed glance. “She just needs time to come to the right decision and invite you to join us for good.”
Wind nodded. “I can understand that.”
“Yes,” Gorse agreed. “It’s a big step for her to take.”
“Don’t worry,” Turtle Tail murmured, touching Wind’s shoulder with her tail. “I wasn’t sure if I would be invited back. But here I am.”
Gray Wing glanced around to see Jackdaw’s Cry still telling the story of Jagged Peak’s rescue to his denmates. He beckoned them closer with a wave of his tail.
“You know Jackdaw’s Cry, of course,” he meowed to Wind and Gorse. “Have you met his mate, Hawk Swoop? And these are their kits, Acorn Fur and Lightning Tail.”
“And I’m Shattered Ice,” the white tom announced, bringing up the rear as the whole group padded up to greet the newcomers.
“Pleased to meet you,” Wind responded, with a polite dip of her head, while Gorse murmured greetings.
The two kits crowded up, their eyes shining as they gazed at Wind and Gorse. “Do you really hunt rabbits down their burrows?” Acorn Fur asked. “Will you teach us how to do it?”
“All in good time,” Gray Wing told her. He was glad to see how his denmates were welcoming the moorland cats, but he had to remind himself that they weren’t part of the group yet. “Meanwhile, I’m sure Wind will tell you all about it. And maybe you’d like to share some prey?” he added to Wind and Gorse.”
“We sure would!” Gorse replied, swiping his tongue around his jaws.
With the sun sinking below the horizon, the cats gathered together in the middle of the camp, grooming themselves or quietly talking to the newcomers. Gray Wing was pleased to see how well Gorse and Wind were fitting in, and hoped that Tall Shadow was taking notice. He was glad to see too that Turtle Tail had been accepted, and was crouching comfortably beside Rainswept Flower.
As Gray Wing watched, Rainswept Flower got up to bring out the rabbit she had caught earlier that day and Jackdaw’s Cry contributed a couple of mice. Lightning Tail and Acorn Fur fetched Gray Wing’s rabbit, which they had carried back to the camp.
“So what did you two catch today?” Cloud Spots asked Shattered Ice and Thunder. “You know, when you went off on your own.”
Gray Wing saw the two cats exchange an embarrassed glance. “I caught a shrew,” Thunder replied, “but I had to leave it behind when we heard the dogs.”
Cloud Spots sniffed but didn’t comment, only glancing around at the others as if he thought his point was made.
“And don’t you dare do anything so stupid again.” Tall Shadow gave Thunder a severe look. “No young cat should go out on the moor alone. You know how dangerous it is.”
Thunder ducked his head. “Sorry,” he meowed. “I’ll be sensible in the future.”
“And we need to talk about you leading the dogs right into our camp,” Tall Shadow went on, flicking the same hard glance toward Gray Wing. “Didn’t any of you think?”
“No, and I’m sorry,” Gray Wing replied. “We panicked.”
“And we haven’t lived on the moor long enough yet to know where all the safe places are,” Rainswept Flower pointed out defensively.
“That’s a fair point,” Dappled Pelt murmured. “Maybe we should do more exploring, and work out a few escape routes in case this kind of thing happens again.”
“We’ll help with that,” Wind meowed eagerly.
Tall Shadow gave her a cool nod. “I’ll think about it.” Gray Wing guessed that she didn’t want to encourage the rogue cats to get too involved with her group.
While the prey was being shared, Rainswept Flower tore off a portion of her rabbit and took it to Jagged Peak. “Won’t you come and join us?” Gray Wing heard her ask.
Jagged Peak shook his head. He bent to sniff the rabbit, hesitated, then took a small bite. “Thanks,” he muttered.
Rainswept Flower didn’t try to persuade him anymore, just touched her nose to his ear before leaving him to it. Gray Wing was reassured that at least he was eating.
Gray Wing took some of the rabbit and went to sit beside Turtle Tail and Rainswept Flower. At once Rainswept Flower gave him an amused glance, rose to her paws and padded off to join Jagged Peak. Gray Wing blinked as he looked after her. What’s the matter with her?
“I’m so glad you’re all right,” Turtle Tail purred as Gray Wing settled down beside her. “I wanted to come and help you, but Tall Shadow said I had to think of my kits.”
“She was right,” Gray Wing responded, pressing his nose into Turtle Tail’s shoulder fur.
Twilight fell as the cats shared their stories of the day. Gray Wing told the others about the meeting with River Ripple beside the river; so much had happened since that it seemed like a long, long time ago The streaks of scarlet from the vanished sun died away, leaving an indigo sky where stars appeared one by one, glimmering peacefully above the camp.
It’s so beautiful here, Gray Wing thought. Who would ever imagine the danger we’ve been through?
Gray Wing bent his head to eat his share of the rabbit. He realized that Turtle Tail was watching him with admiring eyes.
“It sounds as if you had quite an adventure,” she mewed. “Jagged Peak would have died if you hadn’t been so quick-thinking… and lucky.”
Gray Wing sighed. “We were very lucky,” he agreed. Hesitantly he went on, giving voice to a fear that he had kept secret for so long. “Maybe we were wrong to make our home here on these open moors. We’re too exposed. There’s nowhere to hide from dogs, or anything else that might threaten us. There were dangers in the mountains, but at least we had the shelter of the cave behind the waterfall. We were safe there.”
Turtle Tail blinked, then flicked her ears in denial. “But where else could you have used your speed to distract the dogs and lead them away?” she asked. “Where else could Thunder and Jagged Peak have found such a good hiding place? Where else could the other cats have come to the rescue so quickly when the tunnel collapsed?”
Gray Wing began to nod slowly. What Turtle Tail was saying made a lot of sense.
“This is the perfect home for us,” she went on, brushing her pelt against his. “Look at the kits,” she added, flicking her tail-tip to point across the hollow to where Acorn Fur and Lightning Tail were stuffing themselves with prey. “They’ve survived, they’re strong and healthy, and that proves this is a good place—as long as Clear Sky doesn’t spoil it. I can’t wait to see my own kits thriving here.”
The question that had been burning inside Gray Wing for many moons rose up again. “If you’re so sure we belong here, Turtle Tail, why did you leave us to live with Twolegs?”
Turtle Tail’s ears flicked up and her eyes widened; clearly she was taken aback. “That had nothing to do with not being sure that the moor was the right place for us,” she replied.
“Then why?” Gray Wing persisted.
Turtle Tail shook her head, still unwilling to talk about what had upset her. “This rabbit is delicious,” she meowed a heartbeat later, pushing the last scraps over to him. “Much fatter prey than we caught in the mountains!”
“That’s true,” Gray Wing agreed, knowing he had to accept the change of subject. But what is she keeping from me? he asked himself, bewildered.
He looked up at the wide stretch of stars over the moor, brilliant in the clear sky. All around him he could hear the comfortable murmur of his denmates, full-fed and sleepy.