Rainswept Flower gave a last pat to the fresh moss. “We could do with some more of that,” she mewed, more like her cheerful self again. “Jagged Peak, come and help me collect it. We don’t want to crowd Turtle Tail.”
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.