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…