Mittens lifted his nose, his eyes sparkling. “I’m heading for the ledge where they pile the fish.”
Cobweb purred. “I’ll come with you.”
Tigerheart blinked at the two cats. “You like fish?”
“All cats like fish,” Ant meowed.
Tigerheart wrinkled his nose. “Where I come from, we only eat prey with legs. Except RiverClan.”
The other cats stared at him as though he were crazy. His pelt prickled self-consciously.
Fierce whisked her tail. “I’ll take Tigerheart and Cobweb to see what food the Twolegs have brought this moon.” She nodded at Mittens, Rascal, and Ant. “You hunt for fish while Blaze and Dotty wait here.”
The patrol split, and Tigerheart followed Fierce and Cobweb as they slid from the ledges and dodged between the Twolegs streaming past. With relief, Tigerheart saw another row of ledges and ducked under it with the others.
Fierce tasted the air. “This way.” The ledges formed a tunnel, edged with Twoleg paws, and she led the way along it before dashing across another stream of Twolegs, and then another, until they reached a ledge where the scent of food was so strong, Tigerheart’s mouth began to water. Fierce stopped beneath it and glanced up at a narrow gap. A grouse’s head hung over the edge. Fierce lifted her forepaws off the ground and peered through the slit. “No one’s watching,” she whispered. Reaching up a paw, she tugged at the grouse’s head. It shifted a little, then tumbled through the gap.
Tigerheart stared down at the fat piece of prey. He couldn’t believe his eyes. A grouse in the middle of the city. Delight surged beneath his pelt. The kits were going to taste real prey today.
“Take it to Dotty, then come back here,” Fierce told him.
Eagerly, Tigerheart lifted the grouse between his jaws. The weight of it reminded him of hunting trips with ShadowClan. None of the scraps they scavenged from scrapcans weighed so much or smelled so good. Musky prey-scent filled his nose as he carried the grouse along the ledge tunnel. Peering between the brightly pelted paws of the Twolegs, he scanned the far ledges, looking for Dotty. He spotted her, crouching with Blaze beside the jutting stones. Looking both ways, he waited patiently for a gap in the stream of Twolegs that filled the space between the ledges. As the crowd eased, he darted from one row to another until he reached the stash place.
“Wow.” Blaze stared wide-eyed at the grouse as he dropped it between the stones. “I’ve never seen fresh-kill that big.”
“Fierce and Cobweb are collecting more.” As Tigerheart spoke, Rascal and Mittens dashed toward him, Ant on their tail. Each cat held a glittering fish between his jaws.
They dropped the fish between the stones.
“They’re here,” Rascal huffed.
“Who?” Alarm sparked in Tigerheart’s chest.
“Fog and her gang,” Ant told him. “They’re scavenging.”
Tigerheart peered through the maze of ledges, his fur spiking as he spotted Tuna slinking through the shadows on the far side of the clearing. Fog was with him, and an orange she-cat. Fog stopped and signaled to another group of cats nearby with a flick of her tail. How many cats did Fog have following her? Unease rippled beneath Tigerheart’s pelt.
Dotty followed his gaze, her fur pricking nervously. “There’s enough food here for everyone to share, isn’t there?” She sounded uncertain.
“If Fog wants to share it,” Tigerheart meowed darkly. He didn’t trust the smoky she-cat. She’d chased away the guardian cats’ rats. What if she wasn’t simply a mouse-brained hunter? What if she’d been trying to wreck the guardian cats’ hunt? Perhaps depriving her rivals of prey was more important than hunting. Perhaps she was just here to cause trouble, like Darktail. He nodded to Ant, Rascal, and Mittens. “Keep collecting prey. I’ll warn Fierce.”
He headed back toward the meat ledge where he’d left Cobweb and Fierce. They greeted him, eyes shining. Fresh-kill was piled at their paws. “We’ll have to make several trips back to the gathering place with a haul as big as this,” Fierce meowed happily.
“Let’s get this back to Dotty quickly.” Tigerheart nodded anxiously at the prey.
Fierce narrowed her eyes. “Is something wrong?”
“Fog and her gang are here.”
Fierce shrugged. “I guess they’re looking for food. It’s not a problem. They need to eat just like we do.”
Tigerheart gazed at her. She’d clearly never had to deal with cats like Darktail. “Not all cats want to share.”
“What do you mean?” Cobweb glanced around nervously.
“When Fog chased those rats into the trash field, did it look like she wanted to catch them?” Tigerheart stared at Fierce.
Fierce looked puzzled.
“Was she chasing them, or was she just trying to scatter them so we couldn’t catch them?” Tigerheart pressed.
Fierce frowned. “You think she wants to stop us scavenging. Why?”
“I’m not sure,” Tigerheart admitted. “But she’s camped outside your den, and we seem to trip over her wherever we go. I think she might be trying to take over your territory.”
Fierce looked unconvinced. “But we don’t have territory.”
“So you keep saying.” Exasperation tightened Tigerheart’s belly. “But you have places where you live and places where you scavenge. Imagine if you couldn’t live beneath the gathering place anymore. Imagine if you had to fight every time you wanted to rummage through your favorite scrapcans.” He remembered the rot pile cats. They’d stopped Dash’s scavenging. City cats weren’t as easygoing as they liked to make out. “Imagine Fog sleeping in your nest.”
“She couldn’t!” Fierce looked alarmed for the first time.
“Why not?” Tigerheart pressed. “She has more cats with her every time we see her. Her gang is getting bigger, and she has no sick cats to care for, or kits. If she decides to drive you out of your home, she could probably do it.”
As he spoke, he saw alarm flash in Cobweb’s eyes. He followed the gray tom’s gaze and saw Fog, Tuna, and a stout black-and-white tom padding toward them. “Take this catch to Dotty,” Tigerheart ordered. “I’ll speak to Fog.”
Fierce and Cobweb snatched up what they could, leaving a rabbit beside Tigerheart as they hurried away.
Tigerheart turned to face Fog.
The gray she-cat padded toward him, her eyes glittering with satisfaction. “I’ve never seen this place before.” She stopped in front of him and looked down at the rabbit. “Perhaps it’s a good thing those foxes drove us out of our home. The scraps here are much better than anything we used to scavenge.” She glanced at the black-and-white tom. “I bet you’re glad you joined our little community, Growler.”
The tom purred and reached a paw toward the rabbit.
Tigerheart slapped it away, keeping his claws sheathed. He wasn’t going to fight unless he had to. “I thought you didn’t want to invade our territory.”
“I thought you didn’t have any territory,” Fog countered.
“Maybe the guardian cats don’t, but I do.” Tigerheart curled his lip.
Fog looked at Tuna and then Growler. “And you’re going to defend it single-pawed?”
“I’m going to stop you stealing my catch.” Tigerheart dragged the rabbit closer.
“I told you.” Fog’s eyes shimmered with menace. “In the city, it’s every cat for herself.” She darted forward and hooked the rabbit away.
Anger scorched through Tigerheart’s fur. With a hiss, he swiped his claws across her cheek. Paws slammed into his flank as the black-and-white tom flew at him. Tigerheart fell onto his side. Kicking out his hind legs, he knocked Tuna away before he could join the fight. Then he rolled nimbly back onto his paws and reared. Growler glared at him, hissing. Fog lunged, her claws stretched as she raked his muzzle. Tigerheart ducked his head and rammed it into her belly. He lifted her off her paws and tossed her to one side, then spun and faced the black-and-white tom. Thrusting his muzzle forward, he snapped at Growler’s leg. He sank his teeth in hard, tasting blood and feeling bone. The tom screeched and pulled away. Claws pierced Tigerheart’s tail. He spun and saw Tuna clinging on. With a snarl he aimed a flurry of swipes at Tuna’s muzzle. Yowling, Tuna ducked away. Gray fur flashed at the side of Tigerheart’s vision. He turned in time to see Fog attacking once more. He reared to meet her as she dived at him, and he wrapped his forelegs around her. Knocking her off her paws, he rolled her onto her back and began churning her belly with his hind claws. She screeched, struggling in his grasp. Clinging on, Tigerheart rolled from under the ledge. Alarm shrilled beneath his pelt as he knocked against a pair of Twoleg paws. The Twoleg screeched.