Moonlight followed the SkyClan leader’s gaze. “We’ll stay until my kits are ready to travel.”
Leafstar glanced at her belly. “Will you ever return?”
“It’s a good place for birthing,” Moonlight told her. “But if it’s occupied when we come back this way, we’ll find someplace else.” She sounded unconcerned.
Hope flashed beneath Squirrelflight’s pelt. The Sisters didn’t want this land, and Leafstar sounded interested in making it SkyClan’s home. “Will you move SkyClan here?” she asked Leafstar.
“It’s good land,” Leafstar told her. “Once Moonlight and her friends have moved on, I will send patrols to explore more and discuss a future here with my warriors.”
Squirrelflight’s heart soared. Her plan had worked! She couldn’t wait to tell Bramblestar. He’d see what a great idea it had been once he heard about the land and knew Leafstar was open to moving SkyClan there. She looked at Moonlight’s belly again, trying to guess how long it would be until she had her kits. They would be ready to travel before leaf-bare. Surely the Clans could wait that long to redraw their borders? “Let’s go back and share the news,” she meowed eagerly.
“I don’t want to tell the other leaders until I’ve made a definite decision.” Leafstar’s pelt rippled along her spine.
“But once they know you’re willing to think about moving, they’ll be happy to live with the current borders for a few moons longer,” Squirrelflight argued.
Leafstar dug her claws into the damp grass. “We’re not announcing anything until we’ve checked out the whole territory and found it safe.”
Why was Leafstar being so stubborn? The peace of the Clans depended on SkyClan finding new territory. This was better land even than the forest. “But it’s perfect!”
Leafstar glared at her. “Why doesn’t ThunderClan move here, then? We can go back to the Clans and suggest it—”
“No cat is going anywhere.” Moonlight was watching them, her tail twitching.
Squirrelflight stiffened. The queen’s mew was determined. “What do you mean?”
Moonlight shifted her weight. “I can’t let you go back to your friends. Not yet. We don’t want swarms of strange cats trekking through here.”
Leafstar’s ears twitched. “We won’t come back until you’ve left.”
“We want to go home and tell our Clans that this land will be free soon,” Squirrelflight added.
Moonlight narrowed her eyes. “You’ve only just arrived, and already you’re arguing about which Clan should take our home. Do you expect me to believe that you won’t want to get your paws on it as soon as you can?”
“We will respect your right to this territory until you’re ready to move on,” Squirrelflight promised.
“You might,” Moonlight mewed. “But your campmates might not.”
The white she-cat nodded. “We’ve heard enough about the Clans to know that when they see something they like, they believe they have a right to it. Now that you’ve discovered this land, your Clanmates will want to take it by force.”
“ThunderClan would never do that!” Squirrelflight bristled.
“And the others?” Moonlight gazed at her evenly. “Would they respect our right to be here too?”
Squirrelflight hesitated. Would Tigerstar leave these cats alone? Was Harestar patient enough to wait? Would Mistystar deny her Clan if she thought there was something better for it? “We want this land for SkyClan,” she meowed firmly. “And you already have the word of SkyClan’s leader not to take it until you’ve left.”
“We’ve learned not to invite trouble if we don’t have to.” Moonlight flicked her nose toward a den at the edge of the clearing. “You will sleep there until the time comes for us to move on.”
“But our Clans will come looking for us,” Squirrelflight insisted.
“Will they find you?” Moonlight glanced toward the end of the valley, where one hill rose into another. Squirrelflight realized how deep they’d ventured into this territory. And the forest was wet with rain heavy enough to have washed away their scent. She gazed toward the hilltops, feeling suddenly how small she was and far from home.
Leafstar was frowning at the gray queen. “You can’t hold us here against our will.”
Moonlight didn’t reply, but the other cats shifted around them, as though reminding Leafstar of their presence.
Leafstar bared her teeth.
“Stay calm,” Squirrelflight whispered. “They won’t be able to watch us all the time. We’ll be able to slip away.”
The white she-cat padded around them, sniffing curiously. Leafstar gave a warning growl.
“Quiet!” Moonlight’s mew was suddenly fierce. “Snow is our sister. Show her respect.”
Leafstar’s growl turned into a hiss.
“Hush!” Squirrelflight nudged the SkyClan leader sharply.
Snow stopped and stared at Leafstar, a threat in her eyes. She was big, with muscles visible even beneath her pelt. Leafstar held her gaze, refusing to be cowed. Snow stalked back to Moonlight’s side, her fur bristling.
“Forgive Leafstar.” Squirrelflight ignored Leafstar’s sharp hiss. “She’s a warrior. We’re not used to surrendering. But if you fear our Clanmates so much, we will stay as willing captives until you are ready to move on.”
Moonlight dipped her head. “Thank you. You will be treated as our campmates.” She nodded to a tabby she-cat. “Tempest, bring food from the prey-hole for our visitors.”
As the tabby padded to a large juniper bush and began digging between the roots, Squirrelflight surveyed the camp. The sun was sinking toward the hilltop, and shadow reached into the valley. She saw now how well the surrounding bushes hid the camp, so that anyone climbing down the side of the valley would see only undergrowth until they reached the bottom and pushed through to the grassy clearing. The dense bushes that lined the sides of the valley would make it easier to hide if she and Leafstar managed to slip away. And she knew Bramblestar would find them eventually, no matter how hidden the camp seemed. Her heart quickened. What would he think when he discovered that she’d gone behind his back and brought Leafstar here without his approval? Things were already tense between them. This would make it worse. She wondered, her paws pricking nervously, how long Sparkpelt would keep her secret before she told her father where they’d been heading.
Moonlight’s campmates glanced at one another, as though unsure of what to do. Two of them sat down; the young toms padded to the edge of the grassy clearing and watched their captives while the others moved closer and murmured to one another, their inquisitive gazes flicking over Leafstar and Squirrelflight.
Leafstar leaned toward Squirrelflight. “These cats are strange,” she hissed under her breath.
“I don’t think they want to hurt us.”
Leafstar snorted. “They’re holding us captive.”
Squirrelflight tried to keep her tone bright. “At least it looks like they’re going to feed us.”
“I guess,” Leafstar conceded, her gaze flitting over the Sisters. “They don’t look like they know what hunger is.”
Squirrelflight saw Moonlight watching her and lifted her muzzle. “What’s the hunting like here?” she asked the queen loudly.
“You can see for yourself.” Moonlight nodded toward the tabby.
Tempest dragged two fat mice from a hole beneath the juniper. She lifted them in her teeth and shook the earth from them with a sharp toss of her head. Then she padded across the grass and dropped the mice at Squirrelflight’s paws.
The mice smelled good, and Squirrelflight realized that she was hungry. She nodded to the tabby. “Thanks.”
Moonlight stood up and flicked her tail toward the young toms. One darted toward the prey-hole and began fishing for more food. Another ducked behind a bush at the edge of the camp and dragged out a dead rabbit. The other cats slipped away and came back with more prey. Squirrelflight guessed that the group had been returning from a hunting patrol and dropped their catch outside the camp when they’d smelled intruders. The prey-hole must be where they stored prey left over from one day for the next. She wondered how the cats decided who ate yesterday’s prey and who ate fresh. A tortoiseshell carried two voles to Moonlight and laid them on the ground in front of her. She padded away as Moonlight nodded her thanks, and settled on the grass between two young ginger she-cats.