“Oh, so you just set off on your own?” Clear Sky meowed, giving his little brother a friendly shove. “Why am I not surprised? You took a huge risk, and you’re very lucky that Gray Wing found you.”
“I know,” Jagged Peak admitted with a glance of gratitude. Then he let out a gleeful mrrow and added, “I had to rescue him, too!”
“That’s true,” Gray Wing mewed. He turned to Clear Sky. “And how are all of you?”
“We’re fine,” his brother replied. “The blizzard slowed us down, but we’re pretty sure we’re heading in the right direction.”
“We climbed right up to the top,” Gray Wing reported, gesturing with his tail. “From up there, we could see land beyond the mountains. It’s still a long way off, but you’ll see it once you’ve crossed this next ridge.”
“That’s great!” Clear Sky exclaimed, his eyes gleaming.
“We need to get moving as soon as we can,” Shaded Moss meowed, glancing around and gathering the rest of the cats around him with a wave of his tail.
“Just as soon as we’ve eaten,” Moon Shadow put in.
As he spoke, Gray Wing spotted Quick Water and Jackdaw’s Cry toiling up the slope, dragging a snow hare between them.
“Great catch.” Shaded Moss praised them as they reached the group and let their prey drop, blinking in surprise when they spotted Gray Wing and Jagged Peak.
All the cats gathered around to share the prey. Turtle Tail sat beside Gray Wing, pressing herself close to him. “I’m so glad you changed your mind,” she murmured.
Gray Wing looked around at the other cats, sensing their excitement. “I’m glad too,” he mewed.
Chapter 7
As the cats were finishing their meal and beginning to groom themselves, Shaded Moss came to stand beside Gray Wing and Jagged Peak. “How is Stoneteller?” Blinking with a trace of anxiety in his eyes, he added, “It seems as if we’ve been away from the cave for moons already.”
“She’s okay,” Gray Wing replied. “But she’s desperately worried about all you cats who have left; she’s afraid she made the wrong decision.”
“We were the ones who decided,” Shaded Moss pointed out. “Each cat who came on the journey. Stoneteller just pointed out the opportunity.”
Try telling Stoneteller that, Gray Wing thought wryly.
The cats gathered for the day’s traveling. Shaded Moss was clearly in command, though Gray Wing noticed that Clear Sky didn’t hesitate to offer his opinions.
“Why don’t we head for that tree?” he suggested, flicking his tail. “Then we could cross the stream to avoid that stretch of rock.”
Shaded Moss nodded. “Good idea.”
The cats set out; Shaded Moss took the lead, with Clear Sky and Bright Stream close behind him. Jagged Peak trotted hard on Clear Sky’s paws, clearly proud of the adventures that had led him here. The youngest cats, apart from Jagged Peak, were Hawk Swoop, Falling Feather, and her brother Jackdaw’s Cry. Because they weren’t fully grown they had trouble scrambling over the larger boulders. Shaded Moss’s daughter, Rainswept Flower, and Shattered Ice walked beside them, offering help where they needed it.
Farther back in the line, Quick Water and Cloud Spots padded along together, reserved but alert. Just behind them, Dappled Pelt and Moon Shadow walked side by side. “Did you see how I frightened off that eagle yesterday?” Moon Shadow asked boastfully. “It would have carried off Jackdaw’s Cry if I hadn’t been there.”
Dappled Pelt rolled her eyes. “Yeah, you and the rest of us,” she muttered, only just loudly enough for Gray Wing to hear.
Leaving the cave hasn’t changed Moon Shadow, Gray Wing thought. He’s still annoying.
Moon Shadow’s sister Tall Shadow, loping along in his paw steps, made no comment about his boasting. Gray Wing remembered that even back in the cave she hardly ever spoke; but when she did, she was always worth listening to.
How could one litter produce one intelligent cat and one fuzz-brain?
As the cats followed Shaded Moss they gradually fell into a line, two by two. Gray Wing glanced aside to see that Turtle Tail had caught up with him.
“May I walk with you?” she mewed gently.
“Sure,” Gray Wing responded.
“I like being in the rear,” Turtle Tail confided as they padded on. “I like seeing that my denmates are all safe in front of me.”
Gray Wing purred understandingly. His heart lifted as they climbed along the side of the valley, the sun warming their fur.
“It’s definitely hotter than it was a moon ago,” Turtle Tail remarked. “The cold season is really coming to an end.”
Soon, the cats came to a pool where a stream spread out before plunging farther down the mountain. The ice that covered the surface had begun to melt in the strong sunlight. There was enough space for every cat to gather around the edge, to drink and bathe their sore pads.
Gray Wing settled beside Dappled Pelt, stretched out his neck and lapped at the icy water. It tasted of stone and mountain air. “I’m so glad we found you,” he remarked. “I was worried about Jagged Peak.”
“Yes, he’s really too small for this,” the tortoiseshell cat responded. “But he’s doing very well. And when—”
Dappled Pelt broke off, swiftly dipping one paw into the water and flicking a plump silver fish onto the rock beside her. It flapped and wriggled in the air until she killed it with a swipe of her claw.
“Where did you learn to do that?” Gray Wing asked, as the other cats clustered around with exclamations of surprise.
Dappled Pelt shrugged. “I used to catch fish sometimes in the pool below the waterfall, before the cold season came,” she explained, bending her head to take one bite from the fish before pushing it toward her companions. “Here, try it.”
One by one the rest of the cats came up to take a bite. Gray Wing wasn’t sure that he liked it, preferring the earthy taste of hare, but Falling Feather gulped down her mouthful with relish.
“Will you teach me how to do that?” she asked Dappled Pelt.
The she-cat’s golden eyes gleamed as she gazed at Falling Feather. “Of course. When we get where we’re going.”
“I’m not sure about this.” Jackdaw’s Cry licked his lips as if he didn’t like the taste. “No offense, Dappled Pelt, but I think I’ll stick to hares and eagles.”
“Hey, it’s food!” Moon Shadow mewed cheerfully, eyeing the remains of the fish as if he hoped he would get a second bite.
“I think it’s great!” Bright Stream purred, and Rainswept Flower nodded agreement.
“I guess you’ll want to eat more fish when we find our new home,” Bright Stream continued, her tone gently teasing as Clear Sky ate his share.
“Hmm…” Clear Sky looked doubtful, then brushed his mate’s pelt with his tail. “Maybe I’ll have to give in if our kits have a taste for it.” He and Bright Stream exchanged a glowing glance.
Gray Wing gave his brother a prod. “Is Bright Stream expecting kits?” he whispered.
Clear Sky nodded, blinking happily. “She thinks so. I know the timing’s not ideal, right at the beginning of our journey, but… I can’t wait to be a father.”
“Bright Stream will be a wonderful mother,” Gray Wing mewed, ignoring the stab of envy he felt.
When all the cats had eaten their share, they gave in to the temptation to lie on the rocks around the pool, enjoying the warm sunlight.
“Hey, Turtle Tail!” Quick Water pointed to a turtle basking in a sunbeam at the opposite side of the pool. “You’ve found your natural home here!”
Good-humoredly Turtle Tail flicked the gray-and-white she-cat with her paw. “So is your home anywhere it’s raining, Quick Water?”