Padding into the scoop, he spotted Turtle Tail under a bush, washing her ears. “Hi,” he greeted her. “Do you want to hunt?”
Turtle Tail sprang to her paws, her eyes shining. “Sure!”
“I was out with Cloud Spots the other day,” Gray Wing explained as he and Turtle Tail headed onto the moor. “We caught a rabbit like we used to hunt hares in the mountains, one cat driving the prey into the other cat’s claws. Let’s try that today.”
Though dark clouds were massing on the horizon, the sky above the moor was clear blue, and the sun shone strongly. Tiny brown butterflies fluttered among the wild thyme.
“Okay, let’s find a rabbit,” Turtle Tail agreed.
Before long they spotted one, hopping peacefully here and there, stopping every few moments to nibble at the grass.
“Wait here,” Gray Wing murmured. “I’ll send it over to you.”
Turtle Tail nodded, crouching. Gray Wing crept around in a wide circle until he could see the rabbit between him and Turtle Tail, whose ears just poked up above the grass clump where she was hiding.
Letting out a yowl, he hurtled toward the rabbit. With a squeal of terror the rabbit raced off, heading straight for Turtle Tail. But Turtle Tail leaped out of hiding just a heartbeat too soon, and the rabbit veered off. Though Turtle Tail dashed after it, and Gray Wing forced an extra burst of speed, the rabbit dived down a nearby hole before either of them could catch it.
“Haredung!” Gray Wing spat as he halted, panting. “You weren’t concentrating.”
Turtle Tail’s eyes widened with shock and hurt. “Have you never missed a catch?” she challenged him.
“Not an easy one like that.”
“Well, good for you!” Turtle Tail snapped. “I’m going off to find some cat who doesn’t expect me to fly like a bird and run like a rabbit.”
I suppose she means Bumble, Gray Wing thought, watching as she stalked off across the moor.
Clouds gradually covered the sky, and by nightfall heavy rain had set in. Turtle Tail still hadn’t returned. Gray Wing settled into his nest under a gorse bush, but sleep was hard to come by. Was I too hard on her? he asked himself.
At last he fell into a troubled sleep, and awoke as the sky was growing pale with dawn. Rising, Gray Wing padded across the hollow and checked Turtle Tail’s nest. It was cold and empty, and her scent was stale.
Anxiety gripped Gray Wing like a fox’s fangs. Where is she? Why hasn’t she come home?
Chapter 19
The roar of monsters deafened Gray Wing. He could taste their reek as he crept along the hard stone paths of the Twolegplace. Rain was beating down, plastering his pelt to his sides. He felt as if Twoleg filth was soaking into him.
I’ve got to find Turtle Tail!
But Gray Wing had no idea where to find Bumble’s Twoleg nest among all the others that looked and smelled exactly alike. He had picked up Turtle Tail’s scent as he had approached the Twolegplace, but had quickly lost it among all the competing scents of dogs and Twolegs and monsters.
He was padding alongside a Thunderpath when a monster came roaring around a corner and flashed past him. A wave of filthy water surged from its paws, soaking Gray Wing before he could jump out of range.
Haredung!
Even wetter than before, Gray Wing shook his pelt and looked around. The Thunderpath stretched ahead of him, lined by dens of red stone on either side. He had no idea where to start looking for Turtle Tail; he wasn’t even sure how to get back to the forest.
I’m lost!
“You again!” The voice spoke from behind Gray Wing. “What are you doing here?”
Gray Wing spun around. Facing him was the silver tabby she-cat he had met in the forest. Hot embarrassment scorched through him. She was the last cat he would have wanted to see him bedraggled and reeking and lost.
“Hello, um… you never told me your name,” he mewed, knowing that he sounded completely flea-brained.
The she-cat rolled her eyes. “Like you need to know it.”
“I told you mine,” Gray Wing retorted, injured.
“So you did… Gray Whatsit.” The silver tabby heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Okay, it’s Storm. Happy now? And you still haven’t told me what you’re doing here. Are you lost?”
“Well… sort of,” Gray Wing confessed.
Storm let out a snort. “Honestly, you’re worse than a kit! You couldn’t find your own tail if you used all four paws. Where do you want to go?”
“I think my friend is here,” Gray Wing explained. “She’s probably with a cat called Bumble. Bumble’s a tortoiseshell… quite plump, with a white chest and white paws.”
“Oh, I know her,” Storm replied. “I’ll show you her housefolk’s den if you like.”
“That would be great.” Gray Wing was relieved that he didn’t have to wander around on his own in this dreadful place anymore, but he wished it hadn’t been Storm who had helped him. She’ll think I’m a complete mouse-brain.
Storm waved her tail for him to follow her, rounding the next corner and slipping down a narrow path between two Twoleg dens.
“I didn’t expect to see you here,” Gray Wing meowed, trying to sound friendly. “You don’t look like a kittypet.”
Storm halted and glared at him. “I am not a kittypet!” she snarled.
Gray Wing kept quiet after that. If I open my mouth again I’ll only say the wrong thing!
At last Storm halted beside a section of Twoleg fence. “Through there,” she told Gray Wing, gesturing with her tail. Then she tapped him on the nose with one paw, fortunately with her claws sheathed. “Sure you’ll be okay now?”
“I’ll be fine, thanks,” Gray Wing replied.
As the silver tabby turned away, she glanced back, her green eyes glittering with humor. “I’ll see you the next time you need rescuing.”
Gray Wing watched her until she was out of sight, then squeezed through a hole in the Twoleg fence. A narrow path led up to the den, with grass on either side, surrounded by bushy plants with brightly colored flowers. When he tasted the air, he could pick up Turtle Tail’s scent, and another that he recognized as Bumble’s.
“Turtle Tail!” he yowled.
No cat appeared. Gray Wing waited so long that he was afraid the two cats had left the den. Maybe Turtle Tail is on her way home, and I’ve come all this way for nothing!
Then at last a small flap in the side of the den opened, and Turtle Tail and Bumble came bundling out. “Gray Wing!” Turtle Tail bounded up to him, excitement in her eyes. “You’ve come to visit at last. I’m so glad!”
“No, I’m here to take you home,” Gray Wing replied.
Turtle Tail’s excitement faded, to be replaced by fury. “I don’t need rescuing!” she snapped. “I only stayed overnight because it was raining! Bumble’s housefolk were really kind,” she added. “They even gave me food.”
“They’re Twolegs, not ‘housefolk,’” Gray Wing hissed, shocked. “Have you forgotten you’re a wild cat?”
“No,” Turtle Tail retorted. “Have you forgotten your manners?”
Gray Wing remembered that Bumble was standing a couple of tail-lengths away, looking embarrassed.
“Bumble, I’m sorry about Gray Wing,” Turtle Tail meowed. “He’s not usually such a pain in the tail.”
Gray Wing let out a hiss of anger. She doesn’t need to apologize for me!
Bumble ducked her head. “It’s okay.”
“I’ll come back with you,” Turtle Tail told Gray Wing, her tail-tip twitching irritably. “But only to stop you from making a scene. Good-bye, Bumble. I’ll see you by the big oaks tomorrow.”