Picking up the still warm body of his prey, Gray Wing trotted back to the kits, who were watching admiringly.
“Great catch, Gray Wing!” Thunder exclaimed.
“I want to do that,” Acorn Fur meowed.
“You will, soon,” Gray Wing promised, pushing the rabbit underneath the branches of a nearby gorse bush. I’ll come back to retrieve it when we’ve finished. “In fact, you may have a try now. Who can find some prey?”
The kits sprang to their paws, gazing around and sniffing vigorously at the air. “All I can smell is that rabbit,” Lightning Tail complained.
“Then let’s move,” Gray Wing meowed, leading them a few tail-lengths away from the hollow. “Thunder, can you see anything?”
Gray Wing had already spotted a mouse nibbling on some seeds in a clump of longer grass. As it slipped between the grass stems, the tops began to wave about, and Thunder spotted the movement.
“There!” he whispered, angling his ears toward the mouse.
“Okay, go for it,” Gray Wing told him.
Immediately Thunder pressed himself to the ground and began to creep forward.
Gray Wing shook his head, still keeping his voice low so as not to alarm the mouse. “No. I already told you, that way of hunting might work in the forest, where there are plenty of places to hide, and sounds in the trees that would cover your approach. But it’s no good out here, because your prey can see you from a distance. You’ve got to rely on speed.”
“Oh… okay.” Thunder rose to his paws again, the tip of his tail twitching in frustration, then hurled himself across the moor toward the grassy tussock where the mouse was hiding.
“Faster!” Acorn Fur shrieked.
“Stupid furball!” Lightning Tail slapped his tail across his sister’s mouth. “Now look what you’ve done!”
The mouse froze, as if it had heard Acorn Fur and realized there was danger near. Then it shot out of the long grass, scurrying toward an outcrop of rock a few tail-lengths away. Thunder tried to put on an extra burst of speed, but somehow he managed to get tangled up in his own paws and lost his balance, landing on the ground with a thump. The mouse dived into a gap between two rocks and vanished.
Thunder scrambled upright, gave his pelt a shake, and plodded back to the others with his head down. “Sorry,” he mumbled.
“It’s okay,” Gray Wing responded, resting the tip of his tail on Thunder’s shoulder. “You’ll do better next time.”
Glancing at Thunder’s huge white paws, he could understand why the kit was so clumsy. He was obviously going to grow into a big, powerful cat, but he was at the gangly awkward stage now, not in full control of his movements. His time will come, Gray Wing thought. He just needs to be patient.
“I want to try now,” Acorn Fur meowed. “If you haven’t scared all the prey away.”
“What?” Thunder’s eyes widened indignantly. “If you hadn’t—”
Gray Wing raised a paw to stop the bickering. “We’ll look for more prey,” he began. “There’s bound to be something.”
“There!” Lightning Tail pointed with his tail.
Gray Wing turned to see a small flock of birds pecking at the grass near the rocky outcrop where the mouse had vanished. He nodded. “Go for it.”
Lightning Tail at once dropped into a crouch like Thunder, as if Gray Wing’s instructions had passed right over his head.
“Run, flea-brain!” Acorn Fur squealed at her brother. She took off, racing across the grass with her tail streaming out behind her.
Watching, Gray Wing admired her speed, but she was letting out excited little squeaks as she ran. A few birds had already flown off at the sound of her first squeal, and the rest of the flock rose into the air long before she got anywhere near them.
Lightning Tail, who had followed her as soon as he realized his mistake in trying to stalk, halted and turned back with a disgusted expression. “Now who’s a flea-brain?” he asked.
Gray Wing shook his head, trying to hide his amusement. “You all still have a lot to learn,” he murmured.
He was waiting for the two kits to come back when he was distracted by Thunder thrusting himself into a tremendous leap. Gray Wing saw that one of the birds had alighted a short distance away. Thunder’s front paws reached out and batted the bird to the ground as it fluttered up in a vain attempt to escape.
The young cat straightened up with the limp body of the bird in his jaws. His eyes were shining. “I got one!” he announced, his voice muffled by his mouthful of feathers.
For a moment Gray Wing couldn’t give him the praise he deserved. That massive leap had reminded him too much of Clear Sky, Thunder’s father. Like when he killed that hawk, not long before we left the mountains.
The pain of remembering the days when he and his brother were so close washed over Gray Wing again. He hadn’t ventured into the forest or tried to see his brother since Clear Sky had refused to acknowledge Thunder as his son, and that had been before the cold season started. At their last meeting, Gray Wing had even declared that Clear Sky was no longer his brother. The loss of his closest family member felt like a thorn in Gray Wing’s heart, but he couldn’t forgive him for the harsh rejection of Thunder.
Gray Wing sighed. I’ve been trying to raise Thunder to show kindness and compassion—but is Clear Sky’s character going to come out in him, no matter what I do?
A soft mrrow of greeting sounded behind Gray Wing, distracting him from his dark thoughts. He turned to see a tortoiseshell she-cat bounding toward him. His eyes widened and delight flashed through him like a ray of sunshine at the sight of her. Turtle Tail! She’d come with them down from the mountains and been a faithful friend, until… But no. I won’t dwell on that now.
“Turtle Tail!” he exclaimed. “How did you find us?” She’d left the mountain cats before they’d moved into their new camp.
“I went to the hollow where we used to live,” Turtle Tail explained, “and it was empty… just a trace of stale cat scent.” She shivered. “I thought at first foxes must have killed all of you. But I couldn’t let myself believe that, so I went on looking until I picked up a trail, and here I am!”
“It’s so good to see you!” Gray Wing told her.
Turtle Tail padded up to Gray Wing and touched noses with him. “It’s good to see you, too,” she purred. “It’s been a long time.” Glancing around at the kits, she added, “It looks as if you’ve got your paws full!”
Gray Wing nodded. He hadn’t seen Turtle Tail since she helped him to rescue Thunder from the collapsing Twoleg den. Since then, she had spent all the cold season cozily in the Twolegplace, living the life of a kittypet. I still can’t believe she’d choose to do that, Gray Wing thought, shifting his glance so that she couldn’t see his expression. To choose a life where you didn’t have to hunt prey and you wouldn’t feel a dawn breeze ruffle your fur… it made no sense to Gray Wing. When she’d left, Gray Wing hadn’t been able to hide his sense of betrayal, and Turtle Tail had become cold and aloof.
But it was clear that Turtle Tail’s new life suited her; she was plump and healthy-looking, with a glossy pelt and bright eyes that glowed as she gazed at Gray Wing.
“And this huge cat is Thunder?” she asked, turning to the kit, who stood close by with his prey in his jaws, looking bewildered and a bit hurt. Gray Wing realized with a twinge of guilt that he still hadn’t praised him for his catch. “He’s grown! I remember how tiny he was when we brought him into the forest and named him.”