“We’ve done enough,” Gray Wing meowed. “We need to rest now. I’m sure we’ll catch up with the others tomorrow.”
Jagged Peak opened his jaws to argue, then sighed. “I am pretty tired,” he confessed.
Together the two cats curled up at the side of the path beneath an overhanging rock. Jagged Peak fell asleep almost at once, his whiskers twitching as if he was still following the scent trail in his dreams.
Gray Wing dreamed that he was back in the cave, with sheltering walls around him and the roof lost in shadows. The murmuring voices of other cats were all around him.
“It’s time we were moving off again,” Shaded Moss meowed.
“First, we should hunt,” Clear Sky objected. “My belly thinks my throat’s clawed out.”
“Whatever, just wake up Moon Shadow first,” Turtle Tail added.
More voices joined the debate. Gray Wing wondered vaguely why all the cats he could hear were the ones who had left the cave to follow the sun trail.
He opened his eyes to see the sun beginning to rise above the mountaintops, with wisps of cloud scattered across a pale blue sky. His jaws parted in a huge yawn and he stretched his stiff limbs, daunted by the thought of another day plodding through the snow.
Then he realized that he could still hear the voices from his dream. The mewing of several cats reached his ears—and then Clear Sky’s voice, raised clearly: “Well, Shaded Moss, we’re seeing the sun at last. It should be easier traveling today.”
“Jagged Peak! Jagged Peak!” Gray Wing leaped to his paws, weariness forgotten, and prodded his little brother in the ribs. “The others are here!”
Jagged Peak stared at him for a moment, his blue eyes still confused by sleep, then bounced up to stand beside him. “What are we waiting for?”
With Gray Wing in the lead they raced along the ledge and around a corner, their paws skidding on the hard snow.
“I’ve found their scent!” Jagged Peak announced excitedly.
At the same moment Gray Wing spotted the traveling cats a short way down the slope, milling around a hollow tree trunk. The first rays of the sun were just reaching them. More cats were emerging from inside the trunk, arching their backs for a good long stretch.
Then Bright Stream looked up and let out a yowl. “Look! It’s Gray Wing and Jagged Peak!”
The rest of the cats followed her gaze, then bounded toward the newcomers.
“Gray Wing!” Turtle Tail was one of the first to reach them. “It’s really you!”
“I can’t believe this!” Clear Sky exclaimed, joy in his eyes, as all the cats crowded around the two newcomers. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
“You did well coming all this way by yourselves,” Tall Shadow added.
“But what are you doing here?” Shaded Moss asked.
The first astonished mews of welcome died away and Gray Wing saw some of the cats exchange flickering glances of anxiety.
“Is all well in the cave?” Bright Stream asked.
“Is Quiet Rain okay?” Clear Sky added.
“Every cat is fine,” Gray Wing reassured them.
Jagged Peak stepped forward, puffing his chest out proudly. “I came to find you!” he announced. “I voted to leave, remember? Then Gray Wing came after me.”
“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.
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?”
Meanwhile, Clear Sky was watching the small birds that circled overhead. “Do you want me to see if I can catch any of those?” he asked Shaded Moss.
Shaded Moss glanced along the trail in the direction they needed to go, then shook his head. “We haven’t traveled far enough yet.”
“What’s the rush?” Moon Shadow complained. “This new home, wherever it is, won’t disappear, will it?”
“That’s right,” Jackdaw’s Cry agreed. “We’ve been walking for ages!”
Other cats murmured in agreement.
“You lazy bunch!” Turtle Tail exclaimed. “We’ve only been traveling for four sunrises. We haven’t even left the mountains yet.” Her neck fur fluffed up with indignation. “No cat said it would be easy.”
Before any cat could argue, Tall Shadow rose to her paws and pointed with her tail to a distant clump of pine trees on the side of the mountain. “Let’s aim for those by tonight,” she suggested.
“Good idea,” Dappled Pelt agreed.
To Gray Wing’s relief, the threatened discord vanished like frost in sunlight as the cats rose to their paws, ready to set out again. As they moved off, he fell in beside Bright Stream. “Clear Sky tells me you’re having kits,” he mewed. “That’s great!”
Bright Stream glanced at her paws in embarrassment. “I don’t want any cat to know yet,” she murmured. “I don’t want the others to think I’m going to slow them down.”
“No cat will think that,” Gray Wing reassured her. “And your kits will be a great start for our new home, wherever we end up.”
Sunhigh had just passed when Shaded Moss drew to a halt; the other cats bunched up behind him. Gray Wing saw that the ledge they had been following had petered out. A wide slope of slippery scree lay in front of them, leading to a sheer drop into a valley far below.
“I don’t like the look of that,” Hawk Swoop muttered.
“Me neither,” Jackdaw’s Cry added. “Do we have to go this way?”
“Yes, we do,” Shaded Moss stated firmly, before any cat could start arguing. “We’ll take it slowly, in pairs. The younger, less experienced cats can walk on the inside.”
“Can I go with you, Clear Sky?” Jagged Peak asked, wriggling forward until he stood at the edge of the scree.
Gray Wing admired his little brother’s courage. Guessing where he could be of most help, he padded over to Jackdaw’s Cry. “You can come with me if you like,” he mewed.
Jackdaw’s Cry gave him a grateful glance. “Thanks.” His whiskers twitched nervously, but his voice was steady as he added, “I keep worrying about the drop into the valley. It’s a long way down.”
“Then don’t look down,” Gray Wing advised. “Stay close to me, and make sure there’s something solid under your paws before you put your weight on them.”
Jackdaw’s Cry listened seriously to what Gray Wing told him. “What about using my tail for balance?” he asked.
“Good idea. Keep your gaze fixed on the far side, and whatever you do, don’t panic,” Gray Wing added.
Jackdaw’s Cry nodded. “I’m ready now.”
Shaded Moss had already started off across the scree, heading slowly and steadily for the mountainside beyond, where boulders and scrubby thorns broke up the slope. Clear Sky set out after him, with Jagged Peak at his side.
Bright Stream and Falling Feather followed, with Bright Stream taking the outer position, nearer the cliff edge. Glancing back, Clear Sky looked uncertain for a moment, as if he wanted to go back and help his mate.
“I’ll be fine!” Bright Stream called out to him. “Watch where you’re putting your own paws.”
Gray Wing exchanged a glance with Jackdaw’s Cry, and ventured out onto the scree with the young black tom at his side. Even though he didn’t look, he was aware of the sheer drop into the valley, only a couple of tail-lengths away. His paws slipped as he dislodged some of the smooth, flat stones and sent them skittering over the edge. For a heartbeat he thought he was going to follow them, but he managed to regain his balance.
“Are you okay?” Jackdaw’s Cry asked, his eyes wide and his ears flattened.
“Fine,” Gray Wing replied tersely. “Just keep going.”
Glancing over to the far side, he saw that Shaded Moss had already reached safety, and Clear Sky was nudging Jagged Peak up onto a flat, snow-covered stone before clambering off the scree and sitting down beside him.
“Come on!” Jagged Peak called encouragingly in his shrill voice. “It’s not too hard!”
Bright Stream and Falling Feather reached them a few heartbeats later. Gray Wing began to relax a little, seeing the solid ground was only a few paw steps away. He risked a glance over his shoulder and saw the long line of cats behind him, moving steadily.
I think we’ll be okay.
A sudden screech split the quiet air. “Eagles! Eagles!”
Jagged Peak was leaping up and down on the flat rock, his tail waving at the sky. Gray Wing looked up to see two huge birds swooping down toward th
e cats exposed on the scree.
Yowls of panic rose up and the cats began to run, loose stone sliding beneath their paws as the well-organized line broke up. A horrible vision flashed through Gray Wing’s mind of cats plummeting helplessly into the valley, or shrieking as they were carried away in the eagles’ talons.
Jackdaw’s Cry had frozen in terror a tail-length from safety. Gray Wing grabbed him by the scruff and hurled him off the scree toward Clear Sky and Shaded Moss. Then he whipped around and headed back toward his Tribemates.
His paws slipping as he tried to hurry, Gray Wing noticed that Dappled Pelt had lost her footing completely and was sliding helplessly down the slope. She let out a panic-stricken yowl as she struggled to find a firm paw hold.
“I’m coming!” Gray Wing called.
He ran between Dappled Pelt and the line of his Tribemates, dodging the rain of loose stones that pattered around him, dislodged by the other cats’ paws. Reaching a place above the she-cat where the stones weren’t moving, he cut back down toward her, aiming for a spot just below her where he could halt her fall.
Dappled Pelt stared at him, her eyes stretched wide with fear and her tail waving as she scrabbled vainly at the scree.
Reaching the spot, Gray Wing dug his paws firmly between the stones to find a firm purchase, and braced himself to take Dappled Pelt’s weight. When she slithered into him he panicked for a moment as he felt the ground shift under his paws, but he managed to hold her.
Still frantic, Dappled Pelt tried to claw back up the way she had come, but there was nothing solid for her to grip.
“Keep still!” Gray Wing gasped. His belly lurched with fear as he saw the eagles swooping lower, their claws extended and their wing tips brushing the heads of the cats. Most of the others had reached safety, but Hawk Swoop and Rainswept Flower had fallen behind, and Gray Wing couldn’t make any progress with Dappled Pelt.
We’re chickfeed, for sure!
As Dappled Pelt kept on struggling, Moon Shadow came bounding down the slope just ahead of them. “Come on . . . this way,” he meowed to Dappled Pelt, bracing his shoulder against her.