Chapter 6

The three she-cats padded through the big Twoleg place. They kept close to the Twoleg nests and tried to stay in the shadows.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Solarpaw asked for the hundredth time that day.

"Yes." Ivy's responses had grown shorter and shorter. Icepaw wasn't sure if the light brown she-cat was becoming tired of Solarpaw's unending questions or if she had something else on her mind. After thinking through it carefully, she decided to find out.

"Ivy, do you live out here all alone?"

Ivy glanced at her. "Yes. Most street cats avoid contact with others. It is rare that you see them together. Although there are exceptions to everything."

"What about your family? What were they like?"

Icepaw knew instantly that she had hit a nerve. Their guide became halted abruptly and turned to look at them. Her normally gentle green eyes became harsh and angry. "I have no family. I never knew my father, and my mother left us the day that our eyes opened. She decided she didn't need to take care of us anymore. After that it was just me and my sister."

Solarpaw, being her usual too-brave-for-her-own-good, asked, "And what happened to her?"

"Twolegs, that's what happened. They took her away, and turned her into a kittypet. I found her during one of my travels and asked her to come back with me, so things could be the way they used to be. But she shook her head and told me, 'It is better to be a kittypet. You get food every day, and a warm place to sleep. You think I am the foolish one for living with Twolegs, but the only fool here right now is YOU.' And that was the last I ever saw of her." Ivy's eyes were full of bitterness and sadness. She was blinking hard to keep back her tears.

Icepaw now knew why Ivy had stopped her attack on Solarpaw. The street cat's memories and pain must have forced her to back down. The white she-cat felt bad for bringing this up, and she didn't know how to make Ivy feel better. So she did the only thing she could. Icepaw pressed her side against Ivy.

Ivy looked at her with sorrowful eyes. "I envy you. You have a sister who still loves you, and you have a Clan to support you. Those are things I'd give anything for."

Solarpaw blinked. She couldn't imagine what that must have been like. She stepped forward and touched noses with Ivy the same way she did whenever her own sister felt bad. "Come with us. You can join our Clan. We could even be like sisters, all three of us."

"Of course, we'd have to ask Aquastar if you could join, but I'm sure she won't mind," added Icepaw. She glanced at her sister with warmth. For once Solarpaw was actually thinking about someone other than herself!

Ivy closed her eyes and sighed. After she had collected herself, she nodded. "It would be great to join you, but I don't know much about your life there."

"That's okay," meowed Solarpaw, "we'll teach you all about it on the way there. Let's go."

-----

Wolfheart pushed through the underbrush near the Thunderpath. She could hear Shadowstorm crashing through after her, calling to her to stop and wait for him. Not that I will, she thought to herself with a smile. She started to move faster, just to annoy him. Suddenly, he yowled in fear. Wolfheart whirled and raced back to Shadowstorm. Bursting from the bushes, she saw that three very large, very nasty looking wolves had him cornered.

"Looks like we'll be having lunch early," snarled the biggest. His comrades laughed with him as they advanced.

"Don't you dare!" Wolfheart howled at them. Shadowstorm looked at her in surprise. He knew of her wolf-speak gift, but he had never seen, or rather heard, her use it before.

It clearly took the wolves by surprise too, but their brown leader recovered quickly. "How nice, an appetizer. You two have foolishly stumbled onto our territory-"

"Wrong, Darkforest, this is MountainPack territory. I suggest you leave now," growled a deep voice. The Clan cats turned to see a patrol of four burly wolves. The speaker was a gray wolf, one of his ears was torn and scars crisscrossed his muzzle.

At one glance, Darkforest's followers turned tail and fled. But the brown wolf refused to leave. "Too bad. I'm taking this territory, and there is nothing you can do to stop me," he snarled. He flattened his ears and parted his lips to reveal long fangs.

Wolfheart pressed herself against Shadowstorm. She had never seen two wolves this angry before, not even during the battle against the bears. Shadowstorm had no idea of what was being said, but the way the two wolf leaders were snarling, he knew what was going to happen next couldn't be good.

Darkforest was growling, challenging the gray wolf. But the gray merely blinked at the brown wolf. He was waiting for Darkforest to make his move. Darkforest feinted several times, snapping and snarling, but the big gray didn't even flinch. Then, Darkforest sprang at him, teeth and eyes flashing. The gray held his ground. At the last second, he jumped left and swung his head around, locking his jaws on the shoulder of his opponent. The brown wolf howled in pain and pulled away. The gray let him go, and resumed his waiting. Shadowstorm had to admire the patience of this scarred wolf. He would've simply attacked instead of giving his opponent a chance to get away. The brown renewed his attack and sprang for the gray's throat. The gray twisted around, and while Darkforest's teeth missed him, his fangs buried into the brown alpha's neck. Darkforest whined and struggled to get away. The gray wolf held him there for a few moments, and then released him. Darkforest sprinted back into the forest, his ears flat, his tail tucked between his legs.

The gray alpha's pack attempted to give chase, but he merely held up his tail and the wolves stayed put. He then turned to the cats. Despite all the ugliness of the injuries on his face, the gray wolf had the most amazing eyes. His golden eyes were deep and held a wisdom that he could only have gained from many years of life. "And what manner of cat has the ability to speak in our words?" he said.

His voice was rough and growly, but it was kind as well. It gave Wolfheart the courage to speak up. "I am Wolfheart, and this is Shadowstorm," she replied, brushing the tip of her tail against the black tom' shoulder. "We are warriors of MysticClan."

"Ah, we have heard of your Clan, and of your aide to Blackfire's son. FirePack have told us of your adventures. I am Tallmountain, leader of MountainPack. Unless I am mistaken, you Clan cats are a long way from home."

"We apologize for trespassing, but we are looking for two missing cats. They were taken away by Twolegs, and we are going to find them to bring them home."

"Do not apologize, for you have done nothing wrong. It was Darkforest and his wolves that were trespassing. You have free passage as long as you stay towards the edge of the territory. Some of my Pack would not take kindly to finding you on our land. Now go and find your young ones."

Wolfheart dipped her head to the MountainPack leader. "Thank you, Tallmountain. I hope that we meet once more on the return journey."

"Farewell, my feline friend!" The gray alpha flicked his tail, and the wolves trotted back into the forest. Tallmountain lingered for a moment longer before following.

"What just happened?" Shadowstorm asked.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all," Wolfheart mewed as she nipped his ear. She trotted off with Shadowstorm in tow.

In all the commotion, neither cat had noticed the orange eyes that glared at the black warrior.