Hoshi liked the idea of joining the gang, and we traveled the next morning across some stretches of land until we were at the garden where the others should be. I relieved to smell the fresh scents of Rock and Flame, but where was Gambler and my brother? Striding inside of the gate to the fence I yowled to announce myself. Raidon hulked after me, and Hoshi trotted gracefully third in line. Zander sprang over and touched noses with me. "Frostpool! Flame told us what happened, I'm glad your safe."
His eyes drifted beside me and he peered at the two cats with me. He asked calmly, "Friends of yours?" I nodded, and a pleasing thought flickered across my mind. Zander was always a laid-back and go-with-the-flow cat. He's never really commanded the cats that respect him and look to him as their leader. They listen to me, however…
Ambition flared in my chest and I lifted my chin. I boldly declared, not asked, "They are coming to live with us. They haven't a home." Zander's yellow-green eyes flickered with uncertainty, but he seemed to have as much faith and trust in my decisions as the others. He dipped his head to them, "Welcome, I am Zander." He flicked my shoulder affectionately and stalked off to watch for the other two.
I meowed, "James!" The black-and-white tom lifted his head drowsily, saw me, and after a quick stretch padded over. He meowed, "Hey." I tossed my muzzle towards the others. "Raidon and Hoshi. Can you show them around and help them get settled? I need to talk to Flame and Rock." James shrugged, "Sure. Follow me you two." He turned and stalked away. Hoshi followed him silently and obediently. Raidon's eyes shined with admiration at me for a second before he heaved himself to his paws and followed.
I found my fledgling and his brother sleeping on the stairs of the nest. I scaled all three in a single bound and thudded on the wood gently. Padding across it I jabbed each young tom with my forepaw. Flame jumped to his feet, eyes shining with fear and spine prickling uneasily. Rock just shifted and snarled, "Go away." Flame relaxed when he saw me and cuffed his brother over the ear, "Get up you great lump."
Rock snarled and lifted his head, glaring defiance at his brother, until he saw my silver-white pelt in the corner of his eyes. His pelt bristled with embarrassment and he sat up, licking his chest. My whiskers twitched with amusement, then I asked them, "Did you make it here alright?" Rock hissed, "Silas, Painted Dream, Wicked Streak, and Hellfire were after us! Wicked Streak clawed my back leg, but we managed to outrun them by darting under a monster."
Flame's fur fluffed and he meowed wistfully, "I still can't believe we did that! I was scared stiff." I flicked my ears at them, not caring about their experiences or fears. I growled, "Are you sure you lost them? They didn't see where you went?" Flame shrunk under my gaze and stammered, "Y-yes we're su-sure." Rock nodded, looking a lot calmer then his brother. Flame has always been jittery and easily scared, but I have grown used to it after this long.
I flicked my tail at them. "Go back to sleep." The toms curled back up as I stalked away. Morris and Titan were pushing into the garden, their mouths full of food. Morris had three rats, while Titan had a scraggly mouse and a chunk of turkey; probably scavenged from a dumpster. Titan dropped his and bounded over to me. "Hi, Frostpool!" Morris set his rats beside the others and joined us. He asked, "Have you seen Pumpkin?"
His voice was worried, and I was actually surprised to hear emotion in it rather then cold gruffness. I angled my ears to the side. "She's with Pirate, I think." Morris slipped away and Titan smirked. He informed me, "She's having his kits, she told us yesterday morning. She's a whole moon along." I purred, happy for my friends. I always thought they liked each other, thought I hoped James wasn't too upset. If you ask me, he fancied Pumpkin quite a bit too.
Zander yowled and leapt over the fence, padding over to me. "Gambler is coming, he's with Ninja and some kit." I meowed, "That's my brother." Just then the gate wiggled and the three toms came trudging in. Gambler led as Ninja nudged Thunder along. I padded over to meet them. I asked, "You made it here ok? It took you a while." Gambler growled ill temperedly, "That's because your kin back there slowed me down! Some street cat! No stamina at all."
I narrowed my eyes and hissed crossly, "He's only two moons old, you can't expect him to be able to keep up wit you." Shoving Gambler aside, and feeling a strange warmth for Thunder now that he was my only family around me, I padded over to the kit. His fur, usual a silvery white like mine, was tainted brown with dust. His eyes dropped and his tail hung low with exhaustion. He looked like death on four paws, yet his light green eyes shined brightly and his ears were pricked. He meowed, "Hi, Frostpool! I missed you."
I purred with laughter and nudged him gently. Out of Meanstare's kits, he was always my favorite. Actually, the only one I even faintly liked. I pointed my tail towards Pumpkin, "See that orange queen over there?" He nodded, "If you ask her nicely, she might help you clean up and get you something to eat." His tail shot up and he exclaimed, "Great, I'm starving!" He pounded across the ground and over to Pumpkin. I watched for a few seconds as he spoke to her, and she started licking him.
Ninja's deep, rumbling, voice filled the air. "I found them not too far from here. They had no trouble, so I've been told." I nodded, "Good." Ninja's eyes glimmered and he meowed, "That's a determined, sturdy, little brother you have there. He reminds me of Pirate, just not as adventurous." I snorted, "Oh, wait until he rests, you'll see his adventurous side." Ninja's tail tip twitched, "I can watch him for you, if you want." I could tell he was hinting, it would appear he'd like to train Thunder once the time came. I shrugged, "Do what you want."
Ninja went to join them, and I turned back to Gambler and Zander. I nodded to the plumpest rat on the little pile, "Want to share you guys?" We all three shared the rat, and Gambler had the mouse too. Us street cats were used to not eating a lot, there isn't much to eat around here. I shared tongues with Gambler and then lay beside Zander in a catnip patch the rest of the night, savoring the sweet scent.
I was no longer tied to my father, or his gang. I didn't have to bully the cats I helped keep weak; or kill helpless kits. I didn't have to be ruthless, heartless, and secretive. But now I was no longer the hunter, I was the most valuable prey in Bad Apple's eyes- with Ironstar out of the way. How can I help keep all my friends safe, when coming to them was as dangerous as throwing them to the dogs?
Three suns later I returned from a lone hunt to find many of the cats gone. I set down a fat crow and looked around. Icy horror gripped my when I realized none of the young cats were here, but Ninja, Pumpkin, and Gambler were. I stalked over to the three of them and snarled, "Where's Thunder?" I didn't worry too terribly about Titan and Rock; maybe not even Flame. Pumpkin meowed, "He went out with Titan."
Red-hot fury blazed through my body. I hissed, "You're about to have a litter, but you let two kits go out alone?" Some mother she was going to be! Pumpkin flinched, and Ninja lowered his eyes. Gambler meowed, "What's got you go worried? I'm sure they're fine. They probably found Zander or James, they are both out." Narrowing my eyes as him I whirled around and meowed, "Pirate, want to go out?"
The gray calico stretched from her sunning spot and yawned, "Sure." She trotted over and I set off with her at my side. Next to Hoshi, who was not around, Pirate had the strongest nose of us all. We tracked Thunder and Titan's scents over the harsh roads and down sidewalks. We ended up in an old, run-down part deep within up-town territory. My fur prickled with unease as how silent it was. I stopped and sniffed the air, something was not right. No birds, no squirrels, nothing was around like it should be.
Pirate meowed tensely, "I don't like this." The air around us was thick, and I felt like we were being watched. I perked my ears and sped my walk up to a trot. "I smell them, they are near." Suddenly, a startled yowl rang through the air. The sounds of a near-by battle broke out. My heart skipped a beat and I knew, I could just feel, that my friends were in trouble.
I bolted forward with Pirate hot on my heels. I streaked into a clearing where two large toms were tussling with Titan, screeching my fearsome battle cry. It wasn't until they turned to me did I notice who it was- Hellfire and Silas. A heavy weight barreled into me from beside, tossing me aside. I landed hard, winded. Pirate leapt on Silas, and I turned to meet my own mother's vicious green eyes glaring back at me.
Staggering to my paws I hissed, arching my back, ready to fight until one of us died if I had to. Meanstare stood calmly, she asked, "Where's my kit, Frostpool? It's not you we want." I hesitated, letting my guard down. I meowed, "You don't have him?" A cold wave of horror washed over me, he had been with Titan! If Titan was there, where was Thunder? My mother narrowed her eyes and bared her teeth, clearly thinking I was playing games with her.
She snarled, "I'll shred the information out of you!" She sprang and I tried to jump aside, but her hooked claws snagged my flank and she yanked me down again. I hissed and kicked out, raking my back claws across her chest. She winced, but did not really take notice. In a second she was on top of me, and sinking her teeth firmly into my shoulder. She ripped her deadly claws across my belly as I vainly flailed to get away. Blood welled out from under my fur and I yowled in desperation and rage.
Believe it or not, her kits strength was inherited from her, while our speed came from Bad Apple. Meanstare was a formidable she-cat and the strongest female in the gang, even more powerful then a few of the males. Born a rogue, she was only a clan cat for a couple of seasons, so she was considerably fiercer in battle then many around her.
Anyway, I sunk my teeth into her foreleg but I felt my energy draining fast, and I could still not throw the cat three times my size and weight. I thought I was as good as dead when suddenly Meanstare's weight was ripped off of me, and I literally mean ripped off. Raidon had grabbed her by the scruff and yanked her right off her paws, tossing her aside with a mighty heave. The massive tom helped me to my paws then flung himself at Meanstare again, clawing her ears and sending her fleeing with a bite to her tail.
Silas was gone too, but Titan was lying un-moving in the field and Pirate was only half the strength of my brother, and loosing her battle. I crouched to spring over to her, but Raidon was already half way to her. He tossed his head up and caterwauled; smacking Hellfire in the face to hard he was send reeling onto his back. Hellfire was a skilled fighter, and I know from growing up with him he's never lost a battle. To be knocked down to simply scared him. His tail fluffed out and he abandoned the fight.
I limped over to my friends, my stomach burning and raw, but I had to ignore the pain. Titan had lifted his head and was watching us; I asked desperately, "Where's Thunder?" He coughed heavily before he managed to talk. "I smelt the strange cats and could tell they were aggressive. I hid him under the root of a birch tree." Pirate took one look at me and offered, "I'll find him." I nodded and she went stalking towards a small cluster of birch trees twenty or so tail-lengths away.
I flopped over and blinked at Raidon, meowing tiredly, "Thank the sky you got here when you did, or we'd all be worm meat." Titan's eyes grew wider, as if he only just realized he might not have made it out of the fight without the large tom's help. Raidon dipped his head, "I'm glad I got here, too! I was wandering, I grew up in this territory." He padded closer and gazed at my stomach, wincing. "Those scratched look serious. I'll go find some cobwebs, you stay put!"
He returned a pawful of heartbeats later, having no trouble finding the cobwebs in such an over-grown and un-visited place. His tail was wrapped in them and he slathered them on my belly, pressing some sloppily onto my shoulder too. He stalked over to Titan and wrapped some on his ear and the back of his neck. Titan meowed gravely, "Those cats wanted to kill us! Who are they, and what did they want?"
I trained my eyes on Pirate as she encouraged Thunder to keep coming towards us, faintly hearing her tell him the bad cats were gone. I shook my head at Titan, "I'll tell you later. Let's just get home, before they come back- with help."