Doom and Slashpaw halted at the edge of a long, dirt Thunderpath. Doom looked both ways down the path, ears pricked.
"Go," he said, and the two dashed across the path.
"Why was that one made of dirt?" asked Slashpaw, panting, when they were safely on the other side. "Thunderpaths -- I mean, roads -- are usually made of that hard, black stuff."
"I'm not sure," said Doom. "Look. There's the farm." Slashpaw looked, and there was indeed a farm at the bottom of the hill. There was one of those big, red buildings (Doom had called them
"barns"), plus a Twoleg den and a few other buildings. One the way down the hill, Slashpaw slipped on a patch of loose dirt and nearly fell the rest of the way down.
Doom pointed out a pond nearby, and Slashpaw followed him to get a drink. As he lapped up the cool water, he noticed some large fish swimming lazy laps through the water at the bottom of the pool.
"Doom," he said, flicking his father with his tail and gesturing to the fish. "Look. Those fish are huge!"
"Have you ever eaten fish before?" asked Doom.
"No," said Slashpaw. "Are they good?"
"You'd probably prefer mice and squirrels, like your mother," Doom said, "but I think you should try it anyway."
He peered into the pond, one paw off of the ground, tensed and ready to spring. "If you ever try to fish," he said to Slashpaw, "make sure that your shadow does not fall over the water. That would alert them to your presence. Then wait until one swims close enough, and...."
His paw flashed into the water and scooped out a fish, but somehow the fish managed to twist out of his paw and flop back into the water. Doom hissed in annoyance.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Slashpaw and Doom both whipped around. A dark tabby she-cat with thick stripes was stalking toward them, her intense blue eyes glinting angrily.
Doom drew himself up, the fur on the back of his neck standing up. "We're fishing," he said.
The she-cat, who seemed to be about a moon older than Slashpaw, lashed her tail. "I don't know who you are or where you came from, but no cat is allowed to touch the fish, rabbits, or chickens on this farm."
"We only want one," Slashpaw said. "Surely there would still be enough for you?"
The she-cat rolled her eyes. "What are you talking about? I don't want to eat them. I'm protecting them." Seeing their confused stares, she went on, "Listen. The Twoleg that lives on this farm is very protective of his animals. If even one animal is missing, he will not rest until he finds the culprit. Believe me, it's much easier for all who live here if those fish are left alone." She and Doom stared at each other for a long moment until Doom gave a little nod.
"Thank you," said the she-cat. "By the way, I'm Ice." Then she sat down and began grooming herself, completely relaxed.
"I'm Doom," said Slashpaw's father, "and this is my son, Slashpaw." Ice flicked her ears in acknowledgment but said nothing.
"We'll be going, then," Doom said, taking a step toward the forest. Ice didn't react. With a confused glance back at Ice, Slashpaw trotted after his father toward the forest.
"That's one strange cat," he said.
"Yes," said Doom. "One moment she looked ready to claw our ears off, and the next she is as calm as a sleeping kit."
The two ran across the field that divided the farm from the forest. Slashpaw's heart leapt for joy when they stepped into the green sanctuary. Pine trees!
Slashpaw and Doom started hunting almost automatically. Slashpaw trailed a mouse across the forest floor, his pawsteps light, keeping to the shadows as Windystar had taught him. The thought of his mentor gave him a little pang of sadness, but he pushed it away and kept his mind on the hunt.
Slashpaw tensed, and then sprang, feeling a rush of satisfaction as his long claws met the mouse's pelt. He dug them in, pinning the helpless creature to the ground, and quickly finished it off. Doom joined him after a moment, his own prey clutched in his jaws. The two cats devoured their catches with quick, neat bites and sat back to groom themselves. Slashpaw's eyelids felt heavy with sleepiness, and he looked forward to curling up with Doom somewhere cozy.
A hiss from his father startled him out of his daydreaming, and his head snapped up. A pair of gleaming amber eyes were watching him from the shadows. Slashpaw leaped to his paws, fur standing on end.
"We're surrounded," Doom muttered. Slashpaw glanced around. Four other pairs of eyes were also trained on him and his father. Doom and Slashpaw stood side-by-side, facing in opposite directions, slowly turning to keep all the eyes in sight.
With a hoarse laugh, a huge black wolf emerged from the darkness. Slashpaw felt a thrill of fear course through him as the other four wolves also stepped into the light. There was no way the two cats could fight off one wolf, let alone five!
He studied the huge canines. The first wolf was jet black with dark brown eyes. The second was a she-wolf with gray, white, and tan fur. She was the owner of the first pair of amber eyes he had seen. The next wolf was a dark gray with stormy eyes. He was the largest of the wolves and very muscular. The fourth wolf was light silver, nearly white, and her eyes were a light gray. The last wolf had hazel eyes and a coat that was white and gray and black.
"Look, it's two little kitties," the black wolf said. He glanced at the muscular dark gray wolf. "Hey Fierce, do you think cat fur would be good to line my nest with?"
"Cut it out, Fang," growled the silver she-wolf. "They're scared enough already."
"And why do you care, Imei?" asked the fifth wolf. "Ah, yes, because you'd rather go hungry than harm another animal."
"You know that's not true, Sundar," the amber-eyed she-wolf said. "She is just as fine of a hunter as the rest of us."
"Of course, Vorix," Sundar said sarcastically.
"Enough talk," said the wolf called Fierce. "Are we going to eat them or not?"
A voice cut across the bickering canines. "You're not."
Everyone turned to see the new speaker. Slashpaw's jaw dropped as he recognized the she-cat from before.
"Hello, Ice," said Fang warmly.
"Fang," Ice said, inclining her head to the black wolf. "These two cats are with me," she continued, directing the comment to all of the wolves. "Doom, Slashpaw, come on." After hesitating for a moment, Doom walked steadily toward the tabby, head held high.
Without another word, Vorix, Fierce, Sundar, and Fang melted into the shadowy forest.
Imei approached Slashpaw, who resisted the urge to shrink away, and spoke quietly into his ear, just loudly enough for him to hear. "You know where you belong, Slashpaw. Follow your heart." Then she, too, was gone, like mist dissolving into the night.
"Slashpaw?" Doom called. The apprentice turned and followed Doom and Ice, glancing over his shoulder at the place where Imei disappeared.
"How did you do that?" demanded Doom when the trio emerged from the forest.
"Do what?" asked Ice.
"Those wolves! They were going to eat us, but they just walked away when you came!"
"Oh. That." Ice flicked her tail lazily. "I saved Fang's pup once, so now we're friends. Come on, let's find a place for you to spend the night." Doom and Slashpaw exchanged glances, then followed Ice across the grassy field.
"Here we go," Ice said. She had lead Slashpaw and Doom to a large brick building. She climbed gracefully over the fence that surrounded it. Slashpaw followed, scrambling rather clumsily after her. When he and Doom hit the ground, Ice turned and trotted toward the large Twoleg building, her fur gleaming in the twilight sun. The huge front door of the barn was a bit ajar, and Ice slipped through the opening. Slashpaw hesitated. It was dark in there, and, by the smell of it, there were going to be sharing the den with a number of cows.
"Go ahead," Doom said quietly. Slashpaw nodded briskly and squeezed through the gap.
"Ice?" he called, looking around. Cows milled around in the gloomy room, flicking their tails passively. The floor was littered with straw and some other not-so-pleasant cow objects. Doom entered the barn behind Slashpaw, and began surveying the area.
"Over here," Ice called. Slashpaw turned to see the she-cat appear from behind a cow's leg. "This way," she said, waving them over with her tail. With a glance at his father, Slashpaw trotted after her, doing his best to avoid the cows' sharp hooves.
Near the far end of the barn, Ice was inside a long, wooden box. Slashpaw jumped in beside her. He realized in surprise that the box was filled with dried grass, similar to the stuff on the ground.
"What's this?" he asked, prodding a strand with his paw.
"It's called hay," Ice said as Doom climbed in beside them. "Cows eat it."
"And we're going to sleep in it?" Slashpaw asked, unsure if this was a good idea. What if the cows mistook them for food? He didn't know how sharp cows' teeth were, and he wasn't keen to find out.
"Yup," Ice said. "I do all the time. It's perfectly safe," she added, seeing the look on Slashpaw's face. She proceeded to curl up into a ball, closing her eyes and wrapping her tail over her nose. Slashpaw looked to Doom, who, after a moment of hesitation, lay down too.
Slashpaw curled up next to his father. As he drifted off, he began to wonder what Imei's words meant. Where did he belong?