Chapter 11

Carmen would find Snowstripe resting in the sturdiest corner of the shed. There was a whole company of warriors between the queens and anything that would try to reach them uninvited. Dust floated in the air, searching for pelts to cling to, and Carmen sneezed so hard that she dropped her catch again. Again. Stupid Hawktalon.

"I hunted! I hunted and I caught two things!"

"Oh, how lovely," said the queen with a gentle lick between Carmen's eyes. "You'll be among our most vicious warriors before long."

"Ew, no!" The pet recoiled in disgust before seeming to reconsider. When she spoke again, she was far less confident. "Um… I… I do wanna take care of myself more, though. And… maybe I can help, too, so I brought you this."

"Oh, it's for me?"

"Yes," she said proudly. "For you and Thunderkit and Vinekit! Don't worry though; I already ate my other thing."

Snowstripe nodded. "Good, good. And speaking of them…" She scanned the darkness around Graveltail, a few tail lengths away. "Vinekit, Thunderkit, come here."

Thunderkit's head popped up from the kit pile. She stumbled towards them, her calico kitten fluff tangled as it could be. Vinekit was slower to respond, and hard to spot when she did with her tabby fur so dark the stripes could hardly be made out. It took some convincing from her mother and sibling to leave the comfy embrace of her friends and trudge over to them.

"They can't be weaned yet, but they can start getting a taste for prey," the queen explained to Carmen, who was absolutely beaming with pride.

"Did Carmen kill this?" asked Thunderkit with a soft wonder.

"I did it all by myself!"

"That's so cool!"

"That's so not fair," Vinekit argued. "How come the pet gets to go hunting and we don't? I could catch something way bigger than this!"

Carmen snorted. "You could not. It's way harder than you think."

"Maybe for a pet."

"That's enough," the queen warned. "Now Vinekit, Carmen is already doing us a lot of good by leading us to the new territory. She thought of us while she was out hunting and cared enough to bring us something to eat. It's very kind of her, and I expect you to show some gratitude."

Thunderkit obediently chirped, "thank you, Carmen."

"Thanks," said Vinekit as gruffly as a kitten could.

Snowstripe ripped two mouthfuls of meat from the gecko and dropped them before her litter's paws. "Good. You remember the squirrel leg that you tried the other day? See how you like this."

Carmen's spirits took a hit when she saw how little there was between the three of them. The kits had their shares downed in three bites, and Snowstripe made quick work of the rest. Meanwhile, here was Carmen, stomach satisfied with a piece of prey she'd kept all to herself. It had been a nice, plump one, too. She could've returned with more and still had something to eat.

"What do you think of lizard?" asked Snowstripe.

"It's good!" Vinekit was suddenly much more cheerful, while Thunderkit answered with a polite "it's okay," but it was clear she didn't like it.

"I'll bring something even better next time," promised Carmen without thinking.

Uh-oh. She really needed to control that mouth of hers. What if she couldn't get her paws on anything better? What if all she got next time was one little mouse? She'd have to choose between feeding herself and feeding them. Carmen was a Purebred; she needed it more, right? She had to look her best for the humans who would be judging her worth. Her looks were the deciding factor between winning and losing Shows. It would be okay. They would understand if it came to that, wouldn't they? But now she'd given her word, and that was pretty important to the Clan cats. They were protecting her, taking her in until their journey was through. It only seemed right that she follow some of their ways.

"Aw, we appreciate it, Carmen. Don't we?"

"Yes," said Thunderkit easily.

"I… really liked it."

"Good. Now, the two of you can go back to sleep. I'll tame that rat's nest of yours later," she added playfully, licking the fur out of Thunderkit's eyes.

Carmen shuffled her paws. "While I'm here, could you tell me another story? Like the one about the talking raccoon?"

The queen chuckled. "Later, dear. We've all got to rest before we set out tonight, and it won't be easy in this oven."

"Okay," she said, not hiding her disappointment, and Carmen turned and padded back outside.

#

There was terror in her voice, but it rippled smoothly from her throat, the words falling out of her before Shadefur had the chance to think. "What is this?"

There was a shimmer in the distance, hovering just above an empty parking lot. The air trembled beneath the weight of the sun's heat, but Shadefur had seen this many times before. What she'd not encountered prior was what she saw within it. There was a figure watching her from that distant mirage. Clothed in an ethereal golden white, with eyes blazing hot as the sun itself, was a cat.

And they were staring straight at her.

There was an old piece of a sponge at Shadefur's feet. She'd come out here in search of water for the elders. Most of the Clan would be asleep by now, Darkwood included. She didn't know if she should wake him. This phantom wasn't doing anything to her, and there wasn't much the leader could do in any case against…

It clicked so fast it made her head spin, and she knew who it was before she knew how she'd figured it out. But if it was true-and Shadefur knew in her bones that it was-why was everything in her yowling bloody murder?

Abandoning the sponge, she turned tail and rammed her pads into jagged concrete. Her tail streamed straight out behind her, and wind howled so loudly that it drowned the frantic pounding of her heart. Her whiskers fell against her muzzle and swatted her in the eyes. She was a black blur surging across the parking lot, the streets, the yards, her feet scarcely touching the ground.

Dread.

Dread.

Dread.

Her mind screamed: Oh no! Oh no! Oh, please no!

But when she returned, nothing was amiss.

Leafwhisker and Staticstone had been sharing tongues in the shade of the broken old car in the driveway. At the sight of her, they sprang to their feet. Their fur was bristled immediately, claws drawn and senses alert for whatever had frightened their Clanmate.

"What's going on?" asked Leafwhisker.

Ignoring her, Shadefur scurried into the back where her Clan remained unharmed. There was no fighting. No bloodshed. More and more cats were settling down for the day. As she stood there panting and coughing, Shadefur couldn't help but feel ridiculous. She knew her vision was real, but what did getting so worked up accomplish? There was nothing that anyone could do about ghostly figures, especially ones that only she could see. Even so, there had been more to that feeling of impending doom than just an anxious warrior's worries.

The couple appeared on either side of her, pressing against her flanks to help settle her nerves. Leafwhisker repeated her question, this time more gently.

"I…" But was it truly right to bring this up, with everything else that the Clan had on their paws? "Nothing. I just… I just…"

"A panic spell?" the tortoiseshell warrior asked her softly, with all the acceptance in the world.

A world that had beaten her down time and time again for Shadefur's nervous disposition. Her Clan was the only place that she was safe, welcomed, loved for all of who she was, panic spells included. No, they didn't deserve to have more on their plate. They didn't deserve to have her burden them more than she already did.

"Y-yes… I'm sorry. I just… saw something in the corner of my eye and I, um… I got s-spooked. That's all."

Yes, that was all. A flash of panic and nothing more. It had to be.

Heavens above, it had to be. Or else this was all for nothing.

#

I feel like it's time for things to pick up a bit. Are you ready?