Treecat Wars (40 page)

All three of the People gazed at one another, thinking, tasting and sharing their mind-glows, for what Keen Eyes had said was clearly true. People did not seek change the way ground-runners sought out lace leaf. It did not come easily to them at the best of times, and these were scarcely the best of times for the Landless Clan. But then, after several moments, Dirt Grubber chortled deep in his throat.

<
I have an idea. My clan was recently saved from fire. To escape, many of our young and elderly rode in one of the flying things. Most found it very exciting. I could share my experiences but, because of my bond with Windswept, your elders might consider me suspect. Perhaps one of our memory singers could come speak to your clan. She could share not only our adventure but also the history of clan migrations.
>

Keen Eyes bleeked in astonishment. <
Memory singers are very valuable People. Would your clan agree to risk one
?>

Dirt Grubber nodded. <
When you have none and we have several? I believe so
.>

Swift Striker added, <
I would go to my clan, but the distance between my clan and yours is quite far, even in a flying thing. Perhaps when Climbs Quickly returns, he could find someone from Bright Water to help. His sister, Sings Truly, is their senior memory singer and, as we have all heard, a very adventurous female. Now that I consider matters, I suspect we would have more trouble keeping her
away
than getting her to help
.>

Dirt Grubber cocked his ears as if listening for a distant sound. <
I cannot be sure, but I believe Pleasant Singer might help. She did not say so directly, but when we spoke I had the feeling that she was considering asking one of her own juniors if they would consider joining the Landless Clan
and teaching Tiny Choir. The clan lore will not be exactly the same, but their borders touched, and some events will be known to both
.>

<
If this is the case
,> Swift Striker said, bouncing happily, <
then we will have several memory singers to help convince your elders!
>

Keen Eyes agreed. <
Can you tell how long Darkness Foe will wish to keep me here? I know it has been only a short time, but I am eager to be there to help my clan
.>

<
I cannot say
,> Swift Striker replied. <
But I think he will understand if we show him your desire. Mind-blind he may be, but he has understanding that bridges the silence
.>

* * *

The humans spent much of the evening discussing the possible relocation of the Skinny ’Cat Clan.

“We’re going to need to bring the SFS in on this at some point,” Scott concluded. “Stephanie and Karl’s return home may be the perfect excuse for a private meeting—one that won’t alert the x-a’s that something’s up.”

“I don’t expect to hear from Steph today,” Anders said. “It’s already evening in Landing, and tonight’s when she’s giving her big talk to the Adair Foundation. I’ll message her and time delivery so there’s no chance she’ll get it until that’s over. Knowing Steph, she’ll be eager to help.”

He hoped so, especially given what he’d be telling her as soon as he could. What if she got in a snit and refused to have anything to do with them? No. He wouldn’t believe that. Stephanie had always been an advocate for treecats. If she got upset, she’d probably just channel it into finding a solution.

He hoped.

The next morning, he found a message from Stephanie waiting. He opened it, expecting tales of triumph, and met with a shock. As soon as he had the details, he went tearing downstairs where Irina and Jessica were chatting over tea. Scott emerged from where he’d been checking over Survivor’s wounds just as he arrived.

“Someone tried to kidnap Lionheart!” Anders said, and quickly gave them the details.

“Wow!” Jessica said. “If I believed in astrology, I’d say the stars must’ve been out of alignment. We tangle with the Attack Cat. Stephanie and the rest face ’catnappers.”

“But everyone’s all right?” Scott pressed. “No serious injuries?”

“None,” Anders assured him. “Stephanie even went in and gave her talk, just like planned. She says the Earl seems like a good sort, even nicer than his cousin, and she seems to like this Gwendolyn a lot, too.”

“I bet Richard and Marjorie are relieved they’d already made plans to come home early,” Irina said. “When do they get back?”

“Three days,” Anders said.

Scott nodded. “Right. I’m going to talk with Frank, if I can catch him alone. I think our presentation to Chief Ranger Shelton would go better if we can suggest a couple of possible locations. I think I could talk Frank into giving us a few suggestions without letting his boss know.”

“Wait!” Anders said. “My dad and his team have been working out a program that models the sorts of areas that would best suit treecats. They’ve gone beyond the simple things like the need for picketwood, into plants and other materials the ’cats seem to use. They’ve even included things like preferred prey animals. That would help identify possible relocation sites, wouldn’t it?”

“Would he give you a copy?”

“Sure. I have one already. When I’ve had time, I’ve been helping with data entry. I get automatic updates.”

Jessica grinned. “We can overlay that onto the Crown lands, add in where we already know treecats are, and plug in human holdings.”

“I like it,” Scott agreed. “Ever since that bit with Tennessee Bolgeo, the SFS has been really guarded about confirming anything to do with where treecats are currently living. This way Steph and Karl can go in, make suggestions, and Shelton can tell them whether or not those locations will work.”

“And if he refuses to let them be moved?” Irina asked.

Jessica’s grin faded. “He won’t. But if he did, well, I’ve got some images cached that would go straight to where they’d do us the most good.” Her expression brightened again. “But he won’t. He’s not the sort of man to let even a bunch of chipmunks starve to death if he could help. He’ll find a way to make it work. He’d better.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Stephanie’s heart beat rapidly as the shuttle touched down. So much had happened in the last three months—and so much was about to happen. Already the demands of her coursework seemed unreal, especially in the face of the challenges to come.

When debarking began, Stephanie was immediately aware of the change in gravity. For a moment, she thought about switching on her counter-grav unit, but she resisted. From his carrier, Lionheart gave a heartfelt “bleek” and waved his true-hand to show that he, too, felt the changes.

Karl and Stephanie’s parents were chattering, bags were being gathered, general motion began towards the exit. On some level, Stephanie took part in all of it, but most of her was focused on what would happen in just a few moments. Anders had promised he’d be there to meet her, yet she felt suddenly nervous. What if he wasn’t there?

But Anders was there, tall and lean, his wheat-colored hair pulled back in its usual ponytail, his dark-blue eyes intent. His smile flashed when he spotted her in the queue. He loped forward.

“Steph! Welcome home!”

Anders hugged her, then turned and greeted the senior Harringtons. Karl was being hugged by his parents and various siblings, so the young men settled for clasping hands over the assorted dark heads.

“Your dad and I can wait for the luggage, Stephanie,” Marjorie Harrington said playfully. “If Anders wants to give you and Lionheart a ride home, you can leave now.”

Without waiting for Stephanie to answer, Anders grabbed her carry-on from her father, leaving Lionheart’s carrier to her. “Thanks!”

Stephanie considered letting Lionheart out right away, but the treecat would certainly attract attention. Better wait until they were outside. She waved to Karl.

“Later!”

Karl was now wearing some sort of homemade paper crown. He gave her a sheepish smile. “Later…”

Outside, the air was crisp, sharp with autumn in a way it hadn’t been when Stephanie left for Manticore. Or was the change she felt just the contrast between the planets? Lionheart certainly felt it. When she let him out of his carrier, he wrapped his tail around himself, then jumped into the air car.

“He did lose a lot of fur,” she said thoughtfully, talking to cover her sudden nervousness. It was one thing to message a guy just about every day. It was another to finally be alone with him. “I wonder if I should get him a sweater?”

Anders laughed. “If you do, don’t let Dr. Hidalgo see him in it.”

“Right!” Stephanie joined the laughter; both he and Jessica had messaged her about Dr. Hidalgo’s devotion to pristine cultures. “I’m all for letting the treecats live treecat lives, but not to the point where Lionheart gets sick.” She slid into the passenger seat. “How did Survivor do when you took him home? He’d lost a lot of fur, too, hadn’t he?”

“Scott and Irina felt pretty much the way you do,” Anders said. “They sent him home with a couple of jackets they’d cobbled together. All the fastenings can be undone by a treecat, so Survivor can wear them or not as he pleases.”

“That’s good. Maybe I should com for the pattern and make a couple of jackets for Lionheart.”

Anders nodded agreement, but Stephanie felt a throb of apprehension. There was something tight about his features. She couldn’t help but notice that his hand didn’t reach for hers as it would have before. Her sense that something wasn’t quite right wasn’t helped when Lionheart jumped onto the back of the seat and wrapped his tail around her neck instead of bleeking for the window to be opened the way he usually did.

“Steph,” Anders said, biting down on his lower lip. “There’s no easy way to say this, so I’m going to just be honest. I’m…I’m in love with someone else.”

“Jessica.” The answer was so obvious that Stephanie didn’t even need to guess. A sick feeling flooded the pit of her stomach, followed by a flash of anger. How could they betray her? She’d loved them both, though in different ways. She’d
trusted
them…Then, as soon as her back was turned, they’d gone against her!

“I don’t know,” Anders went on stiffly, “if Jessica loves me. I know she likes me but…She’s been keeping her distance ever since I told her how I felt. That was after the Attack ’Cat went for her.”

The air car was on autopilot, but Anders had been staring at the HUD as if he were piloting through a storm. Now he hung his head. “I feel like an utter blackhole, telling you this when you haven’t even gotten your planet legs back, but I thought holding out, acting like nothing had changed, would be worse.”

To Stephanie’s surprise, Lionheart stretched to pat Anders on one arm. For a moment, she felt a flare of jealousy. Then she understood. Lionheart could feel Anders’ emotions—and that meant the pain she saw on his face was genuine. He wasn’t acting. He really did feel terrible.

“I don’t…” she managed. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Yeah,” he said, shrugging in mute understanding. “Listen, don’t blame Jessica. She didn’t encourage me or anything. We haven’t been dating or anything…I’d been keeping my feelings to myself…Then, there she was, all covered in blood, her eye nearly slashed out…You’ve talked about how you felt when Lionheart was being attacked…I…I couldn’t lie to myself anymore. And I’d never lie to you.”

Stephanie reached into herself, wondering if this extraordinary calm she felt was Lionheart’s doing, but she didn’t think so. She could feel him there, watchful, attentive, ready to intervene if she needed him, but the treecat seemed to have learned that there were things she had to deal with without the comfort he so easily offered.

“I…Talk to me…I’m confused.”

“Me, too. What do you want me to talk about?”

“Is there something wrong with me? Are you still my friend? Is Jessica? I…I feel like the universe’s gone through a blender and everything is all different shapes. I guess I’m glad you were honest. I know I am, but I can’t…” She felt hot, fat tears running down her cheeks. “Just talk to me.”

He did. Slowly at first, then with greater detail. Eventually, she started talking, too. Back and forth, back and forth. He still thought she was great. So did Jessica. Both of them were torn up….

Was there a point when Lionheart intervened, letting Stephanie feel just how lost and confused Anders felt? She didn’t know, but throughout it all the ’cat stayed close, wrapping her within the fluffy length of his tail.

* * *

Climbs Quickly did not need to understand mouth noises to figure out the reason for the emotional storms he was caught between. The next day, when he and Death Fang’s Bane went to the two-legs’ gathering place and met with Windswept and Dirt Grubber, his friend filled him in on the details he could not gather from Death Fang’s Bane’s mind-glow.

After showing him how Swimmer’s Scourge had assaulted Windswept and Nimble Fingers, Dirt Grubber said, <
I had been aware that both Windswept and Bleached Fur had feelings for each other beyond what they were admitting. I had no idea how matters would be resolved. I know that none of those involved are completely happy right now, and the two-legs are certainly very different from the People when it comes to knowing their
own
feelings, far less anyone else’s. But I cannot help feeling this will all be for the best in the end
.>

Climbs Quickly chewed thoughtfully on the cluster stalk he had been served. Maybe it was just being home, but it tasted so much better than it had in the Hot Lands.

<
At least Windswept and Death Fang’s Bane have not parted in anger. If they can weather this, I think their friendship will be stronger than before. Now, tell me more about what has happened between Trees Enfolding Clan and the Landless Clan. I knew even in the Hot Lands that Death Fang’s Bane was worried and the moving images she showed me told me that it was because of events among the People, but that was all I knew.
>

As methodically as he would have set one of his gardens in place, Dirt Grubber began with the finding of the body he now knew to have been Red Cliff’s and his first sensing of Keen Eyes. He interwove what he had later learned from Keen Eyes and Nimble Fingers, so that by the time Climbs Quickly had taken it all in, he actually had a better understanding of events than had any of those who had been more immediately involved.