Warriors: Dawn of the Clans #2: Thunder Rising (10 page)

Turtle Tail padded up to her and touched her nose to Bumble’s ear. “Come on,” she coaxed. “You can tell me.”

“Yes,” Gray Wing added. “There’s no reason to be scared of us.”

Bumble still hesitated for a moment, blinking unhappily. “It was Tom,” she admitted at last, her voice shaking. “He turned against me once you left, because he blamed me for telling you the truth. He’s been bullying me; he swipes and scratches at me, but he’s clever enough to do it where the Twolegs won’t notice unless they really look hard.”

“I’m so sorry,” Turtle Tail mewed, giving Bumble’s ear a comforting lick.

Bumble looked up at her with desperate yellow eyes. “I don’t want to live with the Twolegs,” she declared. “Can I come and live with you? I know I treated you badly, but I can’t live with Tom anymore.”

Gray Wing glanced at Turtle Tail and moved instinctively closer to her, seeing his own alarm reflected in her eyes.
There’s no way this could work!

The kits, who had been listening to all this with wide eyes, began bouncing up and down with excitement.

“Come and live with us!” Pebble Heart squeaked excitedly.

“Yes, come and live with us!” Sparrow Fur repeated.

“Hush!” Turtle Tail told her kits sternly. “Bumble, I want to help you,” she went on. “You were a good friend to me when I needed one. But you’ve been a kittypet all your life. There’s no way you’d survive in the wild, hunting for your food.”

Gray Wing knew his friend was right. Bumble was plump, with a glossy pelt and soft belly. She had a thin tendril around her neck, with a tiny glittering thing that made a tinkling sound as she moved.
That would frighten off all the prey!
And she had lost all her former confidence, hardly able to meet their eyes, her voice shaking as she spoke.
She’d be useless and terrified, living out here
.

“I could—” Bumble began.

“You spend most of your days sleeping!” Turtle Tail interrupted. “You’d be so vulnerable out here.”

Bumble looked crushed by Turtle Tail’s refusal, and for a heartbeat Gray Wing thought she was going to turn back to the Twolegplace. Then the kittypet seemed to brace herself. “Please, take me to see Tall Shadow,” she begged. “Let me ask her. I can be very convincing!”

Yes, you convinced Turtle Tail to go and live with you
. Gray Wing would have refused, but Turtle Tail gave a reluctant nod, and the kits were already racing excitedly back to the hollow. Bumble followed them, with Gray Wing and Turtle Tail a pace or two behind.

Gray Wing felt a pang of resentment against Bumble, for interrupting his time with Turtle Tail and the kits. He tried not to let that influence him, but he knew that it would never work for Bumble to join them. “Tall Shadow won’t agree,” he murmured. “You know how cautious she is around other cats. She refused to take in Gorse and Wind, remember.”

“That’s why I want Bumble to ask her,” Turtle Tail responded. “Tall Shadow is bound to refuse, and then maybe Bumble will understand that she can’t live with us, and go back to the Twolegplace.”

Gray Wing nodded in agreement, then put out a paw to halt Turtle Tail before they reached the top of the hollow. “You were so kind to her,” he mewed.

Turtle Tail sighed. “I don’t have it in me to hold a grudge,” she replied. “You above all cats should know that.”

Her answer puzzled Gray Wing. “What do you mean?” he asked.

Turtle Tail looked briefly confused, as if she’d said more than she intended. “Well,” she stammered, “you know, you weren’t exactly pleased with me when I made friends with Bumble.”

Guilt clawed at Gray Wing.
I had no right to tell Turtle Tail what to do
. “I’m sorry,” he meowed. “I shouldn’t have been so quick to judge. Can I make it up to you now?”

“You already are,” Turtle Tail purred, brushing her muzzle against his. “You make it up to me every day you spend with the kits.”

Sudden happiness flooded through Gray Wing. “That’s easy then,” he responded. “Come on. Race you back to the hollow!”

C
HAPTER
9

Gray Wing and Turtle Tail caught
up with Bumble and the kits at the top of the hollow. Before they could head into the camp, Gray Wing heard a voice calling his name; Wind and Gorse appeared from behind an outcrop of rocks and bounded toward them.

“Hi,” Wind meowed, with a curious glance at Bumble. “Who’s this?”

Turtle Tail dipped her head in greeting to the two rogues. “This is a kittypet friend of mine,” she explained. “Her name’s Bumble.”

“A
kittypet
?” Gorse spluttered, his eyes stretching wide with scorn he didn’t bother to hide. “What are you doing, hanging out with a kittypet?”

Bumble raised her head defiantly and faced the two rogues. “I’m tired of being a kittypet,” she asserted. “I want to lie in the sun all day and catch mice and climb trees. I’m going to ask if I can join Tall Shadow’s group.”

Wind twitched her whiskers. “Good luck with that,” she muttered.

Gray Wing gave her and Gorse an uncomfortable glance.
They really want to join us, and Tall Shadow won’t allow it, in spite of all they’ve done. And now this kittypet thinks she can just stroll in. . . .

He expected that Wind and Gorse would be furious, but all Gorse did was shrug. Wind mewed, “I’ll come with you. This should be interesting.”

Gray Wing wasn’t sure that was a good idea, but there was no way of stopping Wind as she headed beside them down the slope into the camp.

Tall Shadow was sitting on her rock, keeping watch as usual. No cat had taken up Jagged Peak’s suggestion of organizing groups with duties such as patrolling the edge of the hollow.

When Tall Shadow spotted Gray Wing and the others she leaped down and padded over to them. Other cats too were gathering around, casting curious glances at Bumble.

“Who’s
that
?” Jagged Peak asked. “She doesn’t look as if she’s short of prey!”

Turtle Tail’s kits ran ahead, bouncing excitedly up to Dappled Pelt and Cloud Spots. “Bumble is coming to live with us!” Owl Eyes announced.

Dappled Pelt and Cloud Spots looked startled, while Tall Shadow cast an accusing glance at Gray Wing. “What’s gotten into you?” she muttered. “Why have you brought her here?”

Gray Wing gazed back at her. “She just showed up, wanting to join us. What could I do?”

“You could tell her what a mouse-brained idea it is,” Tall Shadow replied, beckoning Gray Wing a pace or two away, so that they could talk without Bumble overhearing. “Send her back to her Twolegs.”

“It’s not my job to send her anywhere,” Gray Wing responded, nettled at his leader’s tone. “She can wander all over the moor for all I care.”

Tall Shadow’s tail-tip twitched. “Including into our camp?”

“If guests aren’t welcome, it’s the first I’ve heard of it,” Gray Wing meowed. “I know as well as you do that she can’t stay here. But doesn’t she have the right to come and ask?”

Tall Shadow sniffed, then turned to Bumble, her eyes narrowed. “Why do you want to live with us?” she asked stiffly.

Bumble seemed unaware of the tensions among the cats. Gray Wing noticed that her confidence had returned, now that she had to argue her way into the camp.
A few moments ago, she couldn’t even look Turtle Tail in the face!

Bumble dipped her head politely to Tall Shadow. “There’s another kittypet, Tom, who’s come to live with my Twolegs, and he’s been pushing me around,” she explained. “Just look at the scratches he gave me!” she added, thrusting a leg forward. “Have you ever seen anything so awful?”

Oh, yes
, Gray Wing thought.
We’ve seen
much
worse than that. And so will you, if you stay here
.

“But why would this other cat attack you like that?” Tall Shadow asked.

Bumble slid a glance toward Turtle Tail. “I think he’s angry because she left.”

Shocked, Gray Wing took in a sharp breath.
Is she suggesting that this is Turtle Tail’s fault?

Turtle Tail blinked at Bumble, obviously hurt. She was opening her jaws to speak when Sparrow Fur butted her leg. “Who’s Tom?” the kit asked.

The question distracted Turtle Tail from Bumble. “Never mind that,” she told Sparrow Fur, sounding flustered. Sweeping her tail around to gather all the kits together, she added, “Come along, all of you. It’s time for your nap.”

In spite of the kits’ shrill protests, Turtle Tail bundled them away across the camp to their den. Bumble blinked unhappily as she watched her friend leave.

Gray Wing stayed where he was. He wanted to see what was going to happen, and intervene if he had to.

Tall Shadow hesitated, seeming to struggle for the right thing to say. “Is there any way of making your peace with Tom?” she asked Bumble eventually. “Can’t you find a way of living happily together?”

Bumble shook her head. “You should be saying that to Tom, not me,” she declared. “I haven’t done anything to him.”

Tall Shadow seemed to be at a loss. “Well, then . . . why not make yourself extra nice to your Twolegs,” she suggested. “Purr at them, or whatever kittypets do.”

“Lick their fur,” Lightning Tail suggested.

“Mouse-brain!” Acorn Fur gave her brother a shove. “Twolegs don’t
have
fur!”

“There must be something you can do,” Tall Shadow went on, with a severe glance at the kits. “Then maybe the Twolegs will give you extra treats that will make it worth staying.”

Bumble let out a snort of scornful laughter. “You think
treats
are going to make my life okay? You’ve seen my scratches!”

Gray Wing could see that Tall Shadow was trying to break it gently to Bumble that she couldn’t stay.
But “gently” isn’t going to work. Bumble has to be told so she understands what a mouse-brained idea it is
.

Before Tall Shadow could speak again, Wind thrust herself between her and Bumble. “I’m sorry you’ve had such a bad time,” she told the kittypet. “But there’s absolutely no way you can come and live in the hollow with these cats. You’re a
kittypet
. You don’t know how to hunt, you’re soft and lazy, and you’re used to eating too much food.”

Bumble flinched back at the harsh words, her eyes wide and hurt. Some cat in the group that surrounded them—Gray Wing wasn’t sure who—made a small sound of protest, but Wind ignored it.

“You wouldn’t be able to contribute to the group,” she told Bumble sternly, “and not only that—your presence would put the lives of other cats in danger. There’s simply no place for a weak cat in the wild.” Wind looked over her shoulder. “Isn’t that right, Tall Shadow?”

Gray Wing realized that the gaze of every cat in the hollow was trained on Tall Shadow.
If Tall Shadow agrees, it will look as if Wind is in charge. And if she doesn’t agree, it might mean finding an excuse for Bumble to stay
.

Tall Shadow began to pad forward, trying to circle around Wind. “I’ll escort you back to your Twolegplace,” she told Bumble.

But before she could reach the kittypet, Wind called out to Gorse, who came racing down into the camp to stand beside her. Together they flanked Bumble. “We’ll take care of this,” Wind meowed.

Before any cat could argue, she and Gorse began to march Bumble away; Bumble looked too taken aback to resist. “You let me down!” she yowled back at Turtle Tail as she and her escorts disappeared over the top of the hollow. “After all I did for you! I’ll never forgive you!”

Why is this Turtle Tail’s fault?
Gray Wing wondered.
I’ll never understand kittypets. . . .

Tall Shadow perched back on her rock, her face fixed on the horizon. Gray Wing guessed that she didn’t want any cat to see her expression.

He leaped up beside his leader. It was a long moment before she acknowledged him. Then, still without looking at him, she meowed, “I’m sorry I’ve been distant with you, Gray Wing. I suppose it’s hard for me, knowing that some cats would prefer you as leader.”

Gray Wing dipped his head. “I understand. And I want you to know that I would never dream of challenging you. I don’t want to lead.”

Tall Shadow let out a little sigh. “Do you think I should let Gorse and Wind join our group?” she asked. Her voice was shaking. It sounded almost as if she couldn’t trust herself to make the right decision anymore.

“Wind might have overstepped a bit just now,” Gray Wing began carefully. “But I trust her and Gorse. They’ve helped us hunt, and they’ve saved lives.”

Tall Shadow twitched her whiskers thoughtfully, but didn’t respond.

“I know Wind probably wants Bumble out of the way so that there’s room for her and Gorse in the camp,” Gray Wing went on. “But Bumble would never really fit in here.”

“Do you think I don’t know that?” Tall Shadow snapped. “Isn’t that what I was trying to tell Bumble myself?”

“Of course, of course.” Gray Wing soothed his leader with his tail-tip resting on her shoulder.
Except you never actually said so.
 . . .

Tall Shadow looked down at the other cats. Acorn Fur and Lightning Tail were tossing a ball of moss to each other, while Hawk Swoop and Turtle Tail looked on. Cloud Spots and Dappled Pelt were having an earnest consultation over a heap of herbs; Thunder was sharing some prey with Rainswept Flower. None of them seemed interested in Tall Shadow or Gray Wing, up on the rock.

“They asked you to be leader,” Tall Shadow mewed after a moment. “And just now I let Wind take over. Maybe it is time to let some other cat take charge.”

“Never!” Gray Wing protested.

Tall Shadow fixed her gaze on the horizon again. “Have you never, ever questioned the leadership here?” she asked. “Have you never thought about how things could be different? I wouldn’t blame you.”

Gray Wing remembered the dream when he had returned to the mountains and met with Stoneteller in the Cave of Pointed Stones.
She implied I would become leader
, he thought, shame throbbing through him.
But I can’t tell Tall Shadow that
. “Never,” he protested weakly.

Tall Shadow turned to look at him, her gaze deep and searching. For a moment she said nothing, only sighed deeply, then turned away again to scan the rolling moorland. “Leave me to my thoughts—please,” she murmured.

Gray Wing wanted to find words to reassure his leader, but he knew that nothing he could say would do any good. Reluctantly he jumped down from the rock. He felt that something had changed in the hollow. Something big. If only he could see into the future, to what would happen in a few moons.

And I’ve learned something new about Wind
, he thought.
She took control so smoothly and bundled Bumble out of the hollow. She’s clever. . . .