Firestar’s Quest

Cherry and Boris exchanged a glance; Cherry opened her jaws to reply, but Firestar silenced her with a flick of his ears.

“But they’ve heard about you,” Firestar went on, “and there are things you need to know about them. We’re holding a meeting tomorrow night in the gorge, by the rocks where the river flows out. Will you come?”

Oscar’s eyes narrowed to brilliant green slits. He raised one paw and slid the claws out, contemplating them coolly.

“Might. Might not.”

Firestar bit back his frustration. He guessed Oscar was a bit of a show-off, but at the same time this was a strong cat who would be a useful Clan member. “You see, I’m trying to rebuild SkyClan, and I’m looking for any cats who might be interested in joining.”

Oscar stretched his jaws wide in a yawn. “Why would I want to do that?” Not waiting for an answer, he jumped down from the tree and disappeared.

“Come anyway! See what you think!” Firestar called after him.

Cherry’s neck fur bristled. “We should have known better than to ask him!” she mewed. “He’s a real pain in the tail.”

“Never mind,” Firestar replied. “We have to ask as many cats as we can.”

“Let’s get on, then.” Boris sprang impatiently to his paws.

“I think we should talk to Hutch next.”

“Yes, let’s.” Cherry’s eyes gleamed and she swiped her tongue over her whiskers. “His Twolegs give him cream!”

The two kittypets led Firestar along the fence of Oscar’s garden and down into a narrow alley. Firestar’s fur prickled as he remembered being lost in the other Twolegplace while he was looking for Sandstorm, but his two guides trotted ahead confidently.

Before they had gone far, another cat appeared around the corner and halted with its pelt bristling, then relaxed as Boris and Cherry drew closer.

“Hi, Bella,” Cherry greeted her. “Come and meet our new friend.”

Firestar padded up to Bella, a pretty tabby-and-white she-cat with warm amber eyes. He was reminded of his sister Princess, who lived in the Twolegplace that bordered the forest. This cat didn’t look as if she had SkyClan ancestry; she didn’t have the same powerful haunches as Boris and Cherry, and when she raised her paw to dab at a piece of dust on her nose, her pads were soft and pink.

“Hello.” Bella dipped her head politely. “You’re new around here. Where do your housefolk live?”

“Firestar doesn’t have housefolk,” Boris informed her.

“He’s a Clan cat.”

Bella’s eyes stretched wide with curiosity, changing to wonder as Firestar briefly told his story.

“You’ll come to the meeting, won’t you?” Cherry prompted when he had finished. “It’ll be great, living in a Clan! I’ll show you how to catch mice.”

Bella shook her head. “I couldn’t possibly do that. I would miss my housefolk far too much, and they would miss me.”

“But—” Boris began.

“No,” Bella repeated more firmly. “The other night I got shut in the neighbor’s shed, and when I got back my housefolk’s kits were wailing. I can’t bear to think of them upset like that again.” She pressed her muzzle affectionately against Cherry’s. “But I hope you enjoy living in this new Clan, if that’s what you want.”

“Thanks, Bella.” Cherry looked unusually serious. “We’ll come and visit you sometimes; I promise.” She watched as the she-cat trotted away down the alley. “I’ll miss her,” she muttered. “She’s a good friend.”

Boris gave her ear a quick lick. “Come on; let’s go and find Hutch.”

At the other end of the alley Cherry and Boris paused beside another fence. One of the wooden strips was broken at the bottom, leaving a space just wide enough for a cat to squeeze in.

“We’ve got to be careful,” Boris warned. “Hutch’s Twolegs have a dog as well. It should be shut up, but keep your eyes open.”

Cherry had already pushed her way through the gap.

Firestar followed warily, while Boris brought up the rear.

On the other side of the fence, Firestar found himself in a thicket of strong-smelling bushes. Beyond it a stretch of grass led up to a path made of sharp little stones running around the Twoleg nest.

“Hey, Hutch!” Boris yowled. “Are you in there?”

Firestar stiffened as a flurry of barking came from the nest, but no dog appeared. Instead, a tiny door swung open in the big Twoleg door, and a dark tabby cat poked its head out.

Spotting Cherry and Boris, he slid out the rest of the way, bounded across the stony path without flinching, and raced over the grass to meet them in the shadow of the bushes. He was not as powerfully built as Oscar, but he looked strong, and Firestar had noticed when he crossed the path that he had the hard pads that were a mark of SkyClan. He smelled strongly of kittypet food.

“Hi,” he meowed with a friendly flick of his ears to Firestar. “My name’s Hutch; what’s yours?”