Tallstar’s Revenge

Talltail remembered how Hawkheart had made him stay in his nest when he was injured. Twolegs must do the same.

“I’m going out,” Jake told him suddenly.

“Where?”

“Just out.”

Don’t leave me on my own! Talltail blinked as Jake jumped from the ledge onto the shiny, white floor, then pushed a flap in the wall and wriggled through. Fear began to spiral in Talltail’s tender belly. Would he ever get out of here? The rogues would be traveling farther and farther away while he was trapped. He edged into the shadow at the end of the basket and sat down stiffly, ashamed for wishing that Jake would come back. Be brave! You left your Clan. You don’t need anyone!

After what felt like a whole moon, Jake dived through the flap. The Twoleg stomped into the eating room at the same moment and stroked him. Jake arched his back and lifted his tail, purring as the Twoleg showered tiny brown pebbles into a hollow stone on the floor. Jake stuck his nose in and ate. Talltail’s nose wrinkled as he picked up the scent of Jake’s food. He’d heard the elders talk about kittypet slop, but he never imagined he would see it close up. Then again, he’d never imagined he’d find himself inside a Twoleg den, with only a kittypet for company.

The Twoleg face loomed at the mesh again. Talltail hissed in surprise. The Twoleg purred and dropped a few brown pebbles through the mesh. Talltail hissed once more and the Twoleg clumped away. Talltail crept forward and sniffed the pebbles. They smelled a little bit like prey, but different, like the water. Why did Twolegs add weird scents to everything? Didn’t they like ordinary tastes and smells?

“You can eat it, you know.” Jake had hopped onto the ledge and was peering through the mesh.

Talltail took another sniff.

“It’s not poisoned. It’s the same stuff they give me,” Jake promised. He sat back on his haunches and began to wash his belly.

Gingerly Talltail picked up a pebble between his teeth and bit down on it. The flavor was sharper than prey, but not dreadful. He ate another pellet and waited to see what his belly felt like. It twinged a little but he didn’t feel sick. He lapped up the rest and listened to his belly growl appreciatively.

Talltail lifted his head as the Twoleg came back into the eating room. He arched his back as the mesh opened again, and stared at the gap, waiting for a Twoleg paw to appear. Nothing happened.

“You can come out,” Jake mewed.

Warily Talltail crept to the front of the basket and peered out. The Twoleg was standing a few tail-lengths away. Jake jumped off the ledge and began winding around its legs, purring. The Twoleg bent down and ran its hairless paw over Jake’s fur. Talltail shuddered. Then he spotted the flap Jake had leaped through earlier. This was his chance to escape! Darting forward, he jumped down from the ledge, his paws splaying as he hit the slippery floor. He struggled to his paws, his legs trembling, and scrambled unsteadily toward the flap.

Pain shot through his muzzle as he hit the unmoving flap head-on. He bounced off it like a kit running into a stone. Confused and hot with shame, he backed away. “It didn’t open!” he hissed at Jake.

“My housefolk locked it before he let you out of the basket.”

The Twoleg was bending toward Talltail. “Get away!” Talltail spat, swiping at its dangling paw with his claws.

In a flash, Jake was in front of him, shielding his Twoleg. “Leave him alone!” he snarled. “He saved your life!”

Talltail took a step back, bewildered. Twolegs saving cats? The elders never told any stories about that. “Just don’t let him touch me!” he growled.

The Twoleg’s shoulders slumped. It turned and pushed through a large sideways flap in the other wall and closed it behind. Talltail’s belly clenched. He looked helplessly at Jake’s locked flap. “I want to make dirt.”

Jake nodded toward a bright red, shallow nest filled with gray grit. “Use that.”

“Make dirt inside a den?” Didn’t kittypets have any shame?

“We all do it sometimes,” Jake reassured him.

Talltail padded to the hard-edged nest, climbed over the edge, and stood on the grit. Kicking a hole, he made dirt and covered it, uncomfortably conscious that Jake was sitting only a few tail-lengths away. He climbed out again and paced the edges of the room. “Now what?”

“You have to rest,” Jake told him.

Talltail’s legs still felt shaky, but he didn’t want to rest. How could he relax when he was a prisoner in a Twoleg den? He kept pacing, the ache in his belly nagging but not enough to stop him from moving. He gazed at the sky through the clear parts of the wall. It was growing dark. He’d wasted a whole day.

Every so often, the Twoleg returned to pour food and water or just to look at Talltail. Talltail returned its stare with a hiss and kept pacing. When the sky outside was finally black, the Twoleg brought in a big, soft shape and laid it on the floor. “My nest!” Jake mewed delightedly.