Tigerheart’s Shadow

“I don’t want to hide in shadows.” Lightkit gazed up at the clear stretches of wall. Blue sky showed beyond. “I like sunshine.”

Pouncekit padded toward the middle of the den. “Can we go and look at the new cats?”

“No,” Tigerheart told him. “They’re sick. Leave them in peace.”

“But Spire gets to look at them,” Pouncekit argued. The healer was leaning over one of the new nests, where a black-and-white tom was wheezing.

“He’s taking care of them,” Tigerheart explained. His gaze drifted longingly toward Fierce. The tortoiseshell was padding between Cobweb, Ant, Rascal, Mittens, and Dotty. They were going on a special patrol.

Fierce and the other guardian cats had been talking excitedly about it for days. “We call it the outdoor gathering,” Fierce had told him. “Every moon, Twolegs set up ledges in the biggest stone clearing in the city and pile food on them, right out in the open, even when it’s raining or snowing. There’s smoke and some fire. The smells are delicious. It’s easy to scavenge. There are Twolegs everywhere, but no one looks at what happens under the ledges. Sometimes they drop food. Sometimes we can reach up and take it. Some of the ledges are covered with meat.” Fierce had paused to lick her lips hungrily. “Meat like you’ve probably never seen or smelled before. We always feast well after the outdoor gathering.”

Tigerheart wanted to join the patrol. Hurry up, Dovewing! He glanced at the den entrance. She’d gone out to make dirt. He couldn’t leave the kits. Perhaps Blaze and Peanut would watch them again. His heart leaped as he saw a gray pelt beyond the clear stretch of glass beside the entrance. Dovewing slid through.

Tigerheart blinked at the kits. “Dovewing’s back. Be good for her. I’m going out with Fierce.”

“When can we go outside?” Pouncekit’s mew echoed after him as he hurried across the floor. He passed Dovewing and paused, his head drooping. “I wish I could bring home real prey,” he told her.

She nosed him playfully. “I don’t care what you bring home, so long as it fills the kits’ bellies.” She hurried quickly away as Pouncekit, Lightkit, and Shadowkit raced to meet her.

Blaze charged from between the nests where Spire was tending to the sick cats. “Can I come?” he asked.

“There will be a lot of Twolegs there,” Tigerheart warned. The young tom had grown in the past two moons, but he was still a kit. Tigerheart didn’t want to lose him in the crowd.

“Please?” Blaze trotted beside Tigerheart. “Spire’s busy with the new cats. It’s boring here. I want to see the outdoor gathering.”

Fierce looked up as they reached her. “Are you coming?” she asked Tigerheart.

“Yes, please.”

“I want to come too,” Blaze mewed.

Fierce glanced at the young tom. She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. “You’d make a good lookout,” she meowed. “You could help Dotty guard the stash.” She glanced at the pale white-and-ginger she-cat.

Dotty nodded. “Don’t wander off,” she warned Blaze. “It gets crowded. You have to stay near me, okay?”

“Okay.” Blaze nodded eagerly.

Fierce headed for the den entrance and leaped onto the wooden ledge. Tigerheart waited for the rest of the patrol to follow and fell in at the rear. He jumped up onto the ledge and squeezed out of the entrance after Rascal and Mittens.

Fierce followed a new route away from the gathering place. Tigerheart had never been this way before. It led through quieter streets, where few monsters and even fewer Twolegs patrolled outdoors. Then she cut through a narrow alley, which opened onto a wide, open stretch of stone. The clearing was lined with ledges, just as Fierce had promised. The Twolegs had decorated them in bright colors; some had roofs. Tigerheart could see food piled high wherever he looked. The smell of smoke tinged the air. Fire? He scanned the clearing warily and saw plumes rising here and there among the ledges. But there was no sign of fire raging out of control. And the smoke carried mouthwatering scents. Countless Twolegs filed slowly between the ledges, picking at the food, lifting it to smell it, passing it to other Twolegs to wrap. Delicious scents filled Tigerheart’s nose. His belly growled with longing. He hadn’t smelled such tempting prey since he’d left the forest. No wonder the guardian cats came every moon and were willing to brave the crowds of Twolegs to scavenge here.

Fierce led the patrol quickly beneath a line of ledges. Twoleg paws padded around the edges, but in the shadows beneath, Tigerheart felt safe. A Twoleg would have to crawl on all fours to see them.

“We could keep the stash here.” Dotty stopped beside two low stones jutting up from the ground. Dotty reached into the gap between. “This will be easy to guard.”

“From what?” Tigerheart wondered out loud.

Rascal glanced around. “Some of the Twolegs bring dogs. They keep them tied to vines. But the dogs can still reach under the ledges.”

“Don’t worry.” Dotty unsheathed her claws. “A few quick swipes will scare then away.”