Tigerheart’s Shadow

“Not too vicious, though,” Fierce warned. “Remember. We mustn’t attract the Twolegs’ attention.”

Mittens lifted his nose, his eyes sparkling. “I’m heading for the ledge where they pile the fish.”

Cobweb purred. “I’ll come with you.”

Tigerheart blinked at the two cats. “You like fish?”

“All cats like fish,” Ant meowed.

Tigerheart wrinkled his nose. “Where I come from, we only eat prey with legs. Except RiverClan.”

The other cats stared at him as though he were crazy. His pelt prickled self-consciously.

Fierce whisked her tail. “I’ll take Tigerheart and Cobweb to see what food the Twolegs have brought this moon.” She nodded at Mittens, Rascal, and Ant. “You hunt for fish while Blaze and Dotty wait here.”

The patrol split, and Tigerheart followed Fierce and Cobweb as they slid from the ledges and dodged between the Twolegs streaming past. With relief, Tigerheart saw another row of ledges and ducked under it with the others.

Fierce tasted the air. “This way.” The ledges formed a tunnel, edged with Twoleg paws, and she led the way along it before dashing across another stream of Twolegs, and then another, until they reached a ledge where the scent of food was so strong, Tigerheart’s mouth began to water. Fierce stopped beneath it and glanced up at a narrow gap. A grouse’s head hung over the edge. Fierce lifted her forepaws off the ground and peered through the slit. “No one’s watching,” she whispered. Reaching up a paw, she tugged at the grouse’s head. It shifted a little, then tumbled through the gap.

Tigerheart stared down at the fat piece of prey. He couldn’t believe his eyes. A grouse in the middle of the city. Delight surged beneath his pelt. The kits were going to taste real prey today.

“Take it to Dotty, then come back here,” Fierce told him.

Eagerly, Tigerheart lifted the grouse between his jaws. The weight of it reminded him of hunting trips with ShadowClan. None of the scraps they scavenged from scrapcans weighed so much or smelled so good. Musky prey-scent filled his nose as he carried the grouse along the ledge tunnel. Peering between the brightly pelted paws of the Twolegs, he scanned the far ledges, looking for Dotty. He spotted her, crouching with Blaze beside the jutting stones. Looking both ways, he waited patiently for a gap in the stream of Twolegs that filled the space between the ledges. As the crowd eased, he darted from one row to another until he reached the stash place.

“Wow.” Blaze stared wide-eyed at the grouse as he dropped it between the stones. “I’ve never seen fresh-kill that big.”

“Fierce and Cobweb are collecting more.” As Tigerheart spoke, Rascal and Mittens dashed toward him, Ant on their tail. Each cat held a glittering fish between his jaws.

They dropped the fish between the stones.

“They’re here,” Rascal huffed.

“Who?” Alarm sparked in Tigerheart’s chest.

“Fog and her gang,” Ant told him. “They’re scavenging.”

Tigerheart peered through the maze of ledges, his fur spiking as he spotted Tuna slinking through the shadows on the far side of the clearing. Fog was with him, and an orange she-cat. Fog stopped and signaled to another group of cats nearby with a flick of her tail. How many cats did Fog have following her? Unease rippled beneath Tigerheart’s pelt.

Dotty followed his gaze, her fur pricking nervously. “There’s enough food here for everyone to share, isn’t there?” She sounded uncertain.

“If Fog wants to share it,” Tigerheart meowed darkly. He didn’t trust the smoky she-cat. She’d chased away the guardian cats’ rats. What if she wasn’t simply a mouse-brained hunter? What if she’d been trying to wreck the guardian cats’ hunt? Perhaps depriving her rivals of prey was more important than hunting. Perhaps she was just here to cause trouble, like Darktail. He nodded to Ant, Rascal, and Mittens. “Keep collecting prey. I’ll warn Fierce.”

He headed back toward the meat ledge where he’d left Cobweb and Fierce. They greeted him, eyes shining. Fresh-kill was piled at their paws. “We’ll have to make several trips back to the gathering place with a haul as big as this,” Fierce meowed happily.

“Let’s get this back to Dotty quickly.” Tigerheart nodded anxiously at the prey.

Fierce narrowed her eyes. “Is something wrong?”

“Fog and her gang are here.”

Fierce shrugged. “I guess they’re looking for food. It’s not a problem. They need to eat just like we do.”

Tigerheart gazed at her. She’d clearly never had to deal with cats like Darktail. “Not all cats want to share.”

“What do you mean?” Cobweb glanced around nervously.

“When Fog chased those rats into the trash field, did it look like she wanted to catch them?” Tigerheart stared at Fierce.

Fierce looked puzzled.

“Was she chasing them, or was she just trying to scatter them so we couldn’t catch them?” Tigerheart pressed.

Fierce frowned. “You think she wants to stop us scavenging. Why?”

“I’m not sure,” Tigerheart admitted. “But she’s camped outside your den, and we seem to trip over her wherever we go. I think she might be trying to take over your territory.”