Jade chuffed and lifted her tail in reply. “Those fluffheads came to us last autumn. We sent them scampering away like squirrels. If they ever try to force their way into a meeting, they will find out very quickly why other outsider groups leave us alone.”
“Outsiders never change, do they?” Aspen said.
“No, they do not.” She cast a glare in Wren’s direction. The familiar look of betrayal she gave him told a story different from her passive body language.
Wren had left the East shortly after the Battle of Stone Ridge. He’d grown tired of their rigidity, and wanted some personal freedom. With this new freedom, he’d wandered the valley for a few mooncycles before getting attacked by a coyote. He’d managed to make his way to the West, where he’d recovered and fallen in love with Light, the young border guard who had taken pity on him and helped save his life.
Jade and Aspen walked in a circle, sniffing under each other’s tails. Cloud examined his paws. Scenting was a normal part of greeting someone, but watching someone else doing it was considered rude.
When the circle broke apart, Aspen groomed a foreleg. His eyes darted around the forest, as if at any moment, someone or something would jump out and grab him. “So, how have you been, Commander Jade?”
“We’ve been operational,” Jade replied.
In the two and a half winters following the creation of the Dark’s Valley Treaty, Cloud had been exposed to Eastern culture multiple times. Their militarized social structure, while strict, always seemed to be more efficient and straightforward than that of the West. Their colony was always going, working in shifts during both day and night. Even their main settlement was a strategic stronghold. They lived in a massive rift in the Eastern Mountain, a fortress easy to defend and difficult to penetrate.
For a split second, Jade’s gaze flashed directly into Aspen’s eyes. Aspen caught her glare and looked away, tail drooping.
‘She’s tense, too,’ Cloud thought. ‘And more hostile than usual. Did I miss something last meeting, or does this have to do with that outsider we found? I wish you’d just tell me what’s going on, Aspen. I might be able to help.’
A dark grey tabby walked up to Jade’s side. He brushed against her shoulder. “Come along, then. There’s no use in standing around like this,” he said. “There’s a meeting to be had. And I believe I can speak for everyone when I say we’re all feeling a bit bitey, aren’t we, Love?”
“You’re always feeling a little bitey, Falcon,” she purred, nuzzling the tabby’s cheek, then glanced back at Aspen, another threat clawmarked on her face. This time, if he even noticed, he ignored it.
“Aye, that is true,” he mewed with a chuff.
Jade smiled at him, but turned her attention to gathering of Westerners. “That said, I do believe we should be leaving for the Glade now. Why are we all standing around like useless elk?” she asked. “Lead on then, Commander Aspen.”
Aspen nodded toward the Glade. His ears lowered, cocked to the sides of his face in a display of caution. “With pleasure.”
The Eastern-Western mass followed Aspen away from the border, laughing, teasing, and comparing work, as they did every meeting. As if the cats each party was joking with hadn’t killed dear friends or beloved family members. As if Aspen had never once caused the unwarranted slaughter of tens of good colony cats. Cloud stood still and watched as everyone left for the heart of the Western Colony; he wanted no part in the insincerity.
Wren’s ears flicked in his direction a moment before Wren himself turned around. He padded back to where Cloud waited. “What’s wrong? Somethin’ botherin’ you?”
Cloud sat down and stared, eyes unfocused, into the Lowlands. “I’m worried about Aspen. There’s something going on, and he’s not telling me what.”
“Well, you’re only his advisor,” Wren said. “He isn’t going to tell you all his secrets. He may not need advice on what’s botherin’ him.”
Cloud grimaced. “Yes, but I’m starting to wonder if the pressure is getting to him. He’s been taking more risks than usual lately, and Whitehaze said he put Ember on an unstable rock for her trial.” He sighed. “He’s getting to be as anxious and paranoid as Lupine. If there’s something real threatening our colony, everyone in the West deserves to know about it. I don’t care if he’s trying to prevent a panic. If something is coming, we need to prepare. If it’s a personal problem, he needs to see the healers. We can’t afford to have a delusional or otherwise unfit leader right now.”
Wren nudged his side. “Don’t worry, Cloud. Give the him some credit. He’ll let you know if it’s important.”
He let his gaze wander past Wren, into the great unknown of the Lowlands. His life in the colony was one most cats longed for; he was a high-rank with respect, authority, and a family he cared about. His mate still wanted to be with him after they’d had their two litters. Many cats had kittens together not because of love, but because of the social and credit-related benefits of being a parent. Every molly was expected to have at least one litter, but no more than two to prevent overcrowding. Songbird was a rare exception. She didn’t care about status. She loved him for who he was before he was anyone important, and he loved her.
Yet even with such a seemingly perfect life, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was missing out on something. There was something more beyond his well-marked boundaries; something beyond Dark’s shadowy reach, where no long-dead cats would ever threaten him or his family again.
“Rather be off on your own again, wouldn’t you?” Wren asked.
Cloud sighed. There was a whole world out there, and he hadn’t even seen half a valley of it.
‘What would happen to the colony if I stepped down from being chief advisor? I could still do that. I could leave.’
His gaze trailed farther into the distance, still not focusing on anything in particular. ‘For now I guess I’m stuck here, in this mundane little life of mine, serving the colony and my family with every bit of life I have. But Song, as long as you’re just a few leaps up that mountain, I’ll be okay with mundane. For now. I can’t stay here, though. You know I can’t. I just hope I can convince you to come with me when the time comes.’
Cloud huffed out a long, pent-up breath of air.
“Alright, that’s the third sigh you’ve sighed,” Wren said. “Is there something botherin’ you? Anything you’d want to talk about?”
“Not really.”
“Understood,” he replied.
Cloud almost smiled. Wren was one of only two cats he could count on to not force him to answer questions he’d rather leave unanswered. The other cat was Songbird. In the back of his mind, he wondered if Aspen felt the same way about whatever secret he was keeping.
He spun to face Wren. “Thanks. And you’re right. If he doesn’t want to tell me something, I guess I’ll just have to trust it’s not my place to know. We should get back with the group. Aspen will be looking for us.”
Wren snorted. “You mean he’ll be lookin’ for you. He doesn’t care about me,” he said, voice devoid of emotion. “But I do agree. We should return to the Glade.”
Cloud gave a slight nod, and they started toward the Glade. They walked back up the mountain in silence, side by side. Up ahead, an Easterner caterwauled at some joke that may or may not have been funny. Life continued on.
“So, how have you been with the patrols lately?” Wren asked.
“You heard about the rogue Ember fought with, huh?” Cloud said.
Wren chuffed. “Oh yeah, but did you hear about the bobcat Hyrees took on yesterday? Big as a fox-fightin’ boulder, it was, and a feisty one, too. Hyrees took him on like a cougar.”
Cloud smiled. “Ahah, so that’s why you asked. You just wanted to brag.”
“Maybe. But I might also be wantin’ to get my mind off the death looks Jade keeps giving me. But mostly because I wanted to brag. Hyrees is a good cat to brag about. He claims he doesn’t enjoy fightin’, but tahg, when he does he gives it his all.
Not a cat alive would think he was going blind if they couldn’t see the fog in his eyes. Poor tom. I can’t help but wonder when he’s going to tell me about it, or what I’ll tell him when he does.” Wren looked away. “I’m gonna miss havin’ him as a partner when the fog takes over. He might well prefer a quieter job, but it still doesn’t change how much I’ll miss his company.”
“I can imagine. So how’s Farlight doing?”
“You know how he’s been. He’s almost your son at this point.”
“This is true. I guess that means we can both brag about him. He’s going to make a good commander when the time comes.”
“Aye,” Wren said. His ears and tail drooped. “It’s times like this when I wish Light were here to see the young tomcats her sons have grown into.”
“She’d be proud of them, I’m sure,” Cloud replied.
Wren sighed softly. They walked the rest of the way to the Glade in silence, and came to a stop inside the eastern entrance.
“I should go track Hyrees down,” Wren said. “Promised I’d help him look for something. I’ll find you later, okay? Farlight told me you’d wanted to do something after the meeting. Is that still the plan?”
“Actually, I may not have the time.” Cloud lowered his voice. “Commander wants to have a word about Ember after they leave.”
Wren’s tail threshed. “Ah. Well, I’d best be off.” He loped into the throng, leaving Cloud alone.
A few leaps away, the Easterners and Western escorts chatted and scented among each other. The cat at the back of the group, a large, ruffled-looking lynx point, sat alone. He looked up at him, then shied away. The similarly colored, yet fluffier cat beside him smiled. She licked the tom’s side. He relaxed and smiled at her. They were Jade’s son and daughter, Shard and Echo; he recognized them, though he’d never actually spoken to them. Jade always forbid them from saying anything during the main council meetings, and after those, they often wandered off with their Western friends.
“Cloud! There you are,” Songbird’s familiar voice called over the din.
His ears perked up. Songbird appeared from within the crowd. A patch of red stained her cheek.
Cloud broke into a run. “Song! What happened? Are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” she replied. “The turkey we chased down today really didn’t want us to take it. I can’t blame it for putting up a fight, but feeling sorry for prey doesn’t feed hungry Easterners.”
They touched noses, breathing in each other’s scents.
He sniffed the two puncture wounds piercing her face. “Ow, that must’ve hurt. It just missed your eye. You group hunters don’t get enough credit.”
It wasn’t until a deer kicked, and ultimately killed, one of Songbird’s closest hunting companions that he’d realized the brutal reality of being a group hunter. As it was with guarding borders, the rule of hunting was kill or be killed, and sometimes the creek would flow backward.
“I’m fine,” she said, “but where were you this morning? I couldn’t find you anywhere. You were supposed to be here for the trial. And speaking of the trial, where’s Ember? I’ve searched the whole Glade looking for her. Kivyress told me what happened. She said she hasn’t seen her since this morning when she went into the healer’s den for her tongue.”
“Ember said something about going to the falls,” Cloud replied. “She’s probably still there. And as for this morning, I was helping everyone get the camp set up. I meant to come back before they left for the cliffs, but there was a lot more that needed to be done than we’d expected, so—”
She walked in a circle. “The cliffs? The falls? The camp? Why? Why is all of this like this?”
Cloud twitched his tail in confusion.
She hesitated. “Look, I know I’m not explaining myself well, but you know what I’m trying to say. The camp is not important. The Easterners could’ve set it up themselves.”
He lowered his head. “Look, I’m sorry, but they needed my help. I had to go.”
She walked around him, tail snapping against his sides. “You volunteered. Volunteer work is not required work. Now come on—think for a moment.” She did a little skip, then slowed to a stop. “The cliffs are dangerous, and he knows they make her nervous.”
He looked away, mind trying to rationalize Aspen’s decisions. “Song, every historian trial is set up to be stressful. To pass, she has to confront that stress and discomfort, and learn to focus on doing her job. I had to do something similar when I went through the advisor’s trial, remember? It’s not easy, but not just anyone can become a high-rank. The position carries a lot of weight.”
“But you weren’t in actual danger.” She sighed and lifted her nose to the breeze. “Smell the wind, Cloud; there’s something wrong with it. It’s going to snow soon. She can’t be out in the middle of a storm.”
“She’ll come back when the weather starts to look bad,” he replied.
“That’s not what I meant. Something isn’t right with the commanders. We should all stay near the Glade. Outside isn’t safe. And you should guard yourself around Jade. She’s not safe, either.”
“Oh, so you noticed too. I guess that means I’m not going crazy.”
Songbird looked at her paws. “Good. I’ll get Ember,” she whispered. She leaned over and licked his cheek. “Tainu is already out looking for her, but I don’t think I trust those two enough to come back on their own. At least not in time. I told Farlight I’d show him how to become an honorary council member, but I may or may not be back in time, either. Don’t bother waiting for me. Oh, the Commander wants you. Have fun, and be careful.”
He couldn’t tell if she was joking or not. It sounded like she couldn’t figure it out either. She leaped past him and darted toward the northern entrance.
“Wait, don’t you want to . . .” he called after her.
She usually watched the meetings, and subtly gestured her thoughts to him. On occasion, he gave those gestures a voice. She was almost an eighth council member. It involved a lot of rule-bending for her to take part in meetings, but there was no denying she had a knack for diplomacy, so no one ever brought it up. Without her nearby, he felt lost.
“Cloud!” Aspen shouted. He stood with Jade beneath the History Tree. “We’re waiting.”
“I know. I’m coming, sir.” He watched longingly as Songbird’s ruddy brown tail vanished behind the abatis wall. Cloud shook himself off, then walked over to the Tree. He took his usual place beside Aspen, who sat on a root lump near the tree’s massive trunk. Above them, Whitehaze waited, gaze fixed on the gathering below. Jade sat directly opposite of Aspen, on a smooth stone barely two claws higher than everyone else in the Eastern half of the circle. It was nothing compared to the massive boulders they met on in the Rift, but it served its purpose well enough.
Aspen took a moment to groom his face. His torn ear twitched uncontrollably. He lifted his head and drew a deep breath. “Thank you, Commander Jade, for coming to the West in peace, and for bringing your most trusted council members with you to negotiate with us today.”
Cloud sighed and straightened himself up. ‘Let the meeting begin.’
Chapter 5
Ember
Ember gazed up at the sky. It was silver and murky, kind of like her mind. The light filtering through the clouds stung her eyes, but she didn’t care enough to look away. Rushing water drowned out some of the background noise, but every now and then a falling branch or a string of bird chirps broke through.
The cool, refreshing scents of moss and dying ferns filled her nose. They mixed with smells of unkempt fur, rotting plants, and an oncoming storm. Despite the chill in the air and the frigid water droplets covering her fur, she smiled. She tried her best to ignore the coolness of the stone against her back. It reminded her how easily she could roll off and fall into the death pit below. The icy sting of her own thoughts and color-feelings were harder to ignore.
Fernburrow Falls cascaded around her, rushing into the ravine below.
The mossy rock she lay on divided the water into two streams. Mist wafted up from where the creek collided with time-smoothed stones. Ember flicked back her ears. A tiny flame of anxiety burned in her chest, making her see-feel silver yet again. Ember tucked her paws closer to her body.
‘At least the sky is perfect today. Grey. Silver. Little patches where it’s darker or lighter.’
The wind picked up. Ember winced as a hovercraft rumbled across the sky. Its massive propellers sent twigs and dead leaves flying through the forest. She shuddered as it disappeared into the mist. Faint hints of green and cyan fluttered through her mind. Mimicking the machine, they faded into silvery unease.
‘If Dark modeled clawmarking after their marked language, they must have some kind of history tree of their own. There has to be at least one of them who cares about that tree and knows we’re still out here.’
Cloud, Whitehaze, and many others had reassured her that the humans were no longer threats, but in quiet times, when no one thought she was awake or listening, she had heard fearful whispers about their mysterious, long-legged kind. Everyone in the colony knew better than to dismiss them as harmless. Even visiting Easterners seemed to fear them. However, the ways they spoke about humankind made them seem not just wary of them, but terrified.
‘Why does all this have to be so complicated? It wasn’t like this last winter. At least not for me. Tahg. I’m not ready for real life, or growing up. There’s so much fog, I can’t see in front of me. And to think I used to look forward to becoming a border guard and starting my historian training. I used to love that fog. It was exciting back when I thought I’d never die.’
A hint of thunder grumbled through the air, so faint she almost mistook it for wind against her ears. She lifted a forepaw to her face and examined it.
‘What am I going to do with myself? Wait, I know. I’m going to find that part of me I’m missing. If I can fix myself, I can—’
“Hey, Ember! Are you up there, or am I talking to myself?” a distant voice called.
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