Wildcat

by Rebecca Hutto

  Ember tilted her head. “Yes?”

  “Okay, great. Bye.” She turned and trotted away deeper into the Rift.

  Ember watched her leave in indigo-tinted silence. Her tail twitched a few times, then she walked over to the cave of healing.

  “This one?” Hyrees’s voice asked as she approached the entrance. He still had his old accent. He didn’t seem as eager as she was to adopt a new way of speaking, but it was his voice. She’d decided not to bring up the idea of an accent change a few days before.

  “No,” Shard’s voice replied.

  “This one?”

  “No.”

  “Oh wait, I’ve got it—it’s this one.”

  “No! AGH! Are you doing this on purpose? You skipped it!”

  She chuffed emotionlessly and peered inside. Hyrees sat near a wall with four bowls of herbs in front of him. Shard stood a few pawsteps away, fur ruffled and tail thrashing. Echo sat in a corner, glaring at Hyrees.

  “Maybe,” Hyrees said.

  Ember smiled. All the purples and confusion and uncertainty left, though the top of her head still felt tense. ‘At least he seems like he’s doing better. Actually, he’s been acting a lot more like himself lately. He hasn’t said anything about death for the past three days. Maybe coming here saved him.’

  “Listen here, Westerner, my brother is trying to teach you,” Echo growled. “Why not show him a bloody pawful of respect and actually do what he wants you to do?”

  Ember lifted a paw to step in but hesitated. ‘Maybe this isn’t a good time. I should probably wait until—’

  “Oh, ’ello Ember,” Shard said. “What’re you doing here?”

  ‘And now I’m stuck.’ She licked her lips. “I’m, er, done with my shift. Boreal’s off doing something, so I thought I’d check on y’all.”

  “We don’t need any help, thanks,” Echo said.

  Shard swatted her leg. “Echo, please stop. I’ve already told you: she’s my friend. I want her to stay that way—being my friend, I mean. O-obviously. And, uh, Ember, while you’re here, c-could you please tell him, Hyrees, to stop messing up on purpose? He is chasing me over the ridge, he is.”

  Ember frowned. ‘This is way too much purple for one evening.’ “Chasing? But he’s sitting. What ridge is he chasing you over? Though, Hyrees, you are annoying him, so please stop.”

  Shard groaned dramatically. “It means he’s making me go crazy. I didn’t mind it at first, I didn’t, but then he kept doing it, getting the wrong things, and it is bloody aggravating.”

  Without another word, he spun around and banged his head against the wall. He sat down and moaned. “Ow. I . . . I don’t recommend doing that.”

  “Well now look what you’ve done,” Echo said, glaring at Ember. She walked up to Shard and rested a paw on his shoulders. “Is your head alright? It’s going to be okay. You’ll see. He’ll come around and stop being such a bobcat to you. You’ll see, Shard.”

  Ember pinned back her ears. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I’ve never heard that expression before.”

  Echo turned to glare at her. “You’re only making everything worse. I suggest you leave.”

  “No, this is my fault,” Hyrees said. “Hey, Shard, I didn’t mean to upset you. I just, you know, thought it might be funny.”

  Shard huffed. “Funny for you, maybe, but you don’t understand. This is the first time I’ve ever been trusted with training someone.” He bent around to look at him. “If my mum sees you making all these mistakes, she’ll make someone else take over. I don’t want that. I like training you. I like being around you; you’re one of the only friends I have. I don’t want to lose this, and we could lose it.”

  “Tahg, Shard, I didn’t know. Sorry. Here.” Hyrees hooked the correct bowl with his paw, then slid it across the ground to where the two siblings sat. He smiled.

  Shard smiled back. “Thanks.”

  “Would this be a good time to tell you that I’m now a member of Jade’s council?” Ember asked. ‘Wait, why did I say that? That was an awkward and weird thing to say, wasn’t it?’

  “What?” all three cats said in unison. Ember almost laughed at the overlapping voices, but something told her they wouldn’t find it nearly as amusing. ‘Yes it was.’

  “Ah, so she came here to brag,” Echo said.

  A lump formed in her throat as cyan slithered back in. She lowered her head and tried to push it away. “No, no, I wasn’t trying to brag, I just wanted . . . to . . . let . . . you . . . know?” Her voice broke and became squeaky at the end, making it sound more like a question than a statement. “I don’t know, it seemed like the right thing to say at the time, and then it didn’t a moment after I said it.”

  “So how did that happen?” Hyrees mewed.

  “Uh,” she said. Something caught in her throat and sent her into a fit of coughing.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  She cleared her throat, then coughed a few more times to make sure whatever caused the first outburst wouldn’t come back for a second. Grey and blue stripes appeared in her head, causing her face to burn. “I’m fine; I’m fine. I don’t know if we’ve got the time right now. You all seem busy, so I should probably go.”

  Hyrees walked up to her. He pressed his forehead against hers. “I’ve got all the time in the forest for you.”

  Ember blinked a few times. Her heartbeat quickened. She leaned into his nuzzle for a moment, then pulled away. ‘I’m glad you’re feeling better, Hyrees, but this is awkward and I don’t like it.’

  “Oh, brilliant, now you’ve managed to make it even weirder in here,” Echo said.

  Hyrees ignored her. “It’s about time for our shift to end, isn’t it, Shard?” he asked.

  “It’s close,” Shard replied. “Though we are supposed to wait for Crow and Sunshine to get here. Just in case. You never know when there’ll be some big emergency, you know.”

  Ember stepped back and cast Echo a wary glance. “You know what? You two can finish up your shift while I, uh, go get some water.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Hyrees said.

  Shard nodded. With a slight nod of her own, Ember loped out of the cave. The sinking sun cast a gentle shadow over the world: a shadow made by the Western mountain. Her mountain. She breathed out a long, shaky sigh and let the shadows engulf her.

  As she padded over to the spring, she hummed the lullaby Songbird used to sing to her, then to Kivyress, back when they were young kittens. It brought her some comfort. Her mind wandered to her sister. As if a light switch had been flipped, the comfort disappeared.

  ‘Kivy. They hurt you, didn’t they? I hope you get better. You really do deserve better. So much better. Better than what I have here. I wish I could see you again. I could really use some help right about now. I think we’re better sisters when we’re together. Don’t you?’

  No one replied. She breathed out a slow puff of air. It condensed and faded into the thick column of steam rising from the spring. She bent down to lap at the water, to let its warmth soothe her, to calm her tense muscles and ease her pounding heart. The humidity of the surrounding air dampened her face. Water beaded on her fur like tiny raindrops.

  “Hey, Glowinglegs, didn’t expect to see you out here.” Echo walked toward her.

  Ember flattened her ears but kept drinking. ‘What are you talking about? What is this?’

  “Then again, I also didn’t expect you to reunite my brother with one of his only friends or become a member of the council that my own mother won’t let me join.” Echo stretched and yawned. “But that’s beside the point. I actually did expect to find you here because you said you were getting a drink, and I wanted to speak with you. For a change.”

  Ember stopped mid-lap and looked up at her. ‘What? What? Why?’

  “Tainu, she was . . . half of my world,” she continued. “Shard is the other half. My brother loves you and Hyrees. Tainu did too. I never could understand why, or what she saw in a freak like you, but I do kn
ow that it would scatter her ashes if she found out how I’d been treating you. And I already know Shard disapproves. I very much doubt we’ll ever be friends, but I will honor Shard and Tainu’s wishes and tolerate you again. For her sake, and for his sake, not yours or mine.”

  Ember sat up and tilted her head. “Er, okay. Thank you, I guess. If it makes you feel any better, I’ll probably be tormented with regret for the rest of my life.”

  Echo snorted. “Not really, but I appreciate the attempt. I’m sorry I tried to kill you. That’s all. Oh, and don’t worry, they’re going to send a peace ambassador. And that really is all, so I’m going to leave now.”

  She watched in confusion as Echo ran back to the Rift. ‘That was weird. How does she know about the ambassador idea? I th- . . . You are way too tired for this, Ember. Come on. Just finish drinking, and go re-find Hyrees. You can think about this some more tonight.’

  Chapter 29

  Boreal

  Chaos—complete chaos. Cats were fighting. The scent of blood filled Boreal’s nose. She crouched down in a field, a patch of land with no trees that looked far too much like the humans’ slope. Flying machines circled overhead, flashing their lights and hissing for her to do something. But everything had all happened too fast. Boreal was frozen.

  ‘Ambush—they ambushed us! Why would they do that? I thought they were our friends. What am I supposed to do?’

  “Help! Help me, Boreal!” The voice was muffled but familiar.

  “Father!” she called. “Father, where are you? Why are they attacking us? I thought we were safe.”

  “Stop asking questions and come help me, you worthless kitten. No wonder Cascade left. I should’ve run off with her. She left because of you, you know.”

  “That’s not true!” Boreal yowled.

  “Then prove it,” Falcon snapped. “Save me and kill the traitor.”

  The grass in front of her parted, revealing Falcon being pinned by a shadowy figure with glowing green eyes. Something about the eyes looked familiar, but she couldn’t place where she’d seen them before. She tackled the cat off of Falcon and sank her fangs into its neck. The cat dropped to the ground. Light from one of the flying machines poured down onto them. Boreal’s throat tightened. A painful lump formed in her chest and traveled up her neck until she couldn’t breathe. The cat’s eyes stared up at her, kind but lifeless, and all too familiar.

  “Hyrees!” she screamed, choking on her own words.

  Blood dripped from her mouth, forming a puddle that stained her paws red.

  “You’re the one who killed him?” a new voice asked, a voice with a fake Eastern accent. Ember ran up to them, eyes glowing with fury. “I never should have trusted you! They were right—you really are a failure. I hate you!”

  “Come on, Boreal.” Falcon jumped in between them and pawed at her side. “Wake up.”

  Everything went black as her mind returned to the waking world. Boreal shivered. She breathed a silent sigh of relief. ‘It was just a dream. It wasn’t real,’ she told herself. Yet it was real, in a way. When the West had attacked all that time ago, everything had been moving so fast, she’d been too terrified to think straight. She’d never intended to hurt anyone, much less kill someone, but it had happened, and there was no taking it back. Especially not now; not since Hyrees had explained to her how he’d lost everything. She’d hurt him without even realizing it—by taking his father’s life.

  “Jade has an announcement to make,” Falcon said. His voice sounded close and unusually subdued.

  ‘Fine. What is it now?’ she opened her eyes to find him standing a few clawlengths away from her face. She pulled her head back and yawned away the chills. “Alright, Father, I’m coming.”

  She got up and stretched, then walked out into the Rift. She cast a glance at the quarter beside her as she moved. Empty. ‘Oh well. I’ll find them later. Not that I really want to speak with them now. Almost wish I could patrol alone again for a change.’

  “Let’s go. They’re waiting for us,” he said, without a growl for some reason. He seemed almost excited, but she didn’t want to think too hard about what could be making him so eager. Or nice.

  ‘Wait, that’s right, they’ve made Ember a part of the council. Or at least her tag. Probably just announcing that. I don’t see why he would get so excited about it though, so it may well be something else. I don’t know. But does it really matter? None of these things usually affect me, so why do I even bother going?’

  “Boreal, come on.”

  ‘Oh, because Father insists. Right.’ She pawed at a nearby pebble, sending it scampering away, like she wished she could do. “I’m coming, Father.”

  They walked side by side, but it felt like he was too far to reach. She pictured him being somewhere across a deep chasm where, no matter how close either of them got to the edges of their sides, they couldn’t even hear each other speak. She checked the ground ahead for sharp stones, then closed her eyes. Try as hard as she might, she couldn’t make her mother’s face appear in her imagination. She could imagine her fur to be brown and her stripes to be dark, but they weren’t the right shades or shapes. She could have sworn she’d had a narrow face with a clever, ever-calculating expression, but how narrow, and how clever? Boreal sighed and gave up.

  ‘Mother, why didn’t you come get me like you promised? Are you dead, or have you forgotten? Or maybe you no longer care. Perhaps you never cared. I wouldn’t be surprised. I don’t know anyone who really cares. They either pretend or they don’t. Maybe I really did chase you away.’

  On the other side of the valley, the first rays of sunshine struck the tip of the western mountain, almost glowing with the soft, yellow light. Mist wove through the trees in the Lowlands below, like an eerie lake that swallowed up all life that got in its way. Rogues, outsiders and wildcats made their homes amid the lake, most of them ruthless barbarians who would do anything for the right price. Boreal shivered.

  “Are you okay? You seem rather shaken-up this morning,” Falcon said, breaking the silence.

  ‘Why is he asking me this? I thought he didn’t care.’ She looked down at her paws. “I’m fine. It was just a dream.”

  “And you’re sure you’re okay? I know you had some awful terrors after we left the West. Woke me up twice.”

  ‘He never told me I woke him up.’ She paused for a moment, then kept walking. “I already told you, I’m fine. I’m not a kitten anymore. I think I can get over a little nightmare.”

  “So it’s more than the dream that’s got you upset.”

  Boreal grimaced. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  She winced, expecting him to demand an explanation like he always did, but to her surprise, he sighed and continued moving forward. “Very well,” he said. “I’ll leave it alone.”

  They stopped in front of the rocks Jade announced things from. She sat on top of the tallest stone, towering over her colony as usual. Beside her, on a slightly smaller stone, sat Eclan, her favorite lackey. Jade’s tail twitched once. Twice. “I hope you are all having a pleasant morning,” she said. “I’ve gathered you all together to make a couple of announcements. The first of which is, the Westerner we’ve taken in, Ember, has proven her worth. I have added her to the council. Her knowledge will serve us well and lead us into an era of improvement beyond what any of our ancestors could have ever imagined.”

  The tiny speech was clearly meant to be heroic, yet the murmur following indicated mixed feedback. She personally didn’t want Ember on the council, but that was mostly because Ember herself had said she didn’t want to be on it. However, from an unbiased perspective, it made sense—a cat with the answers to everything offering the commander advice. It was the obvious thing to do.

  “The next announcement I have has to do with our somewhat shaky relationship with the West. The council has decided it would be best if we sought to make peace with our neighbors once again. The longer we are in a state of declared war, the more time we are giving the
m to launch an attack. While another fight is unlikely, if there were to be one, we’ve predicted there to be mass casualties on both sides, possibly leading to the eventual ends of both colonies.”

  Another wave of mumbling swept the lake of cats. Jade ignored them. “This is why I’m sending Falcon, my most trusted advisor, to the West with gifts carried by two of our strongest border guards.”

  Boreal’s eyes widened. ‘Father? Wait, no, he can’t go. What if I lose him too? If he dies, I’ll have lost my entire family.’

  “They will leave this morning. Eclan will guide them safely to their destination, and together, they will bring a new era of peace to the valley. When he returns, successful and heroic, we will be safe once again from the oppression of war.”

  Some cats cheered. Others scoffed. Most of the colony wanted to leave behind the death and destruction of war, but some still wanted revenge, and still others wanted to forget the Western Colony even existed.

  Boreal turned to Falcon. “Father, please don’t go. Tell her to send someone else.”

  He smiled and placed a paw on her side. “You know it doesn’t work like that. When Jade gives me an order, it’s my duty to follow it through. The entire council has agreed it would be for the best if I went. It gives us the greatest chance of success.”

  “What if Jade and the council are wrong?”

  “Boreal, I volunteered to go,” he said.

  She slid his paw off of her shoulder. “Then what if you’re wrong?”

  “The Westerners would have to be absolute fluffheads to kill me. If they have any brains among them, they’ll accept the offer we give them.”

  “And if not?”

  Falcon leaned closer. “Then you make sure they pay for their stupidity,” he whispered in the tone that meant ‘you had better agree with me, Boreal.’ “Okay?”

  She nodded. “So when do you leave?”

  He chuffed. All the threats in his voice vanished. “Oh, so you are trying to get rid of me. We’re going after I help Jade and the others gather the gifts together.”

  “Father, you know that’s not why I asked.”