Эрин Хантер - Tigerheart’s Shadow

“A son,” Spire mewed happily, placing the soggy bundle beside the first.

Tigerheart watched as Dovewing bit down once more on the stick.

“Another daughter.” Spire placed a third kit beside the others. He ran his paw over Dovewing’s belly. “That’s the whole litter.” He sat back on his haunches and looked at Peanut.

Peanut purred. “It’s always good to help with kitting after taking care of so many sick and wounded cats.” Her gaze wandered to Marigold’s nest, which was empty.

Tigerheart looked at it. Boots, the one-eyed cat, was dragging the bundle of furless pelts apart and shaking them out with his teeth. “Where’s Marigold?”

Spire nudged Tigerheart away and lowered his voice. “She died last night,” he whispered. “She’s free from her suffering now.”

Tigerheart began to feel a felt a pang of sadness, but Peanut’s mew distracted him.

“You did well.” Peanut dipped her head to Dovewing. As Tigerheart hurried back to the nest side, the tortoiseshell padded away.

Spire followed her, and Tigerheart was suddenly very aware that he was alone with Dovewing and their three newborn kits. His fur prickled uneasily. What was he supposed to do now? Dovewing lapped the kits until their wet fur fluffed out; then she nosed them toward her belly, where they nuzzled until they found milk. Dovewing purred and curled around them. She seemed to know what to do instinctively. So did the kits. Tigerheart’s belly tightened as the huge responsibility of taking care of them gripped him. The freedom he’d felt since leaving ShadowClan seemed to evaporate like morning mist. Suddenly all the ties that had once held him were binding him again. He had left his Clan, but it had traveled with him. These kits were his to protect and to raise. They were as much a part of him as ShadowClan, and he was part of them.

Dovewing looked at him, her eyes sleepy and filled with love. “Aren’t they perfect?”

“Yes.” Tigerheart crouched awkwardly beside the nest and stretched his muzzle in to sniff them. In the shadow beneath the ledge, he could see their colors now. One she-kit was gray, like Dovewing, the other tabby like him, and the tom-kit was a gray tabby, with wide dark stripes along his flanks. They smelled warm and sweet. The tom-kit mewled indignantly as Tigerheart lapped his rabbit-soft fur, and pressed closer to Dovewing’s belly. “I don’t think he likes me,” Tigerheart murmured anxiously.

“Of course he does. You’re his father.” Dovewing touched a paw to Tigerheart’s cheek, and the tenderness in her touch made him feel guilty all over again about their argument.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have told you about Puddleshine’s dream. But I couldn’t lie to you. You have to believe that you are the most important thing in my life, but without my loyalty to my Clan, what would I be?”

She gazed at him softly. “I know. Your loyalty makes you who you are. And I know you will love our kits with the same fierce loyalty with which you love your Clan. I love you, Tigerheart. I would have loved you even if you hadn’t followed me here. I will always love you.” She paused, her green eyes shining. “Not just because you’re the father of my kits, but because you’re you . I’m sorry I made you choose between your Clan and me. No cat should ever have to make that choice. I was scared of facing this alone. I’ve been a coward.”

“No!” He licked her cheek fiercely, his heart bursting with pride. “You’ve been brave. So very brave. And I would have loved you too, even if my Clan had kept me from you. Nothing could stop the way I feel about you.”

She returned his gaze steadily. “We will always love each other. But we have a responsibility to our Clans and to our kits. We are warriors—”

Tigerheart cut in: “And our kits will be warriors too.”

Dovewing nodded. “They will be raised in a Clan.”

Tigerheart searched Dovewing’s gaze, relieved to find agreement shining in their green depths. “Yes,” he purred.

Dovewing purred too and then added, “But first they must be weaned and grow strong enough to travel.”

“They’re not going into the belly of a Thundersnake,” Tigerheart meowed firmly.

“No.” Dovewing gave a mrrow of amusement. “Thundersnakes can fill their bellies with Twolegs. Our kits will walk.”

Tigerheart saw tiredness in her eyes. “You must be exhausted. Sleep now and I will keep watch.”

Dovewing blinked at him gratefully, then cast her gaze across the cavern. The guardian cats sat in groups, sharing prey. Mittens was leading Pipsqueak and Blaze out through the entrance. Fierce dozed in a strip of sunshine. “There’s no need to keep watch,” she mewed sleepily. “They’ll keep watch for us.” She closed her eyes and let her chin rest on her paws. The kits had grown still and were purring softly.

Tigerheart rested his head on the side of the nest, contentment enfolding him like a warm breeze. As he watched Dovewing sleep, he heard paw steps behind him. He lifted his head and looked around.

Spire was padding toward him. The clear, bright gaze he’d had while he’d helped with Dovewing’s kitting had given way to the glazed look Tigerheart had seen in the tom’s yellow eyes when they first met. Was he having one of his visions?

Tigerheart sat up, blocking the way to his kits. “Spire? Are you okay?”

Spire peered past him, staring directly at the dark gray tom-kit. His fur ruffled along his spine. “This one will see into the shadows.”

Tigerheart tensed. “What do you mean?”

Spire looked at him vacantly, then padded away.

Tigerheart shook out his fur, irritated by the uneasy feeling Spire had awoken beneath his pelt. Don’t be silly. He’s not a medicine cat. He stared after Spire. But why did he speak of shadows again? Did this tom have some strange connection with ShadowClan? Was StarClan speaking through him?

Tigerheart shifted his paws nervously. He glanced up at the flat white roof, wondering if StarClan could see them here. We’ll come home as soon as we can, he promised. Turning to gaze once more at Dovewing and their kits, he leaned down and breathed in their scent. His heart ached with love, and he settled beside the nest and closed his eyes.

Hurry up. Tigerheart glanced down the alley to where Cobweb, Mittens, and Fierce had stopped to drink from a puddle. It was bad enough they had to scavenge for scraps even Twolegs didn’t want; did they have to take so long? There were no mouthwatering prey scents carried on fresh forest breezes here. Tigerheart wanted to get the patrol over with.

The laid-back life of the guardian cats no longer felt like a relief. It had begun to irritate him. Scavenging was all they did now. In the two moons since Shadowkit, Pouncekit, and Lightkit had been born, leaf-fall had hardened into leaf-bare. Prey had become scarce, and the guardian cats relied on Twoleg scraps more and more. This morning, Tigerheart had woken to a hard frost, which had turned the clear walls of the gathering-place den into patterned ice. And yet when he’d followed the others out into the streets, the city lacked the stone-cold chill of the forest, holding a warmth of its own like a huge living creature.

Fierce had suggested they take a tour of their favorite scrapcans, clustered in the alleys that ran behind the rows of dens. Tigerheart had offered to come, as he always did. He owed the guardian cats his loyalty. But he secretly hoped that he would find a mouse or bird to take home to Lightkit, Pouncekit, and Shadowkit. Weaned now, they were eager for food, and Tigerheart hated that they had only tasted Twoleg scraps. What if they didn’t grow up to be strong? City strays were agile and wily, but none of them were as well-muscled as a forest cat. He’d hunted around the gathering place, but in the city there was always the sudden rumble of a monster or the thumping paws of a passing Twoleg to scare prey before he could finish stalking it. He hadn’t caught anything for half a moon. He guessed that was why the guardian cats weren’t even trying to hunt now. Besides, the scrapcans were overflowing, even as the weather grew harsher. He remembered with a pang the anxious days of leaf-bare in the forest, when catching a single rabbit brought joy to the whole Clan because it meant a warm night’s sleep on a full belly.