“Falcon, come. We must prepare for your journey,” Jade called.
He smiled again. “I know. I’ll see you later. My colony needs me.”
Boreal grimaced as he got up and left. ‘Well, that was odd. I didn’t think he could smile. Not for me at least.’
She went to the storage cave to get food while Falcon helped Jade. When she received her meal, a small piece of venison, she went and hid in the rocks at the back of the Rift. As much as she liked her new friends, now was not the time to make small talk with them.
‘Why is he acting so kind now that he’s about to leave?’ She thought, absentmindedly gnawing on her food. ‘Does he think he might die? If so, why would he volunteer?’ She sighed. ‘I don’t know.’
Falcon’s head popped up from the edge of the rock pile. “Hey, is there room for one more up here?”
Her muscles tensed. She licked her lips. “There’s a lot of room up here, if you’re willing to make the climb.”
“I’d climb a mountain to get to you,” he said. He disappeared behind the stones, then hopped up with a turkey breast. He padded over to her and set it down. “And I mean it. I want you to know that, whatever happens, I love you. I always have and I always will; even if I’ve never been good at expressing it. Your mother, she loved you too. I’m sorry I chased her away from us.”
Boreal thought for a moment. “If Mother came back, and I decided I wanted to go with her, would you still love me?”
He nuzzled her side. “Of course I would. I’d be sad to see you leave, but I wouldn’t stop you. In all honesty, you’d probably be happier out there. Believe it or not, I want you to be happy.”
“I’m not so sure I believe it.”
“Listen, I’ve made some mistakes, but I do love you. If worse comes to worst and there is a war, I don’t want you fighting in it. I’ve taken some fairly large risks to keep you safe. I’ve pushed the limits of my power. But the important thing is, as long as you don’t fight, you’ll be okay.”
She sat up, ears back. “You think you’re going to die, don’t you?”
“I don’t know, Boreal. It could go either way, but I thought it would best for you if I took precautions. Set things right and in order. Now come on, we should eat. Our food will freeze if we don’t have it now.”
‘Okay, now I’m worried,’ she thought as she went back to her meal.
They finished their food in silence, then Jade found them and ushered Falcon over to the border guards. Boreal followed at a distance.
Jade pressed her forehead against his. “Be careful. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“I will, Love. Take care of yourself,” he purred.
Jade turned to look at the guards. “You two will protect him with your lives, understood?”
They lowered their heads. “Yes, Commander,” the older of the two replied.
“We’ll make sure he gets back safely, ma’am,” the other said.
“Good,” Jade said. “Now, where is that rogue? He was here a moment ago. Boreal, make yourself useful and fetch him for me. I think I saw him scampering off toward the northern rim.”
Boreal stepped back. “Uh, yes, yes ma’am, I’ll find him.”
“Be quick about it, molly. We’re wasting time.”
Boreal lowered her head and trotted off across the Rift, sniffing the breeze for Eclan’s foul odor. She caught it moments before spotting his thrashing tail on the other side of a rock. Hushed voices murmured, too faint to make out. She edged closer.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come?” Eclan said. “You suggested it, didn’t you? If something bad happens, there’s a chance you’ll get blamed, and if you get blamed, there’s a chance you ain’t escaping this place alive.”
“I barely even suggested it. It was Falcon who really jumped on the idea,” a voice with a distinctly fake Eastern accent replied.
Boreal’s ears perked up. ‘Ember? Why are you, of all cats, talking to him?’
“Part of your job is keeping things from going wrong, isn’t it?” Ember continued. “If anyone gets hurt, it would be more your fault than mine. Besides, I kind of like it here, and we’ve just gotten settled. I mean, even Hyrees is doing better, if that says anything.”
“Look, all I’m sayin’ is that this might be your last chance to get out of the system. You could be free from the tyranny of living under a commander and, you know, being a council member will only make you even less free. Trust me, this place ain’t as great as it seems.”
Boreal snapped her tail in confusion. ‘Wait, what does he care if she stays or goes? And I don’t want her to go. If she and Hyrees leave, I’ll have no one left. Maybe not even Father. Please say “no.” ’
“I, uh, I appreciate the offer, but I’d rather stay here and make sure everything works out. Maybe after the colonies make peace, but not before. Otherwise I’d go crazy not knowing what happened.”
“You’re already crazy, kitten, but it is your choice. That’s not to say you made the right one, but I’m sure your eavesdroppin’ friend appreciates it.”
Boreal’s chest tightened, face burning with embarrassment. She sighed and walked around the rock.
“Oh, uh, hi-hello, Boreal,” Ember said. She looked down at her mechanical paws and rubbed one on top of the other.
“Sorry about that,” Boreal replied. “Eclan, Jade is looking for you. It’s time for you to leave, apparently.”
“Of course,” Eclan said. “Just had a little side mission I needed to complete. Nothing too big. I’m done with it now. Oh, hold up, Ember, remember, you still owe me answers. Don’t get yourself killed before I get back, got it?”
“Got it,” she said. “I’m not planning on dying anytime soon.”
Eclan smiled. “Good.”
“But things don’t always go according to plan,” she added.
“Eh, good enough,” he said.
“Side mission?” Boreal asked.
Eclan brushed past her. As he moved, his tail thwacked against her nose. Boreal growled and trotted after him.
“There’s an outsider I met in the Lowlands that Eclan sometimes works for,” Ember said, running along beside her. “He wants me to join a group of outsiders he knows, but I’m not sure I want to take that kind of risk, especially not when everything is going so well for once. I mean, all I know about it is what I’ve been told about it. I don’t even know for a fact it exists, so I’m staying here for now.”
Boreal smiled. “I’m glad you won’t be leaving me. You and Hyrees are the only friends I have, you know.” Her smile faded. “My dad is leaving today to go to your colony. He seems to think he might die. What do you make of it? You know your colony better than anyone. Does he have a chance at making peace?”
Ember thought for a few moments. “As long as Lupine is in charge . . . I don’t know. But I do know that pretty much everyone in the West is terrified of war. I like to think they would get excited by the idea uh-of making peace again after only one battle. I know I am. I want this to be over.”
‘That’s not very comforting.’ She sighed. “Me too.”
“You’re certainly fond of taking your time, aren’t you?” Jade asked as they approached her.
“Me and Eclan were talking,” Ember said. “I, er, still owe him for-for helping us get here safely. She didn’t want to interrupt.”
‘Thank you.’
“Oh, really?” Jade’s eyes narrowed. “Interesting.”
Boreal turned her attention back to Falcon. She walked up to him and pressed her head against his neck. “Please be safe. Please come home.”
He rested his chin on her neck. “I will. As long as I’m alive, I’ll always come back for you.”
‘Well then, that’s an odd choice of words. And again, not comforting.’
He stepped back and stared at her. His expression looked somewhere between guilt, excitement, and dread. “I know I’ve done some bad things. I’ve abused you with words like ‘useless,’ ‘disapp
ointing,’ and ‘failure,’ but I take that all back now. I want you to know that I really do love you. When I come back, I promise I’ll try to be a better father. Try to let everything else fall into the past.”
“Father, you’re not making any sense. Do you have something you’re actually trying to tell me, or are you only trying to confuse me? Because that’s what you’re doing right now.”
He sighed. “I’m trying to say that I love you and that nothing that happens will ever change it. I might not seem like a good cat, but I promise you there are reasons why I do the things I do.”
Boreal scowled. “Even calling me a fluffheaded idiot when I don’t do what you want?”
Falcon’s ears drooped. “No, that . . . that was wrong. I hope you can forgive me.”
She snorted. “Don’t die. Come back here and be my father for a while, then I’ll decide if you can be forgiven.” She turned her tail to him and walked away. “Come on, Ember. We’ve got a border to patrol.”
———
As that rather frustrating day wore on, a burst of warmth hit the forest (Ember had predicted this with her tag; the snap of nicer weather was why Jade had insisted the ambassadors leave so soon). By sunset, most of the snow melted off, making the ground muddy and slippery. The next day, the sun finished off what remained. A lack of snow and ice made the forest seem more dead than usual. Even the pine trees looked less than appealing, their needles drooping and branches sagging. It was as if the entire Eastern Mountain would be depressed until its oh so precious chief advisor returned.
Boreal sighed and stared down at the half-carved stick in her paws. Glares from the distant fire pits and even more distant stars provided the only light she had to see by. ‘What now?’ she thought, leaning against the wall of her quarter. ‘There is absolutely nothing of interest going on right now to mark about.’ She set the stick down and watched it roll itself into the ever-growing pile of wood hiding in the shadows of her small tunnel. She, er, borrowed them from the mountain of sticks and branches gathered for use in the fires. Only one or two at a time, though. Just enough to chronicle the day’s or mooncycle’s events when she got bored.
“Hey, Boreal, whatcha doing?” Hyrees appeared in the entrance to her quarter. He smiled, but something about it looked forced; his eyes were too squinted and pained.
Her heartbeat quickened. ‘Oh, oh no, he hasn’t found out the truth, has he? About what I did to him? No, no, don’t be silly. He would be furious, and there’s no one who would have told him, because either no one knows or no one cares. This probably isn’t anything too terrible. Maybe he’s looking for Ember.’ She breathed a silent sigh of relief, pushed the stick farther into the pile, then turned to face him. “Nothing important. Is there something wrong? Ember’s climbed to the ridge to get a better view of the valley, if it’s her you’re after.”
“Nah,” he said. “I was just wondering if you wanted to talk some more. Sorry. I know I’m probably bothering you, but on the off chance that I’m not, well . . . yeah, I’m bothering you. I should go.”
Boreal stood up. “No, no, it’s okay. You’re not bothering me. I like our talks—especially when I’m bored, which I happen to be right now. Maybe I should come out there.” She lowered her head and fumbled away from the comfort of her quarters. He backed up to make room for her, and she sat down in front of him. “What is it, Hyrees?”
He sighed and looked away. “I just wanted to thank you. If Ember had gotten paired up with anyone else, none of this would have worked out so well. She probably would have left with Eclan the other day. I really want her to be safe, and this is the safest place in the valley. Also, I think having someone to listen to my problems the other day really helped me out. Without you, I don’t think I would’ve gotten this far.”
“You’re welcome, but I’m still not sure why you couldn’t have talked those things out with Ember. I don’t know you as well as she does. I would think she’d understand you better.”
He snorted. “It’s not really understanding so much as just having someone listen without that someone drifting off and starting to wonder if mice and squirrels are related. It’s a nice change.”
Boreal chuffed. “I take it there’s a story behind that, but I won’t pry. So why are you really here, talking to me, of all cats?”
He shifted his weight from paw to paw, making himself sway. His tail twitched. “It, uh, seemed like the right thing to do, talking with someone this evening. It’s a nice evening. For being alive and stuff.”
“You’re making even less sense than Father. Hyrees, what are you trying to say?”
He lost his balance and lurched forward, but caught himself before his face could hit the ground. His pupils dilated like a cat in a fight. “I . . .” He dropped to his stomach and winced. “I don’t feel very good. I mean, I knew it would hurt, but I didn’t think it would be this bad. A-am I not supposed to feel my toes?”
Her eyes widened. She couldn’t decide whether to back up and give him space, or rush in and try to help. “What did you do to yourself?!”
Hyrees coughed a few times. It turned into a hack, which sent spittle and bile flying everywhere. “Ugh,” he mewed. “I was thinking, since everyone was happy again, I could be with my family and be happy again.” He looked up at her, pleading and afraid. “B-but now I’m not so sure that’s what I want.”
‘Oh, bleedin’ fox, no. Don’t let him die too.’ Boreal’s jaw tensed. Her pulse quickened. “Hyrees, you have to tell me what you did.”
“Ate . . . b-berries,” he mumbled.
“Oh no,” she whispered under her breath. “Uh, stay here. I’ll go get help.”
She backed up a few steps and looked around for a healer. Finding none, she charged toward the cave. The world seemed to move in slow motion. Her legs couldn’t run fast enough as she shoved cats out of her way. They growled and snapped, but it didn’t matter. Boreal burst into the cave of healing, startling Crow and Sunshine. “Hyrees ate snake berries! Come on, you have to help him!”
“What?” Sunshine mewed. “But why would he? He knows what they do, right? Didn’t anyone tell him?” She hopped over to the herb bowls, then scooped up a few different types into a taller, thinner bowl.
“I . . . I don’t know,” Boreal replied. Her mind was a blur. She couldn’t focus on anything. Even her eyes had difficulty locking onto a target.
Crow grabbed a small stick and a whole dried leaf. “Let’s go,” he said. “Try to run, Sunshine. Our time is limited. Boreal, lead the way.”
She darted out of the cave, back toward her quarter. Her heart pounded. More adrenaline raced through her body than she’d ever thought possible. She could almost feel it as it pulsed through her. ‘I wanted something interesting to happen today, but not this. Nothing like this. Please be okay, you fluffheaded tomcat. Why is this happening?’
When they reached him, he was barely even awake, laying with his chin on the ground and drooling like a wolf. “Please,” he whispered, eyes wide but unfocused. “Don’t let me die. I don’t want to die. I don’t wanna die anymore. Make it stop!”
Crow chewed the leaf, then spit out a gooey mash. He opened Hyrees’s mouth, then shoved it in. “Swallow this.”
After some hesitation, Hyrees obeyed. He propped himself up and vomited twice. Boreal’s stomach did a backflip inside of her. Her insides lurched at the sight and smell. Crow leaned closer and sniffed the pool, causing her to gag.
He smiled. “Good news!” he said. “I can see whole berries in here. If he’d chewed them, he’d already be dead. There’s progress for you. He might actually survive.”
He continued to examine the mess while Sunshine gave Hyrees the contents of the medicine tube. Hyrees chewed and swallowed with a look of dazed disgust.
Using the stick he’d brought, Crow flicked the berries out of the puddle. “Well, these have to go,” he said, then proceeded to lick them up one by one. Boreal ran out of the Rift and threw up beneath a dead bush. Crow followed her
. He spit them out on top of the former contents of her still queasy stomach.
She coughed. “You are disgusting.”
He chuffed. “Maybe, but my methods are effective.”
She shoved him in the direction of the Rift. “Just get back over there and help her keep him alive! I need to get Ember.”
When he obliged, Boreal charged across the Rift. Ember met her halfway, hyperventilating and eyes wide with anxiety. “W-where is he? Did he really eat snake berries? Please tell me I misheard.”
Boreal shook her head. “Sorry, Ember. He’s not doing well, but Crow seems to think he’ll make it, if you trust Crow’s judgment.”
Without a word, Ember ran past her toward the quarters. Boreal followed. ‘For the sake of you both, please be okay. For the sake of . . . me.’ She stopped a few leaps away. ‘I’m the one who caused this, aren’t I? I started this. By killing one cat, I’ve killed two, and am currently killing a third. I’m killing one of my only friends. This really is my fault.’
“Hyrees!” Ember yowled.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry . . . about everything. I messed up,” Hyrees said. His voice was hoarse and subdued, like the pitiful mews of a tired and very sick kitten.
Ember opened her mouth several times while the healers worked, but she closed it again each time, as if whatever she was going to say was no longer relevant. Or maybe she’d simply thought better of it. Boreal watched with morbid curiosity as Ember’s gaze drifted from inanimate object to inanimate object. On occasion it fell back on Hyrees, but it only lingered on him for a moment or two.
‘What color is she feeling right now? Probably not one she likes. I’m sorry, Ember.’
Sunshine finished giving him pawfuls of herbs and began massaging his side. It seemed to calm him down some. Ember jumped to her paws, then ran off across the Rift.
After a few moments of silence, his ears started to twitch. His eyes went wide and rolled around wildly in his head. “Ember,” he said. “Ember, I can’t see anything.” He jumped up and spun in a circle. “Where are you? I can’t see anything! Wait, no.” He froze in place as Ember returned with a piece of charcoal. His gaze suddenly found focus, even through the blue film covering it. “Fox! There’s a fox!”
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