Sorren woke up on the floor feeling like she had been chewed up and spit out. Her muscles were stiff and aching and the scratches and bites were stinging, too. At least she was warm and not soaking wet. With a groan, she opened her eyes and looked into the circular yellow ones of Master Owl. Next to them was one of Blue's pale blue eyes with his head turned to the side. Wren was there as well as Snake, Badger, Fox and even Turtle had found their way to the cave.
"How do you feel?" Bear asked from behind her, his voice sounded gravelly. He was clearly not well.
She realized that instead of putting her in her nest, Bear had moved her to his own bed, both to keep her warm and make sure she was okay. "Sore," she said, sitting up.
"Well, what happened, then?" Blue was never patient. "We seen those awful nasty pelts over there and we know they is wolves. Wren saw all the bodies. Seven or eight she says. But here you are, Lassie, still breathin' ey?"
"Why did you leave the cave?" Bear asked.
"I saw the wolves coming," Owl answered for her. "I came to warn you both to leave, but she said you were too ill to go. It is my fault that she ran out on her own."
Bear grunted. It sounded half-agreeing and half-irritated. She was always out searching for trouble in his eyes.
"You knew they was out and you went to find 'em?" Blue was astounded.
"That doesssn't ssseem sssmart, Sssorren," Snake chided.
"Damn crazy," Fox cursed.
It was too early for the barrage of questions and chastisement. If they wanted to ask questions, they could at least listen to her answers. "Stop, all of you," she said, putting her hands out. "Yes, Master Owl told me they were coming and, yes, Bear, you were too sick to even wake up, let alone run or fight a pack of wolves. If I had stayed, they would have come to the cave and killed us both. So, I ran." She stopped and gently touched a cut as she bought more time. She could not mention the Gagra, or its mysterious disappearance. "The wolves finally caught up to me, but they followed me and did not find the cave. The alpha was a part of the pack we fought earlier last year and he said we killed his mate, Bear. They were seeking revenge. I started to fight them and killed one before the Peregrines arrived."
Her small crowd gasped collectively.
"Peregrines!"
"They saved you?"
"How did you get away?"
"What happened then?"
She batted away their questions. "The alpha was on top of me and was shot with an arrow. The four of them killed several wolves." She could not explain the exchange of favors, nor tell them that she had saved their lives before. "They said it would not be fair to take me with them after all of that and let me go. They also promised that they would not follow me home and they didn't. I did not know Flock Avians had any honor like that."
"They are usually scoundrels," Owl agreed.
"It does not mean that you should trust them, Sorren. I am sure you know that. It could be a trick, yet," Bear warned.
"It isn't a trick," Sorren said. "They just decided to let me go. They said that next time they wouldn't. I do not trust them and I intend to stay in the cave as much as possible. Besides, I have to get you better." She patted his fuzzy side.
He sighed and put his head back down. It was obvious that he was still tired and was no longer afraid that she wouldn't wake up again. It had probably taken most of his strength to stay up with her when he needed rest, but at least he was relaxing now. She watched him close his eyes.
Sorren looked to Owl. "Has anyone...heard from Cat?" She knotted her hands together as they shook their heads solemnly. Owl had obviously told them what he had heard as well.
She slowly got to her feet, surprised that she was not quite as sore as she thought. "Thank you all for being so worried about me. Hopefully, the wolves will not come back again. I need to find out what happened to Cat. If you want to wait for me here, you can. I will be back soon."
Bear was already asleep once more and so could not protest.
It was not until she was several hundred feet from the cave that Owl caught up to her and landed on her shoulder. "I should go with you," he said. "I can tell you where I heard him. I should warn you, though. The probability of him surviving is very small, Sorren. I would brace yourself for what you might find. It was one cat against many wolves."
"I know. But he might have escaped," she protested, unwilling to accept that Cat, her dear friend, could be in shreds on the forest floor. She could not give up until she knew that there was no life in his eyes to be saved, even if it meant that the image was seared into her brain forever. "He could need our help, Owl. And if he is dead...well, then we would need to bury him. He would be very sad to know that we left his body out for the mice."
They traveled in silence for a few minutes as she walked swiftly, albeit sorely, through the undergrowth.
"Sorren," he said, more quietly because he didn't know who could hear. "Is there more to what happened with the Peregrines? It seems odd that they would release you so easily."
She waited a long time to answer, weighing her options and words carefully. Owl had always been trustworthy and she really did need his opinion. "There was a Gagra around here, not too long ago. You know that... I thought if the Peregrines and their king were killed by it, then their people would think the Ferals killed them and they would come to Deepfell. I should have come to talk to you about it, but it all happened so fast. I went to warn them that it was coming and that they should run, but they decided to kill it instead. I did not want to do this, but I also thought that if the Gagra was dead, it could not kill any of our friends. After all, it was a sick creature. I just had to make sure at least one of the Peregrines survived to tell the Flock Avians that the Ferals had nothing to do with it. We went to the quarry and ambushed it. When it was finished, I waited until they looked away to run.
"So, when the wolves came, I thought to lead them to the carcass to distract them while I got away, but it was gone, eaten already. I was in trouble and the wolves were going to kill me and they would have if the Peregrines had not arrived. I do not know where they came from, but they said that because I had warned them about the Gagra and saved them, they returned the favor by saving me and letting me go."
"I see," Owl said.
"You don't think it is a trick, do you?" She chewed on her lip. "I did not hear them follow me back. Bear is still sick and I cannot move him yet."
"I do not think it is a trick. I believe they were grateful you saved them, even if they did not know your motivation for doing so. If it was the king you helped, he might be trying to do the right thing to set an example for his men. A good king does not gain his subjects' affection with fear, but with noble acts and kindness. What would you have done in his situation?"
Sorren thought a moment. "I would have let him go. But I am not a Peregrine, either. We do things differently in Deepfell than they do in their city."
"We can only hope, then, that they were being honorable."
She walked on, the stiffness gradually fading from her body. They passed the main blackberry patch and turned towards Owl's tree. The rain had washed away most scents of the previous day and left everything smelling like sweet damp wood. If Cat was dead, they would not smell it so they had to scan the ground for tufts of white fur.
"Here," Owl said, suddenly. "His cries...sounded like they were coming from this direction. But the rain was so loud and the wolves were barking, so I cannot be sure."
He fell off her shoulder and glided over the grass, using his keen eyes to search for movement. Sorren moved bushes and plants aside, hoping she might even find tracks from the wolves or Cat. She came across a place where the ground around a depression was torn up by raking claws and the grass had been trampled by several feet. There were a few large pawprints, muddied and obscured by the rain, but no feline sized impressions. Sorren reached down into the pit, slanted under a fallen log and scooped some of the dirt out towards her. What had the wolves been trying to get at?
"Look, Sorren," Owl said. He dipped his head into the grass and plucked up a damp string of white fur. Sorren felt like a stone had dropped in her stomach.
She reached for another handful of earth and felt it break through to a cavity within, a den or burrow of some sort. The wolves had chased some poor creature, Cat most likely, into the hole and the rain had sealed it up.
"Can you see down there?" She looked to Owl, watching him hop down the decline and lower his round head on his smooth shoulders. His big eyes would be the only things able to see in there, if there was anything to be found.
"Something's in there. Or at least I think so. Are you going to stick your arm down there?"
Sorren shrugged. "I guess so," she said. On her belly, she lowered herself down and felt along the freezing tunnel with her fingers, moving through the grit. When they touched something soft, she jumped and pulled back, in case the creature would try to bite her for invading its home. Nothing happened. Slowly, she pushed her arm inside once more and found the still form, realizing that it was quite cold. The animal was at the extent of her reach, but she was able to find its shoulder blades and grab the scruff of its neck with her middle and index finger, pulling it towards her until she could cup her hand around the barrel of its chest. She felt the size and weight of the creature, glancing at Owl with a grim expression before pulling the limp black and white body into the light.
"Cat," Owl said.