Pleasant Singer did not ask how this could be done for he had shared with her his hope the two-legs could somehow be enlisted. Dirt Grubber felt that Windswept and Bleached Fur were as devoted as he was to making sure the Landless Clan could live through the cold months. He felt they were wise enough to realize that doing this would take more than a few boxes of dead birds.

  When the conference was ended, several of the strongest males came forward with a litter made from net strung between branches. They lifted Nimble Fingers with great gentleness.

  Nimble Fingers assured him.

  Next the members of Trees Enfolding came for Swimmer’s Scourge. Swimmer’s Scourge was left bound, for Pleasant Singer had decreed that he was dangerous to himself and others until he was calmer. Then he, too, was lifted onto a litter and born away. As soon as Swimmer’s Scourge was outside of immediate mind-glow range, Dirt Grubber felt a tension he had not known had crept into himself fading away.

  He shivered. Who would have thought that Swimmer’s Scourge had a weapon more dangerous than sharp fangs or six sets of claws? Dirt Grubber, himself, had always pitied the two-legs for their mind-blindness. Now he understood more fully that sharing minds could be dangerous, as well.

  When the last of Trees Enfolding had left, Dirt Grubber came and tapped the two-legs’ shoulders, then pointed back to where they had left the flying thing.

  “Bleek!” he said, wishing he could share with them all these complications. “Bleek! Bleek!”

  * * *

  “They’re talking,” Jessica said. “I can’t tell what about, but they’re talking, not arguing.” She shivered violently. “Stars! I’m freezing.”

  “Shock,” Anders said, moving over to her. “Here. Let me put my arms around you.”

  Jessica gave a wan smile. “Share body heat? Okay. I mean, you’ve got to be pretty cold without your jacket. Even if you could get it back, it’s seriously ruined.”

  Anders settled so that Jessica could nestle against him, then wrapped his arms tightly around her. She fitted very well, there. He put his chin on top of her head, careful to avoid any of the places the treecat had gored her. After a few minutes, he thought she’d stopped shivering, but his own heart was beating so fast he couldn’t be sure.

  “Feeling better?”

  “Uh-huh.” Jessica’s voice was distant and dreamy. “I’ve decided I’m going to be a doctor.”

  “What?”

  “A doctor. Lately, I seem to be spending all my time patching people up. If I’m going to keep doing that, I’d better know more. I want to be a human doctor, though, not a vet. Maybe I’ll have a side specialization in treecats. They’re people, too, right?”

  She giggled, and Anders heard the shrill note that said better than any words that Jessica was still on the edge of hysteria. No wonder. She’d been under a lot of pressure lately. He’d been shocked by the dead treecats, but it would be different for her. She would have felt Valiant’s reaction, as well as her own. Her mother covering for Marjorie Harrington had put more responsibility on Jessica, too.

  And then . . .

  Anders realized all at once what the other factor just might be. At least it was a factor in his own wildly beating heart. His voice suddenly thick and rough, he managed to get the words out.

  “I don’t know what I want to be,” he said. “But I know what I want to do. Jessica . . . I . . . I want to protect you.”

  “Protect me?”

  Anders felt her tense and quickly explained. “Not because you’re weak, Jessica Pheriss, but because you’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. You’re always there for everyone else. I want you to know always there’s someone there for you.”

  Her tension didn’t ease. “Valiant! I have Valiant.”

  “Hush, girl. Of course you do. But he’s also someone else you need to look out for, protect him from blackholes like the x-a’s, deal with spite and envy. Besides, just because you have Valiant, are you saying you don’t need anyone else?”

  Jessica said nothing, but her silence was a listening one, so he went on, words tumbling over each other.

  “Jess, darling, I’ve been falling in love with you for weeks now, but I didn’t want to admit it. When I saw that treecat tearing into you, I felt something I’ve never felt before. I had to protect you. Your safety meant more to me than my own. That’s what gave me the courage to get in there and grab that thing, even with blood all over the place and knowing he could shred me, too. I had to because you mean more to me than anybody I’ve ever met.”

  One word, hardly more than a whisper. “Stephanie?”

  Anders tightened his hold. “I know. I—Stephanie is great, but ‘us,’ that was her idea, and I . . . I was swept up. I mean, after treecats, the thing on Sphinx I wanted to see most of all was the person who’d discovered them.”

  “Thing?” Another tense giggle.

  “Yeah . . . I mean, I knew Stephanie Harrington was a person, but she was a thing, too. The discoverer. First contact with aliens. Brilliant, creative, pretty in a cute way. Then she liked me. Really liked me.” He let out a gusty sigh and Jessica’s curls danced. “Steph told me she thought I was something special from the first moment she saw me.”

  “Yeah . . . She told me that, too. She was floored. In love at a breath.”

  “Aw, Jess, don’t you get it? Love at first sight is wonderful and romantic, but it also means you’re in love with an impression, an idea, an appearance.”

  “Fate?”

  “You mean, do I believe in fate?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “I don’t know . . . I mean, I could say that it was fated I meet you, too. Fated we’d be put through stuff like this that would mean I’d get to know you as someone who otherwise wouldn’t step out of Stephanie’s shadow. Stephanie, well she sort of claimed me. I’m not saying I didn’t like being claimed or her. I did. I do. I think I always will . . . but Steph isn’t . . . she isn’t you, Jessica.”

  They sat quietly. The treecats were moving now. Some had vanished back into the thick green canopy. A couple of hefty males were bringing the stretcher and loading Guide onto it.

  Jessica spoke very quietly. “I didn’t exactly envy Stephanie, but I thought she was really lucky. I thought she was luckier than she knew . . . When she went off to Manticore, oh! I had such thoughts. I tried not to show them, though.”

  “You mean . . . you liked me, too?”

  “Idiot! Of course I did. But I’m not the sort of person to poach my best friend’s boyfriend. And I’m going to be a doctor.”

  Anders blinked, but he thought he understood. Jessica had mentioned how her mother had settled down with her father—though “unsettled down” might be a better way to put it—fairly young. He hoped she wasn’t so much rejecting him as offering terms.

  “Okay. You be a doctor,” he said. “I’ll figure out something that will let me be the doctor’s boyfriend. I’m good with people. Maybe I can be a receptionist.”

  She giggled. Anders relaxed a little, but he didn’t loosen his hold on her.

  “You’re going to need to stay in the Star Kingdom because of Valiant, right?”

  Jessica shrugged. “No one’s made rules yet. Remember, Lionheart’s the first treecat ever to leave the planet even temporarily.”

  “Still . . .” Anders’ thoughts twisted through all sorts of complications. One loomed in front of the others. “I’m going to have to tell Stephanie. And I’m not going to be a coward and do it in a message. I’ve got to do it face to face.”

  The treecats had carried both Guide and the Attack ’Cat away. Valiant had stayed, nose to nose with a female who radiated authority. Now she turned away and Valiant loped over to them.

  “Bleek!” he said, patting them both on the shoulder and pointing back toward the air car. “Bleek! Bleek!”

  * * *

  When they were back at Jessica’s air car, she made no fuss about letting Anders pilot.

  Instead, she leaned back in the passenger seat with Valiant thrumming in her lap.

  “The question is,” Anders said, “where do we take you?”

  “It’s got to be Scott again,” Jessica said. “If I go to the clinic in Twin Forks, I’m going to have to come up with some explanation. Or I could skip seeing a doctor. I think I’m pretty well patched up.”

  “No!” Anders said. “That’s out of the question. What will we tell your parents?”

  “Mom gave me the day off,” Jessica said. “I’ll com and let her know we decided to go to Thunder River and see how that ’cat we rescued is doing. Even with everything that’s happened, it’s not all that late. We might make it back by evening.”

  “Okay,” Anders said, lifting the air car above the canopy and setting the coordinates. “My dad won’t miss me, but I’ll message him I’m going to be late. I’d already told him I’d be out for dinner.”

  “I’ll com Scott first this time,” Jessica said. “Just in case he’s off with a patient.”

  But Dr. Scott said he’d be available when they arrived. He didn’t ask many questions, only asked Jessica to show him her wounds via her uni-link.

  “Looks like they’ve been treated fine,” he said. “But I’m with Anders. Better you have me look at them. Survivor’s doing well enough, but he’s edgy. I’m sure having a chance to talk with Valiant will help. See if you can stay the night so they can confab.”

  “I’ll check,” Jessica said.

  Naomi Pheriss gave permission cheerfully. “I’ll save you some berry ice cream.”

  “Thanks, Mama.”

  As Jessica shut off her uni-link, Anders glanced over at her. “No offense, Jess, but you look tired. I won’t crash the car. Why don’t you cuddle up with Valiant and nap?”

  She gave him a grateful smile. “I think I will. I think I will.”

  * * *

  Dirt Grubber was pleased when he realized they were going to Darkness Foe and Swift Striker. He had a great deal to tell Keen Eyes. He spent much of the journey organizing his thoughts and soothing Windswept so that her sleep would be a healing one. Every so often, he went over to pat Bleached Fur. The young man was very thoughtful but, despite a certain tension, his mind-glow held the serenity of a decision made and accepted.

  Dirt Grubber stayed with Windswept while Darkness Foe checked her injuries. When he was sure she was not injured more severely than she had seemed to be, he patted her on the arm and pointed in the direction of the room where Keen Eyes and Swift Striker waited.

  Windswept gave him a gentle shove, accompanied by a few mouth noises and a glow of agreement Dirt Grubber took to mean she understood. From the relaxed under notes of her mind-glow, he gathered that they were planning to stay the night. He was pleased. Today had been very full and he needed time to let new ideas take root and grow.

  When he joined his friends, he shared with them the events of the day. Keen Eyes’ mind-glow brightened, taking strength from his pleasure in learning so many of his clan had survived the battle. There were dark notes, for some had died, and the injured were many, but the damage was clearly not as extreme as he had dreaded.

 

  Swift Striker curled his whiskers forward.

  Keen Eyes rubbed his fingers along his throat, where a fine downy fur was growing back . . . and causing a degree of itching.

 

  All three of the People gazed at one another, thinking, tasting and sharing their mind-glows, for what Keen Eyes had said was clearly true. People did not seek change the way ground runners sought out lace leaf. It did not come easily to them at the best of times, and these were scarcely the best of times for the Landless Clan. But then, after several moments, Dirt Grubber chortled deep in his throat.

 

  Keen Eyes bleeked in astonishment.

  Dirt Grubber nodded.

  Swift Striker added,

  Dirt Grubber cocked his ears as if listening for a distant sound.

  Swift Striker said, bouncing happily,

  Keen Eyes agreed.

  Swift Striker replied.

  * * *

  The humans spent much of the evening discussing the possible relocation of the Skinny ’Cat Clan.

  “We’re going to need to bring the SFS in on this at some point,” Scott concluded. “Stephanie and Karl’s return home may be the perfect excuse for a private meeting—one that won’t alert the x-a’s that something’s up.”

  “I don’t expect to hear from Steph today,” Anders said. “It’s already evening in Landing, and tonight’s when she’s giving her big talk to the Adair Foundation. I’ll message her and time delivery so there’s no chance she’ll get it until that’s over. Knowing Steph, she’ll be eager to help.”

  He hoped so, especially given what he’d be telling her as soon as he could. What if she got in a snit and refused to have anything to do with them? No. He wouldn’t believe that. Stephanie had always been an advocate for treecats. If she got upset, she’d probably just channel it into finding a solution.

  He hoped.

  The next morning, he found a message from Stephanie waiting. He opened it, expecting tales of triumph, and met with a shock. As soon as he had the details, he went tearing downstairs where Irina and Jessica were chatting over tea. Scott emerged from where he’d been checking over Survivor’s wounds just as he arrived.

  “Someone tried to kidnap Lionheart!” Anders said, and quickly gave them the details.

  “Wow!” Jessica said. “If I believed in astrology, I’d say the stars must’ve been out of alignment. We tangle with the Attack ’Cat. Stephanie and the rest face ’catnappers.”

  “But everyone’s all right?” Scott pressed. “No serious injuries?”

  “None,” Anders assured him. “Stephanie even went in and gave her talk, just like planned. She says the earl seems like a good sort, even nicer than his cousin, and she seems to like this Gwendolyn a lot, too.”

  “I bet Richard and Marjorie are relieved they’d already made plans to come home early,” Irina said. “When do they get back?”

  “Three days,” Anders said.

  Scott nodded. “Right. I’m going to talk with Frank, if I can catch him alone. I think our presentation to Chief Ranger Shelton would go better if we can suggest a couple of possible locations. I think I could talk Frank into giving us a few suggestions without letting his boss know.”

  “Wait!” Anders said. “My dad and his team have been working out a program that models the sorts of areas that would best suit treecats. They’ve gone beyond the simple things like the need for picketwood, into plants and other materials the ’cats seem to use. They’ve even included things like preferred prey animals. That would help identify possible relocation sites, wouldn’t it?”

  “Would he give you a copy?”

  “Sure. I have one already. When I’ve had time, I’ve been helping with data entry. I get automatic updates.”

  Jessica grinned. “We can overlay that onto the Crown lands, add in where we already know treecats are, and plug in human holdings.”

  “I like it,” Scott agreed. “Ever since that bit with Tennessee Bolgeo, the SFS has been really guarded about confirming anything to do with where treecats are currently living. This way Steph and Karl can go in, make suggestions, and Shelton can tell them whether or not those locations will work.”

 

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