In the City of Cats

Part 05

	Ciara knew Fiachra was watching them before she opened her eyes.  In retrospect, it had been a mistake to sleep naked out here.  It didn't matter that she was used to it, she could have been woken up by someone much less polite than Fiachra, who smelled so pleasantly of cinnamon and who smiled every time he saw her.  She rolled over on her stomach and opened her eyes.
	“Trying to steal another kiss?” she said.
	His ears drooped with embarrassment, and she gave him a smile so he would feel better.  Neither of them had said a word about what happened in her living room that afternoon, but she knew he still had feelings for her.
	“You're supposed to be at home, keeping an eye on things there,” she said.
	“That's why I'm here now.  I thought Queen Fithir might want to know there are a bunch of foxes camped out around Oseille,” Fiachra said.
	Ciara jumped up out of bed, ears flat and tail bristling, and she jerked Fiachra to his feet.
	“You could have said that right away.  What do they want from us?” she said.
	“Their queen, I believe.  As far as anyone can tell, they think Queen Sabia has kidnapped her, too,” Fiachra said.
	“Hasn't anyone talked to them?” Ciara said.
	“Grandmother and I both tried, but they aren't in the mood to listen to rabbits.  If you ask me, they don't care if it's true or not.  It's just an excuse for another war,” Fiachra said.
	Ciara grabbed her clothes and ran to the main campsite under the tree.  Fithir sat with her back against the oak and a cup of tea in her hands.  The young queen had apparently slept in her armor and her hair and fur were peppered with grass and seeds.
	“I heard you talking to Fiachra. Now, for pity's sake, Ciara, put your pants on before you catch cold.  There really is no need for you to rush around all the time,” Fithir said.
	“Aren't you worried?  Everything's happening just like it did last year,” Ciara said.
	“It won't get that far.  General Nessa can be a bit too enthusiastic sometimes, but she's a good officer and she'll listen to me,” Fithir said.
	“I hope you're right.  I'm not going to put up with another war.  Not so soon,” Ciara said.
	“We'd better get moving, then.  What about your big brother there?  Is he coming with us?” Fithir said.  She smiled at Fiachra, who had Ciara's clothes in his hands.
	“Of course I'm coming.  I have to look after my little sisters, don't I?” Fiachra said.
	“Oh good.  That means there's one more person I love who'll be in danger,” Niamh said.
	Niamh carried the blanket they'd slept under last night and she and Fiachra held it up so Ciara could get dressed in some semblance of privacy.
	“If I remember, I pulled your butt out of the fire a couple of times last year, so maybe you should be glad you've got me along,” Fiachra said.
	“We are,” Ciara said, and she gave him a little kiss on the cheek, which made him blush.
	“How much further is it to Blackpool from here?” Fithir said.
	“Maybe another day.  Maybe two.  It depends on whether Sabia is going to give us any more playmates to worry about,” Deirdre said.
	Deirdre gave Fiachra a gentle smile and she absently set about combing the tangles out of Ciara's hair.  Deirdre hadn't mothered her like that since she was nine years old and the tickle of Deirdre's claws on the back of Ciara's neck made her shiver, but the gesture was comforting.
	“From now on, you girls should sleep closer to the camp.  God knows we don't need to give Sabia any more chances to hurt us than she's already got,” Deirdre said.
	“I think Fiachra taught us that lesson well enough already,” Niamh said.
	“Because I told him to,” Deirdre said.
	“I'd have done it anyway.  I thought you two knew better,” Fiachra said.
	“I see,” Ciara said, and she grabbed Fiachra's ear and gave it a little twist “Just whose side are you on, anyway?”
	He squeaked and tugged at her hand, but not hard enough to get away.
	“You always said you wanted someone to think of you once in a while,” he said.
	“I'll just bet you do,” Niamh said.
	Niamh grabbed his other ear and together they pulled him into a hug.  For all her teasing, Ciara felt better to have him with them.
	Ciara spent the rest of the day tensed for another attack.  Everything she knew about Lady Sabia suggested that the old lynx was intelligent but not terribly subtle.  The same thought had clearly occurred to everyone else as well.  Deirdre rode in wide circles around the rest of them with one hand on her sword.  Ciara could smell her mother's fear and it worried her, not least because of how it could affect the rest of them.  Deirdre's normal reaction to things that scared her was to get angry and attack at the first chance she got.  If everyone else panicked and fled, though, Deirdre would be left alone against who knew what kind of odds.
	Fithir stayed close to Ciara's position and Ciara saw her glance over several times, looking for comfort Ciara wasn't sure she knew how to give.  The rabbits stayed close, too.  Fiachra rode a bay mare almost as big as Thirteen and, while the yellow horse had treated the newcomer with suspicion, Fiachra's animal showed a surprising amount of deference.
	“One of these days, you and I are going to have to talk about your taste in girlfriends,” Ciara said.
	“I don't know what you mean,” Fiachra said, and he gave his horse a pat “She's the only girl in my life who does as I ask.”
	“That's exactly my point.  We can't have you getting used to that, can we?” Ciara said.
	Fiachra gave her a little smile and shook his head.
	“I'm glad I came along, too,” he said.
	“Did the foxes back home actually do anything, or did they just set up camp and scare everyone silly?” Ciara said.
	“They demanded free food and lodging for their commanders, but that was all.  Rude, but that's nothing unexpected from foxes,” Fiachra said.
	Ciara laughed and bared her teeth at him a little.
	“This is where you say 'present company excepted' you know,” she said.
	“Is that so?” Fiachra said.
	The only other travelers they saw were members of a small merchant caravan who scattered when Deirdre charged them with her sword drawn.  It was a stupid thing for her to do.  Most caravans were guarded these days, and the leather armor Deirdre wore wouldn't do anything to stop a crossbow bolt, though Ciara wasn't always sure that would stop her.
	“They might have been lynxes,” Deirdre said, when she saw Ciara's expression.
	“Even if they had been, you can't assume they all belong to Sabia.  There are lynxes all over the island now,” Ciara said.
	“We can't seem to stop them,” Fithir said, more or less to herself.
	“I suppose you're right, but there's no need to take chances,” Deirdre said.
	“All the more reason not to go attacking people we don't know.  I don't have enough bandages to put all of us back together,” Niamh said.
	“That's how rabbits think.  I'll never understand how you managed to survive as long as you have,” Deirdre said.
	“That makes us even.  I don't think I'll ever understand foxes,” Niamh said.
	“You're going to find being married to one quite an interesting challenge, then, I think,” Deirdre said.
	“Oh yes.  Every single day,” Niamh said.
	Ciara saw the small, sly smile that slid across Niamh's face, and Deirdre laughed.
	“You're more of a fox than you think, my dear,” Deirdre said.
	“Just make sure you leave the reckless charges up to those who know what they're doing,” Ciara said.
	“Suits me.  That means I get to have all the fun,” Deirdre said.
	She smiled, to show she was joking, but Ciara wondered if it would be possible to get a leash around her mother's neck.
	They didn't stop until after dark.  By then, everyone was exhausted and even Deirdre looked like she was going to fall asleep in the saddle.  Ciara wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to feel her butt again.  Thirteen might have had a gentler spirit than her father, but she had a rougher gait and Ciara could feel every jolt shoot through her body.
	While Deidre set up their camp, Ciara checked the horses over again, as she had last night.  Mouse and Thirteen tolerated her attention with relative placidity, and Fiachra's mare was positively grateful to have her saddle taken off.  Deirdre's stallion bit Ciara's tail and tried to stomp on her feet when she approached him.  Normally, she'd have chased him a little way away from the herd, the way horses did to each other, until he could learn the proper respect, but they were too close to Blackpool now to risk losing him.  Instead, she chose to ignore him until all the other horses had been checked and had their water.  She felt guilty even for that, but he had to learn who was in charge.
	“I think Deirdre chose that beast on purpose,” Niamh said.
	She slid an arm around Ciara's waist and pressed a cup of tea into Ciara's hands.  It was barely warm, and much too sweet.  Deirdre was doing the cooking again and she had a disgusting fondness for sugar.  Ciara drank it anyway to clear the dryness in her throat.
	“I'm sure she did.  Mom gets bored if she doesn't have something to fight,” Ciara said.
	“Fiachra's the same way.  I never thought he'd get along with any fox the way he does with your mother,” Niamh said.
	“He gets along with me,” Ciara said.
	“You're different.  Sometimes I think you weren't meant to be born a fox at all,” Niamh said.
	“Nobody has ever wanted me to be who I am.  Only what I'm not,” Ciara said.
	“Now you know that's not fair.  I wouldn't have you any other way,” Niamh said.
	Ciara laid her head against Niamh's chest and closed her eyes.  The long day's ride had exhausted her and now the numbness had worn off her body ached horribly.  She was dimly aware of Niamh's arms slipping around her as Niamh lifted her up off her feet and carried her back to the camp.  She wanted to protest.  She hadn't hobbled the horses yet.  Most of them would stick close to Thirteen, who had been accepted as the leader of their little herd, but she didn't know what Deidre's stallion might take it in his head to do.  Ciara made up her mind to go back to her horses as soon as Niamh set her down, but Niamh wrapped her in a blanket and held her until she fell asleep.