Teddycats (2 page)

BILL STARTED
back to Cloud Kingdom, distracted by his thoughts. Why, exactly,
couldn't
he bring Luke home? What ever happened to goodwill, hospitality, the importance of caring for friends in low places? There
was no doubt in Bill's mind that Cloud Kingdom would be a better place if the Elders loosened the borders a little. He didn't share their panic at the mere thought. To them, every intruder was a threat, every stranger just an enemy they hadn't yet encountered.

Outsiders like Luke didn't understand, but that wasn't their fault. They weren't meant to understand. Luke hadn't grown up with the rules of Cloud Kingdom drilled into his brain at every opportunity: the importance of secrecy as the first line of defense, the society as a closed system, the damning indictment of all outsiders. And the Elders would say that the less he knew the better.

But from Luke's perspective, his exclusion from the Kingdom was Bill's personal choice. Well, whatever the real reasons behind keeping Luke out of Cloud Kingdom, Bill didn't want to be that kind of friend. And he certainly didn't want Luke to think of him the way he did about Teddycats in general.

The air began to cool as Bill entered the blanket of fog that settled above the jungle canopy, at the foot of Cloud Kingdom. There were ways to sneak Luke past the sentries who guarded the entrance, and it happened to be an especially convenient time to do so. The Elders were busy discussing the High Council nominations, and his parents were either with the Elders or otherwise preoccupied with Big Bill's career.

Bill thought back to Luke's sad eyes, the way they
had drooped with disappointment when Bill left him floating by the fort. He sighed. Might as well try and fit one last caper in before suppertime.

He swiftly descended out of the fog and back into the jungle.

LUKE GRIPPED
TIGHTLY
to the fur of Bill's back.

The journey up to Cloud Kingdom was disorienting and counterintuitive. North twisted to south; west whisked to the east. Bill was careful to stick to back channels as he ripped up the thin, roughly hewn path. Luke's breath was encouraging, brisk and steady in his ear, but as landmarks began to appear—the final gasp of the tree line, the chill of the fog—Bill grew more and more apprehensive. He imagined a familiar look of disappointment dawning on his mother's face. The stitch of doubt in the back of his mind frayed a bit further, but Bill was moving too quickly to stop.

They broke through the Wind Tunnel and slipped behind the waterfall. This was the final climb. Just above them lay Cloud Kingdom, a square klick of green, fertile land wrapped in billowy vapor.

Bill's plan, sketchy as it was, had them high-tailing it to a protected, shaggy vantage point overlooking
the Sanctuary. Luke could get a good look at the jaguar, then they'd zoom over to his friend Maia Pata's den, which was on the outer ring of the Kingdom, conveniently close to their probable exit point. Bill knew Maia would be home. She always left school early to care for her younger sister, Elena. Bill hoped he could give Luke a quick tour and then get him out of there before any Elder was the wiser. If anyone in the Sanctuary asked any questions, he could always pass Luke off as a patient.

Bill cleared the cloud cloak, vaulted over the Wall, and began the gentle slide into the basin. He heard Luke gasp at the sight before them, and for a moment Bill's nerves succumbed to a swell of pride. The sky was a brilliant blue, as if the clouds had scrubbed it clean. This same clarity extended to the air, which was dry yet sweet enough to gulp, and the cold, clear water, which trickled through the Kingdom with its reassuring babble. When the first Teddycats arrived at Cloud Kingdom, they divided it into an irrigated grid, allowing nearly every den—even those in the far reaches, in the shadow of the peaks—access to drinking water and fertile land.

“It's beautiful,” said Luke, obviously awed.

“Just remember,” Bill said, “it's all about discretion and keeping a low profile. And if anyone asks, you're seriously sick.”

Luke crouched down and practiced the fake cough Bill had taught him, but it sounded more like a
sneezing snort than a serious respiratory ailment. Bill sighed. It would have to do.

They bolted down the lane toward the Sanctuary, swerving behind blossom-choked shrubbery and clinging to the shadows. As they crouched against an abandoned den, waiting for a near-blind Elder to hobble past, Bill heard the unmistakable, creaking shift of an Elder disturbed. He froze and gestured for Luke to do the same.

“Is this the Sanctuary?” Luke asked.

Bill grimaced and indicated for Luke to hush. Suddenly, there was a new shadow. And it definitely didn't belong to an Elder, or even another Teddycat. The head of the wizened jaguar emerged quizzically from the den Bill had assumed was abandoned. Marisol must have rubbed him down with salve and stashed him here to rest. The jaguar's rich, spotted fur was speckled with gray, and his eyes were kind and milky.

“S-sorry,” Bill said. “I didn't realize this den was occupied.”

The jaguar smiled a toothy grin. “And who is your friend?”

His voice was rough yet warm. Bill had expected something a bit more sinister.

“Who, me?” Luke said, clearly still adjusting to his surroundings. “Oh, I'm sick.” He fake-coughed twice for good measure.

Bill willed his friend quiet with a bug-eyed glare.

The jaguar glanced up and down the empty lane. “Well, it seems as if you're in a hurry. You'd better run along.” And then, to Luke: “I hope you feel better soon.”

Bill did a lightning-quick double take, then darted off, Luke in tow. He had been expecting more of a tongue-lashing, though they weren't in the clear just yet.

“Thank you!” cried Luke as they scurried away.

THEY ALL
BUT
slid into the Pata family den, panting and kicking up dust. Maia was huddled over Elena, settling the little Teddycat down for a nap in a plump pile of straw. But as soon as Maia stood up, Elena did too, and the straw flew everywhere. Maia growled in frustration, but Elena was oblivious, rushing to greet Bill.

“Bill!” she screeched, flinging herself on his leg with wild abandon.

“Howdy, Elena,” said Bill, flattered by the attention but sorry to have made things more difficult for Maia. “Hi, Maia,” he said, looking up at her apologetically.

“Well, look what the Teddycat dragged in,” Maia said.

Maia and Bill had grown up in adjacent dens, and many of Bill's first memories were of the two of them together. Despite her family's move, they remained close, in part because Maia, though seemingly straightlaced and unquestionably responsible—she basically raised
Elena on her own after their mother became sick—was actually kind of a rebel. For instance, she gave nonsanctioned furcuts in the Crook after lessons, styling their friends' fur with nutrient-rich sap she mined from trees. She was especially good at carving designs into the fur above the ears with an illicit flick of her claw. She was wiry and compact, smart and fun, with a quizzical coolness to her eyes and a mischievous lilt to her snout.

Bill knew he was very lucky to count her as a friend.

“Who's this?” her little sister, Elena, asked, looking at Luke with a touch of her old shyness.

“This here is Luke. He's an Olingo. From the jungle. He's not feeling so hot, so he came up here to get some treatment.”

“Wow,” said Elena, with a mixture of excitement and pity.

“Hey, Maia, what do you know about your new neighbor?” Bill asked, referring to the jaguar. He was trying to shift the attention from Luke, but after his unexpected interaction with the injured cat, he found himself strangely curious.

“Hmm?” Maia said.

“You know, the elderly jaguar currently residing four dens down the lane?”

“That's Felix!” said Elena. “He got bit by a human.”

“Almost,” said Maia. “But not quite, sweetie. He got snared in a human trap.”

“Lousy Joe,” said Bill, punching a paw.

Joe was the name the Teddycats gave the human who stalked the innocent animals of the jungle. He was a wily, hulking monster, accompanied by a sharp stench and a smoking stick clenched between his glinting gold teeth.

“How badly is he hurt?” Bill asked.

“What am I, a doctor? Ask your mom. But I'd guess it must be pretty bad if they let him up here.” Maia turned away from Luke and her sister and tapped Bill on the shoulder. “Hey, Bill, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“You bet!” said Bill, smiling but unmoving.

There was an awkward beat.

“Um, privately?” Maia said.

Privacy was hard to come by in Cloud Kingdom. With its active citizenry and geographical restrictions, there was little room to hide. Whispers carried. Bill had been back on the grounds only for five minutes and already he had run into a convalescing jungle cat, not to mention Elena, whom Bill considered friendly but too young to be trusted with sensitive information. The privacy situation went a long way in explaining the appeal of the fort, which, ironically, had so far led to more secrets.

Bill crossed the den, leaving the light that spilled through the entrance, and soon found himself in a dank corner. He shivered involuntarily. “What do you think you're doing?” Maia hissed, backing Bill further
against the cool dirt wall, as far out of earshot as the den allowed.

“What do you mean?” Bill said.

“Don't pretend you don't know,” Maia said. “That Olingo's
not
sick, and you know it.”

“Oh, come on,” said Bill, smiling.

But the smile seemed to make things worse. He quickly swallowed it back.

“No,
you
come on,” said Maia. “I can get into seriously hot water just by having you here. Shoot, just by
seeing
the two of you and not reporting it. I know for a fact Luke isn't a sanctioned visitor. He's your friend, isn't he? The one you sneak out to go see?”

“Please, Maia. You don't need to tell anyone about this,” said Bill. “Luke is a good friend. He's helped me out of some serious jams in the jungle . . .”

“Where you're not supposed to be!” Maia reminded.

“I know all that! But, Maia, he's a really good guy, and he keeps asking me where I live and why can't he see it and how it's not fair, and I got to thinking, you know, it's not entirely unreasonable for . . .”

“Clamp it,” said Maia. “I have to think.”

Bill did as she asked and stared down at his hind paws.

“Was there an accident? A miscommunication? Did he follow you up here? Trick you? Blackmail you? Give me something here, Garra.”

“Well . . .” started Bill.

“Hey, Bill?” Elena asked, loudly, from across the den. “Is Luke an interloper?” She pronounced the word, which was often employed by the more hawkish Elders, as if it were some kind of sweet, exotic melon.

Maia pivoted. “That's not a very nice way to talk about our guest!” she said, then left Bill to rejoin Elena and Luke, where she unfurled her characteristic warmth.

Bill remained in the corner for another moment, feeling both very small and wildly out of control.

AFTER A FEW
minutes of chit-chat, during which Bill and Maia were getting more and more on edge, looking over their shoulders for Elders or other potential witnesses, Bill finally decided that Luke had seen enough.

“Luke, we'd better get you back to the Sanctuary,” Bill said. “You need to rest if you're going to get better.”

Luke frowned but then gave Bill a wink, letting him know he understood. “It was so great to meet you, Luke,” said Maia, clearing up their mild mess. “And I hope you feel better soon.”

“Oh, right,” he said, then coughed into his paw.

“Bye, Bill!” said Elena, refastening on his leg.

“Hey, I'll be back to see you before you know it,” Bill said.

Luke jumped onto Bill's back while Elena was still attached to his leg. The three of them formed a stumbling mass too wide to fit through the den entrance. Bill gently peeled Elena off his shin and tried to say goodbye to Maia, who was deliberately avoiding his eye. His heart sank a bit as he went out the door and she shifted out of sight.

Just when Bill thought he might be able to slip out of Cloud Kingdom without any more surprises, he found one waiting for him right outside the den. It was Omar Cola, a former friend of his, just standing there with his forepaws crossed over his chest. Omar appeared smugly satisfied, as if he had just tripped over a useful secret. Bill shot up straight in surprise, leaving Luke to slide down his back and tumble into the soft grass along the lane.

“Hello, Bill,” Omar said.

“Hello, Omar.”

The two Teddycats entered into a staring contest as Luke struggled to collect himself.

Bill deployed a steady, narrow glare. Omar managed to work up a good sneer, but his eyes wobbled a bit, along with his chin. Omar was skinny, with ribs pressing against his coat. He was wily but unpopular, with a tendency to collect beans and spill them in front of Elders. This willingness to honk on private matters made other young Teddycats less than friendly.

No one would be able to guess it from observing
this interaction, but there had been a time when the three of them—Bill, Maia, and Omar—had been inseparable. It wasn't until recently that a rift had grown between Bill and Omar. Perhaps it was because Bill was a more confident kitten than Omar. He attracted attention, for better or worse, while Omar tended to blend into his surroundings. Still, Bill didn't really know why they had stopped being friends. There had been no final fight. The two simply didn't talk for a while, and then the silence hardened, first into mistrust and then, finally, distaste.