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Deadfoot reviews the file, then glances up at his companions. Ashfoot is a given, and Stonefall and Freckleleaf are from the local chapter. They came up after finding out about Tigerstar, and Nightpelt had welcomed the extra temporary members.
“Alright, we’ve got a family of five,” he starts with. “Our kid is Featherpaw, she’s 14. Her mom is Mistyfoot. As far as I know, Featherpaw just calls her Mistyfoot. They’ve got three newborns, Hawkkit, Mothkit, and Frogkit, and Featherpaw is real close to them.”
He takes a breath. Deadfoot has done too many intake interviews, and there’s never an easy way to jump into the preparation. At least this case should be a shoo-in for them.
“Y'all know about Tigerstar?”
All heads nod.
“So I don’t have to explain he’s still on the run. Featherpaw was one of his victims. Some real brutal stuff. Featherpaw was beaten and starved, as well as other forms of abuse. She’s got some pretty nasty burns. She’s blind in one eye, partially deaf, and she still needs help just getting around – all Tigerstar. She’s been in the hospital for the past three months, so we know we’re missing some facts, because the police only have testimony from Mistyfoot, and Mistyfoot said as much herself.”
He takes a deep breath. “I know we’re there for Featherpaw, but Mistyfoot was abused by Tigerstar as well, so let’s all be sensitive to that. Ashfoot, Freckleleaf, I want the two of you to lead the interview. Any questions?”
“What about the younger kids?”
“They were born after Mistyfoot and Featherpaw escaped. Like I said, she’s pretty attached to them, and they’re only a month old, so keep that in mind.”
No one speaks, so Deadfoot nods. “Alright, let’s roll.”
* * *
Ashfoot knocks on the door. There’s a sound of a sliding lock, and the door opens, held back by a chain. A woman with deep bags under her eyes stares at them.
“Are you Mistyfoot?”
She nods.
“I’m Ashfoot. I think you spoke with my husband, Deadfoot, over the phone?”
Mistyfoot glances across them, then shuts the door, sliding the chain back across. “Featherpaw? Everyone is here.”
Featherpaw is sitting on the couch, holding one of the babies. She looks them over, examining them. After a moment, she nods once, and Mistyfoot offers her a hand. Featherpaw places the baby down in a playpen, then clutches Mistyfoot’s hand.
“Where do you want to go?” Mistyfoot asks.
“Wherever you guys are comfortable. Couch, kitchen, doesn’t matter.”
Mistyfoot looks at the playpen, where three babies are sleeping calmly. “You okay with the kitchen table?”
Featherpaw nods, and Mistyfoot pulls out a chair for her. “We only have four chairs,” she says. “Sorry.”
“We don’t mind,” Deadfoot says. “Don’t worry about us.”
He leans against the half wall separating the kitchen from the rest of the apartment, and Stonefall stands next to him. Freckleleaf takes the seat across from Featherpaw, so Ashfoot ends up next to her.
“We’re just going to ask some questions,” Ashfoot says. “Either of you can answer, we just want to establish some information.” It’d be nice for Featherpaw to answer – without any statement from her, it’s hard to know how she feels about this.
She faces Featherpaw, hoping it’ll encourage a response. “Okay, briefly, can you just go over what happened?”
Featherpaw looks at her hands. “Don’t you have a file or something?”
“We’d like to hear it from you.”
She worries her lip, and Mistyfoot squeezes her hand.
“Tigerstar – uh. Hurt me. And didn’t feed me.” She fumbles in her pocket, pulling out a length of ribbon. “That’s pretty much it.”
Freckleleaf scratches out a few sentences, then passes the notepad to Ashfoot as she asks the next question. “How’ve things been since you left his house?”
She shrugs. “I was in the hospital for a while.”
“We just got out,” Mistyfoot adds. “I think it’s been hard – they were real good about keeping us out of the public, y'know?”
“Are you worried about being seen?” Freckleleaf asks.
Mistyfoot glances at Featherpaw, waiting for her to answer.
“He hasn’t been caught,” Featherpaw says. “And he could figure out where we are.”
“Are you worried about that?”
Featherpaw glances up at Mistyfoot, then cranes her neck to look at the babies. She nods.
Ashfoot keeps writing, passing back and forth with Freckleleaf, but this was practically a foregone conclusion. As long as Featherpaw feels safer with them – she fits every criteria.
At the very end, Ashfoot smiles. “We’ll reach out to you about what happens next,” she says. “It was nice to meet you, Featherpaw.”
Featherpaw smiles, then rubs her arm. Mistyfoot puts her arm around Featherpaw’s shoulders. “Thank you for coming.”
* * *
Barley hears the front door open and turns back.
“You’re still here.”
“We’ll be here as long as you need us.”
Feathertail slips outside, closing the door softly. She’s got a blanket around her shoulders, so this isn’t entirely unplanned. “It’s late.” She sits on the front steps, resting her chin on her hands.
“We’ll take turns.” Barley sits beside her. “Is everything alright?”
“I can’t fall asleep.” Feathertail pulls the blanket tighter. “I didn’t want to wake anyone up.” She yawns, and rests her head against his shoulder. “But you’re up.”
“You gonna fall asleep out here?”
“I don’t think so. I’m not the right kind of tired for that.” Barley catches Yellowfang looking back at them. He gives her a thumbs up with his other hand, and she nods. Feathertail stays silent for what has to be several minutes.
“Are you going to be here in the morning?”
“Yes.”
“No – are you going to be here in the morning?”
“Depends.” Barley glances at his watch. “Yellowfang or I will be here, but I’m picking my husband up from the airport this morning.”
“You’re married?”
“If you’re feeling up to it tomorrow, I’ll introduce you.” Barley pauses. “And you have to promise to like me more than him.”
Feathertail snorts. “I dunno. Won’t be hard.”
She glances up at him, grinning, and he shakes his head a little.
Feathertail yawns again, and this time, her whole body moves with it, her shoulders rolling forward. “I’m going to go back to sleep,” she says, pushing off Barley’s shoulder.
Barley stands back up. “Alright. We’ll be here.”
She nods, then enters the house as quietly as she left it. Barley hears the door lock, and pulls his phone out of his pocket.
might be late picking u up. want to b here when featherpaw wakes up.