Her eyes were troubled as she took him aside where the others could not hear.
“River is gone again. She slipped away right after breakfast. I thought she had gone to retrieve water from the roof, but Candle says she went out into the streets. She’s been gone for more than an hour.”
Hawk glanced over at Candle, who was cleaning up the breakfast dishes.
“River didn’t tell her where she was going? She has no idea?”
Owl shook her head. “It’s the same as before. She goes out on her own and won’t tell anyone what she is doing.” She paused, and one hand rested lightly on Hawk’s wrist. “I think you’d better go after her this time. I think we have to find out what she is doing.”
He almost said no. He almost said that he already had something he had to do and shouldn’t be wasting his time chasing after an irresponsible child who couldn’t be trusted to do what she had been told to do and who lied on top of it. But he recognized a voice he didn’t care for in that kind of thinking, a voice that spoke out of frustration and impatience and not out of caring. Owl was clearly worried about River, and he knew that Owl did not worry easily.
He nodded. “All right, I’ll find her.”
He glanced around the room, rethinking his earlier plans. He would have to take Cheney if he hoped to track River. That meant he would have to leave Owl and the little ones with someone else and send someone besides himself to the meeting with Tiger.
He settled on Bear to stand watch in the underground. He could rely on Bear to keep everyone safe—Bear, so steady and unflappable, never acting out of haste or panic. He wished he had a dozen Bears in his family, but families don’t work like that.
That meant Panther would have to take the pleneten to Tiger. There was no one else old enough or smart enough to send out alone to a meeting like this. It was chancy, sending Panther. He despised the Cats and Tiger, in particular. The source of his dislike was not entirely clear to Hawk, but it didn’t make it any less potent or potentially volatile.
He walked over to Panther, telling himself to keep calm. “There’s been a change of plans. You’re going to take the pleneten to Tiger without me.”
Panther didn’t exactly glare at him, but his displeasure was clearly reflected on his dark features. “Why do I got to do this, Bird-Man? Why not someone else?”
“Don’t you think you can handle it?” Hawk pressed.
Now Panther did glare. “I can handle anything, and I can do it better than the rest. You know that.”
Hawk nodded. “I do know it. That’s why you have to be in charge. I can depend on you to be ready for whatever happens. Take Chalk and Fixit with you.
For a show of strength.”
“You think those *cats would try something with me?” Panther sneered.
“Like to see them try. Like to see them even think about it.
Anyway, I don’t need Fixit and Chalk. I can do it alone.”
“You know the rules. No one goes out alone to a meeting. If you don’t want Chalk and Fixit, take Sparrow.”
“Huh! Don’t want nothin’ to do with Sparrow. Lemme take Bear. At least he takes up some space.”
Hawk shook his head. “Bear has to stay here and look out for the others. I need Cheney with me.”
“For what? What you doin’ that’s so important, taking Cheney away now?”
“I’ll tell you later. Just get the pleneten to Tiger. I know you don’t like him, but we made an agreement and we stick to our agreements. We keep our word.”
“I know that. But I don’t have to like it.”
Hawk nodded. “Just get it done. Take Chalk and Fixit with you. The pleneten’s wrapped in brown paper in the cold storage.”
Panther shook his head and made a snorting noise. “Frickin’ Cats.”
Hawk moved over to the storage locker, selected a prod, pocketed two of the viper-pricks, and slipped on his heavy-weather jacket. Owl wheeled over to where he was standing and watched him get ready.
“What do I do when I find her?” he asked quietly.
“You find out what’s wrong, you try to help her make it right, and then you bring her home.”
He looked at her wise, cheerful face and caring eyes. Her smile told him that she was only reaffirming what he already knew. She gave him such confidence just by her presence that it was impossible for him to measure its importance.
She always knew what needed doing and how it could be done. Once, he had thought of her as crippled and helpless. He didn’t think of her like that anymore. He thought of her as the strongest among them. Of all of them, she was the most indispensable, the most necessary to their survival.
“I won’t be long,” he promised.
“Be as long as you need to be,” she told him. “River needs to feel safe again. I don’t think she feels that way now.”