"It's not really a substitute for smell as I understand it, just a way to talk to people who aren't with you. If I write a note that says 'I'll be back at sunset' then it can tell people that while I'm away doing whatever, for example."

"Cats can just smell who lives together.  It's interesting that there are other uses, though."  They cross a dirt road; Fireheart doesn't look both ways first.

Cam does, but it doesn't look like anybody's coming.

Trot trot trot trot across.  He turns and watches to make sure that Cam gets to the other side alright.  "What's it like not really being able to smell?"

"We rely on it less. Twolegs are mostly focused on vision and hearing. Actually I have reason to believe that you can see better than most cats can - most cats can't distinguish many colors but the ones I checked in the shelter can tell apart as many as I can."

"Which ones can't most cats see?"

Cam pulls up a human color vision spectrum and a cat color vision spectrum on his computer. "Twolegs can almost all see these colors," he points at the one, "and a normal cat looking at that same bunch of colors would see this instead," point.

"I don't think you should call cats who can't talk normal.  At least around most Clan cats."

"Yeah, that makes sense, I'll watch it. 'Typical'?"

"I still have never met a cat who couldn't talk.  Even if they're - normal out of all the cats in the world, they're not typical here, to us."

"Do you have a suggestion for a short term for 'overwhelmingly more populous outside this area non-speaking cat'?"

"Well, just non-speaking cat.  Or dumb cat.  Voiceless.  I don't know."

"All right."

"Have you found anything else like that?  Differences about things besides just talking?"

"That and color vision. And Princess learned to read very quickly, but that's probably under the header of 'talking'."

"How did it go with her and her Twolegs?"

"They seemed to cope reasonably well with the information that their cat could talk and I have set her up with some stuff to let her write to them!"

"That's good.

Maybe if all the Twolegs end up finding out about the Clans, I'll go and thank my old housefolk, and let them know I'm doing well.  I - my heart belongs in the forest, but they were all right, in their own way."

"I'd imagine conditions for cats would improve in households if everyone involved can communicate!"

"I suppose so . . ."

"But if you like living in the forest for some reason far be it from me to suggest you stop."

"Of course I do.  It's just - I respect the choices of cats who want to live as kittypets, but even for them, it's strange to think of Twolegs as . . . as basically the same as cats, instead of - like the weather.  Something that just is the way it is."

"...that must have been awfully bizarre weather."

"Twolegs are awfully bizarre!  I understood them better than the other Clan cats but even so.  - I suppose I imagine that we must seem very strange to you too."

"You seem culturally dissimilar but not that weird, really. Are there any persistent twoleg mysteries I can answer for you?"