Leafpool crawled through the underbrush that lie on the Thunderclan-Windclan border, searching for herbs. She heard something rustling nearby and scented a Windclan warrior. She hoped with all her heart it wasn't who she thought it was, but the smell was all too familiar. Crowfeather!

The rustling stopped. He must have heard me, Leafpool thought, I wonder what he'll do next?

A dark gray head popped out of a bush, the Windclan warrior's nose touching the nose of the Thunderclan medicine cat. Both cats' eyes were wide and full of wonder. Leafpool's amber eyes opened even wider as Crowfeather closed his own and swiftly kissed her.

Crowfeather ducked back into the bush, and Leafpool followed when she heard a Thunderclan border patrol coming their way. "What are you doing here?" the medicine cat hissed.

"I came to see you one last time before we move on with our lives."

"You shouldn't have… it only makes things harder…"

"Shhh… The patrol's coming towards this bush. There's a big risk that they'll catch us, but we've got to hide in a tunnel over there!"

Leafpool agreed. "They'll catch us anyway if we stay here, so we might as well take the chance." Together they counted to three, then burst out of the bush, Crowfeather first

"Follow me!" he called, dashing over to a hole between two thick, gnarled tree roots. He scrambled down the tunnel with Leafpool following him.

Darkness engulfed them as they fell for what seemed like an eternity, Leafpool clutching to Crowfeather, the only thing she knew in this dark, damp underworld. It felt as if they were falling through space, with nothing solid to hold to but eachother. Finally they fell with a splash into icy cold water.

The she-cat held her breath as she slowly lost consciousness and plummeted into the deep, black depths of the underground lake. Crowfeather burst through the surface, gasping for breath. Then seeing his love drowning, screamed "Leafpool!" then took one last breath and fought his way down to her as she drifted away to Starclan.

The strong young warrior gripped her scruff with his teeth and pulled her slowly, painfully to the surface, not sure if he would make it. But he did, and Leafpool was breathing once more, though still not aware of anything. He held tightly to her, holding her small, beautiful head above the icy, lapping waves that threatened to drown them.

"It's my fault," he said aloud, "If only I hadn't come to see her one last time!" At least they would die together. He wouldn't leave her to drown alone, not for anything. His life was worth nothing without her. If only he could find some land and save them both.

He fought through the darkness that spread out across the vast sea, until finally his reaching paws touched land. He pushed Leafpool onto the land, then attempted to scrabble up himself, but the surface was wet stone, and he nearly slipped back into the water. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes tightly, digging into the solid rock with his claws, pulling himself slowly to safety.

The two lay on the damp, cold stone together, sides heaving with the exhaustion from swimming. Crowfeather's eyes were wide, searching for something other than darkness, but he couldn't see a paw in front of his face. "Leafpool!" he cried, nudging her with his nose, "Wake up, please! You'll be safe with me!" Leafpool didn't make a move except for her steady breathing, which was getting slower and slower. Crowfeather rested his head on her side. "Please," he whispered, "You've got to live!"

Suddenly, there was a spluttering noise and a cough. "Leafpool!" he shouted, leaping up, "Leafpool, it'll be okay." He crouched beside her, pressing her side with his big, strong paws. Water dribbled out of the she-cat's mouth, and her breathing grew to a normal rate. Her eyes flickered open to Crowfeather's relief. They were pupiless yellow orbs in the gloom.

"What's going on?" she asked, panicking. The orbs were as big as the moon now. She tried to get up, but Crowfeather gently made her lie back down.

"Shhh…" he shushed her, "Everything'll be all right now." He petted her shoulder with his tail, then began drying her with his rough tongue.

"You saved my life, didn't you?" Leafpool's voice was quiet, her eyes half-opened.

"What are friends for?" Crowfeather mumbled bitterly. He knew that was all they ever could be now.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

The two were silent for a moment, until Leafpool whispered, "Thank you… I can never repay you."

He kissed her and she pushed him away. "No," she said, turning away, "What about Nightcloud?"

"What about her? You know why I chose her. I only want to show them I'm loyal to Windclan."

"It doesn't matter. She's still yours." Crowfeather put his head down. "Why?" Leafpool asked, "Why did you come visit me? We'll still see each other at gatherings, although we can never be close again."

He hesitated. "I was leaving. I wanted to see you one last time."

"Leaving? To where? Does your mate and son know?"

Crowfeather sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Ah… no," he admitted, "I faked my own death so that all of Windclan would think I was dead. You're the only one who knows I live."

"Crowfeather! You came and told me goodbye, but let your own family and clan think you're dead?" Crowfeather nodded. "Where did you think you would go? And why, for that matter?" Leafpool asked him, bewildered.

"You remember that beautiful place we ran off to together?" Leafpool nodded. "That's where I planned to go," the Windclan warrior continued, "I wanted to escape. To escape her, to escape everything I've done and everything that I regret."

"Don't do this. Forget about everything that's happened between you and me."

"I can't, I…" Crowfeather began.

"It's all because of you," Leafpool interrupted, "that we're down her in this pit, and that we'll never see daylight again. It's all your fault that…"

She stopped, and they both turned as a cold gust filled the cavern and someone… something… entered the room. Leafpool gasped at the hideous sight, and Crowfeather leaped to defend her as it drew nearer in the darkness.