The air was filled with signs of thunder. A muscular tom crouched under a low needle branch, alerted of prey. Soon, a single blackbird landed a few fox-lengths away from the tom. The tom focused his amber gaze on the bird. Easy prey. The tom begun to snake towards the bird, carefully placing his large paws on every step. Now the bird was just some tail-lenghts away. The tom could, almost, taste it's delicious flavor. His mouth begun to water now when he thought about it. The tom was about to bounce, when suddenly, another cat slid from behind a tree, and lunged at the bird.

Fox-dung! The other cat was too slow. The tom jumped, and caught the bird from the mid-air. He landed awkwardly, and finished the bird with a swift blow to it's neck. It was close for him to miss it.

'' What a fantastic catch, Blackfoot '' The other cat meowed impressed. But Blackfoot was not impressed on his catch. He cast a glance to the other cat.

'' Didn't you see that I was stalking it, Sol? '' Blackfoot answered grumpily.

'' Of course I saw you, Blackfoot. But I was stalking it first '' Sol twitched his whiskers with amusement.

Blackfoot opened his jaws to argue, but closed them soon. Maybe he was right. Blackfoot wasn't going to pick up a fight with Sol. Not with him.

Sol paced closer to him. He was casting short glances at the bird Blackfoot had just caught.

'' So, are you going to share it? '' Sol asked him with a monotonic voice. Blackfoot nodded before he even realized what he had asked him.

Sol crouched down opposite to him, and begun to tear up the birds left wing. Blackfoot crouched too.

The bird was no more than feathers and bones. Blackfoot sat down on his haunches. Sol was washing his forepaw, and glanced at Blackfoot.

'' You have a feather on your nose '' Sol meowed with amusement. Blackfoot cuffed the black feather off his nose embarassed. He was about to snap how kit-like it was to point out such a thing, when a sudden lightning hit a tree nearby. Both cats pricked up their ears towards the sound. It was quiet for a moment. A tiny raindrop fell on Blackfoot's head. Only now he noticed how heavy the air felt with the upcoming storm. How could he forget about the signs? Sol was looking up at the sky. '' It's going to be a big storm '', he meowed. Blackfoot felt uneasines prick his pelt. He had never liked storms. Dark clouds were looming over them, sending more and more raindrops falling down. Blackfoot turned around, and begun to ran towards the ShadowClan camp. He could hear pawsteps behind him. Sol was following him. Now the rain was heavier. Blackfoot began to run faster. His pelt grew wet and was pressing onto his body. He pricked his ears to hear if the other cat was still keeping in pace with him. Sol was just a few tail-lenghts away from him. A loud thunder rumbled across the forest, followed by another lightning. Blackfoot was thankful for the thick pines that covered the area, giving shield from the cold breeze that blowed over the treetips. Both cats skitted to a halt when they arrived at the camp entrance. Blackfoot heard Sol struggle to keep his balance on the wet and slippery ground, sending leaves to the air. Blackfoot entered the camp through the wet bramble ticket. It was empty. Still, he could hear sounds from the nests. Cats were sheltering from the weather. Blackfoot rushed into his den. It felt damp, but atleast it was sheltered from the rain. Soon, Sol entered the den, too. Blackfoot gave his huge, jet-black forepaws some licks. He felt droplets of water hit him as Sol shaked his wet coat. Blackfoot turned to look at him. Sol's long, tortoiseshell fur was still soaked. He gave it another shake. Blackfoot avoided the droplets this time. Now, Sol's fur was sticking at every direction. He sat down, and began to groom his scruff. Blackfoot pricked his ears for more thunder.

'' It is really a big storm... '' He muttered half to himself. He popped his head out of the brambles that covered his den. Heavy rain welcomed him. Blackfoot hauled himself backwards, almost crashing onto Sol, and shaked his wet head fiercely. Sol moved a bit, giving Blackfoot more space. Blackfoot sat down next to him, waiting for a comment about his clumsiness. But it never came. Sol continued to groom himself coolly, like nothing had happened. Blackfoot sighed, and began to groom himself, too.

Sol was padding in the nest. It seemed like he was searching for something. Blackfoot was staring at the rain from a small gap in the brambles. Seemed like the rain wasn't ever going to stop. Both cats had groomed themeselves, thought it took more time for Sol because of his long coat. Blackfoot felt tired. He padded slowly to his nest, and crouched down. The moss felt damp and hard beneath him. He shivered with cold.

'' What are you doing? '' He asked Sol, who was scraping moss from a corner, and was prodding it closer to Blackfoot.

'' Half of my nest is soaked. So, you'll have to borrow some of yours '' he answered, and pushed the remaining moss next to Blackfoot.

What? Blackfoot did share his den with Sol, but sharing nests? Never. Blackfoot gave the other tom a deep glare. Sol didn't seem to notice. He crouched beside Blackfoot, so that their pelts almost touched each other.

Blackfoot didn't feel comfortable when the other cat was so close to him. But, what could he do? He didn't want to chase him away, and he had no power to tell other cats what to do. Not anymore. Blackfoot let out a long sigh, and placed his head on his huge forepaws. He wasn't Blackstar anymore. He was Blackfoot. He wasn't the leader of ShadowClan. He was... Something. But, being something was even better than being fed with lies and nursery-tales. There was no StarClan. No Warrior Code, either. There was nothing. Nothing to live for, nothing to hold on to. He was alone. He had always been. He had no mate, no kits, no one to even call a friend. Sure he did have his Clan, but... Blackfoot's thoughts were cut off. He felt the rasp of Sol's tongue against his ear. He jerked his head up, hissing. He turned to look at Sol, with eyes no more than slits.

'' What do you think you're doing?'', Blackfoot meowed irritated. Sol twitched his whiskers.

'' Calm down. I just thought it'd soothe you, that's all ''.

Blackfoot felt even more irritated.

'' Soothe me? I don't know what you're thinking, but... '' His speech trailed off. He stared at Sol. His golden gaze was calm and wistful. He was looking right back into Blackfoot's eyes. He felt as he could drown into Sol's eyes. Blackfoot felt his fur ruffling up. He smoothed his spine with quick, swift licks. Sol didn't say a word. Blackfoot didn't say a word either. Sol reached closer to Blackfoot, and gave his scarred ear another lick. And another. And another. Blackfoot didn't say a word, once again. He couldn't think of what to say, honestly. When was the last time someone had groomed him? The white cat tried to hold a purr back with effort. Blackfoot wasn't that kind of a cat to show his feelings. The gentle lapping stopped. '' Don't be so tense, Blackfoot. Your tail is trembling. '' What? Blackfoot turned to look at his tail. Sol's right. His tail was trembling. Sol touched Blackfoot's shoulder gently with his paw. '' Relax, Blackfoot '', the tortoiseshell barely whispered. Blackfoot swallowed hard, and laid his head back onto his paws. Soon, he began to relax as Sol started to groom him again, this time his neck. He even purred a bit. But just a bit. Blackfoot was about to doze off. He even felt a bit warmer now...