AN: Hi and welcome to my new story! If you're a reader of On Separate Paths, sorry that I haven't been updating that; I've been struck by a lack of inspiration, and will return to it as soon as the writer's block is lifted. On the other hand, if you're a new reader, kindly just ignore the above sentence.

Thanks for reading, please review, and most of all, enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own warriors.

Oh, and here is the list of important characters thus far:

Blade- calico she-cat with bright green eyes

One-Eye- ginger tabby tom with a white belly and paws and one green eye

?- dappled gray tom with a scar on his chest and pale green eyes


Chapter One: A New Beginning

Blade's ears pricked warily as the door of the cat carrier swung open and a young twoleg's face replaced the mesh in front of the entrance. The thick-furred calico kittypet was used to being around twolegs; she had known both bad twolegs and friendly twolegs in her life before. Only time would tell which sort these new ones were. They had taken her away from the place full of cages, bringing her home to the quiet of their den, which seemed a kindness thus far. There were four of them; the two that were full-grown seemed rather distant up until this point, while the two younger ones had sat beside the carrier while their monster brought them home, murmuring softly. It was the memory of this small kindness that coaxed Blade out of the carrier, her ears flattened at first, but then pricking up with curiosity as she emerged into the brighter light.

The smallest twoleg let out a happy trilling noise, but quickly covered her mouth, glancing apologetically at the older twolegs. While the pair of full-grown twolegs let out soft purrs of amusement, the younger boy held out his hand to Blade. His eyes were a dark color, but seemed to sparkle anyway, shining with quiet understanding. The calico she-cat padded over to him, sniffing his hand.

She paused, her bright green eyes flickering back up to the young twoleg's face in curiosity. He didn't break eye contact, but reached out slowly with the same hand to pet her head. Blade ducked away from the hand, flattening her ears. Despite this twoleg's apparent benevolence, she couldn't help but remember what his kind had done to her in the past. Her paws twitched slightly as she flashed back to a specific memory, in which they had been ablaze with pain after a twoleg's torturing. The young kittypet didn't trust anyone, much less a twoleg, as easily as any other cat might have.

The young twoleg seemed slightly disappointed by her reaction, but withdrew his hand rather reluctantly. Blade glanced around at the others, who hung in a loose circle around the room. Their stances didn't appear threatening, but there wasn't much of an escape route unless she dashed between the two younger twolegs and into the next room of the den. Besides, it might take her to even more of a dead end; although, on the other paw, there could be small places in which to hide. Blade flicked her tail thoughtfully, the fur on the back of her neck spiking up slightly.

At a quiet murmur from one of the older pair of twolegs, the others followed his lead, backing a little further away from Blade. The calico blinked up at the one who had given the command, feeling oddly touched that he had told the others to give her more space; apparently he had realized that she had been feeling cornered. The fur on the back of her neck smoothed down again. These twolegs obviously understood cats quite well—or at least the adult male twoleg did.

It was then that Blade first realized that perhaps these twolegs would make good companions after all. She was slightly surprised to realize that she had all but given up on finding a good home… but maybe she could find hope again. Blade let out a soft purr as she padded over to the young twoleg that had tried to pet her before, rubbing her head against his hand. She knew that not all twolegs were good-hearted, but not all of them were evil either—and perhaps all these needed was a chance.

As the days passed, Blade slowly grew accustomed to her new home. Her favorite place to go was the roof of the den, which was always warm under the green-leaf sun. She could look down off the roof and see other cats—fluffy kittypets, wary-looking loners, and scruffy rogues alike—walking along the city streets. Fat gray city birds would often land on the edges of the other roofs, and Blade enjoyed chasing after them even though she knew a kittypet like her would probably never catch one. It was a different life than she had been used to, but a good one nonetheless.

Other than watching over the city from the roof, Blade spent most of her time in the twolegs' den. She had grown fond of all of the twolegs, but her favorite was still the boy, whose name she discovered to be Jack. He was quiet and didn't want to play much, but he seemed to like petting her, which Blade enjoyed as well. They would often spend the evenings together, Blade curled up against the boy's side as he studied an object that the twolegs called a "book". Blade had no idea why the twolegs loved to stare at them so often, although the tiny black squiggles that stood out from the white background were oddly interesting to the calico kittypet. She would gaze at Jack with her head tipped to one side in curiosity as he flipped the thin pages every so often, seemingly randomly, his own gaze fixed on the book with a pensive expression.

The youngest twoleg, who was known as Lucy, was also a good companion for the slightly jumpy kittypet. The twoleg would tie a string to a bunch of feathers, pulling it out of reach whenever Blade pounced for it. The calico she-cat loved the challenge; she would have to predict Lucy's movements in order to successfully catch the toy. After the game was over, Lucy would flop down on her back on the sofa and Blade would leap up to curl up on her stomach, licking the twoleg's eyelids and making her giggle.

The adult twolegs were still more distant, always walking around here and there but never really interacting with Blade; but there were times when the older male twoleg would bring toys home for her when he returned to the den, and the female twoleg gave her fresh food every day. Every so often, the female twoleg would reach down and ruffle Blade's ears, something the kittypet didn't particularly like, but she knew was a sign of affection. She didn't know what the adult twolegs' names were; Jack and Lucy merely called them "Mother" and "Father", something she found strange, as cats typically called their own parents by their names instead of a title.

One day, perhaps a half moon after Blade had come to live with the twolegs, Jack and Lucy's father brought a loop of rough blue material for Blade. She recognized it as a collar, something that most kittypets wore around their necks. Did her twolegs want her to wear one? Blade jerked away from Father as he held her still with his hands and tried to put the collar on her; she didn't want to scratch him, but she didn't want him thinking it was okay to put something around her neck. The kittypet let out an unhappy mewling noise as Jack picked her up, holding her firmly in his arms as his father put the collar around her neck. Much to her surprise, it wasn't tight, although it did itch a little.

However, the collar and all its itchiness became worth it when the twolegs began to leave the window open for Blade, so she could come and go as she pleased. She was a little hesitant to leave the den at first, not wanting to get lost in the business of the city, but at last, her curiosity got the better of her. She crouched on the sill, peering out the window at a platform made of rusted metal that stood a fair distance beneath it. Further along, a series of other ledges, connected by flights of stairs, would bring her down to the ground countless tail-lengths below.

Glancing back at Jack, who gave an encouraging murmur before returning to his book, Blade leaped down to the first platform. It wasn't long before she got the hang of trotting briskly down the elongated stairs, and soon she reached the bottom, dropping down from the last platform onto the sidewalk below. Glancing around, she found the black stone road on one side of her and a fairly wide expanse of grass on the other. The dens in the city were uniform, each stretching impressively skyward, and each with a distinctly square yard around the base. The only notable differences between them were the varying plants in gardens the twolegs from each den owned.

Deciding it would be better to explore her twolegs' garden than risk a battle with the many monsters that blazed along the road, Blade set out for the stretch of grass. The springy green blades had been cut with precision—Blade had watched the twolegs do so from the roof of the den—but it was tall enough that the tips of the grass brushed against her belly when she walked. Pale purple flowers dotted the far left corner of the yard; off to the far right, water pooled in a series of ledges before flowing down into a clear spring with pebbles at the bottom. The bubbling of the water was a rather pleasant sound to Blade's, broken only by the sound of monsters rushing past and the occasional chirp and twitter of the sparrows as they flitted around a small tree in the middle of the yard.

Blade's spotted ears pricked as she instinctively tensed, lowering her body farther into the grass. Pigeons were one thing, but perhaps she could catch a small bird if she really tried, especially in the contained area within the walls of the garden. Licking her whiskers hungrily, the calico kittypet prowled towards the tree, her tail-tip twitching in excitement. She crouched with her hind legs tucked underneath her body, her haunches quivering as she prepared to spring.

Suddenly, a blur of gray came flying at Blade from between the gnarled branches of the tree. There was a flurry of tiny brown feathers as the sparrows took to the air, squawking in shrill panic. Something heavy thumped against Blade's chest, sending her rolling backwards through the tall grass. Dazed by the force with which the object had struck her, she blinked up at whatever had knocked into her for an uncomprehending moment. The gray blur took form into a cat as it sprang back, looking disgusted.

Blade shook her head fiercely to clear her thoughts, leaping back onto her paws and bristling slightly. While any other she-cat would have been momentarily transfixed by the handsome tom that had appeared before her, Blade knew to be wary.

The tom was lean, muscles rippling beneath his sleek dappled pelt as he moved to snarl at Blade, his tail lashing. His glittering green eyes, as pale and cold as ice, gleamed with hostility. He looked hungry and mean, and a jagged scar thinned the fur on his chest, evidence that this was no bully kittypet—he was a rogue. Blade was slightly cowed at the face of such a powerful cat, but stronger than her fear was her anger. Her ears flat with indignant fury, she lifted her chin, meeting the tom's gaze confidently.

"What are you doing on my territory?" the dappled gray tom spat, snarling at her threateningly. "I thought all you kittypet fools knew by now that all this land belongs to me! Or do I have to remind you?" His hooked claws slid out of their sheathes, digging into the soft ground between the blades of grass.

"I live here with my twolegs now," Blade growled, trying not to tremble. She took a step forward to hide her fear, which seemed to surprise the gray tom. He obviously hadn't expected any of the kittypets to be willing to fight back. Anger rushed through her on behalf of herself and all the others that he was judging as too weak to be a threat. "That makes this my territory. So get lost."

The tom's pale eyes gleamed. He was apparently glad for a reason to fight; Blade had misjudged him in thinking that he was all talk and no claws. She stiffened her legs, bracing herself for a fight. "Brave try, little kittypet," the rogue drawled, flicking his tail and taking a step towards her so his nose was nearly touching hers. "But can you fight as well with claws as you can with words?"

Blade narrowed her eyes, forcing herself not to flinch. In response to his taunt, she let out a low growl, baring her fangs. He tensed all of his muscles, and she had only a moment to realize that he was going to attack before the rogue bowled her over. Blade battered frantically at his belly with her hind paws. It was ineffective, and the tom was able to slash her nose with his claws in her moment of helplessness. Gritting her teeth against the pain, the calico kittypet kicked out with all four paws, sending the tom flying backwards despite his weight as she struck him in the gut.

The rogue pounced again, but Blade trusted her instincts and twisted sharply to the side, rolling out of the way of his attack. The tom's massive gray paws pounded at the ground where she'd been the instant before. Leaping to her paws as quickly as she could, Blade didn't hesitate to fling herself at the dappled gray tom, biting down hard on the first part of his body she could reach—his tail.

Yowling in pain and fury, the rogue whirled around on his hind paws, battering at her ears with unsheathed claws. Blade flattened her ears against his blows, but didn't let go, biting down harder. She snarled as best as she could with his fur in her mouth, refusing to be shaken off even as the tom tried to rip his tail free. The tom hesitated, apparently deciding to try a better tactic, but Blade took advantage of his moment of indecision, yanking hard on his tail. The gray rogue lost his footing and stumbled to the ground. Blade leaped onto his back, pinning him to the soft earth.

"Willing to admit that this is my territory now?" she snarled in his ear. Growling, the dappled gray tom thrashed and fought for a while longer, but Blade's weight was too much for him to throw off. The tension drained out of his muscles.

"Fine," he growled, obviously humiliated. Blade didn't feel any sympathy for him. He was the one who insisted on fighting, she thought as she sprang off his back, letting the rogue up. He stood up warily, shaking out his pelt with a sullen expression. It's only fair that he should be the one to suffer the consequences for that choice.

The dappled gray tom bounded away from Blade, ducking under the fence on the opposite side of the yard and quickly disappearing from view. That must have been the yard he came from, Blade thought, sitting back on her haunches in the grass to wash the blood from her nose and ears. She didn't want to worry her twolegs by coming back to their den with visible injuries, especially since this was the first time she'd been outside. They'd probably never let me out again if they found out I was in a fight!

Having lived with them for not even a full moon, Blade didn't know her twolegs extremely well, but the gentleness she'd seen from them thus far told her they wouldn't have much respect for a cat's life of fighting. It would undoubtedly be best to keep this battle a secret, especially since it was only a skirmish; nothing serious.

Blade was so deep in thought that she didn't notice the other cat until he let out a mrrow of amusement. She whipped around, bristling in surprise, and saw a plump tom sitting on the opposite fence from the one the rogue had disappeared under. He was an ancient-looking ginger tabby, with a scruffy pelt that seemed to blend into white on his belly and paws; Blade couldn't be quite sure because his fur was so dirty that the "white" had a yellowish tint. The tom's green eyes—well, eye; the other was missing, the socket scarred where the eye should have been—was sparkling with laughter.

"What are you laughing at, One-Eye?" Blade spat, not sure if she was angry that the tom seemed so amused by her or because he had taken her so easily by surprise. But the decrepit old tom only looked all the more amused by her insult.

"One-Eye?" he inquired in a rumbling purr. "How refreshingly unoriginal."

"I'm glad you're amused," Blade sniffed, sitting back on her haunches. "But you still didn't answer my question. What do you find so terribly amusing?"

"You sure taught that rogue a lesson," the old ginger tabby meowed, bunching his muscles to leap down into the yard. Despite his old age, the one-eyed cat landed neatly on his paws and padded over evenly to stand in front of Blade. "You have an interesting fighting style there." One of his ears twitched slightly, and Blade's own ears pricked up as she realized that the old cat was sharper than he looked. He seemed to be making an innocent comment, but in reality, he was pressing her for an explanation.

Two can play this game, old cat. Blade curled her lip as she dropped down onto all fours, bending around to groom her side, playing at a casual reply. "I fight like that because no cat expects it," she told the one-eyed tabby, glancing at him out of the corner of one emerald eye. "Claws are a cat's choice weapons, but fangs can be just as useful."

"You're rather resourceful for a kittypet," the ginger tabby remarked, eyeing her curiously. Blade bristled, but tried not to let it show as she sat up to face him.

"And you're rather nosey for a loner," she shot back.

The old cat let out another rusty purr. "I'm not much of a loner, really. I'm more of an elder than anything. Most of the young cats respect me, but I see you don't."

"If you want my respect, you'll have to earn it," she replied evenly.

The old cat narrowed his eye, a glimmer of cunning sparkling in its depths. "Will I earn your respect if I teach you how to hunt?"

"How do you know I don't know how to hunt?" Blade asked, going still. She tried to sound as if she was merely challenging him, but she was all too aware that she looked like a deer caught in the lights from a monster's eyes.

"I guessed," replied the old cat cheerfully, but his expression looked rather smug to Blade. "You're a kittypet; half of you don't know how to hunt. And judging from your reaction, I'd say it was an accurate guess."

You wily old cat! Blade flicked her tail thoughtfully, knowing that she had to be careful of what she said around the disheveled tabby. "If you want my respect," she said slowly, "then teaching me to hunt will get you off to a good start."

The old cat yawned, his jaws parting to reveal chipped and broken teeth. "Your fight with that other young whippersnapper chased off all the prey in the area. We'll start tomorrow." He turned and began to saunter off back towards the fence.

"If we're going to be acquaintances," Blade called after him, "we might as well have something to call each other. My name's Blade."

The old tabby glanced back over his shoulder, whiskers twitching. "Interesting name for a kittypet… One-Eye will do for me." With that, the old ginger cat trotted over to the fence and leapt back over to the other side in two bounds. Blade tilted her head to one side, wondering how such an old cat managed to leap so easily… unless his matted pelt and missing eye made him look much older than he actually was. For a cat that didn't seem to be much of a threat, One-Eye was very mysterious…

She shook her head to clear it, reminding herself that her twolegs might worry if she stayed out for too long. Taking only a few heartbeats longer to wash the rest of the blood from her battle with the gray rogue off her fur, Blade walked slowly back to the metal platforms she had used to descend to the ground from the window of her den. Not all of the cats around these parts of the city seemed to be hostile, but the ones she had met so far had come all too close to discovering her secret… With an unpleasant prickling in her paws, Blade hurriedly climbed back up to the window of her den, where Jack, Lucy, and her other twolegs were waiting.