Hello! Infinite here! Thanks for all the feedback ;w; I really appreciate it. This chapter was going to be longer, but then I was like, "Screw it. I could take the other half and make it another chapter." So yeah!

Review replies:

Shiverdream of Windclan: Aah, thanks so much :ooo

PerfectlyClearly: Thanks! Yes, I'm trying to keep them balanced, so I'm glad they're working : I also want to add in a couple more personality quirks for them, though.

Dewmist: Thanks, Misty!

It took two more Gatherings before Pebbleclaw and Stormpaw trusted each other enough to meet in secret.

It was four days before they were supposed to meet up. Pebbleclaw's heart was thudding against his chest and he took a deep breath, hoping that it would calm his frayed nerves. Instead, his heart beat faster, racing like a rabbit.

It was a constant reminder that he was basically betraying his clan. Sneaking out of camp, meeting with somebody at the Island, talking with an enemy warrior... Pebbleclaw's head spun, his fierce desire to remain loyal fighting against his want - no, his need - for companionship, for a friend he could laugh with and whisper secrets to. He unsheathed his claws, the pearly crescents sinking into the prey in front of him.

"Whoa there!" said Gorsefoot, alarmed. "What are you doing?"

Pebbleclaw looked down and realized that he'd basically shredded the bottom half of the rabbit without even realizing it. Heat flushed to his cheeks and he bent down to take a big mouthful.

"You seem nervous," his brother continued. "Is something wrong? You can tell me anything, you know." Gorsefoot blinked at him innocently, blue eyes round with worry.

"Nothing's wrong," Pebbleclaw replied, picking the rabbit bones clean. "It's just- you wouldn't understand."

Gorsefoot fluffed his fur out. "I would totally understand," he said, indignant. "Really! I would!"

No, you wouldn't, thought Pebbleclaw glumly. And it was true; Gorsefoot had never faced the same kind of discrimination that his brother had. He never had a shortage of loving and supportive friends. He wouldn't understand why Pebbleclaw was breaking the warrior code and risking exile to meet up with somebody.

"Forget it," growled Pebbleclaw, his eyes narrow slits. "I'm going hunting. And don't bother coming, either," he added, getting up. Gorsefoot looked hurt and crestfallen. For a moment a twinge of guilt chilled Pebbleclaw's heart, and so he sat down, sighing.

"Sorry, but... I just need some alone time, alright? I'll see you later." With that, Pebbleclaw left the camp, hoping that hunting would distract him from his nerves.

The tabby tom raced across the moor, the wind like tiny pieces of ice stabbing his eyes. Despite the bitter, unusually cold weather, he grinned. Hunting was Pebbleclaw's true love. He might be better at fighting, but there was pretty much no place he'd rather be than chasing a rabbit across the moor.

Almost as if he'd summoned it with his mind, a cottontail appeared, hopping down a slight indent in the moor. Pebbleclaw bunched his muscles together and used the springy ground as a launching board, sinking his fangs into the poor creature's neck. He promptly buried it and continued running.

Unfortunately, the rabbit was his only piece of prey all morning. He'd been across almost all of WindClan's territory. The only place left was near the ThunderClan border, which he didn't like hunting near because it harbored so many hairy squirrels and tough, stringy mice.

It was Pebbleclaw's only choice, though. He reluctantly slowed down his speed as he neared the border, panting, until he caught sight of a vole. Grimacing, he chased after it, slamming down a paw on its spine right on the border. The scarred tom winced at the messy kill.

As he picked it up and was about to go back to collect the rabbit he'd caught earlier, a ThunderClan patrol of three blundered into the sparse woods.

The biggest one, a tough-looking white tom, snarled at him, his eyes filled with menace. "We saw you!" he yowled. "You took our prey!"

"What? No!" Pebbleclaw dropped the vole and backed away. "I chased it from WindClan territory!"

"Yeah, but you caught it on ThunderClan territory," argued the she-cat next to the tom. Her blue eyes were hostile and her gray fur was spiked. "It would have run onto here, which means that you technically just caught prey that could have fed ThunderClan cats."

"I don't- what? It's WindClan prey. Besides, I caught it on the border."

"You're wrong," snarled the white tom, stepping forward. "That's our prey. Give it back." Pebbleclaw frowned and looked at the third cat in the patrol, a plump ginger tabby who just stood there, head bowed.

"She isn't supporting your argument," Pebbleclaw pointed out, jabbing his tail at the ginger she-cat. He took a deep breath, struggling to keep his anger in check. "She must think you're wrong, which you are. I'm telling you, I caught it on the border."

"You're looking at Amberwing for support?" sneered the gray she-cat. "She can barely understand hunting and fighting. Her little kittypet brain can't keep up with the big-warrior talk. I have to say, though, you're a lot worse than her."

Pebbleclaw narrowed his eyes. "Shut up," he growled, dropping into an attack crouch. "It's my prey!"

"Oh yeah? Wanna fight for it, rabbit-head?" the she-cat taunted, bristling her fur. Pebbleclaw snarled at her, his eyes filling with rage. He lunged, claws scraping down the cat's spine, and was about to pull out a piece of the fleapelt's fur when something pushed him aside.

"N-no! Please, please stop!" The voice was small, shaky, soft. Pebbleclaw's rage faded and he turned to see the ginger she-cat, Amberwing, standing over him.

"StarClan!" she gasped. "You... you're hurt!" She looked at her clanmate. "Oh no! You're hurt too! Are you okay?" She dropped down to the gray she-cat's side, licking the wounds of the warrior who had insulted her no more than a few heart-beats ago. "This is terrible," she said, worry clear in her voice. "Those scratches are really deep."

The she-cat grunted and sat up, blood trickling out of the gash on her back. "I'm fine," she rasped. "Get off me."

"Why so rude?" growled Pebbleclaw, lashing his tail. "She just saved your life."

"Like I was in any danger," the gray cat retorted, licking her wounds. "Come on, Snowtail. Let's go. The WindClan warrior can have his prey. He certainly needs it, the scrawny rabbit-brain."

Pebbleclaw was on the verge of attacking them again when Amberwing placed her tail-tip on his shoulder.

"Please," she whispered, her eyes welling up, "just let it go. I don't like it when cats fight." She looked back; the two other cats had already left and didn't seem to notice that Amberwing wasn't with them.

The scarred tabby tom growled with frustration, claws tearing up the grass beneath him. "But... but they're terrible!" he stammered. "They made fun of you!"

"I know," she said quietly. "But I can't do anything about it."

Pebbleclaw looked at her, appalled. "Stand up for yourself!"

"I can't." Amberwing just barely breathed the words, and she stared down at her paws. "They hate me because I'm too soft and because I used to be a kittypet. There's not a lot I can do to change that. It's just who I am, and if they don't accept it-"

"If they don't accept it, it's their loss," interrupted Pebbleclaw. "Amberwing... I know how you feel." He was about to go on, ready to break into a deep, lengthy, and meaningful conversation in an attempt to make the she-cat feel better, but she cut him off.

"No, I don't think you do." Her voice was quiet but firm. Amberwing looked up, straight into Pebbleclaw's eyes. The battle-scarred tom was alarmed by her clear, flickering blue orbs. They were... off. Broken, hopeless, lonely, filled with sadness and despair. He involuntarily took a step back.

"I-"

"I think..." The ginger she-cat turned around. "I think it's time for you to go. I-I'm sorry. I can't- I'm sorry. You can keep the vole you caught earlier." She blinked at him, sorrowful, before taking off, leaving Pebbleclaw confused and angry. Angry at himself.

He stood there, stone-still, for some time after she left before he finally moved.

"Ugh! You idiot!" Pebbleclaw slammed his claws against a nearby oak tree, raking them down with such vengeance that the bark was almost shredded. "One good friend in another clan and suddenly you think you think you have the power to talk to anybody? To help them? To make them like you?" The tabby tom's temper was raging, a miniature hurricane that turned him into a violent, destructive machine. "Stupid, stupid rabbit-brain! Fox-pelt! Flea-bag!"

He slammed his head against the tree, adrenaline coursing through his veins. "Idiotic mouse-heart!"

Pebbleclaw collapsed against the base of the tree, panting. His claws were sore and one was almost torn out. Blood, the sweet, metallic life of the battlefield, trickled down his leg from when he had rammed himself into the tree.

But this wasn't the battlefield, was it? Groaning, he picked himself up and hobbled back to camp with the vole in his jaws, wondering what he was supposed to tell the medicine cat. He couldn't very well go and say, "I attacked a really tough oak tree and got into a skirmish with a ThunderClan patrol." Ears tingling with shame, he padded into the WindClan camp and headed straight for the medicine cat, head hung low.

Thankfully, he didn't have to come up with an excuse as to why he was scratched and bleeding. The medicine cat, Berryfrost, provided a perfect one while treating him.

"Got stuck in a thornbush, did you, Pebbleclaw?" the cream she-cat meowed cheerfully. The brown tabby nodded guiltily. "Those scratches should take a couple days to fully recover," she continued. "But that torn claw... maybe half a moon?" She squinted. "Dunno. It depends. But take it easy, alright?"

Pebbleclaw nodded numbly as Berryfrost wrapped his claw with foul-smelling herbs and shooed him out. As soon as he stepped into the camp, covered with cobwebs and marigold, several of his nearby clanmates shrunk back. He ignored it and walked to the fresh-kill pile, bumping into one of the new apprentices on the way.

"O-oh! Pebbleclaw!" Sagepaw squealed, eyes wide with fright, obviously expecting for the warrior to lose his temper and attack him. "I'm sorry! I'm so s-sorry! I didn't mean-"

"It's fine, Sagepaw," Pebbleclaw replied wearily. "It was an accident."

"Of.. of course!" Sagepaw slunk away into the apprentice's den, whispering quickly to his sister, Goldenpaw. She narrowed her eyes at Pebbleclaw and hissed at him. The tom sighed, trying to ignore her hateful glare.

Pebbleclaw ate the vole that he had caught earlier and settled down next to Gorsefoot. It was the only place that he was welcome in the clan. His younger brother was going on, clearly excited about something, but Pebbleclaw wasn't listening. He closed his eyes and lay down.

Just four more days until you can meet with Stormpaw, Pebbleclaw. You can do this.

Soo... now you meet Amberwing! She's one of my favorite characters in this story so far hehe :P You'll learn more about her later. Also, I wanted to show how Pebbleclaw's clanmates interact with him. It's not going to be his perspective for all the chapters, by the way. As always, be sure to leave some feedback! Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated! Peace out - Infinite