CH. 1

The sound of the food bowl rustling awoke him. He stretched, his black paws reaching out in front of him as he yawned. He'd had that dream again. The one where he was in the ravine, and there were a lot of other cats around. How very strange… he thought, that I was ever able to find myself at home here, when all that was out there…

He stood up and padded into the kitchen, bending his head to eat at the bowl of kibble, especially when I have this stuff here that passes as nourishment instead of a nice juicy rabbit.

He polished off the kibble and padded into the living room. He could hear the cries of the cats being fed. They are fed closer to forest food than I am… because unlike me they're purebred. He sighed. He should be happy being the Twolegs' housepet instead of their income, but he wasn't, not really. Sure, he had full run of the front of the house, and they were confined to that room back there, but all he could think about was the fact that back there, it was more forest-like than it was up here. Sure, none of those cats could leave except when they were brought to the breeding room or put into the Monster outside, and frankly, he should be happy he wasn't left back there. But at least they had a chance of survival. He knew that a few moons ago the Twolegs brought two more cats into the house. They had smelled different than normal, as though they had come from the 'rescue' where he had been kept instead of from the breeder's.

He frowned, why were they put in the back if they had come from the pound? Surely such 'purebred' cats wouldn't be caught and sent there?

He shook his head, but the thoughts would not leave him. The thought that maybe, just maybe, they weren't as pure as the Twolegs believed. He licked himself clean, sighing as he remembered the Cutter, that place that took away his edge, that turned him soft, just so that he could not mate with their precious purebreds. He sighed and stopped his cleansing ritual, his thoughts bothering him enough that he padded into the back. There was a window of impenetrable hardness that allowed the Twolegs to watch over their cats. It was this that he leaped up into. He saw that the fence had once again been lifted, as the food for the cats had been placed out, and he saw all of them converging on the food. He flicked his tail, frowning. There was a silver kit-bowl left unattended in the corner.

He looked through the fake trees until he saw them. An apprentice-aged pair of tan cats. One was more of a ginger, and the other more of a sandy color, but they looked obviously like a couple of older cats, with one difference. They were obviously clan cats. All kits born in this StarClan forbidden place were comfortable and settled in easily. These kits, they were backed into a corner, eyes haunted, the male hissing at anyone that approached. His ears perked up.

"StoneClan!" He grumbled in his deep, raspy voice. He couldn't let them be here! They had to grow learning the code that every honorable cat lived by. He looked around, and leaped down, padding to the door that opened into the large back of the house, and began to yowl, scratch and throw the biggest tantrum this place has ever seen.

Soon, a Twoleg came, and yelped at him, but he did not cease. He knew that the cats on the other side of the door must be wondering what the ruckus was about, but he could care less. He absolutely had to help those kits.

Finally, he heard them lowering the fence, and the cats scrambling out of its way. And then, after what seemed an eternity, the door slipped open, and he dashed inside.

Now, he too was trapped in the back of the house. But he was with the kits. He could do the duty he was born to do. He heard the door slam behind him, and the fence raised up.

The purebred kittypets cautiously stepped forward, sniffing at him, but he had eyes only for the two kits. He bounded past, through the trees, ignoring the protests and confusion oozing from the cats around him, before he halted in front of the corner.

"Leave us alone!" The tomcat hissed, keeping his tail barring his sister's body.

"Oh, kits… StoneClan kits!" He whispered. Now that he was closer, he could smell it. It was faint, just barely there, but there it was.

The she-cat peeked her head around her brother, "Who are you?"

He wrapped his tail around his paws, "I am known as Cory, but I was once called Raventail."

The kits' ears went back, "But you're just a myth to tell kits, so they don't leave camp!"

He shook his head, "I am afraid not. How long have you poor things been here?"

The tom's ears went back defensively, but the she-cat looked at him, trust in his eyes, "We were taken four moons ago, and placed in a horrible place! Then this Twoleg came, and she brought us here, and at first we thought we were going home…." Her eyes dipped to look at the ground below.

"You cannot escape here without help, and I am sure you know it. What are your names?"

The tom narrowed his eyes, but again the she-cat looked at him, all trust, "I'm Sandkit and this is my brother Copperkit."

Cory nodded, "We will work with that, then, we will. Follow me. I will apprentice you."