Hey, guys. This is gonna be a quickie chapter this time - but more of that at the bottom AN.

theDiabolical - Haha! You should get your sleep and just read in the morning, silly! Sleeping is more important that this fic, by far. XD

Rapidfeather - Gosh, morbid, Rapidfeather. XD Let's keep it cheerful, shall we? Like...fuzzy golden bunnies and...butterflies. Yeah. XD

Queen of the Pens - Me too. I'm so glad that he turned out this way. I originally planned to have him and the Rogue die together. XD

XxJabberjayxX - Oooh, you're talking to the wrong girl, Jabber. I don't like Twilight. XD You can't have love without some kind of angst! And I do love how Lightfoot is so psychotic but still on the good guys' side. More of that in the future. ;) And goooosh, I have read that story - and I use "story" very, very loosely. I actually listened to a dramatic reading of it on YouTube. XD

LegendaryHero - I'm in my bi-yearly insomia phase, so this is when I'm online. This is actually a little bit earlier than usual for an update as far as timing goes. XD Constructive criticism is always a good thing - no lie there - but I do get my feelings hurt sometimes by reviewers. I may write dark, angsty stories but I'm still a person, too! XD I know that this story is trying to jerk forward waaaay too quickly and it's getting out of my control - I'm very, painfully aware of that fact - but more of that at the bottom AN. And thanks for the double-review - I really did appreciate that.

tufted titmouse - Oooh~! That's a good one! Okay, I'll reread that scene and get on that soon. XD I actually PDF my original stories that I write and put them on my Reader so I can read while I'm at school. XD

Da Mao-Blackjack - Ooh, new name-change! Ironic, too, 'cause I have a character coming in named Blackjack! XD Haha, I dunno about many more stories, though. Fanfiction is wearing me thin. XD

Koraki - Thanks! I'm glad you like da fluff. X3 I loved Snit, too, but he just had to go. Redemption equals death and all that. XD

Silvertail of shoreclan - Kill Audrey? Would I do that? X3

Kitty - Hee! I think your heart failed a bit there, unless you meant threes, in which case... 333! XD

artemis7337 - Haha, perhaps I should have named it Sink instead. XD Ooh, too dark, you think? I didn't know it turned out so dark. '- '

Ravenshade - Lightfoot unsettles everybody, I think. I imagine that Lucky is always wondering how it is exactly that she stays loyal to him. XD I try to put humor in it but I think I'm pretty bad at it. I really must practice. XD I'm horrible at time, too, don't worry. I have to keep track in my notes for this fic so I don't do anything too dreadful. XD And they sell MLP stuff? :O I dunno how my roommates would feel about me having a Rainbow Dash plushie hanging around my room, though. Perhaps I can make one! I bet I could. I made a Toothless plushie, after all!

warrior cat lover - Hee! It's okay, I probably wouldn't sign in if I didn't have to. It takes so long sometimes. XD

Squirrelheart - Yup! I haven't found a place for Shot yet, but he'll come in too!

Tangleflame - Ain't she? I do like her. X3

SoccerGeek7699 - Twist always worries now. I imagine that she does hate it so - she and I are alike in the way that we don't generally get worked up or stressed out but when we do, it's on. XD Hee! Parlez-vous francais? Aimez-vous mon roman? Merci beaucoup~!

Okay.

Onto the story~!

"They have a plentiful lack of wit."

Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2


The freeze wore on. For days and days. The ground was locked in the fierce claws of the cold season. Prey scattered. Animals abandoned the forest. Cats slowly grew quieter as the hunger howled from their bellies.

Twist sat shivering on the top of the fence, looking out into the twilit woods. They were completely bare and empty now, seeming more like a ghost land than a living, breathing environment. Flakes were floating down past her, sticking to her pelt without melting, but she didn't move away. Her breath fogged in front of her in clouds of white, her whiskers bending under the weight of tiny frozen droplets.

After a moment, she leapt to the ground, landing lightly on the ground. The snow, a fine powder, crunched beneath her paws, leaving dimples behind as she walked. Her pelt had grown thicker throughout the season but the chill still cut through it, right down to her skin. She shivered but kept moving, her eyes fixed ahead of her, even as the soft, haunting call of an owl rose sleepily from the trees above.

She saw it, watching her with bright yellow eyes. A curve of white feathers over its eyes gave it an inquisitive look, as if asking, What are you doing all alone in the woods?

Twist dropped her gaze from it, her pelt bristling. She hadn't seen owls in her kithood up in the mountains but she had seen hawks. Her mother had always warned her about such large birds, and how they could easily carry away kits to feast upon.

Well, I'm no longer a kit, am I? she thought rather grumpily, moving on.

It felt like it had been so long since that day, since Audrey had disappeared. Days and days and days. Twist sighed heavily. This snow should have melted. This freeze should have been over already.

Audrey should still be here.

Twist had gone out every night like this since that day, hoping to find her. Hoping to see her ginger pelt amidst the trees. Even in her dreams, Twist had seen Audrey as if she were a shadow, half-hidden in a thick, cloaking mist. Her eyes had shone through the darkness, bright green, but she hadn't come closer.

Though that did not deter Twist from trying to find her.

She hadn't told Declan. It wouldn't be right to bring him into Twist's daily obsession.

In the back of her mind, she knew it was stupid. She shouldn't be doing this, keeping things from him. But she couldn't help it; she tried to tell herself that it was for his own good, and hers as well, but she couldn't quite believe it.

Not to mention his nightmares had worsened.

Twist would awake to his frantic whispering, under his breath so quickly that she could barely hear it save for a stream of hissing. His eyes would roll beneath the lids, searching out something. Sometimes he even stood.

Once he walked all the way out into the woods. Twist had followed him, frantically calling for him, but it was like he didn't even recognize her. His eyes had been dead, flat, and so, so empty. Just like when he had been smoke-treated.

She shivered again, this time not with the cold.

Declan was her everything. To see him in such pain…it was breaking her apart every time she thought about him. Sometimes, she couldn't even bear to look at him. It wasn't that she didn't love him—she was almost terrified of how much she did—but it just hurt to be around him. It hurt so badly. All the pain he was suffering…and he couldn't tell her about it.

It made her, in a selfish, kittish way, want to keep her own secrets.

Just like this one. This going out into the forest every night, right around this time, to search out a cat who didn't want to be found. Or what if she really was dead? Would Twist one day stumble upon her body, cold and stiff and frozen?

Something twitched in the bushes ahead of her.

She ducked into a tangle of dead thorn bushes, hoping and praying with all her heart that it wasn't Declan. It would be so very difficult to explain this situation to him. She told him that she went out to hunt at this time, a little bit of alone time, and he never doubted her. He never even questioned the idea that she would lie to him. And she wouldn't ever. Only just this once.

One lie couldn't hurt anyone that badly.

Twist, her pelt blending her rather beautifully into the dark, dead stems, could hear the cat thrashing around. By the sound of it, it was a pet—no Slider or Claw would walk so loudly—and it was a slow one at that. The cat moved leisurely through the forest path. With one last tug of branches, the cat was through, was clear, and Twist felt at once a profound confusion.

It was a she-cat, slender and willowy and breathtakingly beautiful—even more so than Lightfoot or Sorrow. She was a very pale ginger tabby, her fur long and silky. Her belly and face were pure white, marked with very fine tabby markings, and her tail was a feathery plume. She walked on delicate white paws unmarked by mud or slush: she hadn't been out in the woods for very long. Her eyes were soft and delicate, a bright gold, and she watched everything with an almost delicate interest.

Twist stared. She hadn't ever seen this she-cat before. She certainly wasn't a Claw—her pelt was unmarred by mud and her eyes were unmarked—but she didn't wear a collar like the other pets Twist had seen. She seemed very frail, sickly somehow, even though her eyes glimmered with intelligence.

She must be lost, was Twist's first thought. This she-cat looked far too weak to be a wild cat. Deciding to take the Slider option, Twist slid out of the undergrowth and made herself known.

A blaze of something sparked up in the she-cat's eyes before she could hide it, something more than shock. "Hello," she greeted, and her voice was as soft as a dove's call. "I didn't know anyone was around here."

"I'm a Slider. We're just down the hillside. In the old no-pelt dump." She tipped her head to motion to it. "Are you lost?"

The she-cat looked embarrassed. "Yes. I was supposed to be meeting somebody here but he never showed up. I think he must have forgotten." She shivered. "And it's too cold to wait any longer. I was trying to find my way home. I got lost in these woods." She looked around, fear in her eyes.

Twist glanced back into the forest. She had checked these woods every day: if Audrey was around, she would have certainly found her by then. "Does your friend live around here? Does he have housefolk?"

The she-cat shook her head. "No. I don't know where he'd be." Then she hunched down slightly, her eyes uplifted to Twist, and even though Twist was smaller than her, it made her appear very vulnerable. "I know I barely know you, but can I… Never mind."

"No, tell me." Twist knew she shouldn't be talking to this she-cat—if she had gotten herself into something, she should get herself out—but Declan's voice was in the back of her head, whispering, She might need help. You should make sure that she's okay before you leave her alone. She might be scared.

"Can I…come back to your den with you?" When Twist's mouth dropped open in surprise, the she-cat quickly backtracked. "I'm sorry. I know that's presumptuous. I didn't mean to— I mean, it's just cold and it's getting dark and I don't know these woods…" She trailed off, a bit of a miserable quiver in her voice.

Twist blinked. "Of…of course." Then she cleared her throat, trying to sound more official, more like Lucky. "The Sliders can house you for the night. You might have to come speak to my leader, though."

"That's fine." The she-cat looked positively ecstatic now. "Thank you so much! Oh, I just realized I didn't even introduce myself. I'm Dahlia."

Dahlia. What a weird name, Twist thought. "I'm Twist."

"Thank you so much for doing this for me, Twist," Dahlia said, her voice curving with genuine gratitude. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come along."

Now feeling a bit uncomfortable with this she-cat bounding alongside her, Twist said, "Don't mention it. You'll have to speak to Lucky, though."

"Your leader?"

"Yeah. He's the one that runs the Sliders."

"And what are the Sliders? That group that lives all together?" Twist didn't have a chance to respond before she continued with, "I've heard about you. When I was a kit, it was a huge deal. I remember hearing stories about them. And a few moons ago, I heard them again. You guys had a huge fight, didn't you?"

"Yes," Twist said slowly.

"Did anyone you know die?"

It was said so abruptly that Twist didn't know what to say. How could she respond to something like that?

Luckily, Dahlia seemed to understand she spoke too much. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she said quickly, her eyes pleading. "I didn't mean to say that. What I meant was, did a lot of cats get killed because of it?"

Twist, now severely rubbed the wrong way and regretting her decision, said, "Yes."

"I'm sorry." Dahlia's voice was much softer now, barely audible over the ruffling wind. Her eyes looked very bright in her pale face, like sunflowers against snow. "That must be difficult. I lost my mother when I was very young. I understand loss."

Now it was Twist's turn to apologize. "I'm sorry. What happened to her?"

That easy flowing gold of her eyes hardened somehow, surprisingly. It lasted for barely a heartbeat before she turned her face away from Twist's view and said, "She was killed when she wandered too far into these woods."

"By what?"

"Cats. She managed to make it back home before she…" She didn't even try to finish that sentence. When she turned back to Twist, her eyes bright once more, she said, "I didn't mean to bring up such a morbid topic. I mean, I've only just met you. I don't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Compared to most of my life, this is a pretty normal conversation. Twist felt a bitter curl in her belly at the thought—it was depressing to think that a mother's death was commonplace in her new cynical thoughts.

Dahlia filled the air with a steady, cheerful chatter, all the way back to the Warren. By then, the light had fallen, turning the forest into a nest of shadows. The Warren was a welcome sight after all the snow—at least it was warm and homey inside. Unlike this slush and mush mixture of snow and mud.

Surprisingly, Iggy was at the entrance to the Warren, along with Kent and Kaltag.

"Who's there?" he yowled, his back arching. His teeth were exposed and glistening in the half-light.

Twist's hair rose along her back. Dashing up to him—he fell back to let her and Dahlia into the Warren with only the merest of looks at the new she-cat—she said, "It's Twist! Iggy, what's—" She was cut off as a weight hit her from the side and Declan's scent wreathed over her.

"Oh, thank the stars," he whispered against her neck, his words only for her. His voice very soft and weak, he said, "I thought that… I didn't see you after sunset and I thought you had been—" He let out a very quiet sigh, the sound very unstable.

Heart squeezing painfully in her chest, Twist forced herself to pull from his embrace. "Declan, what's happened? What's wrong?"

His eyes fixed on her seemingly unknowingly, searching her face. She had to repeat her question before he blinked and intelligence flooded back into his eyes. "There's been another body found."

Twist felt her blood run cold. "Who?"

"Jaybird."

And for one horrible, gut-twisting moment, she was happy that it wasn't someone she knew closely. Jaybird had been a smudgy gray she-cat who'd been captured by the Claws. She'd been forced into their ranks as one of the very few Claw guards. Smoke-treated like Declan, it had taken her so long to recover. She had been older, and she'd been with them for so long, that no one really expected her to make a full recovery.

And now she never would.

"Where is she? How did anyone find her? What…what happened?" Twist's brain felt utterly blank.

Declan nudged her to his side, his muzzle against her cheek. "Lucky's going to speak soon. He almost sent out a search party for you."

Twist accepted his affections almost absently; his desperation had been heart-wrenching but now she was totally fixated on the newest murder.

Jaybird hadn't been out in the woods alone. She never went anywhere alone—Lucky made sure of that. He didn't let any of the smoke-treated cats away from his sight for very long.

Her eyes tightened. That included Declan. Twist was sure that Lucky was so supportive of their relationship especially because Twist could look out for him. To make sure he didn't do something out of the ordinary or try to hurt anyone.

Lucky didn't trust him.

Twist didn't trust Lucky.

She wouldn't give up Declan's secrets to anyone—even the secrets he wouldn't share with her.

Declan pulled away from her, looking at Dahlia for the first time. He blinked several times quickly, looking as if he'd been struck over the head with something very heavy, and said, "H-hello. Who are you?"

Dahlia, who had been looking politely confused and mournful for a cat she'd never met, now turned her eyes to Declan, a curious, mischievous expression coming across her face. "I'm Dahlia," she purred, her tail curling over her back.

Twist felt a peculiar sense of dislike start bubbling up from the pit of her stomach.

"Your friend Twist invited me to spend the night here. I've managed to get myself lost somehow." She let out a short laugh that was breathier than the situation called for.

Declan, now looking slightly more aware, said, "Oh, I see. Well, welcome to the Sliders. We're happy to have you. You'll have to speak with Lucky." His head was tipped to the side, his ears forward.

Twist watched Dahlia's expression change once more, turning coyer, as she went with Kent to Lucky's den. She found herself thinking of how stupid everything about Dahlia was—her pale fur and her tiny ears and her idiotic mincing walk. Not to mention her name—what a stupid name that was, too.

Declan was still watching the direction Dahlia went, his expression seemingly frozen on his face.

Twist cleared her throat expectantly and he snapped out of his reverie.

"Did you say something?" he asked her, his voice far too polite. He was still thinking about something.

Narrowing her eyes, Twist said, "No, I didn't say anything." She swept past him to where Viktor was standing, his tail flicking nervously.

Declan caught up to her. "You're angry," he said. "Why are you angry?"

"I'm not angry," Twist said, making her voice very matter-of-fact.

"Okay," he said slowly. "You're really angry. What did I say?"

"You didn't say anything," Twist said blithely.

He let out a short hum of discomfort. "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize." Now Twist was feeling slightly stupid. He was obviously wound tight from this newest development—her actions now were just idiotic. She shouldn't be feeling so distrustful of him. He loved her. She knew that.

So why was she suddenly feeling such a ferocious hatred for a she-cat she barely knew?

Not wanting to put anymore thought into that, she turned her attention to where Lucky had just appeared from the metal tunnel; Dahlia and Kent followed him. Kent looked rather dumbfounded as he allowed Dahlia to pass—she thanked him with a single word, her eyes shining—and he staggered after her, shaking his head as if his ears were full of water.

Twist turned her face away before her disgust could simmer anymore.

Lucky stayed on the ground this time, his tail flicking from side to side slowly. As the Sliders gathered around him, he began to speak: "My friends, today we are gathered here for a sad occasion. One of our own, Jaybird, was discovered dead on the border of our territory and that of the no-pelts."

The cats who didn't know about Jaybird's death now lost their looks of confusion. Blank shock read on every face.

"The no-pelts!" That was Marco; standing next to Max as usual, he looked completely astonished. "Are they the ones who caused her death?"

Lucky shook his head. "We do not believe so. I have spoken with my close council and it has been decided Jaybird was killed by another cat."

That sent up an uncomfortable murmur around the crowd.

"The same cat?" Yarrow asked. His patchy gray fur was fluffed up around his shoulders, his head lowered and his eyes glinting hard. Twist knew that he, out of all cats, had been close to Jaybird. The old she-cat hadn't had many friends in the Sliders—especially not since she had been smoke-treated—but Yarrow had taken it upon himself to reacquaint her with life in the Warren. She had been a close friend of his mother's or something, Twist thought. "The same one who killed Bronze?"

"We do not know that," Lucky said softly. "We should not leap to conclusions when there is no—"

"Is there any proof that it isn't the same one?" Yarrow demanded.

And now Flint stepped up, surprising Twist. "There isn't any to prove that it is," he said calmly, though his hackles were raised. "We should listen to Lucky." Out of all the crowd, he picked out Twist's eyes, and she couldn't help but wonder if he too believed the Rogue was behind this. He hadn't before—maybe Lucky had changed his mind.

Then his eyes drifted away from hers, guarded once more, and she wasn't so sure.

Lucky strode forward, his tail and chin lifted confidently, and said, "Please. We must remain calm. Jaybird was a heavy loss for us—I am aware of that—but rushing to accusations is only going to get us into a deeper mess. We must think about this calmly and rationally before—"

"That's easy for you to say," Yarrow growled, and now he moved forward, the crowd parting for him, until he was nose-to-nose with Lucky. His lip curling, he added, "You didn't even step up until Viktor made you. I haven't forgotten that. Jaybird wasn't anything to you, maybe, but she was to me. I didn't think you'd still be like this after the battle but apparently I was wrong. If you refuse to find answers, maybe I will."

Lucky, to his credit, didn't back down. His dark eyes very cool, he said calmly, "If you wish to find answers, perhaps you should go out and find them, Yarrow. But do not blame me when you manage to get yourself into a bad position."

Yarrow's eyes glinted. "Are you threatening me?"

"I am not. I am simply pointing out a fact."

"Is this really the time for this?" Kite strode between them, forcing them both a pace backwards. Despite her small size, her ferocity was filling the air like crackling lightning. Turning her back on Yarrow, she said to Lucky, in a voice so low that if Twist wasn't so close she wouldn't have heard it, "That's enough." Then she moved to Yarrow's side, murmuring, "Don't think you were the only one who cared for her. Jaybird was my friend, too."

Yarrow's teeth were still bared. "Then help me."

Kite's eyes flashed. "My loyalty is to Lucky. He knows better than to go charging off into the no-pelt's territory on so-called evidence."

Yarrow stared at her for a moment longer, eyes unreadable, before turning on the spot and disappearing down the metal tunnel. His white-tipped tail whipped out of view.

Kite watched him go, sighing heavily. Viktor walked to her side, whisking his tail over her back, but she did not look away.

Lucky was watching too, his expression unfathomable as usual. Without a word, he turned back to River, said, "Take care of this," and walked away to the far end of the Warren.

River gathered the Sliders together and ushered them back to their dens. As they slowly filtered out of the clearing, snow began to fall again, brushed sideways by the gentle breeze, the same that tugged Twist's cold-season-thick fur and bowed her whiskers. She felt Declan come up beside her, feeling his warmth before she even looked.

"What about Jaybird's burial?" she asked him.

"We already buried her."

Twist narrowed her eyes. "What do you think about this? I mean, it's not normal for cats to just get killed like this." She turned to look up at him. "What if it is the same cat?"

Declan looked away, his fur bristling. "I don't think it is."

"Why not?"

He muttered, "Just a feeling I have." He shook his fur then, one ear flicking. "We need to get out of this snow."

Twist agreed. She was shivering violently now, and not for the first time, she wished she had Declan's lovely thick fur. He was barely even trembling from the cold even though it must have been biting into his fur just as badly as it was hers.

On the way back—the wind quickly cutting out in the metal tunnel—they ran into Dahlia, who was speaking with Lucky.

"—from the edge of no-pelt territory?" Lucky was asking politely, his head to one side. He looked like he had tamed the anger Twist had seen building in his eyes when he was speaking to Yarrow. Either that, or he was hiding it very cleverly. It was so difficult to tell with him these days.

Dahlia was waving her tail very slowly, allowing the plumy feathering to sweep the ground. Her ears were forward, attentive, but the look in her gold eyes was very…unsettling somehow. Like she was trying very hard. "That's right," she mewed. "I only just wandered into the forest because I got lost." She sighed heavily then, overdramatically, Twist thought, and added, "I couldn't find my friend, so Twist brought me here. I'm sorry I came at such a terrible time. I'm sorry for your loss."

Lucky bent his head slightly. "Thank you. We will offer you shelter for as long as you desire to stay here. We will find you a den where you can rest, and tomorrow, you can pay us back for your stay."

"Pay you back?" Her eyes widened.

"Surely you did not expect to stay here without some sort of work involved. If you wish to go elsewhere, you may. I would hardly force you to stay here against your will."

Twist and Declan shared a wry look. Twist's mind echoed with a moon cycle's worth of work that preceded her acceptance into the Sliders.

Dahlia looked unhappy now. With a bit of a pout in her voice, she said, "I didn't know I'd have to work to stay here. Isn't there anyway you could make an exception?"

But Lucky, unlike Kent and Declan, seemed unfazed by Dahlia's charm. "No," he said cheerfully. "I am afraid that is quite impossible. Now, if you will excuse me, I have things to which I must attend." His eyes seized on Twist and Declan, and he added, "They will take you to a den. Perhaps near yours, Declan? You can be in charge of our newest member."

Twist's eyes widened in shock. "Declan?" she echoed.

"Why not? He has not had a new member to show around yet. It is a significant part of being a Slider, to show another around. I believe it would be…beneficial for Declan." His eyes gleamed. "Or do you disagree, Twist?"

"Why can't I show her around instead? Why Declan?" She felt Declan's eyes on her, questioning, but she didn't look at him. "We've been Sliders the same amount of time."

Lucky seemed confused. "Declan is older than you. It is only natural that he sees certain perks more than a younger cat."

Perks. She curled her lip.

"I don't mean to be such a burden," Dahlia said softly.

"You're not," Declan said. "It's fine. Twist and I can share the duties. Is that okay, Twist?"

Feeling an uncomfortable churn in her belly, hating herself for looking so stupid, she nodded. "That's fine."

"I do not care how it is done. Please just make sure that Dahlia feels at home here." He nodded to Dahlia once, who responded with a dip of her own, and he went back to his den.

Dahlia turned to them, bright-eyed again, and asked, "Where are we going now?"

They managed to get her settled into a den, a tiny but warm thing situated between the wall of the metal tunnel and the den full of Kite's now self-sufficient kits. While Declan explained to Dahlia the rules of living with the Sliders, Twist slipped away to the next den.

She called out a greeting, unsure if they were already sleeping, and was met by a solid wall of soft, fluffy fur. Buried beneath the wriggling young cats, Twist struggled to breathe.

"Twist!" Whisper, not very true to her name, yowled in her ear. "You came to visit us!"

"Uh, kind of." Twist pushed her off, reaching around to tug Violet off her back. The little white she-cat fell to the ground with a huff, remarkably blue eyes looking up at her.

"What are you doing around here?" Violet asked.

"We usually only see you when we have to," Adder pointed out. Unlike his siblings, he took after his father, Viktor—long-legged, yellow eyes, and gray tabby fur.

"That's just the best part!" Her favorite—a fact kept secret from the others—piled onto her back, tugging at her ears with almost-adult teeth. "Hunting and fighting and learning!"

Twist flopped to the ground, carrying the little endearing pest Streak with her, and rolled onto her back, effectively squashing him.

Bouncing back to his feet, unperturbed, his white fur ruffled up around his ears, his eyes shining, Streak purred, "I've missed you, Twist! You should come visit me more often!"

"And me!" Whisper pushed her way to the front, eyes wide and placating. "You've forgotten about us!"

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Streak grumbled. "I guess we're not as important. I mean, you're only our guardian. I guess that doesn't mean as much as I thought it did."

Twist pushed his head down with a paw. "Don't be such a smart-mouth," she growled, an edge of a tease in her voice. "Respect your elders and all that."

Looking up at her over the wrinkled edge of his fur, Streak's eyes glittered. "Yeah, 'cause you're so old, Twist."

"Hmph!" She removed her paw as Streak rubbed his back against her, purring so strongly she could feel it vibrate through her bones. "Well, I'm still older than you, runt. Anyway, I'm here to tell you you've got a new neighbor. Dahlia." She couldn't keep a slight edge out of her voice.

Whisper and Adder couldn't help themselves; they immediately went and peeked around the corner of their den, coming back with very different expressions. Whisper looked upbeat as usual, but Adder had the same stunned look Kent had been wearing.

"She looks nice!" Whisper said cheerfully. "I hope we can be friends!"

Adder shook his head. "That," he said slowly, "is the most beautiful she-cat I have ever seen in my life."

"What?" Streak's eyes widened. "No way." He moved to go look but Twist stepped on his tail to hold him back.

"Don't go gawking at her. Would you like to be gawked at?"

"If I was beautiful, I think it would be owed to me to be gawked at," he said cheekily.

"Good thing that won't ever be a problem," Violet said in a deadpan, getting a sour look from her brother in return.

Twist laughed, enjoying the company of these kits. She'd seen them go from blind, unknowing little scraps of fur to…well, slightly more knowing little scraps of fur. In all honesty, they were on their way to being adults so quickly it always surprised her. Soon they would be off on their own, hunting for the Sliders, learning how to really protect the borders. They wouldn't be kits anymore.

But until that day came, Twist thought fondly, she would indulge their cute little antics. She did love to play with them. Kits were adorable and sweet. They didn't know real anger or hunger or loss. They were innocent.

They hadn't yet learned how cruel the world could be yet. Not just yet.

Saying her goodnights to them—more firmly to Streak, who insisted on following her to sneak a peek at Dahlia—she slid over to the other den just in time to hear Dahlia's soft laugh.

"Thank you so much for allowing me to stay here," she said to Declan, her long eyelashes evident in the half-light.

"Oh, it's not me," Declan said quickly. "It's Lucky's decision."

"Oh." Dahlia sounded a little upset at that. "Well, thank you regardless."

Declan nodded to her. He turned and saw Twist watching, his eyes brightening at once. He bounded over to her and gently touched noses.

"You know, Twist," Dahlia said suddenly. "You never really introduced me to this handsome tom."

Oh, she is asking for it. Twist, belly turning with hot hate again, said, "I thought that Lucky had already done that."

"We haven't been formally introduced," Dahlia said sweetly.

Twist, physically having to repress a sneer in her voice, turned towards Dahlia. "This is my…Declan." She winced herself at the awkwardness.

Why had she skipped that crucial word? It hadn't even crossed her mind until the words were already out, how she had missed that essential title: mate.

It felt so formal, so decisive. Mate. It made her think of an old cat, a pair that had been together for seasons and seasons. It felt…labeled.

Dahlia's eyes widened. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know that—" She stopped herself then. "I'm sorry," she said again.

"There's nothing to apologize about." Declan's voice sounded stiff again, the way it did when his mind was on something else. "I hope you have a good night's sleep. We'll see you again tomorrow morning."

Dahlia agreed with a soft word and they were gone, sweeping up the trails to their den.

Twist fell behind, watching the muscles work beneath Declan's pelt. He was upset, she could tell by the position of his head and the leadenness of his pawsteps, but she didn't know exactly how upset he was until they reached their den and he pushed the flap at the entrance closed, turning to face her.

"What was that?" he asked evenly, his twitching tail giving away his unhappiness.

She didn't want to look at him, that flickering emotion behind his green eyes. "What was what?"

"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. Why did you say that to her?"

"Say what?"

"You didn't tell her—" He caught himself. "You didn't imply that we were…together."

"I thought that would be obvious by the way we were acting." Twist didn't know how troubled he was about this even as he demanded an explanation. And besides, it's not like he said the word either.

"That's not the point. Are you…" He took a deep breath, his head to the side. He seemed to think for a moment because when he turned to her, he looked uneven again. "Are you embarrassed of me?"

Twist was astounded. "What?"

"Well, what else am I supposed to think?" Without waiting for an answer, he swept on: "I mean, this isn't the first time this has happened. Remember back when we visited your mother? A few moon cycles after the battle?"

Twist remembered. It had been the first time she'd seen her mother after that day she'd chased after Declan. It had been a nice afternoon, lying in the sun, trading stories, playing with her half-siblings. She couldn't remember why it would strike Declan so negatively. "What about it?"

His eyes fixed on her unwaveringly. "You introduced me to Teddy's brother as 'my friend Declan.'"

She certainly didn't remember that. "I don't think—"

He cut her off. "You did. Is that what I am to you, Twist? Just your friend?"

"Of course not!" she spat. "Don't be ridiculous!"

"Then I don't understand why you introduce me as that."

"Why does that bother you so much?" she demanded, angry now. It felt so wrong to be this way with Declan, arguing like this, but she couldn't help it. He had pinpointed the exact fault in her logic, and now he was pressing on the fracture. "Who cares what Teddy's brother thinks? It's not like we're going to see him ever again!"

"I just wish you knew how that comes off to other cats."

"And how does it, Declan?" she asked sardonically. "Since you obviously think I'm stupid, why don't you explain it to me?"

"I don't think you're stupid," he argued.

"So why don't you explain it to me?" she repeated.

He let out a sharp, short breath then, a sigh of exasperation, and he said angrily, "It makes cats think that…that you're still available!"

Her mouth dropped open. "Available?"

Now looked slightly uncomfortable, his pelt prickling up around his spine, he nodded, looking at the ground. "You don't understand the way that other toms look at you sometimes. I mean, even when you're with Flint or River, I—"

"Flint and River?" She laughed before she could help it. As if he really thought that.

Though apparently he did, because his face fell at her laugh, as if she had proved something to him. "I just…I don't know. I can't help but feel…" He stopped himself, his eyes tight and edgy.

Feeling a roll of something close to nausea, Twist demanded, "Then what about you and Dahlia? What about that?"

"Dahlia!" His eyes widened. "Twist, I just met her."

"You should have seen your face when you saw her. Like you'd been hit between the eyes." All her newfound hatred for the she-cat boiled up.

"Twist, you're being ridiculous."

"So are you," she spat. "As if I'd be with River or Flint. As if I'd be with anyone but you. You're the only one I ever want, that I'd ever want to be with, ever. I don't want any other tom. I don't even look at them. Why would I, when I have you?"

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them—almost. She didn't like to feel so vulnerable, so open, even in front of Declan.

Her words seemed to have almost a physical effect on Declan. His expression collapsed in on itself like a falling roof. He sighed slightly then, only noticeable by his sinking shoulders, and he said, "I wish you had just said that to begin with."

"You didn't ask," she pointed out, her heart kicking in her chest like a rabbit. "You shouldn't have to ask. You know that I love you."

Declan sighed again. He moved forward and pressed his muzzle against hers, his whiskers tickling her cheek. "I know. But sometimes…"

She stopped him. "You shouldn't. Don't think sometimes. Always."

He looked up at her through the tops of his eyes, his gaze so beautifully green. "Always," he agreed. "I don't know why you'd be worried about me." He closed his eyes, his words very soft. "I'm yours. Completely, unconditionally, irretrievably. Every single piece of me belongs only to you."

Twist closed her eyes, too, and it was just them and the soft sigh of the wind and the moonlight pooling on the ground at their paws.


Okay, guys, so we have a problem.

Not to be melodramatic or pessimistic or whatever, but Float is just not coming out right. It's not because of anything other than my own impatience with the story and my restlessness with writing in general these days. I can't seem to focus on anything, and if it's because of my now-problematic insomnia, I think I need a little bit of time before I continue.

I think I made a mistake by choosing the plot of Float the way I did, so quickly, and I'm sorry for beginning the story without letting Sidestep be itself for awhile.

So what I think I'm trying to say is...Float's being a pain in the butt because my writing is getting worse. I can feel my style changing to a less descriptive, more play-by-play sort of feel and I hate it. The plot is moving too fast and it feels like I'm rushing something horrible. I think I just need awhile to get my thoughts - not to mention sleep schedule - in order before Float can keep going again.

I'll try to work it out quickly so it doesn't become a problem, but I think moving away from Float for awhile will be better for everyone - including you guys - in the long run.

Sorry, but I just gotta fix stuff before I can write again. It's not fair to have to make you guys wait for updates and then present to you a crappy chapter, you know?

So, if you would, just be a little patient with me. I'm sorry that reading my stuff is getting so complicated.

I appreciate you guys so much. I've never had so many reviewers before, but I just need a break. Just for awhile.

See you guys soon.

R&R~

Shadow