The ground was fresh and yielding beneath his shoes. The thick aroma of new life swirled around his head, making him feel dizzy as he ran.

Rusty felt alive. He felt unafraid. He felt free.

Branches whipped at his clothes, snagged in his hair, crackled beneath his feet. Leaves brushed against his face, as though welcoming him, pulling him in...

Suddenly, his foot snagged on a root. With a startled gasp, he sailed forward, his hands hitting the dry earth heavily. On his hands and knees, he stayed there, breathing heavily until his heart slowed again.

He was like a legend!

Father...

Rusty shook his head violently, hands fisting in the grass.

He had so many adventures.

Sitting up, the young boy stared blankly into the darkened forest. Night was falling, casting black shadows over the world. He'd never been out at night before.

Rusty stood, stepping forward on weak legs. He dimly recalled his mother's warning. He should be getting back.

But right now... he just didn't want to go back.

Icy tendrils seemed to suddenly weave their way over his heart. He stopped in his tracks, emerald eyes widening and blood roaring in his ears. All he could hear was the soft rustling of wind through the trees.

He turned his head, ever so slowly, to look behind him. The night was still as death. Not even the wind could be heard any longer.

"Looking for someone, kittypet?"

Rusty didn't flinch, even as he felt the cold metal of a dagger press against his throat. His heartbeat slowed drastically as his gaze followed up the tanned arm that now threatened his life. He daren't move, for fear of the knife slitting his neck, and so could only see up to his attacker's shoulder. "Who are you?" he asked, proud to hear his voice ringing steady.

"You don't need to know," the voice was youthful, robust and confident. "Just tell me what you're doing on my territory."

"Your territory?" Rusty didn't say anything for a long moment, processing the stranger's words. "...Do you plan to kill me?" He said at last, his voice void of emotion.

"Not if you cooperate," came the soft reply.

Neither party spoke, and the stranger's grasp tightened on the knife.

"Fine, then." Rusty growled.

"What do you want with us?"

"I don't know who 'us' is."

"Don't play dumb. We've seen you spying on us. The way you sit on that fence, staring out into the woods. How are you able to see us? Aren't you a human?"

"Aren't you?" Rusty retorted, annoyed. "Look, I've got no idea what you're talking about."

"Nice try." The blade was nipping at Rusty's skin now, and he swallowed thickly.

"I'll give you one more chance. Tell me... who are you, and what are you? Why are you spying on us, and why can you see us in the first place?"

The boy took in a deep breath. He didn't know who, or what, this stranger was, only knew he wouldn't be giving into his threats any time soon. So he reeled around, a smirk lacing over his lips as he felt his elbow connect with the stomach of his attacker.

The other boy fell back, his knife clanking harmlessly to the ground. "Now you're asking for it, kittypet."

Rusty hardly had time to react before the stranger lunged forward, his shoulder ramming against his chest. Rusty rolled away before he fell to the ground, but before he could stand upright, another blow came, this time from the side.

"Not so tough now, huh?" at some point, the stranger had retreived his knife. Pinning the smaller boy to the ground, he held the knife to his neck again. "You gonna answer me, now?"

"Not a chance!" Rusty barelled himself forward, thrusting his attacker away from him. The two rolled, grappling for a hit on the other. The knife sliced lightly over Rusty's hand, then again over the other boy's cheek as they fought for control over the only weapon they had.

The skirmish ended when the two boys broke apart, rolling away from eachother and leaving the knife between them. Breathing hard, Rusty looked up, and got his first good look at his opponent.

Standing now in a solitary patch of moonlight, the boy looked down at Rusty with a thoughtful expression on his cheerful, bright face. Shaggy dark gray hair fell untidely in front of bright golden eyes, contrasting exotically with his deeply tanned skin. He wore simple clothes, dark brown, loose-fitting pants and a matching t-shirt.

The boy grinned, wiping away blood that trickled from his cheek. "Hey, you fight pretty well, kittypet."

Rusty didn't answer, entranced as he was by the most bizzare aspects of the stranger's appearence.

Two well-proportioned, cat-like ears perched on top of the boy's head, protruding ever-so-naturally from his hair.

"Wh-what are those...?" Rusty gasped, standing up shakily.

"Huh? What are what?" The gray-haired boy asked, turning to look behind him.

"Oh my god!" Rusty covered his mouth with one hand, staring at the long, shaggy-furred tail that waved casually from his pants.

"Oh, right!" The boy laughed, turning back around. "These probably look pretty weird to you." He pointed to the strange ears before crouching down into a catlike position. He tilted his head to the side, looking intently at Rusty's own ears. "So, how can you hear with those little things?"

"What are you?" Rusty asked, ignoring the stranger's question. "Why do you have ears and a tail?"

"I'm a neko, stupid." the boy rolled his eyes, as though this should be obvious. "All of us here are."

"All... all of you? There are more?"

"Of course. Four Clans full."

Rusty suddenly felt very dizzy. He sat down, rubbing his temples in an attempt to digest this information. "So... you're telling me there are four Clans of you... 'neko' things... And humans are completely unable to see them?" That was just unimaginable. Sure, the forest was massive- most of it was unexplored, in fact. But there was no way these creatures could go unnoticed.

"Yup, yup. My name's Graypaw, by the way."

"Gray... 'paw'?"

"Yeah. I'm an apprentice, which means I'm in training to be a warrior. I'm from ThunderClan. Oh, yeah, that reminds me, why do you wear our crest?"

"Your crest?" Rusty blinked as he licked the blood from his hand. "What's your crest?"

"That lightningbolt you wear on your necklace."

Again, Rusty's hand found its way to his necklace, and he clutched the little charm. Eyes narrowed, he turned his face away from Graypaw. "It's not a crest. It's a gift from my father."

"Really? 'Cause it looks exactly like the ones our warriors wear-"

"Who is this young man, Graypaw-kun?"

Rusty blinked once, and suddenly, a man stood at Graypaw's side. Tall, proud, with golden hair that fell around his face like a lion's mine. His ears were small and rounded compared to Graypaw's, though his tail was much bushier.

"Lionheart-sensei!" Graypaw gasped, wheeling around. "I... uh... he's just a kittypet! I was chasing him out, but he fought really well, and..."

"And you were curious about that necklace." Another shape suddenly materialized opposite of the one called Lionheart. An old, broad-shouldered woman with blue-gray hair swept back into an elegant bun, and electric-blue eyes that glittered like ice. The ears atop her head were tall and pointed, her tail long and slender.

"Bluestar-sama!" Now Graypaw appeared possitively frightened. He stepped back until he and Rusty were standing shoulder-to-shoulder. "Who're they?" Rusty asked in a hushed voice. "The man is my mentor, Lionheart. He's training me to be a warrior. And the woman is Bluestar... she's the leader of my Clan."

Looking again at the tall, proud woman, he noticed for the first time the intricate design woven into the fabric of her fawn-brown kimono. The man, Lionheart, wore a simple dark green muscle shirt, and Rusty noticed with a jolt the necklace he wore.

It was exactly like his.

Bluestar frowned, her luminous gaze traveling to the orange-haired boy. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the silver lightning bolt that adorned his necklace. "Boy, step forward."

Gulping, Rusty took a cautious step, the sound of his footfall seeming to echo around him.

"What is your name?" The elderly leader stepped forward as well, her catlike gait moving her silently over the grass.

"Rusty Firenze." Rusty answered, bowing his head.

A flicker of surprise, too brief for either of the boys to notice, flashed in her eyes. Lionheart caught her gaze for a quick second, and he nodded. With a sigh, Bluestar rolled her eyes. "Oi, can we stop with this whole I'm-a-dignified-leader-thing? It's getting boring."

Rusty blinked as he raised his head, looking at the old woman that now appeared to be pouting, her arms crossed over her chest.

Lionheart grimaced, looking off into the woods. "Bluestar-sama, you know it's proper conduct to address-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know!" Bluestar muttered, her ears twitching in annoyance.

Rusty exchanged a glance with Graypaw, who just grinned and shrugged.

"Alright, boy, let's get down to business." Yawning, the woman shrugged off her authentic-looking kimono, revealing the athletic-type outfit she wore underneath. Draping the gown over her shoulder, she grinned at Rusty. "Why're you here, boy? You're a human, aren't you?"

"Um... well... I..." Unconciously, his hand sought the little lightning bolt. "I just... come here when I feel stressed."

Bluestar rolled her eyes again and poked the boy between the eyes with one long, skinny finger. "Not what I mean, baka. Why can you see us? Hmm?" Her blue-furred tail twitched as she spoke. "Do you usually see people like us?"

"No, I don't." Rusty muttered, not bothering to ask what a 'baka' was. Nothing really made sense at the moment. "Graypaw's the first one I've seen."

"But you've always been able to feel our prescence."

The wind that whispered through the trees filled the silence that followed.

"Yeah. I guess so." Rusty muttered, after a long moment. "I've... always felt something."

"Alright, that's good enough for me!" Bluestar clapped once, looking at Lionheart. "Oi, Lionheart-kun! Bring Whitestorm-chan over here tomorrow to pick this little brat up."

"What do you mean?" Lionheart asked, his amber eyes flashing with confusion.

"I mean the kid's joining the Clan. Duh. You got that?" The old woman turned again to look at a dumbfounded Rusty. "You're coming with us, baka. Tommorow at noon, 'kay?"

"But... I can't just leave, I-"

"Seeya, kid!"

Rusty raised his arms against a gust of wind that suddenly whipped at his clothes. When the torrent ended, Rusty lowered his arms, finding the strange were-cats were gone.


MWAHAHAHAHAHAH I'M SO FRIKIN EVIL.

Wow. I'm gonna get so many lovely flaaaaaaames.

Yeah. They're Japanese neko-crazy-kitty-things. 'Cause I said so.

And Bluestar's all... wow. I don't even know why.

On a different note! The fifth was my birthday. X3 I'm finally thirteen! Yaaaaay! *dance*

Coughcough.

My lovely reviewers for the last couple chapters: Jokegirl, Krayyn. Thank yuuuuu!

As always, constructive critisim is welcome, m'kay?

Review, mah kittehs!