"Lizardfang!" Oriolekit called, trotting down the tunnel that lead to the elder's den. "Patchfur! Hello!" As she approached, the grizzled face of Patchfur poked out of the den, illuminated by the small hole at the top of the tunnel.

"Hello there, Oriolekit!" he meowed, beckoning her inside.

"Is that who I think it is?" Lizardfang meowed, blinking in the dim light at Oriolekit.

"Didn't I just say it was Oriolekit?" Patchfur mewed to his denmate.

"My sight isn't what it used to be," Lizardfang mewed in defense. "What gives us the pleasure, little one?"

"Hearing isn't either," the black and white tom muttered to himself as Oriolekit padded inside.

"Oriolekit!" someone called, voice exasperated. Darkgaze appeared in the den. "What have I said about running off? Hello Patchfur, Lizardfang. Ah, I was wondering, would you mind watching Oriolekit for me? I wanted to stretch my legs on a hunting patrol."

There was a lull. Patchfur and Lizardfang glanced at each other. Darkgaze looked between them, ears slowly flattening. Oriolekit tilted her head, not understanding.

"Please," Darkgaze added. There was a strange edge to her voice. "I'll bring you back the best piece of prey I can find."

"Alright," Lizardfang mewed. A look of relief crossed Darkgaze's face

"Thank you," she said, gratitude apparent in her voice. She leaned down to touch her nose to Oriolekit's. "You be good for Lizardfang and Patchfur, okay?"

"Okay," Oriolekit mewed obediently, and Darkgaze turned to go. "Have fun!" she called after her mother, tail waving. Her Darkgaze had disappeared down the tunnel, Oriolekit walked further into the den, stepping around Lizardfang's nest. She sat down in the middle of the den, blinking in the dim light.

The tension eased out of the cave. "Well, little one," Patchfur mewed, "what would you like to do? I'm afraid my joints aren't what they used to be, so I'm not sure I could play."

"We could tell a story," Lizardfang suggested.

"Yes!" Oriolekit mewed immediately.

"How about," Lizardfang started, "The story of-" and here Oriolekit joined her, speaking together, "Rubble Hill Outlook?" Lizardfang paused, blinking. "Have you heard that one?"

"No," Oriolekit mewed, head tilted.

"Well," Lizardfang mewed, a little confused. A moment later she started the story. "The Outlook used to be another entrance to the cave system. Our ancestors used them interchangeably, whichever happened to be closer.." She went on, detailing times cats had used that entrance to escape from danger, their names lost long ago. Finally, she got to the meat of the story: "One day, Cliffclan invaded. The reason why, I don't know, but they did! They charged across our territory, nearly their whole Clan- It was madness! They headed to our camp. No one knows why; perhaps they meant to take the fight right to the heart of Caveclan.

"One brave warrior tried to head them off, racing back to warn her clanmates, but three of Cliffclan's fastest warriors chased her down. She made it to the caves- But only barely!" Lizardfang spoke in a hush. Oriolekit's eyes were wide. Her little jaw hung open. "They were right behind her, and there was no time to turn back! She yowled a warning, and it echoed through the tunnel and into the antechamber. One of the Cliffclan warriors grabbed her, dragging her back!

"She turned and fought- She wouldn't allow them an easy fight! But it was three against one, and she was tired from her run. She could only do one thing," Lizardfang mewed, and here, again, Oriolekit joined her, mewing along, "She leapt at top of the tunnel!" Lizardfang paused. Oriolekit continued on, "She hit a loose bit of rock and it all came tumbling down! It buried her and the attackers and sealed up the entrance." The little kit paused, uncertain, and dipped her head.

"Yes," Lizardfang mewed slowly. "Are you sure you haven't heard this story before?" Oriolekit shook her head, still uncertain. Still speaking slow, Lizardfang continued, "But you're right. Her clanmates had heard her warning and had evacuated through the other exit. We still remember her name to this day."

"Swanheart," Oriolekit mewed, her voice small. Her ears laid back.

"Yes," Lizardfang repeated. She exchanged a look with Patchfur, who looked just as puzzled. "Because of her, Caveclan was saved, and our camp protected. We keep a sentry on post now, always, just in case. But as far as I know, there's been no attacks on the camp like that since. Are you really sure you'd never heard that story before?"

"Perhaps you overhead us telling it to Crowpaw and Honeypaw ages ago," Patchfur put in.

"Maybe," Lizardfang mewed, though she didn't sound as if she believed it.

"It was a good story anyway," Oriolekit mewed. "I liked how you told it."

The compliment soothed Lizardfang's suspicious look. "I'm glad you did. I'll tell you another story later, if you like."

"I would!" Oriolekit chirped. "I can play by myself for a little while though," she added, seeing how tired Lizardfang had begun to look.

"Okay, dear," Lizardfang mewed, and she settled on her nest, legs splayed out. Oriolekit pawed a bit of moss from her nest and rolled it into a ball to bat around. Occasionally, when she hit it close enough to Patchfur or Lizardfang, they'd bat it back to her.

Halfway through the game, Oriolekit paused, tilted her head, and turned to walk out of the den as if she'd just remembered something.

"Oriolekit?" Patchfur called. "Where are you going? Come back!"

"Hold on," she mewed, concentrating. Her pawsteps took her out of the den and down the tunnel, into the antechamber, and back into the tunnel that contained the medicine den. She poked her head into Cactusleaf's den. "Hello?" she called.

The orange shape of the medicine cat appeared from a smaller tunnel at the back and headed into the main cave of the den. "Oriolekit? Is something the matter?"

Oriolekit paused. Why was she back here? She felt like she had to be, but.. "I think.. Something's wrong with Lizardfang," she mewed finally. "Her joints are hurting her badly."

"Is that so?" Cactusleaf's ears flicked. "Then I'd better get some herbs together." Oriolekit waited in the tunnel while the medicine cat bustled around, stacking herbs together onto a big leaf. When she was finished, she folded the leaf and picked it up in her jaws, gesturing for Oriolekit to lead the way.

They went back down the tunnel, into the antechamber, and then into the tunnel with the elder's den. By the sound, something was obviously up.

"What should I do?" Patchfur fretted over Lizardfang's quiet noises of discomfort. "I- What do I do?"

"It's fine. I'm fine. Go get Oriolekit. I'm fine, Patchfur!" Lizardfang snapped, but by the strained tone of her voice, she obviously wasn't.

"What's wrong?" Cactusleaf mewed around her bundle. She stepped around Oriolekit to go into the den, and Oriolekit followed closely behind. Lizardfang was half in her nest, and half out, her face twisted in pain.

"She tried to get up to go get Oriolekit, but collapsed," Patchfur fretted. "Why did you leave?" he demanded when he saw Oriolekit, but she just hunkered down, eyes wide.

"Let me help," Cactusleaf mewed. She set down her herbs and unwrapped them. The pungent, clean smell of them filled the den. She moved over to Lizardfang and helped her the rest of the way out of her nest, so she laid flat. She spent a moment feeling the elder cat over and gently asking questions. She briefly turned to Oriolekit to murmur, "It was good of you to come get me," before pawing through her herbs.

"You did?" Patchfur mewed, surprised. "But I only just found out she was hurt." Uncomfortable, Oriolekit hunkered down more. Patchfur looked at her, but didn't say anything else, just turned to watch Cactusleaf help Lizardfang.

The medicine cat chewed up various herbs and plastered them to various parts of Lizardfang; presumably, Oriolekit figured, where the hurt was worst. Finally, the leaf she'd brought her herbs in was empty, except for a small black speck. Cactusleaf pushed the leaf, with its last cargo, over to Lizardfang, and the elder obediently licked it up. Cactusleaf and Patchfur helped her back into her nest.

"Sleep," Cactusleaf instructed. "Try not to move too much. I'll be back to check on you soon. Oriolekit, why don't you come with me? Let's let Patchfur rest after that scare."

"Thank you, Cactusleaf," the black and white elder said gratefully. He flopped into his nest with a tired sigh. "Actually," he mewed a heartbeat later, "if I may have a word.." Cactusleaf padded over to him, and they spoke in hushed tones for a moment. Oriolekit's ears laid back, unable to hear the two, but feeling a sense of trepidation anyway.

"Alright, I see," Cactusleaf mewed a few moments later. She drew back from Patchfur and turned away. She padded out of the den and Oriolekit followed hesitantly.

When they were back in her den, Cactusleaf swept away scraps of drying herb with her tail, and motioned for Oriolekit to sit down. When she was seated, the kit spent a few moments sniffing the air. The medicine den was full of interesting smells, even if some of them stung her nose.

"Oriolekit," Cactusleaf said eventually as she patted a stack of leaves into place. "Tell me, how did you know Lizardfang was hurt?"

Oriolekit paused, her mouth open. She closed it, waited a second, then mewed, "I dunno."

"Really?" Cactusleaf prompted.

"It just felt like I knew she was," Oriolekit explained, placing her paw on a dry scrap of leaf. "It felt like someone told me, but, not, I guess. I just knew."

"Really," Cactusleaf repeated, but this time she was thinking aloud. "Patchfur said you seemed to know Lizardfang's story, even though you said you'd never heard it before. Were you fibbing?"

Oriolekit looked up in shock. "No! Fibbing is bad! I'd never fib. I really hadn't heard it before, but.."

"Go on," Cactusleaf pushed gently.

"Well, I just knew what she was going to say. But not until she got there," Oriolekit mewed, staring down at her paws. "But I knew," she repeated, quietly.

"Hm," Cactusleaf murmured. "Okay, then." Oriolekit waited for her to ask another question, but she didn't, not about that. Instead she asked, "Do you want to help me sort these? Just until your mother gets back."

"Okay," Oriolekit mewed, padding forward to help her, and that's how she stayed for the rest of sunhigh.