A note from the authoress:

FYI, the place that Robinpaw visits in this chapter is outside of the lake territory map in the books, so it's a place that the canon series has never visited. It's outside the upper right corner of the map, past the Moonpool.

Also, thank you all for the reviews! I truly appreciate them. c:

Warriors: Seasons of Hope

Chapter Three

Robinpaw hissed in a combination of fear and exhilaration as she took off, her paws drumming on the ground. Every hair on her body stood on end and she felt that if she were breathing any harder, her lungs would explode. The young tortoiseshell darted around a thick oak and glanced over her shoulder. A huge dog, with thick black and white fur and piercing blue eyes, was right on her heels. Its jaws were snapping and thunderous barks and growls erupted from its throat.

She was terrified out of her mind, and Leafpool was nowhere to be found. Her mentor had taken her out for a hunting lesson when a Twoleg came across their path, walking his dog. The dog broke from his chain and gave chase, and in a panic, the cats split up and ran in opposite directions. StarClan, please help! Let Leafpool go back to ThunderClan and bring more cats! More than almost anything in the world, she disliked being helped with anything, and always wanted to fix her mistakes by herself, but this was different. Robinpaw fully believed that she was going to die right then and there.

The apprentice had no idea where she was. She wasn't even sure if she was in ThunderClan territory anymore. She ran, faster than she ever had before, until she burst out of the forest and crossed flat land. Oh StarClan, where am I?!

The dog did not give up the chase. He panted heavily, and occasionally stumbled, but kept up his pace. At times, he would get so close that Robinpaw could feel his hot breath on her tail, and still, she kept running. She knew she had no chance of fighting the dog - he was about ten times her size, and his fur looked too thick to easily claw through.

Robinpaw came to a stream, and cleared it in one leap. She thought about stopping, as she figured that the water might stop the dog, but he too jumped right over it as though it were not there. Robinpaw felt her legs weakening, and her chest burned like fire. She wanted so badly to give up.

She felt like her heart turned to stone and sunk to her chest when a strange, big shape appeared before her and grew clearer as she ran forward. There were rows of big, square... nests, maybe? Was this the Twolegplace that Cinderheart had told her about once? It must've been, because Robinpaw could see some Twolegs in the distance, in front of their nests. She knew it was probably a dangerous place to be, but she didn't turn away. It seems that Twolegs can control dogs. Maybe they can stop this one!

She leaped onto a tall white wall-like thing surrounding one of the nests, and looked around to confirm that no Twoleg was watching her. They were, however, watching the snarling dog who clawed desperately at the wall. Robinpaw turned and spat in his face. It wasn't long before one Twoleg ran over and shouted something to the dog, who immediately turned and fled back towards the direction that Robinpaw had come from. "Good riddance," she sighed.

"Yeah, that was really scary. I'm glad he's gone!"

Robinpaw nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of the loud voice. She lost her balance and fell from the wall, and didn't have time to spin around properly. She landed on her side and the breath was pushed from her chest with a grunt.

"Woah! Are you okay?"

Dazed, she looked around for the owner of the voice. What she saw hovering above her was a gray head and big green eyes. Her instinct was to jump to her paws and run again, but she was pretty sure she couldn't run. She struggled to sit up, and when she did, she noticed that her paws were bleeding slightly.

The other cat spoke again, "Your paws are hurt!" His eyes were wide with panic, almost as wide as Robinpaw's. The two cats made eye contact and stared at each other for a long moment as awkward silence fell over them.

It was Robinpaw who finally broke the silence. "I... I don't know where I am. And I don't know who you are." She eyed the cat before her carefully. He was a tom, not much older than she was, by the looks of it. His gray fur shone like silver, and was very short and sleek. His whole body looked rather thin and lean, and this confused Robinpaw. Cinderheart had told her that kittypets are all fat.

The kittypet dipped his well-angled head in greeting, causing the bell on his green collar to make a loud noise. "My name's Miles. Who are you?" He tilted his head to one side and looked at Robinpaw as though he'd known her for seasons.

"Um... I'm Robinpaw," she mumbled, still wary of this stranger.

He flicked an ear. "Robinpaw? No offense, but that's a weird name."

Robinpaw hissed, "It is not! It's a Clan name!" Letting her hackles fall again, she added sharply, "If anything, 'Miles' is a weird name. What does it even mean? How does it describe you?"

Miles shrugged. "It doesn't, I guess. I'd ask the housefolk, but I've tried and tried to speak to them and they just don't get it. They have their own language."

Housefolk? Does he mean Twolegs? Shaking her head, Robinpaw gave a heavy sigh and explained, "Well, excuse me for criticizing, then. I guess it's their fault you have such a dumb name."

"Dumb?" Miles growled, but there was a playfulness in his eyes. "And what makes your name so superior?"

Robinpaw flicked her tail impatiently. "The only names I'd ever known of a cat having are the names we have in the Clans. They're very important and each cat's name describes it, so that the cat is easily recognized. The first part, the part we carry our whole lives, describes our appearance. The part that changes, from 'kit to 'paw to whatever our warrior name is, describes either a cat's skill, personality, or something else of their appearance."

Miles just stared at the she-cat in total silence. Robinpaw mentally cursed herself for saying so much. She was always the quiet type, but once some cat got her talking, she talked. A lot. This was usually only something that happened with her sisters and a few of the youngest ThunderClan warriors who she'd befriended, so why was she acting like this towards a cat she'd just met?

"So..." Miles spoke slowly. "What does all that mean?" Robinpaw rolled her eyes.

"That sounds so awesome! All of it does!" Miles exclaimed. He stopped, and muttered, "Wait," and leaped onto a wall, like the one that surrounded his Twolegs' nest. He motioned with his tail, and Robinpaw leaped up after him. This wall appeared to be made of stone and it was wide enough for the two cats to walk side by side.

"I can't say if it's awesome or not, since it's all I've ever known," Robinpaw replied. "My sisters and I were born there, but one of my ancestors used to be a kittypet - he was the leader of ThunderClan just before I was born."

"Really?" Miles' voice trembled with excitement at all of this information. "What was he like? Was he from here?"

Robinpaw shook her head. "No, he came from a Twolegplace far away. The Clans haven't always lived around here, either. This happened long before I was born, but the Clan used to live in a forest. They had to leave when Twolegs began destroying the ground there."

Miles gasped, "Why would they do that?! That's so cruel!"

"I don't know," Robinpaw meowed. "But they did, and so now we're here. Anyway, I don't think any kittypet in the Clans came from here - I didn't know there was a Twolegplace this far, and I've never heard any of my Clanmates mention this place."

"I can kind of say the same," Miles commented. "I had no idea there were any cats here who didn't live with housefolk."

Going back to answering Miles' question, Robinpaw continued, "I never met Firestar, but we're kin. One of his daughters is the mother of my father."

Miles shook his head. "That's confusing," he mewed. "But I'll take your word for it."

The two cats reached the end of the stone wall, and jumped down into the soft grass. Miles turned and said, "I'd better be getting back home." He pointed to the sky with his tail. "It'll start to get dark soon."

"Yeah," Robinpaw agreed. "I guess I'd better go, too, and hope I can find ThunderClan territory." She looked sadly at the land around here that was so unfamiliar to her, and she knew this wasn't going to be an easy task. She looked back at Miles, who was looking back at her.

After a long moment, Miles spoke. "Um... if you want, I can go with you. I don't know the way, but I can help look for danger."

Robinpaw felt a flutter of something in her chest, and stammered, "I... I guess you could... No way you can come into ThunderClan camp, though. And how would you make it back here alone?"

Miles puffed out his chest. "I'm great at navigating places I've been to before! Once I walk it once with you, I'll be able to find my way home. Besides..." He stepped closer to Robinpaw, his pelt brushing against hers slightly. "It'll be an easier journey if you're not alone."

Robinpaw nodded. "Sure." She started walking in the direction that she thought was home, with Miles following. And she was very grateful to not be alone.

The two young cats finally crossed the stream, and Robinpaw felt much more hopeful. Her step became a cheerful trot. Miles wandered behind her, breathing hard as though out of breath from the walking they'd done so far. "We're probably halfway there," Robinpaw observed. "And at this rate, I'll get back before moonhigh."

"Hope so," Miles breathed. Robinpaw rolled her eyes and slowed her pace and waited for him to catch up with her. Soft kittypet. Even though he were a soft kittypet, she caught herself looking at the tom beside her again, and when he noticed her staring, she looked away quickly and made up an excuse.

"I was just noticing that you look like a Clan cat, in a way. You're thin and lean." It was so embarrassing for her to say that, and she regretted it after she said it. Stammering, she asked, "A-are your housefolk feeding you properly?"

Miles gave a purr of amusement. "Of course. It's just my breed, we're all skinny like this."

Robinpaw flicked her ears in confusion. "Breed? What do you mean?"

Miles' eyes widened and he looked even more astonished than she did. "You know, the different breeds of cats?"

When Robinpaw just continued to stare at him with confused eyes, Miles shook his head fondly and explained, "Yeah, I've heard that feral cats are all mixed breeds. See, certain breeds of cats all have their own unique qualities, and in order to stay purebred, the housefolk only mate cats of the same breeds together."

Robinpaw tilted her head in confusion, and Miles continued: "I'm a Russian blue. All cats of my breed are blue-gray like me, and we all have green eyes."

"Are you all that skinny?" Robinpaw inquired.

"Yep!" chirped Miles, his tail held high.

"Are you all kin?"

"Nope. There's all kinds of breeds all over the world," Miles meowed. "For example, Persians all have long fur and flat faces. Siamese cats all are even skinnier than me, and they're mostly white or creamy, but they've got brown or black on their faces, paws, and tails. Turkish vans are all long-haired, a lot of them are white with some orange, and they all love water."

"Like RiverClan!" Robinpaw exclaimed. A heartbeat later, she mentally cursed herself for having such an outburst, but her self-anger faded as Miles watched her with happiness in his gaze.

Miles purred, "Maybe RiverClan comes from Turkish vans, then."

"That's so interesting..." Robinpaw mused. She hesitated for a heartbeat, and then asked, "So, how does a breed of cat happen?"

"Well..." Miles looked lost in thought. Robinpaw guessed that no cat had ever asked him so many questions before. "I guess it would start with only similar cats mating. Say two ginger cats mate, and then only their ginger kits mate with other ginger cats. Over time, ginger cats would become much more prominent in the family."

Robinpaw was amazed at how much Miles knew. She asked incredulously, "How do you know all of this?"

"All of the breeds I know are cats who live in the neighborhood, so I learn from them." Miles explained, his whiskers quivering as a gust of wind blew across the two cats.

"Wow..."

Time flew as the two young cats talked. Robinpaw was becoming very intrigued in everything that Miles said. His voice, which she thought was annoying at first, was now becoming as familiar as the voices of her sisters and Clanmates. He had a good sense of humor, too.

"Hey, Robinpaw, what're you looking at?"

Robinpaw was startled. "Ah... Nothing, you mouse-brain!" She thrusted her nose into the air and marched on. "Absolutely nothing."

"Well, if you don't start looking at something," Robinpaw felt him nudge her shoulder and shove her aside. "You'll run into stuff." She opened her eyes and saw that he'd pushed her away from a tree she was about to run into.

Wait... A tree! Robinpaw let out a mew of delight. "We found it! This is ThunderClan territory!" She turned to see Miles' face, full of accomplishment, but also sadness.

Robinpaw felt a twinge of sadness in her own heart, and she bumped her head against his in a friendly way. "Hey, don't get too down. And don't miss me too much, okay?" She purred, trying to cheer up her companion.

Miles nodded. "Yeah. I'll be fine!" He purred a purr that Robinpaw could tell was very fake. He looked Robinpaw deep in the eyes. "Be careful out there. From what you said, I don't think warrior life is very easy."

"It's not," Robinpaw agreed. "But I can manage. Besides, I know that if anything happens, I've got a cat who I can run to and he'll cheer me up, right?" She was half-joking, and half dead serious.

Miles' eyes got wide, and Robinpaw swore she could hear his heartbeat for only a moment. Finally, he said, "Right. I'm always right where you found me today, if you ever need me."

Robinpaw rubbed her head under his chin, and pulled away without making eye contact. "Goodbye, Miles."

"Goodbye," he replied. Before she had a chance to look into his eyes and let her sadness take over, Robinpaw turned and trotted off into the trees, headed for home.