A/N: Oh em gee! Sorry for not updating in forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Guh, I feel bad. Ah well. More reviews gets more updates...;)

As Tinypaw had suspected, Leafstar and Patchfoot grew an immediate liking to Bat. He was extremely like Sharpclaw, except a bit wiser when it came to controlling a Clan, or in this case, a large bunch of rogues.

As Leafstar, Patchfoot, and Bat spoke softly to each other, Tinypaw saw Thorn beckon to her with his brown tail. She eagerly padded through the noisy throng of cats inside the cave, feeling grateful for the warmth on her paws instead of the freezing ice and snow.

"Tinypaw?" Tinypaw looked behind Thorn to see Rain and her two kits, Brush and Bark sitting in a small crevice of one of the sections of the cave. Tinypaw stared around this separate part of the underground cave. She suspected it was the nursery, since Rain and a few other she-cats with kits were tucked inside their own little crevices.

"Hello, Rain!" Tinypaw greeted, trotting over to the silver queen. "How have you been?"

"Well," Rain replied, her voice filled with warmth for the apprentice. "Brush, Bark, be nice to our guest."

"Oh!" the small she-kit mewled, gazing up at Tinypaw. "It's you again! I remember you!"

Bark pounced on his sister from behind, surprising her. The two tussled around for a few moments.

"Children!" Rain scolded.

"It's quite all right," Tinypaw reassured the anxious mother. "Let them play."

Rain nodded and looked on as her kits played in the soft soil.

"Come on," Thorn meowed from beside Tinypaw. "I want to introduce you to a cat."

Tinypaw nodded and turned to follow Thorn out of the nursery. They trotted back into the main cave to see another cat had joined the conversation Leafstar, Patchfoot, and Bat was having. Tinypaw's ears prickled when she saw that the she-cat's fur was sparking white, just like hers.

"Hello, Thorn, Tinypaw," Bat meowed formally to the cats. "SkyClan is very interesting," he added wryly.

Leafstar nodded. "We're very new, so don't expect anything special of us."

Bat and Leafstar chatted for a moment and Thorn turned to the white cat. "Tinypaw, this is Ivory. She's the Ground Rogues' healing cat."

Tinypaw nodded to the white she-cat, purring in welcome. "I guess your healing cat is the same as our medicine cat."

Ivory nodded. "It's nice to meet you, Tinypaw," she mewed, bliss showing in her voice. She turned to look at Thorn, and the golden-brown tabby returned the gaze.

An icy claw as cold as the snow outside gripped Tinypaw's heart when she saw the friendship that passed between the two rogues. Maybe, she thought, these cats have the same traditions as Clans!

Bat called Ivory over to him, and Tinypaw took the chance to pull Thorn aside. "Thorn," she began in a whisper, "do the rogues in your group have medicine cat traditions?"

"Like what?" Thorn questioned.

"Well, medicine cats in Clans aren't allowed to have kits," Tinypaw replied nervously, shuffling her paws around in the soil.

Thorn gave Tinypaw a sceptical look. "No, healing cats are allowed to have kits," he meowed. "Why do you ask?"

Tinypaw shook her head, slightly crestfallen. "No reason," she murmured before trotting off to find Leafstar and Patchfoot.

"Hi!"

Tinypaw swivelled around to see two smaller cats gazing at her. They looked like Clan apprentices, only slightly smaller.

"Hello…?" Tinypaw replied.

"I'm Dust," said the larger, very pale grey she-cat. "I'm a beginner in the Ground Rogues' group. This is my sister, Ivy." Dust flicked her tail toward a black-brown she-cat beside her.

Tinypaw nodded to the beginners. She realized that beginners must be the equivalent of apprentices in the Ground Rogues' customs. "As you probably know, I'm Tinypaw," she mewed.

"I hope they aren't bothering you." Tinypaw turned around to see a very dark grey she-cat and another dark brown tom trotting toward her. "I'm Storm, these two beginners' mother. This is my mate, Bracken."

Tinypaw dipped her head in greeting. "It's nice to meet you," she mewed cheerily.

The SkyClan cats talked briefly with the Ground Rogues before Bat leaped on top of the small rock in the main cave and called to his rogues for silence. Tinypaw sat down beside Storm and the others and listened intently.

"Cats of SkyClan, the Ground Rogues welcome you to stay the night," Bat meowed clearly.

Leafstar dipped her head from beside Ivory and the Ground Rogues' second-in-command, Night. "Thank you, Leafstar. SkyClan accepts this offer."

Ivy turned to Tinypaw, nagging at her tail. "Will you stay with us?" she muttered. "You're a beginner too, right?"

Tinypaw nodded, purring in laughter. "I'm a beginner, yes, but I don't know where I'll be sleeping."

As if on cue, Leafstar padded up to the group of cats, Thorn close behind. "Thorn has invited us all to sleep in the sleeping cavern along with the others."

Tinypaw nodded. "Where do the beginners sleep?" she asked.

"They sleep in the cave next to the nursery," Thorn responded. He turned to the two put down beginners. "I'm sorry, you two. Tinypaw's sleeping with us."

Storm and Bracken herded their kits off to their separate caves while Tinypaw followed Leafstar and Thorn into the darkness of the main cave. It was rather dark here, and Tinypaw couldn't see much except for Leafstar's twitching tail, finding secret nooks in the wide tunnel walls.

Eventually, the cave narrowed into a slim tunnel that led to an enormous clearing dotted with dozing cats. Tinypaw, Patchfoot, Leafstar, and Thorn chose a comfortable corner and curled up beside each other, sharing tongues. Tinypaw was half-surprised when Bat and Night entered the sleeping cavern as well, curling up beside each other to discuss certain topics.

"Bat doesn't have a special cave?" Tinypaw asked Thorn as he brushed his tongue over her ears.

"No," Thorn replied between licks. "He prefers to be with his rogues at all times. There is a special cave for him, he just doesn't use it."

Tinypaw nodded, stifling a drowsy yawn. She had so many more questions to ask of Thorn, but was too tired to open her mouth again. She licked Thorn's fur one last time before resting her head on her white paws and dozing off into the darkness.

Tinypaw peeked open her eyes to see the massive body of a tortoiseshell tom lingering over her, Thorn, Leafstar, and Patchfoot. She looked up to see an ugly scar stretched across his left eye reaching his dark brown nose. His eyes were brilliant amber, and Tinypaw seemed a bit intimidated by the tom.

"Do you and your friends tend to stay until moonrise?" the tom asked bluntly.

Tinypaw glanced at Leafstar, unsure of the answer. The tabby she-cat nodded formally. "You must be Forest. Bat told me of you. We will stay until sunhigh. That is all."

The tortoiseshell nodded in understanding. "Bat and Night have asked me to take you all hunting. SkyClan can take their prey back to your home."

Leafstar nodded. "Thank you, from the whole of SkyClan."

Forest nodded. "I'll be waiting outside of the cave," he mumbled before leaving the cats and heading into the main cave.

Tinypaw glanced at Thorn. "He seems scary," she murmured with a slight purr.

Thorn chuckled. "He seems a bit scary at first, but he's a real nice cat. He was my teacher."

Tinypaw nodded. The Ground Rogues' term for teacher must mean mentor to the SkyClan cats.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp prod at her side. She turned to see Brush and Bark poking her with their paws. "What is it?" she asked in a purr.

"Will you play with us?" Brush asked tentatively.

Tinypaw chuckled. "I'm sorry," she purred, "but I'm hunting with Thorn and the others. Maybe later."

The two kits nodded, slightly crestfallen, and bounded back to their mother, Rain, who was waiting patiently near the mouth of the sleeping cavern.

"Let's go," Thorn meowed, getting to his paws. "Forest is not the type to wait."

Tinypaw and the other Clan cats followed the golden-brown tabby out of the sleeping cavern and into the main cave. A small heap of fresh-kill was being built, multiple cats dropping prey onto the pile. Tinypaw followed Thorn out of the Ground Rogues' underground cave and took a deep breath, drawing in the crisp leaf-bare air. The snow was hard and crunchy under her camouflaged white paws, and she glanced up to see the sun shimmering brightly in the cloudless sky. The snow was most likely over.

"Listen!" Thorn hissed, lifting his tail in silence. Tinypaw pricked her ears forward only to hear the faint murmur of birdsong in the air.

"I think we'll have a good hunt with birds in the air," Patchfoot muttered. "Seeing that all you Ground Rogues can jump from tree to tree with absolutely no hesitation whatsoever."

Thorn and Forest looked down in embarrassment.

"Well?" Tinypaw mewed, excitement flooding through her paws, getting her impatient and eager for the thrilling chase of hunting. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Leafstar, Patchfoot, and Forest all hurtled off beyond the Ground Rogues' cave and didn't stop for some time. Thorn turned to Tinypaw. "I guess that leaves us," he meowed, and Tinypaw couldn't help glimpsing the amusement in his eyes. She simply ignored it and padded forward through the crunchy snow, scenting out prey. Truthfully, she was glad to be in the presence of this great Ground Rogue, hunting with him through the territory that was almost familiar to her now.

Suddenly, a shrill scream of terror erupted in the air. Tinypaw flicked her ears forward, anxiety creeping through the wall of excitement. She recognized that voice!

"Tinypaw!"

It was Rockpaw.

A/N: Suspense beyond suspense. Review please!!!!!