A/N: I didn't feel like describing the journey to the alley, but they travelled not far into the Twolegplace across the Thunderpath of Twoleg nests. Enjoy!

Skyfeather opened her eyes to see the flecked, white, long pelt of Snowstorm, curled upbeside her. Even though the older warrior was curled up, Skyfeather knew she wasn't sleeping.

"Snowstorm?" she mewed softly, trying not to wake the others.

Snowstorm lifted her head lightly. "I'm sorry, Skyfeather. Did I wake you?"

Skyfeather was surprised by Snowstorm's depressed tone of voice. "Snowstorm, are you okay?"

"I'll tell you," Snowstorm meowed, "but not here."

Without another word or glance at the other cats, Snowstorm got to her paws and padded quietly toward the end of the alley. Skyfeather scrabbled to her paws as well and followed her to the edge of the alley.

"What is it, Snowstorm?" she asked.

Snowstorm stared out to the Thunderpath and the Twoleg nests across it. "Skyfeather," she finally murmured, "I'm going to have kits."

Skyfeather brightened. "Oh, Snowstorm!" she exclaimed. "That's great!"

"No, it's not," Snowstorm disagreed, continuing to stare at the Twoleg nests. "They're Thunderheart's kits."

Skyfeather started. "What?" she questioned. "Thunderheart's? Snowstorm…"

"He said that RainClan would need apprentices," Snowstorm mumbled, "and, oh, Skyfeather, we love each other." She finally turned to look at Skyfeather. "It's not our fault."

Skyfeather pressed her muzzle against Snowstorm's side. "Don't worry, Snowstorm," she reassured. "I'm sure Firestar will understand."

"Skyfeather, you don't get it," Snowstorm complained. "Firestar isn't going to be our leader for long."

Skyfeather's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"When he speaks to StarClan, he'll tell Stormpelt exactly what to do, and then he'll join our warrior ancestors again," Snowstorm explained in a soft hiss. "We need to get more warriors, anyway."

Skyfeather could understand why Firestar would have to leave, but she didn't want him to leave so soon. "So Stormpelt will become our leader?"

"Yes," Snowstorm responded. "With less warriors, we'll need to get more."

Skyfeather looked down at her paws. How would RainClan ever survive with only seven cats present? "We're going to get Leafpaw."

"But he's not a warrior," Snowstorm meowed. "He's a medicine cat."

Skyfeather looked across the Thunderpath and into a window of a Twoleg nest. Something grey and white flashed across the glass, causing her to start. Then an idea hit her as the grey and white thing came into focus.

A cat!

"Snowstorm!" Skyfeather exclaimed. "We could recruit kittypets! Or other alley cats that we find. There's got to be more cats around here."

Snowstorm looked through the window and saw the grey and white kittypet. Her expression turned thoughtful as she considered Skyfeather's suggestion.

"You know, you have a point," Snowstorm finally agreed. "You should tell Firestar and Stormpelt."

"I will," Skyfeather meowed. She looked at the cat in the window again, who was staring in interest and bewilderment at the two RainClan warriors.

"That is a good idea," Firestar meowed thoughtfully. "You say you saw a kittypet in the window of the Twoleg nest across from us?"

"Yes, I did," Skyfeather answered. "It was a she-cat, and she looked strong enough."

"We'll have to consult with this kittypet," Stormpelt suggested. "We don't know if she's afraid of us, or if she'll be willing to join RainClan."

Firestar closed his eyes. "This is just like when I was becoming a member of ThunderClan," he muttered under his breath. Then he opened his eyes. "Okay." He turned to look at Stormpelt. "Stormpelt, take Skyfeather and Frostfur with you to speak to this kittypet. If you meet others, try to speak to them as well."

Stormpelt nodded and started padding toward the edge of the alley. Skyfeather halted and turned to Firestar. "I have a quick question, Firestar," she meowed.

"Go ahead." Firestar sat down in front of her.

Frostfur padded by to stand next to Stormpelt.

"Why was Ravenstar shocked when you told everyone Frostfur's warrior name?" Skyfeather asked, looking after Frostfur.

Firestar twitched his whiskers in recognition. "His mother's name was Frostfur," he responded.

"Really?" Skyfeather couldn't hold back the surprise.

"I wanted something to remind me that no matter what, Ravenstar's the same old Ravenpaw I used to know."

Skyfeather's eyes widened.

Firestar meowed a chuckle. "Remember Ravenstar's story?"

"Yes."

"Tigerstar's apprentice's name was Ravenpaw."

Skyfeather stood up in alarm. "You mean Ravenstar was the cat Tigerstar wanted to kill? He used to be your best friend?"

"One of them, and yes," Firestar replied. "Now go. Stormpelt and Frostfur are waiting for you."

Skyfeather nodded and turned to trot over to the small patrol of warriors. She thought about what Firestar had told her as she caught up with the others.

"There are no monsters out tonight," Stormpelt observed, "so it should be safe enough to cross."

With that being said, the three cats pelted across the Thunderpath at the same time and landed on the white stone across from it.

"Ugh!" Frostfur complained. "There's absolutely no grass or undergrowth here!"

"It's not a forest," Skyfeather responded. "Of course there isn't. The Twolegs have gotten rid of it all."

A soft meow coming from inside the nest in front of them caused the patrol to look up. The grey and white she-cat was scratching at the window, meowing something incomprehensible.

"What's she saying?" Frostfur questioned.

"I don't know," Stormpelt replied. "Let's find out."

Stormpelt leaped on top of the first step and jumped to the window sill. The cat pressed her muzzle against the glass, and Stormpelt did the same. Then he called down, "She wants to meet us!"

Suddenly, the door of the nest opened, splashing light on the dark stone of the Thunderpath. The she-cat left the window and leaped out of the door. The Twoleg closed the door behind her and the light vanished.

"Who are you?" the cat questioned, intrigue in her light voice.

"Hello, kittypet," Stormpelt began, jumping down from the window sill and sitting down in front of the cat. "I am Stormpelt. This is Skyfeather and Frostfur."

The she-cat took a step back. "What are you doing here?" she mewed.

"We are members of RainClan, and we are very new," Stormpelt explained. "We live in the alley across from your Twoleg nest."

"Twoleg? Kittypet?" the cat hissed. "What's going on?"

"What's your name?" Frostfur asked.

"I'm Jinkies, or Binky," the kittypet explained. "What are Twolegs and kittypets?"

"Twolegs are the big creatures you live with, and kittypets are cats that live with Twolegs," Skyfeather took the pleasure in explaining.

"I'm a…kittypet?" Jinkies mewed. "And what are you?"

"We're Clan cats," Stormpelt meowed. "I am the deputy of RainClan, and these two are warriors. Please, let me explain."

Jinkies hesitated for a moment before sitting down and rasping her tongue over her paw. "Go ahead."

Stormpelt lay down and explained all about the three Clans of the forest, and how they used to be members of LightClan. He also explained the ways of StarClan, and that RainClan needed more warriors.

Jinkies scuffled her paws. "So you want me to be a warrior of your Clan?" she asked.

"Yes," Stormpelt replied. "We need more warriors. Of course, you'll be an apprentice first."

Skyfeather waited anxiously for Jinkies's answer. She was staring at her paws, scuffling them around, clearly thinking it over.

"I'll have to leave my…Twolegs?" she questioned.

"Yes," Stormpelt answered. "You can't have a paw in each world."

"What will we eat?"

"We hunt freely," Frostfur answered. "It's so great! Have you ever tasted mouse?"

Jinkies looked embarrassed. "No."

"Then you must!" Skyfeather exclaimed. "Please, Jinkies."

Jinkies looked up and twitched her whiskers in agreement. "All right. I'll do it."

Stormpelt stood up. "Great," he meowed. "Then let's meet Firestar. He's the leader of RainClan."

As the four cats began to cross the Thunderpath, Jinkies grew hesitant. Skyfeather quickly padded up to her. "Don't worry, Jinkies," she reassured. "Firestar will welcome you."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Jinkies replied. "Are you Skyfeather?"

"Yes," Skyfeather answered. "What's wrong?"

"You live so close to my Twolegs," Jinkies explained. "If they see me with you, they might take you to the vet."

"The vet?" Skyfeather was puzzled. "Oh, the Cutter. Have you visited the Cutter yet?"

"Um, no," Jinkies replied. "But he'll catch you all and take you to the pound to be put up for adoption."

"Then we'll move to the next alley," Stormpelt suggested. "Don't worry."

When they reached the end of the alley, Firestar was nibbling on a rat with Snowstorm. He had a thoughtful expression on his face. Snowstorm must have told him, Skyfeather thought silently.

When Firestar noticed Jinkies and the others, he stood up and walked forward. "Ah, this must be kittypet Skyfeather saw through the window."

"Yes," Jinkies mewed. She bowed her head deep as the others had done. "Are you Firestar?"

"Yes, I am," Firestar replied. "I am the leader of RainClan. We welcome you."

"We have to move, Firestar," Stormpelt meowed out of the blue.

Firestar looked at him. "Why?"

"My Twolegs might see me with you," Jinkies explained. "They'll capture you and put you up for adoption. My town doesn't like wild cats."

Firestar sighed. "Then we shall move to the next alley," he agreed. "But for now, we must perform a ceremony."

Skyfeather raised her tail. "She's going to be our first apprentice!" she observed.

"I am?" Jinkies questioned. "That's great!"

"And Snowstorm is going to have her kits soon, so you won't be alone for too long," Firestar explained.

Skyfeather saw Snowstorm scuffled her paws around.

Jinkies whispered in Skyfeather's ear, "Who's Snowstorm?"

"I'll introduce you to the rest of the Clan after your naming ceremony," Skyfeather answered.

Firestar leaped onto a trashcan in the corner of the alley. "We'll have to use this trashcan for a Highrock for now," he explained. "Don't worry, we'll find a proper camp."

The rest of RainClan gathered around the trashcan and stared up intently. Jinkies sat next to Skyfeather and Frostfur toward the edge of the group.

"Kittypet, what is your name?" Firestar asked.

"I'm Jinkies," Jinkies replied loud and clear. Skyfeather could sense the excitement in her voice.

"Jinkies, come forward," Firestar meowed. "From this moment, this young apprentice will be know as Littlepaw until she has earned her warrior name."

Littlepaw's eyes brightened at her new name.

"Stormpelt, I am very impressed with your strength and agility. You shall mentor Littlepaw," Firestar said.

Stormpelt padded up to Littlepaw and whispered into her ear, "Now we touch noses." The two did so and trotted off to edge of the alley.

Before the rest of the Clan dispersed, Firestar called out, "We have more to discuss. We're going to need to find a proper home soon, so Snowstorm can have her kits safely."

"We also need to eat more than rats," Sparrowstripe called.

"Snowstorm, I just want you to know that you might have to bear your kits in this dreaded place."

"That's okay," Snowstorm replied. "I'm sure they'll be fine."

"For now, we'll do whatever we can," Firestar decided. "Goldenheart, lead a patrol with Sparrowstripe and Gingerfoot to find fresh-kill and soft material for a nursery."

Goldenheart nodded and trotted away from the group with Sparrowstripe and Gingerfoot.

As Firestar jumped off of the trashcan, Skyfeather padded over to Stormpelt and Littlepaw.

"Congratulations, Littlepaw, Stormpelt!" she mewed excitedly. "You're an official member of RainClan, and our first apprentice."

Littlepaw beamed up at Skyfeather. "I'm so happy. I can't wait to start my training."

"We'll start first thing tomorrow morning," Stormpelt decided. "I'll wake you up."

"So as you already know, this is Stormpelt," Skyfeather meowed. "And that I'm Skyfeather, and that our leader's name is Firestar."

"Yes, I know that much," Littlepaw purred.

"Well, the warriors that went on the patrol are Goldenheart, the gold one, Sparrowstripe, the striped one, and Gingerfoot, the white one with the ginger paw."

Littlepaw nodded eagerly, taking in everything.

"Soon, you'll know all the cats of RainClan by scent," Stormpelt explained. "Along with most of the cats from the other Clans."

"When will I meet the other Clans?" Littlepaw asked her mentor.

"At the next Gathering," Stormpelt explained. "The Gathering occurs every full moon. We meet at a place called Fourtrees with the other two Clans."

Littlepaw nodded.

"Anyway," Skyfeather continued, "the snow-white she-cat with blue eyes is Frostfur, and the white she-cat with grey flecks and grey eyes is Snowstorm. She's going to have her kits soon, so she's a queen now, not a warrior."

"Oh," Littlepaw mewed softly. "Who's the father?"

Skyfeather exchanged a nervous glance with Stormpelt. "His name is Thunderheart," she told Littlepaw, "but we'll tell you who he is later."

"Okay."

"Every Clan needs a medicine cat, se we're technically not an official Clan yet," Stormpelt explained.

"Thankfully, EmberClan's medicine cat, Sandstorm, will train our first medicine cat. You can meet him at the next half-moon," Skyfeather meowed.

"Another apprentice?" Littlepaw questioned. "Yay."

Skyfeather and Stormpelt purred together for a moment before Firestar trotted up to the group.

"You three need to eat something," he meowed. "Snowstorm and I caught a few rats while you were out finding Littlepaw."

Skyfeather dipped her head. "Thank you, Firestar."

The three cats walked over to a very small and pitiful pile of dead rats. It was right next to the trashcan. Skyfeather bent down and picked up a rat by its tail.

"Want to share?" she asked Littlepaw. "You don't need that much, and we'll have to save some."

"Sure," Littlepaw answered.

Skyfeather and Littlepaw padded over to the other corner of the alley and placed their fresh-kill down.

"You've never tasted fresh-kill," Skyfeather meowed, "so you may have the first bite."

She watched as Littlepaw's eyes lit up as she took a bite out of the rat. "It's so much better than the slop my Twolegs fed me."

"Isn't it?"

Skyfeather turned around to see Firestar standing there. "Oh, hi, Firestar. You scared me. You would know, wouldn't you?"

"What do you mean?" Littlepaw questioned, swallowing the bite.

"I was exactly like you when I was an apprentice," Firestar explained. "That was two hundred moons ago, though."

Skyfeather was thankful that Stormpelt had already explained that Firestar was a cat of StarClan to Littlepaw. It had been hard for her to understand, but she eventually comprehended it.

"I was a kittypet for six moons, like you," Firestar meowed. "I became an apprentice, Firepaw, when the leader of ThunderClan invited me to join the Clan."

Littlepaw looked at her leader in amazement as Skyfeather bent down to take a bite of the rat.

"We'd better get something different than rat," she mumbled through the mouthful.

"Oh, Firestar," Littlepaw mewed. "I just remembered. I know some kittypets who would really like the life of a Clan cat."

Firestar sat down, interested. "How many?"

"There are about…five other kittypets I know, but I know two of them that would love this life."

"Could you possibly go out with Stormpelt sometime and talk to them?" Firestar asked. "RainClan needs as many warriors as we can get."

"Pretty soon, we'll be an official Clan!" Skyfeather couldn't help exclaiming.

"Yes, pretty soon, pretty soon," Firestar mumbled. "When you're finished eating, get some sleep. I will sleep behind the trashcan, the warriors' den will be in this corner, the apprentices' den will be over there, next to that box"—Firestar flicked his tail toward a box pushed up against the wall—"and the nursery will inside that small crevice."

Skyfeather looked over to see a small hole in the wall of the alley. It was big enough to fit a queen and her kits.

Snowstorm trotted up. "I'm getting tired, so I'll settle in for the night," she meowed, yawning. Without another word, she padded over to the crevice. Skyfeather could see the distaste in her expression, but she eventually lay down and closed her eyes.

Skyfeather yawned and realized just how tired she was. She finished her share of the rat and trotted over to Frostfur, who was kneading a strange kind of material.

"What is that?" she asked.

"I have no idea, but I'm calling it woven moss. I think it's what Twolegs use for pelts," Frostfur meowed. "I'm going to bring it over to the warriors' sleeping corner."

Skyfeather picked up one edge of the woven moss and helped carry it over to the corner. They set it down and began to knead it again.

"It seems comfortable," Skyfeather observed.

After a moment, the two lay down on the material and closed their eyes. Before Skyfeather knew it, sleep swallowed her up.

A/N: I know it's a lot like "Into The Wild" but I thought it would bring back pleasant memories! Hope you liked the chapter! Please review if you are reading. I'd really appreciate it...thanks!