They were led into a large cavern, its ceiling stretching high above their head. The inside looked as if it could house all five Clans with room for a sixth. Cats milled about, although Squirrelpaw noted that they seemed wary; the eyes of all cats apprentice age and up darted about and shoulders were tensed. The burlier cats in particular seemed to be the most alert; they may have been the ones on guard duty for the night.

"Who are they?" A cat muttered. Their hosts – Crag and Brook, they had been told – nimbly wove amongst their Tribemates, spreading the word. Brook, with hesitance they had only seen on new apprentices approaching famed warriors at Gatherings, darted beyond a narrow pass and came back with an ancient cat. Mud spattered the tom's body and white whiskers betrayed his age, but his green eyes were as sharp and fierce as any leader's; they fixed themselves onto the travellers with a burning intensity, lingering in particular on Feathertail's pelt.

"Thank you, Brook. It appears that the Tribe of Endless Hunting has sent us a reprieve after all."

She dipped her head and darted away into the throng of cats.

"You must excuse Crag. He tends to get poetic." The old cat told them.

"What did he mean, 'silver cat'?" Crowpaw asked.

"He meant a silver cat, bee-brain." Primrosepaw teased.

"Yes, I knew that." Crowpaw grumbled.

"The Tribe of Endless Hunting, hard as it may be to believe, are the spirits of our warrior ancestors. They look over us and send us signs – a flash of fur, a glimpse of the outside world – to guide us. They have told us that a silver cat, and an outsider at that, would save us."

"From what?" Brambleclaw asked, inching closer to Feathertail.

"Sharptooth. As tall as three of you, and as long as five, with fangs as big as the skinny one's muzzle."

"Hey! I have a name!"

"As of now, I have not learned it. I must say, I am surprised that you did not question the Tribe of Endless Hunting."

"We come from a group that believes similar. StarClan." Tawnypelt told him.

"Ah. I am the Teller of the Pointed Stones, but it is easier to call me Stoneteller. Most cats around here have full names and nicknames as well."

"Alright." Feathertail spoke. "We are Crowpaw, Primrosepaw, Squirrelpaw, Tawnypelt, Brambleclaw and Feathertail." She gestured in turn to each of them.

"Welcome. Come over to the Prey-Hunters' nests. We currently have need for more Cave-Guards than them. The wiry ones are Prey-Hunters. The sturdy ones are Cave-Guards."

The nests were reminiscent of ThunderClan's, with shallow dips filled with feathers.

"We will begin prey-sharing soon." Stoneteller drew away.

Tribe cats crowded around them; while the prey-hunters and cave-guards kept a respectful distance, the kits and apprentices didn't.

"Are you from outside the mountains?" One kit squeaked.

"I heard you can't see the sun for trees there!"

"I heard there's no buzzards!"

"You're all right." Brambleclaw chuckled. "The forest does have clearings, but mainly you just see sunlight."

"No buzzards?" An apprentice asked. "What do you eat?"

"We have a lot of mice, squirrels, rabbits, smaller birds..." Feathertail began.

"And it can support you all?"

"Like she said, we have a lot." Squirrelpaw replied.

Suddenly, an elder took a piece of prey. This was the signal for the tribe cats to take pieces and sit with others, passing it back and forth.

"How strange." Primrosepaw mused. The apprentices who ate by them gasped.

"You don't share?"

"Not like you do, but we do eat prey together. And we wouldn't let a Clanmate starve if we could help it."

"Come on, stop bothering them." A queen swept the apprentices away, giving them a look. They grabbed three pieces of prey and lay down next to each other to share.

Eventually, once their prey was reduced to bones, a kit came up to them.

"Where do you come from?" They asked, with a perfunctory glance at their littermates.

"A long way away." Tawnypelt said. "Over the mountains, across a field and then in a large forest."

"We come from further." Feathertail said. "There's a river that runs through the forest. Following it to the source takes you to the gorge where Squirrelpaw and I live."

"You live apart?"

"Yes. Our ancestors made five Clans, but Twolegs came and made it so there was room only for four."

"Oh." The kit brightened, changing the topic abruptly. "I'm going to be a cave-guard!"

"Are you now?" Brambleclaw asked.

"Uh-huh! But I'll be a to-be first!"

"What's a to-be?" Primrosepaw asked.

The kit looked at her; she could feel their opinion dropping.

"Even the smallest of us knows what a to-be is! It's a cat in training to-be a prey-hunter or a cave-guard."

"We just have a different word for it." Feathertail explained. "Where we live, we call them apprentices. Like these three furballs over here." She gestured to Squirrelpaw, Crowpaw and Primrosepaw.

"Let me guess. You two are going to be prey-hunters, and the cream one a cave-guard?"

"It works differently than that." Crowpaw said. "We train to be warriors, and fight and hunt."

"Both?"

"Yes, both. Even the smallest of cats can inflict some damage." Brambleclaw said, unconsciously touching a scar from a border skirmish against WindClan.

"Tornear got you good." Crowpaw chuckled.

"Oh, but then Longtail managed to get in there!" He sobered. "This was before the accident, of course."

"Accident?" Feathertail repeated.

"He was blinded when a rabbit caught him by surprise. Its claws were infected."

"Oh." Squirrelpaw looked down. "Maybe Brightheart can help."

"Was she the one..."

"...who was half-blinded by the dog? Yes."

A nearby to-be choked on his prey; Brambleclaw had to thump his back.

"We never have dogs up here!" he screeched.

"It's part of life as a wild cat. You have Sharptooths, we have dogs." Tawnypelt commented.

"What happened to it afterwards?"

"Well, we also had a problem with some rats..." Squirrelpaw began.

"...The rats fled in terror, but Bluestorm wanted revenge. She came back after they'd prepared Snowfur for burial, fur reddened with rats' blood."

She stopped her story and looked around. Every kit and to-be in the cave were hanging onto her every word.

"You've got a gift for storytelling." Stoneteller commented as he approached.

"Thanks." Squirrelpaw gave her chest a couple of licks.

"I'll have a go tomorrow." Primrosepaw told the young cats. "You can hear about LionClan, LeopardClan and TigerClan, the tribes of the three ancient cats."

The to-bes and kits scampered off to their duties or play, leaving them with Stoneteller.

"I trust you have eaten well?"

"Yes, thank you." Brambleclaw said. "It was kind of you to share."

"The prey belongs to the mountains; cats only take to sustain themselves."

"Wish we had that attitude in the Clans." Crowpaw commented. "It would save so many skirmishes."

"Indeed. Now is the time to talk about what brought you here. Crag here is our cave-guard leader. This is Mist, the head of prey-hunters. She oversees training and is responsible for making sure that every patch of snow is not overhunted. And this is Star, our most senior kit-mother, although she has duties as a cave-guard."

"Do you choose which path a cat walks based on ability?"

"Oh, no." Star replied. "Cats who are lean and fast are born to be prey-hunters. Stocky and strong cats are cave-guards."

"Okay." Feathertail bit back her remark about how cold it all seemed.

"What brings you here?"

They huddled together, discussing what to tell and what not to tell. Finally, Crowpaw spoke, regaling the Tribe members with the story of their journey.

The story ended just as a patrol of cave-guards came back, warily beckoning Stoneteller.

"I must leave you to hear this."

"We understand." Tawnypelt dipped her head, turning to her companions.

There was a pause, before Stoneteller bowed his head and made his way to an elder. As he walked away, she cried in sorrow.

Travellers: Oh, there are dogs where we live.

To-be who has a lion next door: AAAAHHHHH!