Hey y'all, it's me. I recently came back after like a year to check up on this fanfic, and even though I've been pretty much dead, it still gathered some views and comments. I read the new ones and reread the older ones, and honestly, I'm feeling inspired to continue this fic thanks to to support of y'all! I hope to be able to update this again in at least something that resembles a consistent schedule, so who knows if we ever reach the end of this.

JustAnAverageGuy101: I am so grateful for your review and your message! You know, you're the one who pushed me to finally pick this anfiction back up again, so that you so much for that. I really hope thatyou like what I've got for you in this chapter!

Writinficsandbreakinhearts- I am really happy to hear that! I have never really written much canon characters before, and have never focused on WindClan. Tallstar and Deadfoot are both amazing characters and I wanted to do them justice, so good to know that someone thinks I did it right :D. I wanted to focus especially on their friendship, something we rarely see in the books, and Deadfoot's trust in Tallstar even when he doesn't always understand his reasons for doing something. Thank you for reviewing!

Warriorsandwof- Your wish has come true ;)

WolflexZ- I'm glad you like the idea! I do too haha

Shout-out to everyone who followed and added this story to your favourites! It makes me incredibly happy and I certainly appreciate it. And now, let's continue with chapter 5 of Winds of Change. Enjoy!

"This one had no answers, Tallstar." Onewhisker sighed, wearing a frown. Even the young warrior had a hard time sounding optimistic now. Deadfoot growled with frustration. This was the fourth kittypet that had been willing to talk to them, and yet they had not managed to get any further in the search for the kitten. The deputy had lost hope of ever finding the tom long ago, and Onewhisker was starting to do the same. Deadfoot doubted that Tallstar was so sure of himself anymore, but he also knew that the leader would be too stubborn to ever admit it.

"Tallstar-" he began, probably for the fifth time today. As deputy, it was his job to advice his leader to do what was best, whether he liked it or not. However, the black and white tom. cut him off before he could continue his sentence.

"Quiet." Tallstar whispered, his ears perked up.

Deadfoot frowned, looking at him with confusion. "Tallstar, what are you doing?"

He had to wait a few seconds for a reply, but then the WindClan leader meowed: "Do you hear that?" At first Deadfoot thought Tallstar had gone crazy, having spend this much time in a place filled with unfamiliar sounds, but then the deputy heard it too. Sounds he had heard often came from somewhere in the distance. The screeches of a battle.

Rusty had started his journey to the wild cats with confidence, his excitement fuelling his steps. He was filled with energy, enough to make him forget his worries for a bit. The thought of the cats not accepting him had crossed his mind at the start, but right now, he had forgotten all about that. They would accept him. He had faith.

It was not long before he left the area familiar to him behind. Sure, he revignized where he was, but he did not know it as well as the roads near his own house. He still had a long way ahead of him, but now it felt like he was truly leaving his old, comfortable life behind. The sun was high in the sky, and so were his spirits.

The falme-coloured tom kept on going. He knew were he was headed, and it would not be long until the concentration of houses would become less dense, making way for the open moor. He stood at the edge of a road, waiting for a car to pass so he could cross safely. It was then that he heard a snarl behind him.

"Hey, housecat!"

Rusty turned around, only to see three mean looking cats coming up from an alley. They looked tough, all of them missing patches of fur and having scars all over their body. One was even missing half of both of his ears. The most peculiar things about them though, were their collars. Whereas Rusty himself had a small bell on it, they had teeth on them. The tom did not even want to know whose teeth they were: it looked scary enough without having to know hoe they got there.

Not again! He thought, panic bubbling up inside of him. His green eyes shot to his sides, frantically looking for a place to run to. He couldn't spot one, and the three were getting closer.

"Yeah, you!" The one in the front snarled, a tabby she-cat. She looked at Rusty menacingly. "You're on our turf, kit." It was not long before the three had circled the frightened looking tom, who eyed them with big eyes.

A second cat spoke up. "Yeah, and do you know what we do with intruders?" Rusty didn't even want to know.

He swallowed. "I am just passing through." He had no way to hide how nervous he was, trapped between three intimidating cats obviously out to hurt him. These three were nothing like the ones he had encountered on the moor. Those had wanted to get rid of him as well, but nothing more. Even the most hostile one, Mudclaw, Rusty remembered, had not really wanted to injure him more than maybe a couple of scratches. But these cats, they were different. They would kill him if they got the chance, and the kitten guessed that that was exactly what they had in mind right now.

"Do we look like we care why you're here, housecat?"

You don't. Rusty thought, but he wasn't about to say that out loud. The enemies were still circling him, and they were getting closer. Rusty did not have much time left, and if he was to ever reach the wild cats, he had to come up with something quick. The only issue was that there only was one of him, and three of them. "Do not come any closer!" He tried, putting on his brave face. "I'm warning you!"

For a split second, the three cats looked confused, caught by surprise by his sudden change in attitude. Then one of the black and white toms began to laugh. "You hear that, Fury? Little kit thinks he can mess with us!" He turned to Rusty again, his blue eyes containing a dangerous glare. He lashed his tail as he adressed the ginger tom with a low voice "Listen, kit. No one messes with BloodClan."

That seemed to be the push that the so-called BloodClan cats needed to launch their attack on the helpless cat. One of the toms umped first, knocking Rusty on the ground. He landed painfully, right on his shoulder. However, he was not granted much time to recover as the cat known as Fury striked next. She landed a blow on his side with her claws unsheated, leaving a few bloody clawmarks. Rusty yelled in pain, but managed to leap away in time to avoid a second blow. He aimed a swipe at Fury himself, something she clearly had not been expecting. He hit her on the muzzle, and even though it did not do much damage, it was enough to distract the tabby enough for him to escape her as she let out a yelp.

He did not come far though, because the third cat blocked his way. A low growl escaped the back of his throat, his eyes narrowed in anger. Rusty had no other choice then to back away, but soon he found himself hitting a wall. Fury, having recovered again, came to stand next to the tom, soon followed by the last cat. "It was fun having you around, housecat, but now it's time to say goodbye." She snarled, her eyes not leaving Rusty's. "So, goodbye."

Deadfoot shook his head. "Tallstar, we can't risk getting injured here, helping a bunch of kittypets we do not even know! What if you lose a life here? What if Onewhisker does?" Opun hearing the sounds of a battle, Tallstar had immediatly wanted to investigate, but Deadfoot had protested. The risks were too big. They had no medicine cat with them, not even any herbs for that matter. If one of them got injured, the chances of infection were big, and that was the last thing the black tom wanted to deal with right now.

Tallstar lashed his long tail impatiently. "We have to at least try and help, Deadfoot. If you wish to stay behind, be my guest." The deputy could have known Tallstar would say this, and as much as he wanted to do exactly what the WindClan leader had suggested, he knew he couldn't. What deputy would leave his leader behind? On top of that, it was not in his nature to leave a cat to fend for themselves, not if he could prevent it somehow.

"Fine." Deadfoot surrendered, though still not quite fond of the idea of leaping into a battle with no idea of what their opponents were capable of. But, he trusted Tallstar, and would always have his back. "Lead the way."

The large WindClan tom nodded, and soon he, Deadfoot and Onewhisker were rushing in the direction of the sounds. They had become quieter, and Deadfoot prayed to StarClan that they were not yet too late. He didn't know what sort of scene they would arrive to, but it better not be one that included dead bodies. He wouldn't forgive himself that, knowing that he was the one to cause the delay.

They turned a corner, and another, then crossed a thunderpath (there were hardly any monsters, fortunately), and by then, Deadfoot had completely lost track of where they were. He got quite uncomfortable at the thought of being lost in a twolegplace. We can deal with that problem later. One at the time is enough.

The yells had completely disappeared, and if it weren't for Tallstar confidently running in front of him, he wouldn't have a clue on where to go next. The black and white tom seemed unfazed by the lack of clues, as if guided by something else as well. Maybe it was from meory, maybe it was from StarClan. Deadfoot wasn't the one to question it right now, as long as it would get them where they needed to be.

Turning one last corner, the party arrived at a big thunderpath. At the other side of it, there were four cats. Amongst them, a flame-coloured kitten.

Author's note

They almost meet! I promise it will happen in the next chapter, really. I also promise that next chapter won't take a year to complete. Again, thank you for all of your support, and please let me know your thoughts on the story! What do you think will happen with the prophecy and ThunderClan? Will Tigerstar be able to complete his evil scheme in Fireheart's absence, or will WindClan interfere before that happens?

See y'all next time! Love, Frost.