Hmm... So Dawn has possibly confirmed where her friends are. I don't want to spoil, therefore I will neither confirm nor deny if that is correct! Trying to keep these chapters diverse, so bear with me. If you want to know the alley cats' names in English, feel free to put their names from Italian into English on Google Translate. However, Ricevitore's name was supposed to translate to Catcher, so blame it on Google Translate. Enjoy!

~CHAPTER 17~

Rain thrummed the roof of the house, creating a steady beat that kept Pebbleblaze swept in a deep sleep. Beside her, Heronflight let out a light snore, whilst Dawn kept her tail covering her nose, purring as she dreamed.

Outside, the soft patter of pawsteps landed on a tree branch, shaking it. Damp leaves rustled. Someone growled, and another let out a low apology.

The noise awoke the three sleeping cats. Dawn was the first to rise, and she hopped over to the window. Pebbleblaze and Heronflight watched from the bed, whiskers twitching in confusion.

"There's a group of cats outside," Dawn hissed, her tail briefly lashing. "And they're coming this way."

Heronflight let out a soft rumble in his throat. "What do they want?" he asked suspiciously.

"They're alley cats," Dawn murmured in consent. "Which means they're always looking for trouble."

The three waited in silence, breath hovering as the group drew closer.

"What're we here for again?" a voice rasped, not following along with the plan.

"I told you before and I won't tell you again," came the snappish reply. "Now come on. Those cats won't be expecting us, and I'm gettin' soaked." A dark shadow came into view on the window, barely visible against the heavy rain.

Pebbleblaze felt her claws slide out. The window creaked open, being pushed by the spying cats.

"On the moment they all come in, we pounce," Heronflight instructed, his claws also in view.

Pushing through the narrow gap, a dark brown tom slipped in. His piercing amber eyes flittered around, taking in everything he could see. Pebbleblaze felt like prey being watched by a fox.

"Wait for the rest to join," Heronflight whispered as Dawn nearly rose.

Following the tom was a pretty light-brown tabby she-cat with white ears and green eyes. A muscular gray tom entered suit, keeping his yellow eyes trained on the leader. Finally, the last cat to join was a smaller white tom with amber eyes, nervously glancing around.

We're outnumbered, Pebbleblaze noted. But that tom is so small, he might not even count as an enemy. He barely looks old enough to be an apprentice.

Suddenly, Heronflight exploded from the bed, yowling a battle cry. The four intruding cats whirled around to stare at him, eyes wide with shock.

Dawn and Pebbleblaze hared after him, tackling the nearest cat. Pebbleblaze found herself slashing at the gray tom's ears. Bright red blood began dripping down from them and he hissed in pain.

The dark brown tom raced away with his friends pursuing him. Pebbleblaze, Heronflight, and Dawn chased them.

Once outside and on the ground, the enemy cats began fighting again, seeing no easy escape since the door was closed.

This time, Pebbleblaze faced the tabby she-cat. Moving lithely, the tabby scored her claws down Pebbleblaze's chest and darted out of the way. Pebbleblaze slammed down to the hard stone ground, narrowing her eyes against the rain.

The tabby leaped onto Pebbleblaze. Both she-cats were evenly matched in size, but the tabby seemed heavier. Her surprising weight crushed Pebbleblaze, momentarily seizing the breath from her.

Recovering quickly, Pebbleblaze bit into the tabby's tail, clamping her jaws fiercely down. Although the tabby screeched in protest, she held on. Then tiny claws pricked her back and she released her grip, turning to face the white tom.

The white tom's ears flattened behind his head, not in anger, but in fear. He darted off.

The tabby she-cat seemed to use Pebbleblaze's distraction and pounced onto her back, grabbing her belly and flipped her over. Pebbleblaze noticed her enemy's wrong movement and scored her claws across the tabby's sides.

There was a snarl from behind her and Pebbleblaze saw the gray tom backing Dawn up against the wall. Having very little battle training, Dawn seemed nervous as she gray stone closed in around her.

Pebbleblaze abandoned the tabby, charging towards her friend. Heronflight leaped into her place, fighting against both the dark brown tom and the tabby she-cat.

"We meet again," Pebbleblaze spat in the tom's shredded ear. He spun around, puzzled, until he saw the silver tabby upon him.

Dawn's white and green eyes were wide, not knowing where to go.

"Go help Heronflight!" Pebbleblaze yelled at her. "I can handle him!"

Nodding obediently, Dawn bounded to Heronflight, rejoining the battle. The white cat was pressed against the wet ground, his short tail jerking back and forth repeatedly.

The gray tom rose on two legs and battered fiercely at Pebbleblaze. With a rush of satisfaction, Pebbleblaze noted that Dawn had already bruised the tom well; one of his hind legs was bleeding and he bore multiple scratch marks. However, he seemed determined not to give up, continuously slashing in vain attempts to harm his attacker, whereas Pebbleblaze still had plenty of energy left in her.

"Give up yet?" she challenged.

"Never," the tom growled, his voice deep.

Pebbleblaze poised herself to dodge one of his attacks when there was a yowl. "Retreat!" The dark brown tom had sounded the call, glancing nervously at the tabby she-cat, whose white ears were drooping with exhaustion.

"Guess you don't get to see my wrath today," the tom sneered at Pebbleblaze. He ran over to meet his leader.

With the four cats banded together, Dawn faced them. "What in the world were you thinking, coming here?"

The dark brown tom held his head high, despite having a bloody slash across his forehead. "We needed a place to stay."

"And what for?" Heronflight inquired, his legs still in a crouching position. Pebbleblaze flashed him a warning look. Don't attack them.

The tom sighed. "My mate is expecting kits," he explained, flicking his tail at the tired tabby she-cat. "But our home isn't providing her much shelter. We heard that the Twolegs here were away, so we decided we would come and take control of the place until they got back. Just so she could have a safe place to kit. We weren't expecting there to be so many cats. We thought there was only her," he mewed, angling his ears towards Dawn, "and the white-and-black tom."

Worry wormed in Pebbleblaze's belly. She recognized the source of the swelling of the she-cat's belly and her quick exhaustion. Why had the tabby fought if she was pregnant? What if something bad had happened to her?

These cats must be pretty desperate to put both a young cat and a pregnant queen in a fight, she realized.

The dark brown tom continued. "I'm Ricevitore. My mate's name is Luna."

"I'm Artiglio," the gray tom huffed.

"And I'm Pecora," the white tom mumbled timidly.

Dawn's tail wavered in the air. "Well, my name is Dawn. And these here are Pebbleblaze and Heronflight." She motioned to each cat in turn.

Luna shuffled her paws, settling onto the ground and shaking the water from her ears. "Ricevitore, I really think we should apologize to these cats. They didn't really mean us any harm. I'll be fine kitting in our alley."

Ricevitore shook his head. "No, Luna. I want us to raise our kits somewhere safe."

Artiglio let out a rumble of agreement. "Those kits won't be safe out there. Our alley isn't very protected, and someone could easily back us up into it. What if a dog gets on the loose?"

Luna bent her head. "I suppose you are right."

"I'm sorry, but I cannot allow for you to stay in our home," Dawn told them gently. "Although we would be glad to help you find a better place to stay. I agree that a queen should not deliver in an unsafe place."

Ricevitore perked. "Really?"

"We'd be glad to," Heronflight purred, dipping his head.

The cats turned to Dawn. Besides the alley cats, she would know the territory best.

Dawn cocked her head, as if reviewing the locations she had been to before and thinking about which one would be the safest and most secure home for the alley cats to raise the kits.

"I've got one in mind," she mewed at last. Everyone listened intently. "There's an old, abandoned shed near the grocery store. I haven't seen anyone go inside it go ages, at least since I've been here. But the scent is really stale, so it's highly unlikely that someone will go in there," she added swiftly at the end to reassure the cats.

"Take us there," Ricevitore immediately responded.

Dawn swept her tail to gather the cats to her and trotted off. As she drew farther away, Pebbleblaze could scarcely make out her shape against the rain.

StarClan willing the shed will be large enough, Pebbleblaze prayed. She and Heronflight exchanged a hopeful look.

Luckily, Dawn stopped not far into their run. "Right here," she panted, indicating the small, stony building.

Carefully, Ricevitore, Artiglio, and Pecora sniffed the edges of the building, clearly wanting to make sure it was suitable. At last, Ricevitore gave Dawn a firm nod.

"It will be just fine," he said, a slight purr edging into his voice. "Thank you for all your help, and I hope-"

He was cut off by an ear-piercing shriek. Quickly, the cats whirled around, trying to locate the source of the voice. Their gazes rested on Luna.

The light-brown tabby queen was squirming and kicking, her eyes wide and her mouth open with pain.

"Th-the kits are coming!" she finally gasped.