A/N: Sorry it took so long to this chapter up. I've been busy. Hopefully the next chapter will be up sooner.

Disclamer: I do not own Warriors, yadda yadda, they belong to Erin Hunter.

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Ravenpaw licked his muzzle, the faint scent of pigeon still clinging to his fur. He and Barley were leaving in a bit and his belly was tight with nervousness. The tom wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing now, as much as he wanted to.

"Ready?" the older black and white tom meowed from his place beside Ravenpaw. Ravenpaw took a breath and nodded. Barley touched Ravenpaw's muzzle with his own, sort of understanding his friend's unsureness. They set off, leaving their home behind. The dogs were tied up when they reached that particular nest and Ravenpaw relaxed a bit. They continued, their ears ever pricked for the sound of rats or two-legs.

The first smells of the Thunderpath reached them before the sound of it did and Ravenpaw glanced at Barley before slipping under the hedge. He nodded slightly and crouched by the edge, his eyes narrowed against the smell and wind that the monsters cause. A lull in movement from the monsters occured and he dashed across, his pelt bristled in fright.

The scent of ShadowClan drifted towards him but he remembered they were not there and his pelt soon smoothed down flat. Ravenpaw watched as Barley crouched also, watching the monsters carefully. He held his breath as the tom dashed across and leaped to avoid a fast moving monster.

"Barley! Are you okay?" he cried, dashing over to where Barley was shaking hisself.

"Yea, yea," Barley meowed, "I'll be fine. Let's keep moving." Ravenpaw nodded, glad his friend was okay and they left ShadowClan's old land and welcomed the closeness of the tall grass that sooned swallowed them. They traveled through the grass for a bit, sniffing occassionally for a rogue cat or some other predator. It was when Ravenpaw thought he smelled something that something heavy and gray knocked him off his paws.

He rolled, clawing at the thing, he couldn't tell if it was a cat or not, before shaking it off. He hissed and saw that Barley had been tackled also, if by a smaller creature.

"Ravenpaw?" the animal in front of him meowed, its pelt no longer bristled. Ravenpaw let the growl in his throat die as he blinked, staring at the creature, which he realized was a cat.

"Graystripe?" Ravenpaw meowed back. The cat nodded and Ravenpaw looked again. It /was/ Graystripe. He had certainly lost weight, and he smelled more like two-legs and kittypets than a ThunderClan warrior but Ravenpaw detected the faint scent there.

"Lily, get off of him," Graystripe padded over to the cat that had tackled Barley, pulling the cat off.

"Sorry about that," Graystripe meowed, helping Barley to his paws, "I thought you were ShadowClan. What are you doing out here anyways?" Ravenpaw glanced at Barley who was shaking his pelt of dust.

"I'm following the Clans," He finally meowed, "They've left their homes Graystripe. All of them. To find a new place." Graystripe stared at him, looked at Barley who nodded, and sat down, his tail curling around hisself.

"I-I didn't think they would leave me," the gray tom meowed, his voice thin.

"They were forced Graystripe," Barley said, obviously recovered from the attack, "You know about ShadowClan and WindClan. ThunderClan was losing its territory too. They had no choice but to leave." He paused for a moment, before he remembered, "Firestar refused to name a deputy though. He won't stop believing you're going to return." At this, Graystripe pricked his ears, a bit of pride in his eyes.

"Graystripe, is that the Firestar that is your best friend?" the cat name Lily spoke now. Ravenpaw looked at her. She was small, looked to be a kittypet. She had long white fur, but her back, sides and tail were browns and blacks.

"Yes, the very same one," Graystripe meowed, "Oh, Lily this is Ravenpaw and Barley, two friends of the Clans." Ravenpaw dipped his head and Barley flicked his tail.

"The sun is beginning to sink," Barley said, glancing at the sky, "Let us continue to Highstones and we will rest there and listen to your story Graystripe. I'll leave in the morning." The group nodded, although Lily more or less flattened her ears but she followed along as Barley snaked his way through the grass.

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A/N: So, what do you think of Lily joining the crew? And Graystripe returning? Let me know!