The dead tree might not have been as spacious as the cave, but it finally felt like a safe place. The newly changed moss brought comfort to Stick as he settled down with his nightly rat. He had wondered further along the Thunderpath until he found a place where two-legs disposed of their undesirables. He preferred other prey, but he wasn't going to waste the opportunity to hunt. He made sure to watch for Clan cats and run if had to. He was over-whelmed by it all at first, but within a couple of days, he was fine. His mother's warnings rang in his mind everytime he considered wanting to wait for another Clan cat to appear. Would they all be as feisty as that she-cat with the golden eyes? Could he befriend one to prove his mother wrong? But it could just be his loneliness talking.

"Where exactly are we going?" a voice made Stick jerk up, his claws out in a flash. He pressed himself against the opening, spotting a group of Clan cats, five in all. He said nothing, hoping they couldn't see him peeping out.

A ginger tabby tom was in the lead, his amber eyes sharp. A ginger and white she-cat with blue eyes was pressed against him with her tail curled around his.

"You'll see, Rosewing," the leader told the other she-cat, a tortoiseshell with amber eyes.

"Yeah," the other she-cat purred. "Russetfire knows where he's going."

"Larktail," the huge white tom with amber eyes sighed. "We don't know where he's taking us."

"It's obvious, Whitefur," Larktail responded. "ShadowClan, duh."

"That's where we've been going this whole time?" the last tom's light ginger fur fluffed up, blue glare fierce.

"Pipe down," Russetfire purred. "You can go back to camp if you don't like it, Lightwhisker."

"We shouldn't take Shadowclan prey," Lightwhisker snarled.

"Why shouldn't we?" Larktail shot back. "They've been stealing from ThunderClan for moons! It's time for a little revenge. Besides, we have much more mouths to feed, especially with Softmoss's kits coming."

"And what of ShadowClan's young?" Rosewing cut in.

"What about our young?" Russetfire retorted. "Now are you with me or not?"

"I'm with you," Larktail purred.

"We better be quick then," Whitefur reminded them.

"Fine," Lightwhisker pushed their leader out of the way as he strolled over to the darkened and empty Thunderpath. Rosewing and Whitefur joined him as he leapt across. Larktail and Russetfire took their time as if they had all night.

Stick couldn't help his curiosity and followed them, stopping as a lone monster flashed in the distance. By the time it passed, he couldn't see the others, lucky that he wasn't lit up by the monster. He ignored the chill of fear that made his heart race as he ran across into the other territory. He had to force himself to ignore the scents that flooded through him as he chased off after those Clan cats. He kept at a quick pace until he could spot them sharing a squirrel and a bird he couldn't recognized. Not wanting to be seen, he climbed up one of the trees. Once he settled on a spot, he leaned to listen into their conversation.

"What did I tell you?" Russetfire's arrogant tone irritated Stick as if the ginger tabby thought that he owned the whole forest. He glared at the other tom as he chewed on a bone. The tom's amber eyes slid onto his at that moment and he felt his blood go cold. Russetfire's face changed from easy-going to puzzlement before settling to anger. Stick took a step back from the heat of pure hatred in the Clan cat's gaze. The other cats noticed the change in demeanor.

"What is it, Russetfire?" Larktail's blue gaze didn't actually show any concern as if she had no cares like the other three.

"Nevermind me," the amber eyes released Stick, making him take a deep breath in relief. "We should head back so we can get out of this terrible forest. I must have seen a rabid squirrel or something."

"What about our prey?" Whitefur asked, shaking feathers from his face.

"Leave it," Russetfire strutted over to Stick's tree and dug his claws in aggressively. "Some poor scavenger should finish it."

"ShadowClan will be suspicious," Rosewing warned.

"Our scent is here," Larktail shrugged, grabbing the rest of the squirrel. "We should at least leave the blackbird. Some fox could get it. And a fox will keep them busy."

"Maybe it'll hide our scent," Whitefur nodded. "You actually had a good idea for once, Larktail."

"Shut it, fox-dung," she hissed at him playfully, the squirrel swinging in her mouth.

"Come on," Lightwhisker nudged them, racing off into the shadows.

"Hey, wait for me!" Larktail raced off behind him, flanked by Whitefur and Rosewing.

Russetfire waited until they vanished to move, turning around and glanced up until his eyes locked onto Stick's again. His voice was calm in the night, "I don't know who you are, rouge, but you better stay out of my way and go home. If you tell a single cat, I'll flay you!"

With that warning, the Clan cat followed after his friends, his flame-colored tail dipping behind him. Stick waited a little bit before leaping down and taking a different route to his tree. Clan matters didn't matter to him, but he wasn't prepared to take the risk of running into them again. He was surely unlikely to run into Russetfire ever again. But he would keep an watch out for orange fur and amber eyes. Amber eyes that blazed with hatred for him that he didn't understand. Why did a Clan cat look at him with such anger? He would have remembered a cocky tom like that.

His tree was a welcoming sight, but he felt too anxious to fall back asleep. The moonlight shone over him, almost full. The moonlight reminded him of the nights that Branch stayed up and told him stories of great cats fighting for everything they had. Those cats could probably take on those five trespassers like a fully grown cat against a kit. He'd join those cats in a heartbeat. Maybe then he could have defended his old home.