Shh... don't tell my conscience I was writing! It'll berate me for the next two weeks because I should've been doing homework!

I've actually had most of this chapter written for about a week now, but I just wasn't feeling it and couldn't figure out how to end it. Fortunately, last night I mulled it over (as my conscience was berating me for a late upload... I just can't win, can I?) and figured out how I wanted to add in all the parts I wanted, and so was able to finish it tonight. Unfortunately, that also means I wasted an entire evening when I should have been doing homework or studying.

On that note, I have a rather important announcement, which is part of why I decided to finish this chappie today rather than putting it off for a little while. Unfortunately, AP exams are coming up (if you don't know what those are then congrats, you haven't met death yet) and my teachers have conveniently started assigning these massive projects recently, when I really should be focusing my attention on studying, and the classes I usually don't get any homework from have started assigning busy work (I'm looking at you, Creative Writing and Economics).

-deep exhale-

I'm going to quit ranting now because I'm sure you don't really care, but my point is I'm not going to be able to update for the next couple weeks. APs are in the first two weeks of May, after which I should be better about updating. Fortunately, the next chapter is one I've already written, so it should be easier to write and probably better quality, too, though it might be a little shorter than this one (I made it exactly 5,500 words, I'm pretty proud of that ^^). But since it's technically already written, it just needs to be typed up and edited to fit the plot changes I've made, I should be able to update around May 7th. Okay? I promise I'm not abandoning this story, it's just homework is being a... well, I don't swear. But I think you get what I'm trying to say.

Oh, and on a happier note, I went to prom last Saturday! It was fairly fun, but mostly because of the people there, I only really started dancing less than a year ago and am still pretty bad at it.

Anyway, after that monologue, it's time for review replies! ^^

QLK: Simplification... ^^ Cool account name, though! Haha, yeah, I try not to give out any spoilers. I find they get the best reactions when dramatized in the actual story.

LazyBritishSod: This is set between the first and second arcs, so is in the forest. I actually worked it out to fairly specific moons, and I believe the story is currently near the end of The Darkest Hour and the beginning of A Dangerous Path, depending on how the seasons line up.

TheDarkDominion: Haha, thank you! :D

Leopardstar: Oh wow! ^^ I'd be absolutely honored! Though of course, seeing as it's been about a week since you reviewed, I'd completely understand if you decided not to. What do they look like? (I bet they're absolutely adorable ^^)

Shadow: Yeah ^^ but I don't mind, so am I. I've been sleep deprived since Saturday, unfortunately.

Holly: I figured I'd call you by what you signed as. Hollystar sounds really cool, I can't imagine how a meeting between her and Rowankit and Ravenkit would turn out. ^^; I feel like the kits would annoy her to no end. Yep, they're about two moons old as of now, though next chapter will time skip a little to four moons. Ravenkit might become Ravenflight... whoooo knows? XD I took the poem off because I wrote it about a year ago and have improved a lot since then, though since you liked it I'll put a more recent poem up, one that I'm prouder of. Hopefully you'll like it even better! And I have noticed writing on paper is easier, I think I'll try doing that more often in the future, but it's difficult when I usually have so little time to write. I'm glad you appreciate the longer chapters and effort and I'm definitely going to stick in a couple plot twists in the next few chapters... (heh heh, I feel evil). I believe the chapter after next has some drama planned? This reply is already getting super long so I'm not going to reply to your QOTDs, sorry! :( It's getting fairly late and I'm hoping to get some homework done before I go to bed.

SoWW: I really feel for Rowankit, actually, I'd be the one plodding along in the back, utterly exhausted. XD Maybe you can shoot for the 100-mark, too, though that probably won't be for another several chapters at least.

Willow: Yeah, that last one wasn't so good, was it? XD No near-death experiences this time, I can promise you that!

Wyldclaw: Yeah, she'll be fine! ^^ I'm glad you loved his story!

Nightbird: Ack! I'm so sorry about not updating... (aka it's fine, I don't mind when you forget to review! ^^)

The stars glimmered faintly overhead, fading and reappearing as we passed under streetlamps. Other than the continuous rumbling of cars, the distant barking of dogs (sending the fur along my spine twitching), and the occasional burst of Human chatter, the night was quiet, the stillness unbroken. Though I made sure to do as Thalia taught, slipping from shadow to dark shadow, it was hardly necessary; we met nothing else on the streets that night.

About twice per alley, I turned to glance over my shoulder. There were three reasons for this: first, to ensure we weren't being trailed; second, to make sure Rowankit still followed close behind; and third, to check landmarks. I had, after all, only traveled this route in the opposite direction, from the Enclave back to our den.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Rowankit finally sped up his pace to walk beside me, his eyes and damp nose shining in the light of the next streetlamp. Instinctively, we shied away from the bright pool of light, pressing our pelts against the opposite wall, hugging the anonymity of the darkness. I waited until we were well past the spotlight before replying.

"Yeah. Remember that?" I nodded at a tall tree planted in the center of a courtyard, spreading branches almost touching the surrounding windows.

Rowankit hesitated, staring shrewdly at it. I was half convinced he was about to go up and lick the bark to confirm it was the same one before he finally nodded and glanced forward again, scanning the alley to watch for strange cats. I squinted over my shoulder and saw nothing but motionless stone.

"This feels weird, though. Shouldn't we… shouldn't we have passed the long brick fence by now?"

"No, we're going backwards, remember?" I said, rolling my eyes. "The fence is our next landmark. It's right around the corner." I sped up, eyes fixed on the approaching street. "See, it's right—" But the fence that greeted us was not brick; rather, it was made of thin strips of intricately woven black metal.

Rowankit paused beside me, considering the fence. "That doesn't look familiar," he noted.

I growled to myself. "Well… well maybe we just forgot it was here."

"We both forgot? That sounds pretty unlikely."

"Oh, hush." I glanced around for any sign of russet bricks, though my search proved fruitless. Where could that fence be?

"I thought you said we were on the right track?" he reminded me, narrowing his eyes in either petulance or anxiety; I couldn't quite tell which. But I was focused on slightly more pressing issues than determining my brother's mood, anyway.

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered, glancing from side to side. Nothing looked familiar. But as I checked over my shoulder again, I felt sure we'd passed through that alley. Both of us had recognized the tree, right? But how could we have traveled through there and not along here?

"Maybe it's just around the corner," I decided, taking a tentative step along the side-path.

Rowankit shook his head firmly, refusing to budge. "No. I know we didn't go this way, I'd have remembered this thing." He eyed the detailed designs, placing a paw on one of the lower bars of metal.

"But I'm sure we turned left!" I insisted, taking another couple pawsteps, this time more firmly. If I acted confident maybe Rowankit would remember differently.

He rolled his eyes but followed my lead anyway, muttering to himself under his breath. I caught the word, "stubborn," amongst his string of indecipherable sounds, but ignored it. Together we padded along the length of the fence, pausing at the next corner to wait for a long string of cars to pass before darting across the intersecting streets.

But we couldn't find a brick fence anywhere around here, either. My confidence beginning to drain, leaving behind a panicky sort of hollowness, I stared around, turning in a slow circle. What if I was wrong about the route, what if I'd gotten us terribly lost?

"Maybe we should go back," Rowankit suggested. "We should, er, probably try to get back to our nest as soon as possible," he meowed hopefully.

Obviously he was still tired, but I couldn't imagine falling asleep now, what with the excitement of a nighttime adventure. And besides, I couldn't just accept defeat that easily. Maybe if we continued on a little ways we'd find I was right after all, or maybe I could lead us in a gradual circle around and somehow come across the brick wall. Shaking my head firmly, I looked down the street. "No. Let's keep going; maybe it's just ahead."

"Yeah, and maybe rogues are going to start handing out free prey," Rowankit muttered, his voice quiet enough for me to pretend I hadn't heard. He followed as I set off determinedly down the side-path, his paws audibly dragging across the hard stone. I sighed but didn't comment; if he wanted to ruin his claws that was his business, not mine.

As we rounded the next corner, peering into the conspicuously brick-less semi-darkness, Rowankit suddenly bounded forward to stand in front of me, blocking my path. "Ravenkit, we've gone far enough. We've never been here before. If we continue on like this you're going to get us lost."

I glared at him, opening my mouth furiously to spit back an angry retort. "I… you—you're wrong!"

"What, you've been here before?" he challenged. "Knock it off, Ravenkit! We're going back."

As much as I hated to admit it, he seemed to be right. Doing my best to salvage what little pride I had left, I held my nose in the air and turned slowly back around, facing the direction we'd come from. "Well, fine. If you're scared of big dark city, I guess I shouldn't force you to go any farther."

Rowankit growled deep in his throat. I hesitated, shocked by the challenge underlying his tone. I hadn't expected him to react that badly. Had I pushed him too far?

"If having enough sense not to get lost counts as fear, then yes, I suppose I am scared. I'm terrified of you getting yourself into enough trouble that you slip and fall to your death again!"

I whirled back around to face him, eyes narrowed. "Hey, whose idea was it to climb that dumb den in the first place? Oh right, yours! Don't you act like it was my fault!"

"Just listen to yourself for once!" Rowankit lashed back. "Can you hear yourself right now? You went on and on about my 'overprotectiveness' and how I'm turning into Thalia, but look at you! You're turning into a younger version of Toby! Do you want to get eaten by a dumb dog? I thought you were scared of dogs, or has that changed, too?"

I couldn't believe his nerve, throwing out accusations like that. Who did he think he was anyway? "Well you—you—" I couldn't get the words out. My mind kept drawing a blank as to what to say. What could hurt him the most? "Thaliakit!" I spat, before leaping back along the side-path, back the way we'd come.

Rowankit easily kept pace with my sprint. "What, so that's your best tactic for ending an argument?" he snorted. "Great job, walking out like you won it."

"Yeah, so?" I kept my head down, staring at the stone just ahead of my paws as I hurtled back toward the black fence. I wished he'd just leave me alone for once. Why did he always have to be right there, why couldn't I just have some time to myself? Maybe if we separated for a bit I could salvage some of my pride. I was supposed to be the leader, after all; I was the one who pulled him out of the nest for this adventure. Couldn't he just trust my judgement?

"So walking out of an argument doesn't mean you've won."

"Who cares who won and who didn't?"

"You, apparently. Why else would you be so mad?"

"I'm not mad!" I tried kicking up rocks to hit his hind legs but we were running too fast. "I just—"

"Stop!"

"You don't te—"

Rowankit's teeth sank into my scruff, yanking me backwards with such force my forepaws left the ground. Spinning around, I was half tempted to lunge at him, claws unsheathed, when the roar of a car filled my ears and, a heartbeat later, it rocketed past in a torrent of wind, buffeting my fur and blowing my snarl back down my unwilling throat.

For a moment after the car had passed, both Rowankit and I were silent. I stood on the darkened side-path, claws half unsheathed, fur half plastered against my ribcage and half sticking up the wrong way, coated in a mixture of dust and grit. My eyes remained fixed on the ground, just past my paws. As my breathing and heartrate slowed, I sheathed my claws again, already partially forgetting why they'd been out to begin with.

Rowankit cleared his throat awkwardly. It sounded like the blaring call of a car—sudden and unwelcome in the calm night atmosphere. "Um… sorry. It's just… there was a car coming. I… I didn't…" he bit his lip, looking away.

I tried to summon up the traces of my previous anger, but for some reason I couldn't quite grasp them. After several silent heartbeats of struggling, I finally let out a loud sigh and meowed, "Yeah. Okay."

"Okay?" Rowankit looked up at me. "You mean—"

"Let's just keep going," I interrupted, twitching my tail and nodding toward the metal fence. "Maybe we turned the other way, maybe we're just going in the wrong direction. I know we passed that tree before."

Rowankit hesitated. "Can we just try looking around one corner? I'm… I'm getting pretty tired."

"Still?" I half snorted. "What have you been doing to make you so tired?"

"Hey, Thalia worked me much harder than you this afternoon," Rowankit defended himself. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a slight grin split his muzzle, and couldn't fully suppress a smile of my own.

"Well, maybe if you spent less time fussing over me you could pay more attention to your own paws."

"I pay plenty attention to my paws, thank you very—"

I nosed him hard in the shoulder, forcing him off-balance. As his paw lifted hastily into the air, trying to regain his center, my own shot out and snatched it away, and he tumbled onto the ground. "Hey!" he protested, swiping in my general direction as he struggled to find his paws again, shaking his head to free the grit from his fur. "Not fair!"

"The city isn't fair," I laughed, watching as he swiped at me again with a little more accuracy, catching me on the shoulder.

The street cleared of cars before I could retaliate and we hastily darted across, reaching the opposite corner with ease. I didn't break my stride, but kept bounding along the black fence, my strides long and even. As Rowankit caught up with me and we rounded the far corner, pausing momentarily to let a string of four cars pass, I let out a soft whoop.

"Bam. Found it." I grinned at Rowankit. "See? I know where I'm going."

Rowankit rolled his eyes, though consenting to smile a little. "Uh huh. After I insisted we turn around."

"Yeah, yeah. You've gotta take all the credit for yourself," I snorted. "Come on, let's keep going."

I took the lead again, slinking along a path marked by shadows, Rowankit following so closely he almost stepped on my tail several times. After several streets of silence, I thought I caught a whiff of a familiar scent.

"Hey." I pushed my muzzle into Rowankit's path, forcing him to pause. "Smell that?"

He sniffed at the ground, jaws parted to let the air reach the scent gland on the roof of his mouth. After taking in several deep breaths, he nodded. "Royce. Right?" He looked at me for confirmation and I nodded, wrinkling my nose.

"I'd never forget that pungent odor."

"Hey, don't be rude," Rowankit laughed, poking me with a paw. "I bet he can't help it."

"What was that Asteria said? He eats fish? I bet that's why he smells like that, and probably why he's so fat too."

"Well how about you try eating fish and tell me if you get fat," Rowankit snorted.

I nosed him hard. "With that smell? No way, if you want to find out you can try it yourself."

Rowankit ducked out of the way. "You can't make me!" He darted ahead, laughing, grassy eyes gleaming at me over his shoulder. I took off after him, a wide grin stretching my lips taut across my teeth.

I snatched at his tail as we wove through the shadows of the next alley, but every time my claws made contact he somehow managed to pull himself free. Finally, fed up with easy evasion, I put on a sudden burst of speed, narrowing my eyes to focus in on Rowankit's striped tail. I lunged, finally managing to tackle him as my forelegs crashed into his hindquarters, crumpling them beneath my weight. He let out a muffled shriek like a dying pigeon as we rolled, the momentum carrying us forward out of the alley.

The sudden burst of wind singing past the cones of my ears, ruffling the soft fur inside, told me at once we'd arrived in a wide open space. Hastily rolling off Rowankit, I crouched, trying to conceal my location as I gathered my bearings. Rowankit, after blinking once or twice, came to the same conclusion and swiftly joined me.

After one quick scan I realized we'd arrived at the Enclave. While this revelation brought a sudden surge of relief—I hadn't gotten us lost after all—I didn't immediately bound off like I'd done during our last adventure. Back then it had been daylight, with fewer places for possible enemies to hide as the brightness forced them into the open. We'd also been more trusting of other loners, which I realized now was definitely a mistake. Thalia must have had good reasons for wanting to keep us far from here.

Well, good reasons or not, Rowankit and I were here again. We'd better make the most of it.

"Come on," I whispered. "I think Shaq's den is this way."

I slunk off toward the den with the most intact roof. Rowankit, easily sliding through the darkness beside me, confirmed my theory with a swift nod. Together, we slipped across the open ground, pausing to press ourselves against the wall just beside the den's entrance. I pricked my ears as, to my surprise, I heard voices from inside.

"—strength. I don't know where they'll expand next, but it could very well be here. They have pushed our boundaries for as long as I can remember."

"But surely they'd never come here? They haven't shown the slightest interest in this area before; why would they change their minds now?"

The first cat snorted, his low voice rasping in his throat. "Who knows? Who cares? They've always been strong enough to take whatever they want before. I guess they're used to forcing others out of their way."

"Should there be more gu—"

"I didn't come here to ask for help running the Enclave. I've done a good enough job for many moons." The tom's voice carried an underlying growl and I couldn't blame the second cat for growing silent, hesitating for several long heartbeats before speaking again, and even then choosing his words carefully.

"I agree, you and Pixie have done an excellent job leading us. I… I can see no better leader, no better pair than you. But if you haven't come to ask my advice, if I may ask, why have you come to see me?"

The first tom, who I now assumed must be Marmalade, sighed as though this were obvious. "Information. You know of their workings, yes? You have friends, or at least connections, within their ranks. You can tell me how I can avert their advances, perhaps what I could offer them in exchange for peace."

As silence poured from the den's entrance, soaking the air around us, I glanced swiftly at Rowankit. He, like me, had angled his ears directly toward the opening, waiting expectantly for the next string of words. When he noticed my eyes on him, he lifted one eyebrow as if to ask, Do you know what they're talking about?

No. As I shook my head, an idea suddenly blossomed inside my mind, unfurling into a single word. Clans. The Clans. Are Marmalade and Shaq talking about the Clans? Shaq did take Rowankit and me originally. But why would they be encroaching on the city, surely the forest is big enough for them? Thalia told us it was huge!

Hastily, before the conversation inside could resume, I muttered my theory in Rowankit's ear, wanting confirmation. His eyes stretched wider and he gave me a half shrug, half nod I took to mean, Maybe? It's definitely plausible.

I heard Shaq's soft meow echo again from within the den and I quickly focused on listening again, half closing my eyes so that, while increasing my hearing ability through the dulling of my other senses, I could still remain on the lookout for possible danger.

"How… how did you know about that?"

"I have my ways," Marmalade said brusquely. "Can you be useful, Shaq? Need I remind you that this is your home as well as mine? Need I remind you that I could easily exile you from this place with a few words?"

"I…" Shaq paused. I half expected Marmalade to insist on a faster decision—I would've—but the older tom let Shaq think his offer—or, rather, his demand—over. "I… yes. I suppose I'll have to, won't I? I don't like it," he added swiftly, and I imagined him shooting a glare at his superior, "but I'll do my best."

"Wonderful. Well, I suppose that settles things." Marmalade paused for a heartbeat, as though giving Shaq some gesture of thanks or farewell. "I'll see you in the morning to go over your assignment."

Rowankit and I backed away as quickly and quietly as we could, Rowankit pressing me hard against the rough den wall with his body to cover the highlight of my white fur. Half-coughing at the sudden constriction of my lungs, I peered out past his whiskers, watching as Marmalade stalked into the Enclave proper, and glanced swiftly left and right, though not quite far enough right to make out the outlines of our bodies, before heading back toward his den.

We relaxed as he drew farther away, the ginger of his fur gradually swallowed by shadows, but froze again as we spotted movement by the den's entrance. Rowankit shoved me into a crouch, trapping me once again in the cage between his adrenaline-quickened heartrate and the cold, jagged stone of the den.

Rowankit's movement apparently did not go unnoticed, as a heartbeat later Shaq's wide, golden eyes swept over us, pinning us to the ground as effectively as if he'd held us down in a fight, though this time I couldn't relax and feign defeat to get away clean. For a moment, none of us moved. Then Shaq let out a gusty sigh that made me almost jump out of my pelt and murmured, "Rowankit, Ravenkit. It's been a while."

I stood up slowly, pushing Rowankit aside with my shoulder. If we'd been caught there was no point in hiding any longer, and there was no way I was going to be trapped like that for a moment longer than I had to. We stared warily up at him, doing our best to hide our guilt at being caught listening under a blanket of innocence.

"Come in, I suppose." Shaq stood back to let us pass, sending one last sweeping, searching stare into the darkness before following us inside. "How long were you two hiding there?" he asked as we sat near the center of the den.

"We, uh…" I struggled against glancing at Rowankit, which would be a dead giveaway. I was tempted to blurt out the truth, to admit we'd been listening and then demand the answers to a few questions. But Thalia's insistence that the Enclave was unsafe, that to survive in the city a cat had to lie, rushed to the forefront of my mind, and I supposed there was no guarantee I'd get any answers anyway. I found myself shaking my head. "N-no, we just got here a moment ago. I didn't hear anything."

Rowankit hastily nodded in affirmation of my words, half-glancing at me. I refused to return his eye contact, pretending it didn't happen in the hope Shaq hadn't noticed it.

Shaq stared coolly at us for several long heartbeats. The intensity of his gaze shriveled my fur into little blackened curlicues wherever it touched, probing beneath my skin where the truth curled like a rollie pollie, trying desperately to avoid detection. Wracking my mind to try to find a change of subject to distract him, my mind settled on Thalia's reasoning for why we could trust him and I blurted out, "Um, do you know anything about our parents?"

"Ah." Shaq's eyes closed halfway, softening their previously scorching depths, and he nodded slowly. "So that's why you came to see me. I see." He blinked and gazed down at us with his head slightly to one side. "I assume you've already asked Thalia this question?"

"Yeah, she told us the whole story and how you were involved." I gazed up at Shaq, my mind flitting back to his conversation with Marmalade. "Do you know who our parents are? Or the tom who left us here?" Maybe the "connections" Marmalade mentioned were our parents! Maybe Shaq would let us go see them!

"I'm afraid not, kits," Shaq said gently. "I know just as much as Thalia does, nothing more. I have no idea who any of them are."

"But don't you—" I began in frustration, but a covert nudge from Rowankit choked my complaint into silence. I blinked; I'd been about to ask about his connections with the Clans. I'd almost revealed that we'd been listening in. Whoops. Maybe I wasn't so good at this lying thing after all. I stared at my paws and let Rowankit have a turn talking.

Only Rowankit didn't seem to have anything to say. He opened his mouth uncertainly, glanced in my direction, hesitated, then shut it again. He shot a look at Shaq, inhaled quickly as though about to say something, but at the last minute changed his mind and remained silent. He gave me a half glare, as though mentally berating me for putting him so unexpectedly at the center of attention.

Shaq raised his eyebrows. "But don't I…?" he asked, prompting me to talk again. "Don't I what?"

"Um…" I glanced at Rowankit, who gave me a look that said, I got nothing. "Nothing. Never mind."

The pale brown tabby snorted under his breath, a faint puff of air leaving his nostrils, so quiet I almost missed it. "I see Thalia's teaching you to mistrust others already. I'm not surprised; she's not exactly the most trusting cat herself, is she?"

"Um…" Again, I didn't know how to answer Shaq's question. I bit my tongue, looking nervously up at him. Would he be mad I couldn't come up with a response?

Luckily, Shaq didn't appear to want an answer. He wasn't even looking at us; rather, his gaze was fixed over our heads, into a corner blackened by shadow, as if trying to hide its contents from his (and now my) view. "It's true that many city cats are rogues, driven by bloodthirst and passion. But many are simply normal cats, hungering not for the lives of others, but rather safety for themselves and their families. Despite being innately different cats, they want the same things you do."

He sighed to himself, letting out a great whoosh of air and making me jump for the second time that night. "Thalia is a good mother in many ways; she's protective, from the loss of her own kits, and she's older, allowing her to pass on many years' wisdom to you two and train you early, preparing you for lives in the city. But she has a difficult time feeling safe around others, refusing to let them into her dehydrated circles of trust.

"I suppose she doesn't know you're here?" he asked wryly. Rowankit and I exchanged a rather guilty look and he chuckled. "So you found your own way back here, huh? I must say, I'm impressed."

"Ravenkit almost got us lost," Rowankit piped up, speaking for the first time since we'd arrived at the Enclave. I shot him an annoyed look.

"I got us here with only one wrong turn," I corrected him.

Shaq purred. "Well that's still impressive. It seems you two have a knack for direction, which I believe is the best knack a cat can have in the city."

I puffed out my chest and Rowankit lifted his chin, seeming to swell with pride. "I was the one who got us back on track," he meowed self-importantly, then lifting his paw and beginning to clean his toes as if to say it had been no big deal. "I could have gotten us here easy if I'd wanted to."

"I'm sure," Shaq said, still sounding rather amused. "In any case, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine. He's sleeping now, but I think perhaps after you meet him, you'll feel a little more inclined toward trusting other cats." I had barely enough time to exchange an alarmed glance with Rowankit before Shaq raised his voice and called across the den, "Padawan!"

A sudden series of snorts echoed from the darkened corner I'd seen Shaq gazing into moments earlier. I stared over my shoulder, unnerved, unconsciously unsheathing my claws as I watched for any sign of movement. After a couple pounding heartbeats, I saw a set of whiskers twitching irritably, outlined by the moonlight faintly shining through the den entrance, hastily followed by a dusky muzzle and a pair of deep-set eyes. I couldn't help but do a double take at his eyes—dark green, like mine and Rowankit's. Could he be our father?

A heartbeat later I dismissed the idea at once. Despite their color, his eyes were set much farther back in his head than either of ours, and anyway, our father was a Clan cat. If this cat's name was Padawan, he was obviously not a Clan cat; he actually sounded much more like a kittypet—a house cat. Though judging from his neck, unharnessed as it was by a collar, he was probably a loner like us.

"What?" the cat snapped, glaring first at Shaq, then down at us. I shrank away from the fiercely aggressive sparks in his eyes, instead looking at his paws. His claws were out and scraping the ground, and I couldn't help but notice how long they were. I swallowed nervously, unconsciously shuffling backwards a couple steps.

Shaq appeared somehow unconcerned by the clear challenge in Padawan's eyes. He smiled graciously, dipping his head. "I apologize for waking you, I know you need as much sleep as you can get so your wound can heal quickly. But I wanted you to meet these two kits. This is Rowankit and this is Ravenkit." Shaq's muzzle pressed briefly against the top of my head and I started. Honestly, how could this cat startle me three times in a single night? It was insane!

But as quickly as my attention switched onto Shaq, it swiveled back to Padawan the instant he growled, "You woke me up to introduce me to a couple of kits? And Clan kits, at that! They'll be gone before sunrise, I bet, and won't ever return."

The tip of Shaq's tail danced across the musty ground. "Not quite," he meowed. "Yes, they'll be gone before morning, but trust me, they'll be back. They risked their lives to come visit tonight; I bet you anything they'll return."

Padawan snorted. "Fine. If they come back I'll hunt a fresh rabbit for you. If they don't—which they won't—you'll have to hunt me a rabbit."

"Make it nice and juicy," Shaq grinned. "It's a deal." He padded forward and rasped his tongue under Padawan's chin, then lifted his muzzle to let Padawan do the same for him. I was stunned to see Shaq casually offering his throat to Padawan, when he could easily lunge forward and sink his teeth into it. There was nothing stopping him—Rowankit and I were too small to be of any help—and yet Padawan didn't take the chance, consenting to lick the underside of Shaq's chin, though making sure to rub his fur the wrong way. Shaq snorted and rubbed a paw under his muzzle, flattening the fur back into its usual pattern.

I stared incredulously at Shaq as he glanced back toward us, amusement flashing in his vision. He caught my gaze with his own and winked.

"Anything else you wanted other than to promise me a rabbit?" Padawan asked, the grumpiness still evident in his voice, though I thought I detected a trace of humor underneath.

"Mmm… nope, I think you're good. The kits understand, I think." He grinned cheekily at Padawan. "Thanks for the rabbit."

The dusky brown tom rolled his eyes. " 'Kay. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going back to sleep. This wound isn't going to heal itself." He paused halfway through turning back toward his corner, just at the right angle that Rowankit and I could finally see the long gash in his side, covered by a mixture of gray-green goo. "Though, I suppose, wounds technically do heal themselves." He shrugged. "In any case, I'm tired, and I'd really like to get a decent night's sleep tonight." He shot a half-glare at Shaq. "I'd appreciate not being woken up again."

"No problem, bud, these kits should be leaving soon anyway." Shaq's gleaming eyes shifted from me to Rowankit. Following his gaze, I was just in time to see Rowankit finish a yawn.

Padawan dropped into his corner in a heap, the shadows coating his fur once again. Shaq padded back toward us, pausing to give us a knowing stare. "See?" he asked in an undertone. "Even cats like Padawan can be trusted." He smiled tersely. "I wouldn't listen to everything Thalia says. And, er, I'd be glad to see you two back here again sometime."

"I heard that!" Padawan grumbled from his nest.

Shaq's eyes glinted good-naturedly as he shooed us toward the entrance. As we crossed the den's threshold, entering the Enclave courtyard again, he turned and vanished into the shadows opposite from Padawan's nest.

"I guess it's time for us to get going," I muttered, glancing around at our motionless surroundings.

"Yeah," Rowankit murmured, his voice slowly dripping the word from his mouth like it was honey. I looked at him, surprised to see his eyelids half-closed from exhaustion. Had he really been that tired? A wave of guilt threatened to overwhelm my conscience; I should've let him sleep, even if this adventure had been fun.

Figuring I'd better lead the way home, I brushed Rowankit's flank with my tail, letting him trail behind me as I padded softly across the Enclave, not really caring about trying to stay hidden this time. I doubted Rowankit could stay hidden even if a band of murderous rogues suddenly burst into the clearing, howling for our blood.

We were almost to the first alley when traces of a familiar scent reached my nose. I paused, inhaling deeply, trying to place it. After a couple heartbeats of silently struggling with my memory, I realized it belonged to Wasco. But it was different somehow; there was an underlying tang of something sweet I'd never encountered before.

For a moment my heartrate quickened at the possibility of letting my adventure continue for a little while; after all, this scent hadn't been here earlier, so Wasco must have passed by here fairly recently. If I followed it far enough, I could say hello and even ask him what the sweet scent was. But then I felt Rowankit stumble into my hindquarters and glanced over my shoulder to see him already half-blinded by exhaustion. I couldn't put him through something like that, not tonight, when he was already so tired.

Regretfully, I pushed forward, abandoning Wasco's scent trail and leading Rowankit back into the darkened mouth of the alley, out of sight of the illuminating moon. Together, we started the long journey back through the shadowed city.

Welp, I believe that was my longest chapter yet. Hope it makes up for the late upload, and I'm sorry again for not being able to write for a couple weeks! -sniff-

QOTD: If you were up late at night would you be like Rowankit or Ravenkit (aka would you be awake and functioning or would you shut down out of exhaustion)?