Hey all! Sorry for missing last week's update, I was suffering from a bit of writer's block.

However, I'm happy to say Inkblot[d o t]Leaf(Leafy) (add a . where it says [d o t]), author of the Blue Moon series and an internet friend of mine, has accepted my offer to beta Take Flight! So far she's been an absolutely incredible beta and I'm really happy with how this chapter's turned out, possibly because it's gone through two people and two separate edits. I would've posted this much earlier, but I wanted to make it really good to make up for my lack of posting recently.

I won't keep you long, just wanted to give a shoutout to Leafy because she's an incredible writer and I'm still honored she agreed to beta for me. I recently finished catching up in her series and it's incredible, definitely worth a read! I'm afraid FFN hates links or else I'd post one to the first book here, but definitely go to the search bar and type in her username, it'll pop up. ^^

Now on to review replies~

riskybanana: Getting rid of the bodies would be a lot of work, imagine how much they'd weigh! XD Thank you!

Nightbird: -gives Moki plushie- Oh no it's an attack of snow! XD Well... not quite, but that would be pretty funny, huh?

Leopardstar: I actually didn't have any new characters planned for this city, which proved to be a bit of an issue as I wasn't sure what to include. I finally thought up something, though, and I hope you enjoy it! ^^

Shadow: Oh fun! Nope, I'm afraid I don't know what agate hunting is, what is it? ^^; I'm glad you had a good time and it's good to see you back!

Eradrin: I don't usually make snow cones, more snow ice cream (which is basically just flavor and sugar but we're not paying attention to that ^^; ). Thank you! I hope you enjoy it, I spent much more time editing it than usual. The first camp was really fun and I got good experience directing a film, which I still don't know if I want to pursue more. Probably not, I don't have the assertiveness for it, but it was still fun! Let me know how your church things go?

Leafy: Wow, review spam! XD Endless thank yous, they were all lovely and made me smile, but unfortunately I should probably only answer a few things to keep this reply less than a paragraph long... Asteria is coming back later, so we can both look forward to that! I got Shaq's name from a Wii game actually, Legend of Zelda. But I went back and realized it was actually Shad, not Shaq. Whoops... but I like Shaq much better, so oh well. I'd almost forgotten about that backstory side-plot, thank you for reminding me! Oh and Wasco's sweet scent wasn't blood, but that's all I can say now, as it's coming back later on. I never thought of Thalia as Mad-Eye, but it does fit! She has patchy fur, he has scars and all... I actually didn't intend for her to be like him. XD It just happened. Destination Imagination is like Odyssey of the Mind, if you've heard of that. It's like a creativity festival where we perform a short skit and accomplish a task? It's hard to explain I'm afraid, if you're still curious I'd advise looking it up! I remember that, actually, about the UK. It always rained when my family traveled there in the winter, but never snowed. I got a little annoyed about it, I can't imagine living there! But I heard Scotland gets a ton of snow, it's why Harry Potter always got white Christmases.

Of course, I found the snow much less beautiful when presented with the opportunity to jump into it. I shivered violently as my paws sank into the accumulating layer, its softness contradicting its frigid temperature.

Rowanpaw's eyes widened as he joined Moki and me. "Great sky powers, it's cold!"

"No, really?" I muttered, shaking lumps of snow from my fur.

"Quit that," Moki whispered, crouching into the snow as her gaze quickly scanned our surroundings. "The Trainmen will hear us."

I mimicked her, my eyes pausing on the station a little ways down the track. Our section of the train appeared perfectly situated for remaining hidden, far enough from the bustling Humans to escape their notice. I figured, as Moki had likely been traveling her entire life, she'd planned it this way.

"All right, come on." Moki padded stealthily toward the cover of a brick Human den, ducking easily under a worn, hole-ridden barrier. Crouching, Rowanpaw and I followed. Pressing ourselves against the brick to camouflage in the shadows (or in my case, the deeper drifts of snow), we made our way cautiously forward.

Moki, the leader due to her greater age and experience, poked her muzzle around the far corner to get her bearings before retreating closer to Rowanpaw and me. "Okay, it's fairly busy now, so it might be better to wait here awhile. However, the crowds will only thicken as the Trainmen disembark, so we'd be stuck out here in the snow for a long time." She glanced between us, but we remained silent. Finally, she gave us an exasperated look and prompted, "What do you think we should do?"

I blinked, surprised.

"You're asking us?" Rowanpaw asked, echoing my thoughts exactly.

"Well… yeah?" Moki's previous expression remained fixed in position. "Of course I am, you guys know cities much better than me, I'm guessing. I don't know how dangerous it'll be in there. I don't know how best to avoid Humans. Plus, we're a team; we make decisions together. Or, that is, until we split up."

It suddenly occurred to me that Moki didn't know Rowanpaw's and my plan. "Well, it wouldn't be good to split up the team," I muttered, glancing self-consciously at the ground.

"What?"

Dumb pride, why did it have to encase my tongue in concrete? As the silence stretched, Rowanpaw picked up my slack. "We're coming with you," he meowed. "Um, that is, if you're fine with it," he added awkwardly. I made a mental note to offer him a free tick-check later.

Moki blinked, her eyes widening. "R-Really?" As she hastily recovered from her surprise, a wide smile broke through. "That'd be… that'd be wonderful! Great!" She beamed at us. "Oh, I'm so excited! I can't wait for you to meet Orion and the rest of the Tribe; it'll be so much fun! You'll fit right in, especially with that feather of yours, Ravenpaw. Oh my, I've got travel buddies! I can't wait to show you all the tricks and things! Did you know—?"

With no end in sight to her babbling, I twitched my tail around to stuff in her mouth, just as Rowanpaw had done to me many times as a kit. "Quit that," I shot at her, eyebrows raised. "The Trainmen will hear us."

Moki pushed my tail away with a paw. "Right," she whispered, the happiness vaporizing in an instant as her serious demeanor returned. Peeking back around the corner, she muttered, "Okay, so should we go or stay?"

I glanced at Rowanpaw and saw the same answer shining clearly in his irises. It was really too cold to stay in the open like this for so long.

"Go."

The streets and alleys seemed strangely quiet after the bustling figures and near-constant noise of the station. I kept my eyes trained on the ground, mud catching in my toe fur; my paws seemed strangely unable to clear the familiar muck staining the hard stone. Rowanpaw's words seemed to float just outside the forefront of my mind, a constant reminder to keep my head down.

I didn't want to see anything remotely resembling my kithood. I had to stay strong. Somehow it made sense to keep my chin up by keeping my chin down.

Moki's voice broke through my stupor and I swiveled my ears around to hear better, though I kept my gaze down. "Is this a good spot, you think? It's sheltered, so we'll stay dry, though we'd have to sleep on bare stone."

An uncomfortable prickling sensation developed along the side of my face. Either half my face had burst out into a sudden, super-concentrated rash or Rowanpaw was staring at me again. For some reason I figured it was probably the latter, but I refused to look up.

"Ravenpaw." Ah, so now he was trying to get my attention a different way. He hadn't tried speaking before. Twitching my ear like a fly had landed upon the short fur, I turned my muzzle away from the group.

"Ravenpaw, look at me. What do you think of this place?"

"Mm."

"Ravenpaw!"

I kept my head low, avoiding all unnecessary contact. But I knew he'd keep pestering me until I acknowledged his attempts. I rolled my eyes and let out a silent sigh. "What?"

"You're not being helpful!" I imagined the fur lining his shoulders ruffled in irritation. "Can you give your opinion on this den?"

"You give your opinion. I trust you."

"I decided against the last three! It's your turn!"

"I didn't know we were having turns. In that case, it's your turn to be assertive. You haven't done that for the last, what, four moons?" A tiny, white flake drifted down onto the mud by my paws, dissolving instantly in the dampness. Apparently it had started snowing again. "Oh, and it's also your turn to check me for fleas."

"But I'm not good at decision-making, you know that!" Rowanpaw argued. I would've bet an entire pigeon his eyes had narrowed in anger by now. When I was younger I sometimes imagined smoke drifting out of his nostrils like chimneys, like he was about to explode into a fiery inferno. "You're the best at that and you know it! And now you're forcing me to have to make this decision, when you're perfectly capable of it yourself! What's the big deal? What's your prob—?"

"Kits!" Moki snapped. I jumped, my claws instinctively shooting out to scrape against the stone. Great, I'd have to clean them later. I was definitely not looking forward to tasting this muck. Grudgingly, I glanced swiftly up at her, taking in not only her fed up expression, but also the alleyway and the blackened dumpster angled against the wall in half a heartbeat. That was probably the maybe-den she'd mentioned before.

"I'm not a—" Rowanpaw started hotly, but Moki cut across him.

"Yes, you are. Both of you, you're barely six moons old. Come on, pull yourselves together, this is no time for bickering! We need a decision now, either we're staying here or we're moving on. Now, which will it be?"

Her dark brown eyes glared from Rowanpaw to me and back again. Focusing momentarily on my brother, I saw his gaze, like mine a moment ago, fixed on his paws. Whether he was still angry or had begun feeling a bit of shame, I couldn't tell.

However, his face wasn't completely unreadable. Spending most of my waking hours by his side had taught me his mannerisms, the nuances in his personality, his personal clichés. Judging from the stubborn jut of his lower jaw (maybe he was still angry, after all) he wasn't about to break into a monologue. Usually after a fight he withdrew into himself, which was helpful in reconciling our relationship but unfortunate in this situation, what with Moki impatiently awaiting a response. It seemed I'd have to be the one to answer.

Great. Thanks a bunch, Rowanpaw.

I breathed out a silent sigh. Okay. Moki had listed the major pro and con of this den: sheltered but uncomfortable. There was the chance of finding something soft in the dumpster, but I shouldn't count on it. There was also the factor of that snowflake I'd just seen; if it was about to start snowing again, shelter was probably more important. We'd freeze to death during the night even if we were comfortable.

For a heartbeat, a pang of homesickness wracked my body. I saw a vision of the metal cans, the rag nest, Thalia's face. My stomach lurched and I thought I might vomit or sob or perhaps both at once. Thalia had told me once that if I cried long enough I'd throw up.

But no. That den had been both comfortable and sheltered, sure, but it was in the past. It was gone, never to be slept in by me or Rowanpaw again. I had to look to the future, to what awaited me there. The past didn't matter anymore. It was gone.

"It'll work," I blurted out. "It's… it's fine."

Both Moki and Rowanpaw looked up at me. I flattened my ears, uncomfortably conscious of my earlier refusal to answer Moki's question. But I kept my chin up and stared both of them in the eyes, trying to mask the heat rising around my muzzle.

"Okay then, I'm glad we got to a decision," Moki meowed briskly. Giving Rowanpaw and me a swift glare, she added, "I hope you'll be civil for the night. I'm not your mother and I don't want to act like one. I'm too young and you're both old enough to behave yourselves. Got it?" She waited for a nod from each of us before disappearing behind the dumpster, out of the wind and cold.

Without the added pressure from Moki, I found I couldn't quite meet Rowanpaw's gaze anymore, my eyes falling toward the ground again. I fought to keep them at around his chest level. "So… do you want to see if there's anything good in there?" I flicked my tail at the looming dumpster. "Hopefully no one's picked it clean already. I'm getting a bit hungry."

He nodded slowly. "Um… yeah. Yeah, that sounds good."

As I brushed past him, heading for a stack of boxes piled beside the blackened plastic, he touched my flank with his tail-tip, just softly enough to tickle the hairs. "Hey," he murmured. "Thanks. For making the decision, you know."

I didn't reply. He knew my reply; I said it all the time. No problem, bud. Next time try it without my help.

The snow thickened gradually overnight. I lay with my chin resting on my paws, staring out through the narrow entrance to our "den" as the flakes grew larger, stubbornly refusing to melt upon contact with the ground. As drifts began building up (strange how drifts formed easily outside the city, but struggled in here), I sighed and rolled onto my back. Rowanpaw mumbled a little as my hind leg brushed against his shoulder but his eyes remained shut.

For some reason, I couldn't sleep. Maybe it was the hard, freezing rock I lay upon. Maybe it was the adrenaline rush at being in a city again. Maybe it was because I was subconsciously watching out for rogues. In any case, I found I couldn't relax, and so had to entertain myself with watching the snow. Already it'd started looking less beautiful and more annoying.

As the night progressed and the invisible moon drifted higher behind its cloudy covering, the snow began to let up again. I watched as the flurry became more like motes of dust drifting through the air, then turned into the occasional snowflake spiraling toward the ground.

My pelt itched; Rowanpaw had forgotten to check me for fleas. I tossed and turned, and though I tried to keep away from my companions, it was difficult in such an enclosed space. Finally, I pushed myself onto my paws, padding slowly towards the entrance as I cleared the sleep from my eyes.

Just before I reached the den's entrance, I paused. Rowanpaw had to come with me. We had to stick together, to protect each other's backs.

I glanced back at his sleeping form. Rowanpaw lay curled into a warm ball, his tail covering his entire muzzle, his back against Moki's. He was most definitely asleep, probably warmish, and certainly would not enjoy being woken up and dragged out on a midnight walk with his antsy sister.

It's for his own good, I reasoned as I stepped lightly out into the snow-dusted alley. He wouldn't want to come with me; it's too cold and way too late for him. Besides, I'm only going to walk up and down the alley a few times to get my energy out. Why would he need to come with me for something like that? Resolutely pushing the matter from my mind, I stepped out into the alley.

A chilly breeze drove the drowsiness from my mind immediately. Blinking, I scanned my surroundings, checking for movement. The alley looked exactly the same as it had earlier that evening, though with the obvious addition of snow. No pawprints tracked through, promising the absence of fellow loners or hostile rogues. Good. I didn't want to have to deal with strange cats tonight.

I circled around the dumpster, paws light and eyes wary (it never hurt to be too careful, after all). Where should I go? What should I do? Now that I was out here, I didn't feel much like pacing; it sounded deadly boring, just walking up and down the alley all night. It'd probably be cold, too. Despite the hints of kit-fluff still lingering about my pelt, I knew it wouldn't help much against this Leaf-bare chill.

Perhaps I could explore our surroundings a bit. Maybe there was a second dumpster nearby from which I could fetch us breakfast. After all, this one had proved unfortunately sparse in the production of edible things. Even Moki, who'd probably encountered much stranger food than Rowanpaw and me during her travels, had pronounced almost everything inside unfit for cats. Mice or rats, maybe, but never cats.

Ahead, my eyes picked out an odd structure growing out of the ground like a tree, which Moki had pointed out to me that afternoon (trees were strange. I wasn't sure I'd ever get used to them). It appeared to be differing shades of gray, though of course that could just be due to the fog of darkness. I followed its path up the side of a straight-edged den with my irises, watching as it spilled out right at the top. I'd always wondered what was on top of Human dens.

I started toward the base, ears pricked forward excitedly. As I reached the first stair, sniffing around it to check for unfamiliar scents, I detected a faint sound behind me. My gaze immediately swung over my shoulder, skimming over my surroundings.

Nothing.

Still, I narrowed my eyes shrewdly and continued my search. It obviously wasn't nothing, something had to have made the noise. Yet the only pawprints I could make out were my own.

Had it, perhaps, been Moki or Rowanpaw? My stomach tightened momentarily as the thought of my brother crossed my mind again. He wouldn't like me going up onto the roof. He'd want me to stay safely on the ground, out of harm's way. What if he woke up and found me up there? He'd be furious.

But it wasn't like I was going anywhere dangerous, I reasoned. It was a flat roof like many others in the city. There was absolutely no danger of me slipping off. It wasn't like I was going to climb up on the staircase railing; it wasn't like I was going to purposefully place myself near the roof's edge. I'd be fine. And besides, Rowanpaw needed to chill about keeping me safe. I was going to run into danger eventually, so what was the point in trying to stop it? I'd grow soft if I didn't face danger every so often. Brimming with a new surge of confidence, I cast a last sweeping glance over the alley (finding nothing suspicious whatsoever) before beginning to climb.

It didn't take long to reach the top. Stepping swiftly upward, back and forth in an endless series of zig-zags, I kept my eyes fixed on the stair above me, glancing around every so often to check for danger. After what felt like mere moments, I emerged onto the roof.

The first thing I noticed was the wind, the second the snow. Despite the strong, frigid breeze, a light layer of white had managed to remain clinging to the den. Shivering, I padded slowly forward, pawprints spilling out behind me into a long, straight trail.

The night wasn't that impressive a sight. It was dusky, softened into blurs around the edges by clouds. I had to blink several times to make sure it was just the clouds, to ensure my vision wasn't going fuzzy again like when my eyes had still been kit-blue. Nope, definitely the clouds. Sighing faintly in relief, I settled myself into a seated position at the center of the roof, staring upward.

My vision was obscured by a mass of gray-patched clouds. Snorting to myself, I retrieved my gaze from the invisible sky. Of course I wouldn't be able to see the stars, the clouds were too thick. I was such an idiot.

Still, my traitorous pupils again focused upward, trying to penetrate the blurry mass. Could I see anything beyond it, anything at all? My second try only reaffirmed what I'd already found; not even a smidge of light could worm through this brick wall in the sky. I couldn't see a hint of the moon, much less the North Star.

For a moment, I allowed myself to cast my thoughts back through time, back to when I had tufts of kit-fluff on my ears and huge, clumsy paws. I recalled words Thalia had once told me after recounting a story about the stars.

"If you ever find yourself lost and in need of direction, just follow the North Star. It'll guide you to a better place."

"Really?" Ravenkit asked, breathless. "Let's follow it now!"

Rowankit chimed in. "I bet this better place has all the prey you can eat and not a single rogue to take it from you!"

"Oh, kits, the city is far too evil a place for stars. The North Star hides its face from here, refusing to cast its light, and the rest of the stars follow suit. You'll find thousands and thousands every night when you go to the Clans."

I shook off the memory, shoving it to the back of my mind. No. I wasn't about to think of… her… right now. She was in the past, right? The past should be forgotten; I shouldn't allow it to keep affecting me like this. I had to be strong.

But it seemed what she'd said about cities was true. I remembered, before falling asleep on the train last night, glancing skyward and finding endless stars scattered overhead. While in the city Rowanpaw and I had been lucky to see even one, keeping a running total throughout our kithood (twenty-six) that sight had blown it straight into a rathole. Now, however, there wasn't a single star to be seen, though of course I didn't just have the city to blame this time; I also had the clouds.

Maybe the stars were trying to tell me something. Maybe they were saying to get out of the city. Well, great. I definitely didn't already know that, I thought irritably, shooting a glare skyward. Of course I wanted to get out of the city! Rowanpaw was right; there were too many memories here. If I wanted to forget them I'd have to leave, likely for good.

For some reason that thought struck a painful chord in my mind. What's wrong with you?I thought, beginning to grow angry. Don't you want to leave? Cities are dirty, smelly, and full of danger! You've almost died twice already and you're barely six moons old! It isn't the life for you, understand? You want to be free, able to… roll around in grass and… climb trees and… and…

I couldn't think of anything else. Shoving my tongue between my front teeth, I growled under my breath. Well you'll have to find other things, because you're not going to live in a city all your life. You're going to be a true cat and live amongst nature, eating fresh prey and drinking clean water, able to look up at the stars every night. You're going to explore the wilderness and find that better place with the guide of the North Star. Here, you can't even see it, much less follow it. Here, you're directionless.

How can you start a new life without a direction?

The wind changed, sweeping across the roof and ruffling up my fur just how I didn't like it. Blinking myself out of my thoughts, I shuffled around to face back the way I'd come, screwing up my eyes against the clouds' icy breath. Parting my jaws in a yawn, I let the breeze hit the roof of my mouth and the scent glands embedded there.

Rowanpaw.

My jaws snapped shut and my eyes peeled wider. What was his scent doing up here? Had I brought it up on my fur? But no, then it'd have carried downwind. How could I smell him? Had he… had he followed me?

It seemed so. As I watched, a pair of flattened ears (typical, he hated wind blowing around his ear fur) appeared above the edge of the roof, quickly followed by a russet forehead, muzzle, and shoulders as he ascended the steps, following my pawprint path. He rounded the last bend to face me, then paused, staring with a carefully concealed expression. However much I squinted through the dusky light reflecting up from streetlamps below, I couldn't make it out. Was he mad? Relieved? Scared?

"What are you doing up here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Rowanpaw meowed, his low voice barely carrying above the wind. "In fact, I came up here specifically to ask it."

"Ah, but I asked first." I tried flashing a slight grin, watching him carefully for a reaction. He remained stony-faced and, for the second time that night, I bit my tongue. Should I have done that? Maybe I should be more serious, like him. Quickly schooling my expression into one of careful neutrality, I watched for his next move.

He didn't make one at first, and we remained standing several tail-lengths away from each other, the fierce wind raging around us. Shivering slightly, I wondered if I should do something. Then Rowanpaw took a couple hesitant steps forward.

"Ravenpaw," he began slowly.

"Yeees?" I asked impatiently, kneading my sheathed paws against the roof.

Rowanpaw took a deep breath before looking me in the eye. Why was he so serious? I was about to tell him to spit it out, I didn't have all night, when he finally spoke. "Come down with me, Ravenpaw," he meowed. "It's cold up here, and I'm t—I bet you're tired." He hesitated a moment, then blurted out, "Plus, it's not too safe up here; you could easily fall."

My eyes narrowed. "I can take care of myself," I growled, turning away. But I couldn't turn too far, because then the wind would start ruffling up my fur again. Out of the corner of my eye I could still see my brother.

"I know you can," Rowanpaw said quickly. All pretense of seriousness was gone now as he continued forward, staring intently at the side of my face. "But it's late, and we need to be awake tomorrow to travel. Please, Ravenpaw, I'm not going back to sleep until you come back to the den."

And then he'd block me in to make sure I stayed there. Right, like I was going to fall for that. I snorted and didn't reply.

He stuck out his jaw, his stare turning into something more resembling a glare. "Ravenpaw, come on! Let's go! I'm tired!"

"Then you go. I'm staying here." I sat down, wrapping my tail firmly around my paws to solidify my claim, staring into the distance.

"We can't leave each other," Rowanpaw reminded me. "We're a team. We've gotta stick together, remember? I'm not leaving you here on your own. What if something happened? What if you slipped and twisted your shoulder? You wouldn't be able to walk back down the steps without help and no one would know where you were."

"You'd know," I insisted. "You know exactly where I am. If you wake up in the morning and I'm not there, you know where to find me. Up here." At his mutinous expression, I quickly added, "I won't go anywhere. I'll stay right here until I'm ready to go back, honest."

"What, you think I'll be able to sleep knowing you're up here freezing to death?" Rowanpaw snorted. "What if it starts snowing again? A night up here alone would kill you, Ravenpaw. I'm not going to be able to sleep until I know you're safe."

"But—"

"Would you?" he challenged suddenly, circling around to block my line of sight with his body. "Would you be able to sleep knowing I was in danger?"

A ball of heat seemed to have formed in my midriff. I swallowed, trying to put it out.

"I'd trust you to be able to care for yourself."

"Oh?" He raised his eyebrows. "Really? I don't think so."

It was no use; the heat shot upward, exploding in the back of my skull and leaving a ringing sound deep inside my ears. Suddenly I was on my paws, claws scraping against the roof. "What do you know about me, Rowanpaw?" I spat. "What, you think you know me better than me? Than myself? Yeah, right." I glared at him, pacing forward a couple steps. He backed up a little ways, eyes wide. I felt a savage surge of pleasure at the feeling of utter control. "Puh-leez."

I turned away, sweeping my tail across the ground to brush a mixture of snow and mildew into his fur. I knew he hated the taste of mildew. Ha. That'd teach him to go telling me what to do.

"Ravenpaw, come on. It's cold and it's late, and we need to be well rested for tomorrow."

Apparently not. I almost whirled around to confront him, breaking off his speech mid-word, but realized I'd already tried that tactic. It hadn't worked too well on him. What else could I do?

"Moki won't be happy if she finds we're slowing her down."

My eyes fell onto the edge of the roof. Aha. In an instant I'd bounded toward it, glancing over my shoulder to see the effect it had on Rowanpaw. I grinned widely at his sudden silence and the fear flickering within his irises. "You don't think I'm good enough to keep my balance up here? Fine. I'll prove it. Watch this!" I set one of my forepaws right along the edge, close enough to feel the empty space opening up right beside me.

"R-Ravenpaw… please come back over here! You're scaring me!"

I ignored his desperate pleading, setting my other forepaw right beside the first. My stomach turned over as I felt my center of balance shift closer to the edge, but I refused to let my fear show, instead turning back to Rowanpaw with a triumphant grin. "See?" I crowed, lifting my voice above the wind. "See? I'm fine! I'm just fine! I'm not going to fall. Now will you go back?"

Rowanpaw licked his lips nervously, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on my paws. "P… please, Ravenpaw. Come back with me."

"Go back yourself!" I insisted, leaning closer to the edge. In my peripheral vision, I saw the outer edge of the den, rough amber stone falling away in rows, down… down… down…

That was a long way to fall. My throat closed up and my tongue froze in my mouth, its usual coating of moisture draining away.

The raven, I reminded myself.The raven's going to catch me if I fall. I'll be fine. Still, it was hard to concentrate on Rowanpaw when my thumping chest reminded me four times a heartbeat of the empty drop below me. It wasn't far, about a fifth of the way I'd fallen from that other den, but still enough to severely injure me.

Rowanpaw took an uncertain step forward. Just as I swallowed, trying to work up enough water to tell him to stop, the wind shifted. Suddenly it was stronger, gusting over the rooftop, slamming into my side. I stumbled and both forepaws slipped over the edge.

"Ravenpaw!"

"Rowanpaw! Help!"

I scrabbled with my hind claws, trying to find a foothold to keep me on the roof long enough for Rowanpaw to grab me. My forepaws slammed against the side of the den, the shock from the impact rebounding them off long enough for my center of gravity to cross the edge of the roof.

Rowanpaw's claws swept harmlessly through the fur lining my scruff, half a heartbeat too late. A terrified yowl escaping my throat, I scrabbled desperately at the roof, but to no avail.

Paws flailing, jaws parted, pupils forcing my irises thin as claws, I plummeted toward the ground.

Ooh, cliffie! :D Gotta love those cliffhangers.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I worked extra long on the editing with Leafy's help. Again, go check out her series, it's long but absolutely incredible!

I'm actually having a lot of trouble thinking up a question. Huh.

QOTD: There was a lot of sibling fighting this chapter. Do you have siblings/how often do you fight?

AOTD: One older brother, we used to fight almost nonstop but our relationship has actually improved a lot recently. It's probably because we don't talk a lot, since he spends a lot of time on his computer playing games (Dota is a main one I believe) and I'm across the house writing or drawing or something. We're almost complete opposites, but somehow we look a lot alike and get along okayish.