Man, it's been awhile, hasn't it? I'm terribly sorry about that! School's been a nightmare. -_- Hopefully this chapter will make up for my lack of updating, though, since it's just over 9k words-my longest yet!

A quick note about reviews: If you're a guest, I'll still reply to your reviews at the beginning of each chapter. It's only if you have an account that I'll reply in a "proper" review reply. I'm not sure if I made that clear and there haven't been any guest reviews since I started my new policy, so just in case there was some confusion about that!

And now, without further ado, here's chapter 18~

The next morning dawned cold—very cold, in fact. Freezing. I didn't know if I'd experienced a morning this cold before. For a moment, I considered returning to my warm nest until the sun had warmed everything up, but common sense told me it would take hours before this cold would even think about dissolving. No, it'd be better to get moving to warm myself up.

I remained shivering just outside the Rebellion's extra den for another heartbeat as I scoured the clearing for Rowanpaw. He'd woken up before me and hadn't thought to prod me awake before going off to do whatever he was supposed to do today.

When he, Moki and I had trudged back into the base last night, completely exhausted, Nova had directed us to our den under a smallish bush. After murmuring some words to Moki and Rowanpaw (I was too tired to make them out), he turned to me and bid me a good night's sleep, adding that he'd send Lukan to me in the morning.

I gazed around the clearing, wondering if this Lukan would soon notice I was awake and come introduce himself. It didn't seem likely, though; none of the Rebellion cats had glanced twice at me. Well, no, several had, but I was sure that was just because I was a newcomer.

What should I do? Nova hadn't mentioned anything about, say, eating, last night. Would he mind if I took a bit of prey? I hadn't eaten since the morning before and after all the excitement of last night I was starting to get hungry. Usually I'd have ignored it, but long days of regular meals with Moki had spoiled me.

Well, we had agreed to join the Rebellion last night. Members of the Rebellion no doubt got food rations, particularly if they were injured and needed all their strength to heal quickly. Nova wouldn't be mad if I had a bit of breakfast, would he?

Okay, so if I was going to get food, where would it be? I let my eyes wander carefully around the edge of the clearing, pausing in every single crevice between bushes or rocks. After I'd gotten about three-fourths of the way around, just when I started to worry I'd missed something, I spotted a fluffy squirrel tail peeping out from under the slight overhang of a tall stone. There.

I limped slowly forward, eyes fixed on my destination as I wound my way around a couple Rebellion cats. Maybe I could try a squirrel? They seemed to be fairly common around here, but I hadn't seen much of them before. Moki had caught one as we passed through a somewhat forested area, but I'd chosen to share the rabbit she'd snagged with Rowanpaw instead, so hadn't gotten to try it. What would it taste like?

As I drew nearer, I found I could make out more prey lying in the rock's shadow. Though my heart remained fixed on the squirrel, it would probably be good to see what my other choices were. After all, squirrels were so common I was bound to eat one sooner or later during my time here.

There didn't seem to be much left. My eyes widened and I flattened my ears as I counted only four other pieces of prey. Four? For the entire Rebellion?

Suddenly it seemed as though I shouldn't take that squirrel. It was pretty big compared with the other catches and, after all, I wasn't as big as a fully grown warrior yet, and so wouldn't need as much food. Plus, I wouldn't be sharing it with anyone.

Huh. Maybe I shouldn't take anything, I thought uncertainly. But the gnawing sensation in the pit of my stomach was difficult to ignore. Perhaps I should just take something small?

"Ravenpaw, right?"

I startled, twisting around to find myself face-to-face with an elderly cinnamon Bengal tom. Hastily, I stepped away a couple pawsteps, though I found I couldn't go very far; I'd backed myself up against the stone guarding the prey.

"Um, yep, that's me," I muttered, my fur growing warm as I shifted into a clearer area. Great first impression, you klutz!

"I'm Lukan," the tom smiled. "I believe Nova mentioned me?"

"Oh! Yes, yes he did." You certainly have a concise way of speaking, I thought to myself in irritation. That's such a wonderful second impression. If you keep this up, Lukan's going to start thinking you're a complete idiot. "Erm, you're the medic, right?"

"Not exactly. I mean, there isn't really a definite medic, per se. It's more that whoever wants to learn medic skills can learn however much they want along with their usual training. I didn't learn too much, I'm afraid. Just the basics."

"Oh. Yeah, I think Nova mentioned something about that, too."

"If you want to follow me back to the, ah, medic's corner, I could try fixing you up to the best of my ability."

"Oh, uh…" I cast a glance down at the pile (if it could be called a pile) of prey. I was still hungry.

Though maybe it would be better to leave the remaining prey for other cats? After all, I'd grown up in the city, where the most I could get in an average day was a scrawny rat and perhaps something slimy stolen from a dumpster. These cats were probably used to at least two solid meals every day, whereas I could survive off of much less. I could get something later after everyone had already eaten.

I glanced back up at Lukan, my resolve deepening. "Yeah. Lead the way," I grinned.

The older cat blinked, mimicking my glance down at the prey. "Have you eaten yet this morning? I assumed… but maybe you slept in a bit?"

I shrugged. "It doesn't matter; I'll be fine." When Lukan still didn't move, I prompted, "Lead the way?"

Lukan reached down and picked up the squirrel—the giant one I'd been eying. My mouth burst out watering, but I did my best to hide it. "Well," he meowed, his voice rather muffled by th6e squirrel's fluff, "lucky for you, I haven't had anything yet to eat this morning either. We can share this before I treat your wounds. Hunters will bring back more prey later, so we don't need to worry about giving it to the rest of the Rebellion."

My stomach growled loudly and a real grin forced its way past my earlier, not-quite-so-genuine one. Maybe it was all right to spoil myself after all. "Great! Er—thank you."

"No problem. Now, if you'll follow me, the medic's corner is back this way."

Lukan led the way across the clearing, the squirrel's body brushing his chest fur as it swayed back and forth. After passing by a couple large, thorny bushes, he finally rounded a hollow log and entered a small, grassy extension of the base. My eyes hungrily fixed on our meal and I seated myself awkwardly onto my haunches.

"Huh. That doesn't look too comfortable." Lukan dropped the squirrel and nosed at my splinted tail, sticking out straight behind me. "Here, let me get you settled properly."

"No, honestly, it's fine," I protested. I wouldn't be truly comfortable until I'd eaten, anyway. Right now my stomach was bothering me much more than my tail.

Lukan didn't listen. Reaching a paw through an opening down the side of the log, he pulled out a pawful of moss. "Hmm." He rubbed against it with his muzzle. "Bit stale. But I suppose it's better than nothing. I could get your brother to help me fetch you some fresh stuff later today."

"I'm only staying here for another day," I pointed out. "I don't need a completely new bed. Stale moss sounds wonderful."

Lukan shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. Ah, well." He reached back inside and tugged out a couple pawfuls of what looked like vines and sprigs of heather.

"Listen," I tried again, my gaze wandering back to the squirrel. It smelled absolutely delicious. The wind really wasn't helping with my self-restraint, either; it blew the critter's nutty scent directly into my face. Thanks a lot. The wind didn't reply. "Er, Lukan, do you think we could start eating soon? I'm a bit hungry." Yeah, no, a bit definitely wasn't an understatement or anything.

"No, I'll be fine. I want you to be comfortable." He began unrolling the lumps of moss and untangling the vines, painstakingly weaving the heather together into a springy pattern for the center.

But I won't be fine! I wanted to yowl. I'll starve! But I didn't want to seem like a petulant kit. And, watching the older cat work, I realized I might not have to wait that long after all. Lukan's paws wove deftly in and out of the strands, claws unsheathing and sheathing at exactly the right moment to hook a strand of lavender between his toes.

I crept forward, fascinated by his handiwork. It made sense, now that I thought about it, that Lukan and the other Avanti would be good with their paws. How else would they tie and tangle dried vines into collars and other bindings, like the ones holding the feather around Lukan's neck and the smooth stone around his foreleg?

As my eyes roved over his trinkets, I noticed the glint of what looked like fish scales through his chest fur. They couldn't be held up by his neck tendril; it was too high. The tip of the feather only just brushed the highest scale.

"Lukan?"

"Hmm?" He didn't look up from his work, but flicked an ear in my direction to indicate he was listening.

"How do your fish scales stay on?"

"What? Oh, these?" Lukan glanced down at his chest. "They're, ah, implanted into my chest. One for each of my family members, see? One for me, one for—"

"What do you mean, implanted?"

"Well, we push them into our fur until the skin breaks. Then we let them heal over. It's pretty tough for them to fall, whereas we have to periodically replace the vines."

I looked with newfound horror at the scales. "W… what?"

"This one's mine, and this one's Ambrosia's—my mate's. These three are for our kits: Ceranna, Calyx, and Caspian. We don't assign any specific ones to our kits because Calyx keeps switching which one she wants." He shrugged, laughing softly.

"Oh. Um, nice." Hoping to distract him and get the topic off his weird fish scales, I added, "Is my nest done? It looks done. It looks wonderful."

"Hmm? Oh, yes, I suppose it is." Lukan patted out a last lump of moss and stepped back, almost treading on the squirrel. "Oh! And we can eat now, too. I almost forgot."

I didn't, I thought, pressing my forelegs into my belly to muffle the rumbling, but settled myself into my new nest without comment. I watched hungrily as Lukan nosed our meal closer to my muzzle and sat back, offering me the first bite. I didn't hesitate to take him up on his offer.

Lunging forward, I sank my front teeth into whichever part of the squirrel was closest—I didn't pause long enough to figure it out. Whichever part it was, it tasted almost as good as that first rabbit I'd had all those moons ago. Chewing rapidly to let every drop of juice touch my tongue, I moaned in pleasure.

"You guyffff—" I tried to say, but ended up spitting out a couple bits of meat instead.

"Swallow first," Lukan advised light-heartedly, his eyebrows raised.

I nodded hastily, embarrassed I'd allowed myself to make such a pigeon-brained mistake. Mushing up the last few chunks against the roof of my mouth, I swallowed in such a large gulp I almost choked. "Er, I mean, you guys have the best prey I've ever tasted."

It came out quieter than I'd originally intended, trailing off awkwardly near the end, but Lukan didn't seem to care. On the contrary, he smiled. "I knew our ancestors settled here for a reason."

I snorted and leaned down to take another bite, then realized Lukan was still waiting. "Oh, um, your turn." I pushed the squirrel over toward him.

"I see you're hungry." Lukan considered the tufty-tailed creature for a moment, then reached toward it with two unsheathed forepaws, neatly ripping it down the middle. "Here. You have this half and I'll have this one. We can eat at the same time so I can treat your injuries sooner. I'm sure they're pretty painful?"

I shrugged. "I've gotten used to it." But I didn't protest the 'eating at the same time' thing. It'd let me eat without pausing to wait as Lukan took his (no doubt slow) bite, after all. Hooking my claws into my share, I began scarfing it down. I might not be starving, per se, but I was definitely ravenous.

After both of us had finished, which took a surprisingly short time (surprising for Lukan, not me; he ate at just about the same speed as me), Lukan licked the last few reddish drops from his muzzle and glanced down at my splints. "So, what exactly was injured? And how?"

"My shoulder, tail, and ribs hurt," I meowed, "and I… fell off a Human den." No need to give him the specific details about that last bit.

"I see." Lukan nosed the bindings. "Moki's a fine medic," he purred, smiling. "A bit rusty, no doubt from a lack of practice. But still, these tendrils stayed tightly bound for days. Impressive." He allowed himself a proud smile before promptly unsheathing his claws and cutting through those impressive bindings. I gritted my teeth as the splint fell loose, jolting my shoulder into a position it hadn't laid in in several days. Lukan repeated the gesture with my tail, which didn't seem to hurt as much as my shoulder until I tried flicking the end; only then did it proceed to send claws of pain lancing up my spine. Ow.

"This'll hurt a bit, I'm afraid," Lukan apologized. More than it already does? I growled mentally. "I just need to see what's broken, what's torn, and what's bruised. I'm not as good as Cephas or Saffron, so I can't promise there won't be any pain, but it's necessary for me to assign treatment."

"Then why not just send me up to the Avanti now and let them care for me?"

"Because we need to plan this out with Phantom first. He'll know when to send you in and with what story. He'll know how to get you accepted into the Avanti without a hitch. After all, if they suspect you of being a spy, they could very well let you heal wrong and give you a permanent disability, which they can take advantage of in battle."

I wrinkled my nose. Permanent disability? I didn't like the sound of that.

"Exactly." Lukan placed one paw gently on my shoulder, groping around through my fur for the outline of my bone. I winced but tried not to make any noise. "Except you'll also need to go meet Phantom tonight, so you two can get to know each other a bit. You'll be working together for the next moon or two, however long it takes you to heal."

"Why can't I stay a spy after I heal?" I protested. Being a spy sounded cool—I didn't want it to be a temporary sort of thing. I could sneak around in the night, giving the Rebellion crucial information, avoiding detection by just a clawscratch.

"Two spies are more easily caught than one. Phantom is more experienced than you—he's been doing this for a couple moons now. And we need you here, so you can fight all-out against the Avanti in a battle instead of pretending to fight us."

"Why can't Phantom come fight on your side, if he's so experienced?" I asked sulkily.

"Phantom doesn't like fighting. He prefers the tactical and stealth aspects of a war."

I stared. "What? He doesn't like fighting? How could he not like fighting?"

"I thought you seemed like the fighter type." Lukan removed his paw. "The bone seems intact and it's not dislocated, so it must just be a tear. It'll have to be kept as still as possible to heal." He began nosing my chest, forcing me to roll onto my back, and began examining my ribs.

"The fighter type?" I asked curiously. "What do you mean? Isn't everyone a fighter type?"

Lukan shrugged. "You come from the city, right?" I nodded. "Yeah, there you all probably have to be fighters. But here, not everyone needs to fight to survive. We can play to our individual strengths."

I turned this over in my mind. Rowanpaw had never been as strong a fighter as me; he was good, but not excellent. Was it possible he had another strength? Something that didn't have much fighting involved? He was good with balance, I supposed—it was always difficult to knock him off his feet. But what would that be good for?

"What else could a cat be good at? Apart from fighting, I mean."

"Oh, lots. There's hunting, stealth, tactics, exploration, gathering materials, rearing kits, climbing, healing, swimming, leading… and probably some others I'm forgetting." Lukan narrowed his eyes at my ribs. "I think these are just bruised, though it's a bit hard to tell. I guess I'll just leave them as they are for now." He moved on to my tail and I relaxed back onto my side.

"Cats can also have multiple strengths," Lukan continued. "For instance, I'm best at swimming, probably, but I'm also good at hunting, gathering materials, and a bit of healing."

"Really?" I paused. Lukan had identified fighting as my best strength, which I thought was probably accurate. Could he figure out my other strengths? "What do you think mine are?"

"Your lesser strengths?" Lukan laughed. "Oh, no, I don't know if I could figure those out. You'll have to do those yourself."

"But couldn't you just, I dunno, guess? Like, you guessed I was a fighter. How come? Couldn't you guess my other strengths?"

"I figured you were a fighter because of how you attacked that poor half-squirrel. You also have a bit of a habit of kneading your claws into the ground if you really want something—did you know that? It's how I figured out you were hungry before."

My eyes widened; I hadn't known. Did I really do that?

"My son, Caspian, he's a bit of a fighter too. He's quite proud and tends to throw himself claws-first into things. Not, of course, that you're like that," he added hastily. "There are different… subgroups, I suppose, of strengths. It really depends on a cat's personality."

I felt he was getting a bit off-track. "My strengths?" I prompted again.

Lukan sighed. "You're never going to let that rest, are you?" I shook my head. "The stubborn type, I see. Fine, then. Let's see…" He paused in his examination, considering me carefully. "You have Turkish Van in you, don't you?"

I shrugged. "Do I?"

"Judging from your markings, yes. That would lead me to believe you like water. Perhaps swimming?"

I wrinkled my nose. "Water? Like, as in rain? I hate rain!"

Lukan raised his eyebrows. "Maybe I was wrong. Then again," he added in a softer voice, "rain and rivers are nothing alike. Maybe you just haven't tried the right type of water yet."

Eh. I shrugged. "What else do you think I might be?"

Lukan raised his eyebrows. "You didn't believe my first idea, and now you're asking my opinion again? Really?"

"You're more experienced with this whole 'strengths' thing," I pointed out. "I only just heard about it a moment ago."

"All right, then, if you think it would be helpful." Lukan took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he pondered. "Hmm… I'd say you might be good at leading. Stealth, maybe, although your white fur would be seen pretty easily. Perhaps you'd be good at rearing kits, though of course I don't expect you'd want kits for moons."

"Rearing kits?" I wrinkled my nose. "Definitely not!"

Lukan chortled. "I suppose you could still grow into that particular strength. Who knows?" He went back to running his paws along my tail. "Tails are difficult," he said absently. "They're so flexible it's hard to tell if there's a break."

"Wait a minute. You can grow into strengths?"

"I don't see why not. Sure, there are some innate tendencies, but our experiences can also shape us. You're, what, about six moons? You've still got a lot of changing to do. Even I'm still changing." He shot me a wink out of the corner of his eye, then sat back on his haunches. "I'm pretty sure that tail's broken. I believe the best treatment would be to splint it, though of course it would probably hinder more than help to reuse Moki's splints. I could get you a stick—much lighter than that metal thing."

I nodded. "Sounds good. What about my shoulder? And my ribs?"

"Your ribs I think I'll just have to let heal. I could give you something for the pain, but there's no broken skin or ribs or anything to heal. It should start going away in a few sunrises, I believe, depending on how old it is. Your shoulder I'm not as sure about. My best guess is to keep it still so it can heal right, so maybe a couple tight-fitting splints should do the trick."

Lukan glanced around the small clearing, his eyes pausing on the hollow log. "There might be something…" he muttered, padding over and bending to shove his muzzle into the gap. "Hmm…" He began edging sideways toward one end. "Aha!"

I leaned forward to try and make out what he'd found. It appeared to be a pale pink, almost white flower, though of course it was a bit difficult to tell as it was mostly inside his mouth. He laid it carefully in front of me and edged it closer with a forepaw.

"Mountain laurel should do the trick," he said. "It either helps with coughs or pain, but I suppose a little cough medicine won't hurt. You just eat it."

"Um, if you say so." I pawed at the flower, inspecting it carefully. I'd be fine with eating it as long as he hadn't drooled on it too much. The petals looked dry enough, I supposed. Shrugging inwardly, I licked it up and began to chew.

It didn't taste like much, thankfully. The center was a little bitter, but not enough that I'd need to spit it out, so I settled for swallowing quickly. I licked my lips several times to help dissipate the taste as Lukan went back to scouring the medic's corner for a couple of light but durable sticks. After several long moments of silence, he finally extracted some from a stash under a fern.

"I'll have to go find some more of these at some point," he noted as he returned to my nest.

"Maybe you could ask one of the younger cats to help you out?" I suggested, remembering Thalia's descriptions of Clan apprentices.

"Ah, that could be a bit of an issue," Lukan said. "I don't know if you've noticed, but you and your brother are the only young cats here."

"What? Really?"

He nodded, laying the sticks down and beginning to tie one to my tail. "The Rebellion's still fairly new," he explained. "We've only been out here a couple seasons. Most of us didn't join immediately, too, preferring to wait until our kits were older before coming down here with Nova. It's what Ambrosia and I did, in fact. We kept our kits in the safety of the caves until they were old enough to fend for themselves. Then Ambrosia, Ceranna, Calyx, and I came down here."

"What about your son? The one who's a fighter like me?"

"Mmm. I mentioned he was a bit stubborn, too, right?"

I nodded, suddenly feeling a bit of trepidation. I thought I knew what he was about to say.

"Well, he decided to stay put. He didn't want to believe the guru he'd so avidly supported as a youngster wasn't rightfully chosen."

"Oh." I bit my tongue, unsure of what to say. "I… I'm sorry…"

Lukan's mouth twisted into a wry smile—much different from the genuine ones he'd dispensed so easily before. "That's the thing with war, I guess, though. It tears apart families, right?"

Could fighting really hurt deeper than physical wounds? I supposed it made sense, but I'd never thought about it that way before.

"I don't want to be a fighter anymore."

Lukan looked up. "Don't say that."

"But it's true! If it tears families apart… if it tore Orion and Moki apart—"

"Listen to me," Lukan meowed, half gently and half sternly. "You remember all those strengths I mentioned before? They can all be absolutely wonderful things. But at the same time they could also be turned to evil deeds."

"Oh yeah? Worse than what wars can do?"

"Much worse," Lukan promised. "You remember the kit-rearing strength?"

How could I forget? I thought with a bit of a shudder. No way would I be good at that!

"If a cat was particularly good at raising kits but raised them to be evil cats, those cats could go out into the world and do terrible things. Climbing trees could be turned into clever, deadly ambushes. Hunting prey could turn into hunting cats. And those are only a few."

Lukan's eyes pressed hard into mine. "Do you understand? It's not what your strengths are that determine whether you're a good cat or not. Fighting can be a wonderful thing when used to protect family and friends from the world's dangers. You have the capability to use it for good." He pressed a paw lightly against my chest. "Good or evil comes from here. From inside. Whatever you think, whatever you feel— that's what you'll produce. If you have a good heart you can use your fighting ability for good."

"But… how am I supposed to know if I have a good heart or not? I mean, it's not like I can ask it."

Lukan's face split into a real laugh. "If there's someone out there who you'd give your life for, I'm positive your heart is a good one. Can you think of someone?"

Well, that was easy. I grinned; his mood must be contagious. "Rowanpaw." It seemed my heart was pretty good, after all.

I hobbled to the entrance of the medic's corner, my pain mostly gone but my foreleg completely unable to be bent due to not one, but two sticks strapped to it: one on the inside, jammed up against my chest, and the other extending up past my back, both tied up near my elbow and right above my paw.

"Now, you should probably walk around a bit today, just to keep your body from getting stiff," Lukan advised as he followed. "Though try to keep as much weight as possible off that foreleg."

I shifted as much body weight as I could to my hind legs and started forward again, this time doing a kind of waddle.

"That's it!" Lukan smiled.

"I bet I look really dumb," I muttered.

"Well, it's only for today. Tomorrow Cephas or Saffron can get you some proper treatment."

"Yeah, I guess so." I glanced around the clearing, wondering what to do.

Apparently noticing my uncertainty, Lukan added, "I think Rowanpaw went out into the forest with Kiowa. I heard them mention the Birch Grove earlier this morning."

"Oh, okay." My stomach sank at the prospect of lugging myself up and down the mountainside, though of course Lukan said exercise would be good. Still, I hoped that mountain laurel wouldn't wear off anytime soon. "Um, where's the Birch Grove?"

"Head out through the entrance and follow the middle-right path. There's a bramble thicket a little ways down it. If you just head along that you should reach the Birches soon enough."

I ran his words through my mind again to memorize them. "Okay. Thanks."

"No problem." Lukan shot me a grin, then glanced around the clearing. "Ah, I see Ambrosia's waiting. Gotta go, I've got a fishing trip to go on. I'll see you this evening?"

"Yeah. See you then." I watched as Lukan strolled across to where an elderly cream she-cat lay grooming herself just outside a bush. I squinted over to check her chest and, sure enough, spotted the gleam of fish scales there. I looked away before a shudder had time to form along my spine. I couldn't imagine purposefully embedding scales into my skin. What would happen to the fur underneath?

I pushed the sensation from my mind before I could dwell on it more. I had a brother to find. Clenching my teeth, I began to limp forward, doing my best to lean on my three good legs. It was more difficult than Lukan made it sound. Yeah, I'd been walking for days on end, but I'd been putting much more weight on my leg during the long trek. I'd have to focus hard to make this new rhythm a habit.

Although, I thought excitedly, soon I might not even need these habits anymore. Once I get to the Avanti, the medics there can heal me quickly and I'll be able to run and fight and everything again! Although I supposed I shouldn't wish for too speedy a recovery, since the more time I spent in the medic's den, the more time I could spend spying. Though the prospect of lying around all day wasn't that enticing, the thought of being a spy brought a surge of tingling anticipation to my paws.

I made it around the entrance boulder and glanced around, eying the surrounding forest. It was the middle path, right? The middle-right one? I counted the distinct paths and only came up with three. Huh. There had to be about four or five for there to be a middle-right one, right?

Maybe I wasn't looking hard enough. I inspected the terrain closely, opening my mouth to let the slight breeze brush the roof of my mouth. Were there distinct scent trails?

Aha. Another trail branched off from the base's entrance, though much narrower than the others—positively a prey track. Of course, this one led slightly to the right of the center trail. Of course it did. It almost seemed like Lukan was trying to get me injured again.

But he was the medic. Maybe there was some reason for the exercise after all, though I couldn't see what it could be. In any case, there was no use grumbling about it. No use, that is, if I wanted to find Rowanpaw at all today. So, taking a deep breath, I started forward along the narrower path.

It wasn't as bad as it had looked, surprisingly enough. The path curved around the side of the base and headed downhill, so it was fairly easy to keep walking—the issue lay in not walking too fast and toppling head over hindquarters down the mountain. I had the strange feeling that wouldn't help my injuries heal any faster; it would probably give me more to deal with.

In any case, by keeping up a steady pace I made good time and, after a surprisingly short walk, I heard voices up ahead and spotted the whitish color of birch bark through the foliage.

"Come on up, Rowanpaw. It isn't that difficult, honest! Just sink your claws in and hoist yourself up."

"I can't!"

"Yes, you can. You just think you can't. There's a difference."

"But what if I fall?"

"You won't fall. You have your tail and claws, don't you? I could come down and check them for you if you want."

I caught a glimpse of the back of Rowanpaw's head. He was shaking it vigorously. "Uh uh. No way."

"Yes way. You can do it! I believe in you!"

"But I'll fall!"

"No, you won't. Keep your eyes on me and you'll come straight up."

I got the distinct feeling Kiowa was starting to get a bit annoyed at Rowanpaw. I tried to hurry up a bit—why couldn't I walk any faster? Dumb shoulder.

"I… I don't want to."

"Why not?"

"I'm scared!"

"Well, what better way to get over a fear than to face it?"

"But—"

"Okay. When did you fall?"

"What?"

"You fell, didn't you? When you were little or something?"

"No."

"What? Never?" I heard the thump of paws on the ground. Kiowa must've jumped down to join Rowanpaw. "Well, where did your fear come from, then? Falling's not that scary, honest."

"Yes it is," Rowanpaw muttered.

Kiowa let out a deep sigh. I clenched my teeth against the slowly returning pain and continued limping forward. I was almost there, almost.

"What do you mean? You've never fallen, but you have a fear of falling?"

I rounded a thicket, panting. Kiowa's and Rowanpaw's eyes fastened on me immediately.

"Ravenpaw!" Rowanpaw hurried forward, nosing me under my chin. Over his shoulder I saw Kiowa's eyes flick from me to Rowanpaw, then onto my splinted leg and tail. His eyes widened.

"Hiya," I purred, looking back at Rowanpaw. "How's your morning been?"

"All right. Kiowa's teaching me a few things." Rowanpaw twitched his tail at the brown ticked tabby.

"Trying to teach him a few things," Kiowa corrected, raising his eyebrows.

"Well, it's only my first lesson," Rowanpaw admitted. "But it's been weird without you here. I always used to train with you, and now I'm up against Kiowa. It's so much harder, you wouldn't imagine!"

"I bet I could beat him. If only my injuries were healed," I sighed, casting a glare in the general direction of my foreleg.

"Uh huh, I'm sure," Kiowa meowed under his breath.

I gasped in mock offense. "You doubt me?"

"Maybe," Kiowa replied ambiguously. He glanced at Rowanpaw again. "Would you be up for some more training or do you want to try something less taxing?"

"Less taxing, probably," he admitted. "I mean, hunting is fun and all, but my legs are getting a bit sore."

"After walking all that way, too?" Kiowa teased. At Rowanpaw's look of protest he added, "Yeah, yeah, I know it's different muscles. Anyway." He glanced around. "Let's have you…"

My eye caught on a patch of green blanketing the roots of a nearby tree. "Gather some moss! Lukan mentioned he needed some more."

Kiowa nodded. "Perfect. Just use your claws and try to scrape off the top layer. Remember, roots and dirt don't hold water and are uncomfortable to sleep on."

Rowanpaw nodded. "Right. Sounds good." He glanced over at the mossy roots. "Are you staying here to watch?"

"I think I'll go do something productive, like hunting or something. I'll meet you back at the base, okay?"

" 'Kay."

Kiowa shot us a grin. Then, gathering his haunches beneath him, he sprang up onto a birch. Swinging his body weight from side to side, he slithered up the trunk and clawed his way onto a branch. Barely pausing for breath, he broke into a lope and leaped effortlessly into the next tree over. After a couple more bounds, he was out of earshot.

"Wow," I meowed, impressed in spite of myself.

Rowanpaw was silent. I shot a glance at him to find an odd expression on his face. It was partially fear, but also partially… longing? What was up with that? Did he want to climb trees or not?

"Um, moss?" I prompted uncertainly.

"Oh. Right." Rowanpaw broke his gaze away from the overhead branches and fixed it back on the ground, edging over to the growth of moss. I followed, easing myself slowly into his pawprints and wincing as I put more pressure on my bad shoulder. As I settled myself awkwardly beside him, Rowanpaw spoke.

"You know, I've been thinking."

"Congratulations," I muttered.

He shot me a look but otherwise ignored my jab. "What'll we do when you go off to the Avanti? I mean, I'm not allowed to come with. We'll be separated."

"I guess we'll just do what we've always done. You know, live our lives, et cetera." But though my tone was light, I thought I understood what he was getting at.

"We've never been separated before. Not for extended periods like this, anyway. We've always had to stick together. We've always had each other's backs."

"We'll be fine. Honest."

"Ravenpaw. These cats are in the middle of a war. If ever there was a time when we'd need to watch each other's backs, it would be now. Who knows what's going to happen? At least… at least in the city we knew the terrain. We knew some escape routes, some hiding places. Thalia…" He swallowed. "Thalia always made sure we could get away if we needed to. But here? We're no better than blind cats."

"It'll be fine. We'll learn."

"That's not my point."

"Then what is?"

"Ravenpaw—" In a sudden spurt, Rowanpaw clawed up a huge pawful of mostly dirt, then threw it onto the ground again. "Ravenpaw, I'll miss you. You've always been right there, all my life. Everything else has changed but you've always been there. I… I don't know how I'm going to cope with that."

"You'll be fine! Honest!"

"You sound like Kiowa."

I let out a breath. "Listen. I'll miss you too, bud. But we need to do this. I can't let my leg heal wrong!"

"You also can't give up the chance of becoming a spy," Rowanpaw muttered. "I don't think you get it."

I opened my mouth to deny it, then realized that might prove his point. Instead, I settled for staring at him quizzically.

Rowanpaw didn't answer immediately, rather bending over his work in an attempt to brush away a particularly stubborn lump of dirt. "I just… you'll be going off on this grand adventure and I'll be stuck here worrying. Since we're on Nova's side, I'll be safe, but you'll be heading straight into enemy territory. I don't think you understand the danger.

"What if you go off on some midnight adventure? What if you get caught? We don't know what they do with captured spies. What if they kill you in punishment? What if they keep you imprisoned in a dark cave for moons on end? What if they injure you all over again, then let you heal all wrong so you're permanently disfigured?"

I met his anxious gaze, thinking over his monologue. His dark green eyes wavered somewhere between anger and fear. It suddenly hit me: Rowanpaw was the safety I'd always had. He'd always been there, either just ahead or just behind or back-to-back with me. Once I left, I wouldn't have that. I wouldn't be able to look out for him and he wouldn't be able to keep me out of trouble. We'd be completely, utterly, entirely on our own.

"What if I promise to be careful? No midnight adventures or anything? How about I promise to just sit in the medic's den until I heal, then come straight back?"

Rowanpaw snorted. "Yeah, right. Like you'll hold to that."

"Well… well what else am I supposed to do?" I growled in frustration. "I get what you're saying, I really do, but what do you want me to do about it?"

"I don't know." Rowanpaw placed his paw back on the ground, growing still for a moment. Watching his profile, I saw his eyes flicker shut and a deep, shuddering breath pass through his ribs.

I pressed closer, resting my chin on the top of his head and letting out a faint, comforting purr. Moki's words in the Gemstone Clearing drifted through my mind again and I nibbled on my tongue. If he suffers, you suffer along with him. "You'll always be my brother," I promised. "And I'll always put you first. I, er, might forget sometimes, but you're always my number one priority. I'll make it back safe and sound."

Rowanpaw let out another breath that splashed in uneven waves and rivulets through his ribcage. "Yeah," he murmured. "I know."

"Hey." I poked his side. "You'd better learn to climb a tree by the time I get back. Don't you dare let the memory of my falls hold you back."

He laughed a bit. That was promising, at least.

"Come on, let's get some of this moss back to the base. I think you've gotten enough for both of us to carry full loads." I shook my head. "I never would've thought it, but I do believe your main strength is gathering moss."

Rowanpaw and I spent the remainder of the afternoon in the clearing. We joked and laughed, shared tongues, and just enjoyed each other's company. A couple times, I caught Rowanpaw's expression falling and knew he was thinking about the moons ahead, but I always immediately brought him back with a story about my morning or a teasing remark.

The sun began to set, casting long shadows across the trodden-down grass. The members of the Rebellion began drifting off to their respective dens, gradually emptying the clearing in the face of the oncoming darkness. But though Rowanpaw and I kept our eyes wide open, searching for Nova or Moki or someone who looked vaguely important, no one approached us with instructions for the night.

"Do you think they forgot about us?" Rowanpaw asked after a long moment of gazing around the base.

"Nah. I've got to meet Phantom, remember? I'm, like, the most important part of this operation."

He nudged me. "Hey, quit being so self-centered! Phantom's got to give his report, too, remember?"

"Eh, fine, whatever." I flicked my ears carelessly, shrugging one shoulder. I'd gotten fairly good at the maneuver during the afternoon. "But I'm still, like, the second-most-important part."

"I guess so," Rowanpaw snorted.

We fell silent again, watching the clearing. It was almost empty now, with most of the cats asleep in their dens by now. The only ones left were Rowanpaw, me, and about three others scattered around the edges. I eyed them closely and realized I recognized one: Marc. So the dark golden tabby she-cat beside him must be his mate. What was her name again?

"Hey." Rowanpaw nosed me again. "Look."

I followed his gaze and saw, with a leap of excitement, Nova's lilac point form had appeared from the recesses of his den. "It must be time to go," I half-whispered.

Sure enough, after quickly scanning the clearing to pinpoint our location, Nova beckoned to us with his tail. Rowanpaw pushed himself effortlessly to his paws (I cast him a jealous glare) and I heaved myself upright with a little help from Rowanpaw's shoulder. Together, we padded/limped across to join Nova at the entrance.

"Is it just gonna be us?" I asked.

Nova shook his head. "Another cat will be joining us. I believe you've met her briefly—Cordelia?"

I nodded, remembering the russet, long-furred she-cat from yesterday.

"Usually I go alone to avoid detection, but if you're coming along, we might need an extra cat. You might run out of energy or trip and break your splints."

"I could help her," Rowanpaw said. "If I'm coming anyway—"

"You won't be coming. Cordelia will do just fine."

Rowanpaw's eyes widened. "What? But…"

Nova raised his eyebrows. "What purpose would you serve? You don't need to meet Phantom or receive his report. You're not as experienced or strong as Cordelia. You'd just be an extra cat and, though you're small, this mission requires stealth."

Rowanpaw's whiskers drooped and he hung his head. For a moment, I tried to think up an excuse for him coming, but came up with nothing. Nova had explained away everything. There really was no reason for Rowanpaw to come along.

"I'll tell you all about it when I get back," I murmured, dipping my head to look into his face.

"Yeah."

I hesitated. What else could I console him with? "You'll keep our nest warm for me?"

Rowanpaw didn't reply. Instead, he turned and padded away across the clearing, tail dragging a bit on the grass.

"Cordelia will be waiting at the entrance." I broke my eyes away from my brother to look around at Nova. "We should be off. Phantom will wonder where we've been."

"Yeah." Forcing out a deep breath, I cast one last glance over my shoulder at Rowanpaw before starting to limp forward. Nova ducked ahead of me, disappearing around the boulder. At a much slower pace, I followed.

He came back into sight as I rounded the rock, exchanging a quick greeting with Cordelia, who sat primly beside the entrance. As I joined them, her dark green eyes fixed on me. "Hullo," she meowed, giving me a small smile. Then, her eyes falling to my splinted leg, she added, "We'd better get going as soon as possible. If your pace yesterday was anything to go off of, we'll be keeping Phantom waiting."

I blinked. "I'm not that slow!" I protested, though a nagging sensation in the back of my mind told me she was right. I'd probably hold up the entire meeting because of my injury. Despite knowing the longer I stayed injured, the longer I remained a spy, a sudden burning desire to heal myself as fast as physically possible filled my body. I did not want to hold up other cats ever again.

With a nod each to Cordelia and me, Nova set off along the leftmost trail, heading straight up the mountain. Cordelia nodded for me to go next, so, with a slight groan at the prospect of lugging myself straight up a fairly steep slope, I began stumping along in Nova's pawsteps.

The night seemed to grow darker still as the forest closed in around us. It was a little disconcerting to feel this blind. Back in the city there had always been light from streetlamps or cars or something, and even when traveling alongside the river there had always been the moon. When I was on the train was perhaps the darkest I'd experienced, but even that paled beside this.

It was probably the trees, I guessed. Even though it was Leaf-bare and all the trees had lost their leafy pelts, the trunks still stood wide and solid, blocking out the meager moonlight. I could still barely see where I was putting my paws, the faint strips of light outlining fallen sticks and wandering roots, but that was it.

Did Phantom come out here often in his duty as a spy? Probably; I didn't know how often his meetings with Nova were, but they must be at least a couple times per moon. Huh. Maybe being a spy wouldn't be so cool after all. This nearly impenetrable darkness was starting to unsettle me.

Eventually, after we'd been walking so long my shoulder was starting to ache again, Nova swept his tail across my forepaws and I stopped, gazing around. Were we finally here? Where was Phantom? Was he even here yet?

Cordelia padded up to speak with Nova in a hushed voice. "The moon's a little above the treeline; we're a bit late."

"Yes, I know," Nova half-hissed, staring intently into the darkness farther up the mountain.

"Where's Phantom?" I asked uncertainly, making sure to keep my voice low.

"He's around," Cordelia assured me. "He's a spy, remember? It's his job to stay hidden. If we could see him, I'd be worried."

Oh, right. That made sense. I probably should've figured that out myself. I turned my gaze again to our surroundings, hoping to be the first to notice Phantom's approach. After all, if I was going to be a spy in just a little bit, I should probably try to be as spy-like as possible now. Spies would definitely be able to pick out other spies, even if it was really dark.

"Aha. There you are." Nova's voice cut through my thoughts and I whirled around, crestfallen. It hadn't been me to spot him first, after all. I got a small consolation, though, in that I immediately picked out movement against the shadowy background.

As Phantom made his way closer, I was able to see more of his appearance. It was no wonder I couldn't see him initially; his fur was dark gray, almost black, with darker stripes like shadows cast by saplings. His narrowed eyes revealed no color, so that even if they were a bright, coppery orange, no one would be able to pick them out amongst the dark foliage. He was also rather small, easily concealable in a bush or behind a tree.

"Nova. Cordelia." His voice was odd for a tom—rather high-pitched. With a sudden start, I realized why he must be so small. I'd been expecting him to be a fully grown adult cat, but on the contrary, he must be quite young. Maybe he was as young as me, even. It would explain both his small stature and his not-yet-matured voice.

"Hello, Phantom," Nova meowed, dipping his head. My eyes widened at this display of respect. Well, if I got respect like that, I could deal with the darkness. Maybe being a spy would be fun, after all. "Prey running well for the Avanti?"

"I'm afraid so. They haven't gone hungry yet. Perhaps I could try scaring away some of the prey, running them down toward the base. Hunger would certainly make them weaker, more likely to surrender." He shrugged. "Anyway, I see you've brought along another cat. I'm guessing there's a reason, since she probably shouldn't be walking around if it's not absolutely necessary." His eyes lingered on my splint.

"Yes, indeed. This is Ravenpaw." Nova flicked his tail at me, beckoning me forward into the conversation. "She joined the Rebellion recently, but is in need of professional healing. Lukan wasn't up to the job, but we thought Cephas or Saffron might be able to help her."

"So she's joining me as a spy?" Phantom guessed. Nova nodded. "I see."

"We'll need a way to get her into the camp without arousing suspicion," Cordelia explained. "We were thinking about introducing her as a relation of yours? Your sister, perhaps?"

"That could work," Phantom murmured slowly. His gaze slowly traveled over my features. "We have about the same color fur, besides your white markings," he noted, nodding at my ears. "And we have about the same color eyes. How old are you?"

"About six moons, just over."

He nodded slowly. "You're fairly long-legged. You could easily pass as seven moons, like me."

"All right." I nodded. "Sounds good to me."

"Now," Phantom continued, "we need to figure out a way for her to join the Avanti without rousing suspicion. She'll probably need to wait until morning, since a nighttime arrival would create unnecessary tension. Cats might start thinking the Rebellion's organized an undercover raid. She'll also have to circle around the mountain, so there won't be many suspicions about how she got through Rebellion territory."

"What about you?" I asked. "Will you meet me by the border or just before I get to the camp or what?"

"It would probably be best not to meet at all, since it would appear as though I knew in advance you were coming. How would I explain that? My old home is fairly far away, in a city."

"Oh, perfect. I come from a city, too," I cut in. "I won't have to pretend that part."

Phantom nodded. "Good. Now, for tomorrow, I'll do my best to remain in camp for the morning. I'll volunteer to help out Avalon in the nursery or something. You make your way toward the camp, though try to meet some cats along the way. That way, you won't just come wandering into the cave and cause cats to wonder how you made it through the territory undetected. You have to appear as harmless as possible."

"Okay."

Phantom glanced from me to Cordelia and Nova. "You think that covers all the bases?"

"I think so," Nova meowed. "It sounds like a wonderful plan. Now, for your report?"

"Oh! Right. Sorry." Phantom swept his tail around one hind leg in embarrassment. "I, uh, got a bit carried away with the plan, I suppose."

"That's quite all right. The plan is pretty important." Nova paused a moment, then prompted, "Your report?"

"The Avanti have been doing fairly well this Frozen-time. Avalon's kits have yet to be born and Simon has recovered from his sickness without infecting any other cats. There is one thing of slight concern, though; the guru has started regular meetings with several of the more experienced cats. I have yet to find a chance to eavesdrop, but I'm worried they might be organizing something."

"Interesting," Nova murmured. "They wouldn't dare attack us outright, what with our strength in numbers. If not an invasion, what would they be organizing?"

"There are other ways to win a war," Phantom reasoned. "I'll do my best to overhear one of the meetings between now and our next meeting."

"Ravenpaw will be staying in the camp full-time," Cordelia pointed out. "She might hear something while you're out and about."

"True." Phantom regarded me with a thoughtful stare. "Doubling up on this spy thing might be quite helpful."

"I'll do my best," I grinned.

Phantom and I shared a look before he glanced over his shoulder. "I really should be getting back. If I stay out too long the Avanti will begin to suspect something's up. And if I'm going to convince them you're my sister, I'll have to keep up my reputation as being completely trustworthy." He gave a last nod to Nova. "Until the next half moon."

Turning, Phantom slipped back into the shadows, his lowered tail slipping out of sight behind a dark-leaved bush. I watched the spot I'd last seen movement for several long moments, until I was sure he was gone.

"We should get back, too. You'll need your rest for tomorrow," Cordelia meowed. "You can lean on me for the walk back if you want."

I nodded. Now that the excitement of the meeting with Phantom was dissipating, I was starting to grow a bit tired. Shifting my weight onto her offered shoulder, I stared ahead at Nova's tail.

At least the trek back wouldn't be as difficult, as it was entirely downhill. I was looking forward to snuggling up with Rowanpaw one more time as I sleepily recounted our entire meeting.

I cast one last glance over my shoulder, my heart beginning to beat a little faster. Tomorrow, I'd become a spy. Tomorrow.

This first question is actually a legit question I'd love if everyone could answer, as it definitely affects my writing.

QOTD1: Would you prefer to see more, shorter chapters (as in ~4k words) or less, longer chapters (as in ~7k and up)?

QOTD2: What do you think of the Tribe cats so far?

AOTD2: I like them, though of course I made them up, so it's hopefully guaranteed I'd like them. XD

QOTD3: I asked a similar-ish question last time, but has school started for you yet? If so, how do you like it?

AOTD3: Yup, school's in session. I'm taking a bunch of classes I want to take this year, which is a special thing seniors get to do when they've already taken most of their required classes, but there's an absolute TON of homework. I'm considering dropping a class and turning it into a study hall, though, so I'll have more time to write and draw and everything. ^^

QOTD4: It's Labor Day weekend in America! Any of you fellow Americans doing anything this weekend?

AOTD4: My parents are going away for a night, but I've just got a fairly chill weekend. It's why I was able to post this chapter today and procrastinate homework so much.

I try not to ask for reviews (you tell me how successful I am at that... ^^;) but it would be absolutely wonderful if we could make it to 150 reviews this chapter! It's only four more, so I'm pretty sure it can happen, but just in case someone forgets to review or something. Anyway.

Hoping to see you next week!

~Snow