Notes:

This chapter is shorter than the last, but I wanted to stop it there for now. Besides, at least it's longer than the first chapter.

Ch. 3

"ThunderClan territory?" Trixie asked, the fear in her eyes replaced by interest. The tom nodded. "Yes. The strongest of the clans surrounding the lake." I noticed a hint of a smile as he spoke highly of his clan. I relaxed and realized that I wanted to learn more about these clans. But before I could ask anything, Trixie asked a question of her own. "There's more than one clan? How many are there?" she asked in wonder, no longer cowering but instead leaning toward the strange cats. "There are four clans. ThunderClan, WindClan, RiverClan, and ShadowClan" the black she-cat answered. The brown tom looked at his companion. "How much should we be telling them?" he asked in a low voice, sounding more like a warning than a question. The she-cat rolled her eyes. "I very much doubt these kits would cause us harm." Before he could say anything more, she returned her dark green gaze to us. "What are your names, little ones?"

I opened my mouth to answer her, but of course Trixie got to it first. "I'm Trixie. And this is Sigh" she said, flicking her tail at me. I smiled shyly and nodded a greeting. The tom snorted, but Trixie seemed to ignore it. "Who are you?" The she-cat bowed her head slightly. "I am Ravenwing, and this is Stoneclaw." Stoneclaw grunted. "Now that we've exchanged pleasantries, I must tell you to leave our-"

Ravenwing interrupted him. "Now hold on", she said, flicking his ear with her tail. "I have a few more questions for them." The tom growled but said nothing. Looking down at us, Ravenwing asked, "Where are you from?" I was finally able to say something. "We lived in a house somewhere over…" I looked around. "Well, over somewhere. I don't really know which direction we came from." The she-cat twitched her whiskers in amusement. "Ah, so you can speak?" I lower my head a little in embarrassment when she continued. "So you did live with Two Legs, but not anymore. How long have you been away from them?"

Trixie tilted her head. "I don't know. Less than a day." Stoneclaw lashed his tail. "Ravenwing, why bother asking them these things? None of that matters. They are intruders and must be treated as such." Ravenwing shot him a seemingly silencing look. "They are also kits, and should be treated as such." Her gaze softened on the tom. "My duty as a medicine cat is to help those in need. These kits," she glanced at us, "are all alone. And I'll bet anything that they have no experience in hunting." Trixie and I were silent, watching the two clan cats with wide eyes. Ravenwing continued. "We must take them back with us. They won't survive, otherwise." Stoneclaw lowered his head. "But… they're kitty pets" he argued, though it was clear that he was wearing down. Ravenwing rested her tail on his shoulder. "They are kits. Kitty pet or no, they deserve a chance." Stoneclaw looked down at us before hanging his head in defeat and sighing. "Fine. But remember, Ravenwing, this is your idea." Ravenwing smiled in triumph. "I will claim all responsibility." The two stood, and Ravenwing looked down at us. "Come with us. We are going to take you to our camp." Stoneclaw nodded hesitantly. "Let's go."

Trixie and I followed the two cats, walking quickly to keep up. I looked over at Trixie, who seemed to be taking in our surroundings. I looked forward again, and heard Stoneclaw speaking to Ravenwing. "I hope you weren't in desperate need of herbs. After this, I don't think we'll have much time to search for them today." Ravenwing flicked his side with her tail. "That's alright, there's always tomorrow. And I know how much you love long treks through the forest, failing to recognize herbs that I ask you to get for me." He smiled. "Thanks, you just crushed my secret dreams of being a medicine cat." The she-cat laughed and shook her head. The rest of the walk was quiet except for the sounds of birds calling and what I think were mice scrabbling around the forest floor.

We arrived at a thorn barrier with a single entryway. The two forest cats slipped inside. I paused, looking up at the barrier. Trixie was about to walk in when she stopped and looked back at me. "Are you coming, Sigh?" I looked past her. I opened my mouth, and I could smell a lot of cats back there. I closed my mouth and looked uncertainly at my sister. Seeing her excited green eyes, I took a deep breath. Side by side, we walked through the opening in the thorn wall. I didn't know it then, but that moment I decided to walk into the camp would change our lives forever.