Sorry about the long wait on updates! I've finally got a day to myself, so I'm going to try and update most of my stories today. Enjoy!

Chapter 11

Silence enveloped the she-cat as she padded through the dark, seemingly endless tunnel. Just when she thought she knew where the tunnel was headed, it snaked into a completely different direction. She was sure that she was lost, and longed to turn around. Maybe, if she sucked in her chest, she would have enough space to turn around. What was this place, anyway? Was it home to a badger? A clan of badgers? That thought, and the cold, musty air, sent a shiver down her spine. Her heart raced with fear, and she took a deep breath to calm herself. She took another great whiff of the air. It glided over her scent pallettes, and there were no foreign scents that she had any reason to be afraid of. She sighed, settling herself down where she was and closing her eyes. The echo of her breathing off of the all-too-close walls soon lulled her to sleep.

--X

Kite opened her eyes slowly, and she gazed around the tunnel. It was still pitch black. Was it still the middle of the night? Was it mid-day? Just how long had she been asleep? There was only one way to find out. She sucked in her stomach and, still crouching on the ground, spun herself around. She rose to her paws stiffly and bounded through the tunnels, eager to get out and continue on her journey. Would Glacierpelt really come after her? Kite didn't want to know.

It seemed like moons had passed by the time she finally got to the mouth of the tunnel. The sun, sitting high in the sky, beat down on the she-cat's thick ginger pelt. Kite cursed herself inwardly for sleeping for so long. She'd have to make up for all the time she lost. She turned to the west and bounded down the moor, enjoying the cool breeze that swept through her dirty, unkempt fur. She would have to wash it later tonight. For now, she focused all of her energy on moving as quickly as possible, only stopping for a quick breath every now and then.

It wasn't very long before she reached a small barn on the other side of the road. She crossed the Thunderpath quickly and ducked into the door of the barn. The barn was warm, with little patches of sunlight falling through holes in the roof. The place smelled of hay and mice. Wait, not mice. Kite scented the air again. It was rats.

Kite's body stiffened as she registered the scent. Rats were supposed to be vicious killers. Just as she thought this, a large, black rat scurried out from under a pile of hay and ran past the she-cat. She squealed in fright, leaping backwards several rabbit hops.

"Rat!" she cried.

"Oh, come now. They're not that bad." The sudden voice made Kite jump again. She looked up, toward the direction where the voice had come from. A sleek black tom leapt down from the upper level of the barn and landed smoothly beside her. "You've got to keep your mind open. Here," he turned quickly as another rat dashed by, caught it swiftly by the neck, and turned back to her. He dropped it at her paws. "You look kind of hungry. Try a bite, I insist."

"Erm..." Kite murmured. Weren't rogues supposed to be vicious, too? She stooped down and took a wary bite. The warm, juicy meat of the plump, freshly-killed prey was delicious. "Thanks," she mumbled, her mouth full of half-chewed rat meat.

"No problem," the sleek black tom replied. "My name's Ravenpaw. I live here with my friend Barley."

"Ravenpaw?" Kite asked, looking back up at the tom. "What Clan did you belong to?"

"ThunderClan," Ravenpaw replied.

"Why'd you leave?"

"My mentor turned out to be an ambitious murderer who was bent on killing me and our leader in order to gain domination of the Clans."

"That's rough," Kite murmured.

"Where do you come from?" Ravenpaw asked.

"I was born in ThunderClan, but I've been living as a housecat for most of my life," Kite replied. "I've been running away from one of my old friends for a few days now."

"And why are you running?" Ravenpaw asked, tipping his head to one side curiously.

"It's a long story," Kite sighed. "And I don't have much time. I have to get out of here, and as far away from him as possible."

"You said you were from ThunderClan?" Ravenpaw meowed. "Who are your parents?"

"Firestar and Sandstorm," Kite replied.

Ravenpaw's eyes grew wide at the sound of their names.

"What?" Kite meowed. "Do you know them?"

"I grew up with them," Ravenpaw replied, his voice distant. He shook his head quickly, bringing himself back to reality. "Please, won't you stay the night? There's plenty of room here, and I'm sure Barely would understand."

"If I did," Kite meowed. "I'd have to leave first thing in the morning. I'm kind of on the run, remember?"

"Right," Ravenpaw mewed, nodding once. "But where did you intend to sleep tonight?"

"I don't really know where I'm headed," Kite admitted sheepishly.

"Well now," Ravenpaw meowed. "That's not very smart, now is it?"

"I suppose not," Kite admitted.

"Why don't you stay here while you figure out some sort of plan?" Ravenpaw suggested. "Come on, there's plenty of room up there." Ravenpaw gestured to the upper level of the barn with his tail.

"OK," Kite meowed. "If you insist. I guess I'd much rather sleep in here than outside in the streets." And so she and Ravenpaw leapt up into the upper level of the barn and shared another rat.

--X

"So," Ravenpaw meowed, licking the remains of the rat they had shared off of his lips. "Why don't you tell me that story? You know, the reason why you ended up here in the first place."

Kite paused nervously, glancing hesitantly around the hay loft, as Ravenpaw called it. "How much do you want to know?"

"Well," Ravenpaw meowed. "As much as you'd like to tell me, I suppose."

"OK then," Kite meowed. "So, I was born into ThunderClan with the name Kitekit. I left the Clan at the age of three moons and found my way to the Twolegplace. A young she-cat named Tabitha raised me until I was twelve moons old. I had a good friend named Glacier who was always clinging to me. So, one day, he took me to a small glade just outside of ThunderClan's territory and told me that he loved me. I rejected him and went home, but he just kept coming back, and finally, he forced me to mate with him, and I'm probably due to bear his kits within the next two moons. So I went to Odin, who is an older tom that I've depended on for most of my life, and he suggested that I head in this direction. So I've spent a few days traveling, and now here I am."

"So is your name still Kitekit?" Ravenpaw asked.

"No, Kite replied. "I shed my Clan name a long time ago. I'm just Kite now."

"Well, Kite," Ravenpaw meowed. "I'm sorry that you've had to leave everything you know behind. I'd be happy to accompany you to a safe place that I know of, far away from here. There's a group of cats that will gladly take you in, I'm sure."

"How far is it?" Kite asked.

"A few days' travel, if we're fast enough," Ravenpaw replied.

"Glacierpelt would find me for sure," Kite murmured. "I think I'd rather find my own place to stay. But thank you for the offer."

"Ravenpaw?" a new voice called from below. "Ravenpaw, who is with you? I scent an intruder!"

"It's quite alright!" Ravenpaw called, poking his head out over the ledge of the hay loft. "It's just Kite, Firestar's daughter. She is welcome here."

"Ah," the voice said. Soon, a black-and-white tom stood beside Ravenpaw on the edge of the hay loft. He turned to face Kite, dipping his head to her politely. "My name is Barley. Ravenpaw and I have lived here together for many a moon."

"It's nice to meet you," Kite replied, bowing her head in return. "If it is alright with you, Ravenpaw has invited me to stay for the night, as I am leaving my home and I am in need of shelter."

"It is quite alright with me," Barley replied. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Yes," Kite mewed. "The rats here taste much better than I had suspected.

Barley purred in amusement at this. "Most passerby do say that."

"There have been others?" Kite asked.

"Why, yes," Barley replied, his chest swelling with pride. "We once housed all of WindClan when Fireheart and Graystripe brought them back from their tunnel under the Thunderpath."

"But there's no time for stories now, is there?" Ravenpaw cut in. "Kite needs to get an early start tomorrow. We should let her rest."

"Alright then," Barley meowed. "But, Ravenpaw, I must speak with you down below."

Kite watched them as they leapt down skillfully from the top of the hay loft. She settled down, making a nest for herself in the piles of hay, and tried to listen to the two loners' conversation, but the sweet scent of the hay soon soothed her to sleep.