Pinekit and Tanglekit went the rest of the day worrying about Rose, not knowing why she hadn't returned with some prey or a great story to tell them. Pinekit tried not to show it to her brother, but she was actually scared. She just woke up from her nap when she heard the sound of voices outside. She would have ignored them and went back to sleep but she heard the words "Rose" and "forest." That instantly drew her attention and she sneaked forward behind a crate to listen. She didn't bother waking Tanglekit in case she missed something important.

"I am worried for Rose. I met with her before she left. I know where she went, and I have a feeling things didn't turn out like she planned. She said she would be back by sunrise, you know," Lila meowed.

Ginger paused a moment before replying and Pinekit could picture him examining his claws, one of his normal responses when she wasn't sure what to say. "So are you sure Rose went back to the forest?"

"I'm positive. She left secretly. If she was out hunting or something of that sort don't you think she would have told you, or her kits?" she pointed out, her voice cracking with worry. Pinekit felt like a stone was lodged in the pit of her stomach. "The poor things. What are we going to tell them?"

"Sorry, kits. Mom was captured by a band of evil cats that live in the forest," Ginger suggested.

"This is serious. Rose could be in danger," Lila insisted.

Pinekit thought she heard the sounds of paw steps coming closer and shrank backward until she bumped into her brother who woke up with a stir. "What is it?" he grumbled.

Pinekit quickly poured out everything she overheard, her worries making her even more desperate to tell him. "Ginger said Mom could have been captured by evil forest cats."

"Like TigerClan you mean?"

Pinekit nodded. "I think so. Mom said they live in the forest. Oh no." She sniffled and wiped away a tear with her paw. "I heard everything. TigerClan got her for sure, or one of the other great Clans. What are we going to do?"

Tanglekit tried to reason this out, but couldn't think of any other reasons why Rose was held up in the forest for so long. What else could evil cats be than the enormous orange and black tigers that stalked about in the shadows? "Well, maybe they aren't bad at all. Maybe she was visiting their camp or something like that. Afte all, we are descended from TigerClan warriors, right?"

"But I heard everything. It sure sounded like something bad happened. I'm worried, Tanglekit. What are we going to do?" Pinekit meowed desperately.

"There is only one thing we can do. We will have to go after her," Tanglekit announced. "We can't just sit back and do nothing."

"But Lila and Ginger will worry about us." Pinekit felt rotten leaving them behind with no idea if they were safe or not. What did they deserve to be abandoned like that? But still, they had to go rescue Rose no matter what it took. At last she nodded, still unsure about her decision still but firm on it allthe same. "All right, Tanglekit. We will go tonight when Lila and Ginger are asleep. Maybe by then Mom will come back." That was a big maybe.