The trees rattled and swayed as the cold wind of leaf-bare as it cut through their bare limbs. Prey dashed to their dens, desperate to get as warm as they possibly could. A dark tabby knew all of this with a simple swivel of her ears. She was alert of her surroundings, but her amber eyes never left the starless sky.
"StarClan is invisible tonight," she murmured.
"What are you blabbering about this time?" her companion, a small white and gray loner mewed as she groomed her fur.
Amberstorm turned to give the she-cat an annoyed looked. "You wouldn't understand, Lilly," she replied. "After all, you have been a loner for your whole life."
"Yeah, but this loner saved your life."
The former warrior just merely snorted, privately admitting that she was right. Amberstorm had met Lilly when she had been cornered by two aggressive foxes. Lilly had come by at the same time and helped her fight.
"You know, Amberstorm," the loner focused her green eyes on her, "you never explained to me what exactly a Clan was."
Amberstorm shrugged. "Just a group of cats. It's really not that important."
"Then why do you always talk about 'StarClan'?"
"They're my warrior ancestors." Her mew was quieter this time. "They watch over the Clans. Every single star represents a dead warrior. But, for some reason, there aren't any stars out tonight."
"Well, maybe it's just cloudy out," Lilly simply mewed.
Amberstorm snorted. "Have you looked up lately? It's obvious there aren't any clouds out tonight."
The she-cat shrugged. "Oh. Well, maybe they can't see you from here."
The tabby remained silent. Suddenly, she stood up. "Come on, Lilly," she ordered. "We need to get to where we're going by sunhigh tomorrow."
"Yeah, yeah…I don't see why you want me to show you where these flea-bitten scraps are anyway. They're just rouges."
"I would just feel comfortable in a bigger group."
Soon, the two were walking through the trees, occasionally putting their ears back when a gust of wind came, threatening to flatten them. It hadn't taken much for Amberstorm to guess that leaf-bare was here. That was why she was seeking out a large group of rouges that lived in an abandoned Twolegplace (according to Lilly).
"How does a Twolegplace become empty, anyway?" she suddenly asked.
Lilly shrugged. "Not sure. All I know is that there are a bunch of Twoleg dens and Twoleg paths, but no Twolegs. It's kinda creepy, even with all those rouges there."
"You'll get used to it."
"Thanks for your sympathy, Amberstorm."
"Anytime."
-
"Well, here it is," Lilly whispered.
Amberstorm looked around in awe. Sure enough, it was a Twolegplace, but no Twolegs. Everything looked seasons old and a few dens seemed as though they would collapse at any second. It does look a little spooky since the sun is just now rising, she thought.
"Who's here?" an old ginger tabby stepped out of the shadows.
Amberstorm dipped her head respectfully. "Greetings, I'm Amberstorm and this is my friend Lilly. May we speak with your leader?"
He snorted. "Leader? We don't have a leader, kitten."
Her ears twitched in annoyance as he called her 'kitten' but forced herself not to mention it. "Oh. Well then, do you think we would be welcome to stay here?"
He shrugged. "I don't see why not. Might as well show you around. Now, Timberworm and Billie, right?"
Great, she thought, clearly annoyed. Another genius. "No," she said, her calm voice clearly forced. "Amberstorm and Lilly."
"Right," he rumbled. "My name's Kenobi."
"Kenobi?" Lilly asked. "Why would your mother name you that?"
"She didn't. I used to be a housecat when I was a young'un. Anyways, follow me, you two. I'll show you around."
Amberstorm sighed as she half-listened, half-ignored Kenobi. So far this plan had been just plain mouse-brained. Why did I choose to do this? She thought, but then answered herself: Because you and Lilly need to find shelter for leaf-bare.
"So, a bunch of rouges live here, right?" Lilly asked their senile tour guide.
"Rouges?" he purred. "No, Billie, we're all former housecats…"
They're all of kittypet blood? Amberstorm raged distastefully.
"…But that doesn't mean that we're not dangerous."
"We'll be fine," Amberstorm growled.
Suddenly, Kenobi stopped. "That may be true, kitten, but I still would suggest not picking any fights. Especially with Kamikaze."
"Who's Kamikaze?"
The tom sighed. "You'll notice him in a heartbeat. Stone gray cat, missing an eye, got a scar across his face…You see a cat like that, then you've seen Kamikaze. They say that his housefolk abandoned him because he hurt their kit."
"We'll be fine, old timer," Amberstorm held her head high. "I've had warrior training; I'll be able to take him."
"Is that so?" All three cats turned around to see a gray cat stepping towards them, his single yellow eye gleaming.
"K-Kamikaze…" Kenobi rasped.