Ravenkit crouched near the road and watched the cars roar past. He was starting to have second thoughts about this. Then again, how else could he get the Clan to see him as a hero? Swallowing his fear, he dashed forwards...

And then saw a great beast, made of shiny chrome, bearing down upon him, ready to devour him whole. He closed his eyes and wailed into the nose-numbing wind it produced. He knew no one would hear, and certainly not the Twolegs who were behind the wheel of this monster... Funny, he was using the Clan terms now. Was that to be his etipaph? "He died knowing Clan terms"? Oh, please, no! He wanted to live...

He suddenly realized that the noises had stopped. Even crouching down, the Twoleg, an adult male, towered over him. He smiled and reached out a friendly hand. Now his instinct was to run, when a few days ago it would have been to eagerly accept, he instead bared his teeth and flattened his ears. Laughing, the Twoleg scooped him up. Ravenkit slashed desperately, but was forced into the car, and watched helplessly as his territory receded.

He yowled sorrowfully.

"There is his scent, and the scent of a monster, and the scent of a Twoleg," growled Rosethorn. "I fear he has been taken."

"Taken?" whispered Flarepaw. "Oh no! We must get him back!" Her tail twitched back and forth in anxiety, her concern shown in her widened blue eyes. A soft snarl rose in her throat as she reflected on the cruelty of the one who had torn her family apart.

"We can follow his scent for a while. Hopefully he has not been taken too far," replied Rosethorn.

They began running.

Ravenkit hissed at the Twoeleg as he gazed around his new house. There were several paintings hanging on the walls, and the slightly mussed-up rug and shredded drapes seemed to indicate the residence of another cat. But as he sniffed the air, he detected a positive sign...of death. Apparently the former resident had passed away, and now this Twoleg seeked him as a replacement.

Forget it, he thought. I feel for you, but my place is in ThunderClan.

With a sudden snarl, he spun around and raced at the door, but felt two hands grab him strongly around his middle. He clawed and screeched, but felt himself being pulled away nonetheless. He heard the soothing speech of the Twoleg, reassuring him that everything would be fine, that he would be taken care of...

No, thought Ravenkit, no! Growling, he suddenly had an idea. It was stupid, but it just might work. He allowed himself to go limp, rolling in the Twoleg's hands. Worried, the Twoleg set him down, and then Ravenkit raced out the door. He heard desperate cries behind him, but did not turn back. ThunderClan was his home now, and that was where he would return to.

Flarepaw nearly smashed right into her brother.

"Ravenkit?" she screeched in shock, then pounced on him. "Oh, Ravenkit! How did you get away?"

The lithe black kit licked his whiskers gently. "Well...it was like this..."

"The Twoleg's grubby paws reached down at me, nearly grabbing me. I barely managed to leap out of the way, then snapped fiercely at one of them, making it bleed. Screeching, he grabbed his wound and glared at me, then kicked. I felt the kick bruise my side, but dodged between his legs and ran for the door." Ravenkit finished his narrative, inwardly grinning at the large amount of fascinated eyes fixed on him.

"Great StarClan, that must have been exciting!" yowled Strawpaw. He wished it had been him instead, after all it must have been so exciting and nerve-wracking! From what he had heard, this Twoleg was a mean, snarly beast who never took baths. He had only one eye and many scars. His house was full of half-eaten food and other, more gross things. Just the mere thought of it made him shudder. Ravenkit was a hero, alright! He had braved the Twoleg's talons and escaped relatively unscathed.

"Yes," grinned Ravenkit. "It was, indeed."

Shadowpaw narrowed her eyes at her only son. There was something strange about the way he was holding his head-like he was afraid to look them in the eye. Was he lying, exaggerating to play the hero?

"Why don't I see any sign of your injury?" she purred gently, staring up at him, willing him to look her in the eye.

"Er..." muttered Ravenkit. "Of course you don't see it! My dark fur hides the bruise!" He drew himself up proudly, still avoiding his mother's eye.

"You lie."

It was a simple sentence, only two words, but those words seemed to crash down onto Ravenkit's head. You lie. You lie. He shouldn't have told the tale. Mothers could always tell when you were lying.

"Yes," he whispered softly. "The Twoleg wasn't mean. He just wanted to take me home and take care of me."

Whispers sprang up around him, each cat muttering to another. Ravenkit wanted to sink down into the ground.