Thanks to World of Make Believe and Through Another's Eyes for reviewing! Yes, it's been forever... but this is finally the latest chapter of Torrent - and I have to say that it's a turning point. I had fun writing it, and I hope you'll have just as much fun reading ^_^

'No name'... for goodness' sake. If my writing is so awful, why are you even bothering to keep on reading and reviewing? And yes, maybe I would be jealous of your writing... if I'd ever seen any of it. You sign in with an anonymous pen name at the moment, so I can't see anything to be jealous of except your atrocious flaming skills.

DISCLAIMER: I really, really don't own Warriors. Not even a tiny part of it.

Ten

"Well, we've got to go and save it!"

For the first time, Pine was acknowledging Lilac's presence, but quite frankly, Chicory would have preferred the dark brown tomcat to have gone on ignoring her.

"Don't be mousebrained." Lilac calmly drew her tongue over her paw. "Why should we risk our lives for some kit - a kit that we don't even know?"

Pine growled his frustration. "Because it's in trouble, that's why!"

"Very strange noise it's making, too," Lilac commented, pricking her ears. "I wonder if all kittypet kits sound like that?"

Before Chicory could listen more carefully and see if Lilac was right, Pine swung around to face her. Barely suppressed annoyance marred his features, and Chicory forced herself not to flinch backwards. He wasn't going to vent on her, was he?

"Chicory? You'll come, right?"

Thank the moon and stars. He only wanted her support.

"Y-yeah, of course I will," the white she-cat mewed. Pine's expression softened slightly.

To Chicory's surprise, Lilac let out a purr of delight. "That's so cute!" she squealed. Confusion clouded Chicory's thoughts for a heartbeat before her sister went on; "You want to impress your little friend by becoming a hero and rescuing a kit!"

Dismay welled inside Chicory as she realised that the tortoiseshell she-cat meant Ivy. "That is one of the most mousebrained things I have heard in my entire life, and I'm including that time last moon when Pine thought that squirrel was speaking to him."

Lilac continued to purr. "You're in denial. It's adorable."

Irritation pricked Chicory's pelt. "Shut up. You know I'm not," she lashed out, her voice hard. She caught a glimpse of Lilac's mildly startled expression before she whipped around towards the source of the kit's wailing and stalked away from her sister.

Pine hurried after her. Chicory sensed his surprise.

"Whoa, Chic. You never snap like that." He sounded half-admiring, half-wary.

Chicory sniffed huffily. It was true, she didn't ever retort in that way... Lilac had been being annoying, but normally the pale striped she-cat took it in her stride and didn't say anything back. What had caused that outburst? If it could even be called that, Chicory thought wryly. I barely said two sentences.

"So, who is it?" Pine's mew broke the silence.

"Who is what?"

"Oh, c'mon..." Chicory's brother's mew was teasing. "Just 'cause I'm a tom doesn't mean you can't talk to me about this stuff. Tell me."

All of a sudden, a hot flush of embarrassment and outrage swept over Chicory. He's got to be joking. "There isn't anyone!" she protested hotly. However, even as the words rose from her jaws and Pine stepped back quickly, fearful of another uncharacteristic flare-up, her mind seemed to whisper back a contradiction.

It's the classic tale of a love-hate relationship.

The words came from Holly, a couple of moons previously, explaining to her kits how she and Windflower had met.

I thought he was a little bit conceited - I can't say I was his biggest fan, although he had caught the eye of a few she-cats... It was only when I became pregnant with his kits - you three - that I began to see him in a different light.

Was Holly trying to say that Chicory would have to be expecting Ivy's kits before she would see him as anything other than a spoiled brat who refused to leave her alone?

Expecting Ivy's kits.

Ew.

###

The wailing had definitely increased in volume. Chicory realised that Lilac had been right in saying that it was strange - not as squealy as the other kits she had encountered, and - can that really be classified as a mewl? the white she-cat wondered.

"I wonder why it's crying out?" Chicory's mew shook with nerves.

Pine cocked his head. "Perhaps it's just lost?" he suggested.

Let's hope, agreed Chicory silently. She didn't particularly want to have to deal with any spilled blood or unfriendly animals.

"I think it might be just past here..." muttered Pine, brushing past a couple of dew-covered ferns. "Hello? Hello? We've come to help..."

Chicory followed mutely a couple of pawsteps behind, not bold enough to shout out like Pine.

The wailing paused momentarily, shuddering as though to draw breath, and then started again.

"Hello? He-llo...? He- whoa." Pine stopped dead in front of Chicory.

Slightly afraid as to why he had halted, Chicory whispered, "Pine? What is it?"

"Um..." Pine eyes seemed drawn to the sight in front of him. "Well... You'd better come and see for yourself, Chicory."

A shiver went down Chicory's spine as she became acutely aware that the wailing had stopped. In its place was a quiet gurgling sound. She sidestepped Pine, her pelt brushing his, and followed his amber gaze.

Chicory's eyes widened to the size of moons.

"Um... wow," she squeaked minutely.

As she gazed, transfixed, at, it gurgled happily. It seemed to have calmed down, pleased by their presence. The striped she-cat tried not to take a pawstep back as it fixed large, pale eyes on her and clapped its pink, podgy paws.

"You do know what this is, don't you?" Pine nudged her.

Chicory blinked. "Oh, yes," she meowed faintly.

###

"What... in the name of the sun and the moon... is that?" Lilac's mew was steady, but held an undercurrent of hysteria. Her eyes were narrow with distaste, but Chicory could see that they were following the creature she and Pine had brought back.

"It's a kit," replied Pine evenly. Lilac's head snapped up to meet his gaze.

"I can see that," she meowed. "But it's not exactly of our species, is it?"

The Twoleg kit sat up on its strangely padded rear and allowed its arms fall to its sides, letting out a soft 'oooh' as a butterfly fluttered past.

"Well... no," Pine admitted. "But me and Chicory decided... that didn't matter. She still needed our help."

Lilac's ears flattened. "She?"

Chicory nodded. "You can smell that she's a she-Twoleg... at least, I could." She ducked her head.

A hiss escaped Lilac's jaws.

Getting the young Twoleg back Lilac was had been quite a task for Pine and Chicory. After ascertaining that there were no older Twolegs nearby and that the kit was, indeed, lost, convincing her to move at all took some effort.

Chicory had discovered that Twolegs kits moved on all fours, rather than on their hind paws, as the adults did. Personally, Chicory deemed this much more sensible. In fact, once the initial shock of being faced with a Twoleg kit had receded, Chicory learnt enough to decide that Twoleg kits were generally smarter than their fully-grown counterparts - and indeed, a lot less violent.

Meanwhile, Lilac was still spitting angrily.

"Just wait 'til the others hear about this!" The way she said it made it sound like a threat. Briefly, Chicory wondered all the happiness that she was with her siblings had gone. The three of them together just seemed to cause endless arguments.

Tail fluffed up in her martyred rage, Lilac turned with a 'hmph!' and wriggled back underneath the fence that led back to Twolegplace.

As the Twoleg kit gurgled obliviously behind her, Chicory half-wished that she could call her sister back.

Well, there it is! I defy anyone to have seen that coming. I wasn't too sure about how people would respond to this plot twist - do you love it, do you hate it? Let me know.