The moment she heard the cry, Rain skidded to a stop, turning sharply on the tips of her paws and bolting back to her companions, her heart dropping, her body being gripped in an icy hand of fear as she heard Marcy's screams of horror. She burst back out onto the trail they were traveling on to see a terrifying sight. A large, amber-eyed owl was screeching and hissing, flapping its wings desperately. Zero was clinging to its sides with his claws, scratching at it with everything he could to try and free the wailing Breeze from the deadly grip of the owl's talons. The owl was lifting off into the air some, taking Zero with it, as Marcy huddled in horror over Ami and Blu.

Without thinking, Rain launched herself at the owl as well, spitting and growling as she sunk her claws into the other feathery side of the owl. The nighttime predator let out a furious screech and raked at her with its kitten-free talons, scratching her shoulder, leaving deep, bloody welts in its wake. She refused to let go, fighting and screaming along with Zero to try and get the owl to let go of Breeze.

Suddenly, the owl gave a powerful jerk forward, shocking both of the cats. Zero's grip loosened slightly and, another jerk later, the owl had thrown the large tom off of him, sending him crashing into Blu. Terrified, Rain closed her eyes and gripped the owl even tighter, holding on for both her own life and Breeze's.

"Hang on!"

Rain opened her eyes and quickly looked around, confused by the new voice that seemed to come out of nowhere. The next thing she knew, a streak of silver shot down from the trees and rammed into the owl, which made a strangled squawk come from it as it tumbled to the ground. It landed with a harsh thud, jolting Rain right off of it and sending her rolling across the dirt floor. She instantly leaped right back up, staring in shock as the owl flapped around like mad, trying to escape it's captor and their savior.

He was a young, lean silver tom covered with flecks of darker gray and black. He wrestled on the ground with the owl, not seeming at all fazed by its flapping and screaming. Finally, clearly fed up with the torment, the owl released Breeze from its talons. Only then did the white silver tom leap off of it, allowing the bird to flap frantically into the sky and fly off with an angry screech into the night.

"Breeze!" Marcy cried, racing over to her daughter, who was trembling in horror, her fluffy golden pelt stained with blood.

"Quick, come with me, all of you," meowed the tom, brushing Marcy's leg with his long, thin.

"Can you help her!?" Marcy asked desperately as she gently picked Breeze up by the scruff.

"If you hurry, yes!" He replied, turning and bounding off into the forest.

There was no questioning him, especially not with the state Breeze was in. Rain hurried after the cat, Marcy, Zero and Blu following her, Ami being carried by her and Angel being carried by Zero as they ran through the sheltering undergrowth. The tom led them through the forest, weaving carefully around trees and bushes until they stepped out into a large clearing that had a single, wooden structure in the center.

Zero instantly stopped, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the structure. "That's a Twoleg nest..." he growled quietly.

"None live here anymore," the tom told him, climbing up onto the porch and shoving the door open. "Come on, hurry in! Put the kit on the nest in the corner."

Rain rushed into the building with Marcy, watching the mother take her kit to the indicated nest. She set her down, shaking with concern as the still bleeding kitten fell over weakly. She was pushed out of the way by the tom, who sniffed Breeze before turning and going to a corner of the building. Rain watched as he scooped up some cobwebs on his paw and then returned to Breeze, packing the cobwebs onto the deep wounds in the kitten's sides.

Marcy paced nearby, watching with round eyes. Rain sat down on the hard wood of the building, panting slightly, Ami and Angel huddling up beside her. She heard Zero and Blu sit down nearby, all of them watching the strange tom take care of Breeze.

"She's lucky," the cat murmured after a long time, sniffing at the wounds on Breeze, which were now all covered with cobwebs. "The owl's talons didn't go that deep. She should be able to escape infection. I'm not master at medicine, but I can tell that much."

"Thank you so much!" Marcy mewed weakly, going straight to her kit and curling around her, licking her head. Ami and Angel hurried over and joined them, being careful of Breeze's injuries.

"Are you alright?" The tom let them be and approached Rain, Zero and Blu. His amber eyes stared at Rain. "You were hurt by the owl too, weren't you?"

"O-oh...it's nothing. Just some scratches...I've had worse," she assured him awkwardly.

He nodded and turned towards Zero. "And you? Are you harmed? It sounded like you took quite a bad fall when the owl tossed you off."

"No, I'm alright," he assured him. "...And you are?"

"Name's flick. I live here with my mate, Fari. She's out hunting right now. Go ahead and rest a bit, all of you. I'm sure you need it. There'll be food here when you wake up, or you can hunt for yourself if you'd prefer. I know just east of here there's a whole burrow of young mice. Easy pickings, in my opinion. You can all stay here as long as you like."

Rain was surprised by the cat's generosity, but wasn't about to question it. "T-thank you, Flick..."

"No problem. And your names?"

"I-I'm Rain...Rain of Late Spring...this is Zero and Blu. That's Marcy, Breeze, Ami and Angel."

"Are you all traveling?" He asked, sitting down and curling his tail around his paws. "Normally so many cats don't travel together."

"Ah, yes, we are..." Rain said with a nod. "W-we're...well, we're looking for a home. A safe home...for all of us." She moved her tail over her stomach gently. As she did so, Flick's ears twitched and he gave a small, knowing smile.

"I understand...you want a nice, safe home for all of you, including your unborn kits. Correct?"

Rain flushed slightly. "...Y-yes..."

"Well, I hope you all find one," He said, smiling.

"What about you?" Blu meowed hesitantly. "Is this...t-this place your home?"

"Yeah, it is. Fari and I found it. We think it's been abandoned for a long time. We've never had any trouble with any Twolegs, nor any predators, so it's a pretty safe, nice home. The only bad thing about it is a cave a little ways off that kind of just drops off into blackness. We do our best to avoid it."

Rain nodded, sitting there for a moment before something came back to her mind. "O-oh, Flick?"

"Yes?"

"Um...before the owl attacked, we heard...we heard kittens crying. Are they around here somewhere?"

Flick froze, staring at her for a long time before clearing his throat and looking away. "N-no...there are no kits around here," he mumbled, walking away.

Rain flattened her ears slightly, grimacing. "R-right, thank you..." She saw Zero giving her a confused look and ducked her head some. He and the others hadn't heard the kits crying, either...only she had. She sighed and laid down, curling up and watching as Flick checked on Breeze. She was so relieved and thankful for the tom's help...and she could tell the others, especially Marcy, were as well. She didn't know what Marcy would have done if she had lost someone else she loved. And she knew Zero's heart would have been eaten up by grief if he had been unable to save the kitten.

She stayed awake for a long time, watching over everyone as they rested and, eventually, slept. Marcy stayed awake until all of the kits had fallen asleep, Zero and Blu falling asleep shortly after her. Flick eventually leaped up onto a bed and laid down, sleeping with his back to them all. Still, Rain stayed awake, staring out of the open door of the abandoned house, watching the night sky slowly shift and change throughout the evening.

It was almost dawn when a sound caught her attention. She lifted her head, staring outside at the mist-covered forest that the sun was beginning to peek through. After a good five minutes of staring, she heard it again. A high pitched crying. The crying of kits.

Rain hesitated before standing and quietly leaving the Twoleg nest, stepping out into the damp morning mist. She trekked carefully into the forest, glancing around as she looked for the source of the crying. The more she walked, the louder it became. She stopped in a small clearing, looking around and swallowing nervously. "...H-hello?" She called into the still dim forest. "Little kits...? Where are you?"

In response to her words, the crying grew louder and louder still.

Frowning, Rain continued forward, pushing through some large, thick bushes only to stumble back a bit in surprise. Right in front of her was the gaping entrance of a cave. The grass under her paws turned to stone a few paces away, leading down into the mouth of the pitch black opening. A small creek to the side could be seen trickling into the cave, vanishing within the darkness. This must be the cave Flick mentioned...

From somewhere deep inside of the cave, Rain could hear the kittens, crying louder and louder. "H-hello?" She called into the cave, inching forward a bit and peering inside.

The kittens continue to cry, though no actual answer came.

Rain looked down a little, wondering how dangerous it would be to slip into the cave opening. She didn't see any stones leading downwards...just pitch black. How far down did it go? After a small pause, she nudged forward a small stick that had been sitting nearby. She knocked it right into the cave, craning her ears forward as it fell into the black.

It was several long moments later that she heard it clatter onto solid stone.

"It's so deep..." She observed quietly with a grimace.

"Rain?"

She lifted her head, looking back in the direction of Flick's home.

"Rain! Where are you?" She heard Zero's faint voice calling.

She stood there for a moment, glancing between the cave and the forest before sighing. "I'll come back," she called into the cave, turning and quickly heading back to the house. When she arrived, she was met by Zero, who looked a bit upset.

"Where were you!? I was about to come looking for you!"

"S-sorry...I woke up early, so I thought I'd do a bit of hunting..."

"Doesn't smell like you caught anything."

Flick came out of the next, his silver coat glowing some in the early morning light. Walking alongside him was a pretty, pure-black she-cat with soft brown eyes and several scars along her forelegs. "Rain," Zero glanced at her, "This is Flick's mate, Fari. She came back from hunting while you were...hunting."

"R-right...ni-nice to meet you," she quickly mumbled to the she-cat.

"You as well. Flick told me about you and your group's situation...you're very brave, trying to find a new home just so your kits can be happy," she smiled softly at her, "Now, I brought back plenty of prey, so help yourselves."

"Ah, t-thank you..." Rain glanced at Zero again before following Flick and Fari back into the Twoleg nest.

Inside, Marcy was sitting up in her make-shift nest, grooming Breeze gently as the injured kit slept. Ami sat nearby, watching in concern, while Angel was scampering around Blu, chasing his tail.

"Quite a lively one you've got there," Fari chuckled, pausing beside Rain and watching as Angel jumped around. "Is she the sister of the other two?"

"A-ah, no...she's from my home," Rain told her, "S-she...she was in danger there, so I brought her with me..."

"So neither you or her," Fari motioned at Marcy, "Are her mother?" She asked in surprise, staring at her.

"N-no..."

"Yet you're still taking care of her? How kind," she smiled, looking back at the small tortoiseshell.

"...I-I guess..." Rain looked at her as she walked by, heading for the pile of fresh-kill in the center of the abandoned building. She sat down beside Zero, dragging out a small thrush for herself. She pawed at it absently for a moment, thinking about the kittens she KNEW she had heard crying from within the cave. Did a family with young kits live down there? Were some kits lost and trapped in the darkness of the cave? "...F-Flick?" She spoke up, catching the tom's attention. "A-are you sure there aren't any kits around here?"

The tom stiffened, as did Fari. Rain looked at them both in confusion but continued. "B-because I...well, while I was out hunting, I came across a cave...probably the one you mentioned earlier, and I heard kits crying from inside."

"You what!?" Fari leaped up, making everyone in the building jump in surprise and stare at her.

Rain sat there for a moment, stunned by the she-cat's sudden reaction and her now wide, desperate eyes. "...Y-...y-yes, I did..."

"B-but that's impossible!" Fari looked from her to Flick, who looked almost frightened. "F-Flick, they...th-they couldn't be...c-could they?"

"No! Fari...you know they're not!" Flick flattened his ears, grimacing. "You know they...it's been over four seasons. There's no way they-"

"Wait, what are you two talking about?" Zero stood, narrowing his eyes slightly as he looked between the couple. "Who's 'they'? What's up with that cave?"

Flick and Fari looked at him, both silent for a long time before Fari lowered her eyes some. "We-"

"Fari, don't..."

She shook her head at her mate, sitting down and wrapping her tail around herself. "...Over four seasons ago, Flick and I had a litter of kits all of our own. Three little blessings...Moss, Stone and Owl. They were the most curious, loving kits I had ever known...and they were all ours," she bowed her head some, giving a small tremble. "...W-when...when they were only just two moons old...they decided to explore while Flick and I were out hunting...t-they went deep into the forest...a-and, they didn't see the drop off...!" Her voice cut off with a small choke.

Flick moved closer to her, pressing his side to hers and licking her cheek gently. "We tried to find them," he continued on for his mate, "But we couldn't get very deep into the cave...and there was so much blood down there that we...w-we gave up hope. It's been such a long time since then...not a day goes by that we don't miss them...and not a day goes by that that cave isn't a source of horror for us..."

A long silence fell over all of them as the small group took in the couple's story. Once they got over the initial shock of the story, Zero cleared his throat, lowering his head some. "I'm so sorry...that must have been terrible..."

"Of course it was! They were our kits..." Fari sat up some, taking a deep breath and looking at Rain, frowning slightly. "And you said...you heard kits crying in the cave?"

Rain felt a strange chill run through her as all eyes turned to her. She shifted her paws a bit, eyes flicking to each cat in turn before she gave a small nod. "Y-yes...but...but they couldn't possibly still be-"

"No...we know they're not," Flick murmured. "...But...if more kits are trapped down there..."

"Then we need to do something," Marcy declared as she stood, coming over and joining them. "If there are kits trapped down there, we need to help them."

"Play!"

They all stopped, all of their eyes turning to Angel, who was hopping around by herself now, no longer chasing Blu's tail. She looked like she was still chasing something, but there was nothing but the solid wooden floor around her.

"Play, play!" She squealed, giggling as she rolled around on the floor. "Play Stone, play!"

Rain's jaw dropped in shock and Zero took a small step back. "D-did she just..."

"Stone...did...didn't you say that Stone was one of your kits?" Marcy mewed, looking at Fari and Flick.

The two cats looked dumbfounded, giving hesitant nods as they continued to watch the kit as she ran around.

Suddenly, she stopped, looking back at them. After a long pause that consisted of all of the cats staring at the tiny kit and her staring right back, she leaped up and ran up to Fari, grinning up at her. "Momma!" She squeaked. "Momma, play!"

A stunned silence overtook them all. Rain felt another strange chill up her spine as she looked at Angel, who was staring at Fari with wide, loving eyes. Eyes that a kit would look at their mother with. "A-Angel..." she meowed, catching her attention. "Angel, why are you calling Fari your mother?"

"Momma, momma!" Angel cried, nuzzling Fari's leg. "Stone says this is momma!"

"...C-can we go now?" Blu asked, his voice high-pitched with terror as he looked between Angel and Fari.

"I'm so confused...what is going on here!?" Zero demanded, standing and frowning as he looked at Rain.

She flinched back some, flattening her ears. "W-why are you asking ME?"

"You're the one who heard the kits crying in the cave! You must have some idea of what's going on! Why is Angel saying that a dead kit is telling her Fari is her mother!?"

"I-I don't know!" Rain looked at Angel uncertainly for a moment before stepping forward, nudging the kit gently. "A-Angel...Angel, can I ask you a few things?"

The tortoiseshell pulled back from Fari and looked up at Rain, smiling sweetly.

"Angel...who is Stone?" Rain tried.

"Stone lived here!" Angel mewled, looking over her shoulder. "He'n his brother and sister! This was their home! THey come back sometimes to see momma and daddy!"

"And their momma and daddy are...?"

She smiled and looked at Fari and Flick.

"I-I see...where are they the rest of the time?"

"A scary black place...they don't like it, but they don't wanna leave yet," she shrugged her tiny shoulders, looking back up at Fari and Flick. "They don't wanna leave while momma and daddy are still so sad! So-so I told Stone I'd let them be my momma and daddy and make 'em happy again!"

The shock that filled the room at her statements made the whole house feel like it was filled with electricity. Rain felt the fur on the back of her neck stand up, yet another cold chill shooting through her. Fari and Flick looked like they could hardly believe what was happening...and Rain didn't blame them. Their dead son had supposedly told Angel that she needed to stay and be their daughter in order to make them happy again...it sounded like something out of a fairy tale.

"...S-so...now what?" Blu finally broke the silence, looking at Rain with wide, frightened eyes.

"I...I'm not sure..."

"I'm staying here!" Angel told her, "For my new momma and daddy!" She looked back at Fari and Flick, grinning. "This my home now!"

Rain's eyes widened slightly and, while all of the others looked even more shocked, understanding slowly sunk into her. Her eyes softened and she let out a small breath, nodding at Angel. "I understand...listen," she caught everyone's attention, "...We may not understand what's going on. It may seem like something that could never happen...but Angel feels this is her home now. She's found somewhere where she feels safe, somewhere where she wants to stay and grow...we don't have a right to argue with that."

"W-wait, so we're just going to leave her here?" Zero looked at Rain in shock, "But she's not their-"

"I'm staying!" Angel persisted. She turned her eyes to Fari and Flick, "Right momma, daddy?"

"...There's no way I could refuse," Fari breathed, leaning down and nuzzling the kit gently.

"This is insane...but..." Flick didn't finish his statement, just shaking his head as he knelt down and nuzzled her as well.

Rain watched them, a small smile taking over her lips. It wasn't like she wanted to leave Angel here...but she set out with the kit on a quest to find a safe home. And there was never any guarantee that Angel's safe place would be the same as hers. This was Angel's home now. It was where she belonged. Rain wasn't going to take her away from that, just like she hoped no one would try to take her away from her home...when she finally found it.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Mom, I'm fine, I swear," Breeze huffed, stumbling away from Marcy, who was nosing her slowly healing wounds gently. The group had been staying at Flick and Fari's home for about half a moon now. Breeze's injuries were finally scarring over and she finally seemed to have the energy to travel again. Over that period of time, everyone had gotten more adjusted to Angel's decision to stay with Fari and Flick, as well. The couple had already lovingly accepted in Angel as their new daughter and, although Marcy, Zero and Ami weren't happy to loose her company, they WERE happy that she had found somewhere she was loved.

"Well...since Breeze is all better, we should get back on the road," Zero said to Rain.

"Yeah...we've overstayed our welcome, anyway." She stood, going to Fari and Flick, who were lying in a next together with Angel snuggled up between them. "...We'll be leaving now, then," she told them quietly. "Breeze is better and we need to get back to trying to find OUR home."

Fari stood, approaching her and touching her nose to her shoulder. "Good luck, Rain...I hope you find what you're looking for. All of you."

"Thank you. And thank you so much for helping Breeze...and for..." she turned her eyes to Angel, who was sitting up now and staring at her.

The kit gave a small smile and ran up to her, gently butting her head against Rain's forearm. "Bye-bye, Rain...thanks for taking care of me! Won't forget you..."

Rain smiled softly and licked the top of her head. "I won't forget you either, Angel...stay safe and be happy."

"I will!"

Rain stepped back and watched as Angel said her goodbyes to everyone else. "I'll be waiting outside," she told Zero before turning and leaving the old building, stepping out into the grass. The sun was just beginning to set, casting the beginning shadows of night over the forest. Rain took in a deep breath as she sat down, looking around. She froze when she spotted three small figures sitting together not too far away. They were the size of kits and, when she met their eyes, all three smiled.

"Thank you..." they breathed in one voice before vanishing.

Rain stare at the spot where they had been for a long time before smiling and tilting her head back, looking at the sky. "Now you all can be home, too..." she breathed softly, closing her eyes. "...Don't worry, my kits...soon enough, we'll be home as well."

Blaaaaargh...not too happy with this chapter. I had a hard time working out a good way for Angel to leave the group/take up some time and space in the story. Sorry this is a bit of a lower quality one...boo writers block! But we're getting closer and closer to the better parts of the story! So please be patient! 3