Living with Twolegs

Part 1

Snowkit

I groaned, opening my eyes.I felt smushed and flattened, but most of all, trapped. I tried to move around, but then realized there was something on top of me. I tried to stand, but whatever it was that was on top of me was too heavy. After a few moments, I caught Icekit's scent and realized she was what was on top of me.

"Icekit," I hissed. "Get off!"

"Hm?" She was still half asleep.

"Get off of me!" I repeated.

"Yeah, that's nice, Snowkit," She drifted off to sleep again.

"WAKE UP!" I yowled. "You're crushing me!"
Icekit shot awake, starting at the sound of my voice. "Oh, sorry, Snowkit." I felt her sit up. I imagined that she was looking around curiously, taking things in, like she always did.

"Wow," She breathed. "This place is...indescribable."

"Yeah,yeah, it's amazing," I said, irritated. "Now get off of me!"

"Sorry, Snowkit; I can't. There's no other place for me to go in here." Icekit told me. "See, Brokenkit's next to us, and Earthpaw's in front of us. There's no other space."
"Great," I growled. "How do we get out of this cage?"
"I-" Icekit paused. "I don't know." She sounded scared.

"Oh, that's just wonderful," I said sarcastically. "The one time you don't know something, I'm about to be crushed."
"Oh, stop, you'll be fine," Icekit assured me.

"Says the cat that's on the top..." I grumbled.

"Hey, you guys...keep it down...trying...to sleep," I heard Brokenkit next to me mumble.

"We will not, 'keep it down'," I said angrily. "Brokenkit, get up!"

Next to me, I saw Brokenkit's eyes flash open. He glanced at me. "What?"

"We're trapped in a cage, and you want to sleep? What's wrong with you! Icekit, just squeeze in between Brokenkit and me. There's got to be some space, if we all sit up."

"Alright, we'll see. Brokenkit, sit up please," Icekit said.

Brokenkit rolled his eyes and sat up. The fur on the right side of his face had marking from the cage bars. He had little squares all over that side of his face. He looked really tired and grumpy, but now was not the time for sleep. This was an emergency. We'd been captured.

By Twolegs.

Icekit stepped off of me, and sat in between Brokenkit and me. It was a tight fit, but still better than being sat on.

"Now what?" Brokenkit asked after a moment.

Icekit shrugged. "Should we wake Earthpaw up?"
I nodded. "Yeah."
"Too late. I'm already awake."

Earthpaw sat up, looking dead in the same way Brokenkit had. When I looked at Icekit, I saw that she had the same tired circles under her eyes.

Do I look like that, too?

"Earthpaw, how do we get out?" I asked.

"Huh?" He shook his head quickly. "Sorry...I'm having trouble focusing."

"We need to get out of here," Icekit repeated for me.

"Oh...," He sat, staring into space for a while before he seemed to have understood what Icekit had said. "Well, if I had awesomely cool elemental powers, then I'd use 'em to escape." He laid back down and closed his eyes.

"But, Earthpaw," I said, "you do have powers. Can you help us use ours to escape?"

His only reply was a soft snore.

"Great," Brokenkit said. "We'll never get out!"
Just then, a Twoleg was crouching just outside of the cage. She was looking in at us, smiling. I would've jumped back in shock, but I was already as far back as I could've gone.

"Hello, little kittie witties!" She cooed.

I glanced at Icekit nervously.

"Let's get you wittle kittie witties out of here!" The Twoleg said, opening the door to the cage.

All three of us sprang out of the cage, gasping for fresh air, and glad to have our personal space back.

I glanced around. We were in an area will tall, white walls, and a soft white floor. It looked like a giant square, with no way out.

"Aw, exploring your new home, kitties?" The Twoleg said. She was standing now, and looking down at us, still smiling. She scared me. "Well, c'mon, now, I'm sure you're hungry."

She walked to one of the walls, and suddenly there was a space in the wall! I raced to the opening, glancing back at the last second.

Earthpaw was still sleeping in the cage.

"What's wrong with him?" Brokenkit asked. He looked really concerned.

Icekit stood frozen for a second, trying to think. "I...I don't know. I usually remember things through memories, but...none of these memories I have have any links to Twolegs." She looked terrified.

"Well, guess you'll just have to be dumb, like the rest of us," I said tauntingly. I walked out of the room, smiling smugly.

"No!" I heard Icekit say behind me. "I can't be...average!"

I rolled my eyes.

We were now in another enclosement, but this one was narrower, and there were other openings that I guessed led to other rooms.

"Kitties! This way!" I heard the Twoleg call.

"Does she want us to go in there?" I asked, as Brokenkit caught up to me.

He shrugged. "I don't know, or care. Remember, Snowkit, we're with Twolegs. We can't trust them."

"I know. It's just...what if she has food?"

"Food? Really? At a time like this?" He asked. "We should be getting out of here."

"Oh, yeah, like you're not hungry, Brokenkit," I said.

"Well, as a matter of fact, no I'm not-" Suddenly his stomach growled. "I mean..."

I laughed.
"C'mon, Brokenkit, we're all hungry." I turned around. Icekit was still sitting stiffly in the doorway. "Icekit, I didn't mean it. You'll never be dumb. You've already got too much knowledge. If you don't know a few things, it's okay."

"Yeah, you're still smarter than us," Brokenkit added. "Doi!" He said, widening his eyes and sticking out his tongue. "See?"

Icekit caught up to us and rolled her eyes. "Thanks, guys."

We followed the Twoleg's voice into another room with hard, shiny floors.

"Here you go, kitties!" The Twoleg was holding a bag. She poured the stuff into a dish, and then stepped back .

We stepped up to the dish, sniffing the stuff.

I wrinkled my nose. "What is that? "

Icekit was blinking rapidly, suddenly regaining her trail of thought. "Yes! I know this one. One sec." Her face went blank for a few moments, then she turned to us. "This stuff is what Twoleg's feed cats. They expect us to...eat it, I guess."

"You have a memory of Twoleg food?" Brokenkit asked.

She shrugged. "I guess so. See, most of my memories are from other cats, from a clan or something that lived a long time ago. But this memory was actually one of my own, from when we lived with Star."

"You remember living with Star?" Brokenkit asked, his eyes wide.

Icekit nodded. "Don't you?"

He shook his head. "Well, a little, I guess, but not much."

"I remember a lot," I said, my stomach tightening. I was thinking about Rusty again. My best friend. I'd almost forgotten him completely, but of course I couldn't. There was no way I'd ever forget my best friend.

I miss you, Rusty.

I just wish I knew where you were.

"Oh," Icekit's face was sympathetic. "Snowkit, I'm sorry, I-"

"No, it's fine," I said, standing. "I just...I need to..." I turned and went back to our room, where Earthpaw was still sleeping. I found a corner in the room, and layed down.

Everything inside of me was hurting now. I was so far from Rusty now.

So far.

I'd known for a long time I'd probably never see him again, but I'd been distracted then, too. I could keep my mind off of him. But now that we were with Twolegs again, everything here reminded me of him.

Oh, Rusty...Why couldn't I just forget you? Why can't I just let go?

Living with Twolegs

Part 2

Brokenkit

Great, I thought, she's back to thinking about Rusty.

Why couldn't Snowkit just let go? I mean, she was his friend for two moons. That's not that long. She just needed to move on. She'd make lots more friends, once we got to ThunderClan.

If we ever did.

Icekit and I ate in silence. The food tasted terrible, but honestly, I was so hungry that it didn't even matter. After we'd cleaned the dish out completely, we just sat staring at each other, silently asking, what are we going to do?

"I'll go and talk to her," Icekit offered. She stood.

"No, Icekit, I...I think we should just let her be alone," I said. "She'll get over it eventually. She can't be sad forever, right?"

Icekit didn't reply for a moment. She turned to me with a hollow look in her eyes. "I think she can, Brokenkit."

"What, do you have some memory of a cat that was sad forever?" I joked, thinking of how ridiculous that was.

But Icekit didn't seem to see the humour in that. She just kept looking at me, her eyes still hollow.

"Wait, there was a cat that was sad forever?"

She nodded. "And, well, let's just go with...it didn't end well. Sadness can overtake someone. From what I've seen...I just don't want it to happen to Snowkit. She deserves to be happy again. We all do. And the first step to that, is helping her to forget Rusty."

I nodded. "And get out of here."

"Well, yeah, I guess, but it's not like we're in any immediate danger," Icekit said. "We're being fed, and we're safe here."

"We're being fed hard little bits of disgustingness," I corrected. "And sure, we're safe, if you count being held here against our will, 'safe.'"

Icekit sighed. "My point is, first things first. We'll worry about getting out later." She walked out of the room.

"Where're you going?" I demanded, racing after her.

"To talk to Snowkit," Icekit replied.

"But I just said we should leave her alone!"

"And I said that she needs to forget Rusty," Icekit said sharply. "The only way to help her do that is if we support her. You know, show her we're there for her."

I sighed and sat down, and reached a paw up to groom. "Whatever you say, Miss Memories."
Icekit continued back to the room, then suddenly stopped, realizing I wasn't following. "Aren't you coming?"

I shrugged. "Am I needed?" I wasn't in the mood to comfort a crying she-cat, even if she was my sister. Comfort and support weren't exactly my strengths.

Icekit nodded vigorously. "Yes! Now get over here!"

Rolling my eyes, I stood and followed, prepared to meet Miss Teary-Eyed Snowkit.

This will be fun.

Icekit took a deep breath and prepared to enter the room. She was probably thinking over what she was going to say; she had that look on her face where she looks directly ahead, raises her ears and stands as still as possible.

But whatever speech Icekit had prepared wouldn't be needed. Snowkit met us at the door, her eyes bright, her tail twitching excitedly.

Icekit blinked in surprise. "But...Snowkit, are you okay?"

Snowkit nodded. "Yeah, fine. Why would you think I wasn't?"
Icekit took a step back. "Well, because you left crying-"

"Oh, that," Snowkit laughed, "don't worry about it. I'm fine. Really."
She looked so light, so careless, that I almost believed her. Still, I knew there was no way Snowkit could've recovered that fast. I glanced over at Icekit, who looked back at me.

"Well, I'm off to get some of that food," Snowkit said airily. She walked past us, flicking her tail lazily as she walked. We watched her round the corner.

We looked up as the Twoleg came out of the room, holding a container of something. It was small, and fit into her hand, and was full of tiny, meaty looking things. They smelled amazing.

I licked my lips and watched her, hoping maybe she'd give one to me. They smelled so good...way better that that food she'd given us earlier.

"Oh, hi kitties, do you want a treat, too?" She asked, and bent down to our level. She opened the jar, and poured out some of the meaty things. The Twoleg smiled and walked away.

"Yes," I said, licking my lips again. "Must have some of these." I opened my jaws to eat one.

"No! Brokenkit, stop!" I looked up. Icekit looked scared. "Don't eat those. They're..."

"Poisonous?" I suggested dryly. "Yeah, right."

"No, I'm serious!" Icekit said. "If you eat one, you'll go insane. Did you see what they did to Snowkit? They've made her delirious! They'll do that to you too, and then we'll never get out of here!"

I sat up, my fur on end.

Icekit bristled. "Is that all you can think about? Our escape is not the top priority. It's Snowkit!"

"Well, the Twoleg took care of that for us," I responded sourly. "Now, since we haven't been focusing on escape, Snowkit has gone insane!"

"That's not what I meant! Snowkit is our priority because she ate those treats. Not because she misses Rusty!" Her voice was shrill.

"I...Yes, I understand that," I said darkly. "I'm not a mouse-brain. Just because you're so smart doesn't make everyone else a mouse brain, okay? Quit acting like you rule the place! The rest of us have things to offer, too, you know!"

Icekit took a step back. I guess what I'd said had actually gotten through. Her eyes were wide.

"Is that what you really think? That I think I'm better than everyone else?" She asked softly. "Because I don't."

"I-"

"Just leave me alone then," Icekit said. "If you'd rather eat those things, then fine; don't believe me. See if I care. Just go ahead and do what you want. It's not like what I say matters or anything." She sat, looking hopeless.

"Hey," I said softly, coming to sit next to her. "It's okay. Those things will wear off Snowkit eventually, right?"

Icekit nodded slowly. "I think. long as she doesn't eat more."

"They've got to,"I said. "And we won't let her eat more."

Icekit shook her head helplessly. "Sure, I guess, maybe. Brokenkit, this place is doing things to my head. I think I'm starting to lose brain cells, seriously."

"Brain cells?"

"Things that make you smart," Icekit said, over-exaggerating her syllables.

"Okay, okay," I said. "I'm not two moons old. You don't have to talk like that."

"Sometimes I feel like I do," She said, flicking my on the ear with her tail.

"So...what now? Should we keep an eye on Snowkit?" I asked.

Icekit shook her head. "No, I we should just let her be alone for now. We can't talk sense into her if she's still delirious."

"So what do we do?"

Icekit stood. "I think," She said slowly, "we should look for ways of escape."

"Really? Let's go!" I said. Icekit had said we should do something I wanted to do. Maybe this place wasn't as bad as we thought. It was bringing us closer, right?

Living With Twolegs

Part 3

Icekit

This place was going to drive us all insane.

I hated being trapped. It didn't feel right. Still, we weren't in danger of dying, so I guess things could've been a lot worse.

I followed Brokenkit through the Twoleg nest. We were searching for a way out. I didn't understand how he could be so concerned about escaping when our sister was acting pretty insane at the moment. Then again, I'd suggested we search.

"What about this?" Brokenkit was looking up at a huge hole in the wall. "Could we jump through?"

"I dunno," I said. "It's pretty high up. Can we reach it?"

Brokenkit crouched down and prepared to jump. Then he sprang into the air, reaching for the hole. His claws scraped the area just below it, but Brokenkit went plummeting back to the ground.

"Guess not," He said, panting.

"Great," I said. "We'll never get out of here."
"I thought you didn't really care about escaping," Brokenkit said haughtily.

"I care about leaving, just not when Snowkit's all delirious. We don't know exactly what those treats do to cats. What if they make it so she can't run away? We can't just leave her here."

Brokenkit sighed. "I guess so."

I scowled. "You guess so? Brokenkit, we're a family. We're supposed to stick together."

"Yeah," Brokenkit added darkly, lashing his tail, "just like Blackkit stayed with us, right?"

"What, did you expect him to want to be captured with us? Blackkit might be our only hope."

"How so?"

"Think about it. If a Twoleg is crazy enough to want four cats- three of them being kits-what difference would one more make to them?"

"You're saying Blackkit could be used as bait?" Brokenkit asked.

I shrugged. "I dunno."

"But if they can do that so easily, why haven't they come to rescue us?" Brokenkit asked. "Where are they?"

"Well...maybe they're planning. Or maybe they haven't realized what help Blackkit could be yet. I mean, it could take them a while to sort out a logical are a lot of things that could have happened…"

Brokenkit pretended to gag and pass out on the floor. "Too- much- logic-" he gasped mockingly. "Dying- Your brain- holds too much- logic-"

I rolled my eyes. "Or maybe it's your brain that doesn't have enough."

He didn't reply, only continued to fake cough and choke. Eventually he stopped, and lay still, holding his breath and an empty expression.

I sighed. "C'mon, Brokenkit, we've got things to do. Plans of escape, remember?"

He sat up and leapt to his paws. "Oh, right. How are we going to get out of here? Is it even possible?"

"I don't know," I told him. "But we've got to try."

"And what about Earthpaw? He's...not really himself."

I closed my eyes and sighed again. "I know. Brokenkit, there's so many things that can or already have gone wrong. How are we going to fix all of this?"

He thought for a moment. "I don't know how, all I know is that we've got to try. I mean, we've got powers for crying out loud! Surely "we can figure out something."

"Brokenkit, you're a genius!" I said excitedly. "Our powers, how the heck could I have forgotten about our powers?"

Brokenkit shrugged. "I think we all did. But you have an idea?"

I nodded. "Yes. Quick, go and get Snowkit!"

… … …

Earthpaw

"But I don't understand this!" I cried, pacing back and forth through the clearing. I was dreaming, of course, seeing as my body was trapped inside a ridiculous Twoleg trap. I was here visiting Snow, my Guide, who just couldn't seem to leave me alone lately.

"But Earthpaw, you see, the point it that you don't have to. It's completely fine that it makes no sense. All you need to know is that you can trust me;I'm your Guide," Snow explained.

"This can't be right though!" I said, turning to her. "I can't leave them. They're my family."

"I know. But this is part of your destiny, to-"

"Oh enough about my destiny!" I cried. "None of it matters anyway. How can I even get to ShadowClan if I'm trapped in a tiny cage?"

"Again, you have to be patient. All I'm telling you is that once you do escape, you are not supposed to join ThunderClan."

"So we're going to escape…" I said. Usually Guides weren't supposed to just tell you plainly and simply what your destiny was, or where you were going to end up. It just wasn't how things worked. Not to mention, a lot of the time, they didn't know the answers themselves.

Snow opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again, losing the thought.

"Well, now that I know that, maybe I'll consider what you're telling me,"I said, sitting in front of her and wrapping my trail around my front paws.

Snow gave me an irritated look. "Okay, so, you're going to escape. The how of that is up to you to figure out."

"Yeah, but one little problem. The moment I wake up again, I'll be trapped in a cage, with a throbbing head and no way out."

Snow shrugged. "That's something you'll have to find your way through."

I groaned. "You're my Guide. Don't you think it would make just a little more sense if instead of giving me confusing prophecies and junk, you gave me actual answers?"

"That's just not-"

"-how things work, I know," I said, finishing for her. "But why can't it work that way?"

Snow sighed. "Earthpaw, it seems as if we have this conversation way more than we need to." She closed her eyes tiredly. "Please, this is your fifth visit to me in two days. Aren't you ready to go back?"

"No!" I said, my voice becoming shriller than I intended. "Don't you understand? When I go back, I can't think anymore. I can't function. There's no way I can help anyone back there. At least when I'm here, I can get half an answer."

"Earthpaw," Snow said. "Look at me."

I looked up.

"You can do it. I absolutely promise you can do it."

"I-I can do what?"

"Get out. But it's up to you.If I give you all the answers, it could mess things up. Understand?"

I nodded.

"Are you ready to go back now?"

"I think so."

Snow nodded, and she began to fade. The starlit sky above me began to swirl into the trees. It was dark for a moment, and then I woke up, my head splitting apart with pain and my legs cramped from the cage.

Living With Twolegs

Part 4

Blackkit

"The cats I have chosen to come to the Gathering tonight are Whitestorm, Lionheart, Moursefur, Longtail, Bluetail, Willowpelt, Sandpaw, Graypaw, and Firepaw," Bluetail announced.

Sandpaw sneered back at me. "Sorry, only apprentices can come to the Gathering, little kit."

I sneered back at her. "So? I'll get to go next full moon, I'm sure of it.I'll be an apprentice by then."

"Whatever," Sandpaw said, standing up and walking away with her tail held high.

"Don't listen to her," Graypaw told me. "She think's she all that. Well, let me tell you she's none of that."

"Yeah," Firepaw added. "She's annoying, too."

"I'm so glad you agree," Graypaw said to him. "It's been awesome since you joined the Clan. Someone's always there to agree with me."

Firepaw rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh." He looked to me. "Sure ThunderClan's great with me here, and with Blackkit here, but -"

"Yeah, yeah, you want Snowkit to be here too," Graypaw interrupted mockingly. "We get it."

"She's all you talk about," I added.

"You act like you don't even miss them!" Firepaw said .

"I do miss them!" I said, standing up. "It's just, there's not much I can do about it. That makes me mad, so I just try and ignore it. But Bluetail's told me;Earthpaw's going to get them out."

Graypaw and Firepaw exchanged a look before turning back to me. "Blackkit, you realize he's just saying that because there's hardly a chance for them to escape."

I sighed. "Yeah, I know…"

"Maybe we could make a plan to get them out ," Firepaw said, a light coming into his eyes.

Graypaw looked unsure. "You mean, like...tonight?"

Firepaw nodded. "Sure!"

"But...how? You've heard what happened to Bluetail! He almost died!" I exclaimed.

"He did not," Firepaw said.

"You weren't there! And he told me! He got really hurt!"

"Oh come on, Blackkit, relax, that was practically a moon ago," Graypaw said.

"So? It doesn't mean we can't get hurt now," I retorted.

"Good point," Graypaw said. He looked nervous for some reason. He looked to Firepaw. "I don't think we should try it."

"What? You're suddenly scared? I thought you weren't scared of anything," Firepaw said.

"I'm not scared," Graypaw said, "It's just…the...the Gathering's tonight! So we can't. Oh, too bad," he finished quickly.

"Uh-huh," Firepaw said slowly. "Fine." He stalked away.

Graypaw watched him leave. "He just doesn't get it…"

"Get what?"

Graypaw looked at me, his eyes widening. I guess he'd forgotten I was still there.

"Nothing." The he walked away too.

The patrol gathered together. I watched as Spottedleaf emerged from the Medicine den, and came to join with the others. Bluestar leapt from Highrock and found her way to the head of the group. I felt someone brush past me and saw that it was Bluetail.

"Do you have to leave me here?" I asked him.

He gave me a sad look. "I'm sorry, Blackkit. You know that you're too young, and I haven't been to a Gathering in moons. Besides, I want to see the other Clans' reactions before introducing them to you. I'll be back later tonight. You can even wait up if you want."

"Okay," I said, and he turned to leave.

I sighed. It would've been a lot easier if my littermates had been there with me. Being a kit wasn't any fun anymore. I wanted to be an apprentice and go to Gatherings and learn to fight. I wanted to be able to run through the forest and hunt. I was done with waiting. Why would anyone want to be a kit any longer than they had to?

… … … … Graypaw

I glanced to the left and then to the right. I slowed my pace, letting everyone else go ahead of me. Nobody seemed to notice, which was exactly what I'd wanted. I'd made sure Firepaw had been at the front of the group. If anyone, he would've been the only one to notice I was gone. It wasn't hard to distract him, what with his new obsession with Bluestar. He thought she was amazing, which, she was, but I thought a lot of it had to do with her being related to Snowkit.

Snowkit, Snowkit, Snowkit. That's all that cat ever talked about! That, and Snowkit's relation to everything in ThunderClan. I practically knew the cat myself!

Grumbling a little, I broke off from the group, and slid into the undergrowth. After waiting a few more moments for the sound of the group to fade away, I pushed through the bracken and brambles, and emerged onto the river bank.

I turned for a moment, reaching to grab a stray piece of bramble that had caught in my pelt, when I heard someone coming from the river. I looked up.

"Silverpaw!" I exclaimed.

She came closer, and we touched noses.

"I haven't seen you in forever," I told her.

She laughed quietly, "A whole moon, practically."

"A whole moon, does that mean-?"

"Yes, they'll be here in a couple of days. Have you...talked to Spottedleaf?"

I nodded. " 's really happy for us. She said she can come and help at a moment's notice. I had just have to be able to pass off the news. We're meeting every day until they're born, okay? I don't want anything to happen to you. You said they'd be born before tonight. I'm worried about you."

Silverpaw purred, "Okay. We'll meet here every day at SunHigh. I know it's risky, but, we have to do it. For the kits."

I nodded. "For our kits." I gazed off towards the river for a moment, watching the waves and ripples it created. "I can't believe this is happening."

"Neither can I," Silverpaw admitted. "We're so young…well, eleven moons isn't too young, but my father wouldn't be happy. I'm surprised he hasn't noticed yet. Then again, I stay out 'hunting,' most of the day, and don't come back until late, so there isn't much for anyone to notice."

"You're eleven moons old, that's right," I said, "You're almost old enough to get your warrior name!"

Silverpaw sighed. "Maybe then I can raise our kits in peace."

"Silverpaw, you know we agreed to take them to WindClan," I told her.

"Yes, but, I can't even spend a moon with them? Not necessarily as their mother, I could give them to another Queen, and they could live in RiverClan for a while."

I shook my head. "What would your clan think when they disappeared? How would you explain that? Especially when another Queen was raising them."

Silverpaw sighed. "You're right. They can't stay. We've got to give them up."

"I know it's hard," I told her, wrapping my tail around her shoulders. "But it's what's best for them."

Silverpaw didn't reply.

"Are you okay?"

Silverpaw looked over at me slowly, and I saw that her eyes were wide with fear.

I stood up, my fur standing on end. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Graypaw," she said, "the kits. They're coming."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … I was breathless by the time I made it to the Gathering. I shifted my way through the crowd of cats, finding my way to where the Medicine Cats all sat together.

"Spottedleaf," I hissed when she was within ear-shot. "It's time."

Her eyes widened, but she nodded and bent to grab a stack of herbs. She'd been carrying them with her just in case.

"Time for what?" It was Mudfur, the Riverclan Medicine cat.

"None of your business," I snapped. "C'mon, Spottedleaf."

"What's so important that she has to leave the Gathering?" Mudfur spoke up again."This is one of the only times we can speak without worrying about sick cats or if we're going to make it to the Moonstone on time."

"We've got to go," I told them. "I'm sorry, you can talk to her at the next Gathering."

I hurried out of Fourtrees, hoping Spottedleaf wasn't too far behind. I didn't stop until we'd made it back to Sunningrocks and was next to Silverpaw again. I turned and saw that Spottedleaf had followed me and instead of looking bewildered or scared, was completely calm.

"How are you feeling?" she asked Silverpaw.

"Afraid," Silverpaw replied.

"Let's get you into a nest," Spottedleaf mewed calmly. She looked to me. I nodded, and dashed to find the softest moss there was.

… … … …

I sighed. Everything was going to be fine. Silverpaw had done well, and we had one beautiful little tom. He was gray-blue, with a little bit of gray around his muzzle.

Silverpaw sighed. "He's perfect."

"Yes, he is," I agreed.

"Congratulations," Spottedleaf said warmly. "Now, what are you going to do with him?"

"WindClan," I said stiffly.

"Graypaw, you should hurry. If you can take him there before the Gathering ends , they'll find him on their way home."

I nodded. "Silverpaw, you stay here. I can take him."

"No!" Silverpaw said. "I mean, he doesn't even have a name."

"Okay," I said, trying to hide how impatient I was. "Then let's give him a name."

"Rainkit," Silverpaw said, her eyes bright.

"It's perfect, now let's go," I said. "I'll see you tomorrow." I picked Rainkit up gently.

"No!" Silverpaw said again. "I can come with you." She stood up slowly, then looked to Spottedleaf. "Thanks for your help."

Spottedleaf nodded. "Of course. Now," she set some leaves down, "eat these when you return. They'll help your milk to dry up."

Silverpaw sniffled. "Thanks."

Spottedleaf gave us a small smile, then ran off into the forest.

"Let's go," Silverpaw told me.

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

"Hurry, I can hear the patrol coming!" Silverpaw said.

"You can not," I told her, "you're just worried. Here, can you take him?"

Silverpaw grabbed Rainkit gingerly. I turned and examined the hillside in front of us. "They should come straight through here when they return." I flattened some of the tall grass in front of me, then nodded to Silverpaw. She slowly set our son down in the grass and covered him up with some moss she'd gathered along the way.

She sniffled. "Goodbye, Rainkit. We love you."

I smiled sadly. She already loved him, and she'd only just now met him.

"We do," I told him. "We'll see you around though."

Rainkit only mewled in protest.

"Even though you won't remember us," Silverpaw was in tears now.

"Silverpaw, it's okay. Maybe someday he can learn the truth," I told her, standing closer to her and wrapping my tail across her shoulders."But for now, we have to go, okay?"

She nodded sadly, still crying. We looked at our son one last time. Then we headed back towards Sunningrocks, my tail still laid across her shoulders.

… … …

"Graypaw! Graypaw!" Firepaw's eyes were wide when I entered camp. "Where have you been?"

"Oh- um…"

"Nevermind. Have you heard what's happened?"

I shook my head. "No. What's going on?"

"Brokenstar said that because ShadowClan is the biggest Clan, they need more hunting territory. So they've gone and chased WindClan out of their territory. Not to mention RiverClan's allowing them part of their territory for hunting!"

"What? Are they insane?" I asked, exasperated. "We can't have ShadowClan cats running wherever they please! That's crazy, and disorganized and-" Suddenly I paused. Rainkit was on WindClan territory.

Alone.

I turned without thinking, and started to run.

"Graypaw! Where are you going?!" I heard Firepaw run after me. "Stop!"

I stopped, irritated and looked to him. "What?"

"Well, Brokenstar asked for some of our territory as well. Bluestar refused of course, because she's not a mouse-brain, but-"

"But what, Firepaw? This is urgent!"

He pushed on, "Bluestar says because we're the only Clan to stand up to ShadowClan, we should be ready for an attack. Which means, nobody should leave the camp alone."

"Firepaw, this doesn't matter now, I'll be fine, I'm-"

"I understand that whatever you're doing is against the Warrior Code, isn't it?" Firepaw said.

I nodded slowly.

"It's okay," Firepaw said. "I won't tell anyone. Just let me go with you. I can't lose you."

"Alright, just, keep up, okay?"

Firepaw nodded.

We headed up the Ravine, and through the trees and undergrowth. I had no idea just what I was going to do with a kit, but I knew that I couldn't just leave him to die. We made it to Fourtrees, and sprinted around it into WindClan territory, screeching to stop when the scent of ShadowClan practically swallowed us. How could I have missed that before? It reeked of ShadowClan over here.

"This way," I whispered, and we started creeping through the tall grass. I found my own scent trail, and followed it to where Silverpaw and I had left him just a while ago.

Were we this far from the border?

We kept searching, but I still couldn't find where I'd left Rainkit.

"Um, Graypaw, haven't we already passed this bush like five times?" Firepaw asked.

"No, we can't have, I've been following my own trail-" That's when I found the spot. The grass flattened in front of made a Rainkit sized hole, but Rainkit wasn't there.

"He's…"

"Gone?" Firepaw finished for me.

"That's impossible, he can't have ran away. He's too young to even open his eyes!" That's when the ShadowClan reek came back, engulfing us.

I unsheathed my claws.

"Graypaw, no," Firepaw said. "The last thing we need is a battle. ShadowClan's already hostile with us. Don't make it worse."

"But they took my son!" I said. "They stole him!"

"We don't know that for sure," Firepaw told me. "Now come on, let's get out of here before someone notices we're gone." Firepaw turned, and a few moments later I had to give up and follow. He was right. I couldn't start a fight with ShadowClan over a kit that I shouldn't be taking care of anyway.

What will Silverpaw think, though? She's already upset about giving him up, what will she be like if he ends up dead?

I sighed. I didn't want to think about this anymore.