I'm not dead I promise! I've just been extremely busy. Thank you for all my followers and everyone else who has kept up with me so far. I hope I don't disappoint.

She was by the border where Clan territory ends and no-cat's land began when she smelled it. The strange yet familiar scent that made her fur prickle along her spine and her claws unsheathe in fear. It was a slobbering, foul-smelling, cat-hungry monster of a dog and she saw the tom it chased before she saw just how big it was. Fox-hunter or not, there was no way she could get this thing off Clan territory when it would probably take a larger, better-skilled group of warriors to do the same. And even that would take a while… She chose to focus on the fact that they were close to ShadowClan territory and the poor tom was yowling so all of StarClan could hear. He bolted past her and she whipped her head around to stop him, only to realize that he had wheeled around and was heading straight for the dog!

"What are you doing?!" She demanded.

"Help now! Talk later!" The grey tom panted. He wasn't having much luck with the ferocious beast and he clearly needed help.

"I will die a warrior." She murmured unconvincingly as she raced to free the intruder from the dog's gaping mouth. "I will be welcomed in StarClan." She told herself. "I'm not alone!" She snarled at the dog. "StarClan forgive me!" She whimpered before the red haze took over.

Her eyes snapped open and she shot to her paws, instantly observing her surroundings. A familiar voice sighed in relief and threw himself down beside her.

"I thought I'd lost you." He muttered, placing his head on his paws and avoiding her gaze. She took in his lean, grey form. He almost reminded her of the tigers the Mousefur and Longtail described in their stories, and she briefly wondered if tigers were this small or had grey fur like he did. She liked it. It seemed to suit him just fine, she decided.

"Who are you?" She wondered. He didn't answer, but simply closed his eyes.

"Hey!" She mewled.

"Hay is for horses, my friend; though I guess you wouldn't know much about them."

"I guess not." She mused. "You never answered my question, though."

"My mother called me Fallen before she died. Those starry cats-"

"You've seen StarClan?"

"Yes, Hollyleaf, I've seen them. They have a pretty nice place there compared to the Dark Forest cats. No wonder they want to attack."

"What else do you know?"

"I'll tell you when the time comes. You need to sleep more." She dozed off eventually, but not before wondering how he knew her name.

She yawned and got to her paws, stretching out her legs one at a time before sitting back down. The empty space beside her and the stale scent told her that Fallen had not been there for a while, so she rested her head on her paws and awaited his return, hoping he'd bring back a mouse or two.

It was moonhigh when Fallen got back, and he brought enough prey to feed three cats for the next few sunrises.

"Are you expecting someone else?" Hollyleaf asked, curious as to why there was so much prey.

"No. I didn't have anything better to do and winter is coming on pretty soon. Word is it'll be a harsh one."

"Winter?"

"Human for when everything is covered in snow."

"Leaf-bare." She corrected. "What's human?"

"Pink creatures who walk upright on two legs instead of four, like us."

"Two-legs."

"Yes."

"We call them Two-legs in the Clans. Very strange and their dogs are scary. The Clans lost their home because they tore up the forest with huge monsters that had giant claws that pulled up the ground, but I wasn't born then. My mother and father, Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw were the ones who warned us about them."

"That's pretty amazing, Hollyleaf. Do you miss your parents?"

"They must be worried about me. And my brothers. What happened anyway?"

"You defeated the dog all on your own. Fought like TigerClan you did. Your parents would be proud of you. That dog limped back to it's owner and you tore half its fur off. I had to carry you because you passed out as soon as the dog let you go."

"Why were you being chased by a dog anyway? And why did you choose ThunderClan territory of all places?!"

"The dog was a minor complication. I was trying to get home. I didn't expect the two-legs to bring their dogs so close to winter."

"How far away are we from Clan territory?"

"It won't take us the whole day but I don't recommend it. You still need to heal." He murmured. "And now you need to eat. Mouse or squirrel?"

"Mouse." She yawned. He tossed her the biggest mouse from the small pile and she munched on it hungrily, licking her muzzle to remove all traces from it.

"How do you feel? Dizzy? Sore?" He prompted.

"Hungry." She corrected. And lonely. "Would you mind sitting with me?"

"Not at all." He shrugged. He picked up his meal and padded over to her, setting the squirrel between them and pushing it toward her. She shook her head.

"That's yours."

"You said you were still hungry. I can always catch myself another squirrel if I need to."

"Thank you." She murmured, brushing her muzzle against his flank before tucking into the squirrel.

"Sure thing, Hollyleaf. Did you wake up at all today?"

"You were gone for a while when I did, so I walked around a bit, stretched and went back to sleep. I feel like a kittypet." She groused. "I should be back with my Clan, helping them prepare for whatever happens, but instead I'm sitting in another cat's den and eating his food." She scowled.

"You're still injured, Hollyleaf. That's normal."

"It shouldn't be, Fallen! I'm so bored it's not even funny! I want to hunt! I want to know that I'll be able to fight when I'm needed! I can't just sit around like a lazy kittypet while my Clanmates could be sick or hungry while I'm well-fed and-"

"Nearly ripped to shreds by a dog. If you really want to go back to the Clans so badly, we'll set off at sunrise tomorrow. We'll make it back before the sun gets too high." Fallen murmured softly.

"How did you treat my scratches?"

"Marigold works wonders on them. I doused the cobwebs I used in the poultice and put that on your wounds. They were replaced every hour, when they wore off and started peeling."

"How long have I been here?"

"About a week."

"Are you telling me that I've been in your den for seven whole days?!" She shrieked.

"I had to treat you before I could even move you to my den, so that took a whole day. The trip here took another three because I had to help you, and you were here for the last three."

"And you say I'm still healing?!" She snorted.

"You are considerably injured. Maybe not tired, but one swipe could re-open all your wounds."

"Can we go for a walk?"

"I don't know…"

"Please Fallen? I can't take sitting around like this anymore!"

"I guess it can be a short one." He decided after a while.

"Yes!" She purred, bolting outside.

"Hollyleaf, wait!" He sprang to his paws and raced after her. "Don't go too far! Take it slow or you'll hurt yourself!"

He eventually caught up with her at a stream a few minutes away from the den.

He flopped down once he saw her and waited a few minutes to catch his breath before speaking.

"When you said walk, I thought you meant walk! Do you now how easily those could get infected? Or undone? Then you would be stuck here far longer than you want to be."

"I just got so excited I just ran off without thinking. No offense, Fallen, but I was sick of staring at the wall!"

"None taken. I get restless when I'm injured too, but I have to remind myself that it's for the best."

"How do you get food when you're injured?"

"That's why I stock up before. In case the prey runs out or I get hurt and can't hunt."

"It doesn't turn to crowfood?"

"I hunt at least once a week so it's always fresh."

"Good strategy, but don't you get lonely? I know I would."

"I don't really think about it. I explore too much to bother with other cats. I always have something to think about."

"You should join ThunderClan!" She exclaimed eagerly. "That way you won't be lonely!"

"I don't think I'd fit in with a lot of cats, Hollyleaf. The occasional loner, sure, but to be around a whole group of cats every day…?" Fallen shook his head. "I don't think I could do it."

"Then would you let me stay here?"

"You have to go back to your Clan, Hollyleaf. Someone is probably worried out of their fur about you, if what you said earlier was right. I won't take that away from you."

"But… but then I'll never see you again." She whimpered softly."

"Maybe not, but you'll be happy and I'll be just fine with my den."

"That's no life… who's going to take care of you when you're sick or injured, like you did for me, or when you get older and can't hunt or defend yourself?"

"I know basic herbs, Hollyleaf. I can treat myself. Besides, not every cat is in a Clan or a family. There are plenty of old loners out there."

"But you'll die! And then I won't know anything because you won't be around and I won't be able to find you. I don't want you to die." She mumbled softly, resting her head on her paws.

"Rest, Hollyleaf. You've tired yourself out. I'll be here tomorrow and I'll escort you to ThunderClan."

"Promise me you'll stay." She murmured before drifting off.

Fallen sighed, but didn't respond. He just curled up beside her, tucking his nose beneath his paw and hoping sleep found him.

True to his word, he prodded her awake at sunrise. More because she started screaming and scratches appeared out of nowhere than because it was time to go.

"Hollyleaf!" He yowled in alarm, shaking her until she woke up.

She started whimpering and cried into his fur when she saw him.

"Terrible… so dark… cold…" She blubbered.

They made it to the camp entrance just like that. Her trotting on with newfound strength and him trailing her to make absolute sure she was okay. She didn't say anything of her episode earlier and he didn't push it. The least she allowed him to do was put more cobwebs on them, because he had plenty.

"You need to keep those for yourself." She murmured sadly.

He nodded and rolled his eyes.

"Hollyleaf?" The black she-cat immediately recognized her mother's voice and scent, drinking in both as Squirrelflight checked her over.

"We need to get you to Leafpool! Though I'll admit whoever did these must have been trained extremely well." She mused. Hollyleaf glared back at Fallen, who smirked.

"Why won't you stay?" She murmured softly.

"Who do I have to thank for bringing my daughter home safely?" Squirrelflight asked, having seen Fallen hiding behind the tree. Truth be told, he did a terrible job. Deep down, he realized he wanted to be seen.

"You should thank StarClan first of all, but if you must know, my mother called me Fallen."

"You look like you need some fresh-kill."

"Thank you, but I'm really just here to drop off Hollyleaf. I should get back now."

"I insist." The ginger she-cat urged, nudging him into the camp. "My family will want to thank you properly for what you've done."

Fallen contemplated this.

"I'm sorry, but there is something I must do first." He murmured to Hollyleaf, who nodded.

"You'll come back, won't you?"

"Probably." With that, he turned tail and raced out of the camp, leaving the Clan to wonder who the strange tom was.

I wanted to break it up into several parts at first but then I realized that each part was too short to stand alone. So.. you got them all squished together. Review.