Read on! :)

Tigerheart nudged the old cat in the right direction as, sleepily, they headed back to the hollow. The undergrowth crunched underfoot as, drenched in ThunderClan scent, they crossed the border and padded towards the horseplace.

His eyes drooped with exertion. The old cat sagged, leaning on him. Rumbling snores rippled through the air and Tigerheart pulled the strange cat inside the hollow, and set him down in a pile of leaves and sticks. Tigerheart's paws led him unconsciously towards his nest, and, tucking his muzzle into his pelt, he fell asleep.

He woke up with a start,a very loud crunching noise stirring him. Rising, Tigerheart licked his paw and held it to his ear, washing it. "Did you have to wake the whole forest with your eating?"

The elderly cat stopped, a squirrel haunch halfway to his mouth. "I caught this, young'un. Whatever you catch, you eat, and eat as gloriously as possible." He continued, the scent of the meat rising through the air tantalizingly.

Tigerheart smiled sadly. He could remember quite clearly a time when he had friends, and family, and people he actually knew. He didn't even know this old cat's name, he realized. Reaching down, he tore off another haunch and chewed thoughtfully. "By the way, who are you?"

The tom paused. "I'm-" then he broke off, shaking his head."Like everything,all in good time."

"Why are you so close to Clan territory? Any further and you'd be crowfood."

"Personal business," the cat mewed cheerfully, flicking his ears,"You should learn how to keep your motives to yourself, too."

Tigerheart bowed his head. He had shamefully told the loner about how he had been banished the first day they had met. He nodded, dismissing the reply,"But why?"

"None of your business," the tom stepped back and inspected his paw,"I have my motives, remember?"

Tigerheart grit his teeth and nodded once more. He finished the squirrel silently and, curiosity sparking his eyes, he went to his nest and began to clean the moss up. As he tidied up, his thoughts wandered to his old clan. What would ShadowClan be doing right now? Defying StarClan, most likely. He sighed, stopping his work to look up at the blue sky. If only he could transfer the truth to them without getting shredded to pieces...Yet, like the old loner had said, all in good time. They would soon know.

Dovewing rubbed Meadowkit's soft head affectionately. They were adorable,kits, she reflected, remembering the days when she, herself, roamed the nursery, innocent and amazed. Ivypool had always been the headstrong one, she realized cheerfully, accepting the fact that she was more cautious. She gently pushed Meadowkit forward to the fresh-kill pile. "This is your second time eating fresh -kill," she mewed to the wide-eyed kit. "Ready to taste it again?" She picked a mouse at the top of the pile and slit it open for her.

Meadowkit purred and scrambled forward with her little paws. She inspected the mouse carefully, then lunged and began gulping it down speedily. Dovewing watched amused, as the little kit seemed to attack the prey.

"We have a great warrior here," Brambleclaw mewed, as his dark eyes lit up in amusement. He padded forward and took a sparrow, purring at the awed kit. Dovewing grabbed a vole and set off towards the medicine cat den. Seeing Jayfeather lingering at the corner, she padded over. "How are you?" she asked, setting down the prey.

"Cobwebs...poppy seeds, marigold….yarrow..Dovewing, we're running out of everything!" Jayfeather mewed, panickedly turning to Dovewing, "If we have a battle out of nowhere, all that'll be left of us is a couple of bones and fur!"

Dovewing peered, startled, into the herb store. She saw a few leaves in the back and reached for them, snagging them by the edge of her clawtips. Pulling them towards her, she set them on the stone floor. "How are these?"

"No!" Jayfeather snapped scornfully,"Those are rotten, don't you even know your herbs? This is terrible! Along with the StarClan problem, Tigerheart might attack us, and what if someone gets blackcough?" He hissed at the stone floor and grabbed the herbs, throwing them out the back of the den.

Dovewing backed out uneasily. "Jayfeather, I'm sure it's all going to be-"

"Don't you tell me that!" Jayfeather spat at her. "Don't you lie to me like that! I know how dire this situation is-get out!"He whirled around and poked at the only fresh herbs left.

Dovewing padded out of the den, worried. Jayfeather sometimes overrreacted, she knew, but this seemed too important to forget. She shook the thoughts away. Everything would be all right, she reasoned. Nothing would happen. Nothing could happen, she thought desperately. Firestar had just sacrificed his life for the Clans. StarClan couldn't have let this happen. And it wasn't as if anyone believed that StarClan would do something like that, right?

Tigerheart brushed the herbs aside with a flick of his tail. "Where did you get these?" he asked, watching the elderly cat uneasily.

"Oh, a stone cave somewhere. There was plenty," the tom said casually,"Is there something wrong?"

"A stone-"Tigerheart's heart sank. Terrified, he gazed at the cat gapingly. "You stole these from ThunderClan?"

"ThunderClan?What's that?"

Tigerheart's eyes turned red with fury. "How-could-you?" he snarled, pushing his muzzle in the tom's gray, scarred face. "These could have saved twenty cats!"

The tom looked up, startled. "What?"

"These were a Clan's herbs!" Tigerheart growled, shoving the herbs into the cat's vision,"You might've just condemned cats to death!"

The cat, bewildered, gazed at the herbs to Tigerheart's face, then back again. "I didn't know."

"I mean, seriously!" Tigerheart ranted loudly, imagining ThunderClan cats, bleeding, without herbs to save them. An image of Dovewing flickered into his mind, and he shook his head impatiently. He didn't have time for things like that.

"Thinking about someone special?" the cat murmured, watching Tigerheart calculatingly. "Me, too."

"Whatever," Tigerheart mumbled, his pelt burning all of a sudden. In an effort to soothe it, he changed the subject. "We need to get these back."

"Who were you thinking about?" the tom asked him, curious. His eyes flickered with hidden intelligence.

"Nobody!"Tigerheart protested, his heart racing. "Now let's get these back!"

"Tell me."

"Let's get these-"

"I would like to know,"the old cat continued, "who you wish to keep safe. If you tell me, I will help you return these herbs. "

"That's no deal!"Togerheart scoffed, "As if I would-Wait-what did you say? You'll help me return the herbs that you so consequently stole?"

"Yes," the old cat mewed calmly, "If, and only if, you tell me-"

"Okay, okay," Tigerheart sighed and settled down. "But you have to tell me your story-everything."

"Go on, then."

"I'm trying to save-well, we're not really saving them, right? Just returning what we stole," Tigerheart mewed uneasily,"But- there's a she-cat named Dovewing. We're friends, from a while ago when we saved the Clans from beavers upstream,"he added. "And-I just don't want her to get hurt. That's all," he added hastily, when the tom gazed at him meaningfully. "Your turn."

"Ah, well. At least now I know you actually care about these cats," the cat sighed. "You'll have to settle down for this, young'un. This will take a while."

"I used to be a kittypet," he murmured, his chin raised proudly. "But I was happy. Who cared that the Clan cats scorned me? I was joyful and a curious cat. I never knew where that would lead me.

When I was as old as you Clan cats would be during apprenticeship, I met a tom named Tallpaw." Here, the cat's eyes misted with memories. "He was on a mission, he said. I helped him, he was done, he decided to return to his Clan, though he had run away. I didn't want to join him. I wanted to go back to my housefolk, back in that warm den with food and a fire. Tallpaw led me back and left for home. I never saw him again.

I thought I could live again as the little kittypet, Jake, but I was mistaken. When I got there, it was empty. No Twolegs waited for me. I couldn't find anyone I knew. It was transformed into a whole different place.

It was then that I became a loner. I learned the ways of the wild and hunted for myself. I got a mate and had kits. It was good, even though I could never return to that innocent kittypet life." Jake looked up at the starry sky and sighed again. "One day, Velvet told me that our kits had branched off, gotten new owners. I had known it was going to happen. Kittypets never get used to serparation, but they deal with it as best as they can. Then, Velvet told me that one of our kits had also went to live in the forest, with Clan cats. I was curious, but growing older. I decided to visit him when I felt like it.

Before I knew it, I was too old to go into the forest-but I was about to go to StarClan anyway, and I wanted to see my son before I ,"he continued, "I believe in StarClan. But when I got there, the forest was destroyed. Everything in ruins..nothing to find. I traveled far and wide, asking any cat if they knew where my son and the Clan cats had gone. Finally, a cat told me. His name was Ravenpaw, and he lived in a barn with this old cat named Barley. He told me the Clans had gone somewhere else for a home, and from there, I kept asking cats until I knew where you were.

When I got to this lake, I heard battle cries and cats in pain. I was afraid, so I hid in this hollow. And I've been here since, finding the right chance to go in and greet my son."

Tigerheart sat in shocked slience. This old cat's life had been so eventful, and he thought over what he had just learned. He couldn't believe he was reluctant to relay his information to this cat-Jake-when he had poured out his life to him. "Who is your son?"

"His name," Jake mewed softly," was Rusty."

The realization hit Tigerheart like a storm. Rusty...Firstar. He was looking at Firestar's father! A sinking feeling in his belly, he gulped and, voice shaking, replied.

"Your son, Rusty...He's dead."

Do you like it? Thanks for reviews, it really encouraged me! This is my first fanfic...I really hope you like!