Aeolus led Talonclaw through a maze of Twoleg nests and across another Thunderpath. On the other side of it was an expanse of forest, much like the oaks in ThunderClan land. Talonclaw let out a sigh, thankful that they were out of the Twolegplace, even if it wasn't too far. The moonlight bathed the forest in a silvery sheen as Aeolus padded into a small hollow in the forest ground. Talonclaw looked down to see hawthorn bushes circling the hollow and a few branches from the oak trees arched over it. There were only a few cats curled into balls on moss nests.

"This is where we live," Aeolus meowed, his chest puffing out.

"There's not a lot of you," Talonclaw commented.

"There doesn't need to be," the brown tabby tom said, padding over to a patch of moss that was unoccupied. "If any cat wants to join us, we welcome them. If not, then they're free to go on their own. We don't force any cat who doesn't want to stay with us." He nodded to the moss. "You'll sleep there tonight. In the morning, we'll have something to eat, and I'll bring you to see Comte and Luna."

Talonclaw's eyes flared in alarm. "I thought we were seeing them now."

"Do you think Comte will really get up at midnight for you?" Aeolus asked, arching an eye whisker. "He'll shred the both of us into little pieces."

"But…" Talonclaw's voice was cut off by Aeolus as the tom pressed his tail to Talonclaw's mouth.

"You had a scare today," Aeolus said gently, "and from what you've told me, you've been traveling for quite some time. You need to rest, and so does Comte. You'll talk to him in the morning. Now lie down." He nodded to the nest, and Talonclaw sighed. Aeolus had a point—he wasn't going to get anywhere falling asleep on his paws, and it would be rude to wake Comte in the middle of the night. Talonclaw walked in circles and finally flopped down on the moss.

The forest felt so odd in comparison to his home in the pine forest. The trees were stripped of their leaves and the forest floor was covered in fallen, crunchy leaves. It didn't protect him from the cold wind that buffeted through his pelt. Aeolus curled up on the cold ground, and with a flash of surprise Talonclaw realized that Aeolus had given him his nest. He saved my life, brought me here, and let me sleep in his nest, Talonclaw thought. He's a good cat.

Talonclaw fell into a dreamless sleep.

Golden rays from the morning sun stung Talonclaw's eyes and he opened his eyes in rapid succession. He blinked away the light and shielded his paws from the rays. His bones were heavy and the scents around him were foreign. This wasn't ShadowClan's camp. Shrewfur wasn't snoring on the other side of him, and Toadstep wasn't ordering everyone around. Where am I? Then the chaos of the previous day flashed through his mind. Oh! Talonclaw leaped to his paws and looked around at his unfamiliar surroundings. Aeolus?

The hollow was empty. The cats who were sleeping there last night were gone. Where did they go? Talonclaw had no idea where Comte's den was, so it wasn't as if he could go there on his own. He would just have to wait until Aeolus came back. The ShadowClan warrior lifted his injured paw from the other day and licked his loose claw to get rid of the dried blood. It no longer bled, but it still ached.

He took a moment to look around. The place Aeolus brought him looked like a Clan camp. It was sheltered by the branches and the sides of the hollow, and there were a few holes in the walls where the cats could retreat to if the weather became too fierce. A small puddle trickled in the edge of the clearing, and a few rocks stuck out of the ground here and there.

"Aeolus?" Talonclaw called out. At Talonclaw's mew, Aeolus' head popped over the ridge. He held two mice in his jaws as he slipped down the hollow and padded over to Talonclaw. He dropped the mice in front of Talonclaw and shoved one of them towards him, while he took the other for himself. Talonclaw blinked thankfully at him. He hadn't eaten since yesterday morning.

He settled down and ate in silence with Aeolus, finishing the mouse in famished gasps. Aeolus swallowed the rest of his mouse and pushed the bones aside. He got to his paws and licked his sleek brown fur. Talonclaw arched his back, eager to see Comte. When Aeolus lifted his head and focused his blue eyes on Talonclaw, he meowed, "Ready?"

"Yes," Talonclaw replied, following Aeolus as the tom stretched his legs before leading him out of the hollow and through a small pebbly path in the forest. At the end of the path was an abandoned Twoleg nest, just like the one in ShadowClan territory, except this one did not seem to be as damaged. There was an open window on the right side of the den that Aeolus leaped on.

"Comte?" Aeolus called out. "Are you in there?"

"Is that you, Aeolus?" a voice replied. Aeolus nodded. "He's not here, but I am." The voice was not a tomcat's—it belonged to a she-cat. Who is that?

Aeolus turned his head towards Talonclaw. The brown tabby tom leaped into the window, and Talonclaw followed him, squeezing through the gap and landing on the ground. He glanced around inside the Twoleg nest. It was old, and anything that belonged to Twolegs seemed to be gone. Sunlight pooled in on the floor from a few cracks in the roof. The rooms in the nest still seemed to be intact, indicating by a flap in one of the doors in which a she-cat crawled out of to meet Aeolus and Talonclaw. Talonclaw gasped.

"That's Luna," Aeolus hissed in Talonclaw's ear. "She's Comte's student."

The she-cat had a silky white pelt with pointed spots—her face, paws, and belly were all gray. She stared at Talonclaw, her eyes wide as she took in his feral, unhinged appearance. Immediately she shook her head. "We can't treat you."

"What?" Talonclaw's eyes widened. "No, that's not why I'm here. I don't need to be treated." Before the she-cat could turn him away, Talonclaw said quickly, "My name is Talonclaw. I'm a warrior of ShadowClan, cats in the pine forest a day's travel away. I was sent here by my leader to find a healer and bring them back to the Clan with me."

Luna turned on her heel and started to march back through the flap in the door. Talonclaw leaped in front of her to stop her from going. "There is a very sick cat in my Clan," he said. He had come so far, he couldn't just be sent away now! "Our ancestors told us to find the great healer here and bring him to ShadowClan so he can treat her."

"The healer?" Luna asked. "Who said that?"

"Our ancestors," Talonclaw repeated. Was she not listening to him? His claws flexed in irritation, but he knew he wouldn't harm any of these cats. He had to convince them to come with him, and he wouldn't do that by hurting them.

Luna snorted, irritation flashing in her dark blue eyes. "He used to be called a great healer. Now he's not."

"Huh?" Talonclaw's amber eyes rounded. "He's not?"

"Well, he is still a great healer," Luna corrected herself, shifting her small paws. "Just not as great as he used to be."

Aeolus' ears twitched. "I'll let you two discuss this on your own," he meowed. "Talonclaw, I'll be outside the den. Just give me a meow when you're done."

Talonclaw nodded as Aeolus walked away from the two cats and slipped into the window. His scent grew faint, leaving Talonclaw and Luna alone in the den. Talonclaw wondered if Comte was here, but Luna seemed determined to stop Talonclaw from seeing him.

"She's really sick," Talonclaw repeated, allowing desperation to seep into his voice. He knew this was his only shot at getting Robinwing the treatment she needed. "She will die if she gets no help."

"And there's no healer around you who can treat her?" Luna asked, her eyes narrowed.

"There are two," Talonclaw replied, "but they've failed. The only one with the cure is here."

Luna shut her eyes, and Talonclaw took in a deep breath as he watched the she-cat visibly ponder what Talonclaw had said. "I'll talk to him," she said after a few moments. "Follow me."

"Where is he?" Talonclaw asked.

"Behind this door." Luna squeezed her way into the flap in the door. Talonclaw followed her, wincing as the strange material raked his brown tabby fur. He emerged on the other side of the door, shaking out his fur. "I'm back!" She walked over to a mound of fur that was crouched near the corner of the den. He lifted his head to gaze at Luna, and Talonclaw gasped.

The tom had broad shoulders and sleek, thick golden fur. His muzzle was gray with age, but his green eyes held a confident light. Scraps of herbs flaked his pelt and he wore the aura of a cat who had seen much in his life. The golden tom scrambled up, catching sight of Talonclaw. "Who is that?" he growled. "And why have you brought him here?"

Talonclaw looked around the room as Luna fumbled for a way to explain his presence. There were stacks of herbs arranged into neat piles all around the room. He hadn't seen any of these before, not even in the medicine den. Berries with colors he had never known existed, flowers in shapes that he guessed weren't on any Clan territory, and an overgrowth of leaves in every color and shape. Surely one of these has to heal Robinwing's condition! For the first time, he noticed a small black tom next to the golden tom, surely no older than a kit.

"What's wrong with Rocket?" Luna asked as she peered over the black kit, who gazed at Luna with happiness in his amber eyes.

"He had a toothache, so his parents sent him here," the golden tom meowed, nodding to Rocket. "He feels much better now. Don't you, Rocket?"

"It doesn't hurt at all!" Rocket showed his teeth to Luna. Luna chuckled softly.

"It must be time to go home, then, if you feel better," Luna mewed kindly to the tomkit. Rocket nodded and charged past Talonclaw through the flap in the door. Talonclaw watched the excited kitten leave. The golden tom, who was undeniably Comte, lifted his hackles and glared at Talonclaw, hostility in his green eyes.

"Tell me who this is," Comte ordered Luna.

Talonclaw lifted his head as Luna searched for words to say. "My name is Talonclaw," he introduced himself to Comte. "I come from ShadowClan." He bowed his head deeply to the golden tom. "It is an honor to meet you. I hear you are the best healer in these parts."

"I won't go to ShadowClan." Comte's words flew out of him immediately, leaving Talonclaw to freeze in his spot. What…? I didn't even ask him yet!

"But our ancestors—" Talonclaw's voice was cut off by Comte marching past him.

"I don't care if it's your ancestors or my ancestors," Comte growled as he headed towards the opposite side of his den where he had dozens of berries neatly arranged. "I won't go to your Clan, even if your ancestors come down and beg me. You cannot persuade me."

Talonclaw realized that he would have to try something else. "That's not why I'm here."

Luna arched her eye whisker suspiciously.

"And I don't consider myself a great healer," Comte added as if Talonclaw had never spoken. "Don't you have great healers in the forest?"

"None of them can figure out why our Clanmate is so sick," Talonclaw protested.

"I bet you didn't even ask the others." Comte's voice was condescending. Talonclaw's fur bristled as he realized that Comte was right. But how did Comte know so much about the Clans?

"Comte!" Luna's voice was patronizing. "Don't be so rude to him! You made a vow long ago that you would help any cat in need, regardless of where they were from, and you made me take it, too! If his ancestors sent him here, they're calling you! It must be important. We can't let a cat die, especially if the only cure is here! You wouldn't even be away for that long. Isn't that right?" She glanced at Talonclaw.

Talonclaw nodded. "That's right."

"You know what?" Comte's fur bristled. "A long time ago, I made up my mind—to no longer try and win favors with Clan cats. No more. A Clan cat came to me, long ago, like you are, and called me to treat some cat who was sick. The methods his medicine cats were trying weren't working. I left many of my patients here behind and went with him. He brought me into his splendid camp. But I saw no sick cat there." His fur bristled with irritation.

"What did you see?" Talonclaw asked.

"He was the sick cat," Comte snapped. "He wanted me to figure out how to make him immortal, so he could lead his Clan for generations! I told him that my medicine was not for making cats immortal. That was the last time I ever traveled away from this place to treat any other cat. And I think that is for the best."

Talonclaw lowered his head. Comte showed no sign of giving in. This was a very strong cat who had clearly been through a lot in his life, and if his past ties with the Clans were so bitter, then there was nothing he could do to convince Comte to come to ShadowClan with him. Luna's eyes flashed with sadness as Talonclaw meowed, "I understand. There was something my father told me when I was young. He said that only one thing matters. One thing. To never lose your dignity."

Comte's amber eyes widened.

"Hearing your story, I remembered his words," Talonclaw said to the healer. "I shall ask no more of you. I understand how you feel." He bowed his head deeply to both Comte and Luna. "I shall take my leave."

Luna's gaze was fraught with worry, and she opened her mouth as if wanting to stop Talonclaw. Talonclaw lowered his head and walked away, about to travel through the gap in the door when another cat burst through the flap and landed onto the floor with wide eyes. He had thick black fur that was bristling on edge, and panic was written all over his face.

"What's the matter, Ares?" Luna asked the tom, her voice a squeal.

"Help!" Ares exclaimed. "There's a fire!"

"What?" Talonclaw leaped to his paws. Even Comte scrambled to all fours, and all three cats followed Ares as the black tom led them out of Comte's nest and through the forest. More cats tagged on, Aeolus included. Ares wasted no time as he plunged through the thick undergrowth. The scent of smoke and acrid flames was suffocating Talonclaw, and he could see the orange flickers visible in the distance. Ares kept the pace until he reached another abandoned Twoleg nest. It was engulfed in greedy orange flames, the fire licking the air as it devoured the den.

"How did this happen?" Comte demanded.

"The Twolegs set this fire!" Ares yowled to Comte. "And my son is trapped in it!"

"Rocket?" Comte's amber eyes were round with fear.

The cat he just treated?! Talonclaw gasped as a black she-cat bounded towards Comte, her eyes swelling with tears as she pressed her muzzle against Comte's shoulder. "He's going to die!" she cried out. "The wooden beam is too heavy! It won't budge! There's no way to get in without being burned alive!"

Luna braced her shoulders. Resolve blazed in her blue eyes, and she started to run forward. Talonclaw leaped in front of her and stopped her. "Wait," he growled. He looked up at Ares. "Is there any water around here?"

"We've been trying to put out the fire," Ares said, "but it won't work."

"Just show me where the water is." Talonclaw's tail twitched in irritation.

"Luna!" Comte's voice was sharp. "Get the herbs. Our den is next."

Luna dipped her head and raced away.

Ares led Talonclaw a few mouse-lengths away where a small brook cut through the forest. Talonclaw threw himself into the water and splashed around until he was soaked. The freezing water shook him to his core, and he looked up to see the other cats watching him. Ares' amber eyes blazed with determination as he leaped into the brook and soaked himself as well.

When Talonclaw was utterly drenched to the bone, he climbed over the bank and looked at Ares, who scrambled out at the same time. "Take me to him," he ordered.

Ares dipped his head and led the way back to the burning Twoleg den. Talonclaw followed him as they reached the orange flames. Beams were dropping from the ceiling of the den and it was starting to cave in. They had to rescue Rocket now. Talonclaw flattened his fur to make sure that he stayed soaked, and without taking a look over his shoulder, he stepped into the burning den.

The heat was overwhelming and singed his whiskers and fur as he tried to leap over the flames and navigate his way through the fallen beams. It was useless to try to find Rocket's scent—the only thing he could smell was smoke. Ares was in front of him, leading him through the beams. Talonclaw swiped at Ares' fur when an ember landed onto him and nearly burst into flames. As the cats traveled further into the Twoleg den, Talonclaw could see a wooden rod collapsed on the ground. Underneath it was a bundle of black fur. Rocket.

"I'll lift one side up, and you lift the other," Talonclaw told Ares. "When I get him, I'll press my fur against his to get him as wet as I am. We can take him out that way."

Ares nodded and strained his paws underneath the edge of the beam. Talonclaw tensed his muscles and did the same thing. When he was able to lift it a tiny bit off the ground, he squirmed underneath the gap and used his broad shoulders to try and lift the rest of the beam. The weight on his shoulders was agonizing. It was excruciatingly heavy, and each time Talonclaw heard another beam fall, he lost more hope. The two cats groaned and hissed as they combined their strength to lift the beam. Talonclaw flinched as he heard a massive roar, and the Twoleg roof caved in on itself.

"The den is collapsing!" Ares exclaimed. "We're going to die in here!"

"Ignore that, and keep lifting," Talonclaw ordered Ares. Ares' yellow eyes were wide with panic but he obeyed Talonclaw and strained his shoulders until the beam was high enough off the ground that Talonclaw could lunge in and grab Rocket's scruff. He pulled Rocket away from the beam and pressed his soaked fur against Rocket's pelt. Rocket's fur absorbed some of the water from Talonclaw's coat, and Talonclaw lifted him in his jaws. He looked up as he heard more creaking. Ares was right. The den was collapsing.

"Get out of here, Ares!" Talonclaw told him. "I'll be out with Rocket, I promise."

Ares stared at Talonclaw in panic. Then he nodded and climbed over one of the fallen beams. Talonclaw tried to follow his path, but a plank dropped from the ceiling and landed in the spot Ares had once been. The fire was growing bigger and was seconds away from grabbing Talonclaw and Rocket in its grip. Talonclaw's eyes streamed with heat as he looked around for another exit. There! It was small, but there was a gap between two beams that fell together. If he could make it through that, he might just have a chance of escaping the burning den.

Talonclaw held Rocket in his jaws as he bounded towards the gap between the planks. He winced as another piece of flaming wood fell. He squeezed his way through the gap, forcing his shoulders beneath the beam and lifting it upwards so it tumbled down. Every muscle in his body was screaming. He couldn't breathe, with kit fur around his mouth and the smoke becoming too much. But Talonclaw could feel a leaf-bare wind, and he knew that he only had to travel a bit further and Rocket would be safe. Talonclaw leaped over another beam and forced his way out of the burning den with Rocket dangling in his jaws.

Ash stained his tabby face and embers landed on his pelt, but Talonclaw still held Rocket tightly in his jaws. With every nerve in his body frayed and burning, he found the she-cat who had appealed to Comte for help and bounded over to her, dropping Rocket in front of her. Ares was next to her, and the two cats purred loudly as they licked the ashes off Rocket. Relief swamped their faces, and Ares blinked gratefully at Talonclaw.

"He's unconscious," Talonclaw gasped, "but alive."

"Get the medicine!" Comte ordered Luna. "And bring him to the hollow!" He nodded to Rocket's parents. Ares grabbed the unconscious Rocket in his jaws and all of the cats followed Comte through the forest. Talonclaw looked over his shoulder at the burning Twoleg den, and it gave a massive heave and groan until it collapsed in on itself, leaving nothing left but the flames of the fire. Talonclaw let out ragged breaths, trying to calm down, and when he had his composure he limped away towards the path that Comte and the others had taken.

He arrived at the hollow where Aeolus lived. Comte, Ares, Aeolus, Luna, and Rocket's mother were all sitting in a circle with Rocket in between them. Comte was pouring some honey down Rocket's throat. The cats watched the black kit with their breathes hitched, and then Rocket let out a small cough.

"Is he all right?" Rocket's mother demanded.

Rocket let out a mewl.

Comte examined the kit with keen, sharp eyes. "Incredible," he breathed as he felt Rocket's pelt with his paws. "There's nothing seriously wrong with him."

"Oh, thank the stars!" Ares exclaimed, and mews of relief passed through the gathered cats. Talonclaw sat back and thanked StarClan. No kit deserved to die in a fire. The warrior code dictated that if a kit's life was in danger, regardless of where they came from, they were to be saved at all costs. For the first time, he realized just how raw his throat was. He was desperate for some honey from Comte, but he was sure that Rocket would need it more. He climbed outside the hollow and headed back towards the path, where Ares had led him to the brook that he soaked himself in.

Talonclaw bent down to lap at the clear water in the stream. He thought that he had never tasted anything so delicious before as the cool water trickled down his throat and eased the ache. He felt like drinking a waterfall's worth of water, and he did that rightfully so until he heard a cat speak from behind him.

"Musk, bezoar, borneol, spikenard, ginseng, agarwood, nutsedge…" Talonclaw glanced up to see Luna approaching him from behind. Her blue eyes were soft as she gazed at Talonclaw.

"Is that an incantation?" Talonclaw asked.

"No, they are curatives that Comte taught me about," Luna meowed, sitting down next to him. "I put it all in the medicine that I gave Rocket."

"And he took it?" Talonclaw looked at Luna.

"Comte's medicine works wonders," Luna told him. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

Talonclaw gave her a weak smile. He rolled his shoulders back, knowing he would have to return to ShadowClan soon. Luna was quiet for a few moments before finally speaking again. "Everyone is really happy. Thank you. And Comte asked me to thank you on his behalf." She sat down, tilting her head. "He's odd, isn't he? He might as well tell you himself. I've been with him since I was a kit, but he really is an odd one."

"Since you were a kit?" Talonclaw inquired, studying the downy she-cat.

"When I was a kit, he took me in," Luna explained. "He's been teaching me medicine ever since." She glanced at the stream Talonclaw was drinking from. "When I was young, I lost my parents in a fire. I was the same as Rocket. You see… someone saved me from dying in the fire."

Talonclaw angled his ears towards Luna, interested in her story. He got the sense that she wanted to continue talking, and so he let her.

"I was just a kit," Luna went on. "I didn't know what was happening. But I remember the cat who saved me had dark brown fur. A lot like yours, actually. It was so hot, I thought I was done for. But then the cat with the dark brown fur picked me up by my scruff. He carried me out of the fire and told me I would be all right. I was mewling the whole time. But the tom said this to calm me down. He said that there would be a world where there were no fires, no wars to fight in. I didn't know what he was talking about when he said wars—there were no wars where I was living. He said that one day, all cats would be united in peace, and there would be no more fighting."

Talonclaw tilted his head. How odd. That sounded like something a cat he knew would say. But because of his exhaustion from his debacle, the smoke that he could still scent, and the pain in his body, he couldn't put a name to the cat.

"He said to never forget my honor," Luna meowed. "That I could get through anything as long as I had it."

"Never forget your honor…" Talonclaw echoed. "Do you know who the cat with the dark brown fur was?"

Luna shook her head. "I'm sorry. I wish I could remember his scent, but all I could smell was the fire at that time. All I know is that he was big, and he had dark tabby fur, like yours. You remind me of him. He was just passing by. He licked me until I stopped crying, and he found Comte, who could take me in. And then he left. I learned all about this later, from Aeolus." There was a bright smile on her face. "Apparently, he was a gallant warrior."

A gallant warrior… Talonclaw tried to think about the possibilities. Could the gallant warrior possibly come from the Clans? But what would a Clan cat be doing where Luna was?

"Talonclaw," Luna meowed, "for Rocket, you are the big cat with the dark brown fur."

Talonclaw glanced at his pelt. "I'm not that big." He smiled sheepishly at Luna. Luna grinned. "This journey has helped me understand. Wherever you must go, honor isn't enough. Something must change. Someone must make a change. Or else the Clans—or any cat outside the Clans—will ever be able to live with strength and honor." As he spoke to Luna, he could see a cat with broad golden shoulders walking over to them. Comte? He paused in his speech as Comte approached the two cats.

"I believe little Rocket will be fine," Comte meowed. "When he saw my face, he asked me if I would play moss-ball with him again."

"What a relief!" Luna exclaimed. She barged away from Comte, as if wanting to see for herself. That left Comte and Talonclaw alone near the brook. Talonclaw got the sense that Comte wanted to say something but was perhaps too proud to say it out right.

"I am in a bind," Comte said after a few moments. "My den has burned down. Luna was able to save our herb store before the Twolegs torched my den, but that place meant everything to me. In this state, I can't treat anyone. I don't have anywhere to go. I might as well… wander off to ShadowClan."

"What?" Talonclaw gasped.

"They say there's no time like the present," Comte meowed. "Tell me the symptoms of the illness this cat in your Clan has, and Luna and I will come with you to ShadowClan to treat them." Comte marched away in the direction Luna had gone. Talonclaw watched him go, momentarily puzzled that he had managed to gain the old stubborn tom's agreement.

I can go back to ShadowClan now, with the cure that StarClan has told us to find!