Pepper led him through a flap in the wall into his Twolegplace. Trail was instantly assaulted by a barrage of noises and scents. He could hear Twolegs stomping around the whole house, and it smelled so strongly of Twoleg, kittypet, rot, food, and more. It was overwhelming.

"It's great, isn't it?" asked Pepper.

"It's terrible," Trail gasped. "But this is the only hope I have."

Pepper showed him around, pointing out the best places to sleep and hide, as well as where he was fed every day. Soon, one of the silver cat's Twolegs found Trail. They picked him up, trapping him. The clamping paws around Trail solidified his imprisonment.

Pepper was waiting by the door when the Twoleg brought Trail back into the house. The brown tom felt like it had been forever since the Twoleg had carried him out of the Twolegplace, thrown him into a monster's belly, and brought him to a horrible, cold place.

"How was it?" the kittypet inquired.

Trail stumbled towards him, stiff and in shock. "Never again."
"It wasn't the worst visit to the Cutter you could have had," Pepper promised. "Some cats say they can take away your claws."

Trail unsheathed his claws. He'd like to see any Twoleg try to steal them.

The visit to the Cutter had still been one of the worst experiences of his life. Twolegs had prodded him, shined bright lights in his eyes, practically ripped ticks and fleas off him, and jabbed him full of sharp objects until he could hardly walk. He didn't understand how kittypets dealt with it.

"It's getting dark," noted Pepper. "Shall we go to sleep?"

The soft boulder Trail slept on that night was more comfortable than anything he'd ever touched before. He seemed to sink into it, and it would surround him, making him feel warm and cozy.

"Feeding time!" Pepper leaped from his soft boulder and sat down beside the place where the Twolegs put his food. Trail hated the idea of someone else feeding him, but he had to in order to blend in more with the kittypets.

When the Twolegs did arrive to feed them, Trail was hardly able to choke down what they gave him. It was dry, flavorless, and far too crunchy. But he managed to.

After that, Trail didn't think he could stand being in the Twolegplace for much longer. "I'm going outside." The loner headed out through the flap in the wall into the cold, snowy outside. Pepper followed.

When he looked up at the fence that surrounded the Twoleg's yard, he had a surprise. Perched on the fence was Pinestripe.

"You!" Trail leaped up beside her. "What are you doing here?"

"I told you, I'd hate to see another good cat die by Scythe's claws. As long as he's marked you as his target, I'm sticking around this Twolegplace to keep watch."

The loner didn't understand her. "You could go anywhere. Somewhere far away from danger. Do anything. Yet you choose to stay by me. Why?"

"I left my clan, so I have no ties to anywhere. And I think the most help I can give is near you."

"You're not my mother!" Trail snapped.

"I think you need one," she responded swiftly.

Trail curled his lip. How did the older cat always manage to beat him in arguments, and come out having won?

He shot Pinestripe a sly look. "I'll let you stay… if you tell me why you left your Clan."
The black-and-white cat's ears flattened. "That's not important."
"From your reaction, I think it is."

The Windclan cat shook her head. "I'm not telling you that."

"Then leave."

While they were talking, Pepper had leapt up beside them and had been listening. The six-toed cat finally spoke when both cats fell silent.

"I think it's a good idea Pinestripe stays in the Twolegplace. While you have to stay in the nest with me, Trail, she can scout around every day for signs of the rogue. How about every day she comes at sunhigh to tell you anything she's seen? It could even work as a warning; if she doesn't show up at sunhigh, it means there's danger and you have to flee."

Trail was surprised the kittypet was able to come up with such an ingenious plan. "Alright, fine, I suppose."

"Thank you, Trail." Pinestripe leaped off the fence and ran away into the Twolegplace.

Just then, Trail's ears picked up a tinkling sound coming from Pepper's Twoleg nest. One of the hairless creatures inside was shaking a shiny object, which the sound was coming from.
"That's the sound they use to call me inside!" the silver cat explained. He leaped off the fence. "Come on in! I was getting cold anyway."
Trail reluctantly padded into the Twolegplace. It was still cold; and snow was still everywhere. But leaf-bare had dragged on for long enough. Hopefully, soon, newleaf would arrive.

Trail had been right; in almost a moon of staying with the kittypet, the snow began to melt and the weather began to get hotter. The brown tom stayed out of the Twoleg's way as much as possible, managing to only see them about twice a day. As well, he exercised and stayed fit the entire time. He would loathe to become soft and fat like a kittypet, and if Scythe caught him, Trail wanted to be in good shape to run. Pinestripe showed up every day without fail, never having any news of Scythe other than vague rumours not worth panicking about. During that time, they became unable to meet in the yard behind the Twoleg's nest, because something strange had begun to occur. Groups of Twolegs with bright orange pelts that reflected the sunlight could be seen all day behind the nest, with strange objects that they dug into the ground and built Twoleg things with. They also brought with them smaller monsters that they held in their paws. The small monsters would remove earth from the ground and break apart Twoleg objects, among other things. Trail and Pepper suspected they were monster kits, and the yard was becoming their nursery.

"I just hope they don't grow and come into the nest," the loner shuddered.

"I'll distract them if they do so you can run," the plump kittypet promised loyally.

Trail awoke one night around moonhigh. It was all dark in the Twoleg nest and outside. Lifting his head from his soft boulder, he saw Pepper was sitting up on his own soft boulder, staring off into space.

"Pepper," Trail whispered, "What are you doing?"

"Do you ever feel like every day is the same?" the kittypet asked.

Trail frowned. Pepper's voice didn't have the high-pitched, light quality it usually did. It sounded pensive, and a little desperate.

"I just think…" the silver tom went on. "Every day with my Twolegs, nothing changes. I eat, I sleep, I walk around and lay on them. Nothing changes. I could go on for who knows how many more seasons, or I could die in the next moon. And it would be the same. My life would be."

He turned to look at Trail with wide eyes. "Do you feel the same?"
The brown tom thought. He'd never seen Pepper like this. "Not individual days, but… Overall, every season is the same. Always walking, always doing the same old thing."
"Always alone?"

"Yes. I'm… I'm always alone."
"Alone," Pepper echoed.

Trail cleared his throat. "We should sleep."

They never spoke of that night again, and Pepper acted like normal after.

"How's kittypet life treating you?" Pinestripe asked him one day. They were crouched in a bush outside the Twoleg nest, where no cat could see them.

"It's certainly different," Trail admitted. "After a while, your tongue kind of numbs to the taste of kittypet food. I don't really taste it anymore, but I still miss fresh-kill."

"I could bring you some, if you like," the she-cat offered.

He shook his head. "No. Someone could trace its scent."

They fell silent, staring at the leaves.

"Will he ever give up?" the brown tom eventually asked.

"No Clan cat who was his target survived. I think he enjoys killing. And he's wily. He always sneaks away from his kill, so no one has caught him."
"Then I'll be stuck here forever."

"Maybe we could find backup," Pinestripe offered. "Neither of us are any match for him. But there are cats who are. Maybe, with a force large enough, we could manage to take him down. To free you from that rogue."

"Loners, rogues, alley cats. One thing unites those kinds of cats: they care only about themselves. How do we know we can trust any of them?"

"We don't," the Clan cat sighed. "But as long as I can treat wounds, I promise, I'll be there for you. I want to help you."

"Thank you," Trail smiled hesitantly. No one had ever told him anything like that before. His own mother had sent him away.

"Maybe tomorrow, I'll have some good news to bring," suggested the she-cat hopefully.

"Maybe," the loner agreed.

The day that followed was one of the worst of his life.